Batting Runs Above Average (BRAA) is a stat that’s tracked at FanGraphs.com. It’s the difference in run expectancy between the start of a play and the end of the play. That difference is then credited/debited to the batter and the pitcher. And, over the course of the season, each players’ BRAA for individual plays is then added up to get his season total BRAA. (For more behind how BRAA works, click here.) I thought it would be interesting to look at the Yankees, in terms of their BRAA. Here are the numbers that I found on FanGraphs.com this morning:

The Batters:

Player		G        BRAA
Damon		32	 7.1
Abreu		33	 6.2
Matsui		31	 5.5
Jeter		28	 4.5
Moeller		 8	 1.7
Posada		18	 1.5
Cabrera		32	 0.7
Duncan		 8	-0.4
Stewart		 1	-0.6
Gonzalez		11	-1.0
Betemit		 7	-1.3
Rodriguez		24	-2.2
Molina		20	-4.9
Ensberg		17	-5.8
Giambi		27	-5.9
Cano		33	-16.4

Team		         -11.1

The Starting Rotation:

Pitcher		GS       BRAA
Wang		7	 9.1
Mussina		7	 2.4
Pettitte		7	 2.1
Rasner		1	 1.3
Bruney		1	 1.1
Kennedy		5	-8.0
Hughes		6	-9.8

All Starters		-1.7

The Bullpen:

Pitcher		G        BRAA
Rivera		12	 6.9
Chamberlain	12	 3.4
Ramirez		 4	 2.1
Britton		 1	 1.8
Farnsworth	15	 1.2
Veras		 2	 1.1
Bruney		 8	 0.8
Kennedy		 1	-0.4
Hawkins		14	-0.5
Traber		11	-0.7
Albaladejo	 5	-1.1
Ohlendorf		11	-2.4

Entire Pen		12.2

So, who have been the Yankees MVPs so far this season? According to BRAA, it’s been Wang, Damon and Rivera. See the list below:

Player	         BRAA
Wang		9.1
Damon		7.1
Rivera		6.9
Abreu		6.2
Matsui		5.5
Jeter		4.5
Chamberlain	3.4

And, who has hurt the Yankees the most, so far, this season? According to BRAA, it’s been Cano, Hughes, Kennedy, and Giambi. See the list below:

Player	          BRAA
Cano		-16.4
Hughes		-9.8
Kennedy		-8.0
Giambi		-5.9
Ensberg		-5.8
Molina		-4.9
Ohlendorf		-2.4
Rodriguez	 	-2.2
Albaladejo	-1.1

So, Wang is the Yankees MVP so far this season and Cano is their least valuable player – no shocks there, huh?

But, what’s also interesting within these lists are some of the other player’s BRAA totals. For instance:

On the batters: I would have thought Matsui would have been ahead of Damon and Abreu – but, he’s not. And, see the BRAA totals for Molina and Ensberg. They’re killing the Yankees when they play. Yes, the Yankees miss Posada! And, A-Rod? Well, according to his BRAA total, he was not playing well before he got hurt. Also, note Melky Cabrera’s BRAA total – like Matsui, I would have pegged him to be higher…before seeing the numbers.

The starting pitchers: How many would have thought that, coming into this season, Mussina would be just as valuable as Pettitte? Not me. On the whole, if you take out Hughes and Kennedy – who have been beyond terrible in terms of BRAA – the Yankees rotation looks good, so far.

The bullpen: As a unit, the BRAA numbers here look solid. Even those in the red are not deep into the red – as deep as Hughes and Kennedy are for the starters. I thought, coming into this season, that the Yankees pen would be a weak link for the team. So far, that’s not been the case.

It will be interesting to look at the Yankees BRAA totals again – say, in about six weeks, to see if there are any changes in the leaders and trailers.