Power Ranking MLB's Top 25 Stars Entering May Baseball
You've heard of power rankings for teams. Well, here's a power ranking of players.
In fact, in honor of the start of All-Star Game voting Wednesday, you'll find on the pages to follow the very best of the very best—the top 25 Major League Baseball players as the 2015 season rolls into May.
Before clicking through to see who made the list—and who ranks where—there are some factors to point out.
First, this is merely a snapshot in time, meaning how the rankings look right now.
Second, there's no perfect, all-encompassing way to judge, rate and rank the top 25 star players in this (or any other) sport. But here's an attempt to explain the madness behind this method: It's a combination of 1) career track record; 2) production over the past few seasons that more heavily considers recent performance over, say, 2010; and 3) name recognition, reputation and status.
After all, this is a ranking of star players.
Obviously, the first month of 2015 doesn't alter a player's standing much—let alone make or break it—but a strong showing over a couple dozen games can bring an element of confirmation bias into play. In other words, if a player who looked like a prime candidate to continue getting better entering the year had a hot April, that's a recipe for getting bumped up a few spots in the rankings.
On the other hand, nobody is being fooled into thinking that the Texas Rangers' Nick Martinez or Colorado Rockies' DJ LeMahieu, who currently rank first and second in MLB with a 0.35 ERA and with a .406 batting average, respectively, suddenly have morphed into studs.
Beyond that, we'll also note that any player who has spent a large portion of 2015 on the disabled list through the end of April (think: Jose Fernandez, Yu Darvish, Anthony Rendon) or who has suffered an injury that will keep him out for a chunk, if not all of the rest of the season (read: Adam Wainwright, Masahiro Tanaka) just couldn't make the cut.
Hey, narrowing this bad boy down to 25 names was challenging enough.
And lastly, by "stars," we mean stars. A good rule of thumb? If you were to mention a player to your parents or non-baseball-watching friends and they gaze back at you with a lost look in their eyes and raised eyebrows, said player probably ain't a star.
That's not to say we don't really, really like, for instance, George Springer of the Houston Astros or Todd Frazier of the Cincinnati Reds among position players, or pitchers like Jeff Samardzija of the Chicago White Sox or Sonny Gray of the Oakland Athletics. But they're not in the top 25 here, because for one reason or another, they're not stars—at least not yet.
This is, after all, just a ranking of right now. Things can—and will—change going forward.
And don't forget: This is just one person's opinion. Yours can, will and should be different.
Honorable Mentions
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Arian Gonzalez, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers
Nelson Cruz, OF/DH, Seattle Mariners
Adrian Beltre, 3B, Texas Rangers
Carlos Gomez, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
Hanley Ramirez, OF, Boston Red Sox
Matt Kemp, OF, San Diego Padres
Albert Pujols, 1B, Los Angeles Angels
Matt Harvey, RHP, New York Mets
Cole Hamels, LHP, Philadelphia Phillies
Bryce Harper, OF, Washington Nationals
Edwin Encarnacion, 1B, Toronto Blue Jays
Justin Upton, OF, San Diego Padres
Zack Greinke, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers
Jordan Zimmermann, RHP, Washington Nationals
Corey Kluber, RHP, Cleveland Indians
Nolan Arenado, 3B, Colorado Rockies
Victor Martinez, 1B/DH, Detroit Tigers
Yadier Molina, C, St. Louis Cardinals
Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Boston Red Sox
Jon Lester, LHP, Chicago Cubs
Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, New York Yankees
Michael Brantley, OF, Cleveland Indians
Ian Desmond, SS, Washington Nationals
Evan Longoria, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays
Yoenis Cespedes, OF, Detroit Tigers
Todd Frazier, 3B, Cincinnati Reds
Billy Hamilton, OF, Cincinnati Reds
George Springer, OF, Houston Astros
Kris Bryant, 3B/OF, Chicago Cubs
Kyle Seager, 3B, Seattle Mariners
Starling Marte, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
Ryan Braun, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
No. 25: Josh Donaldson, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays
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A relative unknown at this time two years ago, Josh Donaldson might not yet have the name recognition to match many of the 24 others in this top 25, but his performance gets him a ticket into the club.
The 29-year-old hits homers (58 since 2013), has good plate discipline (.364) and plays killer defense at the hot corner to boot.
Consider: Since the start of 2013, the only two players with more wins above replacement, per FanGraphs, than Donaldson's 15.1 are none other than Mike Trout (19.9) and Clayton Kershaw (15.4). You'll find them in rather prime spots in these rankings.
No. 24: David Ortiz, DH, Boston Red Sox
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Even at age 39, David Ortiz remains an extremely productive offensive force who, with his magnanimous, outsized—and sometimes controversial—personality, does a pretty remarkable job at keeping himself relevant in the public eye, whether it's good or not-so-good news.
Regardless, Ortiz is just 30 home runs shy of 500, and if he matches the 35 he smacked in 2014, he'll get there this year. In a way, even though his career is in its twilight, the man known as "Big Papi" is as much the face of baseball as the stars at the very top of this list.
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No. 23: Jose Bautista, OF, Toronto Blue Jays
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Folks tend to want to forget about Jose Bautista, but why? Sure, he plays up in Canada, he's getting up there at 34 and he has battled some injuries in recent years.
But here's an indisputable fact: Bautista has mashed the most home runs in baseball since 2010. In fact, his 192 are six more than Miguel Cabrera—we'll get to him in a bit—and then nobody else is within even 30.
Oh, and don't dare point to his .155 average through this April, because Bautista is sporting a stupid-low .111 BABIP that is second-worst in the sport.
No. 22: Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds
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Coming off a lost 2014, Joey Votto would not have made it into this top 25 on Opening Day 2015. The 31-year-old played just 62 games last year while dealing with chronic knee/quad injuries that turned him into a shell of himself.
Well, a month into this season, and it's like last year never even happened. Votto has returned in full force, playing in all 21 Cincinnati Reds games so far and looking like the on-base machine he always has been, as his .424 mark proves.
What's more, Votto is showing the kind of power he hasn't in quite some time. With seven homers already, he has topped the six he managed last season and could make a run at the high-20s, where he hasn't been since 2011, the year after he won MVP.
No. 21: Jose Altuve, 2B, Houston Astros
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Look, everybody loves an underdog story, like the one about the 5'6" (if that) mighty mite second baseman who led the major leagues in hits—by 25!—while also stealing 56 bases a year ago.
Jose Altuve, who will be just 25 on May 6, is at it again in 2015. Amid a run of seven straight multi-hit games, Altuve currently leads the AL in knocks and is tied atop the Junior Circuit with three others with eight stolen bases.
If he keeps this up, someone is going to have to work on getting the Altuve to become an official standard of measurement.
No. 20: Adam Jones, OF, Baltimore Orioles
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As someone who has made it to four All-Star Games and won as many Gold Gloves, Adam Jones has maintained a level of performance that needs to be recognized in the top 20.
The 29-year-old center fielder puts up similarly great statistics year in and year out, and the first month of 2015—in which he has hit .400/.440/.707 with 17 runs, five homers and 19 RBI in 20 games—has been his best to date.
No. 19: Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks
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Blame the East Coast bias or the fact that the Arizona Diamondbacks finished with the worst team record last year, just don't blame Paul Goldschmidt, who is unquestionably a star in this sport.
The 27-year-old has gotten better since he broke in amid much doubt and skepticism in 2011, earning two All-Star appearances in 2013 and 2014, as well as a second-place finish in the MVP voting in '13.
Although last year ended prematurely when he was hit on his hand by a pitch, Goldschmidt owns a triple-slash of .304/.402/.550 since the start of 2013, making him one of only four players in the .300/.400/.500 class over that span.
No. 18: Johnny Cueto, RHP, Cincinnati Reds
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Ladies and gentlemen, here is your major league leader in quality starts—33 out of 39 and counting—since the start of 2014.
In that time frame, Johnny Cueto has been the most consistent starting pitcher around. And he's not just consistent, he's consistently dominant, as his 2.21 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 280 strikeouts in 280.2 innings makes abundantly clear.
The 29-year-old has battled through his share of injuries, but Cueto has been healthy of late, and the free-agent-to-be is going to get a very large chunk of change at season's end.
No. 17: Stephen Strasburg, RHP, Washington Nationals
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Hyped like all heck as an amateur, Stephen Strasburg became must-watch during his MLB debut in 2010.
Then, having undergone Tommy John surgery that cost him most of 2011 and left him at the very center of one of baseball's most controversial injury-related shutdowns in September 2012—the Washington Nationals would be eliminated in the first round of the postseason without Strasburg throwing a pitch—it's somewhat understandable why the 26-year-old might feel like something of a disappointment so far.
Thing is, Strasburg still has some of the best stuff of any pitcher in the game, and he did lead the NL with 242 strikeouts in 2014 while sporting a 2.92 FIP. Expectations are a tricky gambit, but the fact that some will argue Strasburg doesn't belong in the top 25 just goes to show how tough a room MLB fans can be.
No. 16: Chris Sale, LHP, Chicago White Sox
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Chris Sale often seems to get overlooked when running through a list like this, but the southpaw is getting his due here.
Despite little pockets of injury issues that pop up every year, Sale has put together a crazy-good three-year run, compiling a 2.78 ERA and 1.06 WHIP while striking out a whopping 642 over 599.1 frames since joining the Chicago White Sox rotation in 2012. He's only 26 years old.
No. 15: Max Scherzer, RHP, Washington Nationals
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Money doesn't a star make, but it can be a good signifier of how teams value a particular player at a particular time. So the fact that Max Scherzer landed the largest free-agent contract ever awarded to a pitcher ($210 million for seven years) at least provides some sense of how great the right-hander has been.
Scherzer, 30, always had massive potential, but he finally started to put it all together in 2012 and then just kept getting better in 2013, when he won the AL Cy Young Award. His 2014 was nearly as good, enough to net him a top-five spot in the Cy Young voting.
Now back in the NL, expect Scherzer—who has struck out the most batters in baseball since the beginning of 2012—to maintain his dominance for a few more years, as long as he stays healthy.
No. 14: Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Colorado Rockies
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If not for his yearly struggle to stay healthy, Troy Tulowitzki would rank in the top 10, simply by virtue of being an offensive wrecking crew of a player who also is a premier defensive shortstop.
Alas, the 30-year-old played 264 games—out of a possible 486—across 2012-14, so the fact that he's this high goes to show how darn great Tulo is when he does make it onto the field. To wit, he hit .316/.399/.551 over the past three seasons. Even in severely limited action, that's worthy of a lofty ranking for the four-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner.
No. 13: Jose Abreu, 1B, Chicago White Sox
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The latest in a line of big-time Cuban arrivals, Jose Abreu has a case for being the best yet, especially considering how he took the league by storm in 2014 when he unanimously won Rookie of the Year by hitting .317 with 36 home runs.
The early going of Year 2 has been much the same, as the 28-year-old continues to hit for both average (.296 BA) and power (5 HR) and sports a .956 OPS that is nearly identical to last year's .964 mark. Should Abreu maintain this type of production all the way through the season, he'll have a shot at cracking the top 10.
No. 12: Anthony Rizzo, 1B, Chicago Cubs
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If this seems like a high ranking for Anthony Rizzo, then you haven't been paying any attention since the start of last season.
In that span, the 25-year-old, who made his first All-Star Game and placed in the top 10 in MVP voting, owns a triple-slash line of .291/.398/.521 with 34 home runs and 105 runs over 160 games.
Most impressive? The lefty slugger's improvements against southpaws, who gave him fits in hist first few big league seasons. After posting a higher OPS against left-handers (.928) than right-handers (.907) in 2014, he's doing the same again in 2015. That's the sign of a hitter who knows how to identify and fix his weakness, of which Rizzo doesn't have many in the batter's box anymore.
No. 11: David Price, LHP, Detroit Tigers
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In terms of personality, David Price falls into the understated bin. In terms of performance, the left-hander is anything but.
A former No. 1 overall pick, the 29-year-old Price, who led baseball with 248.1 innings and 271 strikeouts in 2014, has dominated practically since making his debut seven years ago. That explains how he has been to four All-Star Games and placed in the top six in Cy Young voting three time, getting the trophy in 2012.
No. 10: Yasiel Puig, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
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Not many stars burn brighter than Yasiel Puig, who is simultaneously one of the most electrifying and enigmatic talents in MLB.
Known—and often criticized—for playing with all kinds of excess energy and flair, the 24-year-old Cuban sensation enjoyed one of the most memorable introductions to The Show in recent (or even distant) memory back in June 2013. And it feels like Puig has barely slowed down since.
While he's currently on the disabled list with a hamstring injury, the bigger "threat" to his top-10 status might be that Puig will actually make good on his desire to exercise more bat-flip caution. "I want to show American baseball that I'm not disrespecting the game," Puig said after noticeably not tossing his lumber after a mid-April homer, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
No. 9: Robinson Cano, 2B, Seattle Mariners
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Robinson Cano might have lost a little bit of his luster in leaving the New York Yankees, but the 32-year-old has fared rather well with the Seattle Mariners, nearly pushing the team to the postseason for the first time since 2001—in his first season there.
With eight consecutive years of at least 157 games played and five straight in which he's finished in the top six in MVP voting, Cano is more consistent and durable than—and nearly as productive as—all but a very few position players ahead of him on this list.
No. 8: Madison Bumgarner, LHP, San Francisco Giants
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A North Carolina native, Madison Bumgarner's aw-shucks demeanor has kept him under wraps some, even while he has compiled a 3.08 ERA and 1.14 WHIP for his career.
But after what the 25-year-old southpaw did during his record-setting October in hurling 52.2 innings and almost single-handedly pitching the Giants to their third World Series title in five years, there aren't many sports fans—or even nonsports fans—who don't know his name anymore.
Plus, as Sports Illustrated's 2014 Sportsman of the Year, Bumgarner's small-town nature and ultracompetitive fire on the mound are admittedly part of the paradoxical charm of the man who owns the best-ever World Series ERA—at the not-a-typo 0.25.
No. 7: Buster Posey, C/1B, San Francisco Giants
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Our second San Francisco Giants player in a row, Buster Posey has had something of an unprecedented beginning of a career, first winning the Rookie of the Year and the World Series in 2010, then the MVP and another World Series in 2012 and yet another championship last year.
Even if Posey's personality lacks the pizzazz of some others in this top 25, that track record of on-field production and success is about as impressive as it gets.
No. 6: Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Miami Marlins
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The game's preeminent slugger, Giancarlo Stanton has bashed his way into the top 10—and nearly the top five—by hitting the ball as hard and as far as anyone else. Just 25, Stanton's 154 homers through his age-24 season (2014) place him in the top 10 all time. And he did so in the fewest plate appearances of that group by far.
Throw in that record-setting $325 million contract you may have heard about, and Stanton's status within baseball's hierarchy is undeniable.
No. 5: Felix Hernandez, RHP, Seattle Mariners
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Don't dare forget about Felix Hernandez just because he plays all the way up in the Pacific Northwest. The man goes by "King"—deservedly so—and holds court every time he takes the mound.
Amazingly, the 29-year-old is in his 11th big league campaign, and he seems to get better every year. Sure, 2014 was his best yet with a 2.14 ERA and 0.92 WHIP, but his marks to start 2015? Try 1.61 and 0.79.
No. 4: Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
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Even a slow start to this season can't knock Andrew McCutchen out of the top five.
The Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder has been fighting his way through injury issues that have lingered since spring training, but once he gets right, Cutch can do no wrong as one of the most complete players—on offense, defense and the basepaths—in the majors.
Three straight top-three MVP finishes, including the win in 2013? Sure, that's cool, but so was getting engaged on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and cutting off his dreads for charity.
No. 3: Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Detroit Tigers
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If there were any doubts about Miguel Cabrera coming into the year after he had surgery for a second straight offseason and looked hobbled at times each of the past two seasons, well, the 32-year-old has knocked those out of the park.
Simply put, Cabrera is the best all-around hitter there is, thanks to a freakish ability to hit for both average and power, as proved by his .333 batting average and .592 slugging percentage since 2010.
No. 2: Clayton Kershaw, LHP, Los Angeles Dodgers
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Clayton Kershaw has been merely very good rather than otherworldly at the outset of 2015, but we're not worried in the least. The 27-year-old left-hander has a 2.85 FIP and sports a 43-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 31.1 innings.
Plus, after having led the entire sport in ERA each of the past four seasons—the first time that's ever happened—while winning three Cy Youngs and an MVP, Kershaw unquestionably is the best pitcher around.
No. 1: Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels
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As if it could be anybody else, right?
Mike Trout has been the best all-around player in baseball for three years running, a dynamic hitter for both average and power who not only runs as well as just about any other player in the game, but also more than capably handles the premium up-the-middle position of center field.
No wonder he followed up two straight runner-up finishes in MVP voting in 2012-13 by capturing the hardware last season—all by the age of 23.
Trout, who also has won Rookie of the Year (2012) and All-Star Game MVP (2014) already, is the No. 1 choice. There are a handful of other worthy choices for the top spot, but it's his to lose.
Statistics are accurate through Wednesday, April 29, and courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted.
To talk baseball or fantasy baseball, check in with me on Twitter:@JayCat11.
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