Who will be the best players in Major League Baseball in the 2016 season?
ESPN formed a panel of MLB writers, analysts and contributors to rank the top 100, which we'll count down from No. 100 to No. 1, revealing the top 10 on Baseball Tonight on March 24 (10 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
To compile the top 100, we polled 70 ESPN experts in February and March, starting with a list of more than 350 players. Using a 0-to-10 scale, they evaluated players based only on how well they are projected to perform in 2016. Players expected to miss 2016 because of an injury were not included.
The results will be announced on ESPN.com, Facebook (ESPN Baseball Tonight) and Twitter (@BBTN). Fans can use the hashtag #BBTN100 to join the discussion and follow along.
We're continuing the top 100 with Nos. 70-61.
70. Marcus Stroman
Pos.: RHP | Team: Toronto Blue Jays | @MStrooo6
2015 rank: NR | 2016 fantasy rank: 102
2015 stats: 4 GS, 4-0, 1.67 ERA
ESPN says: No 5-foot-8 pitcher has ever won a Cy Young award. But Marcus Stroman said, "I'm going for that." Now that he has fully recovered from a torn ACL, don't put it past him. He's 7-2 lifetime against teams with winning records, 8-1 (with a 1.85 ERA) against the Yankees and Red Sox, and 14-6 with a 2.91 ERA since the Blue Jays put him in their rotation to stay on May 31, 2014. No wonder his manager, John Gibbons, said: "He's the guy I want out there when it counts." -- Jayson Stark, ESPN.com senior writer
By the numbers: Stroman tore his ACL in spring training last season but still returned to make four regular-season starts and three postseason starts. His 1.67 ERA in four starts in September was the lowest of any Blue Jays starter, and he was a key cog as the team completed its postseason push. -- ESPN Stats & Information
69. Matt Carpenter
Pos.: 3B | Team: St. Louis Cardinals | @MattCarp13
2015 rank: 90 | 2016 fantasy rank: 34
2015 stats: .272 BA, .871 OPS, 28 HRs, 84 RBIs
ESPN says: After he broke out and hit 28 home runs to lead the team last season, the Cardinals entertained notions of moving him further down in the lineup to get more run-producing opportunities. The problem is he's such a good leadoff hitter (career OBP of .375) that it's hard to move him. -- Mark Saxon, ESPN.com Cardinals reporter
By the numbers: Carpenter led the National League with 44 doubles last season, when he was two years removed from leading the majors with 55 in 2013. He has been a model of consistency over that span and has appeared in 469 games since 2013, second in the National League behind Adrian Gonzalez. -- ESPN Stats & Information
68. Trevor Rosenthal
Pos.: RP | Team: St. Louis Cardinals | @TrevRosenthal
2015 rank: NR | 2016 fantasy rank: 92
2015 stats: 68 G, 48 saves, 2.10 ERA
ESPN says: One of the hardest throwing pitchers in the game has worked to develop an array of off-speed pitches. But what really set the closer up for a dramatic improvement last season was better command. He cut down his walks from 42 to 25. -- Saxon
By the numbers: Rosenthal's 93 saves the past two seasons are the most in the majors. His 48 saves last season were the most in a single season in Cardinals history, surpassing Jason Isringhausen and Lee Smith, who had each posted 47-save seasons for the Redbirds. -- ESPN Stats & Information
67. Dee Gordon
Pos.: 2B | Team: Miami Marlins | @FlashGJr
2015 rank: NR | 2016 fantasy rank: 14
2015 stats: .333 BA, .776 OPS, 88 runs, 58 SBs
ESPN says: The reigning NL batting champ added his second stolen-base crown while pushing his combo of speed and contact hitting to unexpected heights. Gordon is more a classic 1970s-style leadoff man, a burner who makes great contact in early counts while beating grounders and lacing liners. Plus-plus speed is what makes that work for him. Add in substantially improved defense, and you've got an old-school asset doing good things by anybody's measure. -- Christina Kahrl, ESPN.com editor/Sweetspot blogger
By the numbers: Gordon excelled last season by pounding the ball into the ground over and over. His 332 ground balls were the most in the majors (next was Ben Revere with 300), as were his 93 ground ball hits. Gordon hit .333 with 58 steals last season; the most recent player with a batting average at least that high and at least that many steals in a season was another Marlin: Luis Castillo in 2000. -- ESPN Stats & Information
66. Jason Kipnis
Pos.: 2B | Team: Cleveland Indians | @TheJK_Kid
2015 rank: NR | 2016 fantasy rank: 94
2015 stats: .303 BA, .823 OPS, 9 HRs, 52 RBIs
ESPN says: Is this ranking too low? Absolutely, if you look at Kipnis' .823 OPS in 2015 or remember his huge 2013 season. But maybe not so much when you consider he has lost his 30-steal speed, and his walk rate has slipped. He has also acquired the bad habit of getting dinged up, which has undermined so many great second basemen's careers. That's a big part of the reason he still hasn't delivered big seasons back to back. But if he does that this year, you know he'll moving up at this time next year. -- Kahrl
By the numbers: Kipnis posted career highs in batting average, on-base percentage, hits, doubles and triples in 2015 to earn his second career All-Star nod. His 171 hits last season were the most by an Indians second baseman since Roberto Alomar had 193 in 2001. Kipnis tied for fourth in the majors with 18 games with at least three hits last season. Only Dee Gordon, A.J. Pollock and Jose Altuve had more such games. -- ESPN Stats & Information
65. Francisco Lindor
Pos.: SS | Team: Cleveland Indians
2015 rank: NR | 2016 fantasy rank: 74
2015 stats: .313 BA, .835 OPS, 12 HRs, 51 RBIs
ESPN says: The Indians are doing their best to not heap too many expectations on Lindor, but they expect he'll hit .280 with 10 to 15 homers and 20 or more steals and have eye-catching defense in his second go-around. He's uncommonly grounded and mature at age 22, and he should be unaffected by all the hype and the Carlos Correa comparisons. -- Jerry Crasnick, ESPN.com senior writer
By the numbers: Lindor debuted a week after fellow Puerto Rico native and shortstop Correa and finished behind Correa in American League Rookie of the Year voting. Lindor's 4.6 WAR last season was most among AL rookies (Correa: 4.1 WAR), and his .313 BA was tops among rookies with at least 400 plate appearances. He led all AL shortstops in defensive runs saved with 10. Lindor's second half was on par with the greats in the game today: His .345 BA in the second half was fourth in baseball (led by Joey Votto), and his 4.5 WAR in that span was tied with Josh Donaldson for the best. -- ESPN Stats & Information
64. Carlos Gonzalez
Pos.: RF | Team: Colorado Rockies
2015 rank: 64 | 2016 fantasy rank: 49
2015 stats: .271 BA, .864 OPS, 40 HRs, 97 RBIs
ESPN says: In some ways, Gonzalez delivered his biggest season yet for the Rockies. He hit a career-high 40 homers while being healthy enough to play more than a 150 games for the first time in his injury-wracked career. A more aggressive approach helped him hit 27 homers and slug .638 in the second half, but there's still the question of whether he's more a product of Coors Field than a consistent slugger. If he keeps last year's post-break gain, he'll gain a reputation for consistency, to boot. -- Kahrl
By the numbers: Gonzalez won his second career Silver Slugger award for his 2015 campaign, which included a career-high 40 homers. Gonzalez combined with Nolan Arenado to be the first teammates with 40-homer seasons in the majors since Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome for the 2006 White Sox. -- ESPN Stats & Information
63. Alex Gordon
Pos.: LF | Team: Kansas City Royals
2015 rank: 51 | 2016 fantasy rank: 233
2015 stats: .271 BA, .809 OPS, 13 HRs, 48 RBIs
ESPN says: A poster boy for advanced defensive metrics, Gordon has been the No. 1 left fielder -- and No. 15 player at any position -- in defensive WAR the past five seasons. That was instrumental in his landing a big payday from the Royals, and he should continue to reward them with the same: elite defense and certainly adequate .270-15 numbers with the bat. -- Tristan H. Cockroft, ESPN.com senior fantasy writer
By the numbers: The second overall pick in the 2005 draft, Gordon has played his entire nine-year career with the Royals, and he re-signed with them in the offseason. Gordon won four straight Gold Gloves from 2011-14 and has the second-most defensive runs saved among outfielders since 2011. His 94 DRS in that span are second to only Jason Heyward (107) and 34 more than the next left fielder (Starling Marte with 60). -- ESPN Stats & Information
62. Adrian Gonzalez
Pos.: 1B | Team: Los Angeles Dodgers
2015 rank: 49 | 2016 fantasy rank: 48
2015 stats: .275 BA, .830 OPS, 28 HRs, 90 RBIs
ESPN says: Rain is more common in Los Angeles than a Gonzalez off day, as the veteran is as durable as they come. With 116 RBIs in 2014 and 28 homers, his most since 2010, in 2015, the 33-year-old can still deliver the goods. -- Doug Padilla, ESPN.com Dodgers reporter
By the numbers: Gonzalez enters the 2016 season 10 homers shy of 300 in his career. His 306 RBIs since he joined the Dodgers in 2013 are the most in the National League in that span. Gonzalez posted his first three-homer game against the Padres, one of his former clubs, in the third game last season. -- ESPN Stats & Information
61. Salvador Perez
Pos.: C | Team: Kansas City Royals | @SalvadorPerez15
2015 rank: 85 | 2016 fantasy rank: 145
2015 stats: .260 BA, .706 OPS, 21 HRs, 70 RBIs
ESPN says: Perez is in a good place this spring. He is coming off his third straight All-Star appearance and first 20-homer season, and the Royals recently rewarded him with a five-year, $52 million contract extension. It would be nice if he could avoid all that punishment behind the plate, but he turns 26 in May, so durability shouldn't be an issue. Just don't expect more than 20 walks in 550 to 600 plate appearances. -- Crasnick
By the numbers: The 2015 World Series MVP has made three straight All-Star teams and won three straight Gold Gloves. In 2015, he became the sixth catcher in the past 40 years to win the World Series MVP by hitting .364 with eight hits and a .391 OBP in the five-game series against the Mets. Perez hit a career-high 21 home runs last season. He has caught 2,674 regular-season innings the past two seasons, 500 more than the next in the category (Yadier Molina, 2,154⅓). -- ESPN Stats & Information