ESPN released its annual list of the 100 best players in Major League Baseball on Monday and six Phillies made the cut.
Bryce Harper is the highest ranking Phillie at No. 13. If you can recall, ESPN had Harper at No. 58 in 2023 since he was expected to miss half the season recovering from Tommy John surgery and return as a designated hitter.
The list is not a reflection of who are the best 100 players based on recent performance, but rather a collective prediction on who will be the best players in 2024.
With that in mind, ESPN is very high on Trea Turner. Even after an uneven first year in Philadelphia, Turner is ranked 20th. Zack Wheeler is the next best Phillie at 22. Aaron Nola (52), J.T. Realmuto (60) and Kyle Schwarber (90) also made the list.
Position players who rank ahead of Harper include Ronald Acuña Jr., Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Corey Seager, Yordan Alvarez, Shohei Ohtani, Corbin Carroll, Adley Rutschman and Matt Olson.
Gerrit Cole, Spencer Strider and Corbin Burnes were the only pitchers ranked ahead of Wheeler. Nola, according to ESPN’s rankings, is the 13th-best pitcher in baseball for 2024.
Among the most interesting Phillies related predictions in the ranking, MLB insider Jesse Rogers has Harper posting an OPS over 1.000 and Schwarber hitting a 500-foot home run.
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Bawb Eff
March 11, 2024 at 7:00 pm
Can you imagine how good this lineup would be if Schwarber hit .240 and cut the Ks down from 220+ to, say, 175-ish? Lawdy they’d be pretty imposing. Not the ‘roided-up 2023 Braves, but close.