Through Sunday, the Amercian League SLG was .398. In an effort to prove that two weeks is too small a sample to determine it is down from previous years, the next three days of the season saw the AL SLG increase to .402.
That aside, I spent the past few days looking over the rosters in my AL-Only league in an effort to see if I can improve the power in my infield. Right now, I have Kevin Youkilis, Erick Ayabr, Jhonny Peralta, Alberto Callaspo, Alberto Gonzalez and Joe Inglett occupying the six infield slots. I don't believe one needs to be very versed in the past production of those six to conclude there is room for upgrades.
Strangely, I didn't see any other teams whose infields were so much better that I'd conclude they had extra power to deal and would be good candidates to approach about a trade. This was actually the precipating factor that lead me to look at the AL SLG earlier this week and see how bad things were.
For a reason that escapes me right now, I decided to look at the SS postion in the American League. Another shock awaited me! My very own Jhonny Peralta was far and away the most powerful SS in the AL. Vying for 2nd is Derek Jeter, Edgar Renteria, Michael Young and Bobby Crosby! There's a chance Peralta could double the HR output of the next highest SS.
Maybe I am in better shape power-wise than I had thought. After all, I have two "quality" catchers in Joe Mauer and Ivan Rodriguez and the top power option at SS in Peralta. Oddly, I'm no longer convinced the most scarce postion in AL-Only leagues isn't catcher but shortstop.
Top AL Catchers: Victor Martinez, Jorge Posada, Jason Varitek, Ivan Rodriguez, Joe Mauer, AJ Pierzynski, Mike Napolis, Kenji Johjima
Top AL Shortstops: Jhonny Peralta, Derek Jeter, Edgar Renteria, Michael Young, Julio Lugo, Dave Eckstein, Jason Bartlett, Orlando Cabrera
Do you agree?