(Audacy) Ahead of the 2023 MLB season, Audacy Sports has ranked the top 30 position players (DHs included) in the sport.
30. Danbsy Swanson - SS, Chicago Cubs
Chris Coduto/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .277/.329/.447 with 25 home runs, 96 RBIs, 49 walks, .776 OPS, nine defensive runs saved, 20 outs above average and 6.4 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 29
The former No. 1 overall pick, Swanson put everything together in what turned out to be his final season with the Atlanta Braves, turning in a career year at the plate and capturing his first Gold Glove Award. Can Swanson match the best campaign of his career after signing a seven-year, $177-million deal to join the Cubs?
29. Alex Bregman: 3B, Houston Astros
Tom Pennington/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .259/.366/.454 with 23 home runs, 93 RBIs, 87 walks, .820 OPS, -4 defensive runs saved, five outs above average and 5.5 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 29
Bregman may never match the Hall of Fame-caliber production that he put up between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, but he remains one of the most productive third basemen in the sport nonetheless. In hindsight, the five-year, $100-million deal that Bregman signed in March 2019 was highway robbery for the Astros.
28. Kyle Tucker - RF, Houston Astros
Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .257/.330/.478 with 30 home runs, 107 RBIs, 59 walks, .808 OPS, 14 defensive runs saved, three outs above average and a 4.7 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 26
Tucker drove in 107 runs, made his first All-Star Game appearance and won his first Gold Glove Award in 2022. Oh, and he was a key cog for the Astros as they won the World Series. He's one of the most underrated stars in the sport currently.
27. Byron Buxton - CF, Minnesota Twins
Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA Today Sports
2022 statistics: .224/.306/.526 with 28 home runs, 51 RBIs, 34 walks, .833 OPS, eight defensive runs saved, eight outs above average and a 4.0 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 29
Buxton is one of the most complete players in baseball when he's on the field, but over the last four full 162-game seasons, injuries have limited him to just 268 of a possible 648 games. Buxton is injury-prone, and that may very well rob him of being one of this generation's best players.
26. Jose Altuve - 2B, Houston Astros
Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .300/.387/.533 with 28 home runs, 57 RBIs, 66 walks, .921 OPS, -15 defensive runs saved, two outs above average and 6.6 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 33
His connection to the 2017 Astros may affect his ability to get elected to the Hall of Fame after his career concludes, but it's going to be hard to deny that Altuve has a Cooperstown-worthy resume when his career wraps up. Altuve was an All-Star for the eighth time in 2022 while taking home his sixth Silver Slugger award and helping the Astros to win the World Series. Set to turn 33 in May, Altuve should record his 2,000th career hit at some point during the 2023 season.
25. Corey Seager - SS, Texas Rangers
Eric Espada/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .245/.317/.455 with 33 home runs, 83 RBIs, 58 walks, .772 OPS, -4 defensive runs saved, four outs above average and a 4.5 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 29
Bruce Bochy is in at manager while Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney have joined the starting rotation. Still, the best bet for a top-heavy Rangers team to reach the postseason would be for Seager to put together an MVP-caliber campaign. There's no reason that 2023 shouldn't be the best season of the former World Series MVP's career.
24. Austin Riley - 3B, Atlanta Braves
Adam Hagy/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .273/.349/.528 with 38 home runs, 93 RBIs, 57 walks, .878 OPS, six defensive runs saved, -6 outs above average and a 5.5 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 26
One of the most underrated stars in baseball currently, Riley was an All-Star for the first time in 2022, ultimately finishing sixth in NL MVP voting. And, in typical Alex Anthopoulos fashion, the Braves have Riley signed to a team-friendly 10-year, $212-million deal that will begin in 2023.
23. J.T. Realmuto - C, Philadelphia Phillies
Rich Schultz/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .276/.342/.478 with 22 home runs, 84 RBIs, 41 walks, .820 OPS, 11 defensive runs saved and a 6.5 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 32
Realmuto re-emerged as the best catcher in baseball during a monster second half of 2022, which saw him slash .307/.367/.583 with a .949 OPS. It's fair to wonder how much longer Realmuto can handle the insane workload behind the plate that he's had the past few seasons, but in a post Buster Posey/Yadier Molina era, he's become the face of the position. And some food for thought: His average WAR 7 -- the top seven single-season WAR totals added up, not necessarily in order, according to Baseball Reference -- of a Hall of Fame catcher is 34.7. Realmuto is currently at 28.4 after seven full 162-game seasons, putting him within striking distance of that mark.
22. Pete Alonso - 1B, New York Mets
Dustin Satloff/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .271/.352/.518 with 40 home runs, 131 RBIs, 67 walks, .869 OPS, -2 defensive runs saved, -7 outs above average and 4.0 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 28
The Mets' lineup is full of hitters who will wear opposing pitchers out and consistently put the ball in play. Alonso is part of that, but he provides the most thump, as evidenced by the fact that he led baseball with 131 RBIs a season ago. Still only 28, Alonso can't become a free agent until after the 2024 season.
21. Xander Bogaerts - SS, San Diego Padres
Steph Chambers/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .307/.377/.456 with 15 home runs, 73 RBIs, 57 walks, .833 OPS, five defensive runs saved, five outs above average and 6.1 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 30
Bogaerts may not ever hit in a lineup better than the 2018 World Series champion Boston Red Sox, but the 2023 Padres have a chance to be pretty damn special at the plate. Bogaerts landed an 11-year, $280-million deal from the Padres, which will allow him to join a lineup that already includes Juan Soto and Manny Machado and which will get Fernando Tatis Jr. back from a performance-enhancing drug suspension relatively early in the season. Interestingly, Bogaerts -- who has -50 defensive runs saved and -34 outs above average in his career -- was excellent in the field in 2022. It will be interesting to see if he grades out as well defensively in his first season in San Diego.
20. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - 1B, Toronto Blue Jays
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .274/.339/.480 with 32 home runs, 97 RBIs, 58 walks, .818 OPS, three defensive runs saved, -4 outs above average and 2.8 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 24
The only reason that Guerrero didn't win the AL MVP in 2021 was because he happened to put up dominant production in the same year that Shohei Ohtani had a historic campaign, starring both as a slugger and pitcher. Guerrero was still productive in 2022, making an All-Star Game appearance and winning his first career Gold Glove award. However, while 2022 was an excellent season for Guerrero, he didn't come close to matching the Hall of Fame-caliber production that he had put up the previous season.
19. Rafael Devers - 3B, Boston Red Sox
Elsa/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .295/.358/.521 with 27 home runs, 88 RBIs, 50 walks, .879 OPS, -6 defensive runs saved, -2 outs above average and 4.9 WAR
Age during 2023 Season: 26
Devers may not remain at third base for the entirety of the deal, but the 10-year, $313.5-million pact that the Red Sox inked him to already feels team-friendly. Had he reached free agency next offseason, Devers could've pursued a deal in excess of $400 million, given that he's one of the best hitters in the sport and still pretty young.
18. Carlos Correa - SS, Minnesota Twins
Elsa/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .291/.366/.467 with 22 home runs, 64 RBIs, 61 walks, .834 OPS, three defensive runs saved, -3 outs above average and 4.4 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 28
After one of the strangest free-agent adventures in MLB history, Correa is back with the Twins on a six-year, $200-million deal. For a minute there, it seemed like Correa would join the New York Mets and shift to third base. Instead, he'll remain at shortstop in Minnesota, where his defensive metrics saw a noticeable dip after he won the Platinum Glove with the Houston Astros in 2021.
17. Julio Rodríguez - CF, Seattle Mariners
Steph Chambers/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .284/.345/.509 with 28 home runs, 75 RBIs, 40 walks, .853 OPS, three defensive runs saved, six outs above average and a 5.3 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 22
Rodríguez emerged as one of the game's budding superstars in 2022, making an All-Star team, winning a Silver Slugger award and taking home AL Rookie of the Year honors. Heck, finishing seventh in AL MVP voting in your first big league season is a pretty amazing accomplishment. The Mariners snapped the longest postseason drought in baseball in 2022, and Rodríguez may very well help them to reach the playoffs for the second consecutive season in 2023.
16. Trea Turner - SS, Philadelphia Phillies
Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA Today Sports
2022 statistics: .298/.343/.466 with 21 home runs, 100 RBIs, 45 walks, .809 OPS, -1 defensive runs saved, zero outs above average and a 6.3 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 30
Turner joined the defending National League champion Phillies this winter by signing an 11-year, $300-million deal that should put him in red pinstripes for the remainder of his career. He's already led the senior circuit in stolen bases twice, and it'll be interesting to see how much he takes advantage of new rules that should incentivize more action on the basepaths.
15. Paul Goldschmidt - 1B, St. Louis Cardinals
Greg Fiume/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .317/.404/.578 with 35 home runs, 115 RBIs, 79 walks, .981 OPS, two defensive runs saved, -6 outs above average and 7.1 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 35
Goldschmidt finished runner-up in NL MVP voting twice as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks and finally took home the award after a monster season with the Cardinals in 2022. A seven-time All-Star, Goldschmidt has advanced metrics that are already on par with some other Hall of Fame first basemen.
14. Francisco Lindor - SS, New York Mets
Greg Fiume/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .270/.339/.449 with 26 home runs, 107 RBIs, 59 walks, .788 OPS, -2 defensive runs saved, 13 outs above average and 6.8 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 29
Lindor had an uneven first season with the Mets in 2021 -- at least by his standards -- but rebounded to serve as the catalyst for one of the best regular seasons in franchise history during his second campaign in Flushing. Still only 29, Lindor could put himself firmly in the Hall of Fame discussion with a few more seasons like 2022.
13. Fernando Tatis Jr. - RF, San Diego Padres
Denis Poroy/Getty Images
2021 statistics (missed all of 2022 season): .282/.364/.611 with 42 home runs, 97 RBIs, 62 walks, .975 OPS, -6 defensive runs saved (at SS), two outs above average (at SS) and a 7.3 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 24
A wrist injury and an eventual performance-enhancing drug suspension prevented Tatis from playing at all in 2022, and the PED ban will also cost him the first 20 games of the 2023 season. It appears that when Tatis is eligible to come back, he'll move to right field with the addition of star shortstop Xander Bogaerts this offseason. And boy, it's scary to think about a Padres lineup that includes Tatis, Bogaerts, Juan Soto and Manny Machado.
12. Freddie Freeman - 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers
Katharine Lotze/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .325/.407/.511 with 21 home runs, 100 RBIs, 84 walks, .918 OPS, -2 defensive runs saved, three outs above average and 7.1 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 33
It may have been difficult personally for Freeman to adjust to life after the Atlanta Braves, but it certainly didn't affect his on-field performance in 2022. Freeman made his sixth All-Star Game appearance and finished fourth in NL MVP voting in his first season with the Dodgers. Freeman will likely don a Braves cap on his Hall of Fame plaque, but maybe he'll be so productive over his six-year deal in Los Angeles that there actually is some debate once his career concludes.
11. Yordan Álvarez - DH/LF, Houston Astros
Sarah Stier/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .306/.406/.613 with 37 home runs, 97 RBIs, 78 walks, 1.019 OPS, five defensive runs saved, -5 outs above average and a 6.6 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 26
One of the best left-handed hitters in baseball currently, Álvarez essentially clinched a World Series title for the Astros in 2022 with a titanic home run off of José Alvarado in Game 6 of the World Series. Álvarez will likely never hit a bigger home run, but hundreds of longballs are in the future of the slugger, who's a Hall of Fame-caliber talent.
10. Ronald Acuña Jr. - RF, Atlanta Braves
Brett Davis/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .266/.351/.413 with 15 home runs, 50 RBIs, 53 walks, .764 OPS, zero outs above average, -5 defensive runs saved and 2.2 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 25
Acuña was still productive in 2022, but he wasn't the explosive superstar we'd become accustomed to prior to tearing his right ACL in July 2021. He's now "feeling 100%," he recently told Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and "ready to go back to normal" in his age-25 season.
9. José Ramírez - 3B, Cleveland Guardians
Steph Chambers/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .280/.355/.514 with 29 home runs, 126 RBIs, 69 walks, .869 OPS, two defensive runs saved, one out above average and 6.2 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 30
Quietly, Ramírez is building quite the Hall of Fame resume. Ramírez has been one of the most consistent superstars in the sport over the last six seasons. Since the start of the 2017 season, Ramírez has made four All-Star Game appearances and finished sixth or better in AL MVP voting five times. Over that same period, the only players who have accumulated more WAR than Ramírez are Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts and Mike Trout, according to FanGraphs.
8. Manny Machado - 3B, San Diego Padres
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .298/.366/.531 with 32 home runs, 102 RBIs, 63 walks, .898 OPS, -3 defensive runs saved, eight outs above average and 7.4 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 30
Machado is coming off of arguably the best season of his decorated career, as he finished second to Paul Goldschmidt in NL MVP voting. Machado isn't the all-time fielder at third base that he was when he entered the league with the Baltimore Orioles a decade ago, but he's one of the most complete offensive players of this era. And after signing a new mega-deal in late February, it appears that Machado will finish his career with the Padres.
7. Bryce Harper - RF/DH, Philadelphia Phillies
Patrick Smith/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .286/.364/.514 with 18 home runs, 65 RBIs, 46 walks, .877 OPS, -1 defensive runs saved, zero outs above average and a 2.4 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 30
It was hard to determine what to do with Harper, because a broken left thumb limited him to 99 games in 2022 and he's going to miss quite a bit of time in 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in November. But the two-time NL MVP was one of the best hitters in baseball when he played last year, and he hit .349 with six home runs and 13 RBIs during a run to the World Series while capturing the NLCS MVP. The Phillies will eagerly await Harper's return to their lineup and -- they hope -- to right field in 2023.
6. Nolan Arenado - 3B, St. Louis Cardinals
Ed Zurga/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .293/.358/.533 with 30 home runs, 103 RBIs, 52 walks, .891 OPS, 19 defensive runs saved, 15 outs above average and 7.3 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 32
Arenado may not catch Mike Schmidt as the greatest third baseman in MLB history, but he's unquestionably going to go down as one of the best to ever patrol the hot corner. Arenado has played 10 seasons, and he has 10 Gold Glove awards to show for it. Additionally, he's taken home the Platinum Glove award -- given to the best fielder in each league -- six years in a row. At this stage, all that's missing from Arenado's resume are an MVP and World Series title. But even if he never gets either of those, he's already done enough to earn himself a spot in Cooperstown.
5. Juan Soto - LF, San Diego Padres
Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .242/.401/.452 with 27 home runs, 62 RBIs, 135 walks, .853 OPS, -2 defensive runs saved, -12 outs above average and 3.8 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 24
While Soto perhaps didn't deliver the immediate impact that the Padres expected when they acquired him from the Washington Nationals last July, he still led the sport in walks for the second consecutive season and enters 2023 as the odds-on favorite to win the NL MVP. He should benefit from shifting back to left field after a difficult season defensively in right field in 2022. And good luck getting through a lineup that includes him, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and (eventually) Fernando Tatis Jr. unscathed.
4. Mookie Betts - RF, Los Angeles Dodgers
Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .269/.340/.533 with 35 home runs, 82 RBIs, 55 walks, .873 OPS, 15 defensive runs saved, four outs above average and a 6.6 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 30
Betts has already comfortably topped the average WAR 7 -- the top seven single-season WAR totals a player puts up in their career -- of a Hall of Fame right fielder. And somehow, he still feels underrated. Betts' resume already includes two World Series titles, six All-Star Game appearances, six Gold Glove awards and five Silver Slugger awards. He won the AL MVP in 2018 and finished runner-up for the NL MVP in 2020. Hall of Famer Frank Robinson is the only player in MLB history to win an MVP award in both leagues. Perhaps in 2023, Betts will become the second.
3. Mike Trout - CF, Los Angeles Angels
Michael Owens/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .283/.369/.630 with 40 home runs, 80 RBIs, 54 walks, .999 OPS, zero defensive runs saved, three outs above average and a 6.0 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 31
Trout is the greatest player in the history of the Angels franchise and already one of the best center fielders that the sport has ever seen. Considering he hit 40 home runs in just 119 games a season ago, it's safe to say he could compete for his fourth AL MVP award if he plays a full season in 2023.
2. Aaron Judge - RF, New York Yankees
Elsa/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .311/.425/.686 with 62 home runs, 131 RBIs, 111 walks, 1.111 OPS, two defensive runs saved, one out above average and an 11.4 WAR
Age during 2023 season: 31
Judge is coming off of one of the greatest seasons in MLB history, as he led baseball in home runs, RBIs, runs scored, on-base percentage, OPS, OPS+, total bases and WAR. Armed with a new nine-year, $360-million deal, Judge will try to lead the Yankees back to the World Series for the first time since 2009.
1. Shohei Ohtani - DH/RHP, Los Angeles Angels
Mark Blinch/Getty Images
2022 statistics: .273/.356/.519 with 34 home runs, 95 RBIs, 72 walks, .875 OPS and a 3.8 WAR (as a hitter)
Age during 2023 season: 28
This is supposed to just be a list of position players and DHs, but it's impossible to pretend like Ohtani isn't also one of the better pitchers that the sport has to offer. He's arguably the most unique superstar that the game has ever seen, and the sport needs him on the playoff stage. Perhaps that will happen with the Angels in 2023, but if not, he'll be the most coveted free agent next winter.
Listen live to 670 The Score via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker