35 Years Of MLB Best Tools: The Best Of The Best Since 1988
Image credit: Tony Gwynn (Photo by Focus On Sport/Getty Images)
Each year since 1988, Baseball America has polled major league managers about the players with the best scouting tools in the American and National leagues.
BA took the 2020 season off because of the pandemic and unusual 60-game format with “regional” schedules. So this year’s Best Tools results mark the 35th installment of this BA staple.
BA has collected a lot of data in that time. Each year, BA ranks three AL players and three NL players in 25 different categories, for a total of 150 Best Tools category winners each season.
Here are the cumulative results of 35 years of MLB Best Tools in the traditional scouting tools categories.
BEST HITTER
Most career category wins
11 Tony Gwynn
7 Albert Pujols
5 Miguel Cabrera
4 Mike Trout
3 Todd Helton, Kirby Puckett, Ichiro Suzuki, Frank Thomas
Active players with multiple category wins
5 Miguel Cabrera
4 Mike Trout
2 Freddie Freeman, Joey Votto
BEST POWER
Most career category wins
6 Mark McGwire
5 Barry Bonds, Giancarlo Stanton
3 Jose Canseco, Aaron Judge, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez
Active players with multiple category wins
5 Giancarlo Stanton
3 Aaron Judge
2 Pete Alonso, Shohei Ohtani
FASTEST BASERUNNER
Most career category wins
6 Carl Crawford, Billy Hamilton
5 Vince Coleman, Kenny Lofton
4 Michael Bourn, Jose Reyes, Deion Sanders
3 Luis Castillo, Jarrod Dyson, Tom Goodwin, Ichiro Suzuki, Trea Turner
Active players with multiple category wins
6 Billy Hamilton
3 Trea Turner
2 Mike Trout, Bobby Witt Jr.
BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER
Most career category wins
12 Roberto Alomar 2B, Ivan Rodriguez C
10 Yadier Molina C, Scott Rolen 3B, Omar Vizquel SS
9 Nolan Arenado 3B, Andruw Jones OF, Don Mattingly 1B
7 Barry Larkin SS, Ichiro Suzuki OF, Matt Williams 3B
6 Ken Griffey Jr. OF, Ryne Sandberg 2B, J.T. Snow 1B, Mark Teixeira 1B
Active players with multiple category wins
9 Nolan Arenado 3B
5 Matt Chapman 3B, Paul Goldschmidt 1B, Eric Hosmer 1B, Salvador Perez C
4 Kevin Kiermaier OF, DJ LeMahieu 2B
3 Elvis Andrus SS, Brandon Crawford SS, Manny Machado 3B
2 Jose Altuve 2B, Jackie Bradley Jr. OF, Byron Buxton OF, Francisco Lindor SS, Evan Longoria 3B, Andrew McCutchen OF, Matt Olson 1B, JT Realmuto C, Marcus Semien 2B, Dansby Swanson SS, Christian Vazquez C, Joey Votto 1B, Kolten Wong 2B
BEST ARM
Most career category wins
9 Alex Rodriguez SS/3B, Ichiro Suzuki OF
7 Adrian Beltre 3B, Rafael Furcal SS, Vladimir Guerrero OF
6 Jay Buhner OF, Ken Caminiti 3B
5 Matt Chapman 3B, Shawon Dunston SS, Manny Machado 3B
4 Jeff Francoeur OF, Raul Mondesi OF, Andy Van Slyke OF
Active players with multiple category wins
5 Matt Chapman 3B, Manny Machado 3B
2 Javier Baez SS, Mookie Betts OF, Aaron Hicks OF
BEST FASTBALL
Most career category wins
10 Randy Johnson
8 Aroldis Chapman
7 Justin Verlander
5 Roger Clemens, Rob Dibble
4 Billy Wagner
Active players with multiple category wins
8 Aroldis Chapman
7 Justin Verlander
BEST CURVEBALL
Most career category wins
8 Darryl Kile
6 Clayton Kershaw
5 Justin Verlander, Barry Zito
4 Tom Gordon
3 Mike Mussina, Gregg Olson, Ben Sheets, Adam Wainwright
Active players with multiple category wins
6 Clayton Kershaw
5 Justin Verlander
3 Adam Wainwright
2 Corey Kluber
BEST SLIDER
Most career category wins
8 Randy Johnson, John Smoltz
5 Chris Sale
4 Max Scherzer
3 David Cone, Craig Kimbrel, Jose Rijo
2 Felix Hernandez, Carlos Marmol, Pedro Martinez, Francisco Rodriguez
Active players with multiple category wins
5 Chris Sale
4 Max Scherzer
3 Craig Kimbrel
BEST CHANGEUP
Most career category wins
7 Pedro Martinez
6 Greg Maddux, Johan Santana
5 Cole Hamels, James Shields
4 Tom Glavine, Jimmy Key
3 Trevor Hoffman
Active players with multiple category wins
2 Luis Castillo, Zack Greinke, Devin Williams
BEST CONTROL
Most career category wins
13 Greg Maddux
5 Bob Tewksbury
4 Roy Halladay
3 Dennis Eckersley, Jimmy Key, Mike Mussina
Active players with multiple category wins
2 Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Justin Verlander
