Really, Beckett? Curtis Granderson?

First, no disrespect to the Curtis Granderson fans out there. And this isn't an anti-Yankees post.

I bought the October issue of Beckett today. Why? Ted from Crinkly Wrappers was kind enough to point out that I have been "published" again, this time as a Readers Write quote. JayBee Anama is also in there, but I don't recognize the full names of the others in there. Cool, I like being published!

But I figured, since I spent $10 buying the magazine, I should read through it. I don't buy Becketts every month because I just don't have the budget for that. So after checking out some prices, I skimmed backwards checking out the articles. On page 30 is the Market Watch, mentioning some of the players to, well, watch. Verlander's there, as is Brett Lawrie and Matt Moore. Curtis Granderson receives the other mention. Read what Brian Fleischer had to say about him:

He has arguably been the best hitter in baseball this season, hitting .275 with 32 home runs, 93 RBI and 22 stolen bases.

I'm not sure what constitutes being the best hitter in baseball. A .275 batting average doesn't put you in the top 50 (he's down to .271). He's up to 41 home runs, and that's good enough for second in MLB. He has 24 stolen bases now, tied for 24th "in baseball." He is leading the league in RBI with 119.

I'm not going to say he sucks. He's certainly better than average, and leading all of the major leagues in RBI shows he's providing run support one way or the other. But what about Alex Gonzalez and Miguel Cabrera? How about Ryan Braun? All three of those players are helping lead their team to the playoffs. Matt Kemp? Sure, the Dodgers aren't playoff material, which may negate him from the article, but he's batting .320, and has a chance at being the next 40-40 man (he's 6 homers away).

Maybe some of those players were featured in prior Market Watches. I'm not saying they should be featured here. But Curtis Granderson is the best hitter in baseball? I don't know about that. Mark Teixeira's got 37 home runs and 104 RBI, but he's certainly not the best hitter in baseball. He's batting .247. Which is my beef with Granderson. He's doing well at providing run support, but being the best hitter means getting hits, not just hitting home runs. And Granderson's batting only .252 with runners in scoring position. I'd take Ryan Braun over Curtis Granderson as the best hitter in baseball this season. He may have a few less home runs and a few less RBIs, but he's got more stolen bases, and more important, he has a higher average. Which means when he's not going yard he's getting on base and moving into scoring position to manufacture runs later in the inning.

So, really, Beckett? Curtis Granderson? He may be worth investing in right now (if his cards haven't risen in value in the past month), but he isn't the best hitter in baseball.