Is Evan Longoria the Most Valuable Asset in All of Baseball?

Few players have ridden a faster rocket to baseball fame than Evan Longoria. He was a near-household name before playing a major league game, he earned a long-term contract six days into his big league career and his All-Star worthy play has helped lift the Rays to the best record in baseball. Pretty good for the first chapter in a career and certainly a guy worth watching.

According to Dave Cameron at Fangraphs, he's a lot more than that. He's the single most valuable asset in all of baseball.

Yes, I know, he only has a half season of major league experience, and we have to be careful drawing too many conclusions from sample sizes that don't include more than 300 major league at-bats. However, the value of his abilities is so great, and his contract is so ridiculously awesome for Tampa, that the positives more than outweigh the negatives and make him the guy I wouldn't trade for any other one player in the game.

Longoria is signed through the age of 31 for a total payout of about $50 million. That's a superstar at rock bottom prices which makes it hard to imagine trading him for any other player, no matter how talented. I'd agree with Cameron, then, about Longoria's lofty status. Beyond that, unless another player with his skills signs such a team-friendly contract, Longoria should continue to be the top asset for some time to come.