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After a stop at second base, the B/R MLB 300 will now go to the left side of the infield and check in with the top shortstops in Major League Baseball.

As with first base and second base, the list ahead features the names of 25 shortstops. The scoring system for them reflects how shortstop is an extremely important defensive position with low offensive standards:

• Hitting: 25 points
• Power: 25 points
• Baserunning: 20 points
• Defense: 30 points

Before we move on, here’s a reminder that this year’s B/R MLB 300 is different from past versions in a key way. Rather than use the events of 2016 to project for 2017, the focus is strictly on 2016. Think of these rankings as year-end report cards.

For more on how the scoring and ranking work, read ahead.

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If there was ever a time for a player to not turn in a poor performance, it’d be the final two weeks of the regular season. Pennant and wild-card races are neck and neck, with division crowns and postseason dreams hanging on every pitch and every swing.

For some, such as the San Francisco Giants’ Hunter Pence, the job of turning those dreams into reality fell to their teammates, as Pence and the rest of this week’s All-Dud squad were unable to contribute much of anything to the cause.

As usual, players on contending teams who deliver dud-worthy performances will get the nod over those not on contending clubs as we fill out our roster. Normally, that includes one player per position, including a designated hitter and starting pitcher.

However, there wasn’t a worthy DH candidate last week, with an average .292/.370/.634 slash line from the guys who rarely, if ever, get a chance to play the field. So we’ll roll with a nine-man squad this time around.

Who joined Pence on this week’s team? Let’s take a look.

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Pitching is almost universally central to success in a playoff race. So news of San Francisco Giants starter Johnny Cueto’s groin strain gave reason to question whether his team would have enough firepower to win one of the NL’s two wild-card spots.

While Cueto may still be able to pitch in his next scheduled start, other playoff teams suffered injury setbacks.

Which of baseball’s training rooms were busiest this week?

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With catchers and first basemen in the bag, the B/R MLB 300 now turns its attention to second base.

We have 25 second basemen to get to, and this year we’ll be scoring them differently than in the past. Second base has experienced a huge power spike, setting records for home runs and slugging percentage, so the power category looms larger this year:

• Hitting: 30 points
• Power: 30 points
• Baserunning: 15 points
• Defense: 25 points

Before we move on, here’s a reminder that this year’s B/R MLB 300 is different from past versions in a key way. Rather than use the events of 2016 to project for 2017, the focus is strictly on 2016. Think of these rankings as year-end report cards.

For more on how the scoring and ranking work, read ahead.

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After getting started at first base, it’s time for the B/R MLB 300 to backtrack 90 feet to check in with the guys behind the dish.

Due to the position’s relative lack of star power, our list of the top catchers for 2016 features only 20 names. And despite Gary Sanchez’s best efforts, many of them are complicit in the position’s low offensive standards. As a counter to that, our scoring system acknowledges that catcher is by far the most important defensive position:

• Hitting: 25 points
• Power: 30 points
• Baserunning: 5 points
• Defense: 40 points

This is the same scoring pattern used in the first three iterations of the MLB 300, but there is one major difference. Rather than use the events of 2016 to project for 2017, this year the focus is strictly on 2016. Think of these rankings as year-end report cards.

For more on how the scoring and rankings work, read ahead. 

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Just two weeks remain in the 2016 MLB regular season, and while a handful of teams appear to be locks for the postseason, a number of playoff spots are still up for grabs.

The Chicago Cubs became the first team to officially clinch a playoff berth on Thursday, while the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers are also in comfortable spots atop their respective divisions.

That leaves the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals to duke it out for the two wild-card spots in the National League, and it’s shaping up to be quite the battle with those three teams separated by two games in the standings.

On the American League side, the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers are sitting pretty, but the AL East is still a dogfight with the Boston Red Sox holding a three-game lead.

The Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, and Houston Astros are all within four games of one another in the push for a wild-card spot, with the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees fading out of the picture but not technically eliminated just yet.

Meanwhile, non-contenders are taking a long look at some of their young talent while simultaneously trying to play the role of spoiler.

At any rate, there was a good deal of shuffling in this week’s rankings (like always) as we head down the homestretch.

One thing remains true: These rankings are a fluid process as teams move up or down based on where they ranked the previous week. If a club keeps winning, it will keep climbing—it’s as simple as that.

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Hello and welcome to the first stop on the Bleacher Report MLB 300: first base.

The rankings ahead are the first in a series that will lead to the top 300 players in Major League Baseball for 2016. They feature 25 first basemen, most of whom abide by the heavy-hitting tradition of first base. As such, hitting talents account for the majority of the 100 possible points each player can earn:

• Hitting: 35 points
• Power: 40 points
• Baserunning: 10 points
• Defense: 15 points

This is the same scoring pattern that the first three iterations of the MLB 300 used, but there is one major difference this year. Rather than use the events of 2016 to project for next season, this year the focus is strictly on 2016. Think of these rankings as year-end report cards.

For more on how the scoring and ranking work, read ahead. 

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It would be easy to fill out this week’s MLB All-Dud team with members of the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals, two teams that have faltered in must-win weekend series against the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants, respectively.

But believe it or not, there have been far worse individual efforts from players on contending teams around the game than anyone on either of those clubs. That includes Texas center fielder Ian Desmond, who no longer looks like a sure thing to be named American League Comeback Player of the Year.

As was the case last week, players on contending teams who deliver dud-worthy performances will get the nod over those not on contending clubs as we fill out our 10-player roster, which features one player per position, including a designated hitter and starting pitcher.

Who joined Desmond on this week’s squad? Let’s take a look.

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The 2016 MiLB regular season is over, and each league’s respective postseason is already underway.

With that in mind, now seems like the perfect time for one final look at where all 30 MLB farm systems rank, as well as an updated look at each team’s top 10 prospects.

The following factors helped determine the rankings of players and teams:

• Potential (Player): Potential trumps production a lot of the time, especially in the lower levels of the minors and with recent draft picks. Skill set and overall tools are often a better indication of what kind of player a guy will be in the future.

• Talent (Player): As for guys in the higher levels of the minors who are close to breaking through at the big league level, production and current talent level are the determining factors, as these players are viewed as a more complete product.

• Overall Depth (Team): Having one or two elite prospects is great, but having a deep farm system from top to bottom is the way to build a sustainable contender. The overall depth and level of talent was the biggest factor in ranking each team.

• High-End Talent (Team): That being said, there is a difference between a prospect who has a chance of making an impact at the big league level and a prospect who could be a star. Elite prospects served as a tiebreaker of sorts when two teams were close in the rankings.

We’ve incorporated a tier system to help differentiate between the different levels of talent. Here’s a quick explanation: 

• Tier 1: Prospects who have an elite skill set and legitimate All-Star potential. This is the cream of the crop.

• Tier 2: Prospects who have a good chance of becoming at least a contributor at the MLB level. This is where most prospects on the following list will fall.

• Tier 3: Prospects who profile as fringe MLB contributors or young prospects who are still too raw to project any higher. Having one of these players ranked among your top 10 prospects is a good indication of a thin system.

We capped that off with a quick rundown of each farm system and each team’s MiLB Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year.

These nominations are based solely on who put together the best statistical season at the minor league level, not taking into account things such as prospect upside, age relative to level and other league factors.

Just something to keep in mind as you’re perusing.

Let’s get started.

Note: Kansas City Royals second baseman Raul A. Mondesi (119 AB) and Texas Rangers third baseman Joey Gallo (125 AB) are both technically still prospects, but since both are in line to exceed the rookie-eligibility limit of 130 at-bats before the season is over, they were excluded from these rankings.

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Among the reasons Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, who notably doesn’t play in the field, can be considered an MVP candidate is because the award doesn’t reward defensive prowess.

The award annually acknowledges players in each league who have had outstanding offensive seasons. Such a player can be mediocre defensively and still win the award—or, in the case of Ortiz, not play defense at all. Even with new statistical measures for defense, no player can be a defensive stalwart and an average hitter and receive consideration for MVP.

The following candidates have had outstanding offensive seasons. Who has the best shot at MVP in 2016?

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