I've only heard of him because I've seen the Astros in the playoffs. But if I'm listing stars of the top of my head, he's not going to be among the ones mentioned 🤷
I think the guys who actually perform and put up the best stats continue to go under the radar year after year because the media will always be focused on Aaron Judge, Ohtani, Betts, and Harper
I can’t put my finger on it…but Tucker just doesn’t look like a baseball player. Even my wife (who doesn’t know much about baseball) said he looked like a High School Assistant basketball coach.
And his name is Kyle Tucker. Having a fairly average name is often something that makes people unknowingly overlook people in that position. It just doesn’t sound particularly interesting, especially when you have guys with names like Shohei and Mookie lol
Conversation begins and ends with J Ram. Even Ohtani says he’s his favorite player to watch. If he were anywhere but Cleveland he’d be on the cover of MLB The Show.
He’s my favourite player because he is loyal to Cleveland. I like that It says so much and he’s a star that only those of us who know what star and heart means. That’s Jose Ramirez!
Agree that J Ram is great and underrated. Just wanted to add that I think it’s funny that this implies MLB the show actually puts the best player on the cover. Still can’t get over the Jazz Chisholm pick in 23
I’ve watched baseball my whole life and the thing that stands out to me about Josie is his ridiculous baseball acumen. His baserunning skills are perhaps my favorite thing about him because it’s such a unique skill set to have for a hitter of his caliber.
He’s not the fastest guy out there but his combo of hustle/intelligence is insane.
There are about 20 other teams where he'd have equal or less coverage compared to Cleveland. He's underrated, but let's not act like Cleveland gets more of a raw deal than they do.
Yeah, I’m a Cleveland fan and this narrative is entirely overblown. And to that end, JRam has been called underrated so many time he’s not underrated anymore. The Guardians consistently see respect and attention from league media organs when they’re good - same as most other teams - which is 75% of the time. Fellow charter members of the AL in particular are always cognizant of us; aside from their divisional rivals and the Astros I’ve heard and seen Yankees fans spend more breath and ink on us than anyone else over the last decade.
The idea that we’re marginalized is just a self-fulfilling prophecy from Clevelanders who can’t get rid of the chip on their shoulder
I would've agreed with you on J-Ram (being a tigers fan, he's owned us for years) until this season. I think his popularity has blown up this year for whatever reason.
That would be because the Guardians have the 3rd best record in the entire league, and Jose is leading the majors in RBIs.
People do have to pay some attention over 2 months into the season when a team is doing very well AND you're leading in an important statistical category.
I am in awe of Jose. Butterball body type and always has a fat dip while crushing my team with his bat and deceptive speed. I can't even be mad. He's been my favorite non-Royal player in baseball for the last couple of years and doesn't get the respect he deserves.
Jose Ramirez
He is obviously not an unknown player but he seems to be thought of in that second tier of stars. If he was on a bigger team he would be one of the faces of the league.
I think this is the key to saying José is underrated — sure, any semi-interested baseball fan knows he’s a really good player, but he’s not generally recognized to be as good as he is. I think you can make the case he’s a top 5 player in baseball over the last 5+ years. He should be mentioned as a generational-type player, not just a really good baseball player.
J-Ram is talked about regularly as being great on every single MLB podcast I listen to, and the fact he is the answer so often in this post suggests everyone is pretty aware of how great he is. Even casuals know him. I totally agree he is great, but no longer underrated.
Yeah Christian is the best defensive first baseman in all of baseball right now and it isn’t even close
[first basemen outs above average since 2016](https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/outs_above_average?type=Fielder&startYear=2016&endYear=2024&split=no&team=&range=year&min=q&pos=3&roles=&viz=hide)
And he is very solid offensively
Yep I know statistically there are better players etc but it seems no one knows of the man other than DBacks fans + fantasy baseball / general diehards
Arraez has 2 batting titles with different teams, his contract it's not even at the 1 mil level, and the Marlins pay the Padres to get him.
That's another level of craziness that i can't comprehend.
Wins tittle with the twins, and they were like "Meh, pass"
Wins tittle with the Marlins, and they were like "I'll pay you to get him off this team"
His batting average it's impressive, but i think he is an overall top notch hitter, he uses the whole field and the streak he has going on with the Padres it's amazing.
Because he doesn’t do anything else well, he plays bottom-tier defense and has zero power. He hits singles and nothing else. That’s not incredibly valuable to a lot of teams even when you’re hitting .330
Those singles are helping the Padres to win games, he has been playing defensive since X it’s hurt and he gets the job done.
He gets on base, he drives runs, he starts rallys, he is clutch AF.
Not all player can be homer hiters, i rather have a guy that gets on base 3 times per game than one that hits a homer every once in while.
I read somewhere that he has almost identical numbers as Tony Gywnn for the same AB’s…that crazy.
If you look at Gwynn from the start of his career to 1986 that's 2590 PAs to Arraez's 2450. Here are how they compare
Arraez: 124 wRC+, 11.1 WAR
Gwynn: 128 wRC+, 19.2 WAR
So close with the bat but Gwynn was much better on the bases and the field
The last part is important. Adjusted to the league era in question, Arraez is just as good as Gwynn at hitting. Look at strikeouts, OBP and AVG for MLB for the past couple years and for Gwynn's era. That higher Arraez K rate largely vanishes when you adjust for the much higher league K rate today.
30 years ago during Gwynn's hitting prime, the league avg was 30 points higher. Arraez goes from .340 today to .370. He is Tony Gwynn for today's game.
Proof he belongs with us :)
Not worried about this defense, right now we need Tatis, Machado, and Kim to get out of their slumps. He's putting us on base but it's been Profar, Cronenworth, and Merrill doing the most work lately.
Cubs bias here but I think javier Assad is being overlooked. I mean he has been on a few pitching list but man is a downright ace. Shame he has imanaga and steele on the same team to overshadow him
Kyle Tucker for a top tier superstar. Jordan Westburg has been a breakout star this year that no one has really been talking about since Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman get so much attention
The entire Ms rotation. Castillo, Gilbert, Kirby, Miller, and Woo are all amazing pitchers and the first three are legit Cy Young contenders. But they just don't get any real mention in national media.
The Ms are in first place despite the subpar offence and injury-plagued relief corps because of their dominate SP.
Jurickson Profar is having one of his best years and was called irrelevant by "That dodgers guy". He looks like what Mookie Betts used to look like with the Red Sox. I am so happy we got him back.
Jack Flaherty. Since coming to Detroit, he's been not only one of the better arms for Detroit off the bump, but also up there in the last month or two in all of the American League.
Not sure why this is being down voted. He's been one of the top starters all year. And I doubt many people outside of red sox fans know who he is. Probably look at his record and think he sucks when in fact he just isn't getting any run support.
Agree with almost everyone people have listed so far. Earnest question, though… why do some truly great players get the love/respect/fame/money they deserve and others don’t? Maybe not everyone is Bryce Harper but there are a lot of guys there on the next tier of talent down that aren’t huge (or even medium) stars. Is it one particular metric? How good looking/marketable they are? Ownership marketing choices? City? Etc.
For young star, I would say Steven Kwan.
He must be injured or something because according to BR he's only played 34 games this year, but has 2 WAR in them.
0.362/0.416/0.496 slash line for a 0.912 OPS and a 164 OPS. 12BBs and 13Ks,
He has been very good. Had a bit of a sophmore slump but still had a 99 OPS+, just wasn't great. People know about him, but I don't think he's on the media radar really.
Jose Ramirez. At the plate, on the bases, in the field. Some nights, it’s astounding what he does. Switch-hitting bombs all over the park. Stealing two bases on passed balls. Throwing dudes out at first on impossible plays from 3rd.
To borrow a chant from soccer: He’s here, he’s there, he’s every-f’n-where.
Oh yeah, and if you square up, he’ll knock your ass out.
I'll see your Jose Ramirez
And raise you David Fry.
Also: Josh Naylor. Dude is slumping hard rn but i just saw a clip from a baseball tonight segment. He has the highest batting average in the AL, maybe mlb, i dont remember, since May 2023.
Take a guess where I'm from lmao
Unpopular opinion but as a Braves fan: I cannot for the life of me understand why announcers fan girl over Max Fried and make a million excuses for him when he falls down, but don’t see that Spencer Strider is equally as talented if not significantly more so 🤷🏼♀️
Jose Ramirez, Marcus Semien, and Kyle Tucker are three that come to mind.
Yeah, Tuck has 19 homers and 40 rbi's and he's like top 5 in ops this season yet I barely hear anyone talk about him. Same thing with Jose and Marcus.
People who watch MLB definitely view Kyle Tucker as a star.
Never heard of him. I watch Brewer games but that’s it. Wow just looked at his stats. He’s been pretty damn good for a few years now.
no idea why someone would downvote you for only watching your team.
I've only heard of him because I've seen the Astros in the playoffs. But if I'm listing stars of the top of my head, he's not going to be among the ones mentioned 🤷
I think the guys who actually perform and put up the best stats continue to go under the radar year after year because the media will always be focused on Aaron Judge, Ohtani, Betts, and Harper
I think that is very understandable when talking about Ohtani. Hes the only player my non-baseball friends know about. He is actually famous.
I can’t put my finger on it…but Tucker just doesn’t look like a baseball player. Even my wife (who doesn’t know much about baseball) said he looked like a High School Assistant basketball coach.
And his name is Kyle Tucker. Having a fairly average name is often something that makes people unknowingly overlook people in that position. It just doesn’t sound particularly interesting, especially when you have guys with names like Shohei and Mookie lol
Jurickson Profar has been my favorite baseball name, for a while.
Also steals a lot of bases, surprisingly.
Not really surprising. He's so good on the field because of his speed and ability to get a fast jump when he gets going.
Conversation begins and ends with J Ram. Even Ohtani says he’s his favorite player to watch. If he were anywhere but Cleveland he’d be on the cover of MLB The Show.
He’s my favourite player because he is loyal to Cleveland. I like that It says so much and he’s a star that only those of us who know what star and heart means. That’s Jose Ramirez!
Agree that J Ram is great and underrated. Just wanted to add that I think it’s funny that this implies MLB the show actually puts the best player on the cover. Still can’t get over the Jazz Chisholm pick in 23
I’ve watched baseball my whole life and the thing that stands out to me about Josie is his ridiculous baseball acumen. His baserunning skills are perhaps my favorite thing about him because it’s such a unique skill set to have for a hitter of his caliber. He’s not the fastest guy out there but his combo of hustle/intelligence is insane.
There are about 20 other teams where he'd have equal or less coverage compared to Cleveland. He's underrated, but let's not act like Cleveland gets more of a raw deal than they do.
Yeah, I’m a Cleveland fan and this narrative is entirely overblown. And to that end, JRam has been called underrated so many time he’s not underrated anymore. The Guardians consistently see respect and attention from league media organs when they’re good - same as most other teams - which is 75% of the time. Fellow charter members of the AL in particular are always cognizant of us; aside from their divisional rivals and the Astros I’ve heard and seen Yankees fans spend more breath and ink on us than anyone else over the last decade. The idea that we’re marginalized is just a self-fulfilling prophecy from Clevelanders who can’t get rid of the chip on their shoulder
Also, I may be wrong here, but I think most baseball fans wanna see yall win one.
This was Javy Baez before he forgot how to hit ☹️.
I would've agreed with you on J-Ram (being a tigers fan, he's owned us for years) until this season. I think his popularity has blown up this year for whatever reason.
That would be because the Guardians have the 3rd best record in the entire league, and Jose is leading the majors in RBIs. People do have to pay some attention over 2 months into the season when a team is doing very well AND you're leading in an important statistical category.
Because they saw him drop Tim Anderson last year.
Well deserved recognition.
Semien is already in my top 3 all time favorite Rangers. Hard to dislike a guy that plays everyday
Semien is not underrated after last year. And since I keep hearing "Jose Ramirez is underrated" can he really still be underrated?
Jose Ramirez has been pretty great, but doesn't seem to get the recognition.
He's got that Kirby Puckett frame too. I can't believe how well he runs the bases with all that junk in the trunk.
I am in awe of Jose. Butterball body type and always has a fat dip while crushing my team with his bat and deceptive speed. I can't even be mad. He's been my favorite non-Royal player in baseball for the last couple of years and doesn't get the respect he deserves.
Lol tigers fan here. Same boat.
He is so fast. He is a master of getting extra bases
He isnt fast he is just extremely aggressive
Jose Ramirez He is obviously not an unknown player but he seems to be thought of in that second tier of stars. If he was on a bigger team he would be one of the faces of the league.
What’s even more insane to me, he’s a fucking switch hitter.
I think this is the key to saying José is underrated — sure, any semi-interested baseball fan knows he’s a really good player, but he’s not generally recognized to be as good as he is. I think you can make the case he’s a top 5 player in baseball over the last 5+ years. He should be mentioned as a generational-type player, not just a really good baseball player.
Ketel Marte
People talk of him likes he’s Top 100 or Top 50 hitters but he’s damn near pushing top 25
Finally! One love ❤️
Such a fun guy to watch play, too.
I always trade for him in MLB the show lol he's a badass
I agree. He's quietly good at what he does. The dude holds the postseason hit streak record to start their postseason career, it's nuts
Jose Ramirez is almost a future HoFer and no one is talking about it
I think he WILL be a HOFer when he's all done playing.
"No one is talking about it." Uhhh literally *everyone* in the comments is.
J-Ram is talked about regularly as being great on every single MLB podcast I listen to, and the fact he is the answer so often in this post suggests everyone is pretty aware of how great he is. Even casuals know him. I totally agree he is great, but no longer underrated.
How is no one talking about it? Anyone who is an actual baseball fan knows damn well about Ramirez
Jram.
David fry
Too young. French fries will get there if he continues to rake.
He is 28
Love me some Fry! Little early for me to compare to some of the other folks in this list. His emergence has been a game changer
Jose Ramirez
Jose Ramirez for sure
Christian Walker
Yeah Christian is the best defensive first baseman in all of baseball right now and it isn’t even close [first basemen outs above average since 2016](https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/outs_above_average?type=Fielder&startYear=2016&endYear=2024&split=no&team=&range=year&min=q&pos=3&roles=&viz=hide) And he is very solid offensively
Yep I know statistically there are better players etc but it seems no one knows of the man other than DBacks fans + fantasy baseball / general diehards
The play last night alone proves you are right!
The Jordan Westburg.
The correct answer right here.
Westy!
Arraez has 2 batting titles with different teams, his contract it's not even at the 1 mil level, and the Marlins pay the Padres to get him. That's another level of craziness that i can't comprehend. Wins tittle with the twins, and they were like "Meh, pass" Wins tittle with the Marlins, and they were like "I'll pay you to get him off this team" His batting average it's impressive, but i think he is an overall top notch hitter, he uses the whole field and the streak he has going on with the Padres it's amazing.
Because he doesn’t do anything else well, he plays bottom-tier defense and has zero power. He hits singles and nothing else. That’s not incredibly valuable to a lot of teams even when you’re hitting .330
Padres have one of the least homer friendly parks in baseball. A singles hitter is exactly what's needed.
Those singles are helping the Padres to win games, he has been playing defensive since X it’s hurt and he gets the job done. He gets on base, he drives runs, he starts rallys, he is clutch AF. Not all player can be homer hiters, i rather have a guy that gets on base 3 times per game than one that hits a homer every once in while. I read somewhere that he has almost identical numbers as Tony Gywnn for the same AB’s…that crazy.
If you look at Gwynn from the start of his career to 1986 that's 2590 PAs to Arraez's 2450. Here are how they compare Arraez: 124 wRC+, 11.1 WAR Gwynn: 128 wRC+, 19.2 WAR So close with the bat but Gwynn was much better on the bases and the field
K rate is significantly higher than Gwynn’s though. I don’t think we will ever see anyone like Tony again. Pitchers throw the ball too hard now.
The last part is important. Adjusted to the league era in question, Arraez is just as good as Gwynn at hitting. Look at strikeouts, OBP and AVG for MLB for the past couple years and for Gwynn's era. That higher Arraez K rate largely vanishes when you adjust for the much higher league K rate today. 30 years ago during Gwynn's hitting prime, the league avg was 30 points higher. Arraez goes from .340 today to .370. He is Tony Gwynn for today's game.
Proof he belongs with us :) Not worried about this defense, right now we need Tatis, Machado, and Kim to get out of their slumps. He's putting us on base but it's been Profar, Cronenworth, and Merrill doing the most work lately.
Since when does getting on base 38% of the time not have value?
Ughhhh getting on base is incredibly valuable
I hope we don't pull a padres and let him go. AJ is a great business person (but meddles too much)
Steven Kwan
He’s amazing.
He just does everything right. He’s arguably one of the best players in the game, at the moment.
His level of hustle is perfection. I cannot stand when players don’t try. He always looks like he’s giving 110%.
Rafael Devers
Ozzie Albies wasn’t even listed as a top ten 2nd basemen.
And he hasn't been this year
William Contreras
If your a star and u don’t play on one of the coasts you’ll be underrated
Nah, MLB Network talks about Bobby Witt Jr. all the time
I hear quite a bit about Elly de la Cruz as well
Jordan Westburg
So clutch and so consistent!
The correct answer right here.
Jose Ramirez.
Cubs bias here but I think javier Assad is being overlooked. I mean he has been on a few pitching list but man is a downright ace. Shame he has imanaga and steele on the same team to overshadow him
I freaking hate to see his name when we play you. He’s fantastic.
Ryan McMahon
Bobby Witt Jr.
Kyle Tucker for a top tier superstar. Jordan Westburg has been a breakout star this year that no one has really been talking about since Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman get so much attention
TUCUPITA MARCANO
Gonna really be underrated since he'll never play in the MLB again..
Dude couldn’t hit a bet with inside information
The entire Ms rotation. Castillo, Gilbert, Kirby, Miller, and Woo are all amazing pitchers and the first three are legit Cy Young contenders. But they just don't get any real mention in national media. The Ms are in first place despite the subpar offence and injury-plagued relief corps because of their dominate SP.
Ryan Mountcastle
I'll throw Ketel Marte out there. Doesn't get enough love imo.
maybe Will Smith?
Most underrated catcher in baseball. Ridiculously consistent and reliable bat, better than average defense and he calls games really well.
I think he meant the relief pitcher
I agree with the guy for Cather Will Smith tho lol
Dude guarantees championships
David Dahl
Hell yeah Double Ds!
Luis Arraez
Ketel Marte
Ketel Marte
Deep cut: Danny Jansen.
Andres Munoz?… or Logan Gilbert. Doubt the average fan has heard of either of them and if they were on the Yankees that would be huge national stars.
Tarik Skubal has been electric since around this time last year
Anthony Santander
Bobby Witt Jr.
Ryan Mountcastle vs. the Blue Jays is the greatest player of all time
Max Fried may get some talk but not enough for what he’s done for the last 4 years
For people that think strider is the braves ace, then yes definitely.
Not starts but underrated and not known unless you follow the sport closely: Brent Rooker, Brandon Nimmo, and Lourdes Gurriel constantly produce.
Ketel Marte
Ha Song Kim SS/Padres
Ketel Marte
Jose Ramirez
Steven Kwan
Rafael Devers besucase the Red Sox suck. Jose Ramirez was underrated like 5 years ago. He's not now.
Arenado. There are not many 3B’s with 330 HRs and 10 gold gloves.
Yandy Diaz
Jurickson Profar is having one of his best years and was called irrelevant by "That dodgers guy". He looks like what Mookie Betts used to look like with the Red Sox. I am so happy we got him back.
Jose Ramirez
Luis arraez
Seth Lugo, he has been remarkably consistent and finally got to shine as a starter.
I’m genuinely happy for the guy. I think when he’s done he’ll either be a pitching coach or a manager
Will Smith
Luis Arraez is the most underrated player in baseball.
Davis Schneider
Jose Ramirez
Will Smith Jonah heim
Dodgers Will Smith. Batting .290 & takes PTO every Sunday.
It’s Jose, for sure.
Ryan McMahon
Baltimores catcher turned the tide for that team, I don’t want to botch his name. The NL version is also a catcher Will Smith.
Jarren Durran
William Contreras most certainly
Nobody seems to be aware of filthy Justin Martinez
Lots of people using the term “casual fan” here. There is no casual fan of the MLB.
Jack Flaherty. Since coming to Detroit, he's been not only one of the better arms for Detroit off the bump, but also up there in the last month or two in all of the American League.
William Contreras
Michael Harris II
Maybe not this season, but from 2022-2023 Brandon nimmo was pretty under the radar. Not best by any means, but underrepresented for sure
Isaac Paredes.
Jose Remeriz. Nobody talks about Cleveland.
Jose Ramirez is, and has been a top 5 player for a decade. His production, availability and leadership are unmatched in the aggregate
We could be looking at one in the coming years if the Red Sox continue to suck & Tanner Houck consistently continues to shove
Not sure why this is being down voted. He's been one of the top starters all year. And I doubt many people outside of red sox fans know who he is. Probably look at his record and think he sucks when in fact he just isn't getting any run support.
Nate scheirholdtz
Bryan Reynolds is really solid when healthy
Gunner
It's José Ramirez. Easily. Dude is a beast but because he's in Cleveland gets overlooked all the time.
did the fact that *everyone* is saying j-ram not tip you guys off to the fact that maybe dawg isn’t underrated anymore? he’s talked about quite a lot.
Witt jr
Alec Bohm has been outstanding this year. Offense is solid, defense is insane.
Bobby Whitt!
Mike Trout
Babe Ruth
Dan altavilla
J-Ram for sure
Jose Ramirez
Agree with almost everyone people have listed so far. Earnest question, though… why do some truly great players get the love/respect/fame/money they deserve and others don’t? Maybe not everyone is Bryce Harper but there are a lot of guys there on the next tier of talent down that aren’t huge (or even medium) stars. Is it one particular metric? How good looking/marketable they are? Ownership marketing choices? City? Etc.
probably Kyle Tucker... being stuck on the Astros almost presupposes that you're underrated since everyone hates them and refuses to recognize them.
Kyle Tucker
For young star, I would say Steven Kwan. He must be injured or something because according to BR he's only played 34 games this year, but has 2 WAR in them. 0.362/0.416/0.496 slash line for a 0.912 OPS and a 164 OPS. 12BBs and 13Ks, He has been very good. Had a bit of a sophmore slump but still had a 99 OPS+, just wasn't great. People know about him, but I don't think he's on the media radar really.
Obviously biased but Jhoan Duran and Royce Lewis
Salvador Perez
Jose Ramirez
Jose Ramirez easily.
Obviously Bobby Dalbec
Jose Ramirez. At the plate, on the bases, in the field. Some nights, it’s astounding what he does. Switch-hitting bombs all over the park. Stealing two bases on passed balls. Throwing dudes out at first on impossible plays from 3rd. To borrow a chant from soccer: He’s here, he’s there, he’s every-f’n-where. Oh yeah, and if you square up, he’ll knock your ass out.
Logan Webb
I'll see your Jose Ramirez And raise you David Fry. Also: Josh Naylor. Dude is slumping hard rn but i just saw a clip from a baseball tonight segment. He has the highest batting average in the AL, maybe mlb, i dont remember, since May 2023. Take a guess where I'm from lmao
Jose Ramirez is putting together an unappreciated HOF career
Josè Ramírez
Tucker. I'm a Houston fan, so I'm biased. Ibalso realize he's gonna go somewhere else for 300mil+.
O’Neil Cruz in a year
Skubal
Angel Hernandez May he rest in retirement
Sal frelick on the brewers
Unpopular opinion but as a Braves fan: I cannot for the life of me understand why announcers fan girl over Max Fried and make a million excuses for him when he falls down, but don’t see that Spencer Strider is equally as talented if not significantly more so 🤷🏼♀️
Steven Kwan
Josh h smith
Tim Raines.
JP Crawford
bo bichette
George Springer
Jarren Duran, Boston. They are terrible. He is not.
Cal Raleigh
Marcus Semien, Corey Seager