The best MLB Players, pound for pound, at every position of the decade

The Best MLB Players at Every Position of the 2010s

The Rotation

1. Clayton Kershaw (.202 fWAR/G)
2. Chris Sale (.184 fWAR/G)
3. Max Scherzer (.172 fWAR/G)
4. Justin Verlander (.168 fWAR/G)
5. Stephen Strasburg (.154 fWAR/G)

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This starting rotation, and its order, should come as little surprise to anyone who views it. In 12 big-league years, Kershaw has posted an ERA of 3 or higher twice. The second time, just barely.

Some pitchers that you may be surprised not appear in this rotation might include Gerrit Cole, Zack Greinke, and David Price. In Cole’s case, his dominance has come in only the last two seasons; Greinke and Price are literally in the next tier, which still happens to have a significant separation from the tier after that.

For the 2020s, we’d fully expect Cole to appear on the list alongside pitchers like Walker Buehler and 2x NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom.

As the game continues to evolve, the role of the starter is becoming less and less significant. Pitchers don’t go deep into games the way they used to.

That’s because of the advent of dominant relief pitchers. Guys who can hit triple-digits with ease and make batters look foolish 1-2 innings at a time.

This brings us to the All-Decade bullpen.

The Bullpen

• Aroldis Chapman (.035 fWAR/G)
• Dellin Betances (.0314 fWAR/G)
• Kenley Jansen (.0311 fWAR/G)

As a fan of the New York Yankees, I was pleasantly surprised by the results. In my mind, I thought Craig Kimbrel would be the best reliever in baseball by a long shot. According to the numbers, however, he’s not even in the top 3.

Despite featuring a lesser fWAR than more than half of the players on the list, in games in which he appears, Betances was one of the most effective relievers in MLB. Unfortunately, he missed just about all of the 2019 season, so there’s no telling what kind of pitcher he will be while with the New York Mets in 2020.