BOSTON (CBS) — Just over two months into the 2016 baseball season, we have a pretty good feel for who is having a great year, who is struggling, and a whole bunch of players in between.
CBS Sports’ Dayn Perry ranked the 100 best players just prior to the season, and has now updated that list based on players’ output over the first 55+ games of the season. After four Red Sox made the pre-season list, a total of six make the updated list, including four in the Top 30.
David Price came into the season ranked No. 9, but doesn’t crack the updated Top 100 after a shaky start to his Boston career. Leading things off for Boston on the new list isn’t David Ortiz or Xander Bogaerts, but center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., who CBS Sports currently sees as the seventh-best player in baseball.
7. Jackie Bradley Jr.
“He’s a slick-fielding center fielder who this season is raking like an All-Star first baseman,” writes Perry, putting JBJ’s outlook for the rest of the way as “Good, but not this good.”
That outlook is explained as: This is a useful player who helps his team win, but right now he’s overshooting reasonable expectations. Expect him to settle back into being good, but maybe not great.
Perry notes in a video in the post that if Bradley Jr.’s offensive output sticks (and he continues to be a wizard with the glove in the outfield), he will be in the MVP conversation at the end of the season.
12. Xander Bogaerts
“If you consider Manny Machado a third baseman, then Bogaerts has been the best-hitting shortstop in all of baseball this season.”
Bogaerts’ outlook for the rest of the way is “Sounds about right,” so Perry expects him to remain one of the best hitters in baseball. The Sox shortstop was ranked 54th ahead of the season.
14. David Ortiz
“Big Papi is in his age-40 season, but he’s putting up easily the best numbers of his career. He leads the majors in doubles, slugging percentage, OPS, OPS+, and total bases.”
Like Bogaerts, Ortiz’s outlook is “Sounds about right,” so he’s expected to continue to mash the baseball in his final MLB season. Ortiz’s preseason ranking was 87th.
30. Steven Wright
“The 31-year-old knuckleballer has been one of the best stories in baseball this season and one of the best pitchers in baseball this season. He’s averaged almost 7.0 innings per start, he owns a quality start percentage of 82, and he’s pitched to a 2.29 ERA.”
No one saw this coming from Wright, who sits third in the AL’s ERA race. Like Bradley Jr., Wright’s outlook is “Good, but not this good.” We’ll see if the knuckleballer can keep up his extremely productive and successful run for Boston.
40. Mookie Betts
“He’s got a good glove in right, he adds value on the bases, and he’s on pace for almost 90 extra-base hits.”
Perry’s outlook for Betts thinks the Boston right fielder “Should be even better” than what he’s been so far in 2016. He was ranked 26th prior to the season.
67. Dustin Pedroia
“Pedroia remains a plus defender at the keystone, and he’s putting up his best offensive numbers since 2011, when he finished in the top 10 of the AL MVP balloting.”
Pedroia’s output at the plate is about where CBS Sports expected it to be, but the Boston second baseman did not make the original list.
Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is ranked the top player in baseball in the new list, and it’s hard to argue with his 8-1 record, 1.46 ERA and 109 Ks in 92.2 innings pitched. He took over for Mike Trout, who entered the season in the No. 1 spot. Trout now sits at No. 2 on the updated list.
Nine members of the Chicago Cubs make the new list, including former Red Sox pitchers Jon Lester (34th) and John Lackey (88th) and former Boston prospect Anthony Rizzo (56th).
Toucher & Rich discuss the Top 100 list:
