Top 10s: Best players stuck on last-place teams
In the MLB Top 10s, here’s what we do: rank players according to criteria. Those criteria change depending upon week and whim, but the Top 10s will always be informed by some angle or another, painfully contrived or otherwise.
And that brings us to this week’s guiding query: Who are the best players on teams currently in last place? Indeed, we’re taking a few minutes for the lousy among us — lousy teams, not players, of course. This portion of the baseball calendar is typically devoted to the contenders, so we’re here to balance the scales by focusing on teams presently at the bottom of their divisions: to wit, the Red Sox, Indians, Athletics, Phillies, Brewers, and Rockies. Sure, the standings could change very soon, but right now those are your six last-place teams. Today’s honorees come from those teams.
Beyond that, we’re talking about value thus far in 2015 only. Prior seasons don’t matter, and future outlook doesn’t matter. It’s 2015 to date and nothing more. As for position players, defense and base-running matter. It’s not about the bat only.
Painful omissions? There’s an abundance of painful omissions! For instance, the worthy likes of Maikel Franco, Adam Lind, Taylor Jungmann, Carlos Gonzalez, Odubel Herrera, Ken Giles, Brock Holt, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Clay Buchholz, Francisco Rodriguez, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Josh Reddick, and Charlie Blackmon were hard to pass over. Somehow, they’ll soldier on.
Yes, Sonny Gray is invited to this particular party! (USATSI)
And now let us recite baseball names for the dual purposes of SEO and making you angry. Feel free to brandish your incorrect opinions and make idle threats in the comments section.
Weapons-grade complaints and spleen-venting? By all means, reach out to the author at his personal email address: [email protected]. He’d love to hear from you!
| RANK | COMMENT | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Sonny Gray, Athletics. Oakland’s 25-year-old ace boasts a mid-90s fastball and command of a four-pitch arsenal. This season, he’s pitched to a 2.04 ERA in 167 1/3 innings, and he’s backed it up with a 2.99 FIP and strong groundball tendencies. Gray’s the latest to remind baseball that undersized right-handers are too often overlooked. |
| 2 |  |
Nolan Arenado, Rockies. Arenado’s developed into the best defensive third baseman in the National League. The bat’s also coming along nicely, as he’s presently hitting .278/.317/.556 (121 OPS+) with an NL-leading 244 total bases. Yes, he calls Coors Field home, but 18 of his 29 homers this season have been hit on the road. |
| 3 |  |
Jason Kipnis, Indians. Kipnis is presently on the DL with shoulder inflammation, but even accounting for the missed time to date he’s been a top performer. In 468 plate appearances, he’s batted .326/.401/.477, while the average second baseman this season has a line of .263/.318/.384. |
| 4 |  |
Michael Brantley, Indians. Brantley’s hitting .313/.388/.463 (131 OPS+) with 36 doubles. He’s manned left and center an swiped 12 bases in 13 attempts. Brantley checks in at sixth in the AL in OBP and ninth in times on base. |
| 5 |  |
Mookie Betts, Red Sox. Betts is a standout defensive center fielder who’s batting a useful .270/.320/.438 and averaging an extra-base hit every 9.7 at-bats. On the bases, he’s stolen 16 bags in 20 tries. A complete player, this one. |
| 6 |  |
Stephen Vogt, Athletics. By the standards of primary catchers (Vogt’s spent 673 innings behind the plate this season), he’s been highly productive: .259/.344/.449 with 16 homers and 49 walks. Just three catchers — Buster Posey, Russell Martin, and Brian McCann — have a higher WAR this season. |
| 7 |  |
Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox. Bogaerts mans the premium position of shortstop, and while doing he’s batted .316/.345/.414. He’s looked much better defensively this season, and he’s also adding value on the bases. As it so happens, Bogaerts also rates as one of the top clutch hitters of 2015. He was ballyhooed coming out of the minors, and he’s back on target when it comes to realizing his potential. Bogaerts is still just 22 years of age. |
| 8 |  |
DJ LeMahieu, Rockies. LeMahieu is an excellent defender at the keystone, and this season his bat has come around. Presently, he’s hitting .319/.379/.417, which is good for an OBP-heavy OPS+ of 107. He’s also stolen 18 bases in 21 attempts and taken the extra base 50 percent of the time (versus a league-average mark of 47 percent). |
| 9 |  |
Corey Kluber, Indians. Kluber’s good-not-great ERA of 3.34 undersells how excellent he’s been. He’s struck out 27 percent of opposing batters while walking just 4.8 percent of same, and he’s done a good job of keeping the ball in the park. Bad luck plus playing in front of a poor team defense is what’s to blame for his coming up shy of his 2014 Cy Young standards. |
| 10 |  |
Ryan Braun, Brewers. Braun’s still productive at age 31, as he’s running an OPS+ of 125 with 21 homers in 112 games. He’s also undergone a bit of a base-running resurgence, as he’s tallied 18 steals in 20 attempts. |
Until next week, suckers!
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