"As part of our 2026 MLB season preview, ESPN's Buster Olney surveyed those around the industry to help him rank the top-10 players at every position as part of his annual positional ranking series. The objective of this exercise is to identify the best players for the 2026 season, not who might be best in five years or over their career. With starting pitchers up first, here's the rest of the schedule: relievers (2/17), catchers (2/18), first basemen (2/19), second basemen (2/20)."
"Has Nick Kurtz already surpassed perennial stars such as Bryce Harper and Freddie Freeman among first basemen? But picking between Skubal and Skenes for the best starting pitcher in baseball has confounded evaluators more than any other discussion, leaving them to dig deep to separate the two generational stars. You could look at ERA+: Skenes finished last year at 217, with Skubal at 187. If you prefer strikeout rate to assess pure dominance,"
Spring training is underway and MLB positional rankings are being assembled to identify the best players for the 2026 season. A position will be released each day over two weeks, beginning with starting pitchers and followed by relievers, catchers, corner infielders, middle infielders, outfielders and designated hitters. Many positions produce lively debates about placement and defensive value. The choice between Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes for best starting pitcher has proven unusually difficult for evaluators. Skenes posted a 217 ERA+ last year while Skubal posted a 187 ERA+; strikeout rate and pure dominance metrics further complicate the comparison.
Read at ESPN.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]