Best Well-Rounded Position Players in MLB

This post isn't meant to blow anyone's mind, but I thought it was interesting that when I queried Fangraphs' value leaders, there were VERY few guys who graded out positively in batting, base running, and fielding. And then, when I decided to drill down even further and include only players that grade out positive in all 3 areas and also play a premium position (C, 3B, 2B, CF, SS), the list got very short indeed.

This list is comprised only of qualified hitters for the 2012 season, so there could be sample size issues (it's tough to grade a guy's defensive prowess in only 1 season, let alone 2/3 of one season) and also the guy could be getting lucky with balls in play. Additionally, there might be guys battling injuries who would otherwise have made this list (Troy Tulowitzki and Evan Longoria come to mind).

Finally, a player's positional value is often determined by the team. For instance, Mike Trout can play, and has played, centre field very well. However, most of his outfield play has come at a corner position, and thus his positional value turns out to be negative. Otherwise, he's Mr.Well-Rounded 2012.

With all the caveats out of the way, here are the 2012 Well-Rounded leaders thus far (from best overall to worst overall):

1) David Wright--3B--He's a stud.
2) Austin Jackson--CF--He's really turning into an amazing player.
3) Michael Bourn--CF--I love this guy's game.
4) Elvis Andrus--SS--Only getting better.
5) Ian Desmond--SS--I'm curious to see whether the bat is for real.
6) Neil Walker--2B--Boy has he turned his season around.
7) Aaron Hill--2B--Kelly Johnson is negative in all 3 categories.
8) Ian Kinsler--2B--One of the game's best players in the aggregate, too.
9) Brandon Phillips--2B--Still doing it.
10) Brett Lawrie--3B--If his power grows accordingly, he could be a future superstar.
11) Denard Span--CF--A good player at a tough position.
12) Omar Infante--2B--Should be a big improvement for the Tigers.
13) Pedro Alvarez--3B--Amazing how close this guy was to being a bust.
14) Jason Kipnis--2B--Slowing down from his torrid start, but he brings it in a lot of ways.
15) Colby Rasmus--CF--Another case of if the power is real, he could be a star.
16) Shane Victorino--CF--His bat has really regressed, so he barely squeaks in.

A quick look at this list shows a lot of younger guys. With youth, often comes speed, and typically good defense follows as well. Younger guys usually can play the more demanding positions and stay healthy, whereas the older guys start to break down because of the wear-and-tear.

Normally you'd expect there to be more 3B, a similar number of 2B and CF, few SS, and maybe 1 C. The 2B boom is obvious when you look at this list. Missing from it, conspicuously, are Robinson Cano (subpar base runner so far this season) and Dustin Pedroia (having a terrible season at the plate thanks to a bad thumb injury). Second base seems to be providing a lot more pop at the plate, and it'll be interesting to see whether that continues to be the case or this is merely a fluky era for the position.

There are exactly ZERO catchers on this list. That's not surprising given the demands of the position defensively, but I was still surprised that none of Mauer/Posey/Wieters/Molina made it. Mauer basically bounces from slightly below to slightly above league average in defense and base running, and only once (2011) has he been positive in both areas. Oddly enough, that was by far his worst hitting season (it was still positive though). Posey/Wieters/Molina are all poor runners, which is the most common reason for a catcher not making such a list.