In the MLB Top 10s, here's what we do: rank players according to criteria. Those criteria change depending upon week and whim, but the Top 10s will always be informed by some angle or another, painfully contrived or otherwise.
And that brings us to this week's guiding query: Who will be MLB’s most valuable contributors -- i.e., the top performers regardless of role -- in 2015?
In this list, we’re lumping pitchers and position players together -- AL and NL, too. All that matters is total overall value. I don’t care about how good the teams in question will be, only how the player in question figures to perform. As always, defense and base-running matter for position players — it’s not about the bat only.
We’re of course just dipping our toe into the 2015 season, so results to date won’t matter very much. They’ll be taken into account on a distantly secondary level, but what’s really important is our reasonable expectation of how the player will perform for all of 2015. So if a hitter finds himself on this list despite, say, his batting .175 thus far in 2015, then save your objections on those grounds, unless you expect him to bat .175 all year.
Painful omissions? Needless to say, a lot of high-level performers didn’t make the cut, as we’re singling out just 10 players across all of baseball. It was tough to leave off the likes of Max Scherzer, Yasiel Puig, Jose Abreu, Chris Sale, Anthony Rizzo, Matt Harvey, Troy Tulowitzki, Alex Gordon, Dustin Pedroia, Anthony Rendon, Freddie Freeman, Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, David Price, Michael Brantley, Johnny Cueto, Cole Hamels, Carlos Gomez, Justin Upton, Adam Jones, Manny Machado, Jason Heyward and Yadier Molina, among others.
And now let us recite baseball names for the dual purposes of SEO and making you angry. Feel free to brandish your incorrect opinions and make idle threats in the comments section.
Weapons-grade complaints and spleen-venting? By all means, reach out to the author at hotmail@hotmail.jpg.
| RANK | COMMENT | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Mike Trout, Angels. This is not difficult. He’s a 23-year-old five-tooler who’s been the best player in baseball over his three full seasons in the majors. Trout’s a quality fielder at an up-the-middle position, he’s a strong plus on the bases, and he owns a career OPS+ of 167. In 2015, he’s off to a magma-hot start. Would you start your franchise with any other player? No, you would not. |
| 2 |  |
Andrew McCutchen, Pirates. Like Trout, McCutchen is a true “triple threat” player -- excellence at the plate, in the field and on the bases. Over the last three full seasons he's hit a combined .320/.405/.534 with 28 homers, 37 doubles and 23 steals per 162 games played. That’s excellent production, especially considering the current era and McCutchen’s run-suppressing home park. He’s still in his prime. |
| 3 |  |
Robinson Cano, Mariners. Cano’s steady excellence and remarkable durability earn him a spot on this list. Since 2010, he’s batted .311/.373/.515, which is a line that towers over that of the average second baseman. Cano’s also developed into a capable defender at the keystone, and he’s played in at least 157 games per season since 2006. |
| 4 |  |
Buster Posey, Giants. Posey’s in his age-27 season, and he owns a career OPS+ of 143. That’s in addition to his grading out as a plus defender at catcher, the most grueling and premium position of all. Sure, Posey will likely see more and more time at first base as the years tick by, but he’s coming off a 2014 season in which he caught at least 900 innings for the third straight year. For now, he’s a catcher who hits like an All-Star first baseman. |
| 5 |  |
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers. Going back to last postseason, Kershaw hasn’t quite been himself over his last four starts. This season, he’s in particular struggled a bit with his control. However, his bad results over a pair of 2015 starts have been driven by bad luck on balls in play and an unsustainably low rate of stranded base-runners. His velocity’s just fine, especially by April standards, so I expect Kershaw to get back to being Kershaw soon enough. After all, we’re talking about a three-time Cy Young winner who’s still just 27 years of age. |
| 6 |  |
Felix Hernandez, Mariners. King Felix this year will be trying to log his eighth straight season of at least 200 innings pitched. He also owns a career ERA+ of 130, which is good for 40th on the all-time list. In terms of near-term value, he’s still just 29, and he’s coming of a career-best K/BB ratio of 5.39 in 2014 (and an ERA title). Few in the game today can match his ability to miss bats while otherwise keeping the ball on the ground. Few in history have coped with velocity loss as well as Hernandez has. Don’t be surprised if he adds a second AL Cy Young award to his mantel in 2015. |
| 7 |  |
Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins. No one has more raw or game power in MLB today. He’s coming off an NL home run title, and he had 150 career homers before his 25th birthday. If Stanton manages to play a full-ish season in 2015, then don’t be surprised if he makes a run at 50 homers. That would be something, given the current power environment and given Stanton’s home ballpark. He’s also a plus defender and surprisingly good base-runner, which adds to his already substantial value. |
| 8 |  |
Miguel Cabrera, Tigers. As has long been the case, Cabrera gives back a chunk of his value with subpar defense and base-running. As well, he’s declined from his 2012-13 uber-peak. That said, his offensive baseline was so high that even in decline he remains one of the best pure hitters in the game today. The updated ZiPS forecast has Cabrera hitting .325/.399/.563 for 2015. In the current pitcher’s era, that’s more than enough to land him on this list. |
| 9 |  |
Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks. Since conquering his early-career platoon issues, Goldschmidt has become one of the best hitters in all of baseball. Since the start of the 2013 season, “Goldy” has batted .302/.400/.550 (161 OPS+) with 57 homers and 76 doubles in 275 games played. He’s also a Gold Glove winner and a good base-runner by the standards of his positional peers. At age 27, Goldschmidt should have more of the same to come. |
| 10 |  |
Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers. Lucroy is one of the most skilled defensive catchers in baseball (he’s perhaps the top pitch-framer in the game today), and he’s also developed nicely at the plate. Since 2012, he's put up an OPS+ of 126, and he's coming off a 2014 season in which he led the majors with 53 doubles. As well, Lucroy's averaged 150 games played per season over the last two years, which makes quite durable, especially as catchers go. |
Until next week ...
