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by Julian Spivey & Nathan Kanuch 25. Cody Bellinger At only three years of service time Cody Bellinger is the most recent debut to make this list, and he’d probably be higher had he had more experience under his belt. Bellinger burst onto the seen with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017 and ran away with the league’s Rookie of the Year award with a whopping 39 homers and 97 RBI. Despite playing 162 games in his sophomore run he experienced a bit of a slump, even though he still hit 25 homers and only saw his batting average drop off by seven points. Going into last season it was somewhat of a question mark as to whether Bellinger would fall off again, but he quickly put any doubters to rest with a MVP season that included 47 homers, 115 RBI, raised his batting average almost 50 points to .305 and played Gold Glove defense in the outfield. It certainly seems Bellinger will be one of the league’s best over the next decade. JS 24. Francisco Lindor Francisco Lindor is bringing back consistent power to the shortstop position that the American League has not seen since the days of A-Rod, Nomar and Miguel Tejada. From 2017 to 2019, Lindor has smashed 33, 38 and 32 home runs respectively. He keeps his OPS up around .850 and contributes above average defense for Cleveland. A four-time All Star and Rookie of the Year Award runner-up in 2015, Lindor faces an uncertain future in Cleveland. From what he’s said, Lindor likes being in Cleveland but wonders if the team will shell out the appropriate money. The Indians already traded Corey Kluber in the offseason and may decide to move Lindor after tabling contract talks. Wherever Lindor ends up will be a major coup for any organization. NK 23. Adam Wainwright As a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, there have been several players in the N.L. Central over the years that struck fear into my heart when I looked at the day’s lineups. Sammy Sosa. Albert Pujols. Ryan Braun. Joey Votto. But when I knew Adam Wainwright was on the bump, it seemed like the game’s outcome was a certain win for the St. Louis Cardinals. Wainwright is a gamer, a pitcher who saves his best for the key moments. In 27 postseason games and 105.2 innings pitched, Wainwright owns a 2.81 ERA and a WHIP of 1.069. He comes through when the Cards need him the most, and even now in the twilight of his career, I can’t think of anyone else I’d want on the mound in a must-win game. NK 22. Corey Kluber Five pitchers won multiple Cy Young Awards over the last decade: Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Jacob deGrom and Corey Kluber. In 2014, Kluber went 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA and 269 strikeouts for the Cleveland Indians. The Indians ace would have an even better 2017 going 18-4 with a 2.25 ERA and 265 strikeouts. One of the game’s best power pitchers he manages to baffle batters with essentially two pitches, a two-seam sinker and a breaking ball that often can resemble a slider or a curve. Kluber won a career high 20 games in 2018 for the Indians, but injuries kept him off the mound almost the entire 2019 season. During the offseason he was traded to the Texas Rangers. JS 21. David Price David Price is a freakin’ workhorse. Price led the American League in most starts three different times over the last decade and has averaged 33 starts per season over his career. He’s not quite the same dominant pitcher he was in the early part of the last decade with the Tampa Bay Rays or even in short stints with the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays, but he’s still good when healthy for around 15 wins per season. The only issue is the 2012 A.L. Cy Young winner has only averaged about 21 starts a year over the last three seasons. Whenever the 2020 season begins Price will be in the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation making his National League debut. JS 20. Edwin Encarnacion In an era of big stars, massive names and astronomical contracts rocking the baseball world every year, Edwin Encarnacion stands out for his quiet consistency. He’s one of the best pure sluggers of the past decade. He’s mashed over 30 home runs every year since 2012 when he started his run by clearing the deck 42 times. Encarnacion drives runners in at a phenomenal pace, and he’ll give you an OPS near or above .900 every season he steps on the diamond. His best season came in 2015 with Toronto when he slashed .277/.372/.557 with an OPS of .929. Encarnacion also sent 39 balls out of the park and drove in 111 runners. Fine work indeed. NK 19. Jose Altuve I realize there will be some eyerolls over the inclusion of Jose Altuve on this list after the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal broke over the offseason and everybody has the right to be pissed off at the guy and his teammates, but its hard to tell just which of his numbers were aided, if any, by what the Astros organization was doing. After all, Altuve was winning batting titles and compiling 200-plus hits a year well before the sign-stealing seemingly began. Throw in Altuve’s speed, he led his league twice in steals over the decade, and the pop he’s added I believe there’s no doubt he belongs here. JS 18. Manny Machado When Julian and I chose which players to write about for this list, Machado was in the last group remaining. I think that’s for a reason. He’s an enigma. At once supremely talented and annoyingly frustrating. He can electrify a crowd and then in the same game be criticized for not hustling. I love watching him play at one moment, and then in the next, I wonder how Machado earned that 10 year/$300 million contract with the San Diego Padres. Basically, what you see is what you get from Machado. He’s hit over 30 homers per season since 2015 and is an above average run producer. But it’s the defense that allows Machado to stand out. While in Baltimore, he routinely made Brooks Robinson-esque plays at the hot corner. That continued in Los Angeles and now San Diego. What will we get from Manny over the next decade? Whatever he gives us, I’m sure it’ll have us dropping our jaws in both excitement and bafflement. NK 17. Mookie Betts Mookie Betts has only played five full seasons in the big leagues but has clearly already earned a position on this list. In 2018 he won the American League MVP award when he hit .346, winning the A.L. batting title, hit 32 homers and stole 30 bases while leading the BoSox to a World Series title. Betts has averaged 28 homers and 96 RBI thus far in his career while hitting over .300 and is one of the best defenders in the outfield winning four consecutive Gold Gloves. The Red Sox traded Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason before he becomes a free agent after the season and I’m sure L.A. is desperately wanting to see him hit the field for them before that time comes. JS 16. Buster Posey The San Francisco Giants get nowhere near enough love for what the franchise achieved from 2010 to 2014. Three World Series championships. All won with the full *team* contributing. Other than Madison Bumgarner’s playoff heroics, the Giants just won and won and won again thanks to a full complement of weapons. But if you wanted to pick someone as the face of those Giants, you couldn’t go wrong with Buster Posey. During the 2010s, the 2012 National League MVP gave the Giants the defense of Yadi Molina and a threat at the plate like Joe Mauer. Like most catchers, Posey’s offensive numbers have steadily dropped as the wear and tear of the position have begun to take their toll. But Posey is a grizzled veteran and provides steady leadership that the rebuilding Giants desperately need. NK 15. Jacob deGrom There’s something old school about Jacob deGrom. It’s a workmanlike mentality from a pitcher in an age when managers are too quick with the hook. The past three seasons, deGrom has given the New York Mets at least 200 innings pitched with his high coming in 2018 with 217. deGrom won the Cy Young Award in 2018 and 2019 with 2018 proving to be a particularly iconic pitcher’s season. He posted an insanely low ERA of 1.70 with a WHIP of .912. deGrom takes the ball each start, gives his team at least seven innings, and punches the time clock. What does deGrom do each time he takes the mound? He does his job. NK 14. Bryce Harper Bryce Harper was never going to fulfill everyone’s expectations. What was expected of Harper was truly astronomical. The spotlight’s been on him since appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated at the age of 16. From the Minor Leagues to The Show, an entire franchise’s hopes seemed to sit squarely on his shoulders. So, yeah, no matter what Harper did with his career, he simply could not live up to what the fans wanted. And yet even with that disclaimer, Harper hasn’t flamed out. He hasn’t let the pressure stunt him. And he’s become a pretty great ballplayer. Harper’s greatest season thus far has been 2015. He won the MVP with a unanimous vote, slashed .330/.460/.649, and led the league with an OPS of 1.109. Harper also made his presence known worldwide with his performance in the 2018 Home Run Derby, winning the competition in his ballpark. Harper has since moved to Philadelphia from the nation’s capital, and I suspect he’s got plenty of surprises left for the fans yet. NK 13. Giancarlo Stanton Giancarlo Stanton is simply the greatest power hitter of his generation. His National League MVP winning 2017 season with the Miami Marlins is one of the all-time great seasons as he clubbed 59 homers – the third most ever by a batter who did so arguably clean – with a league-leading 132 RBI and league-leading .631 slugging percentage. His annual average includes more than 40 homers and 100 RBI. He only got into 18 games last season for the New York Yankees, but with him only entering his age 30 season in 2020 there’s no reason to believe he won’t be able to kick the injury bug. And, if he does with the hitter friendly Yankee Stadium he might be as scary as he’s ever been. JS 12. Christian Yelich Christian Yelich always had potential. It just took Miami trading him to Milwaukee to put it all together. The past seasons with the Brew Crew have seen Yelich playing on a whole other level. He won the NL MVP in 2018 and, despite his injury, probably should have won the award again in 2019. Statistically, even with his season cut short, Yelich was on pace for a *better* 2019 than 2018. He improved his home run total from 36 to 44. And let’s look at the slash lines. He produced .326/.402/.598 with an OPS of 1.000 in 2018. In 2019, Yelich slashed .329/.429/.671 with an OPS of 1.100. Yelich signed a long-term contract with the Brewers in March 2020 guaranteeing he’ll be terrorizing National League pitching for years to come. NK 11. Adrian Beltre Adrian Beltre is the only retired player that made our list of the 25 best MLB players of the last decade. That’s really impressive because it shows that he pretty much kept up high productivity into the twilight years when most players are faltering. During his age 37 season in 2016 Beltre hit .300 with 32 home runs and 104 RBI. Beltre just seemed to get better in the second half of his career and truly made himself a Hall of Famer when many were on their backside. Over the decade he became a Texas Rangers legend while hitting .300 or better in six seasons of the decade, while making the only four All Star teams of his career. JS 10. Freddie Freeman I don’t think people realize just how good Freddie Freeman has been over the last decade for the Atlanta Braves. When doing research for this piece I developed a formula for trying to rank the best offensive players of the last decade. I took statistical categories like WAR (Wins Above Replacement), homers, batting averages, on-base percentage then ranked where all the players on my list placed in each of those categories and averaged it out – Freeman came in fifth behind only Trout, Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto and Paul Goldschmidt. Over the last decade he’s averaged nearly .300, 30 and 100 for a season and yet has never finished in the top three in his own league’s MVP voting. Underrated is the first word to pop into my head when thinking of Freddie Freeman. JS 9. Joey Votto Joey Votto is a getting on base machine. He’s the active MLB leader in on-base percentage at .421 and frequently leads the National League in drawing walks, as he’s done exactly half of the last 10 seasons. At 35 his productivity with the bat and his power have gone downhill over the last two seasons (though he still led the league in OBP two years ago), but the 2010 National League MVP still know the way to get himself on the basepaths. JS 8. Paul Goldschmidt Paul Goldschmidt might be the single most underrated player in baseball of the last decade. When I was coming up with my list, I took some major offensive categories, ranked the players on my list in those categories from first to last and then averaged it all together. Only three hitters placed higher than Goldschmidt – Mike Trout, Miguel Cabrera and Joey Votto. Goldschmidt’s first full season with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2012 and was gangbusters right out of the gate. In his seven-plus seasons with Arizona Goldschmidt averaged more than 30 homers, 100 RBI and an average of .292. Goldschmidt struggled a bit in his first season with the St. Louis Cardinals last season and still hit 34 homers (second most of any season in his career) and drove in 97. He’s the greatest active player who hasn’t won a Most Valuable Player award. JS 7. Andrew McCutchen A.J. Burnett may sneakily be the player most responsible for the fundamental culture shift the Pittsburgh Pirates experienced in the early to middle part of the 2010s, but Andrew McCutchen, rightly, is remembered as the star of the show and the face of the franchise. McCutchen, though the numbers do speak for themselves, is one of those baseball players throughout the game’s history that can’t be defined just by statistics. A leader. An MVP (2013). The player who came to define the relationship between Pittsburgh and its baseball club during its magical three year run from 2013-2015. NK 6. Nolan Arenado Nolan Arenado is the best third baseman in baseball and has been for some time. He’s won the Gold Glove every season since debuting in 2013 and provides the Rockies with serious power while still maintaining a high average. Arenado is also incredibly durable, appearing in no less than 155 games each season since 2015. Though the classic Triple Crown numbers have become somewhat devalued by the hardcore analytics crowd over the decade, Arenado is consistently among the lead leaders among home runs and RBIs. The only thing missing are some memorable playoff moments. NK 5. Clayton Kershaw I had Clayton Kershaw ranked as the greatest pitcher of the last decade on my list and as the third best MLB player overall. After averaging out mine and Nathan’s lists he fell to the third highest pitcher overall behind Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. I never asked Nathan why he felt those others belonged over Kershaw, but both Scherzer and Verlander have been the ace of World Series winning teams and Kershaw’s biggest knock against him has been that he’s just not the same guy in the postseason. That’s fair. But his regular season stuff is too much for me to ignore. Kershaw won three Cy Young Awards in a four year span in the last decade, including a National League MVP during one of those seasons. His career average of 17-7, 242 strikeouts and a 2.44 ERA per season is far too much for me to last his postseason numbers tank him. JS 4. Justin Verlander Justin Verlander was the American League Cy Young winner last season for the Houston Astros at the age of 36 with a record of 21-6, 2.58 ERA and 300 strikeouts. At a time when the majority of pitchers throughout the history of baseball have been slowing down Verlander is looking like he’s in his mid-20s. Ever since joining the Astros right at the trade deadline in 2017 Verlander’s ERA has been a full run lower than it was in his 13 years with the Detroit Tigers and he had hall of fame stuff with them. He’s an absolute marvel. JS 3. Max Scherzer Myths and magic have a specific and special place in baseball lore that can accidentally and unintentionally shove a player’s accomplishments to the side. Take Mad Max for instance. The nickname. Pitching with a black eye from breaking his nose the day before while practicing bunting. Waiting until hours before the deadline to sign with the Diamondbacks after being drafted because he knew his worth as a future stud pitcher. And that’s what he turned out to be. He pitched two no-hitters in 2015 and won the World Series in 2019. He’s a seven-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner. He’s also led the National League in strikeouts three times. Numbers and accolades are hard and concrete and can make a player seem distant. In the case of Scherzer, it’s a glorious thing we have the stories and legends to make Scherzer’s excellence that much more tangible. NK 2. Miguel Cabrera In my opinion, Miguel Cabrera is the greatest natural hitter of this century. In his prime, Miggy hit for power, average, and was a threat every time he stepped to the plate. From 2010 to 2013, Cabrera produced OPSs of 1.042, 1.033, .999, and 1.078. Those 2012 and 2013 seasons both found Cabrera winning the A.L. MVP. And, oh yeah, Cabrera also happened to win the Triple Crown in 2012, the first player to win the award since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. And yet by the more advanced metrics Miggy’s 2013 season was somehow better. Simply put, other than Mike Trout, Miggy has owned the 2010s. Hopefully more people appreciate the legend they’re looking at with whatever time left Cabrera does have on the diamond. NK 1. Mike Trout Come on! You knew who was going to be No. 1 on this list before you even clicked on the link. Placing anybody other than Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout at the top spot would’ve had this website burned down by the Sabermetrics crowd. There’s no doubt Trout has been the best player over the last decade in baseball, all you have to do is count his MVP awards (he has three of them and many believe that number could easily be doubled). Also, check out the bold type on his baseball-reference page – led the league in runs four times, on-base percentage the last four years consecutively, slugging percentage three times, RBI once and even led the American League in stolen bases in his rookie year, though that part of his game has mostly fallen to the wayside. The only knock against Mike Trout is in almost a decade of playing he’s only appeared in three playoff games, losing every one – but in the game of baseball it’s hard to pile that upon a player. JS
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