Ranking Shohei Ohtani and the Best MLB Players to Build a Team Around
If you could build an MLB team from scratch around one current player, who would it be?
It's a debate as old as the sport itself, and the answers can change on a yearly basis as a new wave of young up-and-coming superstars carve out their place in the future landscape of the sport.
Case in point, it's unlikely anyone would have answered Elly De La Cruz at this time a year ago, but now that his dynamic five-tool skills have been on full display in the big leagues, he has entered the conversation.
Ahead we've ranked the 10 best players to build a team around right now, taking into account their age, current level of production, and projected ongoing production in the years to come.
Let's kick things off with a long list of honorable mentions who were seriously considered but ultimately fell just short of inclusion.
Honorable Mentions
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These players also received consideration for a spot inside the top nine and would be clear candidates to go in the first round of a leaguewide redraft:
DH Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros
IF/OF Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
SS Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays
RHP Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee Brewers
OF Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
OF Jackson Chourio, Milwaukee Brewers
OF Dylan Crews, Washington Nationals
3B Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox
RHP Zac Gallen, Arizona Diamondbacks
1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
SS/3B Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles
SS Jackson Holliday, Baltimore Orioles
LHP Shane McClanahan, Tampa Bay Rays
3B José Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians
OF Luis Robert Jr., Chicago White Sox
SS Corey Seager, Texas Rangers
RHP Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
OF Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres
OF Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
OF Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros
OF James Wood, Washington Nationals
9. SS/3B Elly De La Cruz
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The pessimist will point out that Elly De La Cruz has not even been the best rookie infielder on the Cincinnati Reds roster, as that honor belongs to Matt McLain, but there are few players in the sport that can match the package of tools that De La Cruz possesses.
According to Baseball Savant, the 21-year-old phenom ranks in the 98th percentile in max exit velocity, 100th percentile in sprint speed and 99th percentile in arm strength.
At this time last year, he was just a few weeks removed from being promoted from High-A to Double-A, and he has more than held his own over the past year while rapidly increasing his level of competition.
In 55 games since he was promoted to the majors, he is hitting .262/.313/.453 with 10 doubles, three triples, nine home runs, 22 RBI and 17 steals in 243 plate appearances, and he is the fifth-youngest player to appear in an MLB game this season.
The 21-year-old has work to do cutting down
8. RHP Spencer Strider
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Spencer Strider has come a long way in a very short time since he was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 draft following a forgettable collegiate career at Clemson University.
Armed with a high-octane fastball that averages 97.2 mph and a lethal slider that has generated a 57.1 percent whiff rate, he has quickly developed into one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Earlier this year, he became the fastest pitcher to 200 strikeouts in a season, and he has 413 punchouts in 266.1 innings in the majors pitching for an Atlanta Braves team that has been in the thick of title contention since he debuted.
The Braves signed him to a six-year, $75 million extension last October, and that could wind up being an absolute steal as long as he can avoid injuries.
The 24-year-old might have won NL Rookie of the Year honors over teammate Michael Harris II last year if not for an oblique strain that cost him time down the stretch. His power stuff and undersized frame does mean some risk of injury, but the upside is a perennial Cy Young contender for the foreseeable future.
7. SS Bobby Witt Jr.
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Bobby Witt Jr. took his lumps as a rookie, posting a lackluster .294 on-base percentage while struggling defensively at shortstop, but he also flashed massive upside with a 20-homer, 30-steal performance.
This season he has improved across the board offensively, hitting .268/.310/.474 for a 113 OPS+ with 21 doubles, 20 home runs, 68 RBI and 34 stolen bases, while his strikeout rate and walk rate have both moved in the right direction.
He has also gone from a liability at shortstop (-18 DRS) to a quality defender (2 DRS), and the tools are there from him to continue to improve in that area.
The 23-year-old has a legitimate shot at a 30/30 season if he can finish strong, and he would be just the fifth shortstop in MLB history to reach that milestone:
- Barry Larkin, 1996
- Alex Rodriguez, 1998
- Jimmy Rollins, 2007
- Hanley Ramírez, 2008
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft has quickly become the face of the franchise in Kansas City.
6. RHP Eury Pérez
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Eury Pérez is the youngest player to appear in an MLB game this season.
The Miami Marlins top prospect made his debut on May 12 when he was just 27 days removed from his 20th birthday, and he has lived up to the hype.
The towering 6'8" right-hander has a 2.79 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 68 strikeouts in 58 innings, and he recently returned from a month back at Triple-A as the team has tried to limit his workload at such a young age.
He has averaged 97.6 mph with his fastball, while also generating a whiff rate north of 45 percent with his slider, curveball and changeup, all of which he throws more than 10 percent of the time to keep hitters off-balance.
With his age, stuff and early results, no young pitcher in baseball has a higher ceiling for the next decade.
5. OF Julio Rodríguez
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Outfielder Julio Rodríguez is just one year older than 2023 top draft picks Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews, yet he has already racked up 9.8 WAR at the MLB level with a pair of All-Star selections under his belt.
He posted a 146 OPS+ with 25 doubles, 28 home runs, 75 RBI, 84 runs scored and 25 steals in a 6.2-WAR season to win AL Rookie of the Year last season, and after a slow start to the 2023 campaign he has steadily rounded into form.
Since the start of July, he is hitting .306/.366/.482 with 15 extra-base hits and nine steals in 33 games, and he has settled into the No. 2 spot in the batting order.
The Mariners made him the foundation of the franchise last year when they signed him to a $210 million extension that could be worth as much as $470 million over 17 years if a variety of options are exercised.
He is one of the true five-tool players in the sport, and conceivably has a decade worth of prime seasons left in the tank.
4. OF Juan Soto
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Juan Soto burst onto the scene as a teenager in 2018 and helped lead the Washington Nationals to a World Series title the following year while showing an approach at the plate that belies his age.
Here's a look at where his career OPS+ ranks among all player with at least 3,000 plate appearances prior to their age-25 season:
- Ty Cobb: 176 OPS+
- Mike Trout: 170 OPS+
- Mickey Mantle: 166 OPS+
- Jimmie Foxx: 166 OPS+
- Juan Soto: 157 OPS+
- Eddie Mathews: 155 OPS+
- Mel Ott: 150 OPS+
- Arky Vaughn: 150 OPS+
- Ken Griffey Jr.: 149 OPS+
- Hank Aaron: 145 OPS+
That's eight Hall of Famers and an almost certain ninth in Mike Trout.
His contributions are largely limited to what he does in the batter's box, but his contact skills, power and elite on-base ability have made him one of the most productive young hitters the sport has ever seen.
3. C Adley Rutschman
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Adley Rutschman didn't make his MLB debut until May 21 last season, but he still etched his name alongside elite company by becoming just the fifth rookie catcher in MLB history with a 5-WAR season, joining Johnny Bench (1968), Thurman Munson (1970), Carlton Fisk (1972) and Mike Piazza (1993).
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft following a storied collegiate career at Oregon State, he is everything teams look for in a franchise catcher.
Offensively, the 25-year-old has been one of the best hitters on a contending Orioles team this season, posting a 128 OPS+ with a .373 on-base percentage and 36 extra-base hits, and he has tallied almost as many walks (66) as strikeouts (73).
Defensively, he grades out as an above-average pitch-framer, and his 695 innings in the crouch rank sixth in the majors as he has been the anchor for a young Baltimore pitching staff.
True franchise catchers—guys like Joe Mauer, Buster Posey and Yadier Molina—don't come around often, and there's a reason those three guys spent their entire careers with one team. Rutschman is that same type of player, and guys like that can set the tone for an entire organization.
2. OF Ronald Acuña Jr.
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After winning NL Rookie of the Year honors as a 20-year-old in 2018, Ronald Acuña made a legitimate run at a 40-40 season in his sophomore campaign, posting a 121 OPS+ with 41 home runs and 37 steals to finish fifth in NL MVP voting.
He was playing at an MVP level during the 2021 season and firmly establishing himself as one of baseball's brightest young stars when a torn ACL brought his season to an abrupt halt just before the All-Star break.
The 25-year-old was not the same player upon returning to action last year, posting a .413 slugging percentage and hitting just 15 home runs in 533 plate appearances, but he is back to his dynamic pre-injury self this season.
Hitting .340/.422/.585 with 29 doubles, 26 home runs, 70 RBI, 101 runs scored and 53 steals, he has racked up an NL-leading 5.9 WAR in 113 games, and he has been the NL MVP front-runner for most of the season.
The eight-year, $100 million extension he signed with the Atlanta Braves prior to the 2019 season has a chance to go down as one of the biggest bargains in MLB history.
1. RHP/DH Shohei Ohtani
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At 29 years old, Shohei Ohtani is four years older than anyone else on this list, and nearly a full decade older than the youngest player in this group.
However, he's simply in a category by himself in terms of impact.
On offensive performance alone, he would be the runaway AL MVP winner this season, hitting .306/.410/.666 for a 187 OPS+ with 40 home runs, 283 total bases and 5.5 WAR in 510 plate appearances.
He also has a solid case to finish in the top 10 in AL Cy Young voting, a year after finishing fourth in the balloting. In 22 starts, he has gone 10-5 with a 3.17 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 165 strikeouts in 130.2 innings while limiting opposing hitters to a .185 batting average.
With all signs pointing toward him testing the open market in free agency this offseason, we will soon see exactly how much a team is willing to pay to build their franchise around him in the coming years.
