MLB Network’s rollout of its Top 100 Right Now player rankings continued late Tuesday night, as the 40 through 21 spots were unveiled
One major inclusion came in the form of San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman, who took the No. 38 spot on the list. This placement is a marked rise from last year, when Chapman entered the 2024 campaign ranked 89th.
The increased respect comes after Chapman delivered an impressive 2024 season in which he was at his most valuable since his standout 2019 with Oakland, as the 31 year old was worth 5.5 wins above replacement according to FanGraphs and 7.1 WAR according to Baseball Reference.
Elly De La Cruz jumps 69 spots on this year’s #Top100RightNow! 📈 pic.twitter.com/qfzgqnxi6b
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 12, 2025
His first year back in the Bay Area was a massive success, as he took home the fifth Gold Glove Award of his career and finished 11th in National League MVP voting.
Chapman spent the first four years of his career with the Oakland Athletics as one of the very best players in the sport, combining his best-in-the-league defensive ability with well above average hit and power tools that cemented him as one of the game’s elite.
But his offensive output fell off significantly beginning in 2021, which was his last as a member of the Athletics. His OPS that year was a career-low .716, and it only rebounded to the .750’s in his two seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays.
That was a far cry from the .864 he had in 2018 and .848 he put up in 2019, and it was enough to make many wonder if Chapman’s days of unbridled excellence on both offense and defense were over.
His output in 2025 has done a lot to put those doubts to rest, as Chapman put up a triple slash line of .247/.328/.463, with the increase in slugging percentage driving the largest portion of his improvement.
Looking ahead to 2025, Chapman will try to make good on this lofty spot in the player rankings as a key cog in San Francisco’s lineup. He will have more help this season, as he will be joined by the team’s big off-season acquisition in shortstop Willy Adames on the left side of the infield.
Tuesday night’s revel was heavy on the hot corner, as Chapman was one of five third basemen in the 20 new spots, with Alex Bregman (37), Austin Riley (33), Manny Machado (29) and Rafael Devers (21) also finding their places last night.
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