Top 10 MLB Players of the Last Decade
Just Baseball ranks the top 10 MLB players since the 2015 season.
The last 10 years of Major League Baseball have given fans a lot to enjoy. Since 2015, we have seen eight different franchises win a World Series, 15 different MVP winners, 16 Cy Young winners and countless great players.
Below is Just Baseball’s list of the 10 best MLB players over these last 10 seasons. Statistics and accolades were the primary considerations for this list.
#10 – Bryce Harper
Bryce Harper‘s quick rise as a prominent big-leaguer is a well-known story. At age 16, he became one of the most hyped-up prospects in baseball history, even being put on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Over the last decade, he has lived up to that incredible hype.
At age 22, Harper won his first MVP award in 2015. He posted a remarkable .330/.460/.649/1.109 slash line and 198 OPS+ over 654 plate appearances. To this day, it is the only season by a player age 22 or younger with 40+ home runs and an OPS+ above 175. After joining the Phillies on a 13-year, $330 million contract in 2019, he won a second MVP two years later.
During his time with the Nationals, Harper won the 2018 Home Run Derby at his home park, becoming just the third player to do so.
Additionally, he has slashed .301/.429/.627/1.056 in 190 postseason plate appearances dating back to 2015, while also making six All-Star teams and winning four Silver Slugger awards in this span.
The outfielder-turned-first baseman has remained one of the most consistent hitters throughout his career. He is one of four players who has posted an OPS of .800 or higher in each of the last 10 seasons. His 42.4 fWAR since 2015 ranks 11th among all position players despite Harper ranking 16th in total plate appearance in that same span.
#9 – Freddie Freeman
Freddie has been steady at first base throughout his career, and his star has only grown in the last decade. In over 6,000 plate appearances since 2015, he has totaled a .306/.397/.532/.928 slash line for a 148 OPS+. His lowest OPS+ in any season in that span was a 132 in the 2015 season. He is the only player with 250+ plate appearances and an OPS+ above 130 in each of the last 10 seasons.
Freddie Freeman won the NL MVP award in 2020. Although it was a COVID-19 shortened season, Freeman led the National League with 51 runs scored and 23 doubles. He also posted 13 home runs and a 1.102 OPS.
The next season, Freeman led the Braves to their first World Series championship in 26 years. After putting up a regular season good for ninth in NL MVP voting, he went on to slash .304/.420/.625/1.065 in 69 postseason plate appearances with five home runs and a 5.94% cWPA.
Since joining the Dodgers in 2022, Freeman ranks fourth among all position players in fWAR (18.7), second in AVG (.314), fourth in OBP (.399), sixth in SLG (.520) and fifth in wRC+ (153).
Most recently, he led the Dodgers to a World Series championship in 2024, winning World Series MVP in the process. Freeman hit four home runs in the five-game series, including a walk-off grand slam to win Game 1, the only walk-off slam in World Series history.
In the last 10 seasons, Freeman ranks seventh among all position players in fWAR with 49.5. Since then, he has earned seven top-10 MVP finishes, six All-Star selections, three Silver Sluggers and a Gold Glove.
#8 – Max Scherzer
Max Scherzer has been just one great pitcher in an era replete with future Hall of Famers. But in the last decade, he stands out even among the best.
In 2015, Scherzer began his seven-year, $210 million contract with the Washington Nationals, which is now regarded as one of the best long-term contracts ever signed. As a National, Scherzer tossed 1,229 innings. He tallied a 2.80 ERA, 2.92 FIP and 11.8 K/9 in the nation’s capital. He has remained excellent as a Dodger, Met and Ranger since.
Scherzer won back-to-back Cy Young awards in Washington in 2016 and 2017, the second and third of his career. These were just two of the six times he finished top-five in Cy Young voting since 2015. He is the only starting pitcher to post a K/9 above 10.0 in at least nine of the last 10 seasons. Relatedly, he is one of three pitchers to post K/BB above four at least nine times since 2015.
In 2019, Scherzer and the Nationals won their first World Series in franchise history. Scherzer pitched in a 2.92 ERA and FIP throughout his 172.1 regular season innings that season. In the postseason, he posted a 2.40 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 30 innings. The Nationals went 6-0 in games Scherzer appeared in, which included Game 7 of the World Series.
Overall, Scherzer owns a 47.0 fWAR over the last 10 seasons, the most among all pitchers. He tallied 11.6 K/9 and 2.02 BB/9 in that time. His 2.48 ERA ranks third lowest among the 264 qualified starting pitchers over that span, and his 3.02 FIP ranks fifth.
Throughout these 10 seasons, Scherzer appeared in 259 games and tallied 2,086 strikeouts. He joins Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Chris Sale as the only pitchers to ever strike out 2,000 or more batters in any 250-game span.
#7 – Jose Altuve
Although he will be migrating to the outfield for the 2025 season, Jose Altuve has been a staple at the second base position for the last decade.
Since 2015, he’s tallied six seasons with a .300 batting average or higher with 10+ stolen bases. No other major leaguer has posted more than four such seasons in that span. The Astros’ all-time hit leader has posted three seasons with at least 200 hits over the last decade.
The 5-foot-6 Altuve has muscled his way to 208 home runs and a 138 OPS+ since 2015. This was on display throughout his MVP season in 2017.
At age 27, number 27 slashed .346/.410/.547/.957 for a 160 OPS+ in 662 plate appearances. He tallied 204 hits, 24 home runs and 32 stolen bases in the regular season. In the postseason, he slashed .310/.388/.634/1.021 in 80 plate appearances en route to the Astros’ first championship in franchise history.
Speaking of the postseason, Altuve has stood out as one of the great playoff hitters of his generation. Since his first taste of October in 2015, Altuve has slashed .271/.337/.505/.841 in 484 plate appearances in the playoffs. His 27 career postseason home runs are the second most in baseball history, just two behind Reggie Jackson for the most all time.
Altuve, on seven separate occasions, has posted an OPS above 1.000 with at least 15 plate appearances in a postseason series. He has become best known for his walk-off home run against Aroldis Chapman to send the Astros to the 2019 World Series.
Since 2015, Altuve ranks sixth in fWAR (50.1), 11th among the 570 qualifiers in wRC+ (139), second in AVG (.307), and 10th in stolen bases (184). Throughout the last decade, he has collected seven All-Star selections, four top-five finishes in MVP voting, six Silver Sluggers and a Gold Glove.
#6 – Shohei Ohtani
If anyone was going to make this list without having played in each of the last ten seasons, this would be the guy to do it. Since his debut in 2018, Shohei Ohtani has made himself perhaps the greatest spectacle in North American sports.
With 3,612 plate appearances and 481.2 innings pitched under his belt, Ohtani currently has a 157 OPS+ and 142 ERA+. He stands as one of 16 hitters since integration to hold an OPS+ above 155 through age 38 (min. 3,000 plate appearances) and one of nine starting pitchers since integration to hold a 140 ERA+ or higher through age 30 (min. 450 innings pitched).
Since 2018, his 153 wRC+ ranks fifth among all qualifiers. He also ranks fifth with 225 home runs despite ranking 32nd in total plate appearances in that same span.
Most recently, Ohtani became the first player in baseball history to post a 50-50 season. With 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases, he put on one of the most dynamic offensive displays the game of baseball has ever seen. On top of this, he slashed .310/.390/.646/1.036 for a 190 OPS+ in a league-leading 731 PA. Ohtani won his first career World Series that year as a member of the Dodgers.
On the mound, Ohtani’s 11.8 fWAR ranks 56th despite him ranking 131st in innings pitched. He also ranks ninth among qualifying starters in K/9 (11.36) and 16th in FIP (3.31). Although multiple elbow surgeries have kept him off the mound for much of three seasons, he has made the most of his time on the bump.
His best performance was in 2022, when he finished fourth in Cy Young voting. Ohtani logged 166 innings, with a 172 ERA+ and 11.9 K/9. It made him just the 10th player in baseball history to post a season with an ERA+ above 170 and a K/9 above 11.5 (min. 162 innings).
Ohtani has revolutionized the game of baseball as we know it. Anyone old enough to remember the leadup to his MLB debut may recall fans salivating at the idea of Ohtani being something like a three-win hitter and pitcher. And yet, he has turned out to be so much more than that.
If there’s ever a second person coming to the major leagues as a two-way player, they will probably be unfairly graded on the scale created by Ohtani over the years.
He has set the standard of two-way play to an impossible standard. One where someone can simultaneously be a top-five hitter and pitcher in the league. One where someone can win three unanimous MVP awards in four seasons and become the only full-time DH to win the honor. Something once not even considered is now a feat monopolized by one man.
#5 – José Ramírez
José Ramírez‘s continuous stardom has gotten louder and louder over the years. For a long time, he was viewed as one of, if not the most underrated players in baseball.
Throughout his career, he has tallied 20+ home runs and 20+ stolen bases in six different seasons. He is one of just 10 players in baseball history that has posted at least six such seasons. His consistently excellent display of offense, fielding and baserunning over the last decade earns him a spot on this list.
Ramírez might not be the most powerful guy, but he has still slugged just over 250 home runs since 2015. He has shown an excellent talent for timing up pitches throughout his career. Since 2015, 46.4% of total batted balls from Ramírez have been hit to the pull side, the highest rate among the 101 hitters with at least 2,500 batted balls recorded over the course of the Statcast era.
Ramírez has additionally pulled 37.4% of his fly balls since 2015, tied for the third highest rate among the 168 hitters with at least 500 fly balls in this span. Since 2015, fly balls have a 30% higher chance of being converted to home runs if they are pulled compared to fly balls hit straightaway or to the opposite field. Ramírez’s consistent ability to pull his fly balls at a high rate has allowed him to be an elite hitter over the last decade.
Since these stats started being tracked, Ramírez has also posted a 32 Fielding Run Balue and a 33 Baserunning Run Value, per Statcast. He is one of just four players in baseball to post at least 30 of both. This diverse skill set has helped him earn six All-Star appearances, five times finishing in the top five of AL MVP voting and five Silver Slugger awards.
Since 2015, Ramírez has accumulated 50.3 fWAR, good for fifth most among all position players. He also ranks 15th in home runs and tied for 10th in BB/K (0.85). Ramírez is one of just five hitters to post 4.5+ bWAR in at least seven of the last 10 years.
#4 – Francisco Lindor
Ramírez and Francisco Lindor played next to each other for six seasons. Now, they find themselves next to each other on this list. The Platinum Glove-winning shortstop has arguably been the face of the position in an era filled with a litany of excellent players.
Since his rookie year in 2015, Lindor has posted eight seasons with 2.5+ oWAR and 1.0+ dWAR. He is one of just eight players throughout baseball history to post at least eight such seasons through their age-30 season.
Lindor brings an offensive and defensive combination to the shortstop position that stands out. Since he began his career 10 years ago, he’s tallied five seasons with at least 30 home runs. He joins Alex Rodriguez as the only shortstops to do so in at least five of their first 10 career seasons.
He is also one of just four shortstops in baseball history to post an OPS+ at or above 100 in each of his first 10 career seasons.
But where Lindor has always shined is in the field. Since 2015, his 162.7 Defensive Runs Above Average (DEF, per FanGraphs) leads all players. He also ranks tied for 11th in Defensive Runs Saved (48), first in Outs Above Average (137) and first in Fielding Run Value (102).
According to Statcast, Lindor has prevented 102 runs with his defensive play since that stat began tracking in 2016. Over that same span, no other infielder has prevented more than 89 runs.
Although Lindor makes the shortstop position look easy, it has actually been harder for him than most others. According to Statcast, Lindor has an estimated success rate of 73% on all fielding opportunities, tied for the sixth lowest among all qualifying shortstops since 2016. Despite this, he has converted 76% of his plays, tied for the ninth highest rate on the same list.
This offense/defense combo from Lindor helped him compile his 54.2 fWAR dating back to 2015, the third highest over the last decade. In that same span, Lindor has also tallied four All-Star appearances, six top-10 finishes in MVP voting, four Silver Sluggers, two Gold Gloves and a Platinum Glove.
#3 – Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge made his MLB debut in 2016, and his career has seen its own evolution ever since. But in all of it, he has been, at minimum, one of the top hitters in the majors.
At his peak, he might be the greatest right-handed hitter since integration. From 2016-2021, Judge posted a 29.5% fly ball rate. In that span, he averaged 26 home runs and a .940 OPS per season. From 2022-2024, he upped his fly ball rate to 39%. Given his power and the profoundly high fly ball rate, Judge has averaged 52 home runs and a 1.107 OPS per season in the last three years.
Judge’s supreme power is not a secret, but what might not be known is just how absurdly in-another-league he is. Since 2015, there have been four seasons logged where a player posted a barrel rate above 25% with at least 200 batted balls. All four of these seasons belong to Aaron Judge.
The Yankee captain additionally owns each of the top five average exit velocity seasons since 2015 with at least 200 batted balls.
One of Judge’s most notable career accomplishments came in his rookie season in 2017. The former first-round draft pick and top organizational prospect immediately exceeded the hype by slugging 52 home runs in his first full season. This stood as the rookie home run record until it was broken by Pete Alonso in 2019.
Later in 2022, Judge upped his single-season home run record by 10, setting a new American League record with 62 long-balls. This broke a 61-year record formerly held by former Yankee Roger Maris. Judge stands today as one of just five players to hit 50+ home runs in at least three different seasons.
Since 2015, Judge leads all qualifying hitters with a 173 wRC+, leads all hitters with 315 home runs and ranks fourth among all players with a 51.4 fWAR. The high-impact slugger has collected six All-Star appearances, two MVP awards, four top-five finishes in MVP voting and four Silver Sluggers.
#2 – Mookie Betts
Heading into year 12 of Mookie Betts‘ major league career, we are still trying to figure out what the three-time World Series champion cannot do on the baseball field. The five-tool player stands as one of just 13 players since integration to post at least 6.0 bWAR in at least seven of their first 11 career seasons. Since 2015, it’s been a .294/.373/.526/.900 slash line for Betts with a 139 OPS+.
Betts is perhaps most remembered for his ungodly season in 2018 for the Red Sox. In the regular season, he posted a jaw-dropping .346/.438/.640/1.078 slash line with a 186 OPS+. On top of this, he also posted 7.7 DEF from a corner outfield spot and 7.7 BsR, finishing with 10.2 fWAR in 614 plate appearances.
To this day, Betts is one of five players since integration to post a 10+ fWAR season before turning 26. This outstanding regular season helped lead Betts and the Red Sox to a World Series championship, the first of three that Betts has won in his career.
Betts has continued this domination since he was traded to the Dodgers in February 2020. Throughout his time in LA, he has slashed .284/.372/.530/.2 for a 150 OPS+ in five seasons. He has also posted a .807 OPS in 240 postseason plate appearances as a Dodger, helping lead the team to championships in 2020 and 2024.
On top of his consistently stellar offense, Betts has shown tremendous versatility in the field. Since being traded to the Dodgers, Betts has logged 467 games in the outfield, 103 at second base and 81 at shortstop.
According to Defensive Runs Saved, Betts has been above average at each position. Since the turn of the decade, he is one of just seven players to log at least 80 games played in the outfield, at second and at shortstop.
Since 2015, Betts leads all major leaguers with a 57.9 fWAR. He also ranks 10th among all qualifiers with a 140 wRC+ and fourth in BsR with 42.2. His ability to do seemingly everything has earned him eight trips to the All-Star game since 2015, an MVP award, seven top-10 finishes in MVP voting, four times in the top two of MVP voting, seven Silver Sluggers and six Gold Gloves.
#1 – Mike Trout
It’s true that Mike Trout has missed 389 games since the start of the 2020 season, making up 54.9% of all games played by the Angels in that span. However, it’s also true that Trout did enough from 2015-2019 to still justify putting him atop this list.
Throughout that five-year span, Trout posted 42.0 fWAR, a full nine wins better than the runner-up in that span. In just over 700 games played throughout that time, Trout slashed 305/.435/.605/1.041 for a 177 wRC+.
Between 2016 and 2019, Trout posted an OBP of at least .435 every year with at least 10 stolen bases. This made him the only player in baseball history to do this in four consecutive seasons. His 304.5 Offensive Runs Above Average (OFF, per FanGraphs) from 2015-19 not only led the league, but it stood 116.5 points above second place. Trout additionally led all of baseball with a 17.3% walk rate over this five-season span.
Trout ranks second among all players in fWAR since 2015 at 56.5. Although Betts does rank above him, Trout trails Betts by only 1.3 wins, despite Trout having 1,608 fewer plate appearances than Betts over this time.
Trout ranks tied for 45th in total plate appearances over the past decade. And yet, he produced the second most value. In this span, he ranked seventh in home runs (280), tied for fourth in BB% (16.0%), second in ISO (.301), second in OBP (.418), seconds in SLG (.597), first in OPS (1.015), and second in wRC+ (172).
For many of these peak years, there was talk among baseball fans about Mike Trout being underrated. There was talk about his 12-year, $425 million contract extension not being enough. There was talk that despite two MVPs since 2015, eight All-Star selections in that span, six top-five finishes in MVP voting and six Silver Sluggers, Trout still did not get the attention that he deserved. To a certain degree, it’s true.
Despite all the time Trout has missed in the last five years, his work from 2015-2019 was too good not to acknowledge at the top of this list.
Written by
Daniel Curren is a writer with Just Baseball. He loves sabermetrics, baseball history, and the Hall of Fame.