The 2018-2019 Winnipeg Jets Reimagined: The NHL Meets MLB

When you think of Big Buff, you think of someone who strikes fear in the heart of opponents. You think someone who is stronger than damn near everyone else.

That’s Dustin Byfuglien to me. If you think fear in baseball, coupled with unreal strength, your mind immediately goes to Aaron Judge, does it not? I mean, I guess it could evoke memories of Giancarlo Stanton,  but whatever.

The two are incredibly similar. Judge is a bit better in the field, on the basepaths and with the plate disclipline, but it’s close either way.

Aaron Judge catches a lot of flak for his strikeouts. He does strike out quite a bit. I suppose you could equate that to Byfuglien’s shortcomings. Perhaps his lack of speed or propensity for taking stupid penalties belies his true ability.

Dustin Byfuglien is really good, not just a marauding “slugger” who can rip of a big slapshot or a bruising hit. Yes, he can do those things. And probably better than most, if not anyone else. But he’s fairly well-rounded.

He can score, defend, scare, and even pass. Aaron Judge doesn’t get enough credit for his elite hitting ability, solid defense and run the bases well. It also helps that both players are huge.

I mean, Tyler Myers fits better as a physical comp for Judge, but he’s nowhere near as good as Dustin Byfuglien. Byfuglien isn’t even as good as Judge, who is a top 5 or 10 player in baseball.

But it’s as good as we’re going to get. Two players with an elite skill and strength that sometimes makes people think they’re not as good as they really are. That’s both Aaron Judge and Dustin Byfuglien.

These two players stand out for one reason and one reason only: Speed. It thrills in this game, and these are two of the fastest.

Both Nikolaj Ehlers and Trea Turner are among the fastest players in their respective leagues. I’m not certain anyone considers them the fastest, however.

Turner is at fourth on the sprint-speed leaderboard for this season, currently. As an aside, I really wish the NHL had a Statcast equivalent.

Public access to stuff like skating speed, puck velocity and defensive route efficiency would really help revolutionize statistics for NHL fans and writers. I’m assuming the NHL front offices have access to that.

Either way, Ehlers is fast. He’s not the fastest, but he’s in the top 10, I believe. Turner too, obviously. But there’s a separator: Both Tuner and Ehlers are good. They have great tools with good production.

Not great production. Turner lacks elite power, but is a great hitter and uses his speed well. He’s also a solid defender. Nikolaj Ehlers? Lacks an elite shot. Still a good shot. He can be a very good scorer, pushing 30 goals, but he’ll never be someone who breaks 100 points.

Ehlers and Turner are both very good and valuable. They’re not elite superstars, however. And if Trea Turner ever develops more power, or Nikolaj Ehlers really turns his shot into a true snipe, they’ll be superstars.

I wouldn’t count on either one happening, but that doesn’t make either player any less valuable. Look, not everyone’s a superstar. It happens. But good players are good, simple as that.

Look, it makes sense to compare a goalie to a catcher. They both wear extra gear, they’re getting things launched at them at ridiculous speeds. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to be either one of them, but whatever.

Connor Hellebuyck was a solid prospect who had some decent time in the NHL. J.T. Realmuto is a catcher who had seen a little over three seasons before this one.

Both of them were decently regarded. Realmuto was already considered a solid catcher, however, whereas the jury was still out on Connor Hellebuyck.

That jury is out no longer. On either player. Both backstops put forth their best seasons in this most recent one. Yes, the MLB season is still in full swing. But halfway through, Realmuto has been the best catcher in the league.

He’s really turning it on. He leads all catchers in WAR (Wins above replacement) by a full win. A player with some experience blasting expectations and really performing well? Sounds like Hellebuyck.

Look, they don’t have a ‘best catcher’ award for MLB, so it’s hard to find an equivalent for the Vezina (Unless you want to use pitchers and the Cy Young award). But going from middle of the pack to top 5 with one huge season?

That sounds about as equatable as anything, to me. I’m not going to find things as stastically relevant, but this was a fun divergence from that battle. Maybe the next goalie should be matched with a pitcher.

You would think the elite shooting ability and overall stardom would make any easy call for Winnipeg’s biggest name, but it was a little more trying than you would think.

Look, without Patrik Laine‘s postseason, I doubt this happens. But this is less about physical ability and more about perception.

Bryce Harper has unreal power and is one of, if not the, most talented players in the major leagues. He put up one of the greatest seasons I’ve ever seen. But he’s been underwhelming otherwise.

His version of underwhelming is still good, but we know what he’s capable of and judge him accordingly. He plays second-fiddle, mostly to Mike Trout (who is Sidney Crosby, for fun).

Patrik Laine isn’t second-fiddle in the same way. Harper was a first overall pick, a generational talent when he was 15. Laine was drafted second overall to Auston Matthews. And he’s been very good.

Laine is a great scorer, one of the best in the league. For my money, he’s second to Alex Ovechkin. I doubt many would argue the fairness of that. But he’s always been seen as one-dimensional. That dimension is just so good, it’s hard for him to catch up to it.

Laine’s recent playoff performance also taints his public persona. Fair or not (it’s not), people remember those things. And yes, he struggled. There’s only one way to shake that perception.

It’s the same way Bryce Harper has a reputation as brash and lazy. His inability to perform at his highest level earned him that. His greatness for that season came at a price. People just seem to want to look down on these players.

They’re scapegoats.  But they’re really, really good. They’re superstars in every way of the word, and there’s times when they don’t play like it. Harper more than Laine. But now, these two are forever linked.

You’re going to have to stick with me on this one. One of them was a high draft pick. One of them received just a $50k bonus as an amateur. But they’re both really good, and underrated.

Jose Ramirez is attempting to ruin this comparison by turning into maybe the best player in the league (Yes, it’s still Trout, but damn is this dude doing his best).

After being adequate for a little bit, Ramirez blew the lid open and became one of the better players in the league.  And the next year he was even better.

And this year, he’s been as valuable as he was last year. In just 2/3 of the time. Look, I don’t anticipate Mark Scheifele is suddenly going to outproduce the entire league…but he could.

I mean, he’s already a point-per-game player.  And these two do things in the same way: by being  really good at everything. Is Jose Ramirez the best player in the league at anything? Defense, no. Hitting? Nope. Power and speed? Nah. But he’s pretty good at every one of them.

Scheifele is the same story. Good defender, shooter, passer. Solid speed. He can do it all. So can Ramirez. And when you can do it all, really well, it puts the whole package as one of the best players in the league.

Not to mention, without a “standout” tool, they’re both underrated. Mark Scheifele might be the best player on the Jets, but he’s never thought of as it. Jose Ramirez might be the best player on the Indians, but you’ll hear a lot of Francisco Lindor before you hear JRam.

But that’s okay. Each of these dudes seems content to just keep plugging away and being much better than anyone gives them credit for. It’s kinda nice.