BP's Top 50 players to build a team around

[TruffleShuffle]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/08/21/bp.pecota50/index.html?eref=T1

 

PECOTA is heavily used, of course.

 

No. 50. Matt Kemp, CF, Dodgers, Age 23 (--)

No. 49. John Lackey, P, Angels, Age 29 (--)

No. 48. Dan Uggla, 2B, Marlins, Age 28 (--)

No. 47. Geovany Soto, C, Cubs, Age 25 (--)

No. 46. B.J. Upton, CF, Rays, Age 23 (No. 50)

No. 45. Carlos Beltran, CF, Mets, Age 31 (No. 12)

No. 44. Howie Kendick, 2B, Angels, Age 24 (No. 26)

No. 43. Carlos Zambrano, P, Cubs, Age 27 (No. 28)

No. 42. Edinson Volquez, P, Reds, Age 24 (--)

No. 41. Chad Billingsley, P, Dodgers, Age 23 (--)

No. 40. Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Red Sox, Age 25 (--)

No. 39. Roy Halladay, P, Blue Jays, Age 31 (No. 25)

No. 38. Mark Teixeira, 1B, Angels, Age 28 (No. 45)

No. 37. Rich Harden, P, Cubs, Age 26 (HM)

No. 36. Lance Berkman, 1B, Astros, Age 32 (No. 32)

No. 35. Prince Fielder, 1B, Brewers, Age 24 (No. 47)

No. 34. Nick Markakis, RF, Orioles, Age 24 (--)

No. 33. Jimmy Rollins, SS, Phillies, Age 29 (No. 48)

No. 32. Matt Wieters, C, Orioles, Age 22 (--)

No. 31. Dan Haren, P, Diamondbacks, Age 27 (--)

No. 30. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, Nationals, Age 23 (No. 11)

No. 29. Ian Kinsler, 2B, Rangers, Age 26 (HM)

No. 28. Joba Chamberlain, P, Yankees, Age 22 (--)

No. 27. Matt Holliday, LF, Rockies, Age 28 (--)

No. 26. Russell Martin, C, Dodgers, Age 25 (HM)

No. 25. Justin Upton, RF, Diamondbacks, Age 20 (HM)

No. 24. Felix Hernandez, P, Mariners, Age 22 (No. 15)

No. 23. Jay Bruce, OF, Reds, Age 21 (--)

No. 22. Josh Beckett, P, Red Sox, Age 28 (--)

No. 21. Josh Hamilton, CF, Rangers, Age 27 (--)

No. 20. Cole Hamels, P, Phillies, Age 24 (No. 29)

No. 19. Scott Kazmir, P, Rays, Age 24 (No. 33)

No. 18. Brandon Webb, P, Diamondbacks, Age 29 (No.16)

No. 17. Ryan Braun, LF, Brewers, Age 24 (--)

No. 16. Curtis Granderson, CF, Tigers, Age 27 (HM)

No. 15. Tim Lincecum, P, Giants, Age 24 (41)

No. 14. Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Tigers, Age 25 (4)

No. 13. Chase Utley, 2B, Phillies, Age 29 (No. 22)

No. 12. Jake Peavy, P, Padres, Age 27 (No. 13)

No. 11. Brian McCann, C, Braves, Age 24 (9)

No. 10. Johan Santana, P, Mets, Age 29 (No. 3)

No. 9. C.C. Sabathia, P, Brewers, Age 27 (No. 17)

No. 8. Alex Rodriguez, 3B, Yankees, Age 32 (10)

No. 7. Joe Mauer, C, Twins, Age 25 (No. 2)

No. 6. Jose Reyes, SS, Mets, Age 25 (No. 7)

No. 5. Grady Sizemore, CF, Indians, Age 25 (No. 5)

No. 4. Evan Longoria, 3B, Rays, Age 22 (HM)

No. 3. Albert Pujols, 1B, Cardinals, Age 28 (1)

No. 2. David Wright, 3B, Mets, Age 25 (No. 8)

No. 1. Hanley Ramirez, SS, Marlins, Age 24 (No. 6)

 

the number at the end is how they ranked last year, with HM = honorable mention.

Edited August 22, 2008 by TruffleShuffle

[TruffleShuffle]

oops this belongs in baseball discussions.... sorry mods.

[sneakypower]

i much preferred Neyer's list with Asdrubal and Melky Cabrera on it and Robby Cano like 4th

[jersey cubs fan]

oops this belongs in baseball discussions.... sorry mods.

 

the only guy that matters is a cub

[OleMissCub]

1. Derek Jeter, SS, New York Yankees, Age 34

[Little Slide Rooter]

I wonder if Soriano and Ramirez make the final cut.

[TruffleShuffle]

I wonder if Soriano and Ramirez make the final cut.

 

hard to say. i came up with a list of some "gimmes" for the top 25, given who made 26-50 and the honorable mention choices. Frankly, I was pretty shocked that David Price didn't make the top 50 - I had considered him a gimme until I saw that he was on the honorable mention list:

 

Erik Bedard

Clay Buchholz

Matt Cain

Robinson Cano

Adam Jones

Chipper Jones

Cliff Lee

Jonathan Papelbon

Jhonny Peralta

David Price

Ben Sheets

Troy Tulowitzki

Justin Verlander

 

 

1. jose reyes, new york mets

2. david wright, new york mets

3. chase utley, phillies

4. ryan howard, phillies

5. hanley ramirez, marlins

6. albert pujols, cards

7. c.c. sabathia, brewers

8. ryan braun, brewers

9. jay bruce, reds

10. clayton kershaw, dodgers

11. tim lincecum, giants

12. brandon webb, d'backs

13. a-rod, yankees

14. josh beckett, red sox

15. evan longoria, d-rays

16. justin morneau, twins

17. joe mauer, twins

18. miguel cabrera, tigers

19. grady sizemore, indians

20. josh hamilton, rangers

21. felix hernandez, seattle

 

 

other possibilities:

corey hart, brewers

justin upton, d'backs

adrian gonzalez, padres

aramis ramirez, cubs

carlos quentin, white sox

jason bay, red sox

 

a lot of this is off the top of my head, so i might've forgotten a couple of people.

[Little Slide Rooter]

No love for the Phons?

[Little Slide Rooter]

I wonder if Soriano and Ramirez make the final cut.

 

hard to say. i came up with a list of some "gimmes" for the top 25, given who made 26-50 and the honorable mention choices. Frankly, I was pretty shocked that David Price didn't make the top 50 - I had considered him a gimme until I saw that he was on the honorable mention list:

 

Erik Bedard

Clay Buchholz

Matt Cain

Robinson Cano

Adam Jones

Chipper Jones

Cliff Lee

Jonathan Papelbon

Jhonny Peralta

David Price

Ben Sheets

Troy Tulowitzki

Justin Verlander

 

 

1. jose reyes, new york mets

2. david wright, new york mets

3. chase utley, phillies

4. ryan howard, phillies

5. hanley ramirez, marlins

6. albert pujols, cards

7. c.c. sabathia, brewers

8. ryan braun, brewers

9. jay bruce, reds

10. clayton kershaw, dodgers

11. tim lincecum, giants

12. brandon webb, d'backs

13. a-rod, yankees

14. josh beckett, red sox

15. evan longoria, d-rays

16. justin morneau, twins

17. joe mauer, twins

18. miguel cabrera, tigers

19. grady sizemore, indians

20. josh hamilton, rangers

21. felix hernandez, seattle

 

 

other possibilities:

corey hart, brewers

justin upton, d'backs

adrian gonzalez, padres

aramis ramirez, cubs

carlos quentin, white sox

jason bay, red sox

 

a lot of this is off the top of my head, so i might've forgotten a couple of people.

 

Apparently, there was 1 vote for Corey Patterson. They dont say who it was from, but it was an anonymous major league manager.

[shnsajax]

I guess no Price because of injury potential with Weiters being on the board.

[Rob]

I wonder if Soriano and Ramirez make the final cut.

 

hard to say. i came up with a list of some "gimmes" for the top 25, given who made 26-50 and the honorable mention choices. Frankly, I was pretty shocked that David Price didn't make the top 50 - I had considered him a gimme until I saw that he was on the honorable mention list:

 

Erik Bedard

Clay Buchholz

Matt Cain

Robinson Cano

Adam Jones

Chipper Jones

Cliff Lee

Jonathan Papelbon

Jhonny Peralta

David Price

Ben Sheets

Troy Tulowitzki

Justin Verlander

 

 

1. jose reyes, new york mets

2. david wright, new york mets

3. chase utley, phillies

4. ryan howard, phillies

5. hanley ramirez, marlins

6. albert pujols, cards

7. c.c. sabathia, brewers

8. ryan braun, brewers

9. jay bruce, reds

10. clayton kershaw, dodgers

11. tim lincecum, giants

12. brandon webb, d'backs

13. a-rod, yankees

14. josh beckett, red sox

15. evan longoria, d-rays

16. justin morneau, twins

17. joe mauer, twins

18. miguel cabrera, tigers

19. grady sizemore, indians

20. josh hamilton, rangers

21. felix hernandez, seattle

 

 

other possibilities:

corey hart, brewers

justin upton, d'backs

adrian gonzalez, padres

aramis ramirez, cubs

carlos quentin, white sox

jason bay, red sox

 

a lot of this is off the top of my head, so i might've forgotten a couple of people.

 

Apparently, there was 1 vote for Corey Patterson. They dont say who it was from, but it was an anonymous major league manager.

 

It wasn't up to a vote... it's just an article written by Nate Silver.

[Vanilla Ice]

woosh

[mhuber92211]

way too many people ranked high on this list that have done nothing on the major league level. yet. Highly regarded prospects are one thing but to say that the 9th best player to build a franchise about is Jay Bruce who hasn't even played a full season yet is ludricous and how franchises get in trouble. If Bruce continues to mature into a solid player after next year, then maybe. On the list is fine but to be in the top 10 above players like Zambrano, Arod is silly.

 

BTW, I notice Peralta listed. Help me out, why? Has he gotten good again?

[rocket]

 

BTW, I notice Peralta listed. Help me out, why? Has he gotten good again?

 

he's basically alfonso soriano this season, whatever that's worth.

[NonProfitCow]

I wonder if Soriano and Ramirez make the final cut.

 

hard to say. i came up with a list of some "gimmes" for the top 25, given who made 26-50 and the honorable mention choices. Frankly, I was pretty shocked that David Price didn't make the top 50 - I had considered him a gimme until I saw that he was on the honorable mention list:

 

Erik Bedard

Clay Buchholz

Matt Cain

Robinson Cano

Adam Jones

Chipper Jones

Cliff Lee

Jonathan Papelbon

Jhonny Peralta

David Price

Ben Sheets

Troy Tulowitzki

Justin Verlander

 

 

1. jose reyes, new york mets

2. david wright, new york mets

3. chase utley, phillies

4. ryan howard, phillies

5. hanley ramirez, marlins

6. albert pujols, cards

7. c.c. sabathia, brewers

8. ryan braun, brewers

9. jay bruce, reds

10. clayton kershaw, dodgers

11. tim lincecum, giants

12. brandon webb, d'backs

13. a-rod, yankees

14. josh beckett, red sox

15. evan longoria, d-rays

16. justin morneau, twins

17. joe mauer, twins

18. miguel cabrera, tigers

19. grady sizemore, indians

20. josh hamilton, rangers

21. felix hernandez, seattle

 

 

other possibilities:

corey hart, brewers

justin upton, d'backs

adrian gonzalez, padres

aramis ramirez, cubs

carlos quentin, white sox

jason bay, red sox

 

a lot of this is off the top of my head, so i might've forgotten a couple of people.

Utley and Howard ahead of Pujols? Have you forgotten how good Pujols actually is? Not to mention both Utley and Howard are older?

[badnews]

Ryan Zimmerman, BAH.

[XZero771679666304]

Utley and Howard ahead of Pujols? Have you forgotten how good Pujols actually is? Not to mention both Utley and Howard are older?

 

Says you.

 

 

But seriously, I agree. Utley has more value than Howard because he plays middle infield, but chances are he isn't going to any better. Chase was all the rage a few months ago, but is OPS has been steadily declining since his torrid start. If the trend continues, he will finish the season with an OPS below his career average, which is over .160 lower than Albert's.

 

In fact, Utley has been pretty pedestrian for the better part of 2 months.

 

As for Howard, I think it is questionable at best as to whether he will ever come close to his 2006 numbers again. He is certainly no Pujols.

[TruffleShuffle]

I wonder if Soriano and Ramirez make the final cut.

 

hard to say. i came up with a list of some "gimmes" for the top 25, given who made 26-50 and the honorable mention choices. Frankly, I was pretty shocked that David Price didn't make the top 50 - I had considered him a gimme until I saw that he was on the honorable mention list:

 

Erik Bedard

Clay Buchholz

Matt Cain

Robinson Cano

Adam Jones

Chipper Jones

Cliff Lee

Jonathan Papelbon

Jhonny Peralta

David Price

Ben Sheets

Troy Tulowitzki

Justin Verlander

 

 

1. jose reyes, new york mets

2. david wright, new york mets

3. chase utley, phillies

4. ryan howard, phillies

5. hanley ramirez, marlins

6. albert pujols, cards

7. c.c. sabathia, brewers

8. ryan braun, brewers

9. jay bruce, reds

10. clayton kershaw, dodgers

11. tim lincecum, giants

12. brandon webb, d'backs

13. a-rod, yankees

14. josh beckett, red sox

15. evan longoria, d-rays

16. justin morneau, twins

17. joe mauer, twins

18. miguel cabrera, tigers

19. grady sizemore, indians

20. josh hamilton, rangers

21. felix hernandez, seattle

 

 

other possibilities:

corey hart, brewers

justin upton, d'backs

adrian gonzalez, padres

aramis ramirez, cubs

carlos quentin, white sox

jason bay, red sox

 

a lot of this is off the top of my head, so i might've forgotten a couple of people.

Utley and Howard ahead of Pujols? Have you forgotten how good Pujols actually is? Not to mention both Utley and Howard are older?

 

dude i wasn't ranking them in order, it was just to help me keep track of how many names i'd listed. notice that they start with national league east, then work their way down to american league west, just like the baseball standings do.

[mul21]

Holy crap, Lance Berkman is 32? I had no idea he was that old.

[CubFanBudMan68]

Just off the top of my head, in no particular order, I would want to build a team around any of these guys:

 

Pitchers:

Tim Lincecum

Jake Peavy

Scott Kazmir

Chad Billingsley

Cole Hamels

Felix Hernandez

Matt Cain

Brandon Webb

Johan Santana

CC Sabathia

 

Catchers:

Joe Mauer

Brian McCann

Russell Martin

Yadier Molina

 

2B:

Chase Utley

Orlando Hudson

Dustin Pedroia

Brian Roberts

 

3B:

David Wright

Aramis Ramirez

Kevin Kouzmanoff

Evan Longoria

 

SS:

Troy Tulowitzki

Jose Reyes

Hanley Ramirez

Yunel Escobar

 

CF:

Carlos Beltran

Grady Sizemore

Josh Hamilton

Curtis Granderson

Aaron Rowand

Nate McLouth

BJ Upton

 

RF:

Hunter Pence

Nick Markakis

Brad Hawpe

Corey Hart

 

Left Fielders and First Baseman can be made by any power hitter that doesnt fit anywhere, no need to build a team around a guy like that (ala the Milwaukee Brewers).

[David]

No Geovany Soto?

[anabiono]

Just off the top of my head, in no particular order, I would want to build a team around any of these guys:

 

Pitchers:

Tim Lincecum

Jake Peavy

Scott Kazmir

Chad Billingsley

Cole Hamels

Felix Hernandez

Matt Cain

Brandon Webb

Johan Santana

CC Sabathia

 

Catchers:

Joe Mauer

Brian McCann

Russell Martin

Yadier Molina

 

2B:

Chase Utley

Orlando Hudson

Dustin Pedroia

Brian Roberts

 

3B:

David Wright

Aramis Ramirez

Kevin Kouzmanoff

Evan Longoria

 

SS:

Troy Tulowitzki

Jose Reyes

Hanley Ramirez

Yunel Escobar

 

CF:

Carlos Beltran

Grady Sizemore

Josh Hamilton

Curtis Granderson

Aaron Rowand

Nate McLouth

BJ Upton

 

RF:

Hunter Pence

Nick Markakis

Brad Hawpe

Corey Hart

 

Left Fielders and First Baseman can be made by any power hitter that doesnt fit anywhere, no need to build a team around a guy like that (ala the Milwaukee Brewers).

 

corey hart?

[CubFanBudMan68]

If Soto gets another year under his belt like he has had this year then I would put him on there. RF is pretty thin. Im a big Jeff Francouer fan because of his arm, but really cant include him after the year he has had this year. Hart does put up some nice offense though.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Aaron Rowand?

[SouthSideRyan]

Yadier Molina?