October is always the most exciting month for the Major Leagues. The drama, the intensity of each tone, the late hours of the night that leave you in a daze throughout the next day. This is baseball month to show off. The game is at its best.
It’s an opportunity for the stars to really shine. The best players in baseball have had their most indelible moments in October, since the home runs of Reggie Jackson at the World Series to Madison Bumgarner’s domain and the heroic acts of Derek Jeter. This is the month you want to see the best baseball has to offer:
So when the postseason is about to start, we rank the top 50 players competing in this year’s tournament. It is an interesting exercise considering that many of the Most Valuable Player favorites, including Shohei Ohtani, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Marcus Semien, Bryce Harper, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Juan Soto, are not in the playoffs.
With that said, there will still be plenty of stars on display! Some of these players have been excellent for years; some have emerged in recent weeks. But all of them are absolutely critical to the success of your team. These guys are as good as they get. If you were picking a team based on trying to win in October, these are the guys you would pick.
Note: We do not include injured players who are considered unlikely to play in the early rounds (or possibly longer), such as Clayton Kershaw, Max Muncy, Brandon Belt, Devin Williams, and Carlos Rodón:
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- Max Scherzer, RHP, Dodgers.
- Gerrit Cole, RHP, Yankees.
- Trea Turner, 2B, Dodgers.
- Aaron Judge, OF, Yankees.
- Corbin Burnes, RHP, Brewers.
- Freddie Freeman, 1B, Braves.
- Josh Hader, LHP, Brewers.
- Mookie Betts, OF, Dodgers.
- Carlos Correa, SS, Astros.
- Nolan Arenado, 3B, Cardinals.
- Liam Hendriks, RHP, White Sox.
- Walker Buehler, RHP, Dodgers.
- Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Cardinals.
- Jose Altuve, 2B, Astros.
- Giancarlo Stanton, DH, Yankees.
- Tim Anderson, SS, White Sox.
- Luis Robert, OF, White Sox.
- Brandon Crawford, SS, Giants.
- Rafael Devers, 3B, Red Sox.
- Xander Bogaerts, SS, Red Sox.
- Wander Franco, SS, Rays.
- Brandon Woodruff, RHP, Brewers.
- Lance Lynn, RHP, White Sox.
- Chris Sale, LHP, Red Sox.
- Buster Posey, C, Giants.
- Kyle Tucker, OF, Astros.
- Brandon Lowe, 2B, Rays.
- Yordan Alvarez, DH, Astros.
- Corey Seager, SS, Dodgers.
- José Abreu, 1B, White Sox.
- Julio Urías, LHP, Dodgers.
- Yuli Gurriel, 1B, Astros.
- Will Smith, C, Dodgers.
- Austin Riley, 3B, Braves.
- Willy Adames, SS, Brewers.
- Tyler O’Neill, OF, Cardinals.
- Joey Gallo, OF, Yankees.
- Adam Duvall, OF, Braves.
- Max Fried, LHP, Braves.
- JD Martinez, DH, Red Sox.
- Kevin Gausman, RHP, Giants.
- Justin Turner, 3B, Dodgers.
- Eloy Jiménez, OF, White Sox.
- Kris Bryant, 3B / LF, Giants.
- Harrison Bader, OF, Cardinals.
- Kenley Jansen, RHP, Dodgers.
- Adam Wainwright, RHP, Cardinals.
- Logan Webb, RHP, Giants.
- Randy Arozarena, OF, Rays.
- Kolten Wong, 2B, Brewers.
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