The following was recently announced by Major League Baseball and MLB Network – MLB Now’s “Top 10 Right Now!” countdown series begins Tuesday, Jan. 9, at 8 p.m. ET on MLB Network: Countdown series hosted by Brian Kenny to feature starting pitchers, catchers and shortstops this week; Bob Costas and Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo to contribute with a new “Top 10 Not in the Hall of Fame” segment throughout the series
MLB Now’s annual Top 10 Right Now! series, counting down the 10 best players at each position, returns Tuesday, Jan. 9, with starting pitchers at 8 p.m. ET on MLB Network. Hosted by Brian Kenny, the 14th edition of the series will feature 10 episodes over the next four weeks, with the complete schedule for the series available here and below. Each Top 10 Right Now! ranking considers player performance over the last three seasons, offensive and defensive metrics, both advanced Statcast data and traditional numbers, and expert analysis by the MLB Network research team.
Ronald Acuña Jr., recipient of 2023 National League MVP. How many Latinos will crack MLB Now’s Top 10 Right Now in Each Position? – Image Credit Emma Sharon/Latino Sports
The Shredder, MLB Network’s statistical algorithm that operates without emotion or bias, will be presented alongside insight by analysts, including Alex Avila, Sean Casey, Ron Darling, Cliff Floyd, Hannah Keyser, Cameron Maybin, Dan O’Dowd, Jake Peavy, Steve Phillips and Tom Verducci.
“This series has seen the transformation of how the baseball community uses analytics to evaluate players,” says Kenny. “The Shredder has gone from being an outlier to being the standard. Having seen all our lists mimic the ruthless efficiency of the Shredder, we are now giving our analysts a ‘Wild Card’ pick on each Top 10 list. We may have championed an objective methodology, but we also want to think beyond the metrics.”
Francisco Lindor, recipient of 2016 AL LatinoMVP Award. Will Lindor rank out as the number one shortstop across MLB? – Image Credit: Simon Lindenblatt/Latino Sports
Ron Darling, the 1986 World Series champion, who pitched in 382 games across 13 seasons, will join Kenny for Tuesday night’s episode, former All-Star catcher Alex Avila will be part of Wednesday’s catchers program at 8 p.m. ET and 15-year MLB general manager Dan O’Dowd will contribute to this Thursday’s show on shortstops at 8 p.m. ET. MLB Network Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Costas and MLB Network host Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo will contribute to the Top 10 Right Now! series by revealing and debating their top 10 players at each position who are not currently in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Each program will also feature a sabermetrics-focused roundtable featuring former SABR President Vince Gennaro, MLB.com writer and editor Sarah Langs, and MLB.com analyst Mike Petriello.
The number one ranked player at each position from the Top 10 Right Now! series leading into Opening Day 2023 featured Corbin Burnes (Brewers/Starting pitcher), Edwin Díaz (Mets/Relief pitcher), J.T. Realmuto (Phillies/Catcher), Paul Goldschmidt (Cardinals/First baseman), Jose Altuve (Astros/Second baseman), Trea Turner (Phillies/Shortstop), José Ramírez (Guardians/Third baseman), Yordan Alvarez (Astros/Left fielder), Mike Trout (Angels/Center fielder) and Aaron Judge (Yankees/Right fielder). Fans and viewers can submit their own Top 10 Right Now! ranking on social media using #Top10RightNow on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) pages
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