Unless you had your head in the sand, you know that very little was normal in 2020. Major League Baseball was no exception, as the pandemic forced an abbreviated season with limited travel.
Because of the shortened schedule, fans were deprived of seeing the game’s top talents for the usual six months. Now that we’re back to a 162-game season, fans are dying to know which players to follow.
Below are the 21 players who will generate the most buzz in 2021.
Max Scherzer
Scherzer’s current age (36) and mediocre ERA last season (3.74) don’t necessarily bode well for his future prospects.
But just because Scherzer has racked up the mileage (2,357.1 career innings) doesn’t mean he’s out of gas. The three-time Cy Young winner still misses bats with the best of ‘em (31.2 K % last season), and chances are that his underwhelming 2020 performance had more to do with the irregular schedule than a serious decline in ability.
Blake Snell
Snell did not hide his frustrations when he was lifted from Game 6 of the World Series despite stymieing the Dodgers offense. That premature removal was indicative of how the Rays used Snell in 2020: including the postseason, he made 17 starts but never completed a full six innings. Now that he’s a Padre, Snell will have a greater chance to go deep into games, and perhaps to regain his 2018 Cy Young form as well.
Albert Pujols
If you can believe it, Pujols is in the final season of the 10-year, $240 million contract he signed with the Angels prior to 2012. This may also be the final season of his illustrious career, and while he’s a shell of his former self, it will be worth following along as he continues to ascend all-time leaderboards.
Noah Syndergaard
It’s been a while since anyone viewed Syndergaard as the mighty Thor. His 2019 season (4.28 ERA) was the least effective of his career so far, and he missed all of 2020 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. This is a contract year for Syndergaard, whose expected return in mid-summer should provide a significant boost to the Mets rotation.
Byron Buxton
It seems like every year that someone picks Buxton to finally put it all together. He is, after all, a former #2 overall pick and was baseball’s top prospect for several years running. Buxton’s defense in center field is superb, and he’s increased his power since the start of 2019 (.534 SLG in that span). The key for Buxton is plate discipline: he’s walked in just 4.9% of his plate appearances over the last two seasons.
Jarred Kelenic
Brodie Van Wagenen messed up. In his blockbuster trade for Robinson Canó and Edwin Díaz, the former Mets GM parted with super prospect Jarred Kelenic. The Mariners won’t bring Kelenic north to start the season, but service time manipulation is just about the only thing keeping him off the Opening Day roster. In 2019, the outfielder slashed .291/.364/.540 with 23 home runs and 20 steals over 117 minor league games.
Edwin Díaz
Speaking of Edwin Díaz, he will be under intense scrutiny this year despite a return to form in 2020. Skeptics won’t be satisfied until Díaz enjoys that kind of season while pitching in front of fans rather than in empty ballparks. No one can deny that the Mets closer is filthy when he’s on this game: his 40.9 strikeout percentage is the third-highest in the majors since the start of 2019 (min. 50 IP).
Matt Harvey
Dark Knight aficionados, do not despair. There is still hope that Matt Harvey can resurrect his flagging major league career. Harvey is in Orioles camp as a non-roster invitee, and he spent the offseason working on his spin rate at the Baseball Performance Center of South Jersey. If Harvey provides quality innings for the O’s, he’ll almost certainly merit consideration for AL Comeback Player of the Year.
Gary Sánchez
When Sánchez gets a hold of a pitch, you know it’s gone as soon as it leaves the bat.
The problem is that, for three seasons now, Sánchez has struggled just to make contact. Though his Yankee teammates view him as a potential MVP candidate, Sánchez simply needs to prove he’s a more viable starter than teammate Kyle Higashioka, who became Gerrit Cole’s personal catcher by the end of 2020.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The Vlad Jr. breakout is going to happen eventually, and it might as well be this season. Guerrero is still just 22 years old, and his batted-ball data indicates that he’s making consistent hard contact. He has 12 batted balls with an exit velocity over 115 MPH since his debut, five more than any other player in that span.
Pete Alonso
Sure, Alonso got off to a rocky start in 2020 and never quite recaptured the magic of his immaculate Rookie of the Year campaign. But he was on pace for 43 home runs over a 162-game season, and he was far from the only star who struggled in 2020. The Polar Bear is back to hitting frozen ropes in spring, reminding us all that he’s still one of the game’s most intimidating sluggers.
Alright, that’s the first 11 done. Click below to head over to the top 10 players you do not want to miss in 2021!
