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ESPN 500: Players No. 401-500

Who are the best players in Major League Baseball heading into the 2012 season? ESPN formed a panel of MLB writers, analysts and contributors to rank the top 500. The countdown from No. 500 to No. 1 begins March 20 and ends April 3.

The results will be announced on ESPN.com, on Facebook and Twitter (@ESPN_MLB). Fans can use the hashtag #ESPN500 to join the discussion or to follow along.

To compile a top-500 ranking, 34 ESPN experts started with a list of the top 600 players projected to play in the majors in 2012. Using a 0-to-10 scale, they evaluated only the quality of each player for the 2012 season. Players who are expected to miss the 2012 with an injury, like Victor Martinez, were not included. Players' ages were listed by what their in-season age will be as of July 1, 2012.

Panelists were polled over the final two weeks of February. Dan Szymborski's ZiPS system, which projects 2012 performance, was used to break ties to the fourth decimal point.

RANK

PLAYER

SCORE

351
Bobby Abreu
@BobKellyAbreu
Left Field | @Angels
Age: 38
4.69

352
Daniel Murphy
Second Base | @Mets
Age: 27
4.68

353
Jim Thome
First Base | @Phillies
Age: 41
4.66

354
Scott Baker
RHP | @Twins
Age: 30
4.66

355
Nick Hundley
Catcher | @Padres
Age: 28
4.66

356
Carl Pavano
RHP | @Twins
Age: 36
4.66

357
Andres Torres
Center Field | @Mets
Age: 34
4.66

358
Brendan Ryan
Shortstop | @Mariners
Age: 30
4.66

359
Garrett Jones
Right Field | @Pirates
Age: 31
4.65

360 Ryan Raburn
Utility | @Tigers
Age: 31
4.65

361 Charlie Morton
RHP | @Pirates
Age: 28
4.65

362
Chris Narveson
@sleep_trick
LHP | @Brewers
Age: 30
4.65

363
Johnny Damon
Left Field | Free Agent
Age: 38
4.63

364
Bartolo Colon
RHP | @Athletics
Age: 39
4.63

365
LaTroy Hawkins
@LaTroyHawkins32
RHP | @Angels
Age: 39
4.63

366
Jason Bartlett
Shortstop | @Padres
Age: 32
4.63

367
Hong-Chih Kuo
LHP | @Mariners
Age: 31
4.62

368
Homer Bailey
RHP | @Reds
Age: 26
4.62

369
Darren Oliver
@southpawDO28
LHP | @BlueJays
Age: 41
4.62

370
Salvador Perez
Catcher | @Royals
Age: 22
4.62

371
Edward Mujica
RHP | @Marlins
Age: 28
4.60

372
Adam Dunn
Designated Hitter | @WhiteSox
Age: 32
4.60

373
Gordon Beckham
@gordonbeckham
Second Base | @WhiteSox | Age: 25
4.60

374
Clint Barmes
Shortstop | @Pirates | Age: 33
4.60

375
Travis Wood
LHP | @Cubs | Age: 25
4.58

376
Arodys Vizcaino
RHP | @Braves | Age: 21
4.58

377
Philip Humber
RHP | @WhiteSox | Age: 29
4.58

378
Ruben Tejada
Shortstop | @Mets | Age: 22
4.58

379
Erik Bedard
LHP | @Pirates | Age: 33
4.56

380
Dayan Viciedo
Right Field | @WhiteSox | Age: 23
4.56

381
John Mayberry Jr.
Outfield | @Phillies | Age: 28

4.56

382 Danny Valencia
@dannyvalencia19
Third Base | @Twins | Age: 27
4.56

383
Kevin Correia
RHP | @Pirates | Age: 31
4.56

384
Jesse Crain
@JesseCrain
RHP | @WhiteSox | Age: 31
4.55

385
Jarrod Parker
@JarrodBParker
RHP | @Athletics | Age: 23
4.55

386
Ryan Doumit
Catcher | @Twins | Age: 31
4.55

387
Josh Tomlin
RHP | @Indians | Age: 27
4.55

388
Luke Scott
Left Field | @RaysBaseball | Age: 34
4.53

389
Jon Rauch
@jrauch60
RHP | @Mets | Age: 33
4.53

390
Juan Nicasio
RHP | @Rockies | Age: 25
4.53

391
Bronson Arroyo
RHP | @Reds | Age: 35
4.53

392
Mike Minor
LHP | @Braves | Age: 24
4.52

393
Mitch Moreland
First Base | @Rangers | Age: 26
4.52

394
Chris Capuano
LHP | @Dodgers | Age: 33
4.52

395
Cliff Pennington
Shortstop | @Athletics | Age: 28
4.52

396
Domonic Brown
Right Field | @Phillies | Age: 24
4.50

397
Aubrey Huff
First Base | @SFGiants | Age: 35
4.50

398
Jed Lowrie
Shortstop | @Astros | Age: 28
4.50

399
David Murphy
Outfield | @Rangers | Age: 30
4.50

400
Joe Blanton
RHP | @Phillies
Age: 31
4.50

401
Freddy Garcia
RHP | @Yankees
Age: 35
4.48

402
Chris Volstad
RHP | @Cubs
Age: 25
4.48

403
Aaron Harang
RHP | @Dodgers
Age: 34
4.47

404
Marc Rzepczynski
LHP | @Cardinals
Age: 26
4.45

405
Jake McGee
LHP | @RaysBaseball
Age: 25

406
Michael Brantley
OF | @Indians
Age: 25
4.45

407
Randy Wells
RHP | @Cubs
Age: 29 | Stats
4.45

408
Matt Belisle
RHP | @Rockies
Age: 32
4.44

409
Derrek Lee
1B | Free Agent
Age: 36
4.44

410
A.J. Burnett
RHP | @Pirates
Age: 35
4.44

411
Jason Marquis
RHP | @Twins
Age: 33
4.44

412
Emilio Bonifacio
@Elboni_1
UT | @Marlins
Age: 27
4.44

413
Chris Heisey
OF | @Reds
Age: 27
4.42

414
Chris Coghlan
OF | @Marlins
Age: 27
4.42

415
Ryan Hanigan
C | @Reds
Age: 33s
4.42

416
Dillon Gee
RHP | @Mets
Age: 26
4.42

417
John Lannan
@JLannan31
LHP | @Nationals
Age: 27
4.41

418
Omar Infante
2B | @Marlins
Age: 30
4.41

419
Skip Schumaker
UT | @Cardinals
Age: 32
4.41

420
Jamey Carroll
SS | @Twins
Age: 38
4.41

421
Mark Ellis
2B | @Dodgers
Age: 35
4.41

422
Eduardo Sanchez
@ESanchez52
RHP | @Cardinals
Age: 23
4.39

423
Bobby Parnell
RHP | @Mets
Age: 27
4.39

424
Glen Perkins
@glen_perkins
LHP | @Twins
Age: 29
4.39

425
Kris Medlen
@KrisMedlen54
RHP | @Braves
Age: 26
4.39

426
Phil Coke
LHP | @Tigers
Age: 29
4.38

427
Jose Contreras
RHP | @Phillies
Age: 40
4.38

428
Andrew Cashner
RHP | @Padres
Age: 25
4.38

429
Nate Schierholtz
RF | @SFGiants
Age: 28
4.38

430
Franklin Morales
LHP | @RedSox
Age: 26
4.38

431
Bill Bray
@B_Line45
LHP | @Reds
Age: 29
4.35

432
Jose Altuve
2B | @Astros
Age: 22
4.35

433
Brad Peacock
RHP | @Athletics
Age: 24
4.35

434
Jason Hammel
RHP | @Orioles
Age: 29
4.35

435
Josh Reddick
@joshreddick16
RF | @Athletics
Age: 25
4.35

436
Pedro Alvarez
3B | @Pirates
Age: 25
4.34

437
Ryan Ludwick
OF | @Reds
Age: 33
4.34

438
Alberto Callaspo
3B | @Angels
Age: 29
4.34

439
Kevin Gregg
@KevinGregg63
RHP | @Orioles
Age: 34
4.34

440
Bruce Chen
@ChenMusic
OF | @Royals
Age: 35

441
Ty Wigginton
INF | @Phillies
Age: 34
4.34

442
Yorvit Torrealba
C | @Rangers
Age: 33
4.34

443
Lonnie Chisenhall
3B | @Indians
Age: 23
4.32

444
Zack Cozart
@ZackCozart
@ZackCozart
SS | @Reds
Age: 26
4.32

445
Nick Blackburn
RHP | @Twins
Age: 30
4.32

446
Drew Pomeranz
@DrewPomeranz
LHP | @Rockies
Age: 23
4.31

447
Jeff Samardzija
RHP | @Cubs
Age: 27
4.31

448
Guillermo Moscoso
@gams1411
RHP | @Rockies
Age: 28
4.31

449
Mike Aviles
@Themikeaviles
INF | @RedSox
Age: 32
4.31

450
Devin Mesoraco
C | @Reds
Age: 24
4.30

451
Addison Reed
RHP | @WhiteSox
Age: 23
4.29

452
Evan Meek
@meeker47
RHP | @Pirates
Age: 29
4.29

453
Alex Cobb
RHP | @RaysBaseball
Age: 24
4.29

454
Sean Rodriguez
@SeanJRodriguez1
INF | @RaysBaseball
Age: 27
4.29

455
Casey McGehee
3B | @Pirates
Age: 29
4.29

456
Ben Revere
@BenRevere9
OF | @Twins
Age: 24
4.29

457
Will Venable
OF | @Padres
Age: 29
4.28

458
Carlos Gomez
CF | @Brewers
Age: 26
4.28

459
Kyle Drabek
@kyledrabek4
RHP | @BlueJays
Age: 24
4.28

460
Hisanori Takahashi
LHP | @Angels
Age: 37
4.26

461
Mat Gamel
1B | @Brewers
Age: 26
4.26

462
Miguel Olivo
C | @Mariners
Age: 33
4.26

463
Andruw Jones
OF | @Yankees
Age: 35
4.25

464
Mike Carp
@CarpusMaximus20
LF | @Mariners
Age: 26
4.25

465
Alex Rios
OF | @WhiteSox
Age: 31 | Stats
4.25

466
Rajai Davis
OF | @BlueJays
Age: 31
4.25

467
Eric Thames
@EThames14
OF | @BlueJays
Age: 25
4.23

468
Josh Thole
C | @Mets
Age: 25
4.23

469
Ryan Sweeney
@RyanSweeney12
RF | @RedSox
Age: 27
4.22

470
Raul Ibanez
DH | @Yankees
Age: 40
4.22

471
Juan Uribe
3B | @Dodgers
Age: 33
4.22

472
Darwin Barney
2B | @Cubs
Age: 26
4.22

473
Todd Coffey
@ToddCoffey60
RHP | @Dodgers
Age: 31
4.19

474
Jerry Sands
LF | @Dodgers
Age: 24
4.19

475
Travis Snider
@Lunchboxhero45
OF | @BlueJays
Age: 24
4.19

476
Jacob Turner
@Jacob_Turner22
RHP | @Tigers
Age: 21
4.19

477
Lorenzo Cain
CF | @Royals
Age: 26
4.19

478
Brent Lillibridge
@BSLillibridge
UT | @WhiteSox
Age: 28
4.19

479
Jeff Keppinger
INF | @RaysBaseball
Age: 32
4.19

480
Tom Gorzelanny
LHP | @Nationals
Age: 29
4.16

481
Henderson Alvarez
RHP | @BlueJays
Age: 22
4.16

482
Brian Duensing
@BrianDuensing52
LHP | @Twins
Age: 29
4.16

483
Felipe Paulino
RHP | @Royals
Age: 28
4.16

484
Michael Stutes
@mikestutes
RHP | @Phillies
Age: 25
4.16

485
Nick Punto
INF | @RedSox
Age: 34
4.16

486
Hisashi Iwakuma
RHP | @Mariners
Age: 31
4.13

487
Randall Delgado
LHP | @Braves
Age: 22
4.13

488
Reid Brignac
@reidbrignac
SS | @RaysBaseball
Age: 26
4.13

489
Juan Rivera
RF | @Dodgers
Age: 33
4.13

490
Reed Johnson
OF | @Cubs
Age: 35
4.13

491 Jose Molina
@Joeycatch8
C | @RaysBaseball
Age: 37
4.13

492
Ernesto Frieri
RHP | @Padres
Age: 26
4.10

493
Tommy Hunter
@TommyGoesBoom
RHP | @Orioles
Age: 25
4.10

494
Vernon Wells
@VernonWells10
OF | @Angels
Age: 33
4.09

495
Jon Garland
RHP | Free Agent
Age: 32
4.09

496
Livan Hernandez
RHP | @Astros
Age: 37
4.09

497
Magglio Ordonez
OF | Free Agent
Age: 38
4.09

498
Kelly Shoppach
@ShopHouse10
C | @RedSox
Age: 32
4.09

499
Henry Rodriguez
RHP | @Nationals
Age: 25
4.06

500
J.D. Martinez
@JDMartinez14
LF | @Astros
Age: 24

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