MLB Best Players: Past calendar year studs and duds
Who are the MLB best players and worst players at each position over the last 365 days?
Like former commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti once said, the game “is designed to break your heart.” It begins in the spring, when everything else begins. It’s there in the summer, along with barbecues and days at the beach. Then, when the weather turns bad, baseball leaves us. Some fans turn to football or basketball in the winter, others just look out the window waiting until baseball season starts again.
Baseball fans think of seasons as separate units of time. That’s how we digest the game. The strike-shortened 1981 season. The “Miracle Mets” of 1969. The Great Home Run Chase of 1998. One season ends and we put it in the record books and wait until the next one begins.
Because we think of baseball in set, distinct seasons, we can sometimes miss trends that carry over from one season to the next. Some players get hot in August and it carries over into the following April, May and June. Others go into a funk in September and continue to struggle for days, weeks or months the next year.
With this in mind, I was curious about which players have been on an extended run of greatness over the past calendar year. Who’s the top player in baseball since last year at this time? What surprising names have will we find on this list?
Then we have the other end of the spectrum, the players who have been bad in the first half of this season and were bad in the second half of last season. These are the guys to worry about and there are a few who are getting up there in age and have been worth very little over the past calendar year. Some of these guys have been paid many millions of dollars and still have many millions coming.
This is a position-by-position breakdown of the past calendar year’s studs and duds.
Catcher
The plate appearance requirement for catchers was set at 300 plate appearances. This produced 25 catchers, almost one per team.
Studs
#1. J.T. Realmuto, Miami Marlins
.291/.342/.501 in 570 PA, 5.2 WAR
#2. Willson Contreras, Chicago Cubs
.288/.377/.489 in 482 PA, 4.2 WAR
#3. Kurt Suzuki, Atlanta Braves
.303/.357/.559 in 392 PA, 3.7 WAR
Nope, it’s not Buster Posey or Gary Sanchez or Willson Contreras, although he’s second on the list. Over the last 365 days, the top catcher in baseball has been J.T. Realmuto. He’s an easy guy to overlook. He plays in Miami on a team that traded away everyone who had value after new ownership took over, except for Realmuto. The Marlins have the worst run-differential and worst record in the NL.
Based on Fangraphs Wins Above Replacement (WAR), Realmuto has been a win better than the next-best catcher on the list, Willson Contreras. He gets on base at a solid clip and hits for power while being good behind the plate. Unfortunately for Realmuto, when it comes to the all-star team voting, he’s in fifth place, more than 500,000 votes behind Buster Posey.
Of course, fans don’t look at the past calendar year when they vote. They vote for guys based on this year’s stats and how well known they are. That being said, Realmuto leads all catchers in WAR this season. He won’t be voted onto the all-star team as a starter, but should make the Final Five ballot. He’s deserving.
The other surprise on this list is Kurt Suzuki, who has been incredible with the Atlanta Braves. In the first 10 years of his career, Suzuki hit .256/.311/.372. Then he signed as a free agent with Atlanta Braves before last season and has hit .286/.352/.516 over the last year-and-a-half. Maybe he really likes boiled peanuts, a Georgia delicacy. Nice signing, Atlanta.
Duds
#23. Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
.223/.259/.413 in 475 PA, 0.7 WAR
#24. Christian Vazquez, Boston Red Sox
.256/.295/.361 in 401 PA, 0.6 WAR
#25. Russell Martin, Toronto Blue Jays
.194/.314/.340 in 371 PA, 0.5 WAR
This is the ugly portion of the program. Salvador Perez was a big part of the Royals back-to-back World Series teams, but his on-base percentage has been awful for five seasons now. This year, he’s not hitting for power either. He had a late start to the season after injuring his knee during spring training and hasn’t come around. He’s also owed $39.6 million over the next three years.
Speaking of money owed, Russell Martin is making $20 million this year and will make another $20 million next year. Over the last 365 days, he hasn’t hit his weight. About the only thing he’s done well offensively is draw walks (13.5 percent walk rate over the last year).
First Base
The plate appearance requirement for first base was set at 450 plate appearances. This produced 27 first basemen, almost one per team.
Studs
#1. Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
.310/.453/.487 in 727 PA, 5.8 WAR
#2. Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
.301/.389/.526 in 723 PA, 5.3 WAR
#3. Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks
.274/.376/.530 in 677 PA PA, 4.7 WAR
Joey Votto is fourth in WAR this season, but he was so good in the second half last season that he still holds the top spot over the last calendar year. The guy right behind him, Freddie Freeman, is this year’s top first baseman. Appropriately, he’s the leading vote-getter for the NL all-star team, not just at first base but overall.
Speaking of all-star voting. Paul Goldschmidt had a dreadful slump early in the year but he’s been incredibly lately. Through May 22, Goldy was hitting .198/.320/.355. Since then, he’s hit .370/.463/.746. Fans either haven’t noticed or just don’t care because Goldschmidt isn’t in the top five in NL all-star balloting. Votto, despite being the best first baseman in the league over the last calendar year, and fourth-best this year, is a distant fifth in NL all-star voting at first base.
Duds
#25. Ian Desmond, Colorado Rockies
.227/.309/.411 in 463 PA, -0.6 WAR
#26. Hanley Ramirez, Boston Red Sox
.241/301/.414 PA, -0.7 WAR
#27. Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles
.180/.266/.326 in 546 PA, -2.4 WAR
This collection of players has not only been unplayable over the last year, they’ve been expensive to boot. Desmond is making $22 million this year and owed $38 million over the next three years. Hanley Ramirez was owed $22.75 million when the Red Sox cut ties with him in May.
Then there’s Chris Davis and the Orioles tale of woe. Davis had been a reliable home run hitter for four seasons (with an ugly 2014 mixed in there). Before the 2016 season, the Orioles signed him to a seven-year, $161 million contract. He was above average in 2016 when he hit 38 home runs and was worth 2.8 WAR. Last season was ugly (.215/.309/.423, 0.1 WAR).
If last season was ugly, this season has been hideous. He’s hitting .155/.232/.265 (33 wRC+). For reference, NL pitcher Max Scherzer is hitting .237/.275/.363 (47 wRC+) this year. Davis’s real struggles started last September and have carried over into this season. The Orioles still owe him $92 million through the 2022 season.
Second Base
The plate appearance requirement for second base was set at 450 plate appearances. This produced 29 second basemen, almost one per team. NOTE: Jose Ramirez topped the leaderboard at second base and third base. Since he’s currently playing third base for Cleveland, I put him on that list. This also applies to Yangervis Solarte, who is on the duds list at third base. That means only 27 second basemen made the cut.
Studs
#1. Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
.351/.411/.522 in 690 PA, 7.8 WAR
#2. Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves
.277/.330/.484 in 627 PA, 4.7 WAR
#3. Javier Baez, Chicago Cubs
.292/.333/.542 in 576 PA, 4.7 WAR
Jose Altuve topping this list is no surprise. He was good in the second half last season and has continued his metronome-like hitting this year. He’s the top second baseman over the last calendar year and this year. He leads all players in both leagues in all-star voting and it’s not particularly close. He has $3.4 million votes, almost 300,000 more than Mookie Betts.
Ozzie Albies is just 21 years old and having a very good season. He leads NL second basemen in all-star voting, but it’s a close race between him, Scooter Gennett and Javier Baez. Baez, as shown above, has been the equal of Albies over the last 365 days and just slightly better than Albies this year (2.9 WAR to 2.8 WAR).
Duds
#25. Eduardo Nunez, Boston Red Sox
.285/.318/.426 in 508 PA, 0.9 WAR
#26. Daniel Descalso, Arizona Diamondbacks
.237/.335/.434 in 463 PA, 0.8 WAR
#27. Rougned Odor, Texas Rangers
.215/.280/.389 in 527 PA, 0.2 WAR
It’s surprising to see another Boston Red Sox player on the duds list considering how good they’ve been this year. Imagine if they had a better catcher than Christian Vazquez and a better second baseman than Eduardo Nunez? Of course, they jettisoned the third member of this crew, Hanley Ramirez.
Daniel Descalso’s past calendar year numbers are being dragged down by his play in July, August and September last year. This year, he’s been above average on offense, with a 120 wRC+. Of course, his defense isn’t doing him any favors. Of the 30 second baseman with 230 or more plate appearances this year, Descalso is last in the Fangraphs fielding metric.
Even when Rougned Odor hit 30 home runs last year, his .252 on-base percentage percentage made him a liability on offense. He was 39 percent below average (61 wRC+). This year, he’s bumped his on-base percentage is up to a career-high .316 but he’s not hitting for the power he has in the past.
Shortstop
The plate appearance requirement for shortstops was set at 450 plate appearances. This produced 27 shortstops, almost one per team.
Studs
#1. Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians
.297/.367/.564 in758 PA, 9.0 WAR
#2. Andrelton Simmons, Los Angeles Angels
.297/.353/.424 in 608 PA, 5.6 WAR
#3. Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles
.303/.353/.540 in 719 PA, 5.0 WAR
Francisco Lindor is one of three players who have been worth 9.0 WAR or more over the last calendar year. One of the other two is a teammate of Lindor, who will appear later. Lindor has been the best offensive shortstop and the third-best defensive shortstop, behind Andrelton Simmons and Jose Iglesias. The gap between him and Simmons over the last 365 days is the second-biggest gap of any position player.
Simmons is known for his glove. He ranks at the top of the list of shortstops for his defense. He’s been much better with the bat lately, though, going back to last season when he was above average on offense for the first time since a 49-game sample his rookie year. He’s been even better this year, with a .319/.380/.440 batting line.
Manny Machado struggled in the first three months last year, but got going last July and has kept it going in his final season before free agency. The trade rumors surrounding Machado are heating up. Three weeks ago, it was rumored that his trade destinations were narrowed down to eight teams. More recently, the Arizona Diamondbacks have been linked with Machado.
Duds
#25. Jordy Mercer, Pittsburgh Pirates
.248/.308/.400 in 542 PA, 1.1 WAR
#26. Orlando Arcia, Milwaukee Brewers
.235/.281/.326 in 474 PA, -0.1 WAR
#27. Alcides Escobar, Kansas City Royals
.233/.271/.338 in 625 PA, -0.3 WAR
Jordy Mercer has been in the big leagues for seven seasons. He has exactly one average season (2 WAR is average) and six seasons between replacement-level and average (0 to 2 WAR). He’s basically a place-holder who does his job just well enough to keep a roster spot but doesn’t do much to help a team make the postseason, although he was part of the three-season stretch in which the Pirates made the playoffs from 2013 to 2015.
Prior to the 2016 season, Arcia was the number eight prospect in baseball according to Baseball America. Much of the prospect love was for his glove, but to be the number eight prospect in baseball, there must have been some optimism for his bat. Instead, he’s been 32 percent below average on offense in his career. He’s been even worse over the last 365 days.
Like Salvador Perez on the catcher duds list, Alcides Escobar was on those Kansas City Royals World Series teams. He’s never been very good offensively, but he had a couple years with an on-base percentage over .300 and 30 or more steals. He doesn’t do either of those things anymore. Over the last couple weeks, the Royals have started to play him at third base and center field. That’s probably one reason why the Royals are dead last in the Power Rankings.
Third base
The plate appearance requirement for third basemen was set at 450 plate appearances. This produced 31 third basemen, a little more than one per team.
Studs
#1. Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians
.307/.389/.609 in 683 PA, 9.2 WAR
#2. Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies
.316/.399/.612 in 671 PA, 6.9 WAR
#3. Alex Bregman, Houston Astros
.297/.378/.531 in 701 PA, 6.2 WAR
Only one player in baseball has been worth more than Jose Ramirez over the last calendar year. That player will appear later. It’s amazing to think that Cleveland has two of the top three players in baseball over the last 365 days. They also have a pitcher right near the top.
Ramirez has seen his home run totals go from 0 to 2 to 6 to 11 to 29 in the five seasons before this one. We’re just past the halfway point and he already has 24. He should easily finish in the mid-30s and could top 40.
Nolan Arenado leads all third basemen in home runs and RBI over the last calendar year. He’s also been a top five third baseman defensively in that time. The number three guy on this list, Alex Bregman, is living up to his top-100 prospect status. He just keeps getting better and better.
Duds
#29. Maikel Franco, Philadelphia Phillies
.249/.292/.446 in 561 PA, 0.5 WAR
#30. Yangervis Solarte, Toronto Blue Jays
.246/.293/.429 in 573 PA, 0.3 WAR
#31. Matt Davidson, Chicago White Sox
.214/.294/.430 in 472 PA, 0.0 WAR
Maikel Franco has been living off one good 80-game sample in 2015 for three years now. That season, he hit .280/.343/.497 and was 29 percent better than average offensively. Since then, he’s hit .245/.295/.422. If the Phillies are serious about making the playoffs, looking for a better third baseman would be a start.
Solarte has been below average offensively and defensively over the last calendar year. In a perfect world, the Blue Jays would have a healthy Josh Donaldson and Yangervis Solarte wouldn’t have 350 plate appearances this season.
Davidson’s numbers are being heavily weighed down by last year. He was brutal in the second half, hitting .185/.226/.364. He’s been much better this year, hitting .235/.348/.478 and greatly improving his walk rate from 4.3 percent to 13.9 percent.
Left Field
The plate appearance requirement for left field was set at 450 plate appearances. This produced 34 left fielders, a few more than one per team. NOTE: Tommy Pham was listed at left field and center field. Because he’s played center field more this year, he’s on that list. Also, Ian Desmond made the list at first base and left field. Because he’s played more at first base this year, he’s on that list. That leaves 32 left fielders.
Studs
#1. Eddie Rosario, Minnesota Twins
.301/.342/.552 in 669 PA, 5.3 WAR
#2. Justin Upton, Los Angeles Angels
.265/.355/.512 in 688 PA, 4.9 WAR
#3. Kyle Schwarber, Chicago Cubs
.251/.358/.530 in 520 PA, 4.1 WAR
Eddie Rosario is one of the more surprising names to be at the top of the positional leader board over the last calendar year. He’s been very good for quite some time now, but he’s easy to overlook playing for the Twins. That’s especially true this year because the Twins have struggled so much.
Kyle Schwarber is another surprising name. He had a rough first two months of last season but has been hitting well since June of 2017. He’s also holding his own in left field, according to the Fangraphs fielding numbers.
Unlike Rosario and Schwarber, it’s no surprise Justin Upton is here. He’s been quite good with the Angels. He may not be the superstar that many hoped he would be when he got to the big leagues as a 19-year-old in 2007, but he’s been a consistently above average player throughout his career.
Duds
#30. Ben Gamel, Seattle Mariners
.252/.301/.382 in 471 PA, 0.3 WAR
#31. Adam Duvall, Cincinnati Reds
.209/.280/.397 in 615 PA, 0.2 WAR
#32. Trey Mancini, Baltimore Orioles
.258/.314/.413 in 669 PA, 0.2 WAR
Ben Gamel had an ugly start to this season. Through May 12, he was hitting .173/.246/.231 in 20 games. Since then, he’s hit .361/.430/.500 in 36 games. That has come with a .427 BABIP, so it’s not likely to continue. Still, it moved him out of the bottom spot among left fielders over the last 365 days.
Adam Duvall was on top of the world entering July last season. In his first 76 games in 2017, he hit .288/.332/.572 and had 19 home runs and 57 RBI. The next three months were brutal. From July 1 on, he hit .210/.271/.390. This year he’s hitting .205/.288/.403. That’s more than a year’s worth of evidence that Adam Duvall just isn’t all that good.
Mancini is similar to Duvall. He was quite good in the first part of last season, then not so good in the second part. He’s still close to league average on offense over the last calendar year (95 wRC+), but is the second-worst left fielder on defense. Only Khris Davis has been worse. Mancini should be DH-ing more, but the Orioles have a half dozen guys who should be DH-ing.
Center Field
The plate appearance requirement for center field was set at 400 plate appearances. This initially produced 31 center fielders, close to one per team. NOTE: Carlos Gomez and Dexter Fowler were on the center field list and the right field list. They’ve both played more right field than anything else this year, so they won’t appear here, leaving 29 players on this list.
Studs
#1. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
.299/.443/.593 in 681 PA, 9.6 WAR
#2. Tommy Pham, St. Louis Cardinals
.282/.382/.476 in 640 PA, 5.5 WAR
#3. Lorenzo Cain, Milwaukee Brewers
.303/.381/.434 in 628 PA, 5.4 WAR
Who did you expect? Of course Mike Trout is the top center fielder in WAR over the last calendar year. He leads all center fielders in home runs, runs scored, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, wOBA, wRC+, etc. etc. etc. The gap between Trout and the next-best center fielder is the largest for any position in baseball.
Tommy Pham and Lorenzo Cain are neck and neck for the spot behind Trout. Both have been worth roughly 5.5 WAR over the last calendar year. Pham has been the better hitter, especially in the power department. Cain tops all center fielders in defense and has been a key addition to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Duds
#27. Jackie Bradley, Jr., Boston Red Sox
.204/.288/.324 in 556 PA, 0.7 WAR
#28. Guillermo Heredia, Seattle Mariners
.219/.303/.302 in 416 PA, -0.6 WAR
#29. Adam Engel, Chicago White Sox
.178/.242/.276 in 523 PA, -1.1 WAR
Every so often, Jackie Bradley, Jr. will have a terrific stretch of hitting and Red Sox fans hope that he’s figured it out. Then he won’t hit at all for three months. His glove is good enough that he’s not killing the team. When he puts it all together, like he did in 2016, he’s an all-star caliber player. Over the last calendar year, he hasn’t come close to that level.
Guillermo Heredia seems like he would be a good fielder, but the metrics don’t agree. He seems like he would be a good base stealer, but he has just one steal in his last 133 games. He seems like he would be an asset, but he has been a detriment. Mariner fans probably don’t realize this. They’re just happy to have a team with a strong chance of making the playoffs for the first time since 2001.
After the first 19 games of his major league career, Adam Engel was hitting a smooth .296/.345/.463. Since then, he’s hit .177/.243/.274. Over the last calendar year, Engel has a 41 wRC+, which is not only the worst mark among these center fielders, it’s much, much worse. Jackie Bradley, Jr. (63 wRC+) and Billy Hamilton (68 wRC+) are the next two center fielders above him, but they at least have good defensive chops to fall back on.
Right Field
The plate appearance requirement for right field was set at 450 plate appearances. This produced 31 right fielders, a few more than one per team.
Studs
#1. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
.261/.398/.567 in 706 PA, 7.6 WAR
#2. Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees
.281/.369/.616 in 718 PA, 7.2 WAR
#3. Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox
.285/.372/.527 in 650 PA, 6.9 WAR
The towers of power in New York are the top right fielders in WAR over the last calendar year. Stanton has 58 homers and 130 RBI in that stretch. Judge has 48 and 108. Stanton has a higher slugging percentage. Judge has a higher on-base percentage. They have the same wRC+ (156). The 0.4 WAR difference between them is due to Judge’s being better on the bases and in the field.
Just below the big boys from the Bronx is Mookie Betts. In addition to his rate stats shown above, Betts has 111 runs scored, 30 homers, 93 RBI, and 26 steals over the last 365 days. There’s a sizeable gap from Betts to the next right fielder on the list, which is J.D. Martinez (5.5 WAR) if you consider him a right fielder or Mitch Haniger (3.5 WAR) if you don’t.
Duds
#29. Gregory Polanco, Pittsburgh Pirates
.241/.325/.436 in 457 PA, 0.2 WAR
#30. Stephen Piscotty, Oakland Athletics
.238/.314/.371 in 456 PA, -0.1 WAR
#31. Jose Bautista, New York Mets
.187/.308/.355 in 490 PA, -0.3 WAR
Polanco’s place on this list is due in large part to his defense, which ranks very poorly on the Fangraphs leaderboard. Only three right fielders have been worse than Polanco defensively—Nick Williams, Shin-Soo Choo and Nick Castellanos—and Choo has been mostly a DH this season.
Piscotty’s been a league average hitter this season, but struggled over the last few months of 2017. He hit .224/.318/.345 in the second half last year. Jose Bautista is on a nice hot streak over the last few weeks, hitting .310/.491/.643, but it hasn’t been enough to move his batting average over the Mendoza Line over the last calendar year.
Designated Hitter
The plate appearance requirement for designated hitters was set at 450 plate appearances. This produced 15 designated hitters, close to one per team. NOTE: Hanley Ramirez would be third-worst on this list, but he was already listed at first base, so he’s been removed from the DH pool, leaving 14 designated hitters.
Studs
#1. J.D. Martinez, Boston Red Sox
.314/.379/.674 in 652 PA, 5.5 WAR
#2. Nelson Cruz, Seattle Mariners
.281/.370/.583 in 625 PA, 4.3 WAR
#3. Shin-Soo Choo, Texas Rangers
.275/.372/.454 in 699 PA, 2.7 WAR
J.D. Martinez, over the last calendar year: 154 G, 113 R, 57 HR, 144 RBI. That looks like a season from the 1930s, something Jimmie Foxx or Hank Greenberg would have done. He’s been incredible with the bat. The only player with more home runs over the last year is Giancarlo Stanton and Martinez leads everyone in RBI and has a hefty lead in slugging percentage.
Nelson Cruz is aging well. He has 47 dingers and 112 RBI over the last 365 days. He’s 37 years old and his contract expires at the end of the year. He’s been key to their success this season. What will the Mariners do with Cruz?
Texas, on the other hand, should try to parlay Shin-Soo Choo’s hot hitting into a trade because the 35-year-old Choo is still owed $42 million combined in 2019 and 2020. The Rangers need to re-load. Choo and his 44-game on-base streak should be on the trading block.
Duds
#12. Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels
.249/.291/.404 in 640 PA, -0.9 WAR
#13. Kendrys Morales, Toronto Blue Jays
.236/.301/.411 in 531 PA, -1.0 WAR
#14. Victor Martinez, Detroit Tigers
.248/.305/.350 in 462 PA, -1.5 WAR
The bottom of the DH leaderboard over the last calendar year is the Shady Hills Retirement Home of Baseball. These three players have cost their teams wins over what a freely-available player would have done. At least Victor Martinez is in the final year of his contract. Kendrys Morales is still owed $12 million for next season.
Then there’s the once-great Albert Pujols, struggling to get his on-base percentage above .300 and his slugging percentage above .400. He’s working on his second straight season of below replacement-level production. He’s also owed $77 million in the three seasons after this one.
Prior to last season, Pujols ranked 26th in career WAR for position players. He’s since dropped behind Al Kaline and Wade Boggs into 28th place. If he plays another three years like the last two, he could drop behind Roger Conner and Chipper Jones, maybe even George Brett and George Davis, and Adrian Beltre may pass him. Pujols could be 33rd in WAR by the time his career is over.
Starting Pitchers
The innings pitched requirement for starting pitchers was set at 100 innings. This produced 118 starting pitchers, which is about four per team.
Studs
#1. Luis Severino, New York Yankees
2.17 ERA, 2.58 FIP, 10.8 K/9 in 212 IP, 7.4 WAR
#2. Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians
2.19 ERA, 2.85 FIP, 10.4 K/9 in 242.7 IP, 7.3 WAR
#3. Justin Verlander, Houston Astros
2.03 ERA, 2.99 FIP, 10.8 K/9 in 226.7 IP, 6.7 WAR
#4. Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox
2.79 ERA, 2.66 FIP, 13.1 K/9 in 209.7 IP, 6.6 WAR
#5. Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals
2.65 ERA, 2.66 WHIP, 12.5 K/9 in 200.7 IP, 6.5 WAR
By Fangraphs WAR, the top two starting pitchers in baseball over the last calendar year are Luis Severino and Corey Kluber. They’ve both been good for an extended period of time and the difference between them is negligible. They also have more than a half-win lead on the pitchers below them.
Verlander, Sale and Scherzer are names baseball fans would expect at the top of the starting pitcher leaderboard. The next guy on the list is Aaron Nola, of the Phillies. That might surprise some people, but Nola has a 2.81 ERA and 2.84 FIP over the last year.
Also in the top ten over the last 365 days are Trevor Bauer and James Paxton. Just out of the top 10 is Jon Gray, who was recently sent to the minor leagues by the Rockies. Gray has a 4.70 ERA over the last calendar year, but it comes with a 3.07 FIP and Fangraph uses FIP to determine WAR. Using actual runs allowed, Gray ranks 35th.
Duds
#115. Martin Perez, Texas Rangers
5.76 ERA, 5.46 FIP, 4.8 K/9 in 125 IP, 0.2 WAR
#116. Dan Straily, Miami Marlins
4.93 ERA, 5.48 FIP, 7.9 K/9 in 146 IP, -0.1 WAR
#116. Derek Holland, San Francisco Giants
5.88 ERA, 5.66 FIP, 7.3 K/9 in 134.7 IP, -0.3 WAR
#117. Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox
5.40 ERA, 5.89 FIP, 5.9 K/9 in 135 IP, -0.4 WAR
#118. Jason Vargas, New York Mets
7.29 ERA, 6.31 FIP, 7.1 K/9 in 116 IP, -1.1 WAR
These are the guys who have struggled the most to get anyone out over the last calendar year. Martin Perez is on the DL and has only pitched 22.3 innings this year, but they’ve been brutal innings (9.67 ERA, 7.90 FIP). Jason Vargas is in the same boat. He’s currently on the DL. In his nine starts this year, he only pitched 37.7 innings, a little more than four innings per start. His ERA is 8.60 and his FIP is 6.56.
If Dan Straily were pitching better, he’d likely be pitching somewhere else because the Marlins would have traded him already. Derek Holland is trying to recover from a horrible second half of last season when he had an 8.93 ERA and 8.33 FIP. He’s been much better with the Giants in 2018 (4.36 ERA, 4.28 FIP).
Lucas Giolito was a top-10 prospect in all of baseball for two straight years. He looked superficially good in seven starts last year when he had a 2.38 ERA but his FIP was 4.94. He’s been a train wreck this year, with a 6.93 ER and 6.37 FIP. He’s walked as many as he’s struck out and given up 1.6 home runs every nine innings. Maybe he shouldn’t sit so close to teammate James Shields on the White Sox bench.
Relief Pitchers
The innings pitched requirement for relief pitchers was set at 60 innings. This produced 76 relief pitchers, which is about two-and-a-half per team.
Studs
#1. Josh Hader, Milwaukee Brewers
1.84 ERA, 1.84 FIP, 15.7 K/9 in 83 IP, 3.5 WAR
#1. Edwin Diaz, Seattle Mariner
2.63 ERA, 2.16 FIP, 13.5 K/9 in 78.7 IP, 3.4 WAR
#3. Chad Green, New York Yankees
1.90 ERA, 1.79 FIP, 13.4 K/9 in 80.3 IP, 2.9 WAR
Josh Hader was good last year, but he’s upped his game to a whole different level this year. He’s the only pitcher in baseball who has struck out more than half the batters he’s faced and the difference between his strikeout rate and walk rate is the best in the game.
Edwin Diaz has been terrific for the very surprising Seattle Mariners this season. He has eight more saves than the next-closest pitcher in baseball. He’s also just one save away from making the top 10 list for saves in a season by a Mariners pitcher. The team’s single-season record is 48, by Fernando Rodney. Diaz could destroy that.
Chad Green is the unsung hero in the Yankees bullpen. He gets strikeouts, doesn’t walk many and keeps the ball in the ballpark. On a team with 15 players making one million or more, Chad Green and his $570,800 salary are a key part of an effective bullpen. Closer Aroldis Chapman makes as much for two appearances as Green makes in the entire season.
Duds
#75. Danny Barnes, Toronto Blue Jays
4.62 ERA, 5.65 FIP, 7.5 K/9 in 60.3 IP, -0.7 WAR
#76. Warwick Saupold, Detroit Tigers
5.80 ERA, 5.97 FIP, 5.4 K/9 in 68.3 IP, -1.1 WAR
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6.82 ERA, 7.40 FIP, 5.5 K/9 in 63.3 IP, -1.4 WAR
Danny Barnes is on the DL with a bad left knee. He was walking too many and giving up too many dingers before the knee got him. Warwick Saupold has a strikeout rate like a pitcher in the Deadball ERA. He’s struck out just 16 batters in 34.3 innings and he’s walked 13.
Then there’s Chris Beck, with a 6.82 ERA and 7.40 FIP in the last 365 days. His strikeout rate is ugly, his walk rate is foul and he’s allowed 2.6 home runs per nine innings. Despite being the least valuable reliever over the last calendar year, he was claimed off waivers by the New York Mets in June. That says everything you need to know about the 2018 New York Mets.
Next: Indians bullpen trade options
We hope you enjoyed this look back over the last calendar year at MLB best players at each position. Is there anyone that surprised you? Anyone that is missing? Comment below!!