ROBBIE’S RATINGS
Cano’s list of baseball’s best hitters & pitchers
If there’s one positive the coronavirus quarantine has given us, it’s free time to virtually catch up with old friends and family we may have lost touch with over the years. The same applies for former Yankees teammates Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez, who caught up on Instagram live this weekend and streamed a 10-plus minute chat for baseball fans.
Planted in the conversation was an intriguing question from Rodriguez, who asked Cano to list three hitters and three pitchers he considers the best players in Major League Baseball right now.
Do you agree with Cano’s list?
HITTERS
1. MIKE TROUT
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the best player in baseball is also ranked No. 1 on Cano’s catalog. Trout won his third career American League Most Valuable Player Award in 2019 after hitting a career-high 45 homers over just 134 games last season. The 28-year-old led the majors with a 185 OPS+, marking the fourth straight season he’s led the league in that category, while sporting a 1.000 career OPS. His .438 OBP led the major leagues for the fourth straight season.
2. NOLAN ARENADO
The Rockies’ perennial All-Star third baseman is the most consistent and reliable bat in the big leagues (behind only Trout). And even though Rodriguez asked Cano to name his top three hitters, we’d be remiss not to mention Arenado’s elite defense. Arenado won a Gold Glove for National League third basemen for the seventh consecutive season in 2019. His seven total Gold Gloves are the fourth-most by a third baseman in major-league history, trailing Brooks Robinson (16), Mike Schmidt (10) and Scott Rolen (8). It’s the longest active streak in the majors since Yadier Molina won eight straight from 2008-2015.
3. MOOKIE BETTS
Cano boldly said Betts is quietly putting up the same numbers as Trout. Betts, 27, is a year younger than Trout and didn’t make his major-league debut until 2014. And while Betts is undeniably one of the best hitters in baseball, there’s only one Mike Trout. Betts will showcase his talents in Los Angeles after the blockbuster deal that sent him to the Dodgers — bringing with him a career .301 batting average, four Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers. Betts finished the 2019 season with 29 home runs, 80 RBI and 16 stolen bases. He led the majors with 135 runs scored.
PITCHERS
1. JACOB DEGROM
Cano had the opportunity to watch deGrom’s second Cy Young season up close last year, and that surveillance moved the Mets ace to the top of his list. He detailed deGrom’s back-toback Cy Young awards as the reason for his top choice. The right-hander will hunt for his third award in the delayed 2020 season. DeGrom wasn’t quite as brilliant as he was in 2018 — when he finished with a 1.70 ERA and 269 strikeouts — but the 31-year-old still posted a 2.43 ERA and led the NL with 255 strikeouts after impressively bouncing back from a few unpleasant starts last season.
2. MAX SCHERZER
Cano has hit .154 (4-for-26) lifetime against Max Scherzer. The second baseman knows first-hand what it’s like to struggle to get a hit off the Nationals’ three-time Cy Young award winner, and he didn’t hesitate to name Scherzer as the second-best pitcher in the game right now. Though Scherzer is waiting to pitch in his age-36 season, he was once again one of baseball’s best in 2019. The World Series champion posted a 2.92 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 35.1% strikeout rate over 172.1 innings pitched.
3. CLAYTON KERSHAW
Before Cano joined the Mets, he was 0-for-9 in his career against Kershaw. He finally managed a hit off the Dodgers’ distinguished ace in 2019, improving his batting average to .083 against the southpaw. Kershaw’s shoulder injury forced him to get a late start to the 2019 season, but he finished the year going 16-5 with a 3.03 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 189 strikeouts. The eight-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young award winner is set to become a free agent after the 2021 season.