SWC75
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Sports Illustrated decided to rank the Top 100 players in baseball going into the 2018 season:
The Top 10 MLB Players of 2018
I decided to give Mike trout 100 points, Jose Altuve 99 points, etc., down to Todd Frazier, the Mets new third baseman, who is ranked #100 and will thus get 1 point. Then give the points to the teams they played for and add them up. Here’s what I came up with:
1- Astros: #2 Jose Altuve 2B, #9 Carlos Correa SS, #19 Justin Verlander SP, #27 George Springer OF, #66 Josh Reddick OF, #69 Alex Bregman 3B, #71 Dallas Keuchel SP = 444 points
2- Nationals: #4 Max Scherzer SP, #12 Bryce Harper OF, #25 Stephen Strasburg, SP, #33 Anthony Rendon 3B, #77 Daniel Murphy 2B, #24 Sid Gonzalez SS = 434 points
3- Dodgers: #7 Clayton Kershaw SP, #17 Corey Seager SS, #21 Justin Turner 3B, #40 Cody Bellinger 1B, #62 Kenley Jansen RP, #64 Chris Taylor OF = 395 points
4- Indians: #11 Corey Kluber SP, #15 Francisco Lindor SS, #26 Jose Ramirez 2B, #31 Carlos Carrasco SP, #76 Edwin Encarnacion 1B, #81 Andrew Miller RP = 366 points
5- Yankees: #13 Giancarlo Stanton OF, #14 Aaron Judge OF, #48 Gary Sanchez C, ##56 Brett Gardner OF, #59 Luis Severino SP, #83 DiDi Gregorious SS = 333 points
6- Cubs: #3 Kris Byrant 3B, #23 Anthony Rizzo 1B, #48 #53 Yu Darvish SP, #70 Jon Lester SP, #72 Kyle Hendricks SP, #80 Jose Quintana SP, #91 Wilson Contreras C = 315 points
7- Angels: #1 Mike Trout OF, #32 Andrelton Simmons SS, #47 Justin Upton OF , Ina Kinsler 2B, #87 Zack Cozart SS = 273 points
8- Red Sox: #6 Mookie Betts OF, #20 Chris Sale SP, #63 Craig Kimbrel RP, #74 Jackie Bradley OF, #94 David Price SP = 248 points
9- Giants: #29 Buster Posey C, #36 Madison Bumgarner SP, #67 Evan Longoria 3B, #79 Brandon Crawford SS, #82 Brandon Belt 1B, #89 Johnny Cueto SP = 224 points
10- Diamondbacks: #10 Paul Goldschmidt 1B, #24 Zach Greinke SP, #55 A. J. Pollock OF, #98 Robbie Ray SP = 217 points.
11- Mariners: #34 Robinson Cano 2B, #42 Kyle Seager 3B, #46 Nelson Cruz OF, #88 Jean Segura SS = 194 points
12- Rockies: #8 Nolan Arenado 3b, #28 Charlie Blackmon OF, #85 O. J. Lemahieu 2B = 182 points
13- Mets- #35 Noah Syndergaard SP, #44 Jacob DeGrom SP, #57 Yeonis Cespedes OF, #100 Todd Frazier 3B = 168 points
14- Cardinals- #45 Marcell Ozuna OF, #49 Carlos Martinez SP, #51 Tommy Pham Of, #92 Matt Carpenter 3B = 167 points
15- Blue Jays - #16 Josh Donaldson 3B, #73 Marcus Stroman SP, #90 Kevin Pillar OF, #96 J. A. Happ SP = 129 points
16- Rangers - #30 Adrian Beltre 3B, #60 Elvis Andrus SS, #86 Cole Hamels SP = 127 points
17- Brewers- #37 Lorenzo Cain OF, Christian Yelich, OF = 126 points
18- Braves- #22 Freddie Freeman 1B, #58 Ender Inciarte OF = 122 points
19- Twins- #41 Brian Dozier 2B, #68 Bryon Buxton OF, #78 Irvin Santana SP = 116 points
20- Orioles- #18 Manny Machado, #75 Jonathan Scoop 2B = 109 points
21- Reds - #5 Joey Votto = 96 points
22- Rays- #43 Kevin Kiermaier = 58 points
23- Tigers- #50 Michael Fulmer = 51 points
24- White Sox- #54 Jose Abreu = 47 points
25- Marlins- #95 J. P. Realmuto = 6 points
26- Padres- #97 Eric Hosmer 1B = 4 points
27- Phillies- #99 Doubel Herrera OF = 2 points
Nada- Athletics, Pirates, Royals
So if star power rules, the divisional winners will be the Yankees, Indians, Astros, Nationals, Cubs and Dodgers with the Angels, Red Sox, Giants and Diamondbacks in the wild card games. But new stars could emerge and the old ones could decline or get hurt. Besides, baseball, more than any other sport, is a test of the whole roster, not just the guys at the top of the payroll. Remember the Cubs dynasty when they had Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Ferguson Jenkins or the Big Mariners machine when they had Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez and his non-brother Tino? Neither do I.
The Top 10 MLB Players of 2018
I decided to give Mike trout 100 points, Jose Altuve 99 points, etc., down to Todd Frazier, the Mets new third baseman, who is ranked #100 and will thus get 1 point. Then give the points to the teams they played for and add them up. Here’s what I came up with:
1- Astros: #2 Jose Altuve 2B, #9 Carlos Correa SS, #19 Justin Verlander SP, #27 George Springer OF, #66 Josh Reddick OF, #69 Alex Bregman 3B, #71 Dallas Keuchel SP = 444 points
2- Nationals: #4 Max Scherzer SP, #12 Bryce Harper OF, #25 Stephen Strasburg, SP, #33 Anthony Rendon 3B, #77 Daniel Murphy 2B, #24 Sid Gonzalez SS = 434 points
3- Dodgers: #7 Clayton Kershaw SP, #17 Corey Seager SS, #21 Justin Turner 3B, #40 Cody Bellinger 1B, #62 Kenley Jansen RP, #64 Chris Taylor OF = 395 points
4- Indians: #11 Corey Kluber SP, #15 Francisco Lindor SS, #26 Jose Ramirez 2B, #31 Carlos Carrasco SP, #76 Edwin Encarnacion 1B, #81 Andrew Miller RP = 366 points
5- Yankees: #13 Giancarlo Stanton OF, #14 Aaron Judge OF, #48 Gary Sanchez C, ##56 Brett Gardner OF, #59 Luis Severino SP, #83 DiDi Gregorious SS = 333 points
6- Cubs: #3 Kris Byrant 3B, #23 Anthony Rizzo 1B, #48 #53 Yu Darvish SP, #70 Jon Lester SP, #72 Kyle Hendricks SP, #80 Jose Quintana SP, #91 Wilson Contreras C = 315 points
7- Angels: #1 Mike Trout OF, #32 Andrelton Simmons SS, #47 Justin Upton OF , Ina Kinsler 2B, #87 Zack Cozart SS = 273 points
8- Red Sox: #6 Mookie Betts OF, #20 Chris Sale SP, #63 Craig Kimbrel RP, #74 Jackie Bradley OF, #94 David Price SP = 248 points
9- Giants: #29 Buster Posey C, #36 Madison Bumgarner SP, #67 Evan Longoria 3B, #79 Brandon Crawford SS, #82 Brandon Belt 1B, #89 Johnny Cueto SP = 224 points
10- Diamondbacks: #10 Paul Goldschmidt 1B, #24 Zach Greinke SP, #55 A. J. Pollock OF, #98 Robbie Ray SP = 217 points.
11- Mariners: #34 Robinson Cano 2B, #42 Kyle Seager 3B, #46 Nelson Cruz OF, #88 Jean Segura SS = 194 points
12- Rockies: #8 Nolan Arenado 3b, #28 Charlie Blackmon OF, #85 O. J. Lemahieu 2B = 182 points
13- Mets- #35 Noah Syndergaard SP, #44 Jacob DeGrom SP, #57 Yeonis Cespedes OF, #100 Todd Frazier 3B = 168 points
14- Cardinals- #45 Marcell Ozuna OF, #49 Carlos Martinez SP, #51 Tommy Pham Of, #92 Matt Carpenter 3B = 167 points
15- Blue Jays - #16 Josh Donaldson 3B, #73 Marcus Stroman SP, #90 Kevin Pillar OF, #96 J. A. Happ SP = 129 points
16- Rangers - #30 Adrian Beltre 3B, #60 Elvis Andrus SS, #86 Cole Hamels SP = 127 points
17- Brewers- #37 Lorenzo Cain OF, Christian Yelich, OF = 126 points
18- Braves- #22 Freddie Freeman 1B, #58 Ender Inciarte OF = 122 points
19- Twins- #41 Brian Dozier 2B, #68 Bryon Buxton OF, #78 Irvin Santana SP = 116 points
20- Orioles- #18 Manny Machado, #75 Jonathan Scoop 2B = 109 points
21- Reds - #5 Joey Votto = 96 points
22- Rays- #43 Kevin Kiermaier = 58 points
23- Tigers- #50 Michael Fulmer = 51 points
24- White Sox- #54 Jose Abreu = 47 points
25- Marlins- #95 J. P. Realmuto = 6 points
26- Padres- #97 Eric Hosmer 1B = 4 points
27- Phillies- #99 Doubel Herrera OF = 2 points
Nada- Athletics, Pirates, Royals
So if star power rules, the divisional winners will be the Yankees, Indians, Astros, Nationals, Cubs and Dodgers with the Angels, Red Sox, Giants and Diamondbacks in the wild card games. But new stars could emerge and the old ones could decline or get hurt. Besides, baseball, more than any other sport, is a test of the whole roster, not just the guys at the top of the payroll. Remember the Cubs dynasty when they had Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Ferguson Jenkins or the Big Mariners machine when they had Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez and his non-brother Tino? Neither do I.
