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Home / frontmlb / MLB Franchise Players: Top Players To Build A Team Around For 2020 And Beyond
AP Photo/Alex Brandon

MLB Franchise Players: Top Players To Build A Team Around For 2020 And Beyond


Major League Baseball’s Opening Day is exactly one month away, so today is a good time to unveil baseball’s top players to build around. If you were an MLB general manager, which players would be your top choices to start a franchise in 2020? Francisco Lindor, Aaron Judge, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., Kris Bryant, and Shohei Ohtani were other stars that could have made the top ten.

 

10. Gerrit Cole

29-year-old right-hander Gerrit Cole is getting better with age, and the Yankees handing him a massive $324 million contract this offseason indicates his value around baseball. The Mets’ Jacob deGrom was in the mix for the No. 10 spot after winning back-to-back Cy Young awards in the National League, but Cole has over two years on him in age. Also, Cole owns a 2.60 ERA in the postseason and knows when to turn it on down the stretch for his team.

 

9. Bryce Harper

The average and strikeout numbers haven’t been great for Bryce Harper in the past two seasons, but the former National and current Phillie is just 27 years old and has shown the immense upside he possesses (.330 average with 42 homers during his 2015 MVP year). The talent is undeniable—he should figure it out moving forward in his career, and he’s someone that can bring a ton of energy to a clubhouse. When Harper is feeling it, he can carry offenses with locked-in power surges, and he offers plus defense with a rocket arm from the outfield.

 

8. Juan Soto

After two very good years at 19 and 20 years old, Nationals star Juan Soto has shown that his floor might be around a .290 hitter with the potential to consistently be over .300 with easy 30-homer ability every season. There’s a chance opposing pitchers will start to figure out the Dominican phenom as he gets more time in the majors, but Soto’s performance to this point—including a .333 average with three homers in the World Series—gives him a clear spot in the top ten current baseball players to build around.

 

7. Anthony Rendon

Two of them are no longer with Washington, but it’s amazing that the Nats arguably had three of the top position players to build around in their building just a couple of seasons ago—that success as an organization is why they won a title last year. Like his former teammate Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon signed a big contract with another big-market team, heading to the Angels to play with Mike Trout for the next several years. Rendon is clearly one of the best pure hitters in baseball, and he was able to pop a career-high 34 homers in 2019. He was also clutch, with 20 hits in 16 postseason games during the title run.

 

6. Nolan Arenado

Some might bring up the arguable advantage of playing in Coors Field, but it’s difficult to knock the elite production of Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado. The 28-year-old has home run totals of 42, 41, 37, 38, and 41 over the past five seasons, and he hasn’t hit below .287 since his rookie year in 2013. Oh, and there hasn’t been a season since he’s been in the majors that Arenado hasn’t won a Gold Glove for his defensive work on the hot corner (seven consecutive years). Arenado’s consistency is crazy, and he might be coming off his best campaign.

 

5. Mookie Betts

Aside from the Astros cheating scandal and the actions by Commissioner Rob Manfred, the biggest story of the offseason has been the Red Sox’s trade of Mookie Betts to the Dodgers. Betts has been an All-Star the last four years, highlighted by one of the best seasons you can imagine when he hit .346 with 32 homers en route to an AL MVP and World Series title in 2018. Betts plays excellent defense, he has uncommon power at the plate for his size, and he’s still just 27 years old.

 

4. Cody Bellinger

Maybe last season was the ceiling for Cody Bellinger after he emerged as a superstar and hit .305 with 47 homers, 115 RBI, and 121 runs scored while winning NL MVP, but the 2017 NL Rookie of the Year is 24 years old. Leading up to last season, Bellinger tweaked his stance and approach, and now he basically stands straight up in the batter’s box and unleashes a fast-yet-heavy swing. In addition to his calm, smooth approach from the left side of the plate, Bellinger has versatility to move between the outfield and first base on defense.

 

3. Ronald Acuna Jr.

The strikeout rate for Ronald Acuna Jr. is not ideal, but the raw talent is so tantalizing that he’s a top-three player to build a big league roster around. Acuna is a legit five-tool player coming off a 30-30 season and the NL lead in stolen bases to go along with his 41 home runs, 101 RBI, and 127 runs scored on a .280 average. Acuna has unbelievable natural strength to hit with force to all areas of the field, and his uncommon swing led to a Roberto Clemente comparison from Sean Casey.

 

2. Christian Yelich

The Brewers are the team now benefiting, but it’s not an overstatement to say the contract Christian Yelich received from the Marlins back in 2015 has turned out to be one of the most team-friendly deals in the history of sports. It was already a bargain for the player Yelich was in Miami, but the 28-year-old outfielder has now exploded into perhaps the clear second-best player in baseball. Over the past two years with Milwaukee, Yelich has slashed .326/.402/.598 and .329/.429/.671, leading the league in average and slugging in each of those seasons while also leading in on-base percentage in 2019. Yelich is also a former Gold Glove winner, and it’s scary to think that he might continue to get better as his power numbers (44 homers in 130 games last season) increase with age.

 

1. Mike Trout

Mike Trout might be the best baseball player ever, so he’s the easy choice for the top guy to build an MLB team around considering he’s only 28 years old. The lone concern with Trout is durability, but he’s arguably just had some tough luck over the past three seasons after playing at least 157 games in each of his previous four years. Trout is truly top tier at everything he does on the diamond, and he’s essentially an unstoppable force of an athlete that probably could have been exceptional in any sport he committed to.

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