BBTN 100: Top 25 players
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Who are the best players in Major League Baseball heading into the 2015 season?
ESPN formed a panel of MLB writers, analysts and contributors to rank the top 100. We ranked the top 10 at every position and then counted down from No. 100 to No. 1, revealing the top 25 on "Baseball Tonight."
Fans can use the hashtag #BBTN100 to join the discussion and follow along.
To compile the top 100, we polled more than 60 ESPN experts in February and March, starting with a list of more than 300 players. Using a 0-to-10 scale, they evaluated the players based only on how well they are projected to perform in 2015. Players expected to miss 2015 with an injury were not included.
Three of the top four players were the same as last year, with Giancarlo Stanton joining the top of the list.
There were four players who didn't make last year's BBTN 100 at all that were in the top 25 -- Jonathan Lucroy, Johnny Cueto, Corey Kluber and Jose Abreu. Yu Darvish (who is out after having elbow surgery) was the only player in last year's top 25 to fall completely out of the top 100.
Here's the 2015 BBTN 100 top 25. Also, check out our team-by-team breakdowns to see where players on your favorite team ended up.
1. Mike Trout, CF
@Trouty20
Age: 23 | 2014 rank: 1
2. Clayton Kershaw, LHP
@ClaytonKersh22
Age: 27 | 2014 rank: 3
3. Andrew McCutchen, CF
@TheCUTCH22
Age: 28 | 2014 rank: 4
4. Giancarlo Stanton, RF
@Giancarlo818
Age: 25 | 2014 rank: 27
5. Felix Hernandez, RHP
@RealKingFelix
Age: 28 | 2014 rank: 5
6. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
@MiguelCabrera
Age: 31 | 2014 rank: 2
7. Chris Sale, LHP
Age: 26 | 2014 rank: 18
8. Robinson Cano, 2B
@RobinsonCano
Age: 32 | 2014 rank: 7
9. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
Age: 27 | 2014 rank: 16
10. Buster Posey, C
@BusterPosey
Age: 28 | 2014 rank: 9
11. Max Scherzer, RHP
@Max_Scherzer
Age: 30 | 2014 rank: 13
12. Jose Abreu, 1B
@79JoseAbreu
Age: 28 | 2014 rank: NR
13. Troy Tulowitzki, SS
Age: 30 | 2014 rank: 17
14. Jose Bautista, RF
@JoeyBats19
Age: 34 | 2014 rank: 41
15. Madison Bumgarner, LHP
@MadBumgarner
Age: 25 | 2014 rank: 40
16. Corey Kluber, RHP
Age: 28 | 2014 rank: NR
17. Johnny Cueto, RHP
@JohnnyCueto
Age: 29 | 2014 rank: NR
18. David Price, LHP
@DAVIDPrice14
Age: 29 | 2014 rank: 15
19. Yasiel Puig, RF
@YasielPuig
Age: 24 | 2014 rank: 31
20. Stephen Strasburg, RHP
@stras37
Age: 26 | 2014 rank: 28
21. Jon Lester, LHP
@JLester31
Age: 31 | 2014 rank: 53
22. Adrian Beltre, 3B
Age: 35 | 2014 rank: 23
23. Yadier Molina, C
@Yadimolina04
Age: 32 | 2014 rank: 12
24. Jonathan Lucroy, C
@JLucroy20
Age: 28 | 2014 rank: NR
25. Josh Donaldson, 3B
@BringerofRain20
Age: 26 | 2014 rank: 37
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