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Daniel Murphy is coming off a near-career year in 2014. A first-time All-Star, Murphy's 2.8 fWAR and 110 wRC+ were the second-best full-season marks, and he hit at least 37 doubles for the fourth time in five seasons. He also set set career highs with a 28.2 percent line drive rate and an .866 OPS with runners in scoring position. By fWAR, he was the team's third most valuable position player.
A closer look at the numbers, though, reveals it was an all-in-all a pretty typical Daniel Murphy season. During his time in Queens, Murphy has been a model of above-average consistency, with amazingly little variance in production:
| G | fWAR | OPS | BB% | K% | Contact% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 155 | 1.0 | .740 | 6.80% | 12.40% | 87.90% |
| 2011 | 109 | 2.8 | .800 | 5.70% | 9.90% | 89.80% |
| 2012 | 156 | 1.3 | .735 | 5.90% | 13.40% | 88.30% |
| 2013 | 161 | 3.0 | .734 | 4.60% | 13.60% | 88.50% |
| 2014 | 143 | 2.8 | .735 | 6.10% | 13.40% | 88.20% |
His power will never overwhelm—as evidenced by his career .130 ISO—but he has never had fewer than 46 extra-base hits in a full season. If there is a red flag, other than his poor second half in 2014, it's Murphy's decline in production at Citi Field.
Despite these increased struggles at home, Murphy, who will turn 30 on April 1, continues to be a steady, above-average player. It looks very much like his season will be delayed by a hamstring injury, but once he gets back, it's fair to expect more of the same from Murphy.