The result is:
It was fairly easy to find consensus on the best of the best. Aaron Judge is coming off his second MVP award. Shohei Ohtani just won his third, founding the 50/50 club in the process. Mookie Betts hasn’t won an MVP since 2018, but since then he’s compiled more bWAR (34.6) than anyone besides Judge, with commendable positional versatility that has helped the Dodgers stay on top.
Each of those three players is older than 30. Two others in this group are just starting breathtaking primes that should last a while. Bobby Witt Jr., 24, led the majors in hitting (.332) last season while making his second annual visit to the 30/30 club. Another shortstop, 23-year-old Gunnar Henderson, blasted 37 homers and rolled up 9.1 bWAR while excelling in the field.
The biggest question, however, concerns the overall impact of Juan Soto, the Mets’ new $765 million man. One veteran National League scout found it amusing that Soto gets credit for not being a DH, when he’d actually help his team more without playing in the field.
I don’t think Soto belongs up here. He’s not good defensively and he’s not a good baserunner. He walks and he hits home runs every now and then. I’m not saying he’s not good, but for me, he’s one of the most overrated players. The way we value walks today is what puts him in this class.
The scout compared Soto’s seven seasons to the peak of Brian Giles, another outfielder who offered little defensively but hit for power and walked prodigiously. Giles posted a .303/.418/.554 slash line for Pittsburgh and San Diego from 1999 to 2005. Soto’s numbers across seven seasons: .285/.421/.532.
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