Ranking Top 25 MLB Players Still Standing in the 2020 ALCS and NLCS
Who are the 25 best MLB players still taking the field in 2020?
That's the question we set out to answer with the ALCS and NLCS in full swing.
The list was ordered based on a simple question: If I were building a team to play out the remainder of the postseason, would I rather have Player A or Player B?
That means a fair amount of recency bias is at play, and that was by design. That doesn't necessarily mean the 25 best players based on overall body of work or long-term outlook, though those things were part of the conversation.
Instead, we simply tried to identify the 25 guys poised to make the biggest impact the rest of this postseason.
Let's get to it.
Nos. 25-21
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25. OF Manuel Margot, Tampa Bay Rays
Acquired from the San Diego Padres during a busy offseason, Margot hit .269 with a 91 OPS+ and 12 steals in 47 games. He has just 34 home runs in 1,685 career plate appearances, but he's gone deep three times in nine contests this October. He's also a standout defender in the outfield with 29 career DRS.
24. 1B Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers
After posting a 145 OPS+ while averaging 35 home runs and 88 RBI the past two seasons, Muncy hit just .192 with a 97 OPS+ in 2020. He still slugged 12 home runs and posted a solid .331 on-base percentage thanks to his plate discipline, and he remains a fixture in the middle of the Los Angeles lineup.
23. SP Framber Valdez, Houston Astros
Thrust into a prominent role on the Houston pitching staff this season, Valdez went 5-3 with a 3.57 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 76 strikeouts in 70.2 innings while posting a 60 percent ground-ball rate. The 26-year-old pitched six strong innings in Game 1 of the ALCS and has a 2.00 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 18 innings this postseason.
22. RP Nick Anderson, Tampa Bay Rays
Despite a rocky save in Game 2 of the ALCS, Anderson remains the best reliever on any of the four teams still in the World Series hunt. He pitched to a 0.55 ERA and 0.49 WHIP with a 26-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 16.1 innings during the regular season, and he has a 15.0 K/9 in 87 career appearances.
21. C Travis d'Arnaud, Atlanta Braves
The Braves signed d'Arnaud to a two-year, $16 million contract in one of the first major moves of the 2019-20 offseason, and it has paid huge dividends. The 31-year-old hit .321/.386/.533 with nine home runs and 34 RBI in 44 games during the regular season, and he is now the cleanup hitter in a stacked Atlanta lineup.
Nos. 20-16
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20. 3B Alex Bregman, Houston Astros
In a down year relative to his otherworldly 2019, Bregman still posted a 116 OPS+ with six home runs and 22 RBI in 180 plate appearances. He's hitting .290/.389/.419 with one home run this postseason, and he remains penciled into the cleanup spot in the Houston order. It's been a largely forgettable year for the 2019 AL MVP runner-up, but he's still capable of making an impact this postseason.
19. SP/RP Julio Urias, Los Angeles Dodgers
A full-time member of the starting rotation until the season's final weeks, Urias went 3-0 with a 3.27 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 45 strikeouts in 55 innings during the regular season. He has been used in bulk relief this postseason, allowing four hits and one unearned run in eight innings over his two appearances. He'll get the start in Game 3 of the NLCS.
18. SP Blake Snell, Tampa Bay Rays
Snell may never replicate his phenomenal 2018 when he went 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA and 221 strikeouts in 180.2 innings to win AL Cy Young honors, but he can still pitch like a top-tier starter. While he rarely goes deep into games, he can dominate for five or so innings, which is exactly what he did in the Wild Card Series and Game 1 of the ALCS.
17. DH Michael Brantley, Houston Astros
In the final season of a two-year, $32 million contract, Brantley continued to rake with a .300/.364/.476 line that included 20 extra-base hits in 187 plate appearances. The 33-year-old hits No. 3 in the Houston lineup, and he's batting .342/.405/.632 with three home runs and eight RBI in nine games this postseason.
16. SP Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers
Bothered by blister problems down the stretch and into the playoffs, Buehler has been on a short leash this postseason, working four innings in his Wild Card Series and NLDS starts before going five innings in Game 1 of the NLCS on Monday night. He hasn't had the same plus command, offering up 11 walks in 13 innings, but he's also posted 23 strikeouts and a .170 opponents batting average. Blisters or not, his stuff is elite.
Nos. 15-11
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15. LF Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros
Tucker spent the bulk of the 2019 season in Triple-A, where he posted a .909 OPS and slugged 34 home runs in 125 games. He then impressed enough as a September call-up to earn a spot on the postseason roster. The breakout continued this year when he hit .268/.325/.512 for a 123 OPS+ with 12 doubles, six triples, nine home runs and 42 RBI in a 1.6-WAR season. The 23-year-old is a budding star.
14. CF Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers
It was a down year for the reigning NL MVP, but he still hit .239/.333/.455 for a 113 OPS+ with 10 doubles, 12 home runs and 30 RBI. The 25-year-old has an .800 OPS with three extra-base hits and six RBI in seven postseason games this year, and he remains an impact defender in center field. There's still plenty of time for him to make more of a mark on these playoffs.
13. CF George Springer, Houston Astros
Springer finished among the AL leaders in home runs (14, seventh) and runs scored (37, 10th) while posting a 140 OPS+ during the regular season, once again serving as a dynamic offensive catalyst out of the leadoff spot in the Houston lineup. He was 7-for-18 with a double and two home runs in the ALDS, and he's piled up 17 home runs and 33 RBI in 58 career playoff games.
12. SP Tyler Glasnow, Tampa Bay Rays
In terms of pure stuff, Glasnow is as overpowering as any pitcher in baseball. The 6'8" right-hander went 5-1 with a 4.08 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 11 starts during the regular season, striking out 91 batters in 57.1 innings. He won Game 2 of the Wild Card Series and Game 2 of the ALDS before throwing 2.1 shutout innings in Game 5 of the ALDS on short rest. He'll get the ball Wednesday in Game 4 of the ALCS.
11. SS Dansby Swanson, Atlanta Braves
A bit overshadowed in a stacked Atlanta lineup, Swanson hit .274/.345/.464 for a 110 OPS+ with 15 doubles, 10 home runs and 35 RBI. That offensive production and his terrific defense (10 DRS) added up to 2.6 WAR, which tied for ninth among all NL players. He has two home runs and five RBI in seven playoff games this season.
10. SP Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
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Clayton Kershaw flew under the radar a bit this season, due in part to the fact that back problems cost him two starts to begin the year, and he never appeared on statistical leaderboards as a result. He finished the season with 58.1 innings pitched, leaving him just short of the 60 innings required to qualify for the ERA title.
The 32-year-old went 6-2 with a 2.16 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and a 62-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 10 starts, showing an unexpected uptick in his fastball velocity along the way.
The elephant in the room is his past postseason struggles, but he has looked sharp this October. He struck out 13 batters over eight shutout innings in the Wild Card Series and turned in another quality start with six innings of six-hit, three-run ball to earn a victory in the NLDS.
However, back spasms led to him being scratched from his Game 2 start, and his status for the remainder of the NLCS is up in the air. That's enough for him to slide several spots from where he was initially placed in these rankings.
9. DH Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves
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Signed to a one-year, $18 million contract to fill the middle-of-the-order void created by Josh Donaldson's departure, Marcell Ozuna proved to be one of the year's most impactful free-agent signings.
The 29-year-old hit .338/.431/.636 for a career-high 175 OPS+, and he led the NL in home runs (18), RBI (56) and total bases (145).
He's hitting .226 with one walks and 11 strikeouts in 32 plate appearances this postseason, but he has managed two doubles, one home run and six RBI in seven games.
8. SS Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers
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Corey Seager should pop up on a number of NL MVP ballots after hitting .307/.358/.585 with 12 doubles, 15 home runs and 41 RBI. After leading the NL with 44 doubles in 2019, he showed more over-the-fence pop en route to a career-high .585 slugging percentage this year.
The 26-year-old is also a solid defender at shortstop, despite his 6'4" frame, and he stayed healthy enough to play 52 of 60 games after battling injury in years past.
Hitting out of the No. 2 spot in the Dodgers lineup, he's batting .308/.406/.654 with three doubles, two home run and eight RBI in seven 2020 postseason games.
7. SP Ian Anderson, Atlanta Braves
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He likely won't win NL Rookie of the Year, but no first-year player has made a bigger impact on his team's postseason than Ian Anderson.
The 22-year-old made his MLB debut on Aug. 26, getting promoted to bolster a beleaguered starting rotation that was filled with question marks behind breakout ace Max Fried.
He allowed just one hit over six strong innings in that debut and went on to post a 1.95 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 32.1 innings over six starts down the stretch. That was enough to earn the No. 2 starter spot in the postseason rotation, and he has been virtually untouchable.
He allowed just two hits in six scoreless innings in his Wild Card Series start and then tossed 5.2 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in Game 2 of the NLDS. He walked five batters in four innings in Game 2 of the NLCS on Tuesday, but allowed just one hit and kept the Dodgers off the scoreboard.
If the Braves are going to make a title push, Anderson might be the biggest X-factor.
6. SS Carlos Correa, Houston Astros
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After a lackluster regular season in which he posted a 92 OPS+ with five home runs and 25 RBI in 221 plate appearances, Correa has caught fire in October.
The 26-year-old is hitting .400/.526/.900 with five home runs and 13 RBI in nine games, and stellar postseason production is nothing new for Houston's star shortstop.
In 59 career playoff games, he has 16 home runs and 46 RBI with a .531 slugging percentage, and he hit a solo home run in Game 2 of the ALCS on Monday.
5. SP Max Fried, Atlanta Braves
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For as good as Anderson has been, there is still little question who the ace of the Atlanta staff is.
Fried showed flashes in 2019 when he went 17-6 with a 4.02 ERA and 173 strikeouts in 165.2 innings in his first full season in the majors, and that was just the beginning.
The 26-year-old went 7-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 56 innings during the regular season, and he didn't allow a home run until his final start of the year.
He matched NL Cy Young favorite Trevor Bauer pitch for pitch with seven shutout innings in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series and then bounced back from a shaky NLDS outing with six innings of four-hit, one-run ball in Game 1 of the NLCS.
4. Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves
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One of the most exciting young players in baseball, Ronald Acuna Jr. finished fifth in NL MVP voting last season when he turned in a 41-homer, 37-steal, 5.7-WAR season at age 21.
His contributions this season were somewhat overshadowed by the dynamic one-two punch of Ozuna and Freddie Freeman in the middle of the lineup, but he was once again tasked with setting the tone for the offense out of the leadoff spot.
He hit .250/.406/.581 for a career-high 155 OPS+, slugging 11 doubles and 14 home runs while raising his walk rate from 10.6 to 18.8 percent.
He has 16 strikeouts in 35 plate appearances this postseason, but the Braves have run into some excellent pitching, and he has still managed a .343 on-base percentage with three doubles, one home run and seven runs scored.
3. LF Randy Arozarena, Tampa Bay Rays
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No player in baseball has boosted his stock more in the past month than Randy Arozarena, and all signs point to this being just the beginning of his rise to stardom.
The 25-year-old was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals during the offseason along with Jose Martinez for Matthew Liberatore, and after a positive COVID-19 test, he finally made his debut with the team on Aug. 30.
He went on to slug seven home runs in 69 plate appearances in September, and he has been an extra-base machine in the middle of the Tampa Bay lineup during the postseason with three doubles, one triple and four home runs while hitting .462/.512/.897 in 43 trips to the plate.
With electric bat speed, above-average exit velocity good wheels and strong defense, he has the potential to develop into a five-tool star for the Rays in the years to come.
2. 1B Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
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A solo home run off Buehler in the top of the first inning Monday sent the "MVFree" hashtag trending once again, and rightfully so.
Freddie Freeman has been arguably the best first baseman in baseball for several years running, and he's the front-runner to walk way with NL MVP honors in 2020 after hitting .341/.462/.640 with 23 doubles, 13 home runs and 53 RBI.
The 31-year-old has finished in the top 10 in MVP voting four times, including eighth a year ago when he won his first career Silver Slugger Award on the strength of a 38-homer, 121-RBI season.
He's hitting just .231 with five RBI in the postseason, but he delivered the walk-off RBI single in the marathon Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Reds, his long ball Monday set the tone for a 5-1 victory, and he homered again on Tuesday.
1. RF Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
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If Mike Trout is the best baseball player on the planet, Mookie Betts is a close second.
The Los Angeles Dodgers paid a steep price to acquire him from the Boston Red Sox during the offseason, sending promising young outfielder Alex Verdugo and top prospects Jeter Downs and Connor Wong the other way.
Betts, 28, signed a 12-year, $365 million extension on the eve of Opening Day and then turned in another MVP-caliber season, hitting .292/.366/.562 with 16 home runs, 39 RBI, 47 runs scored and 10 steals. His 3.4 WAR led all players during the abridged 2020 season.
He hasn't missed a beat in October, hitting .308/.406/.500 with five doubles and seven runs scored in seven games while hitting first in the Los Angeles batting order.
All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and MLB.com.
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