Every year in a fun look at the new baseball season, the MLB Network lists it’s top ten players at each position. The listing shows each player’s position in the top ten and how it has changed from last year. The ratings are based on player performance over the previous two years and other metrics. I will also comment on the bias almost always shown against the New York Yankees, and it’s players by nearly all sports outlets.
Yankee players in the top 10 at their position:
Starting Pitcher: First place goes to Jacob DeGrom with Gerrit Cole coming in third after Jason Verlander. Of all the placements this one is the most questionable. Cole came in third while not being ranked last year. I could argue that Cole stacked up against the other two equally, but in the offseason, there is no contest; Cole wins it. Anti-Yankee bias!
Relief Pitcher: Best relief pitcher according to the list, is Kirby Yates of the Padres that was not ranked last year. Aroldis Chapman came in second as he moved up the list from the number eight spot. This snub is probably the most notable caused of anti-Yankee bias. The Cuban Chapman won the 2019 Reliever of the Year Award ahead of Liam Hendriks of the Athletics and Josh Hader of the Brewers. Kirby Yates is not even mentioned.
Catcher: Top catcher goes to Yasmani Grandal of the Chicago White Sox. Gary Sanchez was not even mentioned in the top ten. Sanchez last year had more home runs than any in the top ten list. I agree with Grandal in first and J.T Realmuto of the Phillies in second place mostly due to their RBI’s and runs scored. I put Sanchez in third place even though he lost time due to injuries. Last year his defense of the backstop was much improved.
First Baseman: After not being ranked last year, Luke Voit came in as the seventh-best first baseman. I have no argument here.
Second Baseman: DJ LeMahieu came in second on the list behind Ketel Marte of the Diamondbacks. These placements you could argue either way. As crucial as LeMahieu was to the Yankees last year, Marte’s batting average and the number of home runs put him on top.
Third Baseman: Best goes to Alex Bregman of the Astros. I’m sorry I have to put a massive asterisk after his placement and discount him entirely due to the Houston Astros, who were punished by MLB for illegally stealing signs. Anthony Rendon of the Angels came in second, I agree and award him the top place. Gio Urshela, the big surprise Yankee handling the hot corner, was not mentioned in the top ten.  It’s a hard one for me to swallow due to his outstanding defense. Looking at number 10 Manny Machado, Machado had more hits, more home runs and more RBI’s although Urshela had a .314 batting average over Machado’s .256. Machado’s power pushed him ahead of Urshela.
Shortstop: First went to Trevor Story of the Colorado Rockies and second to Francisco Lindor. I would switch that around. Gleyber Torres came in the seventh spot on the list, and there will be no argument from me on that placement.
Left Field: Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals took to top spot which is well earned. Giancarlo Stanton that came in second last year moved to the number 10 spot mostly because he lost so much time to injuries.
Center Field: The Angels Mike Trout was again named number one, which if richly deserved.  Aaron Hicks came in 8th best and Brett Gardner in the number 10 slot.  There are some genuinely stellar centerfielders in baseball. I might put Gardner ahead of Hicks as he bore most of the load last year and had one of his best seasons with the Yankees.
Right Field: Yankees Aaron Judge moved from being best last year to the number three placement this year. Mookie Betts of the Red Sox came in first, followed by Christian Yelich, who moved up from third.  I can’t argue Judge’s placement, he lost a lot of time on the field, his production was way down, and his defense out in right fell off slightly. What I can argue is that Yelich should be in first. He had the highest fielding percentage (.990) and had 44 home runs with a batting average of .329 while having a 1.100 OPS to Bett’s .915. If I were Christain Yelich, I’d be ripping mad.
The New York Yankees, in general, regardless of any of the biased ratings are the number one team this year destined at the very least to reach the postseason and win a 28th World Championship, the most in any sport. At the end of the season, the Los Angles will be there, and the New York Yankees will have to beat them. Other teams to watch in both leagues are the Washington Nationals and the Minnesota Twins.  With the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox greatly diminished, it should be an exciting year for New York Yankees fans.