Top 20 position players of the decade

With the decade winding down, we look back at 20 position players who owned the 2010s. You can read up on the top 20 pitchers of the decade here.

20. Freddie Freeman, 1B

2010-19 Stats

Freeman's had a tremendous 10-year run with the Atlanta Braves. Only three other first basemen accrued a higher WAR than the 30-year-old during the 2010s. He finished at least top eight in National League MVP voting four times, which included a fourth-place finish in 2018. Freeman also made four All-Star teams and won a Silver Slugger Award to go along with a Gold Glove Award during a very productive decade.

19. Nolan Arenado, 3B

2010-19 Stats

Right before the decade began, the Rockies drafted a third baseman out of California with the 59th overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft. Four years later, Arenado was in the majors. He immediately made an impact with his incredible defense, and has won a Gold Glove in each of the seven seasons he's played, while also winning three Platinum Gloves. The five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger has bloomed into one of baseball's most reliable hitters, posting a 129 OPS+ over the past five seasons.

18. Nelson Cruz, DH

2010-19 Stats

No one's slugged as prolifically as Cruz since 2010. Since the turn of the decade, the six-time All-Star leads baseball with 346 homers. He may not play a position, but since 2011, he's appeared in at least 100 games every year and hit at least 24 dingers in each, eclipsing the 40-homer plateau on four separate occasions. Not bad for someone who turned 30 in 2010.

17. Jose Bautista, OF

2010-19 Stats

Bautista's sterling resume for the 2010s speaks for itself: Six straight All-Star games, three Silver Sluggers, and back-to-back American League home run crowns. He broke out in a monster way during the 2010 season with an out-of-nowhere 54-homer campaign and never looked back. He was also a finalist for the AL MVP Award in 2011. The defining moment of his career came in Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS, when he dropped one of the meanest bat flips ever seen following a titanic go-ahead homer against the Texas Rangers.

16. Bryce Harper, OF

2010-19 Stats

The decade kicked off with the most hyped prospect in the sport's history being drafted first overall by the rebuilding Washington Nationals in 2010. A little over two years later, Harper was the NL Rookie of the Year, hitting 22 homers over 139 games as a 19-year-old. Harper's marquee season will always be his Barry Bonds-esque performance in 2015, when he led all of baseball in OBP and SLG, posting an otherworldly 1.109 OPS with 42 bombs.

15. Christian Yelich, OF

2010-19 Stats

If it wasn't for a season-ending knee injury in September, Yelich could have closed the decade as the reigning two-time NL MVP. The 28-year-old averaged 7.7 WAR over the last two years and he may still be improving. Among the players on this list, Yelich and Mookie Betts are the only two currently under a 1,000 career games with a 30 WAR or better. The former also has three Silver Sluggers to his name.

14. Yadier Molina, C

2010-19 Stats

They don't make catchers like Molina anymore, and Yadi spent the decade padding his already illustrious Hall of Fame case. The veteran backstop collected seven Gold Gloves over the past 10 years, while appearing in eight All-Star games. In the modern era, it's rare for a catcher to keep working into his late 30s, but Yadi is a lock to work 110 games a season while playing premium defense.

13. David Ortiz, DH

2010-19 Stats

Ortiz's age-40 season, his last in the majors, was an all-timer. The Dominican slugger led baseball in doubles (48), slugging percentage (.620), and OPS (1.021), while hitting 38 home runs with an AL-best 127 RBIs. He made four All-Star teams and won three Silver Sluggers during the 2010s. Ortiz was also named the 2013 World Series MVP after helping the Boston Red Sox win their eighth Fall Classic. The only knock on the future Hall of Famer is that he played as a designated hitter and for only seven seasons this decade, so his WAR doesn't stack up to other players on this list.

12. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B

2010-19 Stats

Goldschmidt is one of the premier first basemen in all of baseball and the last nine years is proof. The 32-year-old finished runner-up for NL MVP twice, made six straight All-Star games, and won three Silver Sluggers and three Gold Gloves. His .524 slugging percentage during the 2010s is only .20 points behind Miguel Cabrera, who is featured on this list below. Goldschmidt spent eight seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, so he flew under the radar despite monster numbers.

11. Giancarlo Stanton, OF

2010-19 Stats

Stanton's torn the cover off the ball since debuting as a 20-year-old in 2010, with only Cruz and Edwin Encarnacion collecting more homers. Still, there's a small sense of "What if ... ?" for the slugger. Prior to his 2017 MVP season with the Marlins, when he hit a mind-boggling 59 bombs, he missed 130 games over 2015 and 2016 due to injury. Injuries continue to be an issue: Stanton played 18 regular-season games in 2019. If healthy, it's easy to believe Stanton would be at or near 400 home runs (he's hit 308) heading into his age-30 season.

10. Josh Donaldson, 3B

2010-19 Stats

Donaldson seemed to be coming down from his unfathomable peak due to age and injury in 2017 and 2018, but a resurgent 2019 put him back in the MVP conversation, as the "Bringer of Rain" earned down-ballot votes. From 2013-16, only Mike Trout was worth more WAR than Donaldson, who was memorably traded by Oakland to Toronto in the middle of that run for a package that is better left unaddressed.

9. Jose Altuve, 2B

2010-19 Stats

Forget good, Altuve's proof that great things come in small packages. Since becoming a regular in 2012, the 5-foot-6, 165-pound Venezuelan led the majors in hits and stolen bases twice, and won three batting titles. The 2017 AL MVP is also a six-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger. Altuve helped the Houston Astros make two World Series, which included the franchise's first championship in 2017. He was named ALCS MVP in October, after sending the New York Yankees packing with a walk-off homer in Game 6.

8. Mookie Betts, OF

2010-19 Stats

With due respect to Cabrera and Donaldson, when Trout finishes runner-up for the MVP award, he's usually the more deserving candidate. Meet the exception: Mookie Betts. In 2018, the four-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glover led all of baseball in runs scored, batting average, and slugging percentage, leading the Red Sox to a club-record 108 wins. Expect the three-time Silver Slugger to continue making his case for Cooperstown next year, in Boston or elsewhere.

7. Robinson Cano, 2B

2010-19 Stats

The future Hall of Famer was arguably the best second baseman in baseball during the 2010s. Only four other players accrued more WAR than Cano and none of them manned the keystone position. The 37-year-old was selected to seven All-Star Games, finished in the top eight for AL MVP voting six times, and won four Silver Sluggers and a pair of Gold Gloves.

6. Adrian Beltre, 3B

2010-19 Stats

Beltre aged like a fine bottle of wine. He received AL MVP votes in seven out of nine campaigns this decade, all while playing in his 30s. The former four-time All-Star also won three Silver Sluggers and three Gold Gloves, two of which were Platinum Gloves. The greatest achievement of Beltre's career came on July 30, 2017, when he became only the 31st player - and first Dominican - to register 3,000 hits.

5. Andrew McCutchen, OF

2010-19 Stats

McCutchen's been a star since his debut in 2009. His run from 2011-15 was nearly unparalleled: He made five straight All-Star appearances, was the MVP in 2013 (and finished in the top five on three other occasions), and won four Silver Sluggers while posting a .302/.396/.509 slash line.

4. Joey Votto, 1B

2010-2019 Stats

The 2010 NL MVP is an on-base god: Votto led the majors in OBP three times and the Senior Circuit seven times over the past 10 years. He posted four seasons with at least a 1.000 OPS or higher, and led baseball in walks three times. The 36-year-old Canadian also hit at least .300 in seven campaigns.

3. Buster Posey, C

2010-19 Stats

Posey's defined the NL over the past decade. Aside from seven games in 2009, the catcher's entire career has been in the 2010s, and it's been a remarkable run. In 2011, there was worry that his career might be in jeopardy after he was obliterated at home plate, leading baseball to eventually create a rule about running over catchers. Posey returned in phenomenal form in 2012, claiming MVP honors while winning the batting title. Throw in six All-Star appearances, four Silver Sluggers, and three World Series rings, and it's hard to imagine ever again seeing a backstop as dominant as Posey.

2. Miguel Cabrera, 1B/DH

2010-19 Stats

If it wasn't for that Trout guy, the No. 1 spot would be Cabrera's after a decade filled with historic achievements. In 2012, the Tigers slugger became the first player since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 to win the Triple Crown, which culminated in the first of back-to-back AL MVP trophies. He also helped Detroit reach the Fall Classic that year. Miggy would go on to collect four batting titles, five Silver Sluggers, and make seven of his 11 career All-Star berths during the 2010s. Cabrera's peak was so dominant that the majority of his otherworldly numbers were prior to 2017, as the now 36-year-old hit only 31 homers combined over his last three seasons.

1. Mike Trout, OF

2010-19 Stats

It's Trout's world and we're all just living in it. He's the only player on this incredibly elite list with an OPS north of .950, and it's sitting at a cool 1.000 for his career. The eight-time All-Star has won the MVP award three times in his career and finished runner-up four times - there's a strong argument he deserved it in three of those. Over the past five years, Trout's led the AL in OPS on four occasions, hitting .305/.435/.605 with 187 homers and 80 intentional walks. Throw in a pair of All-Star MVP awards, unanimous Rookie of the Year honors, and seven Silver Sluggers, and it's easy to understand why Trout is a modern-day Babe Ruth.