Anytime there's a top-10 list of anything, there will be controversy and arguing. Doesn't matter what the list is. It could be top 10 ways to mow a lawn and it will create a discussion. Throw in baseball and it is sure to elicit all sorts of debate.
So these top 10 players in the game will in no way settle any kind of argument. If anything, they will spark more arguments. Still, we have been asked to make a list, so here is mine. One note: I decided to blend players having monster years this season and those with a track record to earn a mention. So let the disagreements begin.
10. Aaron Judge, RF, New York Yankees: He's a player with a limited résumé but has made necessary adjustments at the plate. After a poor September call-up last year where he struck out 44 percent of the time and hit below .200, Judge worked his rear off in the winter and is destroying just about every pitcher who steps in front of him, leading the majors in home runs and hitting well over .300. His best trait might be how at such a young age, he is leading the Yankees -- something very few rookies have ever been able to do in the Bronx. Then again, this is no ordinary rookie.
9. Cody Bellinger, LF, Los Angeles Dodgers: Here's where I will deviate and go with someone who doesn't have the same track record as others but who seems to have the goods. The son of a former big leaguer, Cody's dad Clay raised not only a big leaguer, but a star. Bellinger is having his way with major league pitching, and even though adjustments have been made against him, he has readjusted and is showing no signs of slowing down. Of course, Yasiel Puig was on a similar trajectory when he broke in and hasn't made the necessary adjustments. But Bellinger seems different. Plus, he's not always playing his natural position -- first base -- yet.
8. Francisco Lindor, SS, Cleveland Indians: Seldom do young players make an immediate impact like Lindor has. The one who comes to mind for me is Roberto Alomar, a fellow Puerto Rican who emerged like a comet and never slowed down. Lindor seems to have all of the same qualities and plays middle infield like Alomar did. Talk to front-office executives and the majority say Lindor is the player they would want to build their infield around. This is a Hall of Fame-type player just scratching the surface of what he will accomplish. Sound familiar? Alomar had the same things said about him at the same point in his career.
7. Max Scherzer, RHP, Washington Nationals: Some might say this is a stretch, that Scherzer is very good but not on the same level as the truly great ones. Rubbish. Scherzer takes the ball every five days. He has started at least 30 games in each of his eight full seasons. There is a certain value in that alone, but throw in high-quality starts and Scherzer easily separates himself and moves into the elite category. He is a legitimate top-of-the-line starter who can match up in a Game 1 scenario with anyone in the game.
6. Anthony Rizzo, 1B, Chicago Cubs: If only the Red Sox and Padres could have a do-over. Each club had Rizzo at a young age, and each traded him away. Yes, that's baseball, but we are talking about 30 home runs and 100 RBIs just about every season now. Throw in a Gold Glove at a position that can sometimes change a game, and you're talking about one of the most transformational players in the game today. There may be better players, but Rizzo makes the Cubs tick, and look what they did last year.
5. Chris Sale, LHP, Boston Red Sox: Changing the color of his socks from white to red seems to have made Sale ramp up his game to a level many scouts believed was achievable. Sale was always viewed as a pitcher who could be elite every time out. For whatever reason, he would show flashes of that in Chicago but sometimes revert. There have been no steps backward in Boston. Sale is pitching as though he's the best pitcher in the American League, which he very well has been this season. Some have wilted under the Boston pressure; Sale is thriving off of it.
4. Clayton Kershaw, LHP, Los Angeles Dodgers: The latest in a long line of truly exceptional Dodgers pitchers very well could be the best one of them all. Kershaw's jaw-dropping curveball is his greatest pitch, but then he kicks up his 94 mph fastball and hitters are often left with their legs buckling as they curse themselves walking back to the dugout. We are watching one of the absolute best pitchers ever to take the mound. If the Dodgers come through your city, it's worth the price of admission, and like those before who can say they saw Bob Gibson or Sandy Koufax, you, too, can say you saw one of the best ever.
3. Nolan Arenado, 3B, Colorado Rockies: The offensive numbers alone are plain crazy. He has hit 42 and 41 home runs and had 130 and 133 RBIs, respectively, each of the past two seasons and appears headed toward similar numbers once again. Those alone are enough to warrant his inclusion on this list. But then, just to kind of show off, he won the Gold Glove at third base in each of his first four seasons. One rival scout told me, "I never thought I would ever see anyone come close to what Brooks Robinson was able to do at the hot corner. I was wrong. This kid is better."
2. Bryce Harper, RF, Washington Nationals: Harper has been on the baseball radar for a decade now, ever since he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a young high school player. He has lived up to the hype and then some. Harper plays the game with one trait that so few seem to share: fury. It's what drove players like Clemente and Rose before, an "I'm-better-than-anyone-on-the-field" mentality that pushes certain players to reach the very outer limits of their ability. Harper is the type of player who changes the way an opposing pitcher deals with the Nationals' lineup leading up to his at-bat.
1. Mike Trout, CF, Los Angeles Angels: Some veteran scouts have argued that Trout is the most complete player the game has seen since Mickey Mantle. After all, they share a similar build and have almost all of the same qualities on the field. They're also transformational center fielders. There really is nothing Trout cannot do on the field. He is the quintessential five-tool player. That he lasted until the 25th overall pick in the first round of the 2009 draft speaks volumes about how so many clubs must be kicking themselves on passing on this once-in-a-lifetime player.
