Who are the top 100 players in MLB right now? MLB Network announced its list during this year’s Top 100 Players Right Now series, which concluded with the highly anticipated Top 10 on Wednesday.
Here’s a recap of the entire list:
1) Ronald Acuña Jr., RF, Braves (2023 ranking: 25).
In 2022, Acuña had a.764 OPS with 15 home runs and 29 steals across 119 games. He got a late start, signing with the Braves at the end of April after recovering from surgery to repair a ruptured right ACL. What would we observe in 2023?
History. Despite concerns about his right knee, Acuña had a historic season, being the only player in AL/NL history to smash 40+ home runs (41) and steal 70+ bases (73) in the same season. He was named NL MVP in a unanimous vote, and with his power-speed combination, he is the most electrifying player in baseball today.
2) Mookie Betts, second baseman, Dodgers (2023 rank: 4)
Betts will go to second base full-time this season after predominantly playing right field in his first ten MLB seasons. The 31-year-old is still one of the top all-around players in the game, coming off his best season since winning the AL MVP Award with the Red Sox in 2018.
In 2023, Betts launched a career-high 39 home runs with a .987 OPS to finish runner-up to Acuña in NL MVP balloting. He’s been such an outstanding defender in his career, including in some brief stints at second, that he might just add some Gold Glove Awards from his new position to his already impressive collection of six.
3) Aaron Judge, CF, Yankees (2023 ranking: 2).
Judge, like Betts, will change defensive positions in 2024, moving from right field to center with the Yankees’ signing of Juan Soto.
If it hadn’t been for a damaged ligament in his toe that kept him out for nearly two months last year, Judge might have had a chance to repeat his historic MVP season in 2022, when he set an AL record with 62 home runs. If Judge is healthy, he should be able to have another tremendous season in ’24. And he’s not just a one-dimensional slugging Goliath. Since his first full season in ’17, only Betts has built up more defensive runs saved among outfielders.
4) Shohei Ohtani, DH, Dodgers (2023 ranking: 1)
After signing a record 10-year, $700 million contract, Ohtani will miss his debut season in Dodger blue due to elbow surgery in September. That’s probably why he’s not higher on this list heading into the new season.
But Ohtani will be batting, and with the best baseball player in the world focused only on producing at the plate, we might see some pretty unbelievable numbers. Despite being limited to 135 games in 2023, Ohtani earned his second unanimous AL MVP Award after hitting 44 home runs, earning a Major League-best 1.066 OPS, and pitching to a 3.14 ERA with a 31.4% strikeout rate in 23 starts.
