Andres Gimenez has a better career WAR than Tarik Skubal

Sébastien Berrouard
Andres Gimenez has a better career WAR than Tarik Skubal
Credit: Newsweek

Baseball is probably the most stats-based of all sports. And that's what allows new discoveries to surface all the time.

Like the one we're presenting today. Tarik Skubal is arguably the best pitcher in Major League Baseball, having won back-to-back American League Cy Young titles. And the worst (or best) part is that he hasn't reached his full potential.

And now MLB has found a way to make a Toronto Blue Jays player look even better than Skubal. Using the bWAR statistic, Baseball Reference's WAR value, the Manfred Tour has ranked the top players in this category who made their debut specifically in 2020.

The winner? Andres Gimenez. Yes, yes, good old André from the Jays.

Admittedly, this may be the only stat that suggests Gimenez is better than the Detroit Tigers pitcher, who didn't stand out from the crowd before he hatched in 2024.

Because apart from his 2022 season when he represented the Cleveland Guardians at the All-Star Game, Gimenez wasn't an outstanding player on the offensive side of the ball. In fact, his career OPS+ of 96 makes us think he's slightly below average, as does his batting average of .253.

What makes him such a valued player in bWAR is his defensive play, his three consecutive Gold Gloves, and defensive stats driving up his value in this particular category. The fact that Gimenez's Blue Jays teammate, Daulton Varsho, is tied with Skubal on the same list shows just how much importance bWAR places on defense.

The fact remains: Gimenez is a below-average hitter and Skubal is an extraordinary pitcher.

This content was created with the help of AI.

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