As the colder weather comes to town and the 2021 MLB season has concluded, it's time to start analyzing this year's free agency bunch brings a lot to the table.
This year's free-agent class is one with a wealth of talented shortstops and pitchers looking for a new place to call home. But they all have unique qualities of what they can bring to the diamond -- and what sort of contracts they're looking for.
The following is a list of the top 10 prospective players available during free agency based off of their past contributions and their future potential.
1. Carlos Correa, SS
An obvious first choice places Correa at the top of the list and for good reason. He's proved his ability to handle a variety of different pitches that come his way and has a good sense of judgment at the plate. Correa is a consistent powerhouse and is a reliable hitter, with a .279 batting average in 2021. Correa likely could ink a 10-year contract from a prospective team, but its a question of whether or not he'll get the offer he wants/deserves, as there have already been reports that the Astros have offered him a five-year contract worth $32 million per year. May not be enough for the top agent.
2. Corey Seager, SS
When it comes to Seager we instantly think back to his 2016 NL Rookie of the Year Award at age 22. Since then, yes, we've seen him come on and off of injury status maybe one too many times but he has proven to have the versatility and athleticism to bounce back quickly. Seager has an aggressive swing and even a higher average than Carlos Correa, and there's also the potential to see Seager make the defensive switch to third base as he's considered a below average defender at shortstop.
3. Freddie Freeman, 1B
Here's where the prospective top 10 takes a turn by putting Freeman up high, but let me explain. First of all, he is coming off of a World Series win with the Atlanta Braves. But that's not the best part, Freeman is one of the most consistent players in free agency this time around and it is a bit unimaginable to see him go to another team. But with a career batting average of .295 in addition to being named an All-Star five times, his 2020 NL MVP award is just the icing on the cake, and other teams likely will be interested.
4. Marcus Stroman, RHP
From a pitching standpoint, Stroman is one of the best available during the free agency period. His consistency and ability to limit home runs has placed him among the top ten best pitchers to open up the game. Stroman is a versatile pitcher and able to make adjustments on the fly as necessary. Most notably, his introduction of an entirely new pitch, being the spilt-change, added a whole new dimension to his abilities which strayed away from his common yet successful sinkers and sliders.
5. Robbie Ray, LHP
Some of you may be thinking that Robbie Ray has no business being this high up on this list, given in 2020 he walked 45 men in 51 2/3 innings placing him within the realm of having the highest walk rate of any pitcher since 1949. But he's made vast improvements mechanically and physically in 2021. Ray went from 41.6 percent of his fastballs being called balls last year to just 29.8 percent this year. Based on this stat alone, teams can feel confident in his progress abilities as a pitcher who can make necessary improvements and succeed in doing so.
6. Kevin Gausman, RHP
Gausman finds himself as one of the better pitchers based on his capability to throw batters off even before they take the swing. One of his top pitches is his fastball, which he threw about 90% of the time, and the other is his splitter. Statistically, he had a stellar season given his 2.81 ERA which speaks for itself.
7. Marcus Semien, SS/2B
Given his age alone, Semien may only find himself being offered shorter contracts. But with that being said, he's worthy of the time he'll be given. Semien is one of the most elite shortstops in the majors and dropped his walk rate by about 20% as he hit a career high of 45 home runs during the 2021 MLB season. Statistically, he's a solid batter as he generated a .265 average and had 102 RBIs.
8. Nick Castellanos, OF/DH
No, teams may not be looking to bring on Castellanos to be a part of their outfield but rather as their designated hitter -- especially when the universal DH rule may be applied in 2022. He's proven to be one of the worst outfielders in the game after this season given his minus-six outs above average. But, his surprisingly high batting average of .309 with 34 homers should intrigue suitors to bring Castellanos on based on his offensive talents, not necessarily defensive.
9. Kris Bryant, OF/3B
If you're looking to bring on a defensive player with high versatility, Bryant's your guy. He logged 55 games at third base, 48 in left field, 39 in right field, 19 in center field, and 12 at first base in 2021, making him a good contender for teams in need of an adaptable player. Yes, he's not the hitter we saw early on in his career but that shouldn't take away from his .265 average. Bryant's defensive versatility needs to be acknowledged beyond his mediocre scoring.
10. Trevor Story, SS
Trevor Story deserves a lot more credit than he's been given, which is why he falls in the tenth spot on this free agent list. In comparison to the top two free agents on the market, Seager and Correa, Story has at least 50 more homers than them since his 2016 debut. He upholds his end at shortstop but his OAA ranks him as an average to slightly below average defender.
As you can see, Max Scherzer is left off of this list based on the fact that his longevity just isn't there given his 37 years of age and his not-so efficient arm anymore. Yes, he hasn't thrown fewer than 170 innings since 2010 but should he even have to? If his time in the league wasn't being weighed down by his age and former injuries, he could obtain a successful contract somewhere. But that doesn't fall in the cards this winter.
