The postseason is right around the corner as the Braves await the winner of a Wild Card series between division rivals in the Marlins and Phillies. As October arrives, MLB.com dropped a top 50 players in the postseason rankings, which has completely disrespected the best team in baseball.
You don’t get very far before the disrespect begins as Mookie Betts ranks first over Ronald Acuna Jr., with Will Leitch giving the nod to the Dodgers star because of his playoff experience. Listen, that’s a valid argument if he didn’t just watch Ronald Acuna Jr. turn in one of the greatest seasons ever!
It’s nit picking but still crazy people aren’t considering Acuna the best player on the planet. His talent gives him the edge over Mookie, regardless of playoff expereince.
Matt Olson came in ranked as the fifth-best player; you’ll hear no arguments out of me. Spencer Strider is the next member of the club that shows up, coming in ranked 15th, followed by Austin Riley at 23rd and Ozzie Albies at 33rd, with Sean Murphy at 44th rounding out the Braves mentioned.
Here are some of the issues I have — no Max Fried, Marcell Ozuna, or Michael Harris II.
Fried is currently nursing a blister, so I can only assume that made him ineligible for the list because he might be the best lefty on the planet. It would be egregious not to include him; he’s the best pitcher on the best team in baseball.
Harris was among “honorable mentions” but is better than other center fielders on the list. His Gold Glove defense, near .300 average, and .800+ OPS is more impressive than Jazz Chisholm, who has worse offensive and defensive numbers than Harris. Cedric Mullins might be a better defender, but he has signifncantly worse offensive numbers than the Braves’ center fielder.
The most egregious is leaving off Ozuna, though. He has 40 home runs to pair with a .274 average and .900+ OPS. Let’s check some of the other DH’s stats. Anthony Santander of the Orioles has 28 homes runs with a .257 average and .797 OPS. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has 26 home runs with a .264 average and .788 OPS. Yet, there was no mention of Ozuna; that’s ridiculous.
The Braves feature more offensive talent than anyone in baseball. A 40 home run, .900+ OPS guy in Marcell Ozuna wasn’t even MENTIONED in this article from MLB.com.
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John Adams/Icon Sportswire
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