Fangraphs has published their annual reminder to everyone that Ryan Zimmerman is one of the best players in baseball and nobody realizes it because he plays for the Washington Nationals. Because Fangraphs is smart, I have also adopted the opinion that Ryan Zimmerman is one of the best players in baseball and nobody realizes it because he plays for the Washington Nationals.
This time, the impetus for the article was because none of these 30 men picked Zimmerman in their "Franchise Player Draft." In fact, three of Zimmerman's teammates -- Bryce Harper (ninth by Eric Karabell), Stephen Strasburg (22nd by Kevin Goldstein) and Wilson Ramos (30th by Doug Glanville, which is crazy) -- were selected over him. This is nuts, and my only response is to quote Dave Cameron from the Fangraphs piece.
Really, though, what else could Zimmerman do to get noticed? I'm not the first person to mention this, but if you like Evan Longoria, you should like Zimmerman, because they're the exact same player.
Longoria, 2009-2011: .284/.367/.510, 134 wRC+, +36.3 UZR, +16.6 WAR
Zimmerman, 2009-2011: .300/.378/.518, 137 wRC+, +28.8 UZR, +15.1 WARThe gap in value is entirely the result of Longoria getting more playing time this year due a shorter DL stint, but they're essentially twins.
Preach!