Major League Baseball

Ben Verlander's 'Best Of' each MLB division

Published May. 19, 2022 5:15 p.m. ET

Ben Verlander isn't cutting corners. He's going division by division.

On his most recent "Flippin' Bats" podcast, Verlander went through each MLB division, singling out the best position player, best pitcher and best team.

Verlander lays out the best players, team in each division

Which position player is king in each division? Which pitcher is the most untouchable? And which team is the favorite across each division? Ben Verlander has the answers.

Let's see where he landed.

AL EAST

Top position player: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

Verlander's thoughts: "Aaron is an MVP candidate right now. He bet on himself, and he is winning. You absolutely love to see it."

Top pitcher: Nestor Cortes, New York Yankees

Verlander's thoughts: "He's not throwing 98 miles per hour, but he just pitches, and he changes it up on you."

Top team: New York Yankees

Verlander's thoughts: "The Yankees are the best team in baseball. They've been No. 1 for three weeks in a row."

AL CENTRAL

Top position player: Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins

Verlander's thoughts: "When he is on the field, he is an MVP-caliber talent, and it's so fun to watch him."

Top pitcher: Dylan Cease, Chicago White Sox

Verlander's thoughts: "He's punching out everybody. He's throwing hard, his slider is disgusting. He had one bad game the other day and he still struck out 11 guys!"

Top team: Minnesota Twins

Verlander's thoughts: "I really like what the Minnesota Twins are doing, and to me, right now, the Twins are the best team in the AL Central."

AL WEST

Top position player: Taylor Ward, Los Angeles Angels

Verlander's thoughts: "Taylor Ward is the first Angels right fielder with two grand slams in a single season since Vladamir Guerrero in 2005. What he's doing is incredible. What the Angles are doing is incredible, and he's a big reason for that."

Top pitcher: Justin Verlander, Houston Astros

Verlander's thoughts: "It's been remarkable what he's done this year, since coming back from Tommy John Surgery. He's the second-oldest pitcher to come back and pitch in the majors after Tommy John Surgery."

Top team: Houston Astros

Verlander's thoughts: "They could be, and very well might be, the best team in the American League."

NL EAST

Top position player: Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies

Verlander's thoughts: "Coming off an MVP season, he's just continued to be fantastic."

Top pitcher: Pablo López, Miami Marlins

Verlander's thoughts: "His change-up just drops off a table. In the baseball world, we call that a ‘Bugs Bunny change-up.’ It's just nasty."

Top team: New York Mets

Verlander's thoughts: "The Mets aren't going to Met. That saying needs to go because this team is the real deal. Steve Cohen has built a fantastic team that does it all."

NL CENTRAL

Top position player: Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals

Verlander's thoughts: "His name is up there for MVP, in my opinion. I love that he's having the success that he's having."

Top pitcher: Josh Hader, Milwaukee Brewers

Verlander's thoughts: "Reliever, closer, Josh Hader. Hader could win an MVP this year. He's going to be in the MVP conversation. He's doing stuff that has never been done before as a closer. Every game he's appeared in, he's got the save."

Top team: Milwaukee Brewers

Verlander's thoughts: "What's cool about this team in the regular season is that their pitching staff is good enough, no matter what, that they aren't going to go on awful skids. This pitching staff has the ability to make them a .500 team when the offense isn't playing well."

NL WEST

Top position player: Manny Machado, San Diego Padres

Verlander's thoughts: "Manny is hitting everything hard right now, and he's playing good defense. What Manny Machado has done this year has been fantastic for the Padres."

Top pitcher: Zac Gallen, Arizona Diamondbacks

Verlander's thoughts: "Zac Gallen has a 0.95 ERA, which is the lowest by a starting pitcher in his first five starts of a season in Diamondbacks history."

Top team: Los Angeles Dodgers

Verlander's thoughts: "The Dodgers are the best team in the NL West. They have a full roster; it's complete. They have a great offense and good pitching staff. They're the best team in the NL West."