Consider this a belated tip of the cap to Goldschmidt, Arenado and Edman (5A). Tommy Edman, SS, Cardinals: There’s a chorus of Cardinals fans crowing, “I told you so!” And they did. We could have used scouts banging the drum for Rafael Devers(2A), Nolan Arenado(3A) and Austin Riley (3B), too, as they’re each tracking toward significant MVP vote-getting this fall. Third basemen: An analyst encouraged us to move Manny Machadohigher this spring (“He’s slowly clawing his way back to the underlying Statcast numbers that made him a perennial 6 WAR guy”), but even Tier 2B seems low now as he’s batting. 353 on-base percentage, a 128 OPS+ and 14 steals - all of which are career-highs. The power and run production are still there, but he’s also batting.
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Bell has averaged 3.1 WAR over his past three full seasons, which makes him a better fit toward the top of Tier 4 than 5.ĭansby Swanson, SS, Braves: TIER FOUR? What were we thinking?! Coming off a season in which he hit 27 homers and drove in 88 runs but rated rather mediocre by batting average (.248) and OPS+ (97), Swanson (4B) has more all-around value this season than ever before. 311 - more than 30 points better than his career-best batting average - and has cut his strikeout rate to 13.5 percent (in line with teammate Juan Soto, whose strike-zone sense is so good he celebrates it with the Soto Shuffle). Josh Bell, 1B, Nationals: Bell (5A) will be one of the more intriguing bats on the trade market this month.
No projection model had Goldschmidt headed for career-highs in extra-base hits and homers at 34. 330/.414/.590 - and trending toward the top of the NL MVP ballot. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Cardinals: Putting Goldschmidt (3A) in the “All-Star” tier felt like a perfectly logical decision at the time, before he was leading the NL in every slash-line category. Who can say? With 33 homers, 70 RBI and a 172 wRC+ before the All-Star break, Judge looks every bit the part of a franchise player so far this season. Or, perhaps, to rub it in the faces of three The Athletic baseball writers who left him in Tier 2. Next time, Julio Rodríguez!Īaron Judge (Sarah Stier / Getty Images) 10 Too LowĪaron Judge, OF, Yankees: Judge (Tier 2A) is putting together an all-time walk-year performance, and it’s fueled by a desire to prove himself right for turning down a $230 million extension offer from the Yankees. You won’t see some rookies on the list because we excluded anyone who had yet to play in an MLB game prior to 2022.Consider the gap between lettered groups (like 1A and 1B) to be less significant than the ones between numbered groups (like 1B and 2A). The players are in tiers, not individually ranked, and are listed alphabetically within their tiers.Who was too high? Who was too low? How’d we do? To this list.Īs a refresher, below are the preseason Position Players Tiers combined with each player’s stats entering the All-Star break. The naming caused considerable confusion, and so it had to go. We explained in the intro of the original list that our aim was to determine which 125 position players would provide the most all-around value in 2022, which includes the value they bring defensively and on the base paths. One order of business before beginning: We’re renaming the project. Others are so far behind - because of slumps, injury or playing time - that even a second-half surge won’t be enough for them to justify their preseason tier grade. Some players are tracking ahead of expectations.
We’ll fully refresh the list for Opening Day next year, so consider this a midseason progress report. Now, as the season’s second half begins, it’s time for another look. He’s freaking Yukon Gold.”Īt the time, we had only one response: We’ll just see about that. Can’t enjoy the steak without the potatoes doing their work. “Joey Votto is in tier 5A, so I’m assuming that’s the best tier on this list.”
“No Yuli Gurriel? Batting Champion? Gold Glove?” There were misses we were told we’d never live down. Back before Opening Day in April, we dropped The Athletic’s Hitter Tiers - our attempt at a comprehensive list of the top 125 position players entering the 2022 season, from franchise players to above-average starters - and immediately heard the howling from fans.
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