MLB players: The biggest difference makers for all 30 teams in 2020

The offseason has come to an end as MLB players have reported to their respective big league camps across the states of Arizona and Florida, so here are the most important players for each and every big league team heading into the 2020 season.

It has been a very long offseason. The Winter Meetings saw a number of MLB players, Stephen Strasburg, Anthony Rendon, and Gerrit Cole all sign in San Diego. The Houston Astros, New York Mets, and Boston Red Sox have had to fire their managers with Houston also letting go of their longtime GM.

But putting that all aside, it is time to start worrying about the MLB players who will actually be playing on the field.

When the word ‘X-Factor’ comes to mind, you might think of under the radar MLB players that will be an integral part of a team’s success this coming season.

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D.J. LeMahieu for the Yankees, Jeff McNeil for the Mets, and Howie Kendrick for the Nationals come to mind last season.

This year that doesn’t change. There will be sneaky MLB players throughout the list for their respective teams, but there are also some exceptions.

X-Factors aren’t just the lesser name players. They can be star MLB players as well and with all the of the action that happened this winter since the Nats celebrated their first World Series in October, there is sure to be plenty of big names to go around.

So, without further ado let the conversation begin! Here is one player on every team that will make the biggest difference when it comes to their team’s success in the 2020 season starting with the American League East.

MLB players: The biggest difference makers in 2020

American League East

You could go so many directions with the New York Yankees when it comes to their most important player this year, but I am going to go with none other than Gerrit Cole.

It was GM Brian Cashman’s biggest goal this offseason: to sign Gerrit Cole.

He didn’t lose a single game in the final four months of the regular season and then proceeded to be a big part of why the Astros were able to get to the World Series and then force it to a Game 7 back in Houston.

He is going to need to do the same thing in New York, as there are much greater expectations for him as a Yankee than there were as an Astro. They didn’t give him $324 million–more than Manny Machado–for nothing.

If he doesn’t perform like an ace, which is what Yankee fans are expecting then there are teams like the Astros and Twins that could beat New York in October before they even get a chance to face the Dodgers in the expected World Series matchup.

Tyler Glasnow is the most important player on the Rays for me heading into 2020. They were able to take the Astros to five games in the ALDS but most fans don’t remember that Tyler Glasnow was hurt during the season en route to what could have been a Cy Young caliber season.

So, if he can stay healthy all year in that rotation, the Rays will give the Yankees a run for their money.

The Boston Red Sox made the necessary move by trading Mookie Betts and David Price before the club started up their Spring Training camp in Florida. But a lot of fans believe this team won’t compete for the postseason this year after losing the second-best player in baseball.

But I think they have the potential to compete for a Wild Card as long as Chris Sale gets back to being Chris Sale.

After winning the World Series in 2018, he got off to a horrid start and never really reached his potential last year, pitching to a 4.40 ERA with just 6 wins.

He will need to step up and lead the rotation this season, especially after the club just lost David Price.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the most key player for the Blue Jays this season. Yes, I know that Hyun-Jin Ryu seems like the logical choice because he signed a big contract this winter but Guerrero was the highest touted prospect since Bryce Harper and he didn’t really perform.

In 123 games, he only hit 15 home runs while striking out 93 times. The big problem with him is he hits the ball on the ground too much so if he can get the ball in the air more it should translate to better numbers and a better Blue Jay club in 2020.

The Baltimore Orioles are going to be lucky to win 60 games in 2020 as they are definitely rebuilding so the X-factor for the young ballclub is the veteran Chris Davis.

Trey Mancini is the best player on the roster but Chris Davis is still being paid $17 million too much this season so he needs to find a way to earn some of it.

He didn’t get a hit for weeks to open the 2019 season but the Orioles are forced to keep him on the roster so if he can make himself valuable to the club, then I think it would be a positive for Orioles fans.

MLB players: The biggest difference makers in 2020

American League Central

The Minnesota Twins won their division for the first time in a decade but still went largely unnoticed after being swept by the New York Yankees in October. But I am going with a pitcher who wasn’t on the roster last year: Kenta Maeda.

Josh Donaldson was their biggest offseason addition, which will make them arguably the most powerful lineup in all of baseball but if the Twins want to get past the divisional round, then they will need Kenta Maeda to step up.

The recently acquired right-hander is going to be in the rotation but he pitched very well out of the bullpen with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season so I wouldn’t be surprised if he is used as a starter and a reliever in October (assuming they get there).

I am a real believer in the Cleveland Indians, and I don’t know why a lot of people are looking right past them when Francisco Lindor is still on the roster so as long as he is at the top of the lineup there is no reason to doubt that Cleveland will be in contention.

But I want to shine a light on Jose Ramirez as my X-Factor for this ballclub. People forget that this guy that finished in the top 3 in the AL MVP voting in 2017 and 2018.

2019 was a different story, as he hit just .255 in 129 games. Jose Ramirez is one of the most underrated MLB players in the game, but he will certainly be noticed if he can have a big year again in 2020.

If Lindor is traded I could very well see Ramirez putting the team on his back and putting them in Wild Card contention.

The White Sox got a lot better this offseason, as they added Dallas Keuchel, Gio Gonzalez, Yasmani Grandal, Nomar Mazara, and Edwin Encarnacion. But the X-Factor in this team is Tim Anderson.

Anderson won the batting title last season but it did not get enough attention because he was on a rebuilding squad, but if he is able to hit anywhere close to what he did in 2019 then we will be seeing the White Sox in the postseason.

The Kansas City Royals are going to continue to field a very young squad in 2020 with Mike Matheny taking over, but there is one leader on this team that continues to shine and that is Whit Merrifield.

Merrifield has been in trade talks over the course of the winter but he is the new face of the franchise in my mind. And it helps that his contract is team-friendly.

The Detroit Tigers are going to have a long year, as casual fans can only name one player on the roster and that is Miguel Cabrera.

He is the most important player on the team because he still has that Triple Crown on his resume and the young guys know that he is a future Hall of Famer.

So this is going to be another rebuilding year for Detroit but if Miggy can bring back some power from his heydays then Tigers fans will benefit from it.

MLB players: The biggest difference makers in 2020

American League West

The Oakland Athletics are going to be one of America’s favorite teams this season because they will be trying to knock down the Astros in the American League West. But if the A’s are going to do that then Khris Davis will need to get back to his form when he was hitting 40 homers with ease.

I say that because in 2019 he was not himself. He hit less than half the home runs than he did in 2018 and drove in less than 75 runs.

The A’s have Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, and Marcus Semien at the top of the lineup and if you add a 50 homer guy into the lineup then the A’s should be able to win the AL West.

Well the Astros X-Factor in 2017 was a dugout trashcan and in 2019 was a buzzer so what about 2019? I will actually go with a player and that is Lance McCullers Jr.

He had to sit out the 2019 season after he had right elbow surgery, so this will be his first action in the big leagues since 2018.

And I think he will have to be even more dialed in from start to finish because Gerrit Cole is not in the rotation any longer.

As I said earlier the A’s are going to give the Astros a run for their money and if they want to win a hard-fought division then Lance McCullers Jr. will need to provide some solid innings for Dusty Baker.

Shohei Ohtani is going to be the most important player for the 2020 Los Angeles Angels. I know that Anthony Rendon signed a $245 million contract for seven years. But while he will have a lot of pressure on himself, Ohtani should have the most.

He is a very talented two-way player who can hit 20 homers as a DH and then win 10 games as a starter because the Angels now have a talented enough lineup to do so.

Coming off Tommy John surgery, he is not going to start on Opening Day but if he can give the Angels a good 15-20 starts then it will certainly help their very young rotation.

Corey Kluber was traded to the Texas Rangers because they believe he can get back to his Cy Young ability that he was in 2014 and 2017.

2019 was a bad year for Kluber, as he was hurt for the majority of the season and he was hoping to lead the Indians rotation before the trade.

But he gets a new opportunity to be the ace of arguably the deepest rotation in the American League. He is joined alongside Mike Minor, Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, and Jordan Lyles.

The offense will have to have a good year as well but if Kluber can pitch like a Cy Young candidate then he should put the Rangers in a good spot for the second Wild Card.

The Mariners have traded away all of their veteran MLB players except Kyle Seager and Marco Gonzales, so it is going to be a year of growth and one of the young faces that will get a lot of time at first base is Evan White.

White just signed a six-year extension before he has played a game in the big leagues so Seattle knows that this kid is going to perform and are going to be expecting him to get off to a good start in his rookie season.

He will hit in the middle of the lineup in 2020 after hitting nearly .300 in the minors with 18 homers in Double-A in 2019.

Alright, the American League is covered so let’s dive into the National League starting with the National League East.

MLB players: The biggest difference makers in 2020

National League Central

The Cincinnati Reds arguably had the best offseason out of all of the teams in the National League. Dick Williams and Nick Krall added Mike Moustakas, Nicholas Castellanos, and Wade Miley to a team that could make a run for the National League Central.

But the guy that stands out for me is Joey Votto. Nobody paid much attention to him last season because he struggled and I think he would be the first one to admit that. It was his worst year since 2014 when he hit .255 with just 6 homers.

But he still has the best eye in the game at the plate in my opinion so he has the ability to boost his numbers back up in 2020, as he has a lot more help around him in the lineup

The Cardinals were embarrassed by the Nationals in the NLCS in October so they will be looking to get farther in 2020. But if they are going to do that then Matt Carpenter is going to have to perform better. As of right now according to their depth chart, he is not a starter with Tommy Edman as the starting third baseman.

Last year Carpenter was worth less than a win in terms of WAR with a batting average under .230 and a slugging percentage under .400.

But he is going to get chances in Spring Training because Edman can play the outfield as well, so if Carpenter can improve offensively then I think he could be a big piece of St. Louis’ success.

Look, the Cubs had a disappointing end to their season, especially the series in the second to last weekend of the regular season at Wrigley vs the Cardinals when they had a chance to catch them for the Central.

But when they look forward to 2020, the thought should be “We have the offense. It is going to come. We even have a good 1-2 punch in the rotation but the key this season is our bullpen.”

Craig Kimbrel didn’t sign until the summer and after a couple of weeks in Arizona he was sent right into the closer’s role for the Cubs, and I don’t think that was a very good decision.

He only would pitch in 23 games and posted a 6.53 ERA in addition to having the worst opponent batting average of his career at .259.

We all know Kimbrel is one of the best closers to ever pitch in the big leagues so if the 2020 Cubs have the offense led by Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, and Anthony Rizzo combined with a dominating Craig Kimbrel led bullpen, then they will be in the playoff hunt all season long.

The Brewers made the postseason last year but let their lead go to waste in the Wild Card game, but I think there should be some optimism despite losing guys like Mike Moustakas. And that’s because Christian Yelich is back and healthy.

So he is the X-Factor for Milwaukee because we know that their pitching is not going to push them into the playoffs. But if Yelich can put together yet another MVP-like season then he will give his team a shot.

The Pirates are retooling according to their new GM Ben Cherington, but it doesn’t feel that way to the rest of the baseball world.

So, what is most important for this rebuilding Pittsburgh club is to continue developing its core of MLB players including Bryan Reynolds. He was able to have a great rookie year hitting .314 but it was overshadowed by Pete Alonso.

But if he can repeat that then it won’t go unnoticed among Pirates fans.

MLB players: The biggest difference makers in 2020

National League West

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I am going to give the Dodgers not one but two x-factors for their 2020 season: Mookie Betts and David Price. It is simple why they are the two most important MLB players on the Dodgers this season.

The Dodgers didn’t trade for the second-best player in baseball and now the best player in the National League in Mookie Betts just to lose in the World Series again.

And don’t forget that they gave up Jeter Downs and Alex Verdugo–two of their future starters– along with utility/backup catcher Connor Wong for ONE year of Betts and three of Price.

So, in my opinion, this is the most under pressure team ever entering a season to win the World Series in MLB history and the Betts/Price combination is going to have to work this season or else the Dodgers might just be trying to get Downs and Verdugo back from Boston.

The Padres could have made the argument that they would have had their first winning season in nine years last season if Fernando Tatis Jr. was healthy, as they were a .500 ballclub at the All-Star Break.

But Tatis only played 77 games thanks to a hamstring injury suffered in April and a back strain that sidelined him for the remainder of his rookie season.

But when he was on the field he was the most exciting player on the field, hitting .317 as the leadoff hitter.

If he can stay healthy this season he will create a lot more scoring opportunities for guys like Tommy Pham, Manny Machado, and Eric Hosmer behind him which could lead to a Wild Card berth.

Madison Bumgarner seems like the logical option here but I am going to go with Starling Marte, who was acquired this offseason.

Marte wanted out of Pittsburgh, and rightfully so, but the big question is if he can be an anchor at the top of a lineup that includes Ketel Marte, Kole Calhoun, David Peralta, and Christian Walker.

The Giants are in their first year without two key people that were famous for donning the Giants uniform–Madison Bumgarner and Bruce Bochy–and I don’t see there being very many sellouts throughout the season because the team is in a retooling stage.

So, I am going to go with Johhny Cueto as the key player for San Francisco this season. He has been hurt the past few seasons so this year is an opportunity for him to prove that he can still be a big contributor atop Gabe Kapler‘s rotation.

He is still under contract for two more years after the 2020 season so it will be very important for the Giants to get their veteran starters back to the form that they were when they signed their huge contracts.

Nolan Arenado is clearly the x-factor in Colorado. They still have their core of MLB players together–Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, and Trevor Story–but if Colorado gets off to a slow start and it is clear that teams in the division like the Dodgers, D-backs, and Padres are surging towards contention then it is going to be a huge question of whether or not Nolan will be traded.

So, in other words, Nolan Arenado is the center of attention because the team’s play will likely decide if he will be a Rockie or in another uniform come the Trade Deadline.