Players I Think Are Good Despite the Evidence

These guys have a special place in my heart.

They say love is blind. They say you don’t choose who you fall in love with.

Those cliches hold up when it comes to my infatuation with a group of players I believe are good and underrated, even if the evidence — their statistics — say otherwise.

This is a running list. I’ll probably post a short article every time I add someone, but this is where we stand right now. We’ll start with five.

Johan Oviedo - SP - Boston Red Sox

Oviedo has a career 4.29 ERA in 82 games. He’s been worth 3 WAR across six seasons. The 28 year old has made 67 starts and 15 relief appearances. Cardinals fans would call him lousy. Pirates fans would call him solid. Red Sox fans want nothing to do with him.*

I call him underrated.

*Oviedo appeared in one game for the Red Sox this season, giving up four runs in 3.2 innings. He’s currently on the 60-day IL.

But I don’t really know why. I’ve just always liked him, especially when he was in Pittsburgh. Oviedo has never been a huge strikeout guy but he does get his ground balls. When healthy, I’d love to see him get another chance in the rotation. He’s only 28 after all.

Joey Lucchesi - SP - Los Angeles Angels (minors)

Man, I’ve been a Lucchesi fan since his rookie season in 2018. He burst onto the scene with the San Diego Padres, striking out 7, 8, and 9 batters in his second, third, and fourth starts, respectively. He finished the year with 145 strikeouts in 130 innings. He followed that up with another strong performance in 2019.

Then it went downhill and he dealt with injuries and new teams. He bounced from the Padres, to the Mets, to the Giants, to the Angels. He pitched three games with Los Angeles this year before being designated for assignment, though the team re-signed him to a minor-league pact.

I’m still a believer.

Connor Joe - OF - Seattle Mariners

I will go to my grave screaming that Connor Joe is absurdly underrated. He’s a perfectly solid and reliable bench player who could easily fill in as a starter if someone goes down with injury.

He’s 33 now, but he has a career 94 OPS+, a strong .333 on-base percentage, and enough power (35 home runs and 86 doubles) to be a trustworthy player.

Joe, currently with the Mariners, is one of those annoying, pesky players who always seems to come through in a big spot, leaving you wondering how the hell that just happened.

I love Connor Joe.

Jose Miranda - 1B - San Diego Padres (minors)

Did you know that Jose Miranda slashed .304/.385/.522 with a pair of home runs in spring training? I sure did.

He’s currently striking out and refusing to take a walk in the minors, but let’s not dwell on that.

Miranda’s OPS+ by year:

2022: 114 in 125 games

2023: 55 in 40 games

2024: 112 in 121 games

2025: 13 in 12 games

Clearly he just needs to play 120+ games to be good! He’s still young, too.

MJ Melendez - OF/C - New York Mets

MJ Melendez is rocking a 185 OPS+ right now so give me all the props in the world!

In reality, Melendez has never been a good player. He owns a -1.1 career WAR and has never posted an OPS+ above league average. But I can’t quit the man.

He has great power — 51 home runs and 73 doubles in his first three seasons. But his problem is making contact. To be frank — he can’t. From 2022 to 2024, Melendez struck out 414 times. Only 28 players whiffed more during that span. He’s already been set down on strikes eight times in 16 plate appearances with the Mets.

And yet, I find myself on his bandwagon. Again, I have no idea why.