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 began March 20 and ends April 3.
The results are being announced on ESPN.com, on Facebook and on 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 2012 with an injury, such as Victor Martinez, were not included. But Arodys Vizcaino (No. 376) was included because he was injured after the voting. Ages are listed 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
101
Johnny Cueto
@JohnnyCueto
RHP | @Reds | Age: 26 | Stats
6.38
102
Jose Valverde
RHP | @Tigers | Age: 34 | Stats
6.35
103
Ubaldo Jimenez
@UbaldoJimenez22
RHP | @Indians | Age: 28 | Stats
6.34
104
Miguel Montero
Catcher | @Dbacks | Age: 28 | Stats
6.33
105
Andre Ethier
Right Field | @Dodgers | Age: 30 | Stats
6.31
106
Jason Heyward
@JasonHeyward
Right Field | @Braves | Age: 22 | Stats
6.28
107
Ervin Santana
RHP | @Angels | Age: 29 | Stats
6.26
108
Daniel Hudson
@DHuddy41
RHP | @Dbacks | Age: 25 | Stats
6.25
109
Clay Buchholz
RHP | @RedSox | Age: 27 | Stats
6.25
110
Dan Uggla
Second Base | @Braves | Age: 32 | Stats
6.25
111
Tim Hudson
RHP | @Braves | Age: 36 | Stats
6.24
112
Carl Crawford
@CarlCrawford_
Left Field | @RedSox | Age: 30 | Stats
6.23
113
Andrew Bailey
@AndrewBailey40
RHP | @RedSox | Age: 28 | Stats
6.22
114
Joakim Soria
@joakimsoria
RHP | @Royals | Age: 28 | Stats
***OUT FOR THE SEASON***
6.22
115
Derek Jeter
Shortstop | @Yankees | Age: 38 | Stats
6.21
116
Mike Adams
RHP | @Rangers | Age: 33 | Stats
6.19
117
Trevor Cahill
RHP | @Dbacks | Age: 24 | Stats
6.19
118
Doug Fister
RHP | @Tigers | Age: 28 | Stats
6.19
119
Joel Hanrahan
@hanrahan52
RHP | @Pirates | Age: 30 | Stats
6.18
120
Shin-Soo Choo
Right Field | @Indians | Age: 29 | Stats
6.16
121
Jair Jurrjens
RHP | @Braves | Age: 26 | Stats
6.16
122
Chris Young
@CY24_7
Center Field | @Dbacks | Age: 28 | Stats
6.15
123
David Freese
@dfreese23
Third Base | @Cardinals | Age: 29 | Stats
6.14
124
Alexi Ogando
RHP | @Rangers | Age: 28 | Stats
6.13
125
Howard Kendrick
@HKendrick47
Second Base | @Angels | Age: 28 | Stats
6.12
126
Michael Morse
Left Field | @Nationals | Age: 30 | Stats
6.10
127
Jeremy Hellickson
RHP | @RaysBaseball | Age: 25 | Stats
6.09
128
Jordan Zimmermann
RHP | @Nationals | Age: 26 | Stats
6.08
129
Derek Holland
@Dutch_Oven45
LHP | @Rangers | Age: 25 | Stats
6.07
130
Shaun Marcum
RHP | @Brewers | Age: 30 | Stats
6.06
131
Adam Jones
@SimplyAJ10
Center Field | @Orioles | Age: 26 | Stats
6.06
132
Tommy Hanson
@TommyHanson48
RHP | @Braves | Age: 25 | Stats
6.03
133
Aramis Ramirez
Third Base | @Brewers | Age: 34 | Stats
6.03
134
Mark Buehrle
LHP | @Marlins | Age: 33 | Stats
6.02
135
John Danks
LHP | @WhiteSox | Age: 27 | Stats
6.01
136
Hiroki Kuroda
RHP | @Yankees | Age: 37 | Stats
6.01
137
Freddie Freeman
@FreddieFreeman
First Base | @Braves | Age: 22 | Stats
6.00
138
Nick Swisher
@NickSwisher
Right Field | @Yankees | Age: 31 | Stats
6.00
139
Jaime Garcia
LHP | @Cardinals | Age: 25 | Stats
6.00
140
Max Scherzer
@Max_Scherzer
RHP | @Tigers | Age: 27 | Stats
5.99
141
Brett Gardner
Left Field | @Yankees | Age: 28 | Stats
5.99
142
Michael Bourn
Center Field | @Braves | Age: 29 | Stats
5.98
143
Peter Bourjos
@pbourjos
Center Field | @Angels | Age: 25 | Stats
5.97
144
Corey Hart
Right Field | @Brewers | Age: 30 | Stats
5.94
145
Dustin Ackley
Second Base | @Mariners | Age: 24 | Stats
5.94
146
Brandon McCarthy
@BMcCarthy32
RHP | @Athletics | Age: 28 | Stats
5.93
147
Carlos Marmol
RHP | @Cubs | Age: 29 | Stats
5.91
148
Justin Masterson
RHP | @Indians | Age: 27 | Stats
5.91
149
Nick Markakis
Right Field | @Orioles | Age: 28 | Stats
5.90
150
Michael Cuddyer
@mcuddy3
Right Field | @Rockies | Age: 33 | Stats