MLB 20 for '20: Projecting the Top 20 Superstars in 2020

For the past few weeks, we've been going position by position and taking a look at who profiles to be the best players in the game five years from now with our "MLB 20 in '20" series.

This has served as an update to an identical series we did back in 2015.

With all of the positional articles finished, let's put a bow on the series with a look at the top 20 players overall for the 2020 season.

First, here's a link to each positional article in case you missed one along the way or want a refresher on how that position played out:

• Catchers
• First Basemen
• Second Basemen
• Shortstops
• Third Basemen
• Outfielders
• Pitchers

With that out of the way, let's dive into who we think will be the best of the best in 2020, followed by a quick recap and overview of our positional rankings.

	Top 20 Players	2020 Age
1	Mike Trout	28
2	Kris Bryant	28
3	Mookie Betts	27
4	Francisco Lindor	26
5	Bryce Harper	27
6	Jose Altuve	30
7	Aaron Judge	28
8	Carlos Correa	25
9	Manny Machado	27
10	Ronald Acuna	22
11	Luis Severino	26
12	Chris Sale	31
13	Nolan Arenado	29
14	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	21
15	Gleyber Torres	23
16	Gerrit Cole	29
17	Anthony Rizzo	30
18	Clayton Kershaw	32
19	Freddie Freeman	30
20	Shohei Ohtani	25

      

Catchers

David Banks/Getty Images

No catchers made our top-20 player list for the 2020 season.

However, rising stars Gary Sanchez and Willson Contreras were both among the final round of cuts after topping the positional ranking list.

Buster Posey—the current consensus top player at the position—will be in his age-33 season when the 2020 season arrives, and he too was among the players who fell just outside the final 20.

J.T. Realmuto looks to be a prime candidate to be moved by the rebuilding Miami Marlins, and with his top-notch athleticism and talent, he would have no issue proving his value on a new team. 

Current prospects Francisco Mejia and Sean Murphy also earned a place in our top 10, along with rookie Chance Sisco, and those three are all capable of playing their way into the top five once they establish themselves.

Further down the list, fellow prospects Jake Rogers, Keibert Ruiz, Andrew Knizner, Danny Jansen and Will Smith and 2018 draft prospect Joey Bart are all capable of making some noise as well.

Corner Infielders

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Chicago Cubs teammates Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant are two of the best all-around players in the game—even with Rizzo off to a slow start here in 2018—and both earned a place on our top-20 list.

Bryant is joined by Nolan Arenado as the game's elite third basemen, while Freddie Freeman was the other first baseman to earn a spot.

Top prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the only player to earn a spot on our top-20 list who has yet to make his MLB debut, and truth be told, the No. 14 spot could prove to be too low. There's a good chance we're looking at a generational talent; it's just a matter of how quickly he reaches his ceiling.

Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger just missed inclusion as fellow members of the top tier of first basemen, and there's no reason to think they won't still be among the game's elite offensive producers two years down the road.

Across the diamond, Jose Ramirez, Alex Bregman and Anthony Rendon also received serious consideration for the list. All three will still be in the prime of their respective careers, and in the case of Bregman, we've seen just the tip of the iceberg of his offensive potential.

Middle Infielders

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Shortstops Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa and Manny Machado earned a place on our top-20 list, along with second basemen Jose Altuve and Gleyber Torres.

The first four guys from that group have already established themselves as stars at the MLB level, while Torres is well on his way with a .317/.379/.606 slash line and nine home runs and 24 RBI in his first 31 games in the big leagues.

While those five were the only middle infielders to crack the final list, plenty more earned serious consideration.

Speedster Trea Turner, rising stars Ozzie Albies, Javier Baez and Yoan Moncada, and top prospects Bo Bichette, Nick Senzel and Fernando Tatis Jr. all garnered serious consideration for the list and have the tools to be impact players when 2020 arrives.

Corey Seager was perhaps the toughest omission. With a clean bill of health, he should once again be placed among the game's most promising young stars, and he has quickly proved to be a standout defender as well as a dynamic hitter.

Outfielders

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Until someone else unseats him, Mike Trout is the best player on the planet. He'll still be just 28 years old in 2020, and he was an easy choice for the No. 1 spot on our list.

Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge and Ronald Acuna were the other outfielders to earn a spot. Betts and Harper are already two of the game's true superstars, Judge is showing no signs of a sophomore slump after his historic rookie season, and Acuna has as much upside as any young player in the sport.

World Series MVP George Springer was the toughest omission among established outfielders, while slugger Eloy Jimenez and five-tool threat Victor Robles could quickly rise the ranks once they play their way into an everyday role at the highest level.

Andrew Benintendi, Juan Soto and Kyle Tucker are three other young outfielders to keep an eye on. As for established players, Christian Yelich, Odubel Herrera, Marcell Ozuna and Charlie Blackmon should still be performing at a high level.

The same goes for Giancarlo Stanton and J.D. Martinez who have made the move to designated hitter. Stanton will be in his age-30 season and Martinez will be in his age-32 campaign, so both should still be among the most feared sluggers in the game.

Pitchers

Mike Stobe/Getty Images

Position players will always carry a bit more value than pitchers, so it should come as no surprise that only five pitchers earned a spot on our list—Luis Severino, Chris Sale, Gerrit Cole, Clayton Kershaw and Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani earned the No. 6 spot in our pitcher rankings, but his contributions with the bat were enough to push him ahead of Noah Syndergaard and into a spot on our top-20 list.

Slotting Severino in the No. 1 spot among pitchers was a bit bold, but given his age and current career trajectory, he's given every reason to believe he can be the most dominant pitcher in the game in short order.

Along with Syndergaard, fellow aces Carlos Martinez, Stephen Strasburg and Madison Bumgarner were also among the final cuts from our list.

As for young starters who could push their way into the conversation, flame-throwers Alex Reyes and Michael Kopech might have the best chance of pushing their way onto the list, while Walker Buehler and Mitch Keller were also among the top 20 pitchers.

While no relievers cracked the pitcher list, they deserve some recognition as well.

Kenley Jansen and Craig Kimbrel will still be in the prime of their careers, while young relievers like Archie Bradley, Edwin Diaz, Felipe Vazquez, Roberto Osuna, Chad Green and Carl Edwards Jr. could all be dominant bullpen arms as well.

On the prospect side of things, Sandy Alcantara, J.B. Bukauskas, Jorge Guzman and Josh Staumont are four hard-throwing starters who could eventually move to the bullpen and find themselves in a closer's role.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, unless otherwise noted.