2023’s top 100 players (31-40)
Austin Riley and Blake Snell anchor today’s list of 10 outstanding performers
Three weeks down, two weeks to go.
My countdown of baseball’s top 100 players began in the early days of the month — November 7, to be exact — and proceeded through five successive installments on Fridays and Tuesdays.
Sixty players were identified in those first six stories, running from 100th place through 41st. We’ll cover the remaining 40 this week and next, starting with today’s span from 40th through 31st.
Here is the latest group of honorees, as determined by their statistical performances in 2023’s regular season:
40. Tarik Skubal (Tigers)
39. Christian Yelich (Brewers)
38. TJ Friedl (Reds)
37. Justin Steele (Cubs)
36. Tyler Holton (Tigers)
35. Marcus Semien (Rangers)
34. Ozzie Albies (Braves)
33. Luis Robert Jr. (White Sox)
32. Blake Snell (Padres)
31. Austin Riley (Braves)
Click here to learn more about the rankings, which reflect each player’s overall base value. Ties in OBV are broken by ratios of bases per out (BPO).
Below are quick profiles of today’s subjects. If you’d like to examine the six previous installments, follow these links: 91-100, 81-90, 71-80, 61-70, 51-60, and 41-50.
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40. Tarik Skubal (Tigers)
OBV: 62
Primary position: P
BPO (pitching): .449
ERA: 2.80
Other pitching stats: IP 80.1, W-L 7-3, SO 102
Notes: Skubal slowly improved in his first three seasons in Detroit’s starting rotation, with his ERA dropping from 5.63 in 2020 to 4.34 and 3.52 in subsequent seasons. He took another upward step with 2023’s ERA of 2.80, though an elbow injury confined him to 15 starts.
39. Christian Yelich (Brewers)
OBV: 63
Primary position: LF
BPO (batting): .856
BA: .278
Other batting stats: PA 632, HR 19, RBI 76
Notes: The National League’s batting champ in 2018 and 2019 suffered a protracted slump in the three years that followed before rebounding nicely in 2023. His .278 average was his highest since his 2019 peak of .329. He also led Milwaukee with a .370 on-base percentage.
38. TJ Friedl (Reds)
OBV: 63
Primary position: CF
BPO (batting): .875
BA: .279
Other batting stats: PA 556, HR 18, RBI 66
Notes: Friedl emerged as one of the budding stars on Cincinnati’s young roster. The Reds installed him as their center fielder after part-time duty in 2021 and 2022. He responded with power (18 homers, second-highest on the club) and speed (27 stolen bases, also second).
37. Justin Steele (Cubs)
OBV: 64
Primary position: P
BPO (pitching): .582
ERA: 3.06
Other pitching stats: IP 173.1, W-L 16-5, SO 176
Notes: There was no reason to expect stardom from Steele, who had gone 4-7 for the Cubs in 2022, but he blossomed into a contender for the National League’s Cy Young Award, finishing fifth in the voting. His 16 wins and 3.06 ERA both ranked third in the league.
36. Tyler Holton (Tigers)
OBV: 65
Primary position: P
BPO (pitching): .447
ERA: 2.11
Other pitching stats: IP 85.1, W-L 3-2, SV 1, SO 74
Notes: Holton, like the aforementioned Skubal, was an effective (albeit unpublicized) pitcher for Detroit in 2023. Holton settled into the bullpen after the Tigers claimed him off waivers from Arizona. He succeeded as a setup man, generally working in the seventh or eighth inning.
35. Marcus Semien (Rangers)
OBV: 66
Primary position: 2B
BPO (batting): .835
BA: .276
Other batting stats: PA 753, HR 29, RBI 100
Notes: Semien served as Texas’s leadoff man in all 162 regular-season games and throughout its postseason drive to the world championship. He led the American League in runs scored (122) and hits (185), and he finished third in balloting for the AL’s Most Valuable Player.
34. Ozzie Albies (Braves)
OBV: 66
Primary position: 2B
BPO (batting): .852
BA: .280
Other batting stats: PA 660, HR 33, RBI 109
Notes: Albies would have topped several clubs with his impressive 2023 totals of 96 runs scored, 33 homers, and 109 RBIs. But Atlanta’s attack was so powerful that he finished fourth, fifth, and second on the club in those respective categories. He did lead the Braves in triples with five.
33. Luis Robert Jr. (White Sox)
OBV: 66
Primary position: CF
BPO (batting): .861
BA: .264
Other batting stats: PA 595, HR 38, RBI 80
Notes: Robert showed flashes of impending stardom in his previous three seasons, beginning with his second-place finish for the American League’s Rookie of the Year Award in 2020. But 2023 was the year he finally put everything together, ranking third in the AL with 38 homers.
32. Blake Snell (Padres)
OBV: 67
Primary position: P
BPO (pitching): .580
ERA: 2.25
Other pitching stats: IP 180.0, W-L 14-9, SO 234
Notes: Snell previously won the American League’s Cy Young Award in 2018, and he added the National League’s trophy this year. His ERA of 2.25 was the lowest in the NL, as was his ratio of 5.75 hits yielded per nine innings. His 234 strikeouts were surpassed only by Atlanta’s Spencer Strider.
31. Austin Riley (Braves)
OBV: 67
Primary position: 3B
BPO (batting): .842
BA: .281
Other batting stats: PA 715, HR 37, RBI 97
Notes: Riley was another cog in Atlanta’s powerful batting order. He scored 117 runs (fifth in the NL) and launched 37 homers (seventh in the league). He finished seventh in the MVP race, marking his third straight year among the top seven vote-getters.