MLB: The 2020 All-MLB Team
With the 2020 MLB season now in the books, who played well enough to earn First-Team All-MLB honors?
After the 2019 season, Major League Baseball introduced the first-ever All-MLB Team awards, honoring the league’s best players over the course of a full season. Picking just one player at each position or just three outfielders proved difficult enough last season, it’s even more difficult in 2020 after a shortened 60-game schedule.
Voting is underway now at MLB.com, where 50% of the final vote that determines first and second-team honors comes from the fan vote.
The official 2020 All-MLB teams will be announced in early December, but we’re going to drop our ballot for first-team honors now.
Some of these decisions were nearly impossible to make with such a small sample size worth of play to choose from, so feel free to drop your counter-arguments in the comments below and let us know who makes your All-MLB first team.
All players were chosen from MLB.com’s list of finalists.
First-Team Infield
Catcher: Travis d’Arnaud, Atlanta Braves- It didn’t take long to reach the first position where choosing just one player doesn’t seem fair. However, d’Arnaud’s solid season at the plate and impact he had on Atlanta’s run to the playoffs gives him the nod here. d’Arnaud slashed .321/.386/.533 with nine home runs, an MLB-leading 34 RBI (among catchers), eight doubles, and was worth 1.6 Wins Above Replacement.
First base: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves- Despite a scary battle with COVID-19, Freeman played in all 60 games for Atlanta and is a favorite to take home 2020 MVP honors. He led all qualified MLB first basemen in batting average (.341), OBP (.462), slugging percentage (.640), wRC+ (187), extra-base hits (37), and fWAR (3.4). He also walked more times (45) than he struck out 37).
Second base: DJ LeMahieu, New York Yankees- Other than Tampa Bay’s Brandon Lowe, no other second baseman came close to producing the types of numbers LeMahieu put up in 2020. In 50 games, LeMahieu hit .364 with 10 home runs, a .421 OBP, and a 177 wRC+. After a dominant two-year run with the Yankees, LeMahieu is now one of the top free agents on the market and even in a depressed market, he should have his pick of suitors.
Shortstop: Trea Turner, Washington Nationals- Turner quietly put together one of the top offensive seasons for a shortstop this season, slashing .335/.394/.588 with 12 home runs, 46 runs scored, 41 RBI, 12 stolen bases, and a 157 wRC+. Can we have two first-team shortstops and also include Fernando Tatis Jr?
Third base: Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians- Finishing tied with Freddie Freeman for first place in the league in fWAR (3.4), Ramirez is an AL MVP candidate and, at times, was the entire offense for the Indians in 2020. He led all third basemen in home runs (17), wRC+ (163), runs scored (45), and doubles (16).
This year’s All-MLB outfield is full of elite talent.
Outfielder: Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers- Playoff performance isn’t supposed to be a factor when considering All-MLB honors, but Mookie Betts has won America free tacos twice in his career and we can’t just overlook that. Betts led all outfielders with a 3.0 fWAR, hitting 16 home runs with a .927 OPS.
Outfielder: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels- Can it be an All-MLB team without Mike Trout on the roster? Once again, Trout’s production wasn’t enough to get the Angels into the playoffs, but that’s not his fault. Trout slashed .281/.390/.603 with 17 home runs and a 164 wRC+ in 53 games. Will LA finally give him help to make a run in 2021? We can only hope.
Outfielder: Juan Soto, Washington Nationals- The 2020 MLB season seemed to end as soon as it started, but it also feels like last year with the season started with Soto’s positive COVID-19 case on Opening Night. Soto proceeded to light the league on fire, slashing .351/.490/.695 with 13 home runs, 14 doubles, a 200 wRC+, and more walks (41) than strikeouts (28). Soto is a budding MLB mega-star and should soon get paid as such.
DH: Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves- In the first year in which the National League allowed the DH, it’s only fitting that an NL DH get this honor. Ozuna appeared in the DH role in 39 of his 60 games this season and earned himself a big payday after hitting 18 home runs with a .338 average and .431 OBP. He was a crucial spark to Atlanta’s lineup this season, but will he return if there is no DH in the NL in 2021?
So many high-quality MLB pitchers, so few spots.
Starting pitcher: Shane Bieber, Cleveland Indians- AL Cy Young and MVP winner? Bieber certainly has a case to sweep both awards, but there’s no denying he was the top pitcher in baseball this season. Bieber finished with an 8-1 record, a 1.63 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and led all MLB pitchers with 122 strikeouts and 3.2 WAR.
Starting pitcher: Trevor Bauer, Cincinnati Reds- The NL Cy Young is a much tighter race than the AL, with at least four pitchers worthy of taking home the hardware. Bauer is right in that mix after going 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, a .159 average against, and a career-high 36% strikeout rate and career-low 6% walk rate.
Starting pitcher: Jacob deGrom, New York Mets- Winner of the last two NL Cy Young honors, deGrom put together yet another award-worthy campaign, despite often being overshadowed by the never-ending show in the front office. deGrom averaged just under 14 K/9 IP and ended 2020 with a 2.38 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. It was the third-straight season with a WHIP under 1.00 for deGrom.
Starting pitcher: Yu Darvish, Chicago Cubs- The NL leader in fWAR (3.0), Darvish went 8-3 with a 2.01 ERA for Chicago this season, striking out more than 31% of hitters and slashing his already low 7.7% walk rate from 2019 to just 4.7% in 2020. The Yu Darvish we saw during his early days as a Texas Rangers just might be back.
Starting pitcher: Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees- Cole may have had a few bumps along the way in 2020, but the Yankees ace still went 7-3 with a 2.84 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 12 starts. He struck out nearly 33% of hitters he faced and kept opponents under the Mendoza-line for a third-straight season (.197 average against). When New York needed Cole the most, he delivered, giving up just three earned runs across his final four starts (27 IP).
Relief pitcher: Devin Williams, Milwaukee Brewers- Williams put together one of the more remarkable seasons for a relief pitcher in recent memory, going 4-1 with a 0.33 ERA, 0.63 WHIP, and a .089 average against. Opponents recorded just two hits off his elite changeup, which produced a 61% whiff rate.
Relief pitcher: Liam Hendriks, Oakland Athletics- Any team looking to upgrade their bullpen for 2021 doesn’t need to look any further than Hendriks on the free agent market. The 31-year-old finished second to Brad Hand with 14 saves and tied with Devin Williams for the league-lead in fWAR among reliever (1.4). He struck out 40% of opponents, walked just 3%, and ended 2020 with a career-low 1.14 ERA.
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Who makes your 2020 All-MLB first team?