By the Numbers: The truths behind position scarcity

With the trade deadline rapidly approaching in many leagues, it's a good time to revisit our notions of how much a player's position adds to or subtracts from his value.

Year in and year out, we can count on there being a dearth of highly productive middle infielders and catchers, while finding top producers in the outfield and at the infield corners is easier than finding a summer blockbuster at the multiplex. This distribution of talent makes superstars out of players like Hanley Ramirez and Brian McCann, while power threats like Prince Fielder and Nick Swisher, by virtue of their positions, get lost in the crowd.

Using Runs Created per 27 Outs (RC/27) as a catch-all offensive metric, we can gauge whether those stereotypes about position scarcity have held true through the first three-quarters of the 2010 season. For those unfamiliar with the measure, RC/27 is an estimate of how many runs a lineup would score if it consisted of nine duplicate versions of a particular player. For example, Justin Morneau compiled an RC/27 of 10.8 before heading to the DL with a concussion over a month ago. This stat tells us that a lineup that featured Morneau in spots 1 through 9 -- or players with his identical numbers -- would have averaged 10.8 runs per game. If that sounds like an outlandish amount of offense, it is, and Morneau leads all major leaguers with at least 325 plate appearances this year in RC/27.

Follow us on ...

Get the latest news and analysis from the most informed Fantasy staff in the industry by following us on Twitter and Facebook. @cbsfantasynews facebook.com/cbssportsfantasy

Using RC/27 as a yardstick helps us to evaluate the per-game production of players like Morneau who have missed substantial time this season. While Morneau's shaky health status severely hurts his trade value, other players -- such as Troy Tulowitzki and Andre Ethier -- are undervalued in typical Fantasy rankings due to lost time, yet both retain significant trade value.

Taking your first look at the graph below, you will notice that the distance among players in RC/27 varies greatly from position to position. The distribution of data points clearly confirms one of our long- held beliefs about position scarcity: there are a small number of catchers and shortstops who stand out from the crowd, making them among the most valuable commodities in Fantasy. While McCann, Joe Mauer and Troy Tulowitzki are not the biggest producers in Fantasy, the production that they provide at their respective positions is harder to replace than, say, Carlos Gonzalez's. The only real surprises at these positions are the absences of Victor Martinez and Hanley Ramirez among the upper echelon and the comeback season of Rafael Furcal, which has recently been derailed by a tight back.

The pecking order at the other positions hold a lot more surprises in store. The most noticeable outlier is Josh Hamilton, whose production level puts him light-years ahead of the outfield pack. Despite playing at a power-laden position, Hamilton's dominance among outfielders is putting him on pace to be this year's Fantasy MVP. After Hamilton comes a large cluster of potent bats, as there are 22 outfielders who have registered RC/27s of 6.0 or higher. Even considering the fact that this includes players from all three outfield positions, there is a much greater wealth of offensive production among outfielders than at any other position beside first base, as one would expect.

Unlike the outfield position, there is a much clearer delineation between the elite and the rank and file among first basemen. With Kevin Youkilis out for the season and Morneau on the shelf indefinitely, the ranks of the elite at first base are down to four players: Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Albert Pujols and Paul Konerko. Owners already know that they need to be overwhelmed to deal a stellar talent like Cabrera or Pujols, but Votto and Konerko will be just as difficult to replace. Both have been steady sources of power all season and neither is boosting his home run total with an aberrant flyball rate.

It seems like eons ago that Alex Rodriguez was considered to be head-and-shoulders above the field of third basemen, but just this past March, he was among the first five players taken in the average league. A-Rod currently ranks eighth in RC/27 among a cohort of third basemen that lacks a true standout. As good as Ryan Zimmerman, Scott Rolen and Adrian Beltre have been, you could deal them to upgrade at another position and still not take a sizable hit at the hot corner if you're able to plug in a mid-range option like Mark Reynolds or Casey McGehee.

While second base hasn't often been a place to find a variety of high-octane options, there is actually less scarcity of good hitting at the keystone than at third base. There are currently five third basemen with an RC/27 of 6.0 or higher, while seven second basemen are clearing that threshold - - and that's with Chase Utley (6.8 RC/27) not having enough plate appearances to qualify for these rankings. Things were confusing enough on Draft Day, trying to sort out how to rank Robinson Cano, Ian Kinsler and Dustin Pedroia, but Dan Uggla, Rickie Weeks, Kelly Johnson and Martin Prado have taken a collective step forward. Not only does the crowd at the top of the second base hierarchy make for some difficult choices on Draft Day 2011, but in the shorter term, it makes them more valuable. The dropoff from the top tier to middle-of-the-pack alternatives like Howard Kendrick and Jeff Keppinger is pretty steep, so think twice before dealing any of the better second basemen.

So while much of our perception of player scarcity doesn't need to change, a few surprises that have unfolded over the course of this season have implications for owners, whether they are working the trade market, sizing up keepers, or getting a head start on next year. Despite the ever- present injury risks, Hamilton is now the hands-down best player of any trade he becomes a part of. Mauer, despite a down year by his standards, is still the pick of an ever-thin catching crop. Hanley Ramirez and Victor Martinez are overdue for rebounds, but both have fallen far enough that neither can be considered as valuable as they once were. Finally, if you're looking for a trade deadline upgrade, third base has become a much better position than first base for trading down in order to improve at another position.

Stay in touch with the most passionate Fantasy staff in the business by following us via Twitter . You can e-mail us your Fantasy Baseball questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com . Be sure to put By the Numbers in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state.