With the 2023 regular season upon us, it’s time for us to rank – under threat of termination – the top 100 players in baseball.
The you’ll soon be screaming about rankings and double-birding are based on reasonable expectations, using things like age, trajectory, scouting profile, and recent performance history to meet those expectations. Essentially, we’re making educated guesses as to which players will deliver the most value in 2023. While a player’s performance in 2022 is very relevant to this ranking, it’s not the only consideration. Again, these are essentially predictions about which players will be the best in the coming season, and there’s more to it than just looking at last year’s results.
For positional players, what counts is a mix of hitting, defending, and baserunning. Offensively, we’re not about things like RBI. Getting to base and batting for power is paramount, as is playing time, context of the player’s home arena, and performance versus positional mates (e.g., the offensive bar for shortstops and catchers is lower than for first basemen and DHs) . . For pitchers, run prevention and workload will be the drivers, but we’ll also consider basic indicators like strikeouts and walks. We rank players based on actual baseball considerations as opposed to anything that has anything to do with fantasy (elves! orcs!), although there’s obviously quite a bit of overlap.
Obviously winter and spring injuries play a big part here and when a player loses a large chunk of his season due to health issues then he loses a place he might otherwise have deserved. To cite two striking examples, the Phillies’ Bryce Harper and the Astros’ Jose Altuve would, under normal circumstances, be at the top of the upcoming list. However, injuries significantly reduce their value for 2023, and that’s why they were left out. Others suffering injuries that aren’t quite as serious will see their rankings drop because of these concerns, but they’ll still make the cut.
Before we begin, a necessary reminder for the possibly outraged side viewer of former Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcua Aurelias:
“You are not compelled to form an opinion on this matter in front of you or disturb your peace of mind.
With moderating wisdom in hand, let us proceed with the hierarchy of men.
What does Dansby Swanson have to offer in Chicago’s first season? Getty Images Clayton Kerhsaw is entering his 16th year with the Dodgers. Getty Images Can Tim Anderson help the White Sox return to the playoffs in 2023? Getty Images Cristian Javier was part of World Series history for the Astros last year. Getty Images Brewers shortstop Willy Adames is one of MLB’s most underrated players. Getty Images Can Jacob deGrom stay healthy in his freshman year in Texas? Getty Images Fernando Tatis Jr. may be back on the field for the Padres before the end of April. Getty Images Justin Verlander is looking for another ring for his late career, this time in Queens. Getty Images Trea Turner was the star of the off-season NL Masters. Getty Images How will Aaron Judge continue his MVP season? Getty Images
Outraged by what you just saw with sour eyes? As always, with all your complaints, contact the author at his personal email address – [email protected]. He looks forward to a vigorous and continued engagement on this matter.