Number 9
Daniel Murphy, 2B, Washington Nationals – Age 32
A player who finished second in the NL MVP voting in 2016, Murphy is a career .291 hitter, with 91 home runs and a .789 OPS. In 2017 he is hitting .330 with four home runs and a .927 OPS. Murphy is now batting fifth in a Nationals lineup that is as hot as he is. Murphy has already driven in 22 runs this season.
Murphy was drafted in the 13th round of the 2006 MLB Draft by the New York Mets out of Jacksonville University. He came up to the majors in 2008, batting .313 in 49 games. Murphy was the Mets’ everyday second baseman through 2015, a year in which he was named NLCS MVP.
Inexplicably, following the 2015 season the Mets allowed him to hit the free agent market and the Nationals signed him. Murphy is an interesting study in that he reinvented himself as a hitter late in 2015 and since then has been a legitimate home run threat. By standing right on top of the plate, Murphy now dares pitchers to beat him inside and if the ball drifts back over the plate, he makes them pay. Murphy hit a career-high 25 home runs in 2016 and is on pace to follow suit in 2017.