Top 100 MLB Players: 50-75

Author: Steven Chase

Editor: Brian Symons

50. Mark Canha

Over the past few seasons, Mark Canha has been the definition of underrated. Since 2018, Canha has averaged a 133 wRC+, .361 wOBA, 1.8 UZR, and a 10.4 fWAR. Evidently, Canha is a great hitter, with decent defense. His overall production makes him a top 50 player, and top 12 outfielder.

51. Brandon Nimmo

Brandon Nimmo is the perfect example of a player who would fit into a moneyball scheme. Since 2018, Nimmo has a .399 OBP, 140 wRC+, and a .375 wOBA. It is apparent that Nimmo’s offensive production is elite, as he is another example of how players can be elite hitters without batting .300.

52. Josh Donaldson

While Josh Donaldson is no longer the MVP caliber player, he is still a very good offensive player. Since 2018, Donaldson has a 126 wRC+, a .362 wOBA, 6 DRS, and a 4.0 UZR. His overall production still makes him one of the better players in the league.

53. Marcell Ozuna

Ozuna was very good in the past few seasons, which is why he is this high, but he’ll probably never play a professional game again.

54. Pete Alonso

Offensively, Pete Alonso is a top three first baseman. But since players such as Goldschmidt, Rizzo, and Matt Olson are better defenders, Pete Alonso finds himself as the 7th best first baseman. Alonso is one of the most prolific power hitters in the game right now, as he has a .537 SLG, .883 OPS, 133 wRC+, and .366 wOBA in his short career. Although the 25.4 K% is unappealing, Alonso’s offensive production is undeniable and he will be an elite first baseman for a long time.

55. JD Martinez

Similar to Alvarez and Cruz, Martinez is fantastic offensively, but does not play the field (for a good reason). But strictly looking at offense, JD Martinez is one of the best hitters in baseball. JD has slashed .302/.375/.559, .388 wOBA, and a 143 wRC+. This conveys how Martinez is one of the better hitters in the MLB.

56. Michael Brantley

Michael Brantley is one of the key pieces to the offensive juggernaut in Houston. Brantley has put up monstrous numbers since 2018, slashing .316/.372/.490 with a .368 wOBA, 134 wRC+, and a 11.3 fWAR. Considering the fact that he has maintained this level of production for years conveys that Brantley is elite.

57. Corbin Burnes

Personally, I thought 2020 was a fluke for Burnes, but he proved me wrong. In his 21 combined starts since 2020, Burnes has a 2.38 ERA, 1.55 FIP, 2.39 xFIP, 2.60 SIERA, and a 31.2 K-BB%. These are elite numbers over a decent sample size, making him in contention for being a top 10 starting pitcher.

58. Giancarlo Stanton

While injuries probably confirmed that Stanton is no longer in his prime, he is still elite offensively. From 2018-2021, Stanton has a 132 wRC+, .365 wOBA, and an .860 OPS. It is clear that Stanton is one of the better power hitters of this generation, and his career is far from over.

59. Alex Verdugo

While he is not quite the same player that Mookie Betts was, Alex Verdugo was definitely a good piece acquired by the Boston Red Sox. Since 2018, Verdugo has slashed .290/.347/.456 with a 114 wRC+, .342 wOBA, 22 DRS, and a 6.0 UZR. Verdugo is a complete player, and at only 25 years of age he will only improve.

60. Jesse Winker

Winker has been one of the more underrated hitters over the past few years, and that is shown by the success he’s had in 2021 (166 wRC+ and a .421 wOBA through 68 games). Overall since 2018, Winker has a 136 wRC+, .379 wOBA, and a 6.0 fWAR. The reason why he isn’t higher is because he’s an atrocious fielder, and is really only elite against right-handed pitching. But overall, Winker is a fantastic hitter.

61. Marcus Semien

Coming into 2021, I was not very high on Marcus Semien. Besides 2019, we never saw him produce at a high level. But, his performance in 2021 has changed my mind. So far this year, Semien has a .370 wOBA, .329 xWOBA, 2.9 fWAR, 9.2 UZR/150 and a 134 wRC+. In a weak second base position, a strong 2021 has catapulted Semien into the top 5 of that position.

62. DJ Lemahieu

DJ Lemahieu is a hard player to rate because he was so good from 2019-2020 with the Yankees, but so far in 2021 he’s been bad. A 98 wRC+ is not what we expected out of Lemahieu, but is it that surprising? ZiPS and FGDC both projected a regression for DJ, but not at this rate. For now I don’t want to penalize Lemahieu too much, as he has a 133 wRC+ since 2019, but I think the best has already come from DJ Lemahieu.

63. Will Smith

Will Smith has been elite ever since his career started with the Dodgers. Offensively, he has a career .374 wOBA and a 139 wRC+, and ranks in the top 20 in framing this season. Overall, Smith has a elite offense with solid defense, making him a top three catcher.

64. Luke Voit

Even though Voit has gone through some obstacles to start 2021, his hitting numbers since 2018 are fantastic. He has a 139 wRC+, .378 wOBA, but has -26 DRS. While the offensive value is high, he is a defensive liability which drops him down a little bit in the rankings.

65. Josh Hader

Josh Hader is undoubtedly the best reliever in baseball. Since 2018, Hader has a 1.86 SIERA, a 2.35 xFIP, and a 7.0 fWAR. These numbers are unmatched by any other reliever in the game, and he is having another career year in 2021, with a 1.56 xERA, 1.86 SIERA, and 2.12 xFIP.

66. Trevor Bauer

Even though Bauer is not a top 10 player in the game, his overall impact on the sport is arguably the largest. But just as a player, since 2018 he has a 3.07 ERA, 3.71 xFIP, a 3.57 SIERA, and a 13.0 fWAR. By no means is he a top four pitcher that people make him out to be, but Bauer is easily a top 15 pitcher to me, and has been getting better over the past few years.

67. Ketel Marte

Even though the Diamondbacks are arguably the worst team in the history of Major League Baseball, Ketel Marte is putting up MVP numbers in 2021. He has a 165 wRC+, .416 wOBA, and a 1.5 fWAR. If the Diamondbacks coaching staff had a brain and put him at second base instead of center field, his defensive numbers would look better as well. But overall, since 2018 Marte has slashed .302/.362/.507 with a .367 wOBA and 127 wRC+. If he was put in his natural position he would be ranked higher, but for now his defensive metrics will suffer.

68. Tyler Glasnow

Tyler Glasnow has flown under the radar the past few years. Since 2018, Glasnow has a 3.02 xFIP, 3.20 SIERA, and 24.3 K-BB%. The numbers put him towards the top of the league for starting pitchers, and he will likely maintain this for a long time.

69. Javier Baez

While Baez may never return to his 2018-19 offensive form, he is still an overall very good player. Since 2018 as a whole, Baez has a 110 wRC+, .336 wOBA, 45 DRS, a 10.7 UZR, and an 11.3 fWAR. Overall, Baez is a decent hitter with exceptional defense. Because of this, he adds great value to the Cubs, and is definitely a top 10 shortstop.

70. Nick Casthellanos

It’s clear that Cathellanos is in the middle of his prime, and the offensive numbers that are coming from him are great. From 2018-2021, Casthellanos has a slash line of .293/.348/.522, with a 129 wRC+, and .366 wOBA. Although he’s a bad defender, Casthellanos is a great hitter and is having a career year in 2021.

71. Joey Gallo

One could make the argument that Gallo is a top 50 player in baseball, due to his immense power, elite on base rate, and stellar fielding. The reason why I don’t value him that high is because Gallo strikes out at a historically high rate. His overall numbers since 2018 are a slashline of .215/.342/.488 with a .353 wOBA, 118 wRC+, .272 ISO, 23 DRS, and a 19.9 UZR. These numbers are great, but they’d be even better if Gallo did not have a 35.2 K% they’d be even better. If Gallo can fix the strikeout problem, he’d easily be a top 40-50 player.

72. Rafael Devers

Once Devers became accustomed to the big leagues in 2019, his offensive numbers became elite. Devers has slashed .294/.348/.546, with a .371 wOBA and 131 wRC+. Defensively, he’s mediocre at best, but overall Devers provides great value to the Red Sox.

73. Ozzie Albies

Albies is a pretty solid player, but by no means is he a top 5 second baseman. Since 2018, Albies has a 110 wRC+, .340 wOBA, 21 DRS, 9.2 UZR, and an 11.1 fWAR. Overall, he’s a decent hitter with great defense. He’s having a good offensive season in 2021 with a .355 xwOBA, but I’ve seen too many people saying he’s better than McNeil when it isn’t even close.

74. Christian Vasquez

Vasquez has always been an elite pitch framer, but his bat has improved over the past few years. Since the start of the 2019 season, Vasquez has slashed .276/.323/.445 with a 100 wRC+ and .323 wOBA. While this is not elite by any means, it is a good compliment to his defense, as he has 13 DRS, 29.2 FRM, and 16.7 FRAA ADJ. since 2018. While Vasquez is not quite as good of a pitch framer as players such as Jose Trevino and Austin Hedges, his offense pushes him higher up in the ranks.

75. Buster Posey

After a poor 2019, and missing out on the entirety of the 2020 season, Buster Posey has come back to the lineup with thunder. Offensively, he has a .411 wOBA and a 166 wRC+, to add to his 2.7 FRM and 50.1% strike framing rate. Since 2018 as a whole, Posey has 11 runs saved from framing, 15.0 FRM, a .331 wOBA and 109 wRC+. Overall, Posey is a complete catcher.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Top 100 MLB Players: 75-100

Author: Steven Chase

Editor: Brian Symons

75. Buster Posey

After a poor 2019, and missing out on the entirety of the 2020 season, Buster Posey has come back to the lineup with thunder. Offensively, he has a .411 wOBA and a 166 wRC+, to add to his 2.7 FRM and 50.1% strike framing rate. Since 2018 as a whole, Posey has 11 runs saved from framing, 15.0 FRM, a .331 wOBA and 109 wRC+. Overall, Posey is a complete catcher.

76. Jose Abreu

Abreu is a solid player, but he is not quite the player the people make him out to be. He is often overrated because of his high RBI count, which is a bad stat to look at since a hitter has no influence on the situations they are put in, and the amount of at bats they get. Abreu has a solid bat overall, with a 122 wRC+ and .349 wOBA since 2018. But, he’s a mediocre fielder with a -4.7 UZR and 0 DRS since 2018. Overall, Abreu is pretty good, but nowhere close to being a top two second baseman.

77. Tommy Pham

Once Tommy Pham saw regular playing time in 2017 he became a very solid hitter. Since 2018 he has a 122 wRC+ and .348 wOBA, which is almost identical to Jose Abreu (someone who many consider to be elite). Defensively, he is decent with 3 DRS since 2018, but even with that considered he is a very good overall player.

78. Mike Yaztremski

Yazstremski has been great offensively since he came up the the big leagues in 2019; he has a .363 wOBA and 129 wRC+ in that span. He has been a big part of the veteran resurgence in San Francisco in 2021, and will be good for the foreseeable future.

79. Gio Urshela

I originally had Urshela lower, but after looking at the numbers I realized how good he is. Since coming to the Yankees Gio has a 125 wRC+, .356 wOBA, and 9 DRS. It is clear that he is a complete player, and one of the better third baseman in the game.

80. Edwin Diaz

The second reliever on the list is Edwin Diaz. Ever since he began to locate his slider better in 2020, his traditional stats went back to normal. Since 2018, Diaz has a 2.50 xFIP, 2.20 SIERA, and a 32.7 K-BB%. It is clear that Diaz is elite and one of the best relievers in the game.

81. Brandon Lowe

Lowe has been very solid for these Tampa Bay Rays teams who do a lot with a little. Lowe has a career 124 wRC+, .348 wOBA, and 7 DRS. Despite batting .205 in 2021, Lowe has put together a decent offensive year with a .340 xwOBA. I would expect his numbers to pick up a little bit this year, as he is underperforming his x stats. Overall, Lowe is a very solid player.

82. Austin Meadows

Although due to poor fielding Meadows has turned into a DH, his overall value as a hitter is very high. Since 2018 Meadows has a 126 wRC+ and .353 wOBA. Him and Lowe have been the two best bats in the Tampa Bay lineup for the past few years and I don’t expect that to change.

83. Jack Flaherty

Flaherty has done a great job as the ace of the Cardinals. A 3.69 SIERA and 3.65 xFIP are very respectable numbers, considering that he has maintained them for over three years. I personally see him as the 14th best starting pitcher in baseball.

84. Dom Smith

In 2021 Dom has been hitting into some bad luck, as he has a .344 xwOBA and a .296 wOBA, which is why his numbers are down. But since 2018 as a whole, Smith has a 118 wRC+ and .341 wOBA. Smith has also been playing out of position in 2021, moving from first base to left field, and his defense has not suffered from it.

85. Aroldis Chapman

Chapman has been fantastic throughout his career. From 2018-2021, Chapman has a 2.71 SIERA, 2.61 xFIP, and a 40.9 K%. Although he walks a lot of hitters, Chapman has been one of the more dominant relievers for over a decade.

86. Lucas Giolito

Since 2019 Giolito has been a very effective pitcher, with a 3.55 xFIP and 3.59 SIERA. These numbers put Giolito amongst the top 15-20 pitchers in the game, and I think of him to be the ace of the White Sox staff (even though Rodon is having a better 2021 alone).

87. Yu Darvish

While Snell has tanked his first year in San Diego, Darvish has remained solid. He has a 3.27 SIERA in 2021 alone, and has become the ace of that staff. But since 2018, Darvish has a 3.46 SIERA and 3.44 xFIP, which is good but not quite Blake Snell level yet. If Darvish maintains the pace that he has been on since 2020, he will rise up this list fast.

88. Nick Anderson

Although an injury has postponed Nick Anderson’s start to the season, he has been elite since being called up in 2019. Anderson has a 2.14 SIERA and 2.56 xFIP in this span, which puts him up with players such as Edwin Diaz and Aroldis Chapman. Due to a smaller sample size, he is not quite as good as those players, but can be in the future.

89. Eloy Jiminez

Eloy’s situation is almost identical to Nick Anderson, as he got called up in 2019, and has been injured in 2021. But from 2019-2020, Jimenez has a 123 wRC+ and .353 wOBA, which would strengthen an already good White Sox lineup.

90. Teoscar Hernandez

When combining Hernandez’s 2020-21 it is clear that he has entered his prime. He has a .372 wOBA and 135 wRC+ in this span. If he can maintain this for the next few years he will rise on this list.

91. Jake Cronenworth

Cronenworth has had a very successful start to his career. He is very versatile defensively, while posting a 129 wRC+ and .358 wOBA offensively. Cronenworth has the potential to be an all-star for a number of years.

92. Kyle Tucker

Tucker has put up very solid numbers since 2019. Although he is pretty mediocre defensively, he has a .347 wOBA and 124 wRC+, which is great considering he is the seventh best hitter on his team.

93. Liam Hendricks

Hendricks has been one of the best closers in baseball over the past few years, which is why he earned a big contract to play for the White Sox this season. He has a 2.54 SIERA and 3.10 xFIP since 2018, which shows how good he is.

94. Ramon Laureano

Besides a down year in 2020, Laureano has been great since getting called up in 2018. He has a 123 wRC+, .348 wOBA, and 6 DRS for his career. This conveys how Laureano has immense value overall, and how he is an all-star level player.

95. Max Stassi

Stassi finally has some offensive consistency, with a 135 wRC+ and .368 wOBA from 2020-2021. The most essential part of Stassi’s game is his 30.6 FRM and 19 framing runs since 2018. Overall, he is one of the best catchers in the game, and if he maintains this offense he will be a top 30-40 player at least.

96. Sean Murphy

Murphy is a very solid all-around player with a 120 wRC+, .341 wOBA, and 7.1 FRM since being called up in 2019. He has complimented the Oakland A’s very well, as he adds a solid bat to the lineup, and strengthens the elite bullpen with stellar framing.

97. Gary Sanchez

Although Gary is average at best defensively, his offensive ceiling is very high. We saw him maintain a 143 wRC+ from 2016-2017, but had never gotten back to that since. Finally, in 2021 he broke out. In 2019-2021 combined, Gary has a .333 wOBA and 109 wRC+, but these numbers are on the rise, as he has a 128 wRC+ and .360 xwOBA in 2021 alone.

98. Carlos Carrasco

Due to injuries Carrasco has missed some time, but his numbers from 2018-2020 are fantastic. He has a 3.32 SIERA and 3.19 xFIP over this span, which ranks him very high amongst other starters. Due to his injury in 2021, and 3.91 SIERA in 2020, I moved him down a little, but I expect him to rise back up.

99. Starling Marte

I think many analytical nerds (like myself) often underrate Starling Marte. He plays very solid defense, and has a 117 wRC+ and .346 wOBA since 2018. He is a very solid player overall, and has been the best bat in the Miami Marlins lineup, if that means anything.

100. Austin Hedges

We have finally reached number 100, and you probably think I put a backup catcher as a joke. But, if you really look at how good Hedges is defensively, he is too valuable to leave off of this list. In all of baseball, framing is the most important aspect in regards to defense. Framing plays a role in every single pitch of every game, which is why a good defensive catcher is so valuable to a team. And Hedges is just that; he has 36.6 FRM since 2018, he has also averaged a 12.53 CDA per season over that span, and has 48 framing runs. Even though he is arguably the worst hitter ever, Hedges adds so much value to your team.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Who Will Win the NBA Finals?

Author: Jack Gordon

The 2021 NBA playoffs have been about the weirdest thing we have seen in a long, long time.

There has never been a postseason in NBA history with as many injuries to major stars and key players, and it all culminated perfectly in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals with a matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks, led by Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, and the Atlanta Hawks, led by… John Collins and Kevin Huerter? With the injuries to Trae Young and Giannis, that was quite literally the worst Eastern Conference Finals game anybody could have envisioned.

And yet, through everything, we finally have a finals matchup: the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks.

The weirdest thing about these finals is that they probably aren’t the best two teams, and it isn’t really that close. Watching Brooklyn, it became almost too obvious that they were absolutely the best team in the league, and if they didn’t suffer injuries to two of their top three players, the Nets would have crushed the Bucks and gone on to win the championship with their eyes closed.

The Bucks are such a frustrating team, and a lot of that has to do with the Mike Budenholzer situation. Over the last few seasons, it has become painfully clear that while Coach Bud is a great regular season coach, he is not good in the playoffs, largely due to his stubbornness and at times unwillingness to make key adjustments not only over the span of a game, but over the span of a series and over the span of the playoffs. He is just not helpful to this roster, and for anyone who knows or watches a lot of basketball, the Bucks are such a frustrating team because they so clearly are not playing at their potential. You hear Charles Barkley say it at every halftime show: I believe the Bucks are good enough to, and will, win the NBA championship. But they have to be the dumbest team I’ve seen. And now, the Giannis injury looms over the series and over Game 1. And despite all of this, they still made the NBA finals and have a real shot at winning the championship, because when they’re on, they’re on. When they’re hitting shots, dominating the paint, and playing the best team and individual defense in the league, they are unstoppable. The problem is that they aren’t consistent, and when it gets to a tight fourth quarter, the offense can be hard to watch.

This is where the Phoenix Suns have a chance to win in this series - through a higher level of consistency, reliability and ability to make more adjustments.

There’s a lot of different storylines for the Suns that have already been talked to death, including but not limited to: Chris Paul chasing his first ever ring; Devin Booker becoming a star; Monty Williams and the appreciation he has been receiving; Deandre Ayton’s somewhat shocking elevation to one of the best big men in the league; Cameron Payne’s even more shocking elevation to a crucial rotation piece on a finals team, and more.

But the biggest storyline is the Chris Paul piece of all this, and the 24/7 media and twitter love that is awaiting him if he puts up a Finals-MVP-type performance and wins a title. He was magnificent to close out the Clippers, and displayed to everyone that he still has that gear inside of him, even at the age he is. That gear is the ability to take a look around, analyze the situation and the danger of losing that game 6, and ultimately make the decision to put the team on his back and make sure that his team wins. He was running the offense, hitting shots, making plays, flopping around, goating Clippers into technicals… it was the full package, and just another example in years of examples that Chris Paul is a winning player, that just hasn’t won. Sometimes that happens. He has flaws, and some would argue that those characteristics and teammate interaction flaws have been what holds him back from being a winner. But this season with Phoenix has been a combination of him finding the perfect fit with the right pieces, and also a maturity and growth that Paul now has in his sixteenth season.

But as great as they have been, it’s hard to ignore that the Suns have played an injured Lakers team, an injured Denver team, and an injured Clippers team. Their version of the Nets in Milwaukee was the first round Lakers series, because in all likelihood, had they stayed healthy, the Lakers would have beaten Phoenix and may possibly have been back in the Finals. Maybe the Suns would have even lost to the Clippers had Kawhi been healthy.

None of this is to say, however, that these teams don’t deserve to be where they are. Everyone will love throwing out the word “asterisk” into every discussion of the champion even before they win. And yes, while we most definitely will look back on these playoffs as absolutely ridiculous and as a playoffs where every team got injured leading up to the Finals, it ended up with not that ridiculous of a result. Coming into the playoffs, both Phoenix and Milwaukee were heavy title contenders. They weren’t the favorites, but that is why front offices are always willing to build a team that may even give them a chance at contending, because anything can and sometimes does happen. Both of these teams are really good, and even though they beat some injured teams, not only were both of these teams injured at times as well, but that’s part of the playoffs. One of the most important things in such a long season, in any sport, is staying healthy and preparing to continue playing all the way to the end. Sometimes the teams that come out on top are the ones that can stay healthy the longest, and that’s exactly what happened this year.

It’s going to be pretty cool to see who wins, no matter who it is. If it’s Phoenix, we get to see Chris Paul finally capture that elusive title and cement himself as one of the all-time greats (and we will likely be subjected to the First Take discussions the next morning: “Stephen A. says Chris Paul is the greatest point guard of all time?!”). And if it’s Milwaukee, we get to see Giannis win his first title and continue to ascend as a two-time MVP who has now also won a championship and Finals MVP, which is rare company.

Essentially, the point is this. As weird as these playoffs have been, and as much complaining as people have done about all the injuries to major stars and the fact that we have two somewhat surprising teams from small markets in the finals (all of which is valid), it’s also okay to appreciate the fact that this will actually be a good matchup. Either team can easily win this series, and some all-time legacies are at stake.