On Sunday afternoon, Buster Olney continued his series of the best players in the majors at each position. Today’s postion is left field and he named Starling Marte the second best in the majors (subscription required). Last year, Olney named Marte the best left fielder in baseball. This past season, he hit .311/.362/.456 over 129 game and also won his second consecutive Gold Glove award. The .818 OPS he posted was the best of his career. The top spot this year went to Yoenis Cespedes.
Olney compliments Marte by saying he “provides the greatest range of skills of anyone who plays this spot in the big leagues”. Cespedes got the nod for the top spot due to his advantage in the power department, but Marte has the clear advantage in defense.
The Pittsburgh Pirates came up empty in the early rankings by Olney. Earlier this week, he covered starting pitchers, relievers and all four infield spots. No Pirates made the top ten in any of the six categories and only Josh Harrison was named in the “honorable mention” group, which adds another 5-7 names for each position. The Pirates should get some more mentions in the next couple days as Olney covers center field and right field next, followed by catchers. Those three spots will be followed by the best starting rotations, bullpens, lineups and defenses, with one rankings article per day over the next seven days.