Mastersball

How valuable are your Fantasy players in the real world? The sabermetric statistic known as "Wins Above Replacement" (WAR) gives us a glimpse into the real value of players on the field. As we've discussed before, it is a single number that represents the number of wins the player added to their team above what a replacement player would add. The Baseball Reference website indicated that this is the scale for a single season: 8+ MVP Quality, 5+ All-Star Quality, 2+ Starter, 0-2 Reserve.

As we head into the final two months of the season, let's look at the top ten for 2012 and add some information about their baseball cards.

#1) Mike Trout, Angels OF, 6.2 WAR - This young phenom has been off-the-charts and is actually the most valuable MLB player so far in 2012, even though he didn't get called up to the "Show" until April 28th. His baseball cards are on fire and a recent sale of a limited run (numbered to 10) autograph card sold on eBay for over $1,000. His rookie card can be found in 2009 Bowman products.

#2) Andrew McCutchen, Pirates OF, 5.4 WAR - Maybe the most under-rated of the young stars in baseball, he's having a MVP-type season. His rookie cards are underpriced and can be found in a number of 2005 & 2006 products.

#3) David Wright, Mets 3B, 5.3 WAR - Has made an "amazing" turnaround in his career. He was one of the hottest commodities when his rookie cards came out in 2002 and then seemed to regress due to injuries and park effects in NY. Now back on the front-burner, his base Bowman card from 2002 books for $10-$15.

#4) Justin Verlander, Tigers P, 5.0 WAR - A well known quantity with the 2011 Cy Young & MVP awards on his mantle, he's probably the most dominant Pitcher around. His basic rookie cards from 2005 book $10-$20 and are very popular. With that being said, Kate Upton rookie cards are even more scarce.

#5) Jordan Zimmerman, Nationals P, 4.9 WAR - Completely under the radar, as Stephen Strasburg gets all the hype, he was the Draft Pick the Nats got for letting Alfonso Soriano go as a free agent. An autographed rookie card of his from 2009 recently sold on eBay for $5.

#6) Robinson Cano, Yankees 2B, 4.7 WAR - Sometimes overlooked on a team full of stars, his consistency is incredible. His rookie cards are from 2003 and can still be had in the $10 range.

#7) Josh Reddick, Athletics OF, 4.6 WAR - Lost in the shuffle in Boston, he has 22 HR's with two months left in the season. You can still pick up his 2009 rookie cards for less than $5.

#8) Matt Holliday, Cardinals OF, 4.5 WAR - Another consistent player in a very good line-up. His rookie cards are from 1999 and are very reasonable...look for the Bowman Chrome version at less than $10.

#9) Joey Votto, Reds 1B, 4.5 WAR - Arguably, the best all-around hitter in the game, he'll be back from the DL for the stretch run. As with many players in smaller markets, his rookie cards are relatively inexpensive. The best choice would be the 2002 Bowman Chrome Draft issue at about $15 because most of the other companies didn't produce a card of his until 2006 or later.

#10) Chris Sale, White Sox Pitcher, 4.5 WAR - The Sox brain trust couldn't decide if he was a starter or reliever...or if he had an elbow problem or not...or if Hector Santiago should close ahead of Addison Reed. How's that for a microcosm of why we think we're smarter than real-world baseball executives. In the meantime, he's 12-3 with a 2.61 ERA in the AL! His 2011 rookie cards are less than $5.

Hope this list includes some of your Fantasy players...and down the stretch we come.

Thanks for reading.