Elsa/Getty Images Here are the top 12 baseball players of 2019.
He's 32 years old, and his days as a serviceable defensive center fielder may be numbered. Shortly after, he was joined there by Betts — not bad company. One of baseball's most consistent sluggers over the past half-decade, Goldschmidt has made the NL All-Star team each of the past six years and has played in at least 155 games in five of those seasons. Naturally.
Giancarlo Stanton set a career high with 211 strikeouts in his first season with the New York Yankees, and his home run total fell from 59 in his NL MVP season with the Miami Marlins in 2017 to a more "modest" 38.
Assuming he remains healthy in 2019, it's a safe bet he'll again vault past 50 home runs (as he did in 2017 with 52) and be in the AL MVP conversation. The 24-year-old belted 31 home runs and an MLB-leading 51 doubles, posted a .926 OPS and finished fifth in AL MVP voting.
That doesn't mean the 35-year-old is devoid of value. The 26-year-old shortstop has emerged as a genuine MLB stud, even if some of his other teammates (whom we'll meet later on this list) steal his thunder. Baseball is a way out for those in poor Latino countries.
Those players, especially star pitcher Chien-Ming Wang, became household names of Taiwanese people and induced huge followings for their games during MLB seasons. But he's absolutely oozing talent.It takes a lot to get noticed while toiling for the small-market Tampa Bay Rays, but Blake Snell did it in 2018.
He paced MLB with a 1.70 ERA, struck out 269 batters and took home well-deserved NL Cy Young Award honors.
If he can come close to those numbers in 2019, he'll cement his status as the best closer in baseball.Perhaps we're a tad too high on Walker Buehler.
Alex Bregman made the rocket-boost jump to star status for the Houston Astros in 2018. 100. That's...let's check...pretty dang good. During that six-year run, Goldschmidt has batted .301 and has averaged 30 homers and 100 RBI a year. He's now logged more than 200 innings and struck out at least 240 batters for six straight seasons. Baseball’s place in the American zeitgeist comes, at least in part, from its long history and the general consistency of the game over decades—it’s quite likely that your great-great-grandfather would be able to easily follow a modern game if he were magically plopped into the stands. It was the first time the 28-year-old posted a sub-4.00 ERA in five full MLB seasons. The 25-year-old saved an MLB-leading 57 games for the M's with a 1.96 ERA and 15.2 K/9. He was a key cog in their title-winning lineup.Speaking of key Red Sox cogs, Chris Sale was typically stellar in 2018, posting a 2.11 ERA and averaging 13.5 K/9 while finishing fourth in AL Cy Young Award balloting.
He's got the raw tools to be an elite hitter and, despite his large stature (6'4", 215 lbs), he boasts the defensive capabilities to stick at shortstop long-term.After a breakout rookie season in 2016 and a sophomore slump in 2017, Trevor Story clubbed 37 home runs and posted a .914 OPS for the Rockies in 2018. The 'Stros responded by inking him to a Jacob deGrom gilded an already-stellar career with his best season in 2018. Even more impressively, the 25-year-old lefty posted a 2.40 in 15 starts at Mile High altitude, threw 202.1 total innings and finished fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting. Stay tuned. Must have something to do with Before diving into the rankings, let's take a look at the thought process used to select baseball's best.
He's an impactful player until further notice.Mitch Haniger made the leap with the Mariners last season, posting an .859 OPS with 26 home runs and 93 RBI and finishing 11th in AL MVP voting. In 2018, he set career bests in home runs (39), stolen bases (34) and RBI (105). He's 30 years old.