We aren’t even halfway through baseball season, but plenty of players are making their marks on the game. Some players have stayed at the top of the leaderboard for position rankings while some new faces have emerged. Here are the top players at each position in the American League through the first third of the season. All statistics were at time of writing.
A Category All his Own
Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Angels: There is no real category for Ohtani who can do it all at the plate and on the mound. He is hitting .274 with 15 home runs while also already striking out 96 batters with an ERA of just over 3. He is one of the most dynamic players in baseball history.
Catcher
1. Adley Rutschman – Baltimore Orioles: We may be talking about the new face of baseball right here as the former number one overall prospect and draft pick has evolved into one of the best catchers in the game, hitting .285 with eight home runs.
2. Salvador Perez – Kansas City Royals: Good ole, Salvy. He is as reliable as they come, hitting .278 with 12 home runs and providing a bright spot on an otherwise mostly depressing Royals squad.
3 – 5: Jonah Heim (TEX), Alejandro Kirk (TOR), Cal Raleigh (SEA)
1st Baseman
1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – Toronto Blue Jays: Vladdy Jr. will be at the top of this list for a longtime. He is hitting .289 with 9 home runs and has already driven in 37 RBIs.
2.Yandy Diaz – Tampa Bay Rays: A new name here on this list is Yandy Diaz who is a hitting machine and can play all over the diamond. He has a .312 average with 12 home runs and is on pace to drive in well over 100 runs.
3 – 5: Vinnie Pasquantino (KC), Nathaniel Lowe (TEX), Josh Bell (CLE)
2nd Baseman
1. Marcus Semien – Texas Rangers: Thankfully for the Rangers, Semien has bounced back after a bit of a down first year in Arlington. He has a .303 average with nine home runs.
2. Gleyber Torres – Yankees: Torres can work on his average, but he will be the face of the 2nd base position in the American league before long.
3 – 5: Jose Altuve (HOU), Andres Gimenez (CLE), Brandon Lowe (TB)
3rd Baseman
1. Jose Ramirez – Cleveland Guardians: JRam is the top man at the third baseman position in the entire major leagues. His average is down this year, but he has driven in 30 runs with a .768 OPS.
2. Rafael Devers – Boston Red Sox: Devers has been one of the biggest bats in the league for a few years now and is proving to be a menace again with 13 home runs already.
3 – 5: Alex Bregman (HOU), Josh Jung (TEX), Matt Chapman (TOR)
Shortstop
1. Bo Bichette – Toronto Blue Jays: Bichette has been one of the purest hitters this year, hitting .329 with 12 home runs and an .883 OPS. He will garner MVP votes.
2. Wander Franco – Tampa Bay Rays: At just 22, Franco is such a fun player to watch and while his glove needs work, he is hitting .305 with 29 runs batted in.
3 – 5: Corey Seager (TEX), Carlos Correa (MIN), Tim Anderson (CWS)
Outfield
(So many outfielders now play all three positions so we will breakdown the top 10 general outfielders)
1. Aaron Judge – New York Yankees: The reigning MVP and home run champ is still belting the ball with 19 home runs, the second most in the league. He has the best OPS at 1.0478.
2. Yordan Alvarez – Houston Astros: Another guy who crushes the ball, Alvarez is tied for the league lead with 51 runs driven in.
3. Masataka Yoshida – Boston Red Sox: My pick for Rookie of the Year in the AL, Yoshida is an on-base machine, hitting .318 with a .918 OPS in his first year in Boston.
4. Julio Rodriguez – Seattle Mariners: He might be my favorite player in the game, with a big attitude and a big playmaking ability, he needs a bounceback second half but is still one of the best in the league.
5. Randy Arozarena – Tampa Bay Rays: Randy is a former Rookie of the Year that I can see winning an MVP someday as a 5-tool player as he is hitting .287 with 40 RBIs.
6 – 10: Mike Trout (LAA), Adolis Garcia (TEX), Kyle Tucker (HOU), George Springer (TOR), Cedric Mullens (BAL)
Starting Pitcher
1. Joe Ryan – Minnesota Twins: An emerging star for the Twins, he has a .95 WHIP and a 2.76 ERA as he is helping the Twins lead the AL Central division.
2. Shane McClanahan – Tampa Bay Rays: Anytime a pitcher strings together two great seasons like McClanahan has done, he has a legit shot at winning a Cy Young. McClanahan has a 2.07 ERA.
3 – 5: Nathan Eovaldi (TEX), Gerrit Cole (NYY) Jon Gray (TEX)
Relief Pitcher
1. Felix Bautista – Baltimore Orioles: 15 saves and a 1.14 WHIP, Bautista is coming on as one of the great closers in the game.
2. Emmanuel Clase – Cleveland Guardians: He has already come on as one of the best closers and with 19 saves this season, he is going to keep climbing up the list.
3 – 5: Yennier Cano (BAL), Cristian Javier (HOU), Jordan Romano (TOR)