Earlier this week the writers at Fangraphs attempted to do the impossible by ranking the top ten players in baseball as objectively as they could. It is no easy task for anyone and there really is no right answer when doing this exercise. Someone always is bound to get upset and general agreement is elusive.
Today, I will try my best to rank the top ten players from this most recent season. I can’t promise anything, and it is inevitable that a degree of subjectivity will arise on my end. Thus, I apologize in advance for my pre-existing biases. Rest assured objectivity is my main goal here. So, below are the top ten players in my humble opinion in 2014. Enjoy! Comments are always welcomed and encouraged.
1.) Clayton Kershaw: 198 1/3 IP, 1.77 ERA, 1.81 FIP, 7.71 K/BB, 51.8 GB%, and 7.2 fWAR
2.) Mike Trout: 705 PA, .377 OBP, .561 SLG, 16 SB, 167 wRC+. and 7.8 fWAR
3.) Andrew McCutchen: 648 PA, .410 OBP, .542 SLG, 18 SB, 168 wRC+, and 6.8 fWAR
4.) Corey Kluber: 235 2/3 IP, 2.44 ERA, 2.35 FIP, 5.27 K/BB, 48.0 GB%, and 7.3 WAR
5.) Jonathan Lucroy: 655 PA, .373 OBP, .465 SLG, 4 SB, 133 wRC+, and 6.3 fWAR
6.) Felix Hernandez: 236 IP, 2.14 ERA, 2.56 FIP, 5.39 K/BB, 56.2 GB%, and 6.2 fWAR
7.) Michael Brantley: 676 PA, .385 OBP, .506 SLG, 23 SB, 155 wRC+, and 6.6 fWAR
8.) Giancarlo Stanton: 638 PA, .395 OBP, .555 SLG, 13 SB, 159 wRC+, and 6.1 fWAR
9.) Chris Sale: 174 IP, 2.17 ERA, 2.57 FIP, 5.33 K/BB, 40.7 GB%, and 5.4 fWAR
10.) Buster Posey: 605 PA, .364 OBP, .490 SLG, 0 SB, 144 wRC+, and 5.7 fWAR
Mike Trout had a great year in 2014, but Kershaw had an even better one. His 197 ERA+, which is a stat adjusted for park and league effects, was tied for the 39th-best in a single season of all-time. Trout’s OPS+, which is an offensive stat adjusted for park and league effects, was tied for 409th-best in a single season of all-time. All of those stats are among qualifiers, of course.
Trout should have won the American League MVP in 2012, 2013, and 2014. Unfortunately, he will likely only take home one — the one being this season — in his worst full season to date. 2014 was tied for his worst offensive season in his three-year career, it was his worst season on the base paths, and it was, by far, the worst defensive season of the young phenom’s career. Because of this decline in all three categories from his stellar ’13 campaign, Kershaw surpassed him for the title of “best player in Major League Baseball in 2014.” The southpaw’s numbers speak for themselves and despite missing the entire month of April, Clayton was the best player in baseball.
Really, these top two are far and away the paramount players last season. I know some like to argue that pitchers can’t be as good as hitters because a pitcher does not play every day, but that stance is false and can be refuted with the following excerpt from Jeff Sullivan’s article on Fangraphs titled “Why Is There Even a Pitcher-For-MVP Debate?”
"“To use real-world examples, I took all the players worth at least 6 WAR in a season between 2011 and 2013. This left me with fairly small samples, and not everything is properly controlled, but just to make a simple and general point: When those position players started, their teams won 54% of the time. When those pitchers started, their teams won 66% of the time. The best pitchers give an overwhelmingly greater single-game advantage than the best position players. This gets balanced out by the fact that pitchers might top out around 34 starts, but the advantage they begin with is huge.”"
If it was not already obvious, a starting pitcher has a much bigger effect on a single game than a position player does. How much more exactly can only be quantified by someone who is intelligently superior to me — a Jeff Sullivan, if you will. Nevertheless, it is substantial. By the way, I implore you to read the rest of Sullivan’s article, as it will enlighten you on the absurd assumption that a pitcher can’t be as valuable as a position player.
With that bit out of the way, we can now move on to my justification for the next eight guys. As you can see, I placed McCutchen third due to the fact his offensive production was the greatest in baseball next to Trout. In fact, his 168 wRC+ was number one in all of Major League Baseball, a point ahead of one Mr. Trout. wRC+, for those unfamiliar, is the most accurate stat in all of baseball, as it computes the value a walk, single, double, triple, and home run led to a run in a given season. My only quarrel with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ outfielder is his not all-too impressive batted ball data. He did hit fly balls at a high rate (41.5%) and ground balls at a low rate (39.9%), but managed a pedestrian (below-average) line drive percentage (18.7%).
Coming in at number four, Corey Kluber was simply dominate on the mound for the Cleveland Indians in ’14. The right-hander can thank his devastating curveball for his success. According to Fangraphs’ Pitch Values, Kluber’s curve was the most valuable curveball in all of baseball with an outstanding 21.5 mark. This should come as no surprise seeing as how hitters managed to muster an abysmal .232 OPS and -28 wRC+ off his breaking ball last year. The Cleveland Indians’ ace’s curveball was a large factor in his top-five K/9 ratio among qualified pitchers. He was true workhorse, amassing 235 2/3 innings, which subsequently led him to lead all pitchers in fWAR.
Jonathan Lucroy added excess value with the stick in 2014, hitting a robust .301/.373/.465 slash line in 655 opportunities. Yet it was not his offense that rendered him an elite player, rather, it was the backstop’s defensive contributions. His fWAR led all catchers in part because of his offense but his defensive value can’t be overstated. The 28-year-old’s 11 DRS (defensive runs saved) ranked second among catchers behind Russell Martin. With that said, fWAR does not take into account pitch-framing, a very important skill for catchers. Lucroy, per StatCorner’s data, added 166 strikes that were actually balls last year. This total was the third-best in all of baseball behind Miguel Montero and Mike Zunino. This, meaning, Lucroy’s value framing pitches needs to be added onto his presently-stunning 6.3 fWAR. Adding the pitch-framing value in, you have yourself easily a top-ten player.
Next up we have Felix Hernandez, “The King.” Hernandez registered another incredible year in 2014, walking batters at the lowest rate of his career and striking batters out at the second-highest rate of his career. His FIP was the third-best in baseball and so was his fWAR, trailing, you guessed it, Clayton Kershaw and Corey Kluber. Hernandez also induced the third-highest ground ball percentage in baseball, which is a testament to the weak contact hitters made off him last year. The changeup-wizard was a pure beast in 2014; he just was not better than Kluber or Kershaw.
At seven and eight we have two outfielders, Michael Brantley and Giancarlo Stanton, who absolutely demolished the baseball in ’14. Stanton was obviously the superior offensive player of the two, and his 5.18 WPA (win probability added) led the National League. The Face of the Marlins also was slightly better defensively. So two to zero advantage Giancarlo. But Brantley’s 7.8 BsR, which placed third in the American League and fifth in Major League Baseball, is much better than Stanton’s -0.6 BsR. The Indians’ outfielder swept twenty-three bags in ’14 and was only caught once! His advantage on the base paths negates Stanton’s slight — if any, considering Brantley accumulated more plate appearances — offensive and defensive advantage. Hey, there is a reason why Brantley’s fWAR was 0.5 points better than Stanton’s.
Chris Sale was a monster whenever he took the mound last season. His 2.17 ERA and 2.57 FIP were mind-blowing — almost but not quite Kershaw 2014-esque. The left-hander would certainly be higher had he not missed time due to an injury that limited him to just 174 innings last season.
Finally, we have reached number ten! And whoever is it? None other than three time World Series Champion Buster Posey. His team winning the World Series had no impact on my opinion of him. Posey’s 144 wRC+ that ranks twelfth in all of baseball and first among qualified pitch receivers, though, did. One also can’t omit that the 27-year-old is an excellent pitch-framer, like Lucroy, and the 133 calls he added in a postive manner ranked sixth in baseball. Overall, he was a top-ten player — in my mind, at least — but just was not good enough defensively to rank ahead of Lucroy.
This, my friends, concludes my top ten players in MLB in 2014. It was fun, long, and I’m extremely interested in your thoughts on my list and implore you to create a list of your own. Thank you for reading!
Notable Omissions: Phil Hughes, Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Anthony Rendon, and Alex Gordon.