7 Phillies crack the ESPN Top 100 Best Players in the MLB right now list

ESPN released their 2026 MLB Rank Top 100 list and the Phillies have seven players on it. Some of those placements are completely reasonable while others are genuinely difficult to defend.

Phillies Players on the ESPN Top 100 List

ESPN has ranked the following Phillies in the Top 100 Best Players in MLB right now list:

#19 Cristopher Sanchez
#21 Kyle Schwarber
#26 Trea Turner
#42 Bryce Harper
#87 Jesus Luzardo
#90 Jhoan Duran
#91 Zack Wheeler https://t.co/V43TFx05bf

— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) March 4, 2026

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Let’s start with what makes sense

Cristopher Sanchez at 19, Kyle Schwarber at 21, and Trea Turner at 26 are all in the right neighborhood.

Sanchez earned his spot. He went 13-5 with a 2.50 ERA and 212 strikeouts in 32 appearances last season and is stepping into the role of likely Opening Day starter with Wheeler out. That is a top-20 pitcher in baseball right now and the ranking reflects it.

Schwarber at 21 is equally justified. He hit .240 with 56 home runs, 132 RBIs, and 111 runs scored in 162 games last season. Fifty-six home runs. He played every single game and was one of the most productive power hitters in the sport. Twenty-first in baseball is not a stretch.

Trea Turner at 26 is also fair. He hit .304 with 179 hits, 94 runs scored, and 15 home runs in 141 games last season, won the National League batting title, and was the only NL hitter to eclipse .300 on the season.

Turner was the first Phillies player to win the batting title since Richie Ashburn in 1958. He was healthy, consistent, and exactly what this lineup needs at the top. No complaints on any of the top three.

Now for the ones that are harder to accept.

Bryce Harper at 42 is laughable.

Last season he hit .261 with 27 home runs and 75 RBIs in 132 games, which by his own standards was a down year. ESPN clearly used that as justification for sliding him down the list. The problem is Harper is already showing in Spring Training and with Team USA that last year was the outlier, not the new normal.

Through 11 at-bats this spring he is hitting .455 with three doubles, a home run, six RBIs, and three walks. He already has more extra base hits this spring than he did in each of the prior two spring trainings combined.

Bryce Harper is locked in, hitting second in the Team USA lineup behind Bobby Witt Jr. with Aaron Judge protecting him, and looks every bit like the player who won an NL MVP and has hit .311 with 12 home runs in 38 postseason games as a Phillie.

Forty-second is not where you put Bryce Harper. Sorry.

Team USA destroyed the Giants 15-1 and the Bryce Harper batting order discourse was somehow even dumber than usual

Zack Wheeler at 91 is the most insulting number on the entire list.

Wheeler went 10-5 with a 2.71 ERA and 195 strikeouts in only 24 appearances last season before thoracic outlet surgery ended his year early. He is coming back from that surgery and his Opening Day availability is uncertain, which clearly affected how ESPN’s panel voted.

Either way, ranking a pitcher with a 2.71 ERA who missed time only because of surgery 91st in baseball is a disservice to one of the five best starters in the game when healthy. He will make them look foolish for this.

Jhoan Duran at 90 is worth examining in context. He posted a 2.06 ERA with 32 saves and 80 strikeouts in 72 appearances last season. Those are excellent closer numbers and the ranking is defensible depending on how many closers landed ahead of him on the list.

Jesus Luzardo at 87 feels a few spots too low. He was 15-7 with a 3.92 ERA and 216 strikeouts in 32 appearances last season. That is a legitimate number two starter on a contending rotation and 87th in baseball sells him short.

Then there is Aaron Nola, who is not on this list at all. His 2025 was rough, a 5-10 record with a 6.01 ERA in 17 appearances, and that is the reason he did not make it. Nola is the kind of pitcher you hope responds to a bad year with something close to fury.

Personally, I do believe the Aaron Nola Revenge Tour is coming. Check back at the end of 2026 and see where he lands. Anyways, Harper at 42 and Wheeler at 91 are the numbers to circle. Both are wrong and both will look worse by October.

Here’s the full list from ESPN >>

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