WAR Leaderboard: Who’s Leading MLB at Every Position?

Depending on who you root for, most teams around Major League Baseball are right around 24 games into the 2025 campaign. It’s been oh so nice to have meaningful baseball back and the first month of this season has been far from a disappointment.

On an individual level, there’s been no shortage of great starts all over the place, and we’re here to highlight a handful of them. As expected, a lot of the usual suspects are at or near the top of the leaderboards in WAR at their respective positions. However, there are a lot of new faces topping the charts, which is always nice to see.

We’re going to use FanGraphs’ WAR (fWAR) to help take a league-wide check-in and see who the best players at each position are through the first month of the season. Everyone’s got a different opinion, but fWAR feels like it’s more reflective of a player’s true talent rather than weighing too heavily on the results.

Let’s dive in.

Stats updated prior to games played on Wednesday, April 23

Catcher: Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners, 1.1 fWAR

Best of the Rest: Will Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers, 1.0; William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers, 0.8

Last year, Cal Raleigh led all qualifying catchers in home runs and was tied with William Contreras for the MLB lead in catcher fWAR at 5.4. To open the new year, he’s picking up right where he left off. Affectionately nicknamed “Big Dumper”, Raleigh already leads qualifying catchers in home runs (he leads the majors with 9), runs scored, runs driven in, and SLG.

The 28-year-old was only just recently locked up by the Mariners through 2030 (with a vesting option for 2031) and is now financially set for life. Now that he isn’t playing for a payday anymore, he can do his thing with a whole lot less pressure riding on his shoulders. So far in 2025, he’s showing the Mariners that they made the right call locking him up long term.

Raleigh also leads the way in fWAR for designated hitters, but he’s only made six appearances as a DH, so he’s only getting a mention in the catcher portion of our list.

First Base: Pete Alonso, New York Mets, 1.6 fWAR

Best of the Rest: Spencer Torkelson, Detroit Tigers, 1.1; Jonathan Aranda, Tampa Bay Rays, 1.1

Returning to the Mets on a single-year pact before likely taking another trip through free agency this coming winter, Pete Alonso has been outstanding to kick off the new year. The 30-year-old currently leads the majors in doubles (10) and RBI (25) and is at or near the top of the league-wide leaderboards for first basemen in basically every category.

fWAR carries defense at a higher standard than bWAR does (although first basemen have their contributions taken in smaller magnitude), so the fact that Alonso leads the way in fWAR while also sitting in the 37th percentile in Outs Above Average and 1st in Arm Strength says a lot about how strong his bat has been.

First base as a whole is absolutely stacked this year, though, so it’s not entirely The Alonso Show so far. Torkelson and Aranda are both raking to open the season, as is Tyler Soderstrom of the Athletics, who currently leads all of baseball in home runs. This position may shift around a bit before the year comes to an end, but Alonso is the clear frontrunner (so far).

Second Base: Brendan Donovan, St. Louis Cardinals, 1.3 fWAR

Best of the Rest: Tommy Edman, Los Angeles Dodgers, 1.3; Brice Turang, Milwaukee Brewers, 0.8

Both Brendan Donovan and his former teammate Tommy Edman are leading the way for fWAR from second basemen. Each of them provide immense value on both sides of the ball, and it hasn’t been just one skillset of theirs holding up their WAR to open the year.

Donovan, 28, is hitting .356 through his first 23 games, recording an NL-leading 32 hits while hitting three home runs, driving in 13, and sporting an OPS of .925. He’s also sitting in the 89th percentile in Outs Above Average, putting up 2 OAA at second base, good for fourth in the game at the position.

Then there’s Edman, who entered 2025 a much richer man after signing an extension with the Dodgers. The switch-hitting 29-year-old leads the NL with eight home runs thanks to an unprecedented power showing and also has an .879 with 19 RBI through 24 games. He’s splitting his time between second base and center field and currently sits in second place on the second base OAA leaderboards with 4.

Third Base: Matt Chapman, San Francisco Giants, 1.1 fWAR

Best of the Rest: Zach McKinstry, Detroit Tigers, 1.1; Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves, 1.0

Speaking of defensive wizards who also swing hot bats, we’ve got another two-way tie atop the third base WAR leaderboard. Matt Chapman and Zach McKinstry are both off to red-hot starts on their respective clubs and have been a surprisingly solid one-two punch that’s so far reigned supreme over the likes of Riley, Alex Bregman, Isaac Paredes, and Manny Machado.

Chapman, soon to be 32, has already drawn a whopping 22 walks through just 24 games and is only behind Marcell Ozuna in that category. He’s in the 90th percentile in OAA (2) while also boasting an .830 OPS. That OPS alone is the highest he’s had in a season since 2019, but it remains to be seen if he’s able to keep it that elevated throughout a full year’s worth of games. So far, so good.

McKinstry is the first major surprise we’ve come across, and that’s entirely because he’s never hit quite like he has to open the 2025 campaign. The soon to be 30-year-old is hitting .314 through 22 games and leads all qualifying third basemen in BABIP, batting average, OBP, wOBA, and wRC+. He’s also sitting in the 91st percentile in OAA thanks to 1 OAA each at both second and third base.

Shortstop: Geraldo Perdomo, Arizona Diamondbacks, 1.3 fWAR

Best of the Rest: Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals, 1.2; Francisco Lindor, New York Mets, 1.0

For years now, Geraldo Perdomo has quietly been going about his business as the Diamondbacks’ primary shortstop, but it appears he’s been saving his best for the 2025 season. Yet another player to earn an extension early on in the year, Perdomo has elevated his game to a whole new level and shockingly has more WAR than the likes of Bobby Witt Jr. and Francisco Lindor at a loaded shortstop position.

Perdomo, 25, has hit three home runs and driven in 19 while hitting .275 with an .811 OPS through his first 23 games. He’s second amongst qualifying shortstops in RBI and BB% (16.5) while also leading the way with a .386 OBP. Perdomo’s a solid hitter, but his defensive competence is where a lot of his WAR comes from.

To open the year, the slick-fielding middle infielder is in the 100th percentile in OAA (6, which leads baseball) and 63rd in Arm Strength (85.4). No batted ball gets past him, and he’s been able to combine a solid bat with outstanding defensive play to become baseball’s most valuable shortstop … so far.

Left Field: Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians, 1.1 fWAR

Best of the Rest: Lars Nootbaar, St. Louis Cardinals, 0.7; James Wood, Washington Nationals, 0.7

Known as one of the peskier hitters in the game, it’s not exactly a shock to see Steven Kwan residing in the top spot for left fielders. For a stretch last year he carried a batting average that hovered around .400 and he earned the first All-Star Game selection of his career.

Opening the new season, the 27-year-old tops left fielders in strikeout percentage (9.9) while simultaneously topping the charts in AVG (.341), wOBA (.399) and wRC+ (169). He’s not going to bust out with 20+ home runs in a year, but he gets on base all the time and also has one of baseball’s best throwing arms. He currently sits in the 92nd percentile in Arm Value and 85th in Arm Strength.

Center Field: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs, 1.5 fWAR

Best of the Rest: Cedric Mullins, Baltimore Orioles, 1.4; Jung Hoo Lee, San Francisco Giants, 1.3

Depending on who you ask, Pete Crow-Armstrong may just be regarded as the best defensive player in all of baseball. Heck, that’s not even really up for debate, but I’m sure you’ll find someone willing to argue. “PCA” comfortably sits in the 99th percentile in OAA, 95th in Arm Value, and 94th in Arm Strength to open the year. That’s likely got a lot to do with why he leads the way amongst center fielders in WAR.

However, this year he’s coming in with an improved approach at the plate, and he’s very much no longer a “glove only” player. Last year, PCA hit 10 home runs a .237 average, .670 OPS and 87 wRC+. Through his first 23 games in 2025, he’s already got four big flies, a .276 average, .834 OPS and 131 wRC+.

Having his bat catch up to his glove (even if the gap closes just a little bit!) is only going to further cement PCA as one of the game’s best all-around outfielders. He’s got the blazing speed and the whole “world’s best defender” thing down, but the new-and-improved bat is what completes his profile and puts him right at the top of the list.

Right Field: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees, 2.3 fWAR

Best of the Rest: Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres, 1.9; Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks, 1.7

There is no position on the diamond more stacked than right field this year. That being said, there’s also no major surprise at the top of the leaderboards. Was it ever going to be anyone other than Aaron Judge?

Judge has opened the season on an absolute tear, which is right in line with how he’s been performing for basically four straight years now. The soon to be 33-year-old (everyone has late April birthdays…) is not only the best right fielder in baseball, he’s also the best hitter. To begin the new season, he currently leads the majors in the following categories:

• Hits
• RBI
• AVG
• OBP
• BABIP
• wOBA
• wRC+
• fWAR

On an ever-so-slightly smaller scale, he leads only the American League in:

• Runs
• SLG
• OPS

Please tell me you don’t need any more convincing that we’re looking at one of the best peaks of any player in MLB history.

Designated Hitter: Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves, 1.0 fWAR

Best of the Rest: Ben Rice, New York Yankees, 1.0; Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies, 0.8 fWAR

Nobody has walked more than Marcell Ozuna this year, which is an interesting little addition to his makeup. He currently sports a 26.7 BB% with his previous career-high being 14.2% back in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.

Ozuna is doing a whole lot more than just walking though. He also has the NL’s best OBP (.500) while hitting four home runs with nine RBI, and 13 runs scored. Helping his case even further is the fact that he’s one of just 10 qualifying hitters in the game sporting an OPS north of 1.000.

One of the other players in that top-10 is second-year standout Ben Rice, who is tied with Ozuna for the lead in WAR for primary DHs. Rice is (understandably) a bit overshadowed by his 6-foot-7 teammate, but his major bounce-back is one that deserves a tip of the cap. He showed potential in his rookie year last season but faded as the season marched on.

To open the 2025 campaign, Rice looks like a whole new man and is doing more than enough to prove his worth in that Yankees lineup. I mean, just look at his Baseball Savant page.

Pitcher: Chris Bassitt, Toronto Blue Jays, 1.3 fWAR

Best of the Rest: Jesus Luzardo, Philadelphia Phillies, 1.3; Hunter Brown, Houston Astros, 1.2

Two starting pitchers enter the day with 1.3 fWAR, with one of them being someone you’d expect to be up there when healthy and one being a complete shock.

Let’s start with Chris Bassitt, who is the complete shock. The soft-tossing right-hander is entering his third and final year on the Blue Jays and has turned in one solid season (2023) and one horrible season (2024), so this incredible start for him was a bit out of nowhere to say the least.

Through his first five starts, Bassitt owns a 1.88 ERA and an MLB-leading 1.49 FIP. He has yet to allow a single home run and is also striking out over 10 batters per nine innings for the first time in his 11-year career. While many of his teammates have faltered out of the gates this year, Bassitt is elevating his game.

Jesus Luzardo, the newest member of the Phillies’ rotation, is right there with Bassitt. The left-hander is looking a lot like the Luzardo of old through his first five starts, posting a 2.08 ERA and 1.77 FIP across his first 30.1 innings of work. The 27-year-old is at or near the top of the leaderboards of qualifying starters in most major categories and is experiencing a significant bounce-back in his first year on a new club.