All-Stars, MVPs, Future Hall of Famers — putting together a power rankings of MLB’s top 25 players is no easy task.
Major League Baseball may have its fair share of problems regarding pace of play, attendance, and marketing, but there is certainly no shortage of star power in the game today. Not since the golden days of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Mantle have there been so many young stars around the league. Nearly every team around MLB has a bona fide superstar.
In putting together a list of the top 25 players in Major League Baseball, there will no doubt be some notable omissions — Madison Bumgarner, Adrian Beltre, Carlos Correa, Corey Kluber, Carlos Gonzalez all had very strong cases. An effort was made to consider players based on their merits at their individual positions — the best relievers get just as much consideration as the best starters because it is difficult to compare the value of contributions at different positions when both players are among the best in the league at what they do.
With that caveat established, here are the top 25 active players in MLB.
25. Zach Britton
RP, Baltimore Orioles
- Career Stats (As reliever): 1.35 ERA, 125 SV, .193 BAA, .504 OPS, 9.1 K/9, 0.3 HR/9, 0.943 WHIP
- Career Accolades: 2x All-Star, 2016 AL saves leader, Mariano Rivera award, 2nd-longest consecutive saves streak in MLB history
Entering the 2014 season, Zach Britton was on the verge of being designated for assignment by the Orioles. After a promising rookie season as a starter, Britton could not sustain success in the big leagues. A move to the bullpen was in order, and Britton and the Orioles discovered he had a rare ability to sink a baseball at 97 mph. There has been no looking back.
Britton certainly has some time to go before his career is on the same level as the great Mariano Rivera, but there are parallels between the two closers. Britton throws the same sinker over and over again, just as Rivera threw his cutter. It is next to impossible for hitters to get Britton’s fastball in the air.
Britton’s 2016 season will go down as one of the greatest seasons ever for a reliever. He finished the year with a 0.54 ERA, saved all 47 of his opportunities, and allowed only one home run while holding opponents to a .430 OPS. He has not looked as sharp in 27, but his BAbip will eventually stabilize.
24. Chris Sale
SP, Boston Red Sox
- Career Stats: 75-51, 2.97 ERA, 1,273 SO, 1.06 WHIP, 14 CG, 10.1 K/9
- Career Accolades: 5x All-Star, 4x top-five AL Cy Young
In his first season with the Red Sox, Chris Sale is pitching like a man possessed. Through his first three starts with the Sox, Sale is 1-1 with a 1.25 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 21.2 innings. In his most recent start against Tampa Bay, the left-hander struck out 12 in seven innings. The beginning of his career in Boston has been reminiscent of Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez.
Now, more than ever, the Red Sox need Sale to be at his best. Rick Porcello has not looked like Cy Young Porcello so far in 2017. David Price is still on the disabled list with an uncertain return date. The rest of the rotation can look very good one day, but struggle the next time out. The Red Sox gave up a ton to acquire Sale, but he looks more than worth it.
Sale has been in contention for the AL Cy Young for four straight years. He led MLB in 2015 with 11.8 strikeouts per nine. His stuff is so good that he could make a run at a 300-strikeout season, but Sale dialed it back last year and pitched to contact more often. That helped him lead the league with six complete games. Whether he chooses to hunt strikeouts or weak popups for the rest of the year, Sale should be one of the favorites for the Cy Young.
23. Daniel Murphy
2B, Washington Nationals
- Career Stats: .298/.341/.450, 1,171 hits, 281 2B, 89 HR
- Career Accolades: 2x All-Star, 2016 Silver Slugger, NL MVP runner-up, 2015 NLCS MVP
A year after emerging as a postseason hero for the New York Mets, Daniel Murphy found very little interest on the open market. He ended up signing with the Nationals as their third choice after missing out on Ben Zobrist and Brandon Phillips. After hitting .347/.390/.595 with 47 doubles, it goes without saying that the Nationals are more than happy that they missed out on their first two options at second base.
Murphy was always a phenomenal contact hitter with the Mets. Over the past two seasons, he has struck out only 95 times in over 1,000 at-bats. Murphy made a few tweaks to his swing in the second half of 2015, and his power has really opened up to all fields since. Last season, he batted .355 with runners in scoring position and drew 22 walks while striking out only 12 times. Like clockwork, he has already recorded 20 hits in his first 10 games of the 2017 season while batting well over .400.
Sure, Murphy is a liability in the field. He may have cost the Mets the 2015 World Series with his play at second base, but they would not have been there without him in the first place. Murphy’s offense more than makes up for any errors in the field. If he does not stay with the Nationals after the 2018 season, look for Murphy to slide over to the American League and continue contending for batting titles as a DH.
22. Andrew Miller
RP, Cleveland Indians
- Career Stats: (As reliever) 24-14, 2.57 ERA, 13.5 K/9, 49 saves
- Career Accolades: 2016 AL All-Star, 2x top-10 AL Cy Young
After flaming out as a starting pitcher in three different organizations, Andrew Miller has flipped the script on his career to become one of the best postseason relievers in MLB history. Standing 6-foot-7 with long arms, legs, and alien fingers, Miller has almost been Aroldis Chapman’s equal when it comes to piling up strikeouts out of the bullpen. Since the 2014 season, the left-hander has struck out 15.7 per nine with a 1.78 ERA.
Miller has a well-deserved reputation as the best playoff reliever in the game. In 27.2 playoff innings, he has allowed only three earned runs while striking out 40 and walking only six. Miller is the primary reason the Indians were able to reach the World Series last year with only one elite starting pitcher.
The best thing about Miller is that he is willing to do whatever the team needs. He should be the closer in Cleveland based on the traditional bullpen roles that govern most of the league, but saves do not seem to matter to Miller. Because he is willing (and more importantly, durable enough) to pitch over two innings at a time every time out, Miller is a game-changing weapon in the postseason.
21. Joey Votto
1B, Cincinnati Reds
- Career Stats: .311/.423/.535, 1,414 hits, 312 2B, 224 HR, 865 BB
- Career Accolades: 2010 NL MVP, 4x All-Star, 2011 Gold Glove
Joey Votto is the active MLB leader in on-base percentage, and is more than content to take his walks if pitchers try to pitch around him. He has led the league in walks in four of the past six seasons. Votto does it all without drawing too much attention to himself (or even welcoming it). He is a reluctant superstar to say the least.
Votto has a career .300/.400/.500 line and has three seasons with an OPS over 1.000. He is more of a doubles hitter than someone who will hit 45 out in a given year. Votto has topped 30 home runs only once in his career, and has not driven in more than 100 runs since 2011. He draws criticism from time to time for his approach at the plate. There is an argument that he could produce more runs by expanding his strike zone slightly and putting more balls in play, but it’s hard to argue with a .423 OBP.
In the second half of the 2016 season, Votto batted .408/.490/.668. That’s even more impressive considering the middling lineup surrounding him. Votto can go out as a Red for life if he really wants, and has shown no interest in demanding a trade even as Cincinnati rebuilds.
20. Aroldis Chapman
RP, New York Yankees
- Career Stats: 185 saves, 644 SO, 15.2 K/9
- Career Accolades: 4x All-Star, hardest thrower in MLB history, fastest to 500 strikeouts, MLB record for most consecutive appearances with a strikeout
Putting his personal issues aside, there is no denying that Aroldis Chapman is one of the most dominant relievers in MLB history. Since taking over as closer for the Reds in 2012, Chapman has a 1.81 ERA with 15.7 strikeouts per nine. It is impossible to beat a closer if you cannot put the ball in play. His 105-mph fastball has redefined the type of velocity pitchers can reach.
Chapman could be getting even better going forward in his new contract with the Yankees, especially if he finds a way to throw more effective offspeed pitches. If a hitter does manage to run into one of his fastballs, it will go a long way. In Game 7 of the World Series, Chapman was running on fumes, and was not effective as his fastball lost 5-7 ticks.
"“They’re good pitches. Really,” Girardi said. “I told you in spring training he had a lot better changeup than people knew about. He’s throwing it and it’s looked pretty darn good.”"
Chapman will have to evolve because at some point in his career, he will not be throwing 105 mph. Adding a better changeup now, while also honing his slider could make Aroldis Chapman all but impossible to hit.
19. Robinson Cano
2B, Seattle Mariners
- Career Stats: .306/.355/.497, 2,220 hits, 482 2B, 279 HR, 1,094 RBI
- Career Accolades: 7x All-Star, 5x Silver Slugger, 2x Gold Glove
There’s a different time and place to debate just how bad Robinson Cano’s 10-year, $240-million contract will look in the final years of his career. For now, the Mariners have gotten a very good return on their investment, and building a more complete lineup around Cano could lead them back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2001 season.
Over the first three years of his time in Seattle, Cano has batted .299/.355/.479 with 74 home runs and 264 RBI. Hitting in Safeco Field has not slowed Cano down one bit. He has batted .293/.348/.474 with 41 home runs and 147 RBI in 278 career games at the Mariners spacious ballpark.
Now in his 13th year in the big leagues, Cano has already built a Hall of Fame resume, and is on track to reach 3,000 hits with an outside shot at 400 home runs. He is already 12th all time at second base in WAR, and only one retired player above him is not in the Hall of Fame. Cano could become just the fifth second baseman in MLB history to record 3,000 hits and the first with over 400 home runs. He currently has the third-highest slugging percentage by a second baseman. One of the smoothest players in the league will have no difficulty being inducted to the Hall of Fame when his career is over.
18. Miguel Cabrera
1B, Detroit Tigers
- Career Stats: .320/.398/.561, 2,525 hits, 523 2B, 448 HR, 1,557 RBI
- Career Accolades: 2x AL MVP, 11x All-Star, 7x Silver Slugger, 3x MLB batting champ
For a decade and a half now, Miguel Cabrera has been the most consistent high-average/high-slugging hitter in baseball. The Tigers first baseman is the active MLB leader in batting average at .320 and is closing in on 500 home runs and 3,000 hits. When he does reach both of those major milestones, he could be years younger than anyone else in the club. Cabrera is a borderline lock to hit 600 home runs, and will become one of only six players ever in that exclusive club (assuming Albert Pujols is able to pick up the eight home runs and 166 hits he needs this year).
Cabrera had begun seeing his power decline in 2014 and 2015 while battling through nagging injuries. Over that two-year stretch, he hit only 43 home runs while driving in 185. It is worth noting, however, that he batted .338 in 2015 with a .440 OBP. In 15 years in the big leagues, Cabrera has batted below .300 in only two full seasons, and one of those came at the age of 21.
As he prepares to turn 34, anticipating Cabrera’s impending decline is not out of the question. He has been a negative defensive player for years now, and should move to DH when Victor Martinez’s contract expires. It would make sense that Cabrera would begin declining, but he has given no real indication that his offensive numbers are about to fall off a cliff. That’s good news for the Tigers, who are on the hook for $212 million through Cabrera’s age-40 season.
17. Anthony Rizzo
1B, Chicago Cubs
- Career Stats: .267/.362/.481, 174 2B, 135 HR, 428 RBI, 77 HBP
- Career Accolades: 3x All-Star, 2016 Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, 2x Top-5 MVP vote
One half of MLB’s best bromance, Anthony Rizzo is the player that helped redefine the look of the Chicago Cubs franchise. The big first baseman changed the whole culture around the long-suffering losers, and the players that have followed his footsteps have changed the path of the franchise.
Over the past three years, Rizzo is a .285/.386/.527 hitter with 109 doubles, 95 home runs, and 288 RBI. He has driven in over 100 runs two years in a row and has hit over 30 home runs three years in a row. Rizzo has also walked over 70 times four years in a row. He is a disciplined hitter, and one that pitchers have a hard time attacking. Rizzo crowds the plate, and is not afraid to wear a pitch if he has to.
Cubs fans will be forever grateful to Anthony Rizzo. With so many young and exciting players in the National League, he may have a hard time ever breaking through and winning the MVP award, but will be a fixture in the top-five of the vote for years to come. It feels as though he has been the face of the Cubs for years, but Rizzo is still only 27. With the core of Kris Bryant and Rizzo intact for years to come, the Cubs will not wait 108 years for their next World Series win.
16. Noah Syndergaard
SP, New York Mets
- Career Stats: 24-16, 2.78 ERA, 404 SO, 2.62 FIP, 10.3 SO/9
- Career Accolades: 2016 All-Star
It is not jumping the shark to include Noah Syndergaard here over many more veteran MLB pitchers. The 24-year-old right-hander is simply that good. Baseball has never seen a starting pitcher with his combination of velocity, size, breaking stuff, and command. Syndergaard cruises with a fastball that routinely tops 100 mph and a slider in the low 90s. When he is in charge on the mound, hitters may as well go up to the plate without a bat.
Syndergaard entered 2017 with plenty of hype and high expectations, and he has done nothing to lower them. In three starts, he is 1-0 with a 0.95 ERA and has not allowed a walk while striking out 20. Syndergaard has not allowed a home run since last September. He led the majors with a 2.29 FIP last season and a rate of 0.5 HR/9.
Syndergaard has also been dominant in the playoffs in his first two seasons with the Mets. He has made five appearances with a 2.42 ERA and 36 strikeouts in only 26 innings. Standing 6-foot-6 and tipping the scales at nearly 250 pounds, Syndergaard has the potential to redefine what a starting pitcher can do. He is the most overpowering starting pitcher to come along in quite some time, and will only continue to climb this list in the coming years.
15. Yoenis Cespedes
OF, New York Mets
- Career Stats: .272/.326/.498, 152 2B, 143 HR, 463 RBI
- Career Accolades: 2x All-Star, 2016 Silver Slugger, 2015 Gold Glove
After a nomadic start to his career, Yoenis Cespedes has found a forever home with the Mets. He was instrumental in turning them into a World Series team in 2015, batting .287/.337/.604 with 17 homers and 44 RBI in only 57 games after coming over from the Tigers. Always blessed with some of the most raw talent in the league, Cespedes has put it all together with the Mets.
Cespedes may be the one player in baseball right now who was made to play in New York City. He did not shrink from the pressure of being acquired to lead a team to the postseason, and seems to love the limelight and pressure that comes with playing in the Big Apple. All the golf courses in the Tri-State Area don’t hurt either. Cespedes is not the best overall player in the league, but he is easily the most fun to watch — on and off the field.
When he is locked in, Cespedes is the best power hitter in baseball. It’s safe to say he is locked in at the plate to start the 2017 season. Cespedes hit six home runs in his first 11 games this year with an OPS well over 1.000. That four-year, $110-million contract is looking pretty good so far.
14. Buster Posey
C, San Francisco Giants
- Career Stats: .307/.373/.476, 1,012 H, 192 2B, 117 HR, 529 RBI
- Career Accolades: 2012 NL MVP, 2010 RoY, 4x All-Star, 3x Silver Slugger, 3x World Series champion, 2016 Gold Glove
Since his debut in 2009, Buster Posey has been one of baseball’s best field generals. He has been instrumental in creating and maintaining the winning culture in San Francisco. Not the most vocal player on the field, Posey leads with a quiet, but firm demeanor on the field.
Posey is already building a Hall of Fame case for himself. In only 906 games, he is 34th all-time among MLB catchers with 33.5 WAR. That is slightly ahead of Yadier Molina with over 700 fewer games in the big leagues. If the common logic states that Molina is already a Hall of Famer thanks to his defensive value and leadership for the St. Louis Cardinals, then where does that leave Posey? He is easily on track to reach the Hall of Fame after his playing days are done.
The Giants have done the right thing and have begun moving Posey out from behind the dish every once in a while. He played 15 games at first base last season and 42 in 2015. Posey is more valuable to the Giants if he is able to continue batting close to .300/.400/.450 every year. A concussion has already landed him on the disabled list this April. More time at first base should follow when he returns to the diamond.
13. Corey Seager
SS, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Career Stats: .312/.374/.520, 52 2B, 32 HR, 97 RBI, 142 OPS+
- Career Accolades: 2016 NL RoY, All-Star, Silver Slugger, 3rd-place MVP
Corey Seager was a September call-up by the Dodgers down the stretch of the 2015 season. In his first 27 games in the league, the 21-year-old shortstop batted .327/.425/.561 with 13 extra-base hits and 17 RBI. He also drew 14 walks against only 19 strikeouts and stole a starting spot in the lineup for the postseason.
Seager built upon that fine debut season in his first full year in the big leagues, batting .308/.365/.512 with 40 doubles and 26 home runs. He paced the Dodgers lineup through their ups and downs last year and drove them to the playoffs despite numerous injuries. Seager will not turn 23 until the end of April.
The young shortstop has one of the sweetest strokes in baseball, and has a much more mature approach at the plate than his age would imply. He did not walk as much in his full-season debut, but Seager was in a run-producing slot in the lineup and was looking to hit. There was never a level of the minors where he did not hit while climbing the ladder, and his transition to the big leagues was seamless.
Eventually, Seager may have to slide over to third base, as defense is the weakest part of his game. You look past that, though, when a 22-year-old shortstop is putting up an OPS of nearly .900.
12. Max Scherzer
SP, Washington Nationals
- Career Stats: 126-70, 3.38 ERA, 1,898 SO, 10.0 SO/9, .231 BAA, 2x 20-game winner
- Career Accolades: 2x Cy Young, 4x All-Star, 2x no-hitter, 20-K game
No starting pitcher in Major League Baseball has come closer to matching Clayton Kershaw’s continued dominance over the past four seasons than Max Scherzer. Since the 2013 season, Scherzer is 74-28 with a 2.94 ERA, 1,049 strikeouts, 10.6 K/9, two no-hitters, more than a few near no-hitters, and a 20-strikeout game. He is a threat to throw a no-hitter every time he takes the mound.
Scherzer is something else to watch on the mound — pacing around, ranting and raving, and pumping fastballs, sliders, and changeups past MLB’s best hitters. He has already come close to living up to his seven-year, $210-million contract with the Nationals. Few pitchers in baseball can match his combination of biting stuff and exceptional command.
The knock on Scherzer early in his career was that he did not pitch deep into games. Before signing with Washington, he had thrown only one career complete game and had only two 200-inning seasons in his first seven years in the big leagues. With the Nationals, Scherzer has completely shed that label. He led baseball in complete games and shutouts in 2015 and has led the National League in games started the past two years, throwing over 225 innings each year.
11. Josh Donaldson
3B, Toronto Blue Jays
- Career Stats: .278/.366/.504, 143 HR, 454 RBI, 7+ WAR past four seasons
- Career Accolades: 2015 AL MVP, 3x All-Star, 2x Silver Slugger
Unshackled of the weird bay breezes and excessively large foul territory of Oakland, Josh Donaldson has emerged as a perennial MVP candidate in the American League. Combining an excellent approach at the plate with elite power, Donaldson is one of the toughest outs in baseball. He just refuses to get himself out by swinging at a pitcher’s pitch.
In his two-plus seasons with the Blue Jays, Donaldson has batted .291/.388/.560 with 75 doubles, 80 homers, and 226 RBI. He was the missing piece to take the Jose Bautisa and Edwin Encarnacion Jays over the top. Donaldson changed the swagger of the lineup in a way that the brooding Bautista had not been able to do in Toronto. He has become the most dangerous bat in the Toronto lineup.
Donaldson was slowed by a hip injury at times last season, and is already battling a calf injury this year. The Blue Jays, who are off to the most abysmal offensive starts in the league, cannot afford to have him miss much more than a week if they are going to climb out of the massive hole they have created for themselves. Donaldson will put up MVP-type numbers whether or not anyone else around him in the lineup hits.
10. Francisco Lindor
SS, Cleveland Indians
- Career Stats: .306/.358/.464, 157 R, 55 2B, 31 HR, 32 SB, 4.1 dWAR
- Career Accolades: 2015 AL RoY runner-up, 2016 All-Star, Gold Glove
Francisco Lindor welcomed himself to the national stage in a big way last October. Still short of his 23rd birthday, Lindor batted .310/.355/.466 with three doubles and two home runs in the postseason last year. At the time of his MLB debut, Lindor was viewed as a glove-first shortstop, but he has already proven to be so much for than that. The glove has played at an elite level, but he has blown expectations out of the water with his bat.
Lindor had barely slugged above .400 in the minor leagues, but nearly slugged .500 in his rookie season, battling Carlos Correa all the way to the wire for the Rookie of the Year award. A year later, it is Lindor who is looking like the more promising player. His power continues to grow, and he should be a 20-20 player with a mantle full of Gold Gloves from here on out.
Already in 2017, Lindor has hit four home runs and four doubles. He is slugging over .700 with as many walks as strikeouts. Lindor is blossoming into a superstar much more quickly than anyone in Cleveland could have imagined. The ceiling really is the roof, to quote the poet Michael Jordan, for Francisco Lindor.
9. Mookie Betts
OF, Boston Red Sox
- Career Stats: .302/.354/.495, 96 2B, 14 3B, 54 HR, 208 RBI, 54 SB
- Career Accolades: 2016 All-Star, AL MVP runner-up, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger
The Red Sox have one of baseball’s best young outfields with Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, and Jackie Bradley. Betts is the ring leader, and the heir apparent to David Ortiz as the face of the franchise. He has quickly established himself as one of the most dynamic five-tool players in the league. Now in his third full season in the big leagues, Betts should get his first 30-30 season in 2017.
In his second full season in the majors — at the age of 23 — Betts hit .318/.363/.534 with 31 homers and 26 stolen bases. He absolutely terrorized the Orioles last year, hitting nine home runs with an OPS of 1.293 in 19 games. The rest of the league did not have it much easier against Betts. With the quickest wrists in baseball, Betts is able to hit for much more power than would be expected from his slight frame.
Betts will be under pressure this year to carry the Red Sox without David Ortiz protecting him in the lineup. He is off to a slow start this year, as is most of the lineup while they battle the flu. It’s only a matter of time before Betts is back to running wild all over the American League.
8. Paul Goldschmidt
1B, Arizona Diamondbacks
- Career Stats: .298/.398/.525, 201 2B, 142 HR, 512 RBI, 101 SB
- Career Accolades: 4x All-Star, 2x Gold Glove, 2x Silver Slugger, 2x NL MVP runner-up
Paul Goldschmidt toils away far from the public eye in Arizona. With the Diamondbacks closing in on relevancy, this underrated superstar could finally get the national attention he deserves. Goldschmidt is just a few hits and walks here and there away from a career .300/.400/.500 line, the mark of a truly elite hitter. For all of the dominant numbers he has put up, Goldschmidt is still a fairly unknown quantity on a national scale. He is a quiet, throwback superstar who puts his head down and goes to work every day.
Goldschmidt can do it all on a baseball diamond. He did not live up to his own lofty standards in 2016, but stole 32 bases. For his career, Goldschmidt has over 100 steals, but has been thrown out only 23 times. In his two Gold Glove seasons, the first baseman was 31 runs better than average using the defensive runs saved metric. If Goldschmidt has incentive to run this season, a 30-30 year is well within reach.
The Diamondbacks have not done Goldschmidt any favors in becoming a transcendent star, but he is a top-ten player in all of Major League Baseball. Arizona is off to a hot start in 2017, fueled by the return of A.J. Pollock, Goldschmidt’s running mate. A good season for the team will help vault Goldschmidt even higher in the MVP conversation. He will eventually win one before it’s all said and done.
7. Jose Altuve
2B, Houston Astros
- Career Stats: .311/.354/.435, 1,057 H, 205 2B, 201 SB
- Career Accolades: 4x All-Star, 3x Silver Slugger, 2x batting champ, 3x league leader in hits, 2x league leader in steals, 2015 Gold Glove
Jose Altuve might be the smallest player in the league, but he is one of the most exciting. He has won two of the past three AL batting titles and has led all of MLB in hits in those seasons. Altuve nearly stole 60 bases in 2014, but has scaled back his aggressiveness on the bases as the Astros offense improves around him. He is still a threat to steal 50 bases, but staying still more often will preserve his body and avoid giving up unnecessary outs.
The big development for Altuve last season was his power stroke. He has hit over 40 doubles in three straight seasons, but hit more than 20 home runs for the first time in 2016. Altuve’s slugging percentage has increased for four straight years, although he may have maxed out last season. In 2016, he batted .376/.439/.552 on the road to help keep Houston afloat, nearly leading to an MVP award.
Altuve is the heart and soul of the Astros. The front office built most of the lineup with a complicated statistical model, but there is no accounting for a 5-foot-6 second baseman developing into a 30-30 threat and an annual MVP candidate. The Astros have built out dominant lineup around Altuve, but the offense still runs through him.
6. Kris Bryant
3B, Chiacgo Cubs
- Career Stats: .283/.378/.515, 211 R, 69 2B, 65 HR, 205 RBI, 158 BB
- Career Accolades: 2015 NL RoY, 2016 NL MVP, 2x All-Star, World Series champ
Through two seasons in the big leagues, it goes without saying that Kris Bryant’s career has started just about as well as anyone in the Cubs organization could have hoped. Really, there is not much more he can do in Year 3 for an encore. Rookie of the Year, MVP, World Series title — how do you top that?
Bryant was viewed as a slam-dunk prospect, and that is exactly what he has been since being called up after a few days working on his defense in the minors in 2015 (wink, wink). He was an easy choice for NL MVP last season, and should top 40 home runs for the first time this year. Bryant is a solid all-around hitter with a good approach at the plate and a great makeup.
The Cubs third baseman does not quite measure up to Nolan Arenado and Manny Machado in the highlights department in the field, but he is versatile and competent at more than one position. Joe Maddon has used him in the outfield with good results to date. Left or right field may actually be a better fit for Bryant in the long-term picture, but the Cubs do not have a need or an opening for him out there. Bryant has a long and bright future in the Windy City with the Cubs.
5. Nolan Arenado
3B, Colorado Rockies
- Career Stats: .285/.332/.521, 114 HRs, 381 RBI
- Career Accolades: 4x Gold Glove, 2x All-Star, 2x Silver Slugger, 2x NL HR leader, 2x MLB RBI leader
No one has hit more home runs or driven in more runs than Nolan Arenado the past two years. In addition to all of the bombs, the Rockies third baseman is in the conversation for best defensive third baseman in baseball. For some reason, his highlights in the field have not received as much love as Manny Machado, his counterpart in the American League.
Arenado is not just a product of hitting in Coors Field, although it certainly does not hurt. He has hit .262/.308/.459 on the road with 46 home runs in 1,072 at-bats. It is difficult to suss out exactly how much Arenado benefits from hitting in Denver, and the diminished numbers on the road are due in part to the fact that the entire Rockies lineup typically struggles with the massive differences in hitting at sea level and on the road.
If the Rockies can hold onto their hot start, the rest of the country will finally get to appreciate how good Nolan Arenado is. He is a treat to watch at the plate and in the field. Arenado could give Machado a run for his money in the highlight department at third base, and he just might lead baseball in home runs and RBI again this season.
4. Clayton Kershaw
SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Career Stats: 127-61, 2.38 ERA, three seasons with ERA under 2.00, active leader in winning percentage, ERA, ERA+, FIP, WHIP, H/9, HR/9
- Career Accolades: 3x Cy Young, 6x All-Star, 2014 NL MVP, one of only 14 pitchers to record a 300-strikeout season
For a starting pitcher to be named a top-five player in all of baseball, he had better be among the most dominant pitchers of all time. Kershaw is exactly that. Since ascending to the throne in 2011 with his first Cy Young, the left-hander has a 2.08 ERA in almost 1,300 innings. Discounting pitchers from the Dead Ball Era, Kershaw has the best ERA ever for a starting pitcher — better than Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Tom Seaver, Pedro Martinez, Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Jim Palmer, Whitey Ford.
You name a pitcher who threw after players started hitting more than five home runs a season, Kershaw is better than him. Kershaw’s adjusted ERA, which accounts for the era in which a player was active and the ballparks, is also the best ever for a starting pitcher.
Kershaw even seemed to hit another gear last year before a back injury landed him on the DL. He finished the year with a 1.69 ERA with the lowest FIP of his career over 149.0 innings, struck out 172, and walked only 11. Yes, 11 walks in 21 starts.
The postseason success has not come yet for Clayton Kershaw, but that narrative is played out. Many of his runs have come after relievers allowed inherited runners to score. His peripheral numbers in the playoffs paint the picture of a very good pitcher who has been hit with bad luck in a few inopportune moments.
3. Bryce Harper
OF, Washington Nationals
- Career Stats: .280/.383/.502, 396 BBs, 123 HRs, 58 SBs, 44 IBBs
- Career Accolades: 2012 NL RoY, 2015 NL MVP, 4x All-Star, Silver Slugger
Having debuted at the age of 19, Bryce Harper has a head start on most of the game’s all-time greats. Through his age-23 season, Harper is tenth all time with 121 home runs. He will not turn 25 until after the 2017 regular season, and his age-22 season may be the best single season ever by a player that young. Harper’s idol, Mickey Mantle, did not post a better OPS+ until his age-24 season.
A few injury-plagued seasons before his 21st birthday are all that kept Harper from completely rewriting the record book for MLB’s under-25 players. Harper was off his game last season. Whether due to injury or mental pressure placed on himself, he slumped for more than half of the season and finished with only 24 home runs and 86 RBI.
Harper is off to a smashing start in 2017, and appears to be handling team’s willingness to pitch around him with a better attitude. He has taken his walks, but is still driving the ball better than he ever has in his career. Harper has produced soft contact on only 4.2 percent of his balls in play. It’s almost impossible to be that good.
2. Manny Machado
3B, Baltimore Orioles
- Career Stats: .284/.333/.476, 145 2Bs, 106 HRs, 10.4 dWAR
- Career Accolades: 3x All-Star, 2x Gold Glove, 2x Top-five MVP finish
The biggest debate in these rankings surrounds who to put in the number-two spot behind Trout. Other top-five players like Bryce Harper, Nolan Arenado, and Clayton Kershaw all have a case, but none of them have the overall two-way value of Manny Machado. The Orioles third baseman may be the best overall defender at any position in all of baseball. While it’s hard to compare him directly against an outfielder like Kevin Kiermaier or Mookie Betts, Machado makes impossible plays at the hot corner look routine.
Machado has still not hit his ceiling as a hitter in the big leagues. He has potential to be a 40-double, 40-homer hitter with 120 RBIs and 20 steals. What continues to hold him back is his propensity to chase pitches outside of the strike zone or get too homer-happy in certain at-bats.
Last year, Machado hit 40 doubles and 37 home runs, but drew only 48 walks and had an OBP of .343, which was down 16 points from 2015. He may never walk quite as often as Mike Trout, but Machado needs to tighten his strike zone before he can put himself up against Trout as the best player in baseball, but it is not out of the realm of possibility.
1. Mike Trout
OF, Los Angeles Angels
- Career Stats: .306/.405/.559, 605 R, 170 HR, 505 RBI, 143 SB
- Career Accolades: 2x AL MVP, 5x Silver Slugger, 5x All-Star, 2012 AL RoY, 3x MVP runner-up
The pick for top active player in MLB is not difficult. It’s Mike Trout by a mile. He is the most complete player in the league right now, and perhaps ever. Trout hits for power and average, gets on base, plays outstanding defense, and can swipe a bag at will. He does it all with an understated attitude that gives off the vibe that he is not impressed by his own greatness.
How good has Trout been in his first six-plus seasons in the big leagues?
Consider the FanGraphs career WAR leaders through a player’s age-30 season. Trout, who just turned 25 last August, ranks 63rd all time on that list. He still has five seasons to chase Ty Cobb, who tops the under-30 WAR leaderboard. Through 25, only Cobb and Mickey Mantle have a higher WAR than Trout.
Next: One prospect each MLB team should call up
Trout is nearly at the point where he could walk away from baseball completely in two or three years and go straight to the Hall of Fame. Of course, he certainly will not be doing that with a potential $500-million contract coming his way.