The 2016 MLB postseason is in full swing, but for the 26 teams no longer in contention, the offseason can’t come soon enough.
This year’s free-agent market is loaded with impact hitters, headlined by Yoenis Cespedes, Edwin Encarnacion, Justin Turner, Ian Desmond, Mark Trumbo, Dexter Fowler, Jose Bautista and Mike Napoli.
The relief pitching market is also deep, with a trio of elite closers in Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon joining quality setup arms like Neftali Feliz, Travis Wood, Brad Ziegler, Brett Cecil and bounce-back candidate Greg Holland.
Then there’s the barren wasteland that is this year’s available starting pitching crop.
Rich Hill, Jeremy Hellickson and Ivan Nova are the top options in a group that also includes Andrew Cashner, Bartolo Colon, Doug Fister and other veterans best suited as organizational depth.
A lot will change in the months to come, but for now let’s take a crack at predicting where the top 15 names of this upcoming free-agent class might wind up landing.
Note: “2017 age” refers to how old a player will be on June 30 of the upcoming season.