Fansided

Top 25 MLB players to watch in October

By Joshua Sadlock

SAN DIEGO, CA - SEPTEMBER 1: Clayton Kershaw (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA - SEPTEMBER 1: Clayton Kershaw (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 25
Next
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 17: Didi Gregorius #18 of the New York Yankees celebrates his second inning home run against the Baltimore Orioles with teammates Matt Holliday #17 at Yankee Stadium on September 17, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 17: Didi Gregorius #18 of the New York Yankees celebrates his second inning home run against the Baltimore Orioles with teammates Matt Holliday #17 at Yankee Stadium on September 17, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

22. Didi Gregorius

New York Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius has quietly emerged as one of the best in baseball the past two years. He now has over 40 home runs and 150 RBI over the past two seasons with an OPS over .800 in 2017. Gregorius has gotten better every year with the Yankees after being acquired in a minor trade with Arizona before the 2015 season.

In his three years with the Yankees, Gregorius has done a much better job replacing legend Derek Jeter than anyone could have predicted. Along with Starlin Castro, he forms one of the best offensive double-play combos in the American League. Castro is hitting .294/.331/.450 with 14 home runs and 55 RBI in 99 games.

The rise of Gregorius and the resurgence of Castro, who was given up on by Chicago, are a huge credit to the excellence of Yankees GM Brian Cashman. He got two All-Star caliber middle infielders for next to nothing and has them both on team-friendly contracts. The rest of the league has enough trouble keeping up with the Yankees and their bottomless budget. It’s almost unfair that the Yankees have one of the sharpest front offices in the league to boot.

Home/MLB