After Tommy Edman played a critical role in securing a division title for the St. Louis Cardinals during his rookie 2019 campaign, there were reasons for fans to be excited about the young utility player. In 92 games, the 24 year old had a 124 wRC+ and .357 wOBA along with 11 OAA across four different positions and a 3.9 fWAR. Three years later however, it seems as though he hasn’t panned out…or has he? Despite having a 97 wRC+ and .303 wOBA in 2022, Edman has a 3.7 fWAR in 107 games, very similar to the 3.9 fWAR in 92 games he had in 2019. To put how valuable Edman has been in 2022 into perspective, Tommy Edman’s 3.7 fWAR is ranked 16th in all of baseball and is the only player in the top 35 in fWAR to have a wRC+ under 100. One may wonder how an average at best hitter can be so valuable, but taking a deeper look into Edman’s numbers show it’s a combination of elite defense and base running that has propelled him to being the unsung hero of the Saint Louis Cardinals.

utility

Throughout 2022, Tommy Edman has mainly split time between second base and shortstop. Edman has managed to be an elite defender at both positions as he has 6 OAA which ranks 4th among all second basemen and 10 OAA at short which ranks 3rd among all shortstops. That in itself is very impressive, but considering the amount of innings Edman has played at each position compared to the other top defensive second basemen and shortstops, it puts into perspective just how elite Edman’s is defensively. Edman is the only second basemen in the top ten in OAA with less than 500 innings played with 475.2 innings and the only shortstop in the top ten in OAA with less than 720 innings played at 405 innings. Edman is one of two shortstops to be in the top ten in DRS, UZR, and OAA at the position, the other being Ha-seong Kim, who has played nearly 300 more innings at short than Edman.

Second base

As for second base, he is one of three second basemen to be top ten in DRS, UZR, and OAA at the position. The other three players all have played considerably more innings played at second. Lastly, Edman has played 880.1 innings between short and second. With the current pace he has been on, if he had spent those 880 innings at just shortstop or second base, he would have 22 OAA and 13 DRS at shortstop and 11 OAA and 20 DRS at second. Edman has been able to not only put up arguably the best defensive numbers at short, but also be a top 3 defensive second basemen in the same season.

base running

The other part of Edman’s game that has resulted in his 3.7 fWAR is the fact that Edman is the best base running in all of Major League Baseball, and it isn’t even close. To start off Edman’s sprint speed is in the 86th percentile which is reflected in the fact that Edman is third in the league in stolen bases at 23 which only being caught three times. This makes for a very impressive successful stolen base percentage of 88%. That however, is just the tip of the iceberg as to how elite Edman is on the base paths. Edman leads all of MLB with a 4.9 UBR, 2.9 wSB, and a 7.5 BsR. Additionally, even though his wGDP is slightly below average at -0.3, his BsR is still a whole run higher than second Marcus Semien, who has the second highest BsR at 6.5. Edman’s ability to steal bases and advance to an extra base has allowed him to contribute to more runs being scored than anyone else in baseball. This has resulted in Edman simply being the best base runner in 2022, and there is no denying it.

How valuable is edman?

As stated at the beginning of this article, Edman’s offensive numbers are right around league average as he has a 97 wRC+ and a .303 wOBA. Despite his average offensive production, the fact of the matter is Edman doesn't need to be anymore more than average offensively to be a productive player. While most players in the league rely on what they can do at the plate for their productivity, offense isn’t the only way a player can be valuable to a team. Edman likely won’t ever be the guy you want at the plate in a high leverage situation or lead the league in Barrel%, but he will help his team win in different ways. Edman will go out there and play some of the best defense in the league at two positions, while also stealing and taking extra bases on the base paths better than anyone in the game. Tommy Edman helps his team win, just not in the way most players do. What a player can do offensively will always be what’s most important, it’s hard to deny the value that comes from elite defense and base running, while still being average offensively out of the number nine hitter in the lineup.