While you might not look at Dustin Pedroia and immediately think ¡°Hall of Famer,¡± the former Red Sox star has a better case for Cooperstown than you might realize. Interestingly, he has a pretty close comp in another Boston second baseman who is already in the Hall of Fame.

Here¡¯s a look at six reasons why Pedroia deserves serious consideration for a plaque in Cooperstown.

He was more valuable by WAR than several Hall of Famers

And that¡¯s both in terms of overall wins above replacement and WAR per 162 games -- in other words, Pedroia wasn¡¯t an ¡°accumulator.¡± His career Baseball Reference WAR of 51.9 is higher than many players who are already in the Hall, including:

Lou Brock
Orlando Cepeda
Gil Hodges
Ralph Kiner
Chuck Klein
Dave Parker
Jim Rice
Ted Simmons

Pedroia¡¯s bWAR per 162 games was 5.6, well above that of the average Hall of Fame second baseman (5.1).

Among Hall of Famers at the keystone position, he fits right in

Speaking of Hall of Fame second basemen, according to Jay Jaffe¡¯s JAWS, which is a helpful tool in evaluating Hall of Fame worthiness, there are 18 second basemen in MLB history ranked above Pedroia (46.5). All but five -- Robinson Can¨® (not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration), Bobby Grich, Chase Utley (currently on the ballot), Lou Whitaker and Willie Randolph -- are Hall of Famers. Not only that, but there are also seven second basemen below Pedroia on the list that are in.

He was one of the best second basemen of his generation

From 2007-17, spanning the first full season of Pedroia¡¯s career to his last (before injuries limited him to just nine games over the final two seasons of his career), only one second baseman produced a higher bWAR than his 53.3 (Can¨®, 60.5). Pedroia also helped Boston win a pair of World Series titles over that span, in 2007 and '13.

Pedroia was the 2007 American League Rookie of the Year and the 2008 AL MVP, joining Cal Ripken Jr., Ryan Howard and Kris Bryant as the only players to be named Rookie of the Year and MVP in back-to-back seasons (Fred Lynn and Ichiro Suzuki are the only players to win Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in the same season).

Over the six-season span from 2008-13, Pedroia led all second basemen in bWAR (34.9). It¡¯s hard not to seriously consider a player who was the best at his position for that length of time for the Hall of Fame.

His defense was Hall of Fame-worthy

In the 21st century, no second baseman has won more Gold Glove Awards than Pedroia¡¯s four -- two others also won four: Orlando Hudson and Brandon Phillips.

Much of Pedroia¡¯s value came from his tremendous defense at the keystone position. The very definition of a ¡°scrappy¡± player, much of that reputation came from his diving plays on the right side of the infield and up the middle.

From 2007-17, Pedroia easily led all second basemen with 102 defensive runs saved. Only five players in all of baseball had more DRS over that span, regardless of position.

In the past 25 seasons, only Chase Utley had a higher ultimate zone rating (90.1) among second basemen than Pedroia¡¯s 87.5.

A Hall of Fame comp? Look no further than another Red Sox second baseman

Bobby Doerr, like Pedroia, spent 14 seasons as a second baseman for the Red Sox. While he played in more games than Pedroia -- who was injured for much of the final three seasons of his career with a knee injury that eventually required a partial replacement -- Doerr finished with remarkably similar numbers from 1937-51.

Pedroia: 14 seasons, .299/.365/.439, 113 OPS+, 51.9 bWAR (5.6/162), 46.5 JAWS

Doerr (HOF): 14 seasons, .288/.362/.461, 115 OPS+, 51.4 bWAR (4.5/162), 44.1 JAWS

Is Jose Altuve a Hall of Famer?

While he has more individual accolades, Altuve is a very similar player to Pedroia, at least according to JAWS. And if Altuve would be a Hall of Famer if he hung up his spikes today, there's a strong argument that Pedroia should be, as well.

Pedroia¡¯s 46.5 JAWS score is just ahead of Altuve¡¯s 46.3. Pedroia¡¯s career bWAR of 51.9 is just behind Altuve¡¯s 52.8. And his peak-7 bWAR (the bWAR from his seven best seasons combined) of 41 is just ahead of Altuve¡¯s 39.8.

When asked who he looked up to while in the Minor Leagues, Altuve mentioned Pedroia because of how hard he played and his relatively small physical stature, much like Altuve's.