MLB Top 100: #50-41
Welcome back to to the countdown of my top 100 players in Major League Baseball! To find #60-51, click here or at the link at the bottom of the page.
50. Marcell Ozuna (34), 2024 rank: #46
2024: 688 PA, 39 HR, 104 RBI, 1 SB, .302/.378/.546, 154 wRC+, 4.7 fWAR
Kicking off my top 50 is Marcell Ozuna who has really established himself as one of the premier power hitters in baseball over the last couple of seasons. Ozuna nearly matched his career high of 40 home runs that he set in 2023 last year, giving him 79 over the last two years. That mark ranks sixth in all of baseball in that time frame. He also ranks within the top six in both ISO (.263) and SLG (.552) over the same span while ranking ninth in wRC+ (147). His 4.7 fWAR last year was the 27th best season by a primary DH according to fWAR since the turn of the century, truly cementing Ozuna as one of the top designated hitters of this time period. He of course is not going to provide in any other facets of the game, but the power alone helps to keep him within this year’s top 50.
49. Jose Altuve (35), 2024 rank: #27
2024: 682 PA, 20 HR, 65 RBI, 22 SB, .295/.350/.439, 127 wRC+, -13 DRS, -8 OAA, 3.9 fWAR
Jose Altuve is still the hitter he has always been, hitting for high averages and squeezing every ounce of power out of his short frame. His drop of 22 spots from last year’s list is large in part due to the fact that I believe the aging curve will start to take effect on him. While I put this ranking together prior to finding out that Altuve would be moving to left field, the move defensively likely helps to justify this lower ranking for the future hall of famer. He has never been a premier defender, and I have a hard time seeing the defensive metrics playing in Altuve’s favor out in left. However, because he is such a professional hitter, I think Altuve will still be good enough at the plate to be a top 50 player despite some age-related decline and defensive woes.
48. Dylan Cease (29), 2024 rank: N/A
2024: 189.1 IP, 3.47 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 1.07 WHIP, 20.9 K-BB%, 4.8 fWAR
Dylan Cease was left off of my 2024 top 100 due to his 4.58 ERA. While he still had some of the best stuff in the game, I found his high-walk approach to be provide pretty volatile results considering he had delivered a 2.20 ERA just a year prior. I should have put more stock in his 2022 performance than his 2023 performance, because I think his 2024 campaign ended up being a lot more indicative of what we can expect from Cease moving forward. He ranked fifth in fWAR among starters and ranked within the top ten in FIP, WHIP, BAA (.197), K% (29.4), and K-BB%. His 8.5 BB% was also a career-low. While his new home ballpark played a role in decreasing his home run rates, Cease also did his part by lowering his average EV (89.0) and hardhit% (38.2), while seeing an uptick in GB% (39.8). It will be interesting to see if he’s traded at the deadline this year to a more hitter-friendly park, but I believe he has the tools and track record to remain as one of the top pitchers in the game, especially considering he’s right in the prime of his career.
47. Alex Bregman (31), 2024 rank: #39
2024: 634 PA, 26 HR, 75 RBI, 3 SB, .260/.315/.453, 118 wRC+, 6 DRS, 6 OAA, 4.1 fWAR
Upon his arrival in Boston, Alex Bregman seems like a slam dunk to have a solid year for the Red Sox. He has hit historically well at Fenway Park over the course of his career due to his pull-heavy approach and well above-average bat to ball skills. The slight drop in ranking was due to a year to year decrease in production since 2022 and the fact that he doesn’t even have a defensive home for 2025 (not his fault). While I trust his glove to translate well to second base if he does end up there long-term considering he was drafted as a shortstop, there’s still uncertainty on how that effects Bregman’s game. If he stays at third base, we know what we’re getting from him. You can pencil him in for positive defensive metrics and above-average production at the plate even if his bat hasn’t been on par with his earlier years. Still a perennial 4-WAR player as far as I’m concerned.
46. Logan Gilbert (27), 2024 rank: #76
2024: 208.2 IP, 3.23 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 0.89 WHIP, 22.8 K-BB%, 4.1 fWAR
Logan Gilbert is a fun pick for the American League Cy Young award this year, and made a big jump up this list upon his impressive 2024 campaign. He managed to lead the entire league in innings pitched and WHIP, while finishing in the top ten among qualified starters in BAA (.194), BB% (4.6), K-BB%, and fWAR. He has only increased his workload year to year since debuting in 2021, and is coming off of his third straight sub-4.00 ERA, sub-4.00 FIP, and sub-1.20 WHIP season. He has also increased his K% year to year while also decreasing his BB%. He has done just about everything you want from a young starter developing into an ace, and even as I’m writing this, I’m envisioning writing the same things about Gilbert next year but with a top 20 number next to his name.
45. Marcus Semien (34), 2024 rank: #18
2024: 718 PA, 23 HR, 74 RBI, 8 SB, .237/.308/.391, 99 wRC+, 10 DRS, 19 OAA, 4.2 fWAR
Marcus Semien saw a pretty steep drop off in terms of offensive production in 2024 compared to 2023, but was still one of the premier defenders in the game at second base. If a player is still killing it out in the field, I’m reluctant to contribute offensive decline due to age. It’s also worth noting that Semien had a down year offensively a year before his MVP-caliber season in 2023. He has ebbs and flows with the bat, but is going to be one of the best at his position and show up to play everyday. No one has played in more games than Semien since the start of 2021, and only Andres Gimenez has more DRS and OAA than him at second base over the same time frame. He has posted at least 4.0 fWAR in each of the last four seasons, and I like for him to repeat that as long as he continues to take the field everyday.
44. Sandy Alcantara (30), 2024 rank: N/A
2023 (2024 DNP): 184.2 IP, 4.14 ERA, 4.03 FIP, 1.21 WHIP, 13.5 K-BB%, 3.0 fWAR
Sandy Alcantara was of course left off of last year’s top 100 due to missing the entirety of the season with Tommy John surgery. Despite a down year in 2023 compared to his Cy Young campaign in 2022, Alcantara still would have made this list. No other pitcher embodies the term “work horse” quite like Alcantara. He has ten complete games since the start of 2021 and still ranks within the top 30 in innings pitched over the same time frame despite missing an entire season. Alcantara has seemingly picked right back up where he left off pre-injury this spring, routinely hitting upper-90s in velocity while missing a lot of bats. I believe he’s due for a big bounce back in 2025.
43. Willy Adames (30), 2024 rank: N/A
2024: 688 PA, 32 HR, 112 RBI, 21 SB, .251/.332/.462, 119 wRC+, -16 DRS, 0 OAA, 4.8 fWAR
I’m not entirely sure how I left Willy Adames off of this list last year, but he certainly earned his way into the top 50 after his first 30 home run/20 stolen base season, while also posting a career high in fWAR. The steep decline in defensive numbers is definitely a head-scratcher, but I'm willing to call it a blip on the radar considering he delivered 17 DRS and 26 OAA at shortstop between 2022 and 2023. Offensively, Adames is tied with Corey Seager for the league lead in home runs as a shortstop since the start of 2021, and also ranks within the top ten in SLG and ISO. Those type of power numbers are definitely an outlier for a shortstop with the defensive upside that Adames possesses.
42. Kevin Gausman (34), 2024 rank: #21
2024: 181.0 IP, 3.83 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 1.22 WHIP, 14.0 K-BB%, 2.9 fWAR
Although he put up another quality season on the mound, Kevin Gausman gets bumped down on this year’s list due to an alarming decrease in strikeouts from 2023 to 2024. He struck out 31.1% of the batters he faced in 2023 and only 21.4% of batters in 2024. That certainly raises a red flag for a pitcher in his mid-30s. However, Gausman still delivered 180+ innings for the second year in a row and the third time in the last four seasons. Similar to Adames’s defensive numbers, I’m willing to give Gausman the benefit of the doubt considering he was coming off of four straight seasons with a 22.0 or higher K-BB%. Gausman is as professional as a pitcher comes, and I expect him to make the necessary adjustments to remain as one of the better pitchers in baseball in 2025.
41. Teoscar Hernandez (32), 2024 rank: N/A
2024: 652 PA, 33 HR, 99 RBI, 7 SB, .272/.339/.501, 134 wRC+, -3 DRS, -11 OAA, 3.5 fWAR
2024 was Teoscar Hernandez’s renaissance season. After a rough year with Seattle in 2023, Hernandez returned to the level of production he saw in Toronto that established himself as one of the better hitters in baseball. Among qualified hitters in 2024, Hernandez was a top ten outfielder according to home runs, SLG, OPS (.840), ISO (.229), and wRC+. He managed to walk at his highest clip since 2019, and also decreased his K%. That is a recipe for success no matter what type of profile a hitter possesses. He chased outside of the zone significantly less than he did in 2023 while making more contact and maintaining his quality of contact metrics. He also had some big moments in the 2024 postseason which is always worth a nod. I think Hernandez is in for another big season.
