The Majors Adam Waltersdorf will break down and attempt to rank all of baseball’s best at each and every position. The Infield rankings came out on Monday and the Outfield came out on Tuesday. The Relief Pitcher Rankings will be released on Thursday and on Friday, every MLB team will be ranked in order.
Some considerations are:
This formula rewards career performance over young players just making a splash. Since the track record is smaller, it is harder to gauge if they have the staying power of the stars ahead of them on the list. For example, Derek Jeter isn’t one of the best five shortstops in the game anymore, but is still ranked higher because the formula rewards career performance over current.
Injury frequency is also not factored. Johan Santana hasn’t been fully healthy in years, but is still one of the games best if he is.
All the players that are currently on the disabled or suspended are included in the list. When they are healthy or return from suspension, they will return to hold down their spots.
The value ranking is on a 5 point scale with 5 being the best possible value. The ranking is composed of three major statistical categories: Earned Run Average, Average Wins Above Replacement, and Strikeouts per Nine Innings. ERA is 40% of the ranking, aWAR is 40% of the ranking, and K/9 is 20%. A ranking of below zero means the player is considered to be below average.
Starting Pitchers:
| Rank | Player | Team | ERA | aWAR | K/9 | Value |
| 1 | Clayton Kershaw | Los Angeles Dodgers | 2.75 | 4.88 | 9.3 | 4.768 |
| 2 | Johan Santana | New York Mets | 3.20 | 4.23 | 8.8 | 4.054 |
| 3 | Justin Verlander | Detroit Tigers | 3.38 | 4.50 | 8.5 | 4.017 |
| 4 | Felix Hernandez | Seattle Mariners | 3.21 | 4.18 | 8.3 | 3.945 |
| 5 | Tim Lincecum | San Francisco Giants | 3.34 | 3.98 | 9.8 | 3.936 |
| 6 | Cole Hamels | Philadelphia Phillies | 3.39 | 4.16 | 8.5 | 3.831 |
| 7 | C.C. Savathia | New York Yankees | 3.49 | 4.52 | 7.8 | 3.827 |
| 8 | Roy Halladay | Philadelphia Phillies | 3.33 | 4.44 | 6.9 | 3.728 |
| 9 | Yu Darvish | Texas Rangers | 3.80 | 3.90 | 10.7 | 3.632 |
| 10 | Matt Cain | San Francisco Giants | 3.30 | 3.98 | 7.5 | 3.619 |
| 11 | Jared Weaver | Los Angeles Angels | 3.44 | 4.03 | 7.6 | 3.566 |
| 12 | Chris Sale | Chicago White Sox | 3.04 | 3.13 | 9.4 | 3.448 |
| 13 | Josh Johnson | Toronto Blue Jays | 3.21 | 3.18 | 8.2 | 3.192 |
| 14 | David Price | Tampa Bay Rays | 3.22 | 3.16 | 8.3 | 3.186 |
| 15 | Jon Lester | Boston Red Sox | 3.72 | 3.57 | 8.2 | 3.151 |
| 16 | Tim Hudson | Atlanta Braves | 3.41 | 3.88 | 6.0 | 3.113 |
| 17 | Zack Greinke | Los Angeles Dodgers | 3.75 | 3.47 | 8.0 | 3.013 |
| 18 | Jake Peavy | Chicago White Sox | 3.46 | 3.07 | 8.8 | 2.993 |
| 19 | Adam Wainwright | St. Louis Cardinals | 3.13 | 2.90 | 7.7 | 2.874 |
| 20 | Cliff Lee | Philadelphia Phillies | 3.57 | 3.20 | 7.4 | 2.803 |
| 21 | Miguel Gonzalez | Baltimore Orioles | 3.21 | 3.10 | 6.3 | 2.717 |
| 22 | Dan Haren | Washington Nationals | 3.68 | 3.13 | 7.6 | 2.691 |
| 23 | Hiroki Kuroda | New York Yankees | 3.41 | 3.08 | 6.8 | 2.674 |
| 24 | Andy Pettitte | New York Yankees | 3.84 | 3.44 | 6.7 | 2.656 |
| 25 | Mark Buehrle | Toronto Blue Jays | 3.84 | 4.04 | 5.1 | 2.570 |
| 26 | Josh Beckett | Los Angeles Dodgers | 3.90 | 2.86 | 8.3 | 2.351 |
| 27 | John Danks | Chicago White Sox | 4.12 | 3.27 | 6.9 | 2.346 |
| 28 | Johnny Cueto | Cincinnati Reds | 3.56 | 2.84 | 7.0 | 2.340 |
| 29 | James Shields | Kansas City Royals | 3.89 | 2.76 | 7.8 | 2.149 |
| 30 | Jeremy Hellickson | Tampa Bay Rays | 3.15 | 2.53 | 6.1 | 2.001 |
| 31 | Barry Zito | San Francisco Giants | 3.91 | 2.81 | 6.6 | 1.943 |
| 32 | Doug Fister | Detroit Tigers | 3.47 | 2.60 | 6.1 | 1.860 |
| 33 | Gio Gonzalez | Washington Nationals | 3.67 | 2.34 | 8.8 | 1.841 |
| 34 | Matt Latos | Cincinnati Reds | 3.40 | 2.25 | 8.5 | 1.833 |
| 35 | Chad Billingsley | Los Angeles Dodgers | 3.65 | 2.39 | 7.9 | 1.795 |
| 36 | Ubaldo Jimenez | Cleveland Indians | 4.05 | 2.53 | 8.1 | 1.761 |
| 37 | Trevor Cahill | Arizona Diamondbacks | 3.87 | 2.75 | 5.9 | 1.705 |
| 38 | Bartolo Colon | Oakland Athletics | 4.05 | 2.63 | 6.9 | 1.680 |
| 39 | Wei-Yin Chen | Baltimore Orioles | 4.02 | 2.60 | 6.9 | 1.655 |
| 40 | Max Scherzer | Detroit Tigers | 3.89 | 2.26 | 9.4 | 1.608 |
| 41 | A.J. Griffin | Oakland Athletics | 2.90 | 2.10 | 6.8 | 1.577 |
| 42 | Yovani Gallardo | Milwaukee Brewers | 3.70 | 2.15 | 9.1 | 1.493 |
| 43 | John Lackey | Boston Red Sox | 4.10 | 2.48 | 7.1 | 1.458 |
| 44 | Hisashi Iwakuma | Seattle Mariners | 3.02 | 2.00 | 7.5 | 1.404 |
| 45 | Stephen Strasburg | Washington Nationals | 2.94 | 1.77 | 10.9 | 1.273 |
| 46 | Jose Quintana | Chicago White Sox | 3.79 | 2.40 | 5.7 | 1.182 |
| 47 | Anibal Sanchez | Detroit Tigers | 3.70 | 2.11 | 7.6 | 1.178 |
| 48 | Jordan Zimmerman | Washington Nationals | 3.44 | 2.03 | 7.3 | 1.110 |
| 49 | Madison Baumgarner | San Francisco Giants | 3.15 | 1.88 | 8.1 | 1.089 |
| 50 | Jhoulys Chacin | Colorado Rockies | 3.60 | 2.05 | 7.5 | 1.089 |
| 51 | Neftali Feliz | Texas Rangers | 2.67 | 1.70 | 8.8 | 1.020 |
| 52 | Scott Kazmir | Cleveland Indians | 4.17 | 2.09 | 8.8 | 0.962 |
| 53 | Jarrod Parker | Oakland Athletics | 3.81 | 2.15 | 6.6 | 0.955 |
| 54 | Shawn Marcum | New York Mets | 3.76 | 1.99 | 7.3 | 0.775 |
| 55 | Eric Bedard | Houston Astros | 3.83 | 1.88 | 8.7 | 0.681 |
| 56 | Matt Garza | Chicago Cubs | 3.84 | 1.90 | 7.6 | 0.553 |
| 57 | Tommy Hanson | Los Angeles Angels | 3.66 | 1.80 | 8.3 | 0.523 |
| 58 | Wade Miley | Arizona Diamondbacks | 3.46 | 1.80 | 6.6 | 0.335 |
| 59 | A.J. Burnett | Pittsburgh Pirates | 4.05 | 1.81 | 8.3 | 0.252 |
| 60 | Kris Medlen | Atlanta Braves | 2.80 | 1.55 | 7.7 | 0.190 |
| 61 | Jeremy Guthrie | Kansas City Royals | 4.27 | 1.99 | 5.5 | -0.088 |
| 62 | Ian Kennedy | Arizona Diamondbacks | 3.82 | 1.65 | 7.8 | -0.174 |
| 63 | Aaron Harang | Seattle Mariners | 4.91 | 1.95 | 7.3 | -0.188 |
| 64 | Clay Buchholz | Boston Red Sox | 3.80 | 1.70 | 6.8 | -0.191 |
| 65 | Matt Harrison | Texas Rangers | 4.15 | 1.90 | 5.6 | -0.192 |
| 66 | Vance Worley | Minnesota Twins | 3.79 | 1.63 | 7.6 | -0.249 |
| 67 | Wandy Rodriguez | Pittsburgh Pirates | 4.01 | 1.69 | 7.4 | -0.260 |
| 68 | Bronson Arroyo | Cincinnati Reds | 4.24 | 1.85 | 5.9 | -0.310 |
| 69 | Brett Anderson | Oakland Athletics | 3.60 | 1.58 | 7.0 | -0.451 |
| 70 | Paul Maholm | Atlanta Braves | 4.20 | 1.78 | 5.8 | -0.524 |
| 71 | Gavin Floyd | Chicago White Sox | 4.47 | 1.71 | 7.1 | -0.587 |
| 72 | C.J. Wilson | Los Angeles Angels | 3.65 | 1.46 | 8.0 | -0.770 |
| 73 | Jon Garland | Colorado Rockies | 4.32 | 1.85 | 4.8 | -0.782 |
| 74 | Ervin Santana | Kansas City Royals | 4.30 | 1.61 | 7.1 | -0.809 |
| 75 | Lance Lynn | St. Louis Cardinals | 3.71 | 1.40 | 9.5 | -0.898 |
