Top Ten Players in Baseball

With all of the recent talk about Mount Rushmore and the best players in certain sports, I thought, in anticipation of spring training starting, I'd pull together a top list of my own. Here's my list of the top ten players in Major League Baseball:

First, a few ground rules: I chose one player for each regular position and one left-handed starting pitcher and one right-handed starter. Note there is no room for a DH on this list because the DH is a creation of the anti-Christ and therefore of no use to me. My criteria, by the way, is that the players had to be good in both halves of the inning, not just good offensive players. With that, let the venomous debate begin...

LHP: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

A disclaimer: I'm a San Francisco Giants fan, so to make this acknowledgement pains me severely. As a Giants fan, I want very badly to put Madison Bumgarner's name here, but I just can't. The two pitchers, oddly enough, are very similar in terms of production--high innings, strikeouts, good ERA, WHIP... The difference for me is that the Dodgers just don't often lose when Kershaw pitches. The Giants shouldn't lose when Bumgarner pitches, but the Dodgers simply win when Kershaw's on the mound. Now excuse me while I make a sacrifice on the alter of John McGraw, lest I be visited by 1,000 ghosts of Giants past...Moonlight Graham, anyone?

RHP: Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers

This is kind of a no-lose proposition. I could have easily justified guys like Adam Wainwright and Yu Darvish, but there's something about Scherzer I really like. Oh yeah, I remember, the sheer dominance. Scherzer is good and I think he'll only get better from here. Wainwright chews up a ton of innings, which I like, but Scherzer's overall productivity to innings pitched is pretty phenomenal. Darvish is also really good, but the Rangers lost eight games in a span of 11 straight starts by Darvish. Not all of that is his fault, certainly, but it's still a concern. Plus, history hasn't been kind to Japanese starters as their careers progress. I'd expect Scherzer to pitch better for the next few seasons. I'm not sure with Darvish.

Catcher: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants

My head tells me to pick Yadier Molina, but I have to live around here and show my face at AT&T Park on occasion, so I chose Posey. Both are phenomenal and when the Cardinals and Giants play, it's one of the few times media will focus on the catcher match up rather than the pitching match ups. The potential for improvement also factored into the decision. I think Posey has a little room to improve his game. I couldn't imagine Molina getting much better than he is right now. Fans in NL Central territory had better hope he doesn't.

First Base: Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks

The winning factor really has me leaning toward players like Freddie Freeman, Joey Votto and Allen Craig, but Goldschmidt personifies exactly what this list is about. He's a very productive hitter but, unexpectedly so for a player with his size, he's a really solid fielder, soft hands, nice footwork. I hate that Goldschmidt plays in the NL West against my team, but Goldschmidt scored major points for potential. He's already really good but I have a feeling a light bulb is about to go off and he's going to become downright destructive.

Second Base: Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox

Dustin Pedroia is from a town near where I live called Woodland. While this might be a shameless attempt to cozy up to my neighbors, the truth is I think all other second basemen are a step below Pedroia at this point. He reminds me a lot of Craig Biggio in that he plays second base with the mentality of a catcher. Pedroia is not only rock-solid all around, playing the game as hard as you can gets you a lot of love from me. I'm not really a fan of the Red Sox, so I sort of don't want to like him, but Pedroia makes it really hard not to appreciate his game.

Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies

OK, I know I'm choosing a lot of NL West guys, but that's a coincidence so far, I promise. If this was a one-dimensional decision, I might have someone else here, but Tulowitzki is the best all around for me. First, a guy his size has no business playing shortstop, but because of that, his offensive numbers for his position leave everyone else behind. Often, when a too-big-for-the-position guy with great offense is around, he's not a great defensive player. Tulowitzki is, however. He's got good range for a guy his size and a superior throwing arm. If Derek Jeter was healthier, I'd give him a look, but for now, I still with the big guy.

Third Base: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

I broke my own rule on this one. Cabrera is a good defensive player, but there are certainly others much better with the glove than him. But I give back all of the defensive losses for what he brings with the bat. He's the best all-around hitter in baseball right now and that's worth an occasional error or two. I thought about going with David Wright, who is the best all-around guy in my estimation. Wright also gets less credit than he deserves--oddly enough, playing in New York...plus, you know, the Mets...they need some love, too. Evan Longoria popped into my head as well, but I always think about Tony Parker for some reason when I think about Longoria...

Left Field: Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals

Every list needs a name that makes people thing, 'da hell is this guy drinking?' This is mine. I'd like Gordon's average to be a little higher and for him to cut down on the strikeouts. Other than that, he has good power and run-producing numbers. Gordon has great range and is a solid defensive player. The biggest point with Gordon for me, however, is the Royals win when he plays and they don't when he doesn't. Hockey has a plus/minus rating to describe players like Gordon. For a team on the rise like Kansas City, the more Gordons they have in the line up, the better off they are.

Center Field: Mike Trout, Angels

I don't know where the heck the Angels play anymore-California, LA, Anaheim, Disneyland...so my apologies for the abbreviated team name, but Mike Trout is my choice either way. This is another can't-lose category. I could have chosen Andrew McCutchen, Jacoby Ellsbury, Adam Jones or several others and had no problems justifying it. Coco Crisp, for instance, is very good for the A's and he wasn't even on my radar, that's how good the center field position is. Trout can hit, I'm certain, in any one of the top five spots and excel. He's a classic five-tool player and exactly what any team wants their center fielder to be. Also, my hope is there's a Subway commercial in this for me at some point.

Right Field: Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds

Bruce is another off-the-board choice like Gordon and is similar to Gordon in some ways. I wish his average was a bit higher, but Bruce has great power and run-producing numbers and, for a guy with his build, he also has pretty good range and a great assist ability from the outfield. I'm probably going to get beaten up in San Francisco now because I didn't say Hunter Pence, but those people will have to wait in line behind fans of Michael Cuddyer, Jayson Werth and Carlos Beltran. I really wanted to go with Cuddyer because he's got that Pedroia grinder quality about him, but we've already had the too-many-NL-West guys discussion, so...