Top 10 Right Now ranks each position for '18
MLB Network's countdown of baseball's best players at each position concluded Saturday night with the last two installments of the "Top 10 Right Now!" series, featuring the game's top center fielders and relief pitchers.
The five-week program hosted by Brian Kenny -- which already ranked today's best right fielders, second basemen, third basemen, shortstops, left fielders, catchers, first basemen and starting pitchers -- used rankings based on player performance over the last two seasons, a number of offensive and defensive metrics, both advanced Statcast™ data and traditional numbers and analysis by the MLB Network research team.
The series featured appearances from MLB Network on-air personalities and former Major Leaguers Eric Byrnes, Cliff Floyd, Mike Lowell, Dan Plesac, Harold Reynolds, John Smoltz, Jim Thome, Dave Valle and Preston Wilson, as well as roundtable discussions with Kenny, president of SABR Vince Gennaro, the Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and MLB.com analyst Mike Petriello.
Each episode also featured a fan-generated Top 10 Right Now list compiled via voting on MLB Network's Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages using #Top10RightNow.
Below is a breakdown of this year's rankings results:
Top 10 Right Fielders Right Now
Right field is an extremely top-heavy position, with five legitimate stars at the top, then a big gap, then about 10 strong starters who were all in the mix for the Nos. 6-10 spots.
- Aaron Judge
2. Giancarlo Stanton
Second base is in a period of flux, as formerly reliable veterans like Ben Zobrist, Dustin Pedroia, Jason Kipnis and Chase Utley are no longer obvious entrants on the list. But there's a true superstar at the top, and an interesting mix of veterans and youth coming up behind.3. <forge-entity title="Mookie Betts" slug="mookie-betts-605141" code="player">Mookie Betts</forge-entity><br> 4. <forge-entity title="Bryce Harper" slug="bryce-harper-547180" code="player">Bryce Harper</forge-entity><br> 5. <forge-entity title="J.D. Martinez" slug="j-d-martinez-502110" code="player">J.D. Martinez</forge-entity><br> 6. <forge-entity title="Josh Reddick" slug="josh-reddick-502210" code="player">Josh Reddick</forge-entity><br> 7. <forge-entity title="Avisaíl García" slug="avisail-garcia-541645" code="player">Avisaíl García</forge-entity><br> 8. <forge-entity title="Domingo Santana" slug="domingo-santana-570267" code="player">Domingo Santana</forge-entity><br> 9. <forge-entity title="Mitch Haniger" slug="mitch-haniger-571745" code="player">Mitch Haniger</forge-entity><br> 10. <forge-entity title="Dexter Fowler" slug="dexter-fowler-451594" code="player">Dexter Fowler</forge-entity> </span></span><br><span class="token token-hyperLink" id="token-8E3B5F3E6AD3C4357418A"><a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/bryce-harper-leads-top-right-fielders-in-2018/c-264927362">• Harper atop Petriello's RF list</a></span><br><b>Top 10 Second Basemen Right Now</b><br>
- Jose Altuve
- Robinson Canó
- Brian Dozier
- Daniel Murphy
- DJ LeMahieu
- Dustin Pedroia
- Jonathan Schoop
- Ian Kinsler
- Neil Walker
- César Hernández
• Petriello: Top 10 second basemen entering '18
Top 10 Shortstops Right Now
The starting shortstops for last fall's World Series contenders, the Astros' Carlos Correa and the Dodgers' Corey Seager, are atop the rankings at their position. Correa and Seager, both 23 years old, headline a group of young stars; all but Andrelton Simmons (28), Elvis Andrus (29) and Tim Beckham (27) are age 25 or younger.
- Carlos Correa
- Corey Seager
- Francisco Lindor
- Trea Turner
- Andrelton Simmons
- Jean Segura
- Paul DeJong
- Elvis Andrus
- Trevor Story
- Tim Beckham
• Petriello: Youth leads way among Top 10 shortstops
Top 10 Third Basemen Right Now
For a second consecutive year, Kris Bryant is atop MLB Network's third-base rankings. The position is deep with some of the biggest names in baseball represented. New additions for 2018 include Houston's Alex Bregman, who helped his club win a World Series championship, and Cleveland's Jose Ramirez, who led the Majors with 56 doubles and earned his first All-Star nod in 2017.
- Kris Bryant
- Nolan Arenado
- Josh Donaldson
- Justin Turner
- Anthony Rendon
- Adrián Beltré
- Jose Ramirez
- Manny Machado
- Alex Bregman
- Kyle Seager
• Petriello: Top 10 third basemen entering '18
Top 10 Left Fielders Right Now
The Cardinals' newest outfielder is also as good as it gets among the ranks of left fielders, according to MLB Network's rankings. Last season with the Marlins, Marcell Ozuna hit 37 homers, drove in 124 runs and earned Gold Glove and Silver Slugger honors. The Mets' Yoenis Céspedes, owner of one of the best outfield arms in the big leagues, was ranked right behind Ozuna.
- Marcell Ozuna
- Yoenis Cespedes
- Justin Upton
- Ryan Braun
- Trey Mancini
- Khris Davis
- Adam Eaton
- Andrew Benintendi
- Marwin Gonzalez
- Brett Gardner
• Petriello: Ozuna No. 1 right fielder
Top 10 Catchers Right Now
The Giants' Buster Posey, arguably one of the all-time greats at the position, sits atop MLB Network's rankings of the top catchers in baseball. After Posey, the list is filled with up-and-coming stars such as 25-year-olds Gary Sánchez of the Yankees and Willson Contreras of the Cubs.
- Buster Posey
- Gary Sanchez
- Willson Contreras
- Yasmani Grandal
- J.T. Realmuto
- Austin Barnes
- Mike Zunino
- Yadier Molina
- Tyler Flowers
- Robinson Chirinos
• Petriello puts Posey at No. 1
Top 10 First Basemen Right Now
National League MVP runner-up Joey Votto of the Reds leads MLB Network's list of the best first sackers in the game today. But you certainly can't go wrong with any of the players near the top of this list.
- Joey Votto
- Freddie Freeman
- Paul Goldschmidt
- Anthony Rizzo
- Cody Bellinger
- José Abreu
- Edwin Encarnacion
- Brandon Belt
- Matt Carpenter
- Carlos Santana
• Petriello: Top 10 first basemen entering '18
Top 10 Starting Pitchers Right Now
Arguably the greatest left-hander of this era, Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw deservedly ranks No. 1 on MLB Network's list of top starting pitchers in the Majors. Reigning AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber sits second on the list.
- Clayton Kershaw
- Corey Kluber
- Chris Sale
- Max Scherzer
- Stephen Strasburg
- Madison Bumgarner
- Noah Syndergaard
- Carlos Carrasco
- Justin Verlander
- Kyle Hendricks
• Petriello: Top 10 starting pitchers in '18
Top 10 Relief Pitchers Right Now
Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, who started off the 2017 season by striking out 51 hitters before issuing his first walk, ranks No. 1 on MLB Network's list of the top relievers in the game.
- Kenley Jansen
- Andrew Miller
- Craig Kimbrel
- Chad Green
- Archie Bradley
- Zach Britton
- Corey Knebel
- Aroldis Chapman
- Brad Hand
- Raisel Iglesias
• Petriello's top relief pitchers
Top 10 Center Fielders Right Now
There's no better player in the game than the Angels' Mike Trout. He's an obvious, slam-dunk Hall of Famer. So yes, of course, he's the best center fielder as rated by MLB Network.