Week three of the regular season is officially over. It is time to look back and see who has been performing the best and helping their teams give them the best chance to win. This list contains 14 position players, five starting pitchers and one closer. This is not necessarily about fantasy baseball, but if you see some of your players on this list, your team is probably doing pretty well.
1. Chris Davis First Basemen, Baltimore Orioles
Davis dominated the first-four days of the season, hitting four home runs in as many days. He also set a Major League record with 16 RBIs in only four games. He really hasn’t slowed down at all, as he is fourth in batting average (.403) and second in RBIs (21) in all of baseball. He has recorded 26 hits over this span and scored 13 runs. He is a big reason why the Orioles are 12-8, providing most of the offense to this team.
2. John Buck Catcher, New York Mets
Who saw this coming? Buck is tied for second in home runs with seven and is second in the league in RBIs with 22. His average is only .277 but without this man’s offense, this team would be looking a lot worse than 9-9. This team will need him to continue to produce at this torrid pace if the Mets want to have a chance.
3. Justin Upton Left Fielder, Atlanta Braves
There were so many questions as to how good Upton would be after his trade to the A. His answer? A league-high 11 home runs along with 16 RBIs and a .307 batting average. He has looked awesome at the plate this year. He is not only hitting home runs but crushing them. All 11 of his homers have been over 400 feet. Atlanta fans have got to be excited for the season to play out with this guy here.
4. Clay Buchholz Starting Pitcher, Boston Red Sox
A lot of people were interested in what he was going to bring to the table after a disappointing 2012. So far he is tied for the lead in wins with four, with a ridiculous 0.90 ERA. He has struck out 29 batters over these games and is holding opponents to a .184 average. Buchholz has looked extremely locked in and looks to be an exciting year for him. The Sox are looking like a real threat this year, now all they have to do is stay healthy.
5. Troy Tulowitzki Shortstop, Colorado Rockies
After an injury riddled 2012, Tulow is looking to get back to his 2011 form. So far so good! He has six home runs to this point, along with 17 RBIs and an impressive .292 average. If Car-Go and Tulow can perform to their capabilities, the sky's the limit for this team. He is one of the main reasons the Rockies are playing so well. In fact, the Rockies are tied for the second best record in baseball.
6. Bryce Harper Outfielder, Washington Nationals
The kid already has two, multi home run games to his name, bringing his total to seven on the year. He has drove in 14 runs, while recording 24 hits. His batting average is amazing as well at, .369. The Nationals haven’t dominated as much as some thought they would at the beginning of the year but are still two games over the .500 mark.
7. Jacoby Ellsbury Center Fielder, Boston Red Sox
To this point, one home run and nine RBIs doesn’t look phenomenal but Ellsbury is doing more for this team than most people realize. He already has three triples this year, along with 25 hits and 15 runs scored. He is also leading the league in stolen bases with nine. After reading all of those numbers it is very obvious that not only power helps teams win. Oh yeah, he has a .287 batting average to go along with all of that as well.
8. Adam Jones Center Fielder, Baltimore Orioles
My pick to have the best year of any AL outfielder is doing just that so far. He has already drove in 15 runs and scored 18 runs of his own. Only three home runs to this point but 29 hits gives him a stellar .354 batting average. Jones brings it every single day, on the field and at the plate. He is going to be a superstar in Baltimore for a long time to come.
9. Brandon Phillips Second Basemen, Cincinnati Reds
Dat dude just keeps proving why he is the best second basemen in the NL. To this point he has already recorded 24 hits and drove in 21 runs. He is batting .286 and has managed to hit four home runs. His play in the field is beyond spectacular and already has some beautiful web gems to his name. The Reds had somewhat of a slow start but are already back to three games over .500.
10. Matt Harvey Starting Pitcher, New York Mets
The seventh overall pick of the 2010 draft has proven to be a good decision. Harvey is shocking the baseball world with his dominating play. He is 4-0 with a 0.93 ERA and the fifth most strikeouts in all of baseball with 32. The most impressive stat of all is his opponent batting average against at a ridiculous .108. This is the best mark in all of baseball and to put it simply this guy is just dominating everyone he faces. The Mets could be a surprise team this year if all their guys can continue their dominance.
11. Joey Votto First Basemen, Cincinnati Reds
The walking king is Mr.Votto. He has 26 strolls to first, which is 10 more than the next best. He may not be hitting the extraordinary number of home runs that he normally does but three will do. His OBP is second in all of baseball, behind only his teammate, Shin Soo Choo. The strikeout numbers have been glaring this season with 21. Look for a spike in Votto’s power at some point this season.
12. Prince Fielder First Basemen, Detroit Tigers
The most consistently healthy hitter continues to do just that. A .333 average along with five home runs and 21 RBIs is all that this power lefty has to his name. He has Michael Jordan number hits (23) and 12 walks. This lethal lineup continues to dominant but the record is not showing as they are 9-8 to this point.
13. Yu Darvish Starting Pitcher, Texas Rangers
Maybe the most lethal strike out pitcher in baseball today is Darvish. He is 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA. He is second in all of baseball with 38 strikeouts and looks locked in and a lot more comfortable pitching in the bigs. His opponent batting average is also very impressive as he has held hitters to a .144. The Rangers are surprising a lot of people right now with a 13-6 record, placing them in first place in the West.
14. Jed Lowrie Shortstop, Oakland Athletics
Considering how often Lowrie is injured, Athletic fans should take what they are getting now and be happy. To this point he has 14 RBIs and a .351 batting average. He is getting on-base at an impressive rate and has been a spark plug for this offense the entire season. Once Yoenis Cespedes returns this lineup will be tough to navigate through.
15. Ryan Braun Left Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers
The heart and soul of this Brewers club continues to prove why he is one of the best outfielders in the game today. He has swung out at a higher rate than expected and his overall batting average is low but his power is still there. With six home runs to this point, Braun and the Brewers are rolling. Once Corey Hart comes back look for the run production to go up even more for this club.
16. Madison Bumgarner Starting Pitcher, San Francisco Giants
The youngin’ from North Carolina is dealing this year. At only 23 years of age, Bumgarner has compiled a 1.62 ERA over four starts, with 34 strikeouts and has only walked seven men. The Giants are doing what you expect defending world champions to do and that is win ball games. They are five games over .500 which isn’t great but isn’t horrible either. Once, Matt Cain figures himself out, this team will start putting together some more W’s.
17. Carlos Beltran Right Fielder, St. Louis Cardinals
At 36-years-old, Beltran is slowly closing in on the end of his career. For the meantime, he is just trying to get this Cardinals team back to the playoffs. He has hit four long balls and compiled a .294 batting average. He is looking like the 30 year old Beltran, as his age has not slowed him down. Sure, during the dog days of summer he might slump but as of right now, he is playing like a top 20 baseball player for sure.
18. Jason Grilli Closer, Pittsburgh Pirates
It was all set up for things to work out just like this. Joel Hanrahan was traded and it is now Grilli’s time. He has done everything and more for the Pirates as he is a perfect eight for eight in save chances and hasn’t allowed a run. He has 15 strikeouts, which is the equivalent to him striking out the side on five of his eight appearances. This team has looked streaky over the year but did just take three of four from the Atlanta Braves.
19. Miguel Cabrera Third Basemen, Detroit Tigers
Coming fresh off the Triple Crown award the bat is not lost. He is batting a stellar .355 and has 18 RBIs. The one interesting thing is that he hasn’t showed the power that he normally does. He has also only been walked nine times but is looking great overall. The Tigers are off to a slow start but are still .500.
20. Paul Maholm Starting Pitcher, Atlanta Braves
This is definitely not who most people thought would be the best pitcher on an Atlanta ball club, but he is. He is 3-1 with a 1.03 ERA, which is phenomenal. He has 25 strikeouts to this point and is holding runners to a .165 average. Maholm is on arguably the best pitching staff in all of baseball. He is very underrated to this point in the season but should gain more media attention the deeper the season goes.