Starting 9: MLB Team of the 2010s

I posted an article exploring the top prospect at every position from 2010-2019. This article will focus on the top MLB player for 2010-2019 for each position, ending up in an MLB team of the decade.

First, some leaders for the decade across major league baseball for the decade (minimum 3000 PA/1000 IP):

AVG – Miguel Cabrera .317, Jose Altuve .315, Adrian Beltre .307, Joey Votto .306, Mike Trout .305
OBP – Joey Votto .428, Mike Trout .419, Miguel Cabrera .399, Paul Goldschmidt .391, Bryce Harper .385
SLG – Mike Trout .581, David Ortiz .562, Giancarlo Stanton .547, Nolan Arenado .546, Miguel Cabrera .544
wRC+ – Mike Trout 172, Joey Votto 153, Miguel Cabrera 153, David Ortiz 148, Giancarlo Stanton 142
2B – Robinson Cano 363, Nick Markakis 338, Joey Votto 327, Miguel Cabrera 324, Daniel Murphy 321
3B – Dexter Fowler 72, Brett Gardner 60, Jose Reyes 58, Denard Span 55, Dee Gordon 54
HR – Nelson Cruz 346, Edwin Encarnacion 335, Giancarlo Stanton 308, Albert Pujols 290, Mike Trout/Jose Bautista 285
SB – Dee Gordon 330, Rajai Davis 322, Billy Hamilton 299, Elvis Andrus 269, Jose Altuve 254

GP – Tyler Clippard 702, Fernando Rodney 643, Sergio Romo 634, Brad Ziegler 623, Joe Smith 609
W – Max Scherzer 161, Justin Verlander 160, Clayton Kershaw 156, Zack Greinke 155, Jon Lester 148
SV – Craig Kimbrel 346, Kenley Jansen 301, Aroldis Chapman 273, Fernando Rodney 257, Jonathan Papelbon 217
IP – Justin Verlander 2,142; Max Scherzer 2,063 2/3; Clayton Kershaw 1,996; Zack Greinke 1,984; Jon Lester 1,979 2/3
K – Max Scherzer 2,452; Justin Verlander 2,260; Clayton Kershaw 2,179; Chris Sale 2,007; Zack Greinke 1,872
ERA – Clayton Kershaw 2.31, Jacob deGrom 2.62, Chris Sale 3.03, Johnny Cueto 3.06, Justin Verlander 3.10
FIP – Clayton Kershaw 2.64, Jacob deGrom 2.78, Chris Sale 2.90, Stephen Strasburg 2.96, Corey Kluber 2.99
WHIP – Clayton Kershaw 0.96, Chris Sale 1.03, Jacob deGrom 1.05, Max Scherzer 1.07, Justin Verlander 1.08

Catcher – Buster Posey (1st bWAR, 1st fWAR)

Stats: .302/.371/.458, 270 2B, 140 HR, 129 wRC+

Cardinals fans will undoubtedly have a fit here, but quite simply, the numbers don’t stack up in their favor. Of all players in fWAR over the decade, Posey ranks second overall! Posey could quite simply be on a path toward the Hall of Fame. A severe injury in 2011 changed the game and it could be the thing that ends up the only thing holding him back from the Hall. He has struggled to stay on the field recently, with many of his issues dating back to that initial brutal injury from 2011. At just 32, here’s hoping he has another 2-3 solid years in him to put him over the top for HOF.

Awards: 6 All-Star appearances, Rookie of the Year, MVP, Comeback Player of Year, batting title, Gold Glove, 4 Silver Sluggers

First Base – Joey Votto (1st bWAR, 1st fWAR)

Stats: .306/.428/.516, 327 2B, 231 HR153 wRC+

While this might be the position of the best offensive performances, Votto easily stood above the crowd with his work over the entirety of the decade. Reds fans may lament his contract that runs through the 2023 season and still has $107 million guaranteed on it, but there’s no debating that his work both at first base and at the plate in the 2010s was one of the best decades of work we’ve seen in a long time.

Awards: 6 All-Star appearances, MVP, Gold Glove

Second Base – Robinson Cano (1st bWAR, 1st fWAR)

Stats: .300/.359/.496, 363 2B, 237 HR, 131 wRC+

Another clear winner at his position, Cano was heads and shoulders above the next player, even though the performers at the position were an excellent group. Cano started the decade as one of the most feared hitters in the Bronx before signing with Seattle. His contract got to be a burden for the Mariners before he was sent back to New York, this time with the Mets.

Awards: 7 All-Star appearances, 2 Gold Gloves, 4 Silver Sluggers

Third Base – Adrian Beltre (1st bWAR, 1st fWAR)

Stats: .307/.358/.514, 288 2B, 227 HR, 130 wRC+

In arguably the best class of any single position (if you parse out individual outfield positions), Beltre stands head and shoulders above an excellent third base group. Beltre ranks as the seventh-best overall player in the decade in fWAR, but he’s joined by two other players in the top 12 overall, and eight more in the top 30 who played at least one full season as a primary third baseman. Beltre didn’t get near the recognition you would think for a guy who should be a sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famer in his most dominant decade due to the amount of top players who were also at the position over the decade.

Awards: 4 All-Star games, 3 Gold Gloves, 3 Silver Sluggers

Shortstop – Andrelton Simmons (1st bWAR, 4th fWAR)

Stats: .268/.316/.380, 181 2B, 67 HR, 65 SB90 wRC+

First off, this is my list, so close decisions will be decided by my personal preference, but many will be surprised at this choice. However, the first shortstop to show up on Fangraphs’ top WAR of the decade is Troy Tulowitzki at #40 overall. Simmons checks in at #49 and a few other shortstops are from 40-60 in the overall ranks (Lindor #42, Andrus #48, Bogaerts #51). However, if you open up the shortstop rankings, of the guys near the top of the list, Simmons is one of two with more than 5 complete seasons in the decade who is in the top 5 of both lists, with Andrus being the other. In this case, defense wins out as we are arguably looking at one of the greatest defensive shortstops in history. Simmons had 198 defensive runs saved on the decade, which was over 50 more than any other player in all of baseball in the decade, and 120 more than the next closest shortstop, yet he’s still somehow underappreciated even at his position.

Awards: 4 Gold Gloves

Outfield – Mike Trout (1st bWAR, 1st fWAR)

Stats: .305/.419/.581, 251 2B, 285 HR, 200 SB, 172 wRC+

Not just the top outfielder, but the top overall player in both fWAR and bWAR, and it’s not even close, with 20+ WAR leads in both statistics, Trout is easily the player of the decade. Trout didn’t debut until 2011 and didn’t hit his full stride until 2012, but he was instantly one of the best players in the game, hitting 30 home runs and stealing 49 bases in his rookie season. He missed hitting 30 home runs just twice in the decade. Trout became the eighth player in history to hit 200 home runs and steal 200 bases in a decade (the sixth in the last thirty years, though). Incredibly, he’s just 28 as the 2020 season opens.

Awards: 8 All-Star appearances, Rookie of the Year, 3 MVPs, 7 Silver Sluggers

Outfield – Andrew McCutchen (3rd bWAR, 2nd fWAR)

Stats: .286/.379/.481, 308 2B, 221 HR, 165 SB, 136 wRC+

Debuting in 2009, McCutchen was the face of the Pirates throughout the 2010s, moving on in 2018 to the Giants and then Yankees before signing with the Phillies before the 2019 season. A nasty knee injury took down McCutchen just as he was really getting in the swing of things with Philadelphia. At just 33, McCutchen should have a number more years left as long as his knee can hold up once he returns in 2020.

Awards: 5 All-Star appearances, MVP, Gold Glove, 4 Silver Sluggers

Outfield – Mookie Betts (2nd bWAR, 4th fWAR)

Stats: .301/.374/.519, 229 2B, 139 HR, 126 SB, 135 wRC+

Though he didn’t play his first full season until 2015, Betts finished in the top 5 among outfielders in both WAR measures, and it’s pretty obvious why when you look at the total package that Mookie brings to the game. He’s an elite defender in right field, a .300 hitter with power and speed at the plate, and he’s a complete hitter, not just swinging for the fences, as he’s hit 40 doubles every full season of his career and never struck out more than 15% of his plate appearances in an era when many hitters strike out twice that amount!

Awards: 4 All-Star appearances, MVP, batting title, 4 Gold Gloves, 3 Silver Sluggers

Designated Hitter – Miguel Cabrera (6th overall bWAR, 6th overall fWAR)

Stats: .317/.388/.544, 324 2B, 268 HR, 153 wRC+

The only challenger here was Josh Donaldson, who finished 5th in bWAR and 9th in fWAR. No other player finished in the top 10 in both lists overall. Cabrera played multiple seasons at third base in the decade, even winning a triple crown and two MVP’s while playing the position. Otherwise, he’s been one of the most consistent hitters of the last decade, simply racking up Hall of Fame stats.

Awards: 4 batting titles, 2 MVP, Triple Crown, 7 All-Star appearances, 5 Silver Slugger

Starting Pitcher – Zack Greinke (6th bWAR, 5th fWAR)

Stats: 3.18 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 3.26 FIP, 155 wins, 23.4% K, 5.5% BB

Incredibly, this doesn’t include Zack’s best season, his 2009 breakout year with the Royals that saw him win the AL Cy Young Award with a team that lost 97 games. Greinke is certainly one of the smartest pitchers in the game, and his consistency has been incredible with the Royals, Brewers, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Astros this decade. He’s also known as one of the best hitting and best fielding pitchers in the entire game.

Awards: 5 All-Star appearances, 6 Gold Gloves, 2 Silver Sluggers

Starting Pitcher – Clayton Kershaw (1st bWAR, 1st fWAR)

Stats: 2.31 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 2.64 FIP, 156 wins, 28% K, 5.6% BB

While he may not have the most wins on the decade, and a World Series title has eluded him, Kershaw had one of the most dominant decades for any pitcher – ever! His performance is remarkable considering he’s struggled with back issues for nearly the entire second half of the decade. For those who want to cite his postseason work, in the decade, he pitched 143 postseason innings with a 4.28 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. He also faced a BABIP of .364, meaning balls fell in at an exceptionally high rate, which would make sense as his WHIP is in line with his regular rate. Regardless, it has been one of the most incredible decades of pitching any of us will ever get to see. Let’s hope there’s more to come as Kershaw is just 32 on Opening Day.

Awards: 8 All-Star appearances, 3 Cy Young Awards, pitching Triple Crown, MVP, Gold Glove

Starting Pitcher – Chris Sale (5th bWAR, 4th fWAR)

Stats: 3.03 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 2.90 FIP, 109 wins, 30.8% K, 5.5% BB

Beginning the decade in the White Sox bullpen, Sale made the transition to the rotation and has been dominant from the left side, posting the highest strikeout rate of any of the starters mentioned here, though his ability to stay healthy has been inconsistent as he’s only made 30 starts in four of his eight seasons as a rotation member. The performance is too loud to ignore for this list, however.

Awards: 7 All-Star appearances

Starting Pitcher – Max Scherzer (3rd bWAR, 2nd fWAR)

Stats: 3.12 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 3.06 FIP, 161 wins, 29.5% K, 6.4% BB

The decade’s wins leader, Scherzer’s decade began as a mentee to another member of the decade’s starting rotation in Detroit before moving after 2014 to Washington. He’s become the most consistent dominant force in the game, a threat every night to make history with a no-hitter or even perfect game. The past season saw some of the first chinks in the armor as he missed 30 starts for the only time of the decade.

Awards: 7 All-Star appearances, 3 Cy Young Awards

Starting Pitcher – Justin Verlander (2nd bWAR, 3rd fWAR)

Stats: 3.10 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 3.26 FIP, 160 wins, 26.2% K, 6.6% BB

In the decade, Verlander has gone from the guy posting arguably the best season by a pitcher since Maddux/Big Unit/Pedro in 2011 to a guy many thought was through in 2014 to arguably deserving three of the last four Cy Young Awards in the American League! He’s going strong at 37 years old (as of February), and he will be fun to track to see just how long he goes before he finally slows down with 250 career wins just 25 victories away and some other major career milestones within reach (365 strikeouts from reaching top-10 all-time in the category, for instance).

Awards: 6 All-Star appearances, 2 Cy Young awards (3 2nd place finishes), Pitching Triple Crown, MVP

Reliever – Craig Kimbrel (1st bWAR, 3rd fWAR)

Stats: 2.08 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 2.19 FIP, 346 saves, 41.1% K, 9.9% BB

This disaster of a season notwithstanding, Kimbrel has dominated the league since his debut late in 2010. He led the league in saves his first four full seasons in the game. Pushing the envelope this past offseason for a long-term contract over getting his knee taken care of could end up hurting him long-term, and that’d be a shame because his first decade as a closer can really only be bested by one closer in history, and he was unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame.

Awards: 7 All-Star appearances, Rookie of the Year, 4 Rolaids reliever of the year awards

Reliever – Aroldis Chapman (2nd bWAR, 1st fWAR)

Stats: 2.23 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 2.01 FIP, 273 saves, 41.1% K, 11.5% BB

The man with the biggest fastball in the game is still posting incredible radar gun readings a decade after debuting with the Reds. He went through some off-field stuff that was nasty, to say the least, but on the field, Chapman hasn’t had a season worse than his 3.60 ERA in his first full season in 2011, and three years of the decade, he posted an ERA below 2.00.

Awards: 6 All-Star appearances, 1 AL Rolaids reliever award

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