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MLB Players of the Week: Ozuna’s has a power surge and Shields saves the Royals’ week

By JJ Keller

Sep 5, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher James Shields (33) pitches against the New York Yankees during the eighth inning of a game at Yankee Stadium. The Royals defeated the Yankees 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 5, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher James Shields (33) pitches against the New York Yankees during the eighth inning of a game at Yankee Stadium. The Royals defeated the Yankees 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 5, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna (13) connects for an RBI single during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Marlins Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 5, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna (13) connects for an RBI single during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Marlins Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

Each week, I scour the leaderboards and find my picks for the best MLB player and pitcher in each league, to acknowledge them as FanSided’s players of the week. These will most often be based on the numbers, particularly the advanced metrics, but each week will vary.

Sometimes, there are runaway winners, with guys having massive weeks that no one can rival. Other times, it’s a close race that requires me to use some judgement. This week, we have some of both, with the AL player coming down to whether we value straight up, per-plate appearance production, or longer-term, slightly lesser production more. Yunel Escobar was the best hitter in the junior circuit, but he only played 5 games. Does that make him better than Howie Kendrick, who was not quite as good, but  did it over 15 more plate appearances?

When it comes to the pitchers, do we value run prevention over the sabermetric ideas of fielding-independent pitching? Does James Shields’ 15 shutout innings outdo Corey Kluber’s 1.04 ERA, despite Kluber having slightly better FIP numbers. They weren’t easy decisions, but I feel I was able to make the right picks in the end.

The following are my MLB Players of the Week from September 5th through the 11th.

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