[BirdWatcher]

Having recently made a list of the top players currently at each position, I thought it might be interesting to look at the players who most stand out on this list, position by position, as less well known than they should be and then most of the other players who qualify as among the best in the game.
(To simplify, the list was constructed by looking at current overall ratings by position, as seen by the Brewers head scout/scouting staff. The number of players varies a bit position by position as well as the cut-off point in terms of overall star rating, but generally this includes players with 4 stars and above.)
It is also a good time to take a high level view of what players are considered to be among the best at their position and to get a quick glance at some basic stats for them at this point of the 1978 WPK season.

So, without further ado, let's start with....

Starting Pitchers:

Among the top starting pitchers in the WPK are four Pitcher of the Year award winners, and three pitchers who are serious candidates to win the award this season who haven't yet added one of these trophies to their cabinet.
And then there is our guy- a top flight Ace (or near ace) who has yet to even be added to an All-Star squad.
But let's start with the well-known guys:
-Aaron McNally (Brooklyn), 3-time Pitcher of the Year, 2-time pitching Triple Crown winner, competing again for top honors this season with an 18-6 record, 2.90 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 6.9 WAR.
-Jim Norris (Columbus), 2-time Pitcher of the Year, 11-7, 3.02, 1.00, 2.9 WAR this season.
-Eduardo Obando (Los Angeles), 1976 MGL Pitcher of the Year, 12-6, 2.77, 1.16, 4.6 WAR this season.
-Mike Stagner (San Francisco), 1973 SJL Pitcher of the Year, 6-8, 3.72, 1.29, 2.5 WAR.
And the possible soon to be Pitchers of the Year:
-Sadahige Kawasaki (Denver), 14-6, 2.18, 0.97, 7.0 WAR.
-Luis Ramirez (Columbus), 15-6, 2.09, 1.06, 6.4 WAR.
-Sekien Hamasaki (Denver), 15-4, 2.37, 1.00, 5.7 WAR.

And here is your most unheralded starting pitcher among the best in the game:




Rino Aguillon was signed as a soon-to-be 17 year old out of Venezuela by his current club, the Philadelphia Mud Hens, on the last day of January, 1967. He rose quietly through the farm system, with his highest rating as a prospect being #35 in the WPK, and then as a 24-year old, in his first full WPK season, led the league in WHIP (1.10) and BB/9 (1.7). He has never even sniffed a Pitcher of the Year award, has never been an All-Star, never won any award at all, beyond a Pitcher of the Month award this past month. But he is 69-45 with a 3.06 ERA in his big league career thus far and is on pace to equal his previous season best WAR of 5.5. It would not be fair to say he is unknown, as particularly in the Philly area he is adored by the fans for his strong work ethic and team loyalty.
There are concerns about his injury proneness, but when healthy the groundball specialist with pinpoint control and four plus pitches belongs in the upper echelons of his position in the WPK, but remains the most unheralded of the hurlers with that distinction.


Relief Pitchers:

I won't try to list all of the relievers who are considered among the best, as it is lengthier than most positions. And with the inconsistency of relievers generally, some of the pitchers on the list aren't really having seasons that live up to their reputations.
But of course among them are some spectacular relievers who are well-known:
-Jamar Clay (Columbus), 5-6, 23 svs, 1.99, 0.91, 3.8 WAR.
-Ben Bakeman (Oklahoma City), 3-5, 26, 2.08, 1.03, 1.3 WAR.
-Tim Shore (Denver), 2-0, 20, 1.52, 0.89, 0.8 WAR.
A couple of well-known L.A. Spinners are on the list as well- Shouta Hori and Yu-bao Tong- but neither are having particularly good seasons. And much the same could be said of Denver relievers Ben Flynn and Jason Gottula (though Gottula has been mostly good), who are also on the list.

Here is your most under-appreciated reliever:



It isn't that Ault hasn't received any honors. He has been a 3-time All-Star, though that also is a product of playing for the expansion Chicago Fire. Somebody has to represent the team after all. Then again, Ault's lack of greater recognition probably also comes from being a member of the Fire. He is having a fine season this year- if he wasn't in the same league as the amazing Jamar Clay he might have a chance to win his first Reliever of the Year award- he is a team captain, and at age 26 he should have several more good years ahead.


Catcher:

Almost surely the best catcher in the SJL is Boston's Elvis Iniguez, who is generally considered the greatest defensive catcher of his generation. He is not a bad hitter but is having a bit of an off year at the plate (.242/.342/.393) but with his great defense he still has a fine 3.3 WAR and he has a reputation for being a quality guy on the field and in the clubhouse.
In the MGL Jason Ott of Los Angeles is the king of the position, primarily for his offensive upside though he is also a fine defensive backstop. (His average arm keeps him from being premiere defensively.) Ott is hitting .303/.397/.485 this year and has a WAR of 3.4.
Other standouts:
-Andrew Litteral (San Francisco), .317/.346/.417, 3.6 WAR.
-Lupe Ramirez (Seattle), .290/.355/.470, 3.9 WAR.
-Bryan Wojtach (Jacksonville), .264/.337/.466, 3.8 WAR.
-Greg Foster (Los Angeles), .358/.389/.504, 3.2 WAR.

And your most under-rated catcher:



Admittedly, David Clark is young and hasn't been in the league very long so he should get more attention in the future. While his defense is just average his bat and attitude should help make him a bigger star in the league.

First base:

Honestly, this is a position where it is hard to find a player who is truly under-rated among the best. Other than Philly's slugging rookie Mike Lovett (formerly of the Denver Brewers), most of the players at the top for this position are pretty well-known and well-established in the WPK.

Among them:
-Brett Taranto (Denver), .354/.392/.536, 6.1 WAR.
-Josh Schultz (Milwaukee), .276/.364/.466, 4.3 WAR.
-Danny Salvador (Brooklyn), .247/.362/.428, 3.3 WAR.
-Luis Gonzales (Washington), .291/.350/.488, 2.4 WAR.

So we will go with this veteran as the most un-heralded star first baseman:



It's not that the 27-year old Seattle first baseman is unknown and he has already been named to 3 All-Star teams, but among the best players at his position he may be a bit over-looked, and certainly playing for the usually dismal Alligators doesn't help. But with his line drive approach and great contact ability and decent power, and his strong leadership abilities, in spite of his extreme lack of foot speed, Reinhardt should remain among the best hitters in the game for some time to come.

Second base:

This is a position dominated by veteran players at the top of the list:
-Bobby Erbakan (Denver), .304/.347/.468, 3.2 WAR.
-Xiao-mei Mah (Philadelphia), .304/.384/.451, 2.9 WAR.
-Jared Hancock (San Antonio), .263/.303/.469, 1.3 WAR.
-Tony Knighton (Charlotte), .277/.388/.444, 5.1 WAR (Knighton, who at age 30 only has 1 AS game under his belt, was a candidate for most under-rated).
-Randy Keisel (Oklahoma City), .292/.325/.402, 1.7 WAR.

But this youngster is our pick for most under-rated:




Granted, Nathan Littlepage is only in his third full season as a big league second baseman, but with his fine all-around game it is hard to believe he hasn't received more attention already. At 25 years of age and with a reputation of great durability and good character, and with his El Paso Dawgs on the rise, count on Littlepage getting more positive attention going forward.