St. Louis Cardinals’ 2015 Top Prospects

AA Springfield Cardinals – C Mike Ohlman

Feb 21, 2015; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals manager

(right) talks with catcher Michael Ohlman (left) during practice drills at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

This was another tough one, there were really two great offensive stars on this team that had great years. When I was doing my homework last week for this post, I initially had chosen Charlie Tilson who finished the season with 46 stolen bases.

However, upon further review of the whole range of statistics, it is clear to me that Mike Ohlman had the better year. No, Ohlman didn’t have a jump off the page statistic like Tilson’s 46 SB.

Ohlman, instead finished with the better slash at .273/.356/.418 and a lower BABIP than Tilson (.313 vs.333). The important thing here, is that Ohlman had 173 less AB than Tilson and he had eight more home runs, three less doubles, and the same amount of walks as Tilson. Ohlman also finished with 37 more RBI than Tilson.

The best stat that stands to be the difference between the two players is a stat that is gaining in popularity as being a really keen stat in measuring the value of a player, that is wRC+ (Weighted Runs Created per AB. Park and league adjusted). Ohlman’s wRC+ is 118 and Tilson’s is 107, which points to Tilson being closer to an average player and Ohlman being a more above average offensive performer.