MLB most exciting player bracket: Who is baseball’s most electrifying star?
Major League Baseball is packed with electrifying players. Whether you prefer five-star talents, powerful sluggers or pitchers throwing triple-digit heat, there are stars bringing excitement to this 2024 MLB season on a daily basis.
But who is the most exciting player in baseball this year? To find out, we put together a 32-player bracket and asked our MLB experts to vote for a champion.
The process was simple: We chose the most exciting player from each of the 30 teams (by virtue of having the best record in their leagues at the time of our voting, the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers each got two entries), seeded them by the standings and let our voters decide each matchup.
The result? One superstar who can proudly wear the crown as MLB’s Mr. Excitement.
Jump to: 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Final Four | Championship
First round
Why Judge is here: Judge is the closest player we’ve seen to Barry Bonds since, well, Barry Bonds. His numbers are staggering. His power is immense. His plate discipline is remarkable. Every at-bat is a must-watch. What’s more exciting than that?
Why Crochet is here: The White Sox might be the worst team in MLB history, but Crochet morphing from full-time reliever to All-Star starter has at least been one exciting development on the South Side in 2024.
Winner: Judge
Why Duran is here: Duran is a triple waiting to happen whenever he comes to the plate. This is especially true given the deep center field and unique angles at Fenway Park. His ability to defend that space, whether in center or the corner, doesn’t hurt, either.
Why Skubal is here: The state of starting pitching being what it is, when a pitcher develops into an old-school ace, you have to tune in. Skubal has become the complete package for the Tigers, the kind of pitcher whose turn in the rotation you circle on the calendar when figuring out which game to attend.
Winner: Skubal
Why Ramirez is here: He has provided nearly a decade of consistent quality. He hits for power, steals bases, never strikes out and plays with a crackling sort of energy that makes him feel like he’s far bigger than 5-foot-9.
Why Seager is here: Seager’s version of excitement stems from his excellence. It’s not flashy. It’s not aggressive. He’s just the guy who hits massive home runs in vital moments and goes out and wins World Series MVP trophies. Plural.
Winner: Ramirez
Why Lewis is here: We’re talking about the real-life Roy Hobbs here. No matter how grueling the injury, or how much time he misses, Lewis keeps magic in his bat, consistently providing elite-level production with an absurd knack for belting grand slams. He does it all with a radiant smile, too.
Why Guerrero is here: Blue Jays manager John Schneider calls Guerrero a line-drive hitter with power, a term that has evolved into a cliché but in this case qualifies as the most accurate description. Few players, if any, hit baseballs harder and more frequently.
Winner: Guerrero
Why Soto is here: There might not be a better showman in all of New York City than Juan Soto. He blasts home runs to all fields. He takes balls out of the strike zone with shuffles. He stares pitchers down. He trash-talks catchers. He’s pure entertainment.
Why Joyce is here: Because he throws baseballs very, very hard. Velocity has skyrocketed over the past decade, and Joyce is pushing the boundary to another level. 106 mph? Ridiculous — and exciting.
Winner: Soto
Why Witt is here: Everything Witt does is explosive, whether it’s on the bases, at the plate or in the field. Perhaps more than any player in the majors right now, you walk away from every game Witt plays knowing you have watched someone with transcendent talent and emergent skill.
Why Kirby is here: The major leagues are filled with pitchers who wow you with raw stuff, but Kirby does it with precision and, in this day and age, that makes him special.
Winner: Witt
Why Henderson is here: Henderson does it all. He combines his raw power (36 HRs) and speed (18 SBs) with deft hands while playing the most important position on the diamond outside of pitcher. He has a Rookie of the Year Award and a Silver Slugger Award, and he was an All-Star this year for a reason.
Why Miller is here: With well more than 400 pitches thrown at or over 100 mph this season, it’s not hard to understand why Miller is on this list. On average, nearly every other pitch out of his hand hits the century mark.
Winner: Henderson
Why Alvarez is here: Put it this way: He might be the guy you most want up there in a big moment, especially in the postseason. And if you’re rooting against the Astros, he’s the guy you don’t want up there in a big moment. With his ability to hit for power and average and avoid strikeouts, sometimes he feels impossible to get out, and he’s capable of hitting the ball 450 feet any time he swings the bat.
Why Caminero is here: This is as much about future potential as present ability, but the game’s top prospect is already flashing the skills that should soon make him one of the game’s top hitters, spraying rocket-propelled line drives all over the field.
Winner: Alvarez
Why Ohtani is here: Ohtani has unmatched raw power and has evolved into a complete hitter. He boasts elite speed and is using it to steal bases more frequently than ever. And next year, he’ll resume reeling off triple-digit fastballs and mind-bending splitters from the pitcher’s mound. What more do you want? A cute dog, perhaps? He’s got that too.
Why Doyle is here: Hit the ball practically anywhere in center field, and Doyle will catch it. Try to take an extra base, and there’s a pretty good chance Doyle will throw you out. If you want outfield defense, it doesn’t get any better. Oh, and he can hit too.
Winner: Ohtani
Why Lindor is here: Lindor is a dynamic leadoff hitter, elite shortstop, first-rate base stealer and consummate leader with a magnetic personality. Want to see exciting? Head on over to Citi Field, watch him impact games in every way, and listen to those MVP chants showering Lindor every night.
Why Crow-Armstrong is here: We all knew Crow-Armstrong had the tools to play an excellent center field and wreak havoc on the bases. The question was whether he could hit at the major league level. He’s proving he can, and that has been a big deal on the North Side.
Winner: Lindor
Why Chourio is here: Because he is doing the sorts of things in his rookie season done by only the very best players in MLB. The last 20-year-old as good as Chourio? Fernando Tatis Jr.
Why Skenes is here: In a game that has deemphasized starting pitching to the point that the ace is an endangered species, Skenes is a hulking, sneering strikeout machine with an unmatched ability to create an undeniable buzz around his starts.
Winner: Skenes
Why Merrill is here: Merrill waltzed into a clubhouse filled with exciting players and snatched the bid with a propensity for the dramatic. He’s still only 21, but he is already the guy you want up in clutch moments.
Why De La Cruz is here: He hits tape-measure home runs. He leads MLB in stolen bases. He throws 100 mph across the diamond. His entire tool set is a starter kit for excitement.
Winner: De La Cruz
Why Betts is here: Betts can do just about anything. He can bowl. He can ball. He can podcast. More specific to this exercise, though: He can throw you out from right field or rob you of a hit at shortstop. He can work a count and spray a base hit the other way or he can take you deep on the first pitch. And whatever he does, he’ll look so cool doing it, it seems unfair.
Why Edwards is here: Edwards was called back up by the Marlins in early July and hasn’t stopped hitting. He has elements of Luis Arraez‘s bat-to-ball skills but with significantly more speed. And he has been playing a pretty decent shortstop, too.
Winner: Betts
Why Sale is here: Ronald Acuna Jr. might have won this bracket a year ago, but he’s injured, so we turn to Sale and his funky sidearm delivery that earned him the nickname “The Condor” as Atlanta’s rep. He’s also back to being one of the best starters in the majors, with a chance to win the NL pitching Triple Crown (leading in wins, ERA and strikeouts).
Why Winn is here: With potential future Hall of Famers Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado both on the downslide, Winn feels like the guy to represent the Cardinals. Hey, everybody loves rookies, and Winn’s flashy defense and rocket arm at shortstop make him a regular on highlight reels.
Winner: Sale
Why Harper is here: As beloved as any player is by his hometown fans, Harper’s at-bats remain must-watch TV, and when he hits one out in Philly, there are few moments in the sport as electrifying. Go watch his series-clinching home run against the Padres in the 2022 NLCS.
Why Wood is here: In his short time in the majors, Wood has established himself as an intimidating presence at the plate with top-end exit velocity numbers. At 6-7, 234 pounds, he hasn’t even filled out yet. Dream on that power potential, Nationals fans.
Winner: Harper
Why Carroll is here: The reigning Rookie of the Year has shown he can do everything: He had 25 home runs, hit a league-leading 10 triples and stole 54 bases in his first season, and he is in double digits in all three categories again this year.
Why Snell is here: Snell was having a ho-hum season after winning the 2023 NL Cy Young Award, but after coming off the injured list in July, he showed up in a big way. A no-hitter last month wowed the baseball world, as he has a 1.30 ERA since healing up from a groin ailment. His second-most-thrown pitch — his curveball — has produced a .100 batting average against and is one big reason he’s on this list.
Winner: Carroll
Second round
Aaron Judge vs. Tarik Skubal
Skubal’s dominance on the mound pushed him past Duran in our closest opening-round matchup, but the AL Cy Young favorite was no match for the AL MVP favorite.
Winner: Judge
Aaron Judge (7)
Opponent: Detroit Tigers
Pitcher: Tarik Skubal
Date: 5/5/24Exit Velocity: 109.3mph
Distance: 399ft
Launch Angle: 29° pic.twitter.com/IluxeXX6I2— Yankees Home Runs (@NYY_HR) May 5, 2024
Jose Ramirez vs. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Five-tool player vs. power-packed slugger is a question our voters had to answer often in our voting. Ramirez’s all-around talent kept this one close, but the Blue Jays’ biggest bat survived.
Winner: Guerrero
Juan Soto vs. Bobby Witt Jr.
The bracket gave us one of the most intriguing early AL showdowns. Soto’s brilliance at the plate couldn’t sway our voters against Kansas City’s five-tool superstar.
Winner: Witt
Gunnar Henderson vs. Yordan Alvarez
Alvarez is the current-day Big Papi, and that was just enough to get him past Baltimore’s do-everything shortstop in our closest matchup of the second round.
Winner: Alvarez
Shohei Ohtani vs. Francisco Lindor
Who has the edge in a meeting of the two NL MVP favorites? When it comes to excitement, Ohtani’s 50/50 quest proved to be the difference.
Winner: Ohtani
SHOHEI JUST HIT A HOMER 473 FEET. pic.twitter.com/H8ceT0H0Yx
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 22, 2024
Paul Skenes vs. Elly De La Cruz
Expect to see these two compete in our bracket for years to come, but even the game’s most exciting young starting pitcher couldn’t stop De La Cruz here.
Winner: De La Cruz
Mookie Betts vs. Chris Sale
Sale had some supporters in a battle of former Red Sox teammates. Betts had more.
Winner: Betts
Bryce Harper vs. Corbin Carroll
Carroll’s all-around ability garnered him multiple votes, but not enough to take down the face of the Phillies.
Winner: Harper
Third round
Aaron Judge vs. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The battle of AL East sluggers belonged to Judge, in unanimous fashion.
Winner: Judge
Bobby Witt Jr. vs. Yordan Alvarez
Two AL semifinal matchups, two unanimous outcomes. Many of our voters circled Witt vs. Judge when our bracket was released — and both players have cruised through to make that AL final a reality.
Winner: Witt
Shohei Ohtani vs. Elly De La Cruz
The excitement De La Cruz brings at shortstop was just enough to get him past the Dodgers’ DH (for 2024) — but this result could look a lot different when Ohtani returns to the mound next season.
Winner: De La Cruz
Here’s my conversation with Cincinnati Reds star Elly De La Cruz, who gave the best answer to a question I’ve heard in a long time.
Me: “Who’s the most exciting player in baseball?”
Elly: “You’re sitting right in front of him.” pic.twitter.com/CL4KeexdxJ
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 5, 2024
Mookie Betts vs. Bryce Harper
Betts’ ability to do a little bit of everything, including handle multiple positions, swayed our voters in a meeting of former MVPs.
Winner: Betts
Final Four
Aaron Judge vs. Bobby Witt Jr.
An AL championship matchup so close we had to turn to our emergency tiebreaking panel, which opted for Witt’s dynamic skill set over Judge’s unmatched power.
Winner: Witt
Mookie Betts vs. Elly De La Cruz
The NL final pitted two players who can wow at the plate, on the basepaths and in the field — but only one does it while standing 6-5 at shortstop.
Winner: De La Cruz
Championship
Bobby Witt Jr. vs. Elly De La Cruz
De La Cruz can do everything. Witt can do everything. But Witt’s ability to do it all while hitting .333 put our 2024 MLB Mr. Excitement over the top, according to our voters.
Winner: Witt
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Kristen Shilton
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Edmonton Oilers are mulling a change in goal after being drubbed 6-1 by Florida in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday.
The Oilers now trail the series 2-1 following consecutive losses, and coach Kris Knoblauch said Tuesday he “hasn’t decided” whether Edmonton will go back to Stuart Skinner — who was pulled early in the third period on Monday after allowing five goals on 23 shots — or tag in backup netminder Calvin Pickard.
“We’ll announce [our decision] before the game,” said Knoblauch. “I think a lot of the games where Stu maybe wasn’t on his A-game, our team wasn’t on their A-game in front of him. So, I don’t think there’s any bad goals. Maybe [we needed] an extra save. But doesn’t matter how well Stu played [in Game 3], it wouldn’t have made any difference in the game most likely. I’m not holding anything against Stu on that performance.”
Knoblauch avoided putting the weight of Edmonton’s defeat on Skinner but he also acknowledged Pickard as a viable option to replace him — and not for the first time in this postseason. Skinner was tapped as the Oilers’ starter in their first-round series against Los Angeles but gave up 11 goals through the series’ first two games (both Oilers losses) and Knoblauch inserted Pickard at the team’s No. 1 for Game 3. The veteran was excellent from there, peeling off six straight wins as Edmonton rallied to down the Kings and advance into a second-round bout against the Vegas Golden Knights.
It was in Game 2 of that series where Pickard suffered a lower-body injury, and Skinner was forced back into the starter’s net. He, in turn, responded with a string of strong showings, going 6-2 with a .931 SV% and 1.73 GAA as the Oilers closed out the Golden Knights and then downed Dallas in a five-game Western Conference final.
The Cup Final — a rematch of last year’s championship against the Panthers — has been tougher on Skinner. He’s 1-2, with an .866 SV% and 3.74 GAA. It’s a stat line that has at least given Knoblauch pause to consider going back to Pickard on Thursday.
“In games like [Monday], we’re down 5-1. We’re not playing very well in front of him,” said Knoblauch. “I don’t think that’s fair for [Skinner] to stick in there and play through it. And here we’ve got a goaltender [with] Picks, he’s been pretty good, 6-0 in the playoffs, hasn’t played [lately]. And whether we use him again, here’s a little opportunity for him to get some playing time [in Game 3]. So, when we do use him, he’s a little more comfortable when he goes in that net. So I think it’s one, just allowing Picks some playing time, just in case we do need him and do choose to use him at a certain point, but also give Stu some time off and not have him play through that circumstance.”
Whoever does earn the Oilers’ crease for Game 4 will require more support up front than Edmonton delivered on Monday. Florida manhandled its competition in every facet, holding the Oilers’ top skaters Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl at bay while gaining their own offensive momentum. Edmonton’s parade to the penalty box — which included 21 infractions for a total of 85 penalty minutes — gave the Panthers an advantage they didn’t waste by not only scoring three power play goals but frustrating the Oilers into unraveling entirely in a chaotic third period line brawl.
“The game is over with, what, 11 minutes left, right [when Florida is up 5-1],” said Draisaitl. “And then all hell breaks loose and it’s a UFC fight. I think overall, we can be a little bit more disciplined and stay away from that. But there’s also times where we’ve handled [those situations] really well.”
Edmonton will have to find that composure again in Game 4 if it wants to even the series heading back home. The Oilers had two days to get ready and decided to practice on Tuesday rather than follow the Panthers’ lead with a day off. That was by design to flush the system — physically and emotionally — of what happened the night before.
“We obviously didn’t feel great waking up,” said Mattias Ekholm. “But getting together again, get on the ice, we all feel a lot better about it. I think we’re really good. We’ve just got to have a moment of realization this morning of, yeah, we’re three wins away. We’re one win away from having a best out of three with two home games. There’s a lot of positives. Sometimes you get a little lost in that when you lose a game. We had a really good practice today where we’re upbeat and we know we can be better.”
It’s a similar refrain to what the Oilers proclaimed after Game 2, a 5-4 double-overtime loss that tied the series after Edmonton took Game 1 in overtime 4-3. Both sides have said they expected a tight final and Florida coach Paul Maurice reiterated on Tuesday his group his preparing for that to be the case again in Game 4.
“I think the first two games are indicative of what Game 4 is going to look like,” said Maurice. “We’re not going to look at that game and say, ‘That’s the way it should look if we play our game.’ I liked our Game 1 in some ways better than Game 2. There was a piece or two that we had to kind of clean up. I think we did a little bit. But I think we get back to Games 1 and 2. You’re thinking about short shifts [in Game 4], use your whole bench, because you’re probably going overtime.”
The Oilers don’t care how it comes together for them from here, only that past performance won’t impact future success. Edmonton is, as Ekholm pointed out, the NHL’s oldest team this season, bringing with them ample experience to rebound from a night they’d sooner forget.
“You can’t dwell on things,” said 20-year veteran Corey Perry. “You can’t change the outcome after the game has ended. So, you look at what you didn’t do right or can improve on, take some positives out of it or whatever. But you have to flush it. The next one’s the biggest one. That’s how we think about it. Yeah, we lost the game. Get ready for the next one. Move on.”
The Rangers and Ducks are working on a trade to send Chris Kreider to Anaheim, sources confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.
The deal is in advanced stages and involves the Rangers receiving a prospect and a draft pick, sources said, while the Ducks would take on the final two years of Kreider’s contract, which pays him $6.5 million annually. That would create cap flexibility for the Rangers heading into free agency on July 1.
The deal could be done as soon as Wednesday but requires Kreider to waive his trade protection, sources said. Kreider has a 15-team no trade list and, according to sources, recently added Anaheim to the list. But he could be open to joining a team that features former Rangers in Jacob Trouba and Ryan Strome.
Daily Faceoff was the first to report on the potential of a Kreider-to-Anaheim deal.
Rangers general manager Chris Drury has been looking for ways to shake up his roster after missing the playoffs, continuing a trend that began early in the season when Drury traded team captain Trouba to Anaheim. The Ducks, meanwhile, and general manager Pat Verbeek are looking to take big swings to move forward and make the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
Last month, Anaheim hired three-time Stanley Cup champion Joel Quenneville as its coach. Quenneville is the second-winningest NHL coach of all time.
Kreider, 34, has played his entire 13-year career with the Rangers, who drafted him in the first round in 2009. He is the Rangers’ all-time playoff leader in goals, power-play goals and game-winning goals. Kreider has 326 career goals and 582 points in 883 regular-season games.
He took a step back in production this season, with 22 goals and eight assists in 68 games. The veteran forward, one of the best net-front presences in the NHL, revealed in April that he dealt with several health issues during the season, including back problems and an illness that led to him experiencing vertigo. Kreider also said he battled through a hand injury that he suffered in the first game after the 4 Nations Face-Off, where he competed for Team USA. He said the hand injury may require offseason surgery.
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