Quote:
Originally Posted by Damian Rey
Donaldson
295/352/529/143
Avg/obp/slg/ops+
Machado
302/357/527/144
Per baseball reference, Machado has 17 defensive runs saved to Donaldson's 8. Donaldson is 4.3 bwar to Machado's 4.5.
So, homer Droford isn't right. But saying "it isn't close" is, ironically, not close. They're about as even as it gets offensively with Machado having the better glove.
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Donaldson is also about 6 years older. He's 29, Manny turned 23 today.
Quote:
Machado also ranks in the top 10 among all major leaguers before their 23rd birthday since his debut in 2012, according to STATS. He's second in doubles behind the Angels' Mike Trout (99) and ranks third in hits, home runs, RBIs and runs. He's also sixth in steals and ninth in average.
Dan Hirsch, creator of TheBaseballGauge.com, provided the following list of "Most WAR by a third baseman through their age 22 season":
1. Eddie Mathews 18.5
2. Manny Machado 15.0
3. John McGraw 15.0
4. Buddy Lewis 12.6
5. Freddie Lindstrom 12.5
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Keep in mind that includes the fact he missed 1/2 of last year with his 2nd knee injury. He'd probably have even better stats had he not gotten hurt last year (ignoring the first injury he had at the end of 2013 when he only missed like 3 games).
I don't see Donaldson's name on that list, because he didn't even make it to the majors full time until he was 26.