Many begin their yearly obsession with baseball after the twilight of the NBA Playoffs, and who can blame them? It’s difficult to ignore Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler playfully calling each other names in press conferences moments after battering the green leprechauns from Boston.
I am partially one of those people who don’t fully devote their sports brain to baseball until June. For those that have been missing out on the Pirates’ resurgence, the Cardinals’ struggles or the Blue Jays and Yankees eyesight-related feud, this article is for you. These are the players that have (or tried to) set their teams down a positive path.
Catcher: Sean Murphy
Runner-up: None
Our first position group is perhaps our easiest. An extremely disciplined hitter and elite backstop, Murphy is one of the most valuable players in baseball right now.
First Base: Yandy Diaz
Runner-up: Paul Goldschmidt
With a whopping 1.105 OPS on the road, the Rays make their first (and certainly not last) entry into this list with their powerful right-handed leadoff hitter. The scariest part of Diaz’s hot start is that his Baseball Savant page which is tattered with red, meaning his numbers are sustainable.
He is hitting the cover off the ball with an average exit velocity in the 99th percentile. Diaz is walking nearly as much as he’s striking out and ranks second in bWAR. With a .329 batting average, Diaz is good for second in the entire league and promises to continue wrecking opposing pitching for months to come.
Second Base: Marcus Semien
Runner-up: Nolan Gorman
Marcus Semien struggled in 2022 after signing a massive contract in Texas following a career 2021 campaign in Toronto. What many fail to acknowledge is the fact that he caught fire in the dog days of summer, ranking fifth among second baseman in fWAR in the second half.
Semien gets the nod over Gorman here because he plays the position every day and plays it well (98th percentile of OAA). In addition, Gorman’s numbers don’t appear to be sustainable and has 50 less PAs than Semien.
Shortstop: Wander Franco
Runner-ups: Xander Bogaerts, Bo Bichette, Sansby Swanson, Francisco Lindor, Thairo Estrada
71 percent of Earth is covered by water. The rest is covered by Wander Franco.
Another Ray on this list, Franco appears to have made his superstar breakout. He sets himself apart from a huge pack with his offense that is headlined by a 131 wRC+. He is top five in the league in doubles with14 swiped bags and elite defense.
Overall, this is a player that can burn you in a variety of ways.
Third Base: Matt Chapman
Runner-ups: Jose Ramirez, Max Muncy
One of the more interesting trends in baseball is a position player’s second year after signing a big contract with a new team. There are often struggles in the first campaign in a new uniform, however they commonly return to the mean.
This is true for the aforementioned Marcus Semien and more notably, Matt Chapman. Toronto’s third baseman is having a career year at age 30, ranking fourth among position players in bWAR while fielding well at the hot corner.
Left Field: Randy Arozarena
Runner-ups: Juan Soto, Yordan Alvarez
Finally, after three years of elite postseason play and good-not-great regular season production, Randy Arozarena seems to have finally put it all together. Coming off an electrifying performance in the World Baseball Classic, the Rays left fielder finds himself with the same amount of homers as Yordan Alvarez and is sixth in baseball in OBP in late May.
Center Field: TIE Mike Trout and Luis Robert
Runner-ups: James Outman and Cedric Mullins
I have decided to consider Aaron Judge as a right fielder, which creates an extremely tight four man race between Trout, Robert, Mullins and the rookie Outman.
The latter three brings to light the infinite debate over how much defense matters because Trout, a mediocre defender, is an offensive phenom while the other three are elite defenders.
Outman’s 34 percent strikeout rate is an automatic ejection from this conversation. Mullins, the second best offensive player in this conversation, seems to have gotten the benefit of the doubt on some soft contact, eliminating him, which leaves Trout and Robert.
Since we are playing by my rules, we will give this to both of them. Robert is an incredible talent and the best defensive center fielder in the game, however Trout has the offensive output to make up for it.
Right Field: Aaron Judge
Runner-up: Ronald Acuna
What ultimately puts Judge over Acuna here for me is the defense, more specifically versatility. Both have comparable offensive numbers, however Acuna is playing laughably bad in right for Atlanta this year. Pair that with the fact that Judge also plays a premium position in center, and you have the perfect reason to put him ahead.
With that said, these two are probably the top two hitters in baseball right now.
Designated Hitter: Yordan Alvarez
Runner-up: Shohei Ohtani, Nolan Gorman and Brent Rooker
While Ohtani and Gorman are more valuable players at this point in the year because of what they can do in the field, Alvarez is still the best power hitter in the league. He sits in the 90th percentile or higher for Average Exit Velocity, Mac Exit velocity, Hard Hit percentage, xwOBA, xSLG and Barrel percentage.
Starting Pitcher: Sonny Gray
Runner-ups: Gerrit Cole, Zac Gallen, Nathan Eovaldi
Sonny Gray is having a career year in his age-33 season. The former A, Yankee and Red leads all of baseball with a 1.64 ERA and has yet to allow a home run in 49 innings pitched. He has featured his cutter this year more than any other time in his major league lifespan.
While his numbers likely aren’t sustainable, he appears to have established himself as a legitimate ace for Minnesota.
Reliever: Yennier Cano
For a player to pace the league in fWAR after being called up on April 14th is extraordinary. Yes, fWAR isn’t the best way to evaluate relievers, but it highlights how much Baltomore has relied on the 29-year-old in the last month.