Joey Votto: 6-WAR Player

In spite of the ridiculous scrutiny regarding his 2013 season, Joey Votto is one of the best hitters in baseball. He also has a large contract that begins in 2014. Big contracts have seemingly brought bad baseball voodoo to some of baseball’s best (injury to Pujols noted). As Votto begins his mega-deal, both ZiPS and Steamer show him declining by over a win in WAR in 2014.  Because of how good he has been for the last four years, I found this projected decline somewhat surprising. I decided to dive into the numbers and found some really interesting things.

Votto has had four straight years of excellence. Since 2010, he has the third-best WAR among position players (25.1), the second-best wRC+ (164), the second-best wOBA (418) and the best OBP (434). Votto is at least in the conversation as the best hitter in baseball over this four-year stretch. But for some more perspective, let’s look at his last four years in detail.

Year	AVG	OBP	SLG	BB%	ISO	BABIP	wRC+	wOBA	Def	WAR
2010	324	424	600	14%	276	361	172	438	-10.1	6.8
2011	309	416	531	15.3%	222	349	157	406	-5.2	6.5
2012	337	474	567	19.8%	230	404	178	438	-2.1	5.6
2013	305	435	491	18.6%	186	360	156	400	-10.1	6.2

Quite impressive. Votto has earned over six WAR every year except 2012, the year he injured his knee and played in only 111 games. He played many of those games injured as well. The only reasonable complaints are that Votto’s power dropped some in 2013, and his defense was poor (decent for a first baseman). The extent to which Votto’s knee surgery affected his power in 2013 remains to be seen, but it isn’t like his power numbers fell off a cliff.  So what do our beloved projection systems say about Votto’s age-30 season in 2014? They say he will be good but not quite as elite as he has been.

Projection System	AVG	OBP	SLG	BB%	ISO	BABIP	wRC+	wOBA	Def	WAR
ZiPS	289	416	506	17.5%	217	334	N/A (149 OPS+)	386	3	4.8
Steamer	296	424	507	17.8%	211	341	156	400	-9.7	5.0

The encouraging part for Reds fans is that both Steamer and ZiPS think Votto’s power will tick up a little. The hope is that Votto’s knee will be healed, and he will return to the doubles machine he once was, with a few more home runs as well. But Votto is also entering his age-30 season. His best power days may very well be behind him. Or maybe not. I’ll get to that shortly.

The other numbers are similar to the four previous years with one noticeable difference. Both projection systems predict Votto’s batting average to drop below 300 for the first time since his rookie season in 2008, where he struggled to a 297 average.  The cause of this decline in batting average is our old friend BABIP. ZiPS has Votto’s BABIP dropping to 334 even though Votto has averaged a 368.5 BABIP for the last four years. BABIP can fluctuate wildly from year to year,  but Votto has shown the ability to maintain a high BABIP throughout his career. We can expect him to do a little better than these projections. If every 10 points of BABIP equals about 0.3 in WAR, Votto is likely to gain between half a win and one full win.

But the equation 10 points of BABIP=0.3 WAR is with all other stats being equal. If Votto’s BABIP is higher than these projections, he is likely to also have some more extra-base hits, including a couple more home runs. This added power would raise his value even more. Both projection systems already have his power rising from last year. Votto could have a few years of solid power left, especially if his knee is fully healthy.

This puts Votto around six-WAR territory. The other important factor will be his defense. Votto’s defense was poor in 2013 compared to his previous two seasons. He was a top-five defensive first baseman in 2011 according to FanGraphs’ Def and would have been top-three in 2012 had he played enough games to qualify. To remain a six-WAR player, Votto will likely need to return to an above-average defensive first baseman. Steamer has his defense at about the same level as 2013. I do not believe ZiPS Def adjusts for position, but it appears they think he will be average to slightly above-average defensively for a first baseman.

The Reds have much bigger problems than their superstar first baseman. They lack the ability to get on base consistently. They have serious question marks in left field and center field. The reality is that the Reds are a borderline playoff team right now and need Votto to be an elite player to have a legitimate chance of returning to the postseason. After looking at the numbers and with the prospect of a fully healthy knee, It is easy to see Votto continuing his run of excellence.