Image credit: Justin Verlander (Photo By Mike Janes/Four Seam Images)

As the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in the 2024 World Series, it marked the conclusion of the 25th season since the dawning of the year 2000.

We thought the proper Baseball America way to commemorate the quarter century—while also gearing up for 2025—was to review the best player originally signed by each organization from 2000 to present.

Any signing method is valid, so long as it is the player’s initial contract with an MLB organization. This includes draft picks, international amateurs and foreign professionals with years of NPB superstardom. Major league free agent signings are excluded.

But we couldn’t stop at one. For each of the 30 organizations, we round out Mount Rushmore with three additional high-value signees as well as look at honorable mentions and players in their primes who are still writing their stories.

Note that the operative word for this exercise is sign. Had we drawn the line at 1999, for example, then Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera would take center stage.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Max Scherzer, RHP

It took time, but Scherzer completely and thoroughly dispelled talk of reliever risk that dogged him in the 2006 draft. Arizona got a bargain when it drafted Scherzer 11th overall out of Missouri, but the D-backs should have stuck to their guns rather than trade him for Ian Kennedy and Edwin Jackson following the 2009 season. Scherzer ascended to ace status in Detroit, winning the 2013 American League Cy Young Award and then notching two more in the NL with the Nationals after he signed perhaps the best free agent deal ever for a pitcher. Scherzer has accomplished everything in his career: World Series rings with the 2019 Nationals and 2023 Rangers, three Cy Young Awards, two no-hitters, 3,000 career strikeouts and a 20-strikeout game.
Bottom Line: 75 WAR | 3x Cy Young | 8x All-Star | 2x World Series

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
Justin Upton, OF
Brandon Webb, RHP

Primetime Players
Right fielder Corbin Carroll won NL Rookie of the Year in 2023, when he helped key the D-backs to the World Series. The D-backs are the original signing organization for Blue Jays Gold Glove-winning outfielder Daulton Varsho as well.

Atlanta Braves

Freddie Freeman, 1B

Freeman stands tall in a Braves organization with an abundance of star signees. He starred as a two-way player at his SoCal high school when Atlanta made him a second-round pick in 2007. The Braves made a wise choice by committing to him as a first baseman. Freeman starred in the 2010s and has cemented his legacy in the 2020s with an MVP award in 2020 and World Series rings with the 2021 Braves and 2024 Dodgers. The future Hall of Famer is five good seasons away from 3,000 hits and 450 home runs as he heads into his age-35 season.
Bottom Line: 61 WAR | 2020 NL MVP | 2x World Series | 8x All-Star | 1x Gold Glove | 3x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Brian McCann, C
Adam Wainwright, RHP
Ronald Acuña Jr., OF

Primetime Players
The 2025 Braves’ lineup is stuffed with homegrown stars in their primes—third baseman Austin Riley, righthander Spencer Strider, second baseman Ozzie Albies and center fielder Michael Harris II—while 2024 rookie righthander Spencer Schwellenbach could be next. Oh, and the Brewers’ William Contreras, another Braves signee, might be the best catcher in baseball.

Baltimore Orioles

Manny Machado, 3B

No region produces more professional baseball players per capita than South Florida, and Machado is one of the brightest stars from the Sunshine State this century. Drafted third overall in 2010, Machado made his MLB debut as a 20-year-old two years later and was an instant success. He elevated his Orioles clubs for seven seasons before his 2018 departure triggered a full rebuild in Baltimore. When he joined the Padres in 2019, Machado was the first North American professional athlete to sign for $300 million. He has remained highly productive into his 30s and will make a run at 500 home runs and the Hall of Fame before he’s done.
Bottom Line: 58 WAR | 6x All-Star | 2x Gold Glove | 2x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Kevin Gausman, RHP
Nick Markakis, OF
Jake Arrieta, RHP

Primetime Players
Mike Elias hit paydirt with his first two draft picks for the Orioles in 2019: Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman with the first overall pick and Alabama prep shortstop Gunnar Henderson with the first pick in the second round. Both are already two of the best players in franchise history.

Boston Red Sox

Mookie Betts, OF

Betts represents the best $750,000 the Red Sox ever spent. Boston bought him out of a Tennessee commitment in the fifth round in 2011. Three years later, he was patrolling the outfield at Fenway. Betts was the American League MVP in 2018 as he helped the Red Sox cruise to 108 wins and a World Series championship. Trading Betts after the 2019 season proved to be a disaster for Boston—but not for Betts. He continued to thrive with the Dodgers, adding rings in 2020 and 2024.
Bottom Line: 70 WAR | 2018 AL MVP | 3x World Series | 8x All-Star | 6x Gold Glove | 7x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Jon Lester, LHP
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Xander Bogaerts, SS

Primetime Players
Third baseman Rafael Devers and center fielder Jarren Duran are key players for the 2025 team and are in their primes.

Chicago Cubs

Josh Donaldson, 3B

For all the Cubs’ draft success under Theo Epstein, including first-rounders Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Ian Happ, it was a Jim Hendry pick who has been most productive. A Hendry pick who never played a single game for the Cubs, no less. Chicago drafted Donaldson as a catcher out of Auburn in the supplemental first round in 2007 and, one year later, traded him to the Athletics as part of a prospect package for Rich Harden. Donaldson remained behind the plate until 2012, when he began playing more third base than any other position. Making the switch unlocked his offensive potential, and beginning at age 27, he embarked on a 10-year run as a big league regular for the A’s, Blue Jays, Guardians, Braves, Twins and Yankees. Donaldson was never better than he was in his MVP season of 2015, when he hit 41 homers and led the American League in runs scored and RBIs for a high-powered Toronto team.
Bottom Line: 47 WAR | 2015 AL MVP | 3x All-Star | 2x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Kris Bryant, 3B
DJ LeMahieu, 2B
Willson Contreras, C

Primetime Players
The Cubs drafted lefthander Justin Steele and righthander Dylan Cease out of high school in the fifth and sixth rounds in 2014. They represent big hits for an Epstein front office maligned for its ability to develop homegrown pitchers. Chicago kept Steele but bundled Cease to the White Sox at the 2017 trade deadline to acquire Jose Quintana. In addition to Steele and Cease, second baseman Nico Hoerner and left fielder Ian Happ are notable Cubs homegrown standouts in their primes.

Chicago White Sox

Chris Sale, LHP

Sale’s slender frame, lower arm slot and mid-major pedigree scared off some teams in the 2010 draft—but not the White Sox. Chicago got the steal of the first round when it selected the Florida Gulf Coast southpaw 13th overall. Sale reached the big leagues that August, after just 10 minor league innings, and never looked back. He and Jacob deGrom have battled back and forth for the title of preeminent strikeout artist of the century. In terms of WAR, Sale pulled ahead with a Cy Young Award season in 2024. He also has a signature moment: He struck out Manny Machado to end the 2018 World Series and deliver the title to Boston.
Bottom Line: 53 WAR | 1x Cy Young | 1x World Series | 8x All-Star | 1x Gold Glove

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Marcus Semien, SS
Gio Gonzalez, LHP
Jose Abreu, 1B

Primetime Players
Even on a history-making 121-loss roster in 2024, the White Sox had bright spots. Lefthander Garrett Crochet pitched like an ace and fetched a prospect haul from the Red Sox this offseason. Center fielder Luis Robert Jr. has flashed five-tool upside when healthy. The White Sox also originally signed Fernando Tatis Jr. before trading him to the Padres for James Shields in 2016.

Cincinnati Reds

Joey Votto, 1B

For many players singled out in this exercise, their success was immediate in pro ball and almost preordained. That is not the case with Votto, whom the Reds drafted as a catcher out of his Toronto high school in the second round in 2002. He developed slowly but steadily in the minor leagues before becoming a big league regular in his seventh pro season. Once Votto reached MLB, he was an instant success. He finished runner-up for the 2008 National League Rookie of the Year and won the 2010 MVP. Votto spent his entire MLB career with the Reds, leading the NL seven times in on-base percentage and placing a stranglehold on the Best Strike-Zone Judgment category in annual Best Tools voting. He won it eight times.
Bottom Line: 65 WAR | 2010 NL MVP | 6x All-Star | 1x Gold Glove

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Justin Turner, 3B
Johnny Cueto, RHP
Aroldis Chapman, LHP

Primetime Players
The Reds are lousy with first-round picks on their MLB roster—Tyler Stephenson, Nick Lodolo, Matt McLain, Rhett Lowder—but it is flame-throwing 2017 first-round righthander Hunter Greene and Dominican shortstop sensation Elly De La Cruz who most electrify.

Cleveland Guardians

Francisco Lindor, SS

Lindor and Jose Ramirez are two of the best position players of this century, and they teamed up for six seasons in Cleveland. They were so good that they nearly helped end the longest active World Series drought in 2016, when the Guardians pushed the Cubs to seven games. Cleveland drafted Lindor eighth overall in 2011 and retained him for 10 pro seasons before trading him to the Mets in 2021 as he neared free agency. Lindor has continued doing Lindor things in Queens. He hits for power, gets on base, steals bases and is one of the most reliable shortstop defenders of all-time.
Bottom Line: 50 WAR | 4x All-Star | 2x Gold Glove | 4x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Jose Ramirez, 3B
Shane Bieber, RHP
Jason Kipnis, 2B

Primetime Players
The Guardians are such active traders that their top MLB performers tend to be a mix of acquired—think Emmanuel Clase, Andres Gimenez and Josh Naylor on the 2024 team—and homegrown players. Two of their better homegrown players are Gold Glove left fielder Steven Kwan and righthander Tanner Bibee.

Colorado Rockies

Nolan Arenado, 3B

Arenado played shortstop at El Toro High—the same SoCal program that later produced Matt Chapman and Paul Skenes—but was viewed as more of a third baseman—or possibly catcher—in pro ball. The Rockies got one of the steals of a loaded 2009 draft when they took Arenado in the second round. Skepticism around Arenado’s defensive value continued to dog him in pro ball, but he dedicated himself to agility and quickness at High-A in 2011 and, well, the rest is history. He won a Gold Glove at third base in each of his first 10 big league seasons. Now in the decline phase of his career with the Cardinals, Arenado has built a résumé as one of the finest players at the hot corner this century with a rare blend of power and defensive excellence.
Bottom Line: 57 WAR | 8x All-Star | 10x Gold Glove | 5x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Matt Holliday, OF
Troy Tulowitzki, SS
Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP

Primetime Players
Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and center fielder Brenton Doyle are quality hitters and standout defensive players with the Gold Gloves to prove it.

Detroit Tigers

Justin Verlander, RHP

Verlander is the most accomplished pitcher signed since 2000. Not bad for a kid from rural Virginia who dominated Colonial Athletic Association competition at Old Dominion. Verlander immediately attracted attention in college because he threw really hard, and the Tigers were the ultimate beneficiaries when they drafted him No. 2 overall in 2004. The Padres passed at No. 1 to draft Matt Bush. Verlander took immediately to pro ball, posting a 1.29 ERA over 119 innings in his only minor league season and then winning American League Rookie of the Year in 2006. He won Cy Young Awards in 2011 with the Tigers and 2019 and 2022 with the Astros. He picked up World Series rings with Houston in 2017 and 2022.
Bottom Line: 81 WAR | 2011 AL MVP | 3x Cy Young | 2x World Series | 9x All-Star

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Curtis Granderson, OF
Rick Porcello, RHP
Willy Adames, SS

Primetime Players
Baseball America proclaimed Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson to be “Tiger Kings” on our 2022 MLB Preview cover. We were half right. Greene is the real deal, as is reigning Cy Young Award-winning lefthander Tarik Skubal.

Houston Astros

Jose Altuve, 2B

A good story arc requires conflict along the way. Altuve faced conflict—and skepticism—like few other performing prospects. That’s because he stands 5-foot-6 and even in his youth did not look like a premium athlete. But all Altuve has done as a professional is prove doubters wrong. He hit .389 in the minor leagues in 2011 then made the all-star team as a 22-year-old in 2012, his first full big league season. An MVP award followed in 2017 as he helped key the Astros to the franchise’s first World Series championship. In addition to his regular season achievements—including three AL batting titles—Altuve is one of the most accomplished postseason performers in history. Only Manny Ramirez has more postseason home runs, while only Derek Jeter has scored more runs. When all is said and done, Altuve could be regarded as the best second baseman of the 21st century.
Bottom Line: 53 WAR | 2017 AL MVP | 2x World Series | 9x All-Star | 1x Gold Glove | 7x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Alex Bregman, 3B
Carlos Correa, SS
Ben Zobrist, 2B

Primetime Players
The Astros’ incredible homegrown core has weathered with the free agent departures of George Springer, Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman. Houston got out in front of free agency by trading Kyle Tucker to the Cubs this offseason. Dominican lefthander Framber Valdez can also reach free agency after the 2025 season.

Kansas City Royals

Zack Greinke, RHP

Baseball is a game of adjustments. Few players exemplify the expression quite like Greinke. Drafted out of high school sixth overall in 2002, he sped to Kansas City to make his MLB debut as a 20-year-old in 2004. After being roughed up by big league hitters in 2005, Greinke nearly gave up baseball the following spring. Learning to adapt to MLB life with social anxiety required an adjustment. He made further adjustments to his repertoire through the years, becoming a slider-dominant pitcher when he won the 2009 American League Cy Young Award with the Royals and leaning on his changeup in his mid 30s as his fastball lost zip with the Astros. One of the more athletic pitchers of his time, Greinke was an excellent fielder, baserunner and hitter (for a pitcher).
Bottom Line: 78 WAR | 2009 AL Cy Young | 6x All-Star | 6x Gold Glove | 2x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Alex Gordon, OF
Bobby Witt Jr., SS
Salvador Perez, C

Primetime Players
In addition to perennial MVP candidate Witt, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino is the best homegrown Royals player still in his prime.

Los Angeles Angels

Mike Trout, OF

The Trout scouting story never gets old. Viewed skeptically because he was a cold-weather prospect who played for a small New Jersey high school, Trout fell to 25th in the 2009 draft, where the Angels selected him—but only after taking Randal Grichuk with the preceding pick. Trout hit .360 in Rookie ball after the draft, was BA Minor League Player of the Year in 2011 and then American League Rookie of the Year in 2012 as a 20-year-old. Trout’s rise coincided with the rise in popularity of WAR as a player valuation metric, and he was a living embodiment of what it measured. He hit for average. He drew walks. He hit for power. He ran the bases expertly and played an above-average center field. WAR viewed Trout as being worth an average of nine wins more than a replacement player over his first eight full seasons. The pandemic robbed him of about 100 games in 2020, when he was 28, while a series of injuries have limited him to an average of 67 games in the four seasons since.
Bottom Line: 86 WAR | 3x AL MVP | 11x All-Star | 9x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Shohei Ohtani, DH/RHP
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Jered Weaver, RHP

Primetime Players
The Angels have a lot riding on the development of their last three first-round picks: shortstop Zach Neto, first baseman Nolan Schanuel and second baseman Christian Moore. Flame-throwing righthander Jose Soriano took a major step forward in 2024.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Clayton Kershaw, LHP

The 2006 draft was loaded with college pitchers. Andrew Miller, Tim Lincecum, Brad Lincoln, Greg Reynolds, Joba Chamberlain, Max Scherzer, Luke Hochevar and Brandon Morrow occupied eight of the top 10 spots on the BA draft prospects ranking. The lone high school player in the top 10? Clayton Kershaw at No. 6. He fell to the Dodgers with the seventh pick and quickly made his selection look wise. Kershaw reached the majors as a 20-year-old in 2008, pitching 108 innings and making his first postseason appearance. He won his first National League Cy Young Award in 2011 and then two more in 2013 and 2014. Kershaw would have won four Cys in a row—something only Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson have ever done—if not for a fluky season from Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey in 2012. Now, as Kershaw embarks on his 18th big league season, he leads all starting pitchers this century with a 2.50 ERA.
Bottom Line: 79 WAR | 2014 NL MVP | 3x NL Cy Young | 2x World Series | 10x All-Star | 1x Gold Glove

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Corey Seager, SS
Russell Martin, C
Kenley Jansen, RHP

Primetime Players
Catcher Will Smith is an integral part of the Dodgers’ present-day success, but with the departures of homegrown players like Corey Seager, Kenley Jansen, Joc Pederson, Cody Bellinger, Walker Buehler and Julio Urias over the years, the club’s leading lights are imports from other organizations. Two prominent big leaguers who were traded away as Dodgers prospects are Astros left fielder Yordan Alvarez and Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz.

Miami Marlins

Giancarlo Stanton, OF

Stanton, Christian Yelich, JT Realmuto and Marcell Ozuna were teammates for three seasons in Miami. The Marlins never won more than 79 games in that span. So while any one of the four would be a solid pick for best signee for most organizations, it is Stanton who had the most singular ability: elite power. He hit a career-high 59 home runs in his National League MVP season of 2017 and has four other seasons of 35 or more. In the history of BA Best Tools voting, only Mark McGwire, by a count of six to five, ever received more category wins for best power. Back when the Marlins signed Stanton out of his SoCal high school in the second round in 2007, he was a potential wide receiver and outfielder committed to USC. Today, he is chasing 500 home runs as a member of the Yankees, whom he joined in 2018.
Bottom Line: 45 WAR | 2017 NL MVP | 5x All-Star | 2x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Christian Yelich, OF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
JT Realmuto, C

Primetime Players
The Marlins have had periods of incredible farm productivity. The organization is not actively in one of those periods. Most of its best young big leaguers were acquired from other teams. An exception is Eury Perez, a 20-year-old rookie sensation in 2023 and will return from Tommy John surgery at some point this season. The Marlins also originally drafted righthander Michael King out of Boston College in 2016 before trading him to the Yankees after the 2017 season in a deal they would certainly undo if the could.

Milwaukee Brewers

Ryan Braun, OF

The Brewers broke a 26-year playoff drought in 2008 with a team frontloaded with heavy hitters drafted by scouting director Jack Zdurencik. Prince Fielder, JJ Hardy, Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart were key contributors—as was ace Ben Sheets—but it was Braun who reached the highest peaks. Drafted fifth overall out of Miami in 2005, Braun made an instant impression in MLB with a 34-homer rookie season in 2007. He moved from third base to left field as a sophomore and immediately ascended to stardom. Braun led the National League in OPS in 2011 and 2012, winning MVP honors in the former season. For his career, he hit .296 with 352 home runs and 216 stolen bases in 14 seasons, though his legacy is tainted by his 2013 PED suspension for ties to Biogenesis.
Bottom Line: 47 WAR | 2011 NL MVP | 6x All-Star | 5x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Lorenzo Cain, OF
Prince Fielder, 1B
Corbin Burnes, RHP

Primetime Players
The Brewers have one of the strongest farm systems in the game. Their top homegrown big leaguers in 2025 are future superstar outfielder Jackson Chourio and Milwaukee first-round picks Brice Turang, Sal Frelick and Garrett Mitchell.

Minnesota Twins

Joe Mauer, C

The Twins passed on perceived top talent Mark Prior at the head of the 2001 draft to take the hometown St. Paul phenom. Mauer was a star catcher and quarterback at Cretin-Derham Hall who had a scholarship offer to play football at Florida State. He also starred on his high school basketball team. Needless to say, Mauer has athleticism to spare. He twice ranked as the No. 1 prospect in baseball and quickly ascended to Minnesota as a 21-year-old. He won an unprecedented-for-a-catcher three batting titles in MLB, the final one in his American League MVP season of 2009, when he hit .365 with a career-high 28 home runs. A concussion he suffered in 2013 brought an end to his days behind the plate, but he hung on for five more seasons and maintained a career .306 average. When he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2024, Mauer became the first player drafted since 2000 to receive the honor.
Bottom Line: 55 WAR | 2009 AL MVP | 6x All-Star | 3x Gold Glove | 5x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Denard Span, OF
Byron Buxton, OF
Jose Berrios, RHP

Primetime Players
Third baseman Royce Lewis has shown in flashes that he has impact potential. Like Joe Mauer, he is a Twins No. 1 overall draft pick. Luis Arraez got his start with the 2019 Twins. He is the active MLB batting average leader and ranks top 10 for OBP.

New York Mets

David Wright, 3B

Wright grew up a Mets fan in the Chesapeake Bay region of Virginia, where the organization’s Triple-A affiliate was located for many years. So it was only fitting that the Mets drafted Wright 38th overall in 2001, and that he eventually suited up for Norfolk in 2004 on his way to New York. He was an immediate success in MLB and forged the first half of a Hall of Fame career before spinal stenosis curtailed his availability and productivity in his 30s. Wright finally got to play in a World Series in 2015 and retired as the Mets’ all-time franchise leader in hits, runs, RBIs, doubles and walks.
Bottom Line: 49 WAR | 7x All-Star | 2x Gold Glove | 2x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Jacob deGrom, RHP
Jose Reyes, SS
Pete Alonso, 1B

Primetime Players
The 2025 Mets will feature at least two young homegrown regulars in third baseman Mark Vientos and catcher Francisco Alvarez. New York also originally signed second baseman Andres Gimenez, who will play for Toronto this season.

New York Yankees

Aaron Judge, OF

At 6-foot-7, 280 pounds, Judge looks more like a football player and got most of his college offers to play tight end rather than outfield. But Judge loved baseball and focused on it at Fresno State. A big junior year got him noticed by the Yankees, who drafted him 32nd overall in 2013 and got to work on developing him into a monster. Judge set a since-broken rookie record with 52 home runs in 2017 and has taken his game to a new stratosphere in the 2020s, with a pair of 10-win, American League MVP seasons in 2022 and 2024. Among players to bat at least 3,000 times since 2000, Judge’s name appears second on the wRC+ leaderboard, in between Barry Bonds and Mike Trout.
Bottom Line: 52 WAR | 2x AL MVP | 6x All-Star | 4x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Robinson Cano, 2B
Brett Gardner, OF
David Robertson, RHP

Primetime Players
The Yankees have done well to integrate up-the-middle rookies in each of the past two seasons. Shortstop Anthony Volpe joined the club in 2023 and Austin Wells took over at catcher in 2024.

Oakland Athletics

Matt Olson, 1B

For all the star players to pass through Oakland this century, none has truly transcended. Olson might come the closest. He has hit 259 home runs through his age-30 season and has averaged 40 per 162 games. In his second season in Atlanta in 2023, Olson led the National League with 54 homers and 139 RBIs and finished fourth in MVP voting. Being traded to the Braves following the 2021 season was a homecoming for Olson, who played first base and pitched for Parkview High when it won High School Team of the Year in 2012. The Athletics drafted him in the supplemental first round that year.
Bottom Line: 33 WAR | 2x All-Star | 2x Gold Glove

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Matt Chapman, 3B
Sonny Gray, RHP
Nick Swisher, OF

Primetime Players
Several key players for the 2025 club are homegrown successes, led by 2024 standout rookies Lawrence Butler and Mason Miller. College draft picks Jacob Wilson and Zack Gelof could form the double-play combo for years to come.

Philadelphia Phillies

Chase Utley, 2B

The Phillies built a championship core through the draft, hitting big on late 1990s draft picks Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell and Brett Myers as well as early 2000s selections Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard and Utley. Howard won an MVP and Hamels was 2008 World Series MVP, but it is Utley who is most highly regarded in sabermetric circles. He has the classic underrated profile of a player who was good at everything but didn’t truly dominate any one facet of the game. Still, among second baseman of this century, Utley is right there near the top of the heap for batting value, defensive value and baserunning value.
Bottom Line: 65 WAR | 1x World Series | 6x All-Star | 4x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Cole Hamels, LHP
Aaron Nola, RHP
Ryan Howard, 1B

Primetime Players
Top prospect Andrew Painter has a chance to make this category his own. Until he arrives, first-round position players Alex Bohm and Bryson Stott are the best homegrown young Phillies.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Andrew McCutchen, OF

McCutchen’s bat speed was impossible for scouts to ignore at his Florida high school, despite his short and lean stature. The Pirates drafted him 11th overall and watched as McCutchen produced more WAR than any player in a loaded 2005 draft that also included Ryan Braun, Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Zimmerman, Alex Gordon and Justin Upton. When “Cutch” peaked from 2012 to 2015, he carried the Pirates to their only three postseason appearances since Barry Bonds left town after the 1992 season. While he became more of a complementary player during the back the back half of his career, McCutchen had an incredibly well-rounded game, which he showed off in his National League MVP season of 2013 with a .317 average, 21 home runs, 38 doubles, 78 walks and 27 stolen bases.
Bottom Line: 49 WAR | 2013 NL MVP | 5x All-Star | 1x Gold Glove | 4x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Gerrit Cole, RHP
Starling Marte, OF
Jose Bautista, OF

Primetime Players
Reigning Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes points the way forward in Pittsburgh. He fronts a Pirates rotation that should also include homegrown power pitchers Jared Jones, Mitch Keller and Bubba Chandler in 2025.

St. Louis Cardinals

Yadier Molina, C

The Cardinals reached the postseason in 13 of Molina’s 19 seasons in St. Louis, winning it all in 2006 and 2011. Like contemporary Buster Posey or Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra or Roy Campanella, Molina backstopped a lot of October success. His older brothers Bengie and Jose were already big league catchers at the time the Cardinals drafted Yadier in the fourth round in 2000 out of high school in Puerto Rico. The Cardinals never wavered in their faith in Molina, even as he produced a 76 OPS+ through his first five big league seasons. While he was never an offensive force, Molina’s bat peaked in his late 20s and he turned in back-to-back top-five MVP finishes in 2012 and 2013. That was in the middle of a run of all-star nods and Gold Glove wins that few catchers can match. The emergence of framing runs in the early 2010s helped the entire world see clearly the subtle value that the Cardinals saw in Molina all along.
Bottom Line: 42 WAR | 2x World Series | 10x All-Star | 9x Gold Glove | 1x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Dan Haren, RHP
Lance Lynn, RHP
Matt Carpenter, 2B

Primetime Players
As the Cardinals rebuild their major league roster, they look to young players like shortstop Masyn Winn, second baseman Nolan Gorman and right fielder Jordan Walker to lead them. St. Louis infamously traded away Sandy Alcantara and Zac Gallen to acquire Marcell Ozuna and later dealt Randy Arozarena to add Matthew Liberatore.

San Diego Padres

Trea Turner, SS

No organization has traded away as many of its most talented signees as the Padres. Turner is the most obvious example. San Diego drafted Turner out of North Carolina State with the 13th overall pick in 2014 but then fired GM Josh Byrnes a few weeks later. In August that year, the Padres replaced Byrnes with AJ Preller, who that offseason agreed to trade Turner to the Nationals in a three-team deal that brought Wil Myers to San Diego. Turner thrived in Washington, where he was a key member of the 2019 World Series champions and later helped fetch Josiah Gray and Keibert Ruiz in a trade with the Dodgers. Turner later signed with the Phillies for $300 million and continues to deliver power, speed and a reliable shortstop glove.
Bottom Line: 36 WAR | 2019 World Series | 3x All-Star | 1x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Corey Kluber, RHP
Chase Headley, 3B
Max Fried, LHP

Primetime Players
The Padres bucked consensus to draft Maryland prep shortstop Jackson Merrill with the 27th pick in 2021. He blossomed into their star rookie center fielder in 2024 and appears to have a bright future. San Diego is the original signing organization for Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase as well as the Nationals’ trio of James Wood, CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore, who all were part of the 2022 Juan Soto trade.

San Francisco Giants

Buster Posey, C

Posey turned in a truly epic junior year at Florida State in 2008, yet slipped to the Giants with the fifth pick in the draft. Two years later, he was a rookie catcher leading San Francisco to its first of three World Series titles in five years. Posey concentrated a tremendous amount of value into 12 big league seasons, winning National League MVP honors in 2012 after missing most of the previous season with a leg and ankle injury suffered in a nasty home plate collision. This offseason, Posey took over as the Giants’ president of baseball operations as he tries to steer the organization back on track.
Bottom Line: 45 WAR | 2012 NL MVP | 3x World Series | 7x All-Star | 1x Gold Glove | 5x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Zack Wheeler, RHP
Madison Bumgarner, LHP
Tim Lincecum, RHP

Primetime Players
The Giants drew on their history of drafting frontline starting pitchers when they selected Logan Webb in the fourth round in 2014. Young position regulars such as outfielder Heliot Ramos and catcher Patrick Bailey have emerged in recent seasons.

Seattle Mariners

Ichiro Suzuki, OF

This year, Ichiro came within one vote of becoming the first unanimous Hall of Fame position player. Twenty-five seasons earlier, he proved that the skills of Japanese superstar hitters would translate to MLB. Suzuki won three Pacific League MVPs in nine NPB seasons and then quickly adapted to the American game by winning the MVP and Rookie of the Year awards in 2001, when he hit .350 with 242 hits and 56 stolen bases for the 116-win Mariners. While he never hit more than 15 home runs in a season, Suzuki did everything else at an elite level. No player in the history of Baseball America Best Tools voting has as many category wins. Suzuki won 41 total categories over the years, including for best hitter, fastest baserunner, best defensive outfielder and best outfield arm. He set the single-season hits record with 262 in 2004 and amassed 3,089 hits in MLB despite not collecting his first until age 27.
Bottom Line: 60 WAR | 2001 AL MVP | 10x All-Star | 10x Gold Glove | 3x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Felix Hernandez, RHP
Shin-Soo Choo, OF
Ketel Marte, 2B

Primetime Players
The Mariners have built an impressive homegrown core centered on center fielder Julio Rodriguez, catcher Cal Raleigh and righthanders Logan Gilbert and George Kirby. They haven’t had as much luck building out lineup scaffolding. Seattle is also the original signing organization for two other No. 1 starters: the Twins’ Pablo Lopez and the Brewers’ Freddy Peralta.

Tampa Bay Rays

David Price, LHP

The Rays nailed two high-leverage draft picks in a row, taking Evan Longoria third overall in 2006 and then Price first overall in 2007. Price gets the nod in this exercise as an ace lefthander who lived up to 1-1 expectations and had incredible peak value, highlighted by a 2012 American League Cy Young Award win with the Rays and a dominant 2018 World Series performance with the champion Red Sox.
Bottom Line: 40 WAR | 2012 AL Cy Young | 1x World Series | 5x All-Star

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Evan Longoria, 3B
James Shields, RHP
Blake Snell, LHP

Primetime Players
The Rays never lack for young MLB talent. The prime homegrown examples for the 2025 team project to be lefthander Shane McClanahan and second baseman Brandon Lowe. Quality big leaguers on other teams who were originally signed by Tampa Bay include Phillies lefthander Cristopher Sanchez and Nationals first baseman Nathaniel Lowe.

Texas Rangers

Mark Teixeira, 1B

Teixeira was the rare sophomore to win BA College Player of the Year, setting him up to be drafted No. 1 overall the next year. An injury-plagued junior year at Georgia Tech in 2001 helped push him down the board to the Rangers with the fifth overall pick. After one full season in the minors, Teixeira reached Texas for good and quickly established himself as a perennial plus hitter with 35-homer power and a gold glove. Like Juan Soto years later, Teixeira was a Scott Boras client who was traded twice before reaching free agency. On the open market, Teixeira, much like Soto would 16 years later, signed with a New York team on a megadeal. Teixeira shined for the 2009 Yankees, finishing runner-up for American League MVP and picking up his lone World Series ring. Teixeira’s production tapered off in his 30s—the infield shift did him no favors—but he still popped 409 home runs in 14 seasons.
Bottom Line: 51 WAR | 1x World Series | 3x All-Star | 5x Gold Glove | 3x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Ian Kinsler, 2B
Yu Darvish, RHP
Edwin Encarnacion, 1B

Primetime Players
The Rangers’ 2023 World Series title team was built through big free agent expenditures and shrewd moves around the margins. During their title run, Texas traded 2016 first-rounder Cole Ragans to the Royals for Aroldis Chapman. Aside from Ragans, the Rangers’ most notable homegrown pieces on the 2025 team are third baseman Josh Jung and outfielders Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter.

Toronto Blue Jays

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B

The Blue Jays dominated exercises like this in the 1980s and ’90s. Back then, nobody signed more future MLB talent than Toronto, e.g. Roy Halladay, Carlos Delgado, John Olerud, Chris Carpenter and Shawn Green, especially under Hall of Fame executive Pat Gillick. The 21st century Blue Jays have not been nearly so successful, though Guerrero is one of the best international free agent signings made by any club in the last 25 years. He has a couple 6 WAR seasons under his belt—and he finished runner-up for the 2021 American League MVP—as he eyes free agency at age 26 this winter.
Bottom Line: 22 WAR | 4x All-Star | Gold Glove | 2x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Marcus Stroman, RHP
Travis d’Arnaud, C
Noah Syndergaard, RHP

Primetime Players
Guerrero and shortstop Bo Bichette have helped spark the Blue Jays to three postseason appearances in their five full seasons together. They will try to make it four appearances in six seasons in 2025, their final years before free agency.

Washington Nationals

Bryce Harper, OF

Harper helped elevate the status of the MLB draft as he rose to national prominence while still in high school. He attained his GED at age 16, then attended junior college for a year in order to become draft eligible a year early. The Nationals had the good fortune to draft No. 1 overall in both 2009 and 2010, netting them Stephen Strasburg and Harper in back-to-back drafts. Harper ascended to Washington as a 19-year-old in 2012 and instantly became a star, winning a National League MVP award in 2015 and then again in 2021 after signing with the Phillies. He has a bead on 500 home runs and a place in Cooperstown.
Bottom Line: 51 WAR | 2x NL MVP | 8x All-Star | 4x Silver Slugger

Rounding Out Mount Rushmore
Juan Soto, OF
Stephen Strasburg, RHP
Ryan Zimmerman, 3B
BONUS: Cliff Lee, LHP (Montreal Expos signee)

Primetime Players
For a big league team brimming with young talent, the Nationals don’t have as many homegrown players as other young teams. Trades of Max Scherzer, Trea Turner and Juan Soto helped turn over the roster. The best MLB best for 2025 among players signed by Washington are right fielder Dylan Crews or second baseman Luis Garcia Jr.