Every MLB Team's Best and Worst Player of the 2021 Season

The 2021 Major League Baseball season isn't over yet, so players still have time to add to already impressive resumes or rewrite ones that, shall we say, need work.

They know who they are. Or at least, they ought to by now.

Just in case, we've pinpointed the best and worst player on each of MLB's 30 teams for the 2021 season. As always, wins above replacement—namely the Baseball Reference version—was helpful in this regard. But since there weren't always clear options, we made judgment calls in some cases.

We'll go division by division, starting in the American League East and ending in the National League West.

American League East

Associated Press

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Baltimore Orioles

Best: CF Cedric Mullins (4.9 rWAR)

Mullins boasts an AL-high-tying 152 hits to go along with his excellent .306/.370/.529 slash line, and the Orioles love the defense they're getting from him in center field. So does outs above average, which places him comfortably among the top 10 defenders at the position.

Worst: 3B Maikel Franco (-1.5)

The Orioles are one of the worst offensive teams in MLB, so a player would have to be horrific to get cut. Which brings us to Franco, who slashed only .210/.253/.355 in 104 games before Baltimore released him last Friday. The 29-year-old former top prospect is running out of chances to prove himself.

Boston Red Sox

Best: 3B Rafael Devers (3.7)

There's a case here for Xander Bogaerts, who's put up an .867 OPS and 20 home runs while holding it down at shortstop. Yet his poor defense undercuts his inherent positional advantage, so we found it fair to side with Devers and the .893 OPS and 32 home runs he's provided from the hot corner.

Worst: OF/INF Franchy Cordero (-0.6)

He's taken 136 plate appearances yet has mustered only a .189/.237/.260 slash line with a 34 OPS+. The latter qualifies him as the third-worst hitter among those who've appeared at the plate at least 130 times this season.

New York Yankees

Best: RF Aaron Judge (5.5)

Though ace Gerrit Cole is having a fine season overall, his ERA over his last 14 starts is close to two runs higher than it was after his first 11 outings. Judge, meanwhile, is having his best season since he finished second in the AL MVP voting in 2017. He's put up a .934 OPS and blasted 30 homers in 119 games.

Worst: OF Clint Frazier (-1.3)

After last year's encouraging breakout, Frazier's production fell off the table as he racked up a .186/.317/.317 slash line in 66 games with the Yankees through June 30. Yet the club's focus for now is on his well-being, as he's working his way back from dizziness and vision problems.

Tampa Bay Rays

Best: 2B/OF Brandon Lowe (3.1)

We can only pick one Ray? Lowe it is, then. He was cold to start the season, but he's come on strong with a .952 OPS and 22 home runs since June 3. He won't beat Shohei Ohtani or Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for MVP, but Lowe should have some down-ballot votes coming his way.

Worst: RHP Michael Wacha (-1.2)

The Rays typically know what they're doing when they take a flier on a guy, but not this time. Wacha has been hit hard in the process of posting a 5.70 ERA, which is the seventh-highest mark among pitchers who've logged at least 90 innings this season.

Toronto Blue Jays

Best: 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (5.3)

In Guerrero, second baseman Marcus Semien and ace Robbie Ray, the Blue Jays have three of the best players in the AL. But, come on. The edge here surely belongs to the first of those three. His defense and baserunning may be suspect, but there's no finding fault with his AL-best 1.004 OPS or 39 homers.

Worst: DH Rowdy Tellez (-0.7)

Now with the Milwaukee Brewers, Tellez can't hurt the Blue Jays anymore. Yet he did plenty of damage (of the unwanted kind, that is) while he was in town, managing only a .610 OPS and four home runs over 50 games. At least he played against type by going a respectable 6-for-22 against left-handers.

American League Central

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

Salvador Perez

Chicago White Sox

Best: RHP Lance Lynn (4.4 rWAR)

This is not to disrespect reigning MVP Jose Abreu, who's hit 28 home runs and is currently on pace to lead the Junior Circuit in runs batted in for a third straight season. It's just that Lynn has been even better, as he leads the AL with both a 2.59 ERA and 164 ERA+ over 135.2 innings.

Worst: C Zack Collins (-0.4)

It would be easier to forgive Collins' .202/.324/.331 batting line if he was at least doing a good job behind the plate. But he's been one of the worst pitch-framers in either league, and he has a caught-stealing rate of only 16 percent. So, yeah.

Cleveland

Best: 3B Jose Ramirez (5.2)

Remember when Ramirez had a down year in 2019? That now feels like ancient history, as he's following up a bounce-back campaign in 2020 with an .887 OPS, 31 home runs and 19 stolen bases this year. He should finish in the top five for the AL MVP voting for the fourth time in five years.

Worst: RHP J.C. Mejia (-1.3)

Mejia had a 0.00 ERA after his first four appearances. It's fair to say things have gone south since then, as he's been touched up for a 10.53 ERA over 39.1 innings spanning 10 outings. Overall, his 8.75 ERA is the highest of any hurler who's made at least 10 starts.      

Detroit Tigers

Best: RHP Casey Mize (3.1)

The Tigers are short on great players, but Mize is perhaps the best of the good players who've put them near the finish line of their rebuild. The No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft has found his footing with a solid 3.59 ERA over 135.1 innings, notably allowing more than three earned runs only twice in his last 21 outings.

Worst: INF Willi Castro (-0.8)

As he was in the process of hitting .349 in 36 games last year, it looked like Castro was ready to take his place as one of Detroit's long-term cornerstones. Not so much now. He's mustered a .214/.268/.353 line this year, and his WAR further marks him as one of the worst everyday players of the season.

Kansas City Royals

Best: C Salvador Perez (4.3)

Perez was plenty good even before he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019, but he's found a new gear since he returned last season. That's especially the case this year, in which his 38 home runs are already tied for the eighth-most ever in a season by a primary catcher.

Worst: 3B/OF Hunter Dozier (-3.0)

In Dozier's defense, it's hard to get in a groove after you get into bad habits because of an early-season thumb injury. Landing on the concussion injured list in May didn't help matters, either. Ultimately, though, his minus-3.0 rWAR isn't just bad. It's the worst of any player in MLB this season.

Minnesota Twins

Best: 2B Jorge Polanco (4.2)

Once his numbers fell off a cliff amid last year's shortened season, Polanco's 2019 breakout sure looked like an outlier. That's no longer the case now that he's hitting .272/.331/.487 with 24 home runs. His best work has come in high-leverage situations, in which he has a .954 OPS and five homers.

Worst: RHP Matt Shoemaker (-1.9)

Neither Shoemaker nor J.A. Happ did much good for the Twins while they were in town, but it's perhaps instructive that Minnesota traded the latter and released the former. There just weren't any positives to go with Shoemaker's 8.06 ERA, especially considering he gave up 15 home runs in 60.1 innings.

American League West

Alex Gallardo/Associated Press

Carlos Correa

Houston Astros

Best: SS Carlos Correa (5.8 rWAR)

The two-way impossibility known as Shohei Ohtani is keeping him from the overall lead, but did you know that Correa co-leads all position players in rWAR? He's mixing an .847 OPS and 20 home runs on offense with 14 defensive runs saved. Salary drive, anyone?

Worst: INF Robel Garcia (-0.8)

He's taken 106 at-bats at the big league level this year and mustered only 16 hits with 42 strikeouts. It all amounts to an 18 OPS+ that's the worst of any hitter with at least 100 plate appearances this season.

Los Angeles Angels

Best: DH/RHP Shohei Ohtani (7.7)

The 2021 season is into its final month, yet Ohtani's campaign still feels like it belongs in a dream. He's doing things that Babe Ruth never even did, tallying 42 homers and 22 stolen bases along with a 3.00 ERA on the mound. This might just be the greatest individual season in history.

Worst: INF/OF Luis Rengifo (-1.2)

This spot should perhaps belong to Jose Iglesias, who hasn't exactly been Andrelton Simmons Lite on either offense or defense. But Rengifo was just plain bad in the 28 games he appeared in through July 27, going 13-for-86 with only three extra-base hits and 20 strikeouts.

Oakland Athletics

Best: 1B Matt Olson (4.7)

The A's have been up, down, side to side and front to back all season. Olson, though, has been a rock. Not just by way of his .919 OPS and 32 home runs, but also his Gold Glove-winning defense at the cold corner. Like Lowe, he should get some down-ballot votes for the AL MVP award.

Worst: LHP Jesus Luzardo (-0.7)

There was a good deal of shock when the A's traded Luzardo to the Miami Marlins in July, but there is something to be said about what he did to play his way out of the team's good graces. Namely, pitch to a 6.87 ERA in 13 appearances and break his hand in a video game-related incident.

Seattle Mariners

Best: 1B Ty France (3.7)

The Mariners have had an "island of misfit toys" thing going on all season, so it isn't easy to pick only one player as their best. The hat fits well on France, though. He's put up a .294/.365/.457 line and been Johnny on the Spot in the place of injured Gold Glover Evan White at first base.

Worst: RHP Rafael Montero (-1.8) and OF Jarred Kelenic (-1.8)

In the long run, Montero's legacy in Seattle will be as one of the two pitchers who went to Houston so the the Mariners could have Abraham Toro. That's better than the one he would have had otherwise as a hurler who flopped with a 7.27 ERA in 40 appearances out of their bullpen.

But even as bad as Montero was in Seattle, Kelenic has been even more disappointing on offense. He was supposed to be an immediate Rookie of the Year candidate when he got the call. Instead, he's struggled every which way as he's hit .153/.237/.272 in 65 games.

Texas Rangers

Best: RF Joey Gallo (4.3)

Oh, sure. It's been more than a month since Gallo went from the Rangers to the Yankees in a trade. But it's doubtful that any of the former's remaining players will catch up to the production that Gallo compiled while he was around, as it's hard to match an .869 OPS with 25 homers and Gold Glove-caliber defense.

Worst: LF David Dahl (-0.7)

It's to the Rangers' credit that they at least tried to hit the jackpot on a bunch of low-risk additions during the 2020-21 offseason. But few of them have worked out, and none flopped harder than Dahl. He hit just .210/.247/.322 in 63 games before the Rangers let him go in August.

National League East

Laurence Kesterson/Associated Press

Atlanta

Best: 1B Freddie Freeman (3.4 rWAR)

We see you, Austin Riley. It's just that your .910 OPS and 28 home runs also come with muddled defensive metrics, including minus-11 outs above average. Freeman is better off on that front, and his .887 OPS and 28 homers are practically a mirror image of what Riley has done at the plate.

Worst: RHP Josh Tomlin (-0.8)

Look, every team needs a mop-up guy. By walking only five guys over 47.1 innings, Tomlin has done at least one thing well in that capacity. It's the 69 hits (including 10 home runs) and 36 runs he's also allowed that are the problem.

Miami Marlins

Best: LHP Trevor Rogers (3.2)

Only the Marlins and the Astros have as many as four starting pitchers with an ERA+ of 125 or better. In spite of the time he's missed seeing to serious family matters, Rogers has undeniably been the best of Miami's starters to the tune of a 2.45 ERA and 129 strikeouts over 110 innings.

Worst: 2B/3B Isan Diaz (-1.1)

It's hard to kick off a major league career better than Diaz did in August 2019, when he homered off Jacob deGrom while his dad was in the middle of a television interview. Alas, there haven't been many highlights for Diaz since then. Especially not this year, as he's slashed only .187/.286/.287 in 77 games.

New York Mets

Best: RHP Jacob deGrom (4.5)

Though he hasn't pitched since July 7 because of tightness in his forearm, deGrom's excellence isn't apparent just in the 1.08 ERA—a modern-era record for a pitcher with at least 90 innings—he's posted in 15 outings. It also says a lot that the Mets have collapsed since losing him, going 19-29 since July 9.

Worst: RHP Jerad Eickhoff (-1.0)

Is it really fair to drive this particular bus over a guy who made only five appearances for the Mets? Perhaps not. But there just isn't any excusing the 8.69 ERA that Eickhoff posted in said appearances. Nor is it a great look that the Mets dumped him even as they badly needed healthy arms.

Philadelphia Phillies

Best: RF Bryce Harper (4.3)

So far, the $330 million deal that the Phillies gave Harper two years ago is actually going...well? He was good in 2019, great in 2020 and now something like his 2015 MVP self in 2021. He's hit 26 home runs and he leads all of MLB with a 1.007 OPS, all of which have him in the MVP race once again.

Worst: 3B Alec Bohm (-1.2)

After he finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2020, the Phillies were patient enough to stick with Bohm for 111 games through August 20. But he never snapped out of an offensive funk marked by a .645 OPS, and he wasn't much good in the field, either.

Washington Nationals

Best: RF Juan Soto (5.1)

Oh, you know. Soto is just a 22-year-old with a league-best .446 OBP this year and a .424 OBP for his career, the latter of which is one of the best ever for a player his age. Nothing to see here.

Worst: LHP Patrick Corbin (-1.6)

Corbin was still getting Cy Young votes in 2019, but it's now fair to wonder if Washington's World Series run that year broke him. He slipped to a 4.66 ERA in 2020 and has slipped even further to a 6.26 ERA this season, in which his trademark slider has been hit for a career-high 11 homers.

National League Central

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Corbin Burnes

Chicago Cubs

Best: C Willson Contreras (3.6 rWAR)

Since his breakout is still ongoing to the tune of an .878 OPS and 25 home runs, Patrick Wisdom at least deserves a shoutout here. Yet Contreras, who's been on the injured list since August 12, had been having one of his better seasons in spite of his modest .750 OPS, specifically to the extent that the framing advancements he made last year have carried over.

Worst: RHP Jake Arrieta (-2.1)

Six years removed from his Cy Young-winning season in 2015, there's no masking how bad Arrieta was in his return to the North Side in 2021. He served up a 6.88 ERA and 21 home runs in only 86.1 innings, so it was very much addition by subtraction when the Cubs released him in August.

Cincinnati Reds

Best: LHP Wade Miley (5.6)

Even as Nick Castellanos, Jesse Winker, Joey Votto and Jonathan India have embarked on excellent offensive seasons, Miley has each of them beat by at least two WAR. Great American Ball Park is a tough place to pitch, folks, so don't underrate how Miley's 2.87 ERA there is lower than his overall 2.97 ERA.

Worst: 3B/SS Eugenio Suarez (-2.3)

It's nice that Suarez has clubbed 24 home runs, but those homers account for about a third of his overall hits. Throw in a .258 OBP and poor defense at both third base and shortstop, and what you get is the worst season of any everyday player in the National League.

Milwaukee Brewers

Best: RHP Corbin Burnes (4.6)

If you want to point out that Brandon Woodruff has Burnes beat in both innings and WAR, well, fair enough. But Burnes has the edge in ERA, 2.27 to 2.35, and that's even despite the fact that he's possibly been unlucky. Per his 1.96 expected ERA, Burnes has been easily the best pitcher of the season so far.

Worst: 1B Keston Hiura (-1.0)

Hiura looked like a rising superstar as he was racking up a .938 OPS and 19 home runs in only 84 games as a rookie in 2019. But his swing-and-miss issues were readily apparent then, and even more apparent now. He's taken 169 at-bats this season and struck out 76 times while collecting only 28 hits.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Best: CF Bryan Reynolds (4.7)

As bad as the Pirates are right now, at least they have one core star in place for the future. Reynolds has an outstanding rookie season in 2019, and he has gotten back to raking after an off year in 2020 with a .299/.384/.512 line. Also good? He's one of only five outfielders with as many as 10 outs above average.

Worst: RF Gregory Polanco (-1.3)

You only have to go back to 2018 to find a time when Polanco's best days seemed to be ahead of him. It's been a struggle for him since then, and never more so than in 2021, as he hit only .208/.283/.354 over 107 games before the Pirates finally cut him loose.

St. Louis Cardinals

Best: 1B Paul Goldschmidt (4.5)

Give it up for Adam Wainwright, who just turned 40 yet is having one of the finest seasons of his career by way of a 2.97 ERA over 169.2 innings. We nonetheless have to go with Goldschmidt here, as an .848 OPS and 24 home runs are pretty good on their own and even better when paired with his strong glovework.

Worst: INF Matt Carpenter (-0.7)

It was only three years ago that Carpenter launched a career-high 36 home runs en route to a top-10 finish in the NL MVP voting. That power is now nowhere to be seen amid a season in which he's hit only three home runs over 214 plate appearances. 

National League West

Gregory Bull/Associated Press

Fernando Tatis Jr.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Best: CF Ketel Marte (1.2)

Though catcher Carson Kelly leads the Diamondbacks with 2.2 rWAR, that isn't much to brag about, and he has long since cooled off from his red-hot start. So the spotlight here is on Marte, who's put up a stellar .344/.395/.549 batting line in the 65 games he's played in this season.

Worst: LHP Alex Young (-0.9)

Young made 30 appearances for Arizona before Cleveland selected him off waivers in July, and he was little more than a warm body when he took the mound in those. He yielded 50 hits, 20 walks and 29 earned runs for a 6.26 ERA in 41.2 innings with the D-backs.

Colorado Rockies

Best: 1B C.J. Cron (3.1)

Third baseman Ryan McMahon leads the Rockies with 3.7 rWAR, and ace German Marquez has put up a 4.10 ERA, yet Cron is the only one whose numbers jump off the page. Coors Field has helped him achieve a .909 OPS and 25 homers, yet his 132 OPS+ is the same as Freddie Freeman's.

Worst: RHP Yency Almonte (-1.2)

The Rockies seemed to have something in Almonte last year as he put up a 2.93 ERA in 24 appearances. Cut to now, and he's sitting on an 8.41 ERA through 41 appearances. It's all well and good that he's served up only 40 hits in 40.2 innings, but nine of those have left the park and he's also walked 26 men.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Best: RHP Walker Buehler (5.9)

The Dodgers have an embarrassment of riches in their lineup, where Max Muncy, Mookie Betts and Justin Turner are having outstanding seasons. But Buehler will likely win this year's NL Cy Young Award, as it's hard to argue with his MLB-best marks for ERA (2.05) and ERA+ (193) over 176 innings.

Worst: CF Cody Bellinger (-1.1)

Two years after capturing the NL MVP award, Bellinger has looked like someone who isn't quite recovered from offseason shoulder surgery. The 75 games in which he's played haven't been pretty, as he's managed only a .172/.247/.317 slash line while striking out 80 times.

San Diego Padres

Best: SS/OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (5.4)

Because he's playing with a compromised left shoulder that's landed him on the injured list not once, but twice, it would be understandable if Tatis wasn't living up to his lofty standards in 2021. Yet there he is with a 1.003 OPS, 36 home runs and 24 stolen bases. Rest assured, MVP voters are watching.

Worst: LHP Ryan Weathers (-0.3)

This spot might have gone to fellow starter Chris Paddack, but Weathers' 5.34 ERA might actually overrate the season he's having. In 84.1 innings, he's been easy for opposing batters to solve to the tune of 27 walks and 91 hits, 19 of which have gone over the fence.

San Francisco Giants

Best: SS Brandon Crawford (4.3)

This spot should perhaps go to Kevin Gausman, whose ERA was under 2.00 as recently as July 19. He's faded since then, however, all while Crawford has mostly kept doing his thing. He has an .859 OPS and 19 home runs and has kept up his defensive wizardry with 12 outs above average.

Worst: OF Mike Tauchman (0)

Not many Giants have been bad this year, but Tauchman was bad enough to get himself designated for assignment after 64 games. He hit only .178, which is one of the lowest averages ever for a Giant who took at least 175 plate appearances in a season.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.