Utley rises this high on a fantastic peak, combining middle-of-the-order hitting on a winning team with terrific defense as the unrewarded most valuable player of this era of Phillies. Infield mates Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard have won awards while Utley was the best of them all. Joe Morgan did this dance before finally getting his due. It remains to be seen if Utley will.
The question becomes whether Utley's struggles with injuries the last two years are harbingers. To truly make a mark and become a top 200 or even top 100 player Utley must add some bulk to his numbers. That's going to take more resilience than he's shown thus far.
Utley has earned 136.53 ratings points through 2010.
Utley's stats (through 2010): .293 average, 181 HR, .380 on-base, .512 slugging. posted by Shawn Weaver at 2:48 PM