It was the best shape of his life, it was the worst shape of his life. The spring of hope has arrived, and with it comes a fresh look at all the baseball players we missed over the winter of despair. Every player’s 2025 fortunes are currently a profound secret and mystery to us, but with the regular season officially beginning in mere weeks, it is only natural to try casting light on what swiftly approaches.
The MLB Infielders who are overrated and underrated heading into 2025
This is part two of my series highlighting players whose public perceptions require a shift. Following part one’s focus on outfielders, I will now analyze underrated and overrated infielders. In my analyses, I will be using a project of mine called LASR (League-Adjusted Standardized Rating) which places all stats onto the same 20-80 scouting scale based on league qualifiers (all data is sourced from FanGraphs).
Underrated: Jordan Westburg
The Baltimore Orioles have ascended into contention in recent years thanks mainly to their bountiful crop of young hitters, with first overall draft picks Adley Rutschman and Jackson Holliday joining superstar Gunnar Henderson as the most prominent figures of the group. Quietly finding his place in the Orioles powerhouse, however, is another former first-round pick: third baseman Jordan Westburg.
In 2024, Westburg enjoyed a solid start to his first full season in the bigs, but unfortunately, he was unable to maintain that production. His results dropped steadily each month until a hand fracture at the end of July wiped out all but six games from that point forward. Still, he finished with 2.8 fWAR and a 125 wRC+ that was fourth among third basemen with at least 400 plate appearances.
Westburg showed above average power last year, and his Baseball Savant profile suggests there’s even more powder in the chamber. He is too aggressive at the plate, but he walked a lot more in the minors, so there’s hope for refinement there. His strikeout rate is at a manageable, league-average rate, and as a hopeful slugger, he could even sacrifice that a bit in exchange for more walks and home runs.
He may be primed to improve either way, as he underperformed his xwOBA, xAVG, and xSLG by at least 10 points each last year. Now that he’s got a full season under his belt, he’s better equipped to pace himself and avoid the second-half struggles. With Baltimore firmly in the middle of its contention window, Jordan Westburg should continue establishing himself as an essential force in the middle of their lineup.