The Best Players We Won't See In the Postseason

Baseball is a team sport but it is dominated by individual performances. Sure, the pitcher and catcher need to be on the same page; the second baseman and shortstop need to be in tune to pull off difficult double plays; and outfielders need to keep from running into each other. But when the batter steps to this plate, he’s in there alone. After leaving the dugout and strolling from the on-deck circle, there’s not much his teammates can do to elevate his play. The same is true for the pitcher. Once he steps on the mound, he, alone, must execute his pitches.

In baseball, then, more than in other team sport, great players—spectacular players—do not always play on great teams. Ty Cobb played in three World Series with the Detroit Tigers (1907, 1908, 1909) but all before his peak; from age 23-41, he didn’t play a single postseason game. Ted William played in one World Series with the Red Sox (1946); for most of his career, Boston was a mediocre team. A more recent example? Larry Walker. He didn’t play a postseason game until the very end of his career in 2004 and 2005 with the Cardinals.

The same is true of pitchers. Randy Johnson had won a Cy Young and been a 4-time All Star before he played in his first postseason game at age 31, with the Mariners in 1995. Nolan Ryan pitched in October in only five of his 27 seasons: once for the Mets (1969), once for the Angels (1979); and three times for the Astros (1980, 1981, and 1986).

No doubt, we will watch great players in the 2023 postseason. As I noted on Friday, the top four position players by fWAR in the National League play for the Braves (Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson) and Dodgers (Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman). With the Rangers coming on strong now, we will likely watch Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Adolis Garcia smash the ball around the yard in October. All three Texas players are in the Top 10 in fWAR in the American League.

With the headline, I promised a list of the best players who won’t play in the postseason. “Best” is a judgment, not just a ranking. Here’s my opinion on the players we’ll most miss watching perform on the postseason stage.

American League

Shohei Ohtani, SP/DH (Angels)

Duh.

Before a torn UCL ended his season as a pitcher in August and an oblique strain in mid-September put him on the shelf for the rest of the season as a hitter, Ohtani was having a season for the ages. In 135 games as the Angels’ designated hitter, Ohtani hit .304/.412/.654 with 44 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Unless Luis Robert Jr. on the White Sox hits 7 home runs in his final 6 games, Ohtani will lead the American League in home runs. Ohtani was nearly as good on the mound. He started 23 games, posted a 3.14 ERA and struck out 31.5% of the batters he faced—fifth-highest among American League starters.

Gerrit Cole, SP (Yankees)

Cole is the front runner for the AL Cy Young Award. Cole’s been close to winning the award in previous seasons, but this season the consensus appears to be in his favor. Deservedly so. In 32 starts, Cole has pitched 200 innings—the only American League starter to do so. (The Astros’ Framber Valdez and the Mariners’ Luis Castillo might still hit that mark). Cole’s 2.75 ERA is the lowest among qualified American League starters.

Chris Martin, RP (Red Sox)

Martin has been one of the most dominant non-closer relievers in the AL this season. He’s thrown 51 1/3 innings in 55 appearances and given up only 6 runs. Six runs. Martin’s 1.44 BB/9 is the 2nd-lowest in the AL. His 1.05 ERA is the best among all AL relievers.

(On a related note, I’ll have a newsletter later this week on the shaky bullpens and unreliable closers we’re likely to see in the postseason.)

Andrés Giménez, 2B (Guardians)

Giménez has been one of—if not the—best defensive player in the AL this season. He makes plays like this on a nightly basis.

He leads the AL in Defensive Runs Saved (22) and Outs Above Average (18). That kind of defense can win championships but we won’t see it this October.

National League

Juan Soto, OF (Padres)

Betts, Acuña Jr., Olson, and Freeman dominate the offensive leaderboards in the NL. Diamondbacks rookie (and likely NL Rookie of the Year) Corbin Carroll—with his 25 home runs and 51 stolen bases—leads the next group of offensive powerhouses. And with the D’Backs tied with the Cubs for the 2nd and 3rd Wild Card spots, we’re likely to see Carroll sprint around the bases in October. But we won’t see Juan Soto, who’s put together an excellent season after a slow start. Soto’s hitting .273/.408/.512 with 33 home runs. His 153 wRC+ is 5th-best in the NL.

Blake Snell, SP (Padres)

Snell walks a lot of batters (nearly 5 BB per nine innings) and that pushes up his pitch count. And with a higher pitch count, he tends to come out of games on the early side. On September 19, Snell threw 7 hitless innings, but walked 4 and hit 104 pitches, so Padres manager Bob Melvin didn’t allow Snell to go for the no-hitter. Still, Snell strikes out nearly 12 batters per 9 innings and his 2.25 ERA is the best among NL starters. That’s what makes him the leader for the NL Cy Young this season.

Josh Hader, RP (Padres) and David Bednar, RP (Pirates)

Two of the best closers in the game won’t see action in October. Hader leads all NL relievers with a 1.19 ERA and 13.75 strikeouts per 9. Bednar’s recorded the 2nd-most saves in the NL (37) along with a 2.08 ERA.

Brenton Doyle, OF (Rockies)

The Rockies have the worst record in the NL at 56-99 but three of the best defenders in the league. One is shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. The other is Brenton Doyle. Doyle has tremendous range and an arm like a rocket. He leads all center fielders with an average speed on his throws pegged at 96.3 mph. His fastest was 105.7 mph, the highest of any player in MLB this season.

Take a look at what Doyle can do.