There is a litany of ways to look at a season’s worth of statistics to glean useful information. One of these that is often overlooked are those players who performed admirably in somewhat limited playing time, whether it was due to injury, managerial decision-making or otherwise. The method I would like to use to dissect what is left of the 2011 season is Wins Above Replacement (according to fangraphs.com) per plate appearance. When you look at the top 30 in Major League Baseball on this leaderboard, you will come to see the usual suspects like Jose Bautista (3rd), Dustin Pedroia (7th), Troy Tulowitki (13th) and Joey Votto (22nd). Whether their WAR rankings are fueled mainly by offense, defense or a deft combination of both, you would be remiss if you didn’t expect these names to be somewhere near the top after the completion of every season in the near future. What I am trying to analyze by looking at these rankings is who had a surprisingly excellent season that may have flown under the radar, for whatever reason. When one looks at the leaderboards in the newspaper or online, they typically have a default setting. This default requires those on said leaderboard to have accumulated a certain number of plate appearances to qualify. For instance, the batting title, however antiquated, requires a player to have accumulated 3.1 plate appearances for every game his team has played in. For a 162 game season, this figure comes out to 502 plate appearances. Below are five players in the top 30 for WAR per plate appearance (with a minimum of 400 plate appearances) who didn’t qualify for the batting title, in ascending order: Chase Utley, Phillies, 2B (0.0086 WAR/PA) If you were to ask, most people would probably tell you that Utley had a down year. According to the lofty standard he had set for himself with his performance in recent years, that may be true. However, in a year in which he only played 103 games due to injuries, he was able to accumulate 3.9 WAR in essentially what was two thirds of a season. Utley has been the epitome of a two way player, maybe the best in the game, for the better part of the past decade. The 2011 season was disappointing, but not to the extent that most may have you believe. Utley has proven over time that if he is healthy, he is one of the best players in the game. Nyjer Morgan, Brewers, CF (0.00932 WAR/PA) The enigmatic Morgan has puzzled employers and opponents alike since he entered the league in 2007. A contact hitter with a career 6.4% walk rate, the bulk of his value stems from his speed, ability to play center field well and maintain a high batting average. Despite his lackluster walk rate, Morgan possesses a career on base percentage of .347. Not too shabby. He did not become a regular in the Brewer lineup until late May, but when he did, he stayed. Morgan put a stranglehold on the centerfield position and seemed to fit right in with the “us against the world” attitude that the Brewers have adopted. Of course, none of us really know what will come next for Tony Plush, as he is undoubtedly one of the most unpredictable players in the game. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees, 3B (0.00981 WAR/PA) Despite playing in less than 100 games for the first time in 15 seasons, Rodriguez accumulated enough WAR in his limited playing time to rank fourth among MLB third baseman. However, seeing as he is being paid to be the best at his position, year in and year out, it is hard to not call 2011 a disappointment for A-Rod. But if you can look past his salary, Rodriguez is still performing at a high level at the somewhat advanced (baseball playing) age of 36. If fully healthy, it is hard to gauge how he will perform in coming seasons, as there is no doubt the man can still hit. His numbers may not be other-worldly as they have been in the past, but there is a distinct possibility that he could still be one of the premier hitters in the game. Only his medical report is holding him back, it seems. Pablo Sandoval, Giants, 3B (0.01180 WAR/PA) Another third baseman who missed time due to injury, not much was expected out of Sandoval in 2011. However, he rebounded to post the best numbers of his career to date. While his offensive statistics are similar to his monster 2009 season, the big difference that is reflected in WAR is his stellar play at the hot corner. Both fangraphs and baseball-reference ranked Sandoval as the best fielding third baseman in baseball. The “best” is probably an overstatement of his fielding abilities and can be attributed to small sample size, but he was markedly better than he had been in prior years. Much of the success Sandoval had in 2011 has been attributed to his weight loss and, for the Giants’ sake, let’s hope that resonates with the Kung Fu Panda enough to keep up his offseason conditioning program. Mike Napoli, Rangers, C (0.01296 WAR/PA) Of players with at least 400 plate appearances, would you have guessed that Mike Napoli had the best slugging percentage of anyone in baseball? Yep, better than Jose Bautista, Miguel Cabrera and Ryan Braun, to name a few. The Rangers really scored a coup when they traded Frank Francisco for Napoli, straight up, in the offseason. Little did they know they would be acquiring one of the best power hitters of 2011. Playing time will always be an issue for Napoli going forward, as his defense behind the plate leaves plenty to be desired, but his ability to man first base and DH surely will increase his playing time in 2012. Being able to hang your hat on a 30 home run season with an accompanying 1.046 OPS will have that effect.