We are almost exactly half of the way through the Major League Baseball season. At this point, if a player is still off to a great start to the season, you have to think it’s more than a fluke. Let’s take a look at the top statistical player at each position, and see how they project to finish the season if they can keep it up.
Catcher: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
Molina has been one of the main catalysts of the scorching hot Cardinals offense this season. He leads all MLB catchers with a batting average of .357, and is also near the top for on-base percentage at .400, and 44 RBIs. At this pace he will finish with 90 RBIs on the season, which would easily surpass his career high of 76 from last season.
First Base: Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles
The clear choice here, Davis leads all of baseball in homeruns with 28, and leads all first baseman in batting average at .330, and RBIs with 73. Davis is having a career first half, so it may be unreasonable to project him to have an equally successful second half, but if he does he will finish with nearly 60 homeruns, and 150 RBIs, and would challenge Miguel Cabrera for AL MVP honors.
Second Base: Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds
Several second basemen are hitting over .300, and Phillips is not, but he has 60 RBIs already, which is well above any other second baseman in baseball. He has 11 homeruns already as well, and that would put him on pace to hit about 23, which would be the second-highest season total of his career. Look for Phillips to bring in 100 RBIs for the first time in his career, with those Reds at the top of the order getting on base in bunches in front of him.
Third Base: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
Cabrera has been by far the best hitter in baseball for several seasons now, and is showing no signs of slowing down. Cabrera leads all of baseball in batting average and RBIs again with a .369 average, and 78 RBIs. He’s on pace to hit 45 homeruns and bring in 160 RBIs, and there is no reason to think he can’t duplicate his strong first half.
Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
Even after spending some time recently on the disabled list, Tulowitzki leads all shortstops in baseball in batting average at .347, on-base percentage at .413, homeruns with 16, and RBIs with 51. Hard to project where he’ll finish since he’s not playing right now, but all reports say he’s progressing on schedule, and should be back to finish the season strong soon.
Left Field: Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies
Gonzalez trails only Ryan Braun, who is also on the disabled list due to a thumb injury, in batting average and on-base percentage, as Gonzalez is at .301 and .370, and Braun is at .304 and .380. Gonzalez however, leads all left fielders in homeruns and RBIs with 21 and 58. Gonzalez is on pace to hit over 40 homeruns and 115 RBIs, and could be contending with his teammate Tulowitzki for NL MVP honors, if he can keep it up.
Center Field: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
Real close one hear between Trout, and Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles. Trout has an average of .313, on-base percentage of .387, 13 homeruns, 51 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases, and Jones has an average of .297, on-base percentage of .321, 15 homeruns, 55 RBIs, and nine stolen bases. I’ll take Trout here because he’s getting on base and stealing more, but both of these guys expect to have great stat lines by the end of this season.
Right Field: Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers
A real good case could be made for Michael Cuddyer here, who leads the right fielders in batting average and on-base percentage, thanks to his still active 23-game hitting streak, but I’ll take the guy with the most power since we’re talking about right fielders. Cruz leads all right fielders in homeruns with 20, and RBIs with 57. A second half similar to his first half would give Cruz a season with 40 homeruns and 115 RBIs.
Starting Pitcher: Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers
Definitely not the Tiger I would have predicted in April, but Scherzer is having an incredible season. Not only does he share the league lead with 11 wins, but he is also yet to record his first loss. Several pitchers have an ERA better than his 3.05, but his WHIP of 0.91 is near the league’s best, as are his 122 strikeouts. While highly unlikely, an equal second half of the season would give him a 22-0 record with 245 strikeouts. While those numbers are unlikely, I still expect him to be a candidate for the AL Cy Young by the end of the season.
Relief Pitcher: Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees
The Yankees may want to ask Rivera to reconsider his retirement plans at the end of the season. Just shy of the league leader in saves with 26 so far, Rivera has wrapped up the first half of the season with a 1.55 ERA and only one blown save, which is far superior to the 4.03 ERA, and five blown saves of the actual saves leader, Jim Johnson of the Baltimore Orioles. At this pace, Rivera will finish up his final season with over 50 saves, which would be the third time he would hit that mark in his career.