I'd like to nominate Josh Willingham. Most casual fans probably have never heard of the guy, he hops from one team to another, and all he does is quietly play his friggin' ass off everywhere he goes.

I don't hate all of them.

Sure, sure. Let me guess, just the foreign ones with vestigial tails?

I figured Chase Headley would show up on this list somewhere.
He is on my teh awesome list as of a couple of weeks ago. Sunday Brewers game, Brewers ahead, late innings, Padres making several pitching changes. Some kid I never heard of gets a strikeout and as he is about to windup for next batter, Headley calls time, runs to the mound, takes ball out of his glove and tosses it nto dugout. Checked later, sure enough, kid's first out in the majors.

And that pitcher would be ... Brad Boxberger.

From 2009 to today, WAR by position players:

1. Albert Pujols
2. Ben ############# Zobrist

You can line the bird cage with WAR. If anybody, anyone, thinks Ben Zobrist is the 2nd most valuable player in baseball since 2009 please raise your hand.

"carroll is a weird looking guy with that jack nicholson in the shining smile

here'ssssssss jamey"

Is he as creepy as Joe "The Joker" Randa?

Just looked up his pic....weird in a different way. Carroll is wholesome crossed with creepy.

@53 Great story, thanks!

That Headley is not on this list is all the evidence you need to show he is one of the most underrated position players in the game.

When you're the only plausible All-Star on your team, and instead of you the NL manager chooses a pitcher who's thrown 24 innings ... and David Freese instead of you as the third 3B ... and Cliff Pennington gets chosen over you on the Most Underrated Position Player list ... you just might be underrated.

I honestly had to read this 3-4 times to confirm that it wasn't written about Josh Reddick.

I'm still trying to figure out who it's about. I'm trying to think of someone that David Freese being picked over, would be an insult......My guess is Chase Headley, but I really don't see any difference between the two players to the point that anyone can be upset about.

If Cano (aka the new Utley) is underrated, it's a by-product of the position he plays. Second basemen aren't supposed to hit for power...but wasn't that what we were saying about shortstops three decades ago?

Please don't jinx Cano by saying the's the new Utley.... though unfortunately Utley is his top similar batter's comp in BR... and his most similar through age 28 comp is still Carlos Baerga (eeek)

On the bright side, Cano doesn't play in the same die hard matter as Utley usually does...

It's like McCutchen, though. Cano isn't merely a top-20 player, he's a top-5 player. He's probably THE best player in baseball if you believe he's the awesome glove +/- says he is.

This. Mainly because it makes me so happy.

No parent should ever name their boy-child "Chase."

I just find it ironic that a guy with a 0.365 OBA is named Chase.

Nick Markakis? Really? I love the guy, but at this point he's establshed a solid but unexceptional level of performance; if anything, I'd say he's overrated, because for a couple of years there it looked pretty likely he'd be a star. (Yeah, the power's back a bit this year, but it's a pretty small sample size.)

The most underrated Oriole right now is probably Wieters -- all the disappointment surrounding his failure to become an insta-MVP has obscured the fact that he's developed into one of the top catchers in the league at 26, and is only likely to get better.

My guess is Chase Headley, but I really don't see any difference between the two players to the point that anyone can be upset about.

Yes, it's Headley. LaRussa picked Street, who had pitched well but in extremely limited IP, over Headley, who was clearly the Padres representative. I don't think the poster was saying it was insulting Freese was picked over Headley or was upset about it, they were just offering it as evidence he's underrated. I was sure LaRussa would do it as he wouuld have good reason to reward/honor his WS MVP and could also add another arm to the roster by going that route. Still was sorry for Headley though; he truly deserved to go.

I just find it ironic that a guy with a 0.365 OBA is named Chase.

Well, you could call him Count Full Count, as Padres announcer Mark Grant does. Grant is generally an entertaining and informative announcer despite the cheezy nickname.

'Full Count' would have been an awesome nickname for Brett Butler.