The 2015 AL MVP (Josh Donaldson) and NL MVP (Bryce Harper) have long since been decided, but we're already focused on the best players for the upcoming 2016 campaign. Taking last year's production and our projections for next year into account, here's our list of The 10 Best MLB Players For 2016.
10. LHP David Price -- Boston Red Sox
Don't buy into the "fails in the postseason" hype. Price will get it right sooner or later, and he's an in-his-prime lefty who instantly transforms the Red Sox pitching rotation into a playoff-level unit.
9. C/1B Buster Posey -- San Francisco Giants
The Giants will continue to balance Posey's time at catcher and first base, but that's going to dull his overall impact. He's the best all-around backstop in the league -- combining clutch at-the-plate production, excellent pitch framing and defense, and the innate ability to read his pitchers and adjust his calls accordingly.
8. CF Lorenzo Cain -- Kansas City Royals
Cain is the standout of one of the most balanced lineups in Major League Baseball. He was the sparkplug for the 2015 World Series champs, hitting .307 with 16 home runs, stealing 28 bases and providing fantastic range in center. His power potential hasn't been fully tapped. He's an easy 20/30 candidate for 2016.
7. RHP Zack Greinke -- Arizona Diamondbacks
His former rotation mate, Clayton Kershaw, just missed this list. Greinke took the money and ran to Arizona, and that's no knock on him. The Diamondbacks are young and getting better, and Greinke's insane 1.66/0.84 ERA/WHIP combo will be pure electricity for a rotation that was full of #3 and #4 starter types. He's the premier ace on the West Coast, no offense to Kershaw.
Oh yeah, he's also the 2015 NL Gold Glove winner. So, there's that.
6. 1B Joey Votto -- Cincinnati Reds
Votto was just one of three players (Bryce Harper, Paul Goldschmidt) to post an OPS of 1.000 or greater in 2015. He also narrowly missed out on the MLB on-base percentage title, finishing with .459 to Harper's .460. Votto simply gets on base over, and over and over again. In relative obscurity with the floundering Reds, Votto is basically a forgotten superstar.
5. RHP Jake Arrieta -- Chicago Cubs
Placing Arrieta here may be controversial considering that Zack Greinke and David Price lie behind him, but forgive us for freaking out over his historic post All-Star Game run. The 2015 NL Cy Young winner pitched to a mouth-dropping 0.75 ERA and .148 Batting Average Against in 13 August-September starts. That's not filthy, that's superhuman. His train to the top of the MLB pitching mountain is still gaining steam.
4. 3B Josh Donaldson -- Toronto Blue Jays
The 2015 AL MVP's placement at #4 is no knock on him. He's still the most valuable player on Major League Baseball's new juggernaut. 41 home runs, 123 RBI, rock-solid defense at third and a personality that just screams "leader" -- that's the mark of baseball's newest, most flamboyant superstar.
3. 1B Paul Goldschmidt -- Arizona Diamondbacks
Paul Goldschmidt doesn't get the publicity of the other nine names on this list, but he's still a baseball cyborg. Gold Glove? Check. #2 in Major League Baseball with a 1.005 OPS. Check. Membership in the exclusive 30/100 HR/BB club? CHECK.
There's plenty of other stats for you to freak out over, but just know this -- Goldschmidt is a generation-defining player in the making, and almost no one is talking about him.
2. CF Mike Trout -- Los Angeles Angels
Trout is oddly underrated heading into this offseason with the rise of other MLB stars around him. That's foolish. Trout finished second to Bryce Harper with a 9.4 WAR, hitting 41 home runs and posting a .991 OPS. Other than our #1 entrant (maybe), there's simply no one in Major League Baseball who does more things well than Trout.
1. CF Bryce Harper -- Washington Nationals
Major League Baseball needs Bryce Harper. Equal parts swagger and insane production, Harper singlehandedly kept the Nationals around in the NL East race until the last couple weeks of the 2015 MLB season. His .649 slugging percentage outpaced the entire MLB field by 59 points. His 1.109 OPS was over 100 points clear of second-place finisher Paul Goldschmidt. He also led the Majors in WAR (9.9) and on-base percentage (.460), doing things no pre-25 year old has done since Ted Williams.
All hail the new king.
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