MLB Top 100: #10-1
Welcome back to the countdown of my top 100 players in Major League Baseball! To find #20-11, click here or at the link at the bottom of the page. We have finally made it to the final installment of the 2025 edition of my MLB top 100! If you’ve been following since #100-91, thank you! And if this is your first time tuning in, I encourage you to check out the rest of these rankings here and to subscribe below!
10. Gunnar Henderson (24), 2024 rank: #33
2024: 719 PA, 37 HR, 92 RBI, 21 SB, .281/.364/.529, 155 wRC+, 5 DRS, -1 OAA, 8.0 fWAR
Among players ranked within last year’s top 50, Gunnar Henderson was one of the top risers on this list. In yesterday’s ranking, I mentioned how deep the shortstop position is in Major League Baseball right now considering Francisco Lindor is my fourth highest ranked shortstop. Coming off an 8.0 fWAR season, it feels just as crazy having Henderson as only the third highest ranked shortstop. According to fWAR, Henderson’s 2024 was the fifth best season by a shortstop since 2000, trailing three separate Alex Rodriguez seasons and Bobby Witt Jr’s 2024. Since the start of 2023, Henderson is the sixth most valuable position players by fWAR (12.8), and ranks within the top 15 in home runs (65), SLG (.510), ISO (.241), wRC+ (140), and is also a top five defensive shortstop by DRS (15). With Henderson entering just his third full season at age 24, it’s likely he finds a way to get even better.
9. Kyle Tucker (28), 2024 rank: #24
2024: 339 PA, 23 HR, 49 RBI, 11 SB, .289/.408/.585, 180 wRC+, 7 DRS, 1 OAA, 4.2 fWAR
It was unfortunate that Kyle Tucker missed half of last season because it would have been fun to see just what kind of season he would have ended up with considering he was on pace for career highs across the board. Minimum 300 plate appearances last year, Tucker was a top three hitter in baseball according to OBP, SLG, OPS (.993), ISO (.296), and wRC+ (180) - all of which would have been career highs over the course of a full season. He also managed to walk more than he struck out (16.5 BB%, 15.9 K%) while hitting 23 home runs in 78 games - a 48 home run pace. His career has certainly been leading up to one of these massive offensive seasons, and not to mention, he has a 30 stolen base season under his belt and has consistently posted above-average defensive seasons in right field.
8. Corey Seager (31), 2024 rank: #5
2024: 533 PA, 30 HR, 74 RBI, 1 SB, .278/.353/.512, 140 wRC+, 4 DRS, 5 OAA, 4.5 fWAR
If not for Bobby Witt Jr taking the massive leap forward he did last year, Corey Seager would likely still be my top shortstop in baseball, which for some reason might be an unpopular opinion nowadays. He’s simply one of the most advanced hitters in baseball, and plays good enough defense at shortstop to make him one of the most valuable players in the game today. Don’t forget that he’s a postseason monster as well with two World Series MVP awards in his trophy case. Between his last three postseasons (2020, 2021, 2023), Seager has 16 home runs, a 1.020 OPS, and a 170 wRC+ in 215 plate appearances. He basically has nearly half a season’s worth of MVP-caliber results against the top competition in the game, and when the lights are brightest. In the regular season over the past two years, Seager is a top five hitter in the game according to SLG (.567), ISO (.265), OPS (.939), and wRC+ (156).
7. Yordan Alvarez (28), 2024 rank: #7
2024: 635 PA, 35 HR, 86 RBI, 6 SB, .308/.392/.567, 168 wRC+, -5 DRS, -7 OAA, 5.3 fWAR
As long as Yordan Alvarez is making at least 400 plate appearances a season, he’s going to rank seventh on my top 100 every year. The injury concern and the fact that he might as well be a full-time DH puts a cap on his ceiling, however, his bat by itself might not have a ceiling. He’s often times regarded as the “purest” hitter in baseball, possessing no weaknesses at the plate with massive power to all fields. And as is the theme with a lot of these top players - he shows up in the postseason. Since the start of 2022, only Aaron Judge owns a higher wRC+ than Alvarez in the regular season, and he’s also a top three hitter in the same time frame according to OBP (.401), SLG (.587), and OPS (.988). In the postseason, he rivals Corey Seager for the best hitter in recent seasons, posting a career .944 OPS and 156 wRC+ over 252 plate appearances since his rookie year in 2019. Health is of course once again going to be the difference in Yordan putting up a well above-average season in terms of value, and a legitimate MVP-caliber season.
6. Mookie Betts (32), 2024 rank: #4
2024: 516 PA, 19 HR, 75 RBI, 16 SB, .289/.372/.491, 141 wRC+, -2 DRS, -4 OAA, 4.4 fWAR
Although his numbers took a step back from his stellar 2023 campaign while he dealt with injury, Mookie Betts can be relied on to be arguably a top five player in baseball in every season. He has posted at least a 130 wRC+ in every season since his 2018 MVP season, and the lowest fWAR he’s posted in a non-COVID season in the same time frame was 3.9. He’s arguably the most versatile player in baseball, playing a world-class right field while also playing a league-average second base and shortstop. While his numbers on a rate-basis don’t quite size up with some of the other monsters on this top 10, it’s tough to put a number on what Mookie provides to a franchise.
5. Ronald Acuna Jr (27), 2024 rank: #1
2024: 222 PA, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 16 SB, .250/.351/.365, 105 wRC+, -7 DRS, -2 OAA, 1.0 fWAR
Coming off of his historic 40 home run/ 70 stolen base season, it was hard to leave Acuna Jr out of the number one spot headed into 2024. I probably should have played it a little safer considering the injury history, and that ended up biting me last year with Acuna going down with his second torn ACL. Following his previous torn-ACL in 2021, Acuna had a fairly mediocre season in his return, and he’s being forecasted for the same result in 2025. However, I don’t believe there’s enough evidence to believe he’s going to have another mediocre return. While he likely will never put up another season on the same level with his 2023 campaign, we are still talking about one of the most athletic players in baseball. He still has the upside for 40+ home runs, and I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility he steals 40 bases again some time in his career. Given the multiple elite tools and the fact that he’s only entering his age 27 season, it was tough to leave him outside of the top five.
4. Bobby Witt Jr (25), 2024 rank: #26
2024: 709 PA, 32 HR, 109 RBI, 31 SB, .332/.389/.588, 168 wRC+, 2 DRS, 16 OAA, 10.4 fWAR
The Bobby Witt Jr show in 2024 was quite the spectacle, and in almost every other season should have resulted in an American League MVP award. I mentioned him earlier on in this list along with Gunnar Henderson’s historic 2024 as Bobby Witt Jr and Alex Rodriguez were the only two shortstops with more valuable seasons since the turn of the century. Bobby’s 2024 was in fact the best season by a shortstop since 2000 according to fWAR and is the fifth best season all-time by a shortstop. Only Honus Wagner, Lou Boudreau, and Cal Ripken Jr have had better seasons at the position. Bobby made some massive improvements in nearly every facet of his game, adding power, walking more while striking out less, and getting better defensively. He has three straight 20 home run/ 30 stolen base seasons to start his career, and has the upside for a 30 home run/50 stolen base season.
3. Juan Soto (26), 2024 rank: #8
2024: 713 PA, 41 HR, 109 RBI, 7 SB, .288/.419/.569, 180 wRC+, 0 DRS, -5 OAA, 8.1 fWAR
Coming off of a career year in 2024, Juan Soto enters 2025 with perhaps the highest ceiling bat in all of baseball. I have always believed Soto has a Barry Bonds season buried somewhere deep within him because of his elite power and ability to get on base. Since he entered the league in 2018, Soto owns the highest OBP (.421), and is a top ten hitter in the same time frame according to home runs (201), SLG (.532), OPS (.953), and wRC+ (158). Soto is similar to Yordan Alvarez in that all of his value is wrapped up in his bat - and it’s a whole lot of value. He provides a little more than Yordan in terms of athleticism as he can at least hold his own in right field and on the bases. Soto feels like a veteran at this point in his career, but he’s only entering his age 26 season which means we may not have even seen his best seasons yet.
2. Aaron Judge (32), 2024 rank: #2
2024: 704 PA, 58 HR, 144 RBI, 10 SB, .322/.458/.701, 218 wRC+, -8 DRS, -4 OAA, 11.2 fWAR
While other hitters on this list bring upside to their arguments as top ten players in baseball, Aaron Judge has been the best hitter in the game since 2022 based on results and not upside. He has produced 27.0 fWAR since the start of 2022, and the difference between him and second place is the same difference between second place and 35th place. In the same time frame, he has the most home runs (157) and the highest OBP (.430), SLG (.674), OPS (1.107), and wRC+ (202). There have not been many stretches like that in baseball history and if not for Shohei Ohtani, Judge would be a slam dunk for best player in baseball. While it might be considered sacrilegous to say, but I believe there is a reasonable argument in favor of Judge over Ohtani. While his defensive numbers tell a different story, I have always believed Judge to be a solid defensive outfielder and he has sneaky speed on the bases as well. If Ohtani doesn’t pitch again in 2025, Judge very well may be in that number one spot next year.
1. Shohei Ohtani (31), 2024 rank: #3
2024: 731 PA, 54 HR, 130 RBI, 59 SB, .310/.390/.646, 181 wRC+, 9.1 fWAR
This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone as Shohei Ohtani is coming off of his third MVP award backed by his 50 home run/50 stolen base season that was the first of its kind in baseball history. Oh yeah, this guy is expected to pitch this year too. The extent of what he will provide on the mound is still in question, but if Ohtani puts up any resemblance of what he did in 2024 and also pitches to at least a serviceable level in roughly 100 innings, he’s well on his way to his fourth MVP award.
