11 unexpected All-MLB Team candidates - MLB.com

The field of candidates for the 2020 All-MLB Team presented by CohnReznick features eight first-team selections from last year, including stars such as Gerrit Cole, Jacob deGrom and Mike Trout. But that doesn’t mean every candidate was expected to be in this position. In fact, a number of the 2020

The field of candidates for the 2020 All-MLB Team presented by CohnReznick features eight first-team selections from last year, including stars such as Gerrit Cole, Jacob deGrom and Mike Trout. But that doesn’t mean every candidate was expected to be in this position.

In fact, a number of the 2020 contenders were far from favorites to claim that status back when the abbreviated season began in late July. Whether they were veterans bouncing back from off years or younger players establishing themselves for the first time, these players enjoyed momentous seasons that have them in consideration for All-MLB honors.

Fans have the ability to vote here once every 24 hours until the polls close at 2 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 13, and the All-MLB first and second teams will be announced in early December on MLB Network.

Before then, let’s highlight 11 unexpected candidates -- one from each position, including three outfielders -- who surprised the baseball world with their performances in 2020.

Catcher: Travis d’Arnaud, Braves
While d’Arnaud certainly was a higher-profile player than Austin Nola prior to this season, he also authored the much greater jump in production from 2019 to ‘20. It’s not that d’Arnaud was an afterthought at this time a year ago, as he had hit well for the Rays after they picked him up last May, and Atlanta rewarded him with a two-year, $16 million contract. Still, nobody saw d’Arnaud slashing .321/.386/.533 in his Braves debut, setting personal bests for on-base percentage and slugging percentage by nearly 50 points apiece, while finishing second among MLB qualifiers to Fernando Tatis Jr. with a 57.8% hard-hit rate.

First base: Brandon Belt, Giants
A 10-year veteran and 2016 All-Star who has played for two championship teams in San Francisco, Belt has been a productive big leaguer for a while now -- even if his pitcher-friendly home park has not done him a lot of favors. But in 2019, Belt turned 31 and his OPS+ dipped below average (97) for the first time in his career, leading to questions about whether he was on the decline. The answer is a resounding no. Perhaps fully healthy for the first time in a couple of years after dealing with knee issues, Belt was a huge part of the Giants' season-long contention in 2020. His quality-of-contact metrics shot up across the board, and Belt generated the best rate stats of his career (.309/.425/.591), even doing much of his damage at Oracle Park.

Second base: Jake Cronenworth, Padres
When the Rays and Padres pulled off a major trade last December, the focus understandably was on the swap of big league outfielders Tommy Pham (to San Diego) and Hunter Renfroe (to Tampa Bay). Yet it was Cronenworth, a two-way prospect who was rated 17th in the Padres’ system after the deal by MLB Pipeline, who had the best 2020 of the three. In his first taste of the Majors, the 26-year-old started games at first base, second base and shortstop for San Diego, all while batting .285/.354/.477. Although Cronenworth slowed down after a torrid start to the season, he remained a valuable and versatile piece through the Friars’ postseason run.

Third base: Alec Bohm, Phillies
Bohm wasn’t a huge surprise in the sense that he was the No. 3 overall pick of the 2018 Draft and MLB Pipeline’s No. 34-ranked prospect after last season. Even so, it wasn’t clear that Bohm would get a chance at significant big league playing time in 2020, or if he did, that he would be able to run with it immediately. Yet that’s exactly what happened. The Phillies called up Bohm a couple of weeks into the season and handed him the third base job. He never looked back, avoiding a steep learning curve and slashing .338/.400/.481. The 24-year-old now joins Cronenworth as a finalist for the National League Rookie of the Year honors, in addition to an All-MLB candidate.

Shortstop: José Iglesias, Orioles
It didn’t exactly make waves when Baltimore inked Iglesias to a one-year deal in January, but the nine-year veteran turned out to be one of last offseason’s sneakiest signings. While the shortened season and a left quad strain sustained in August combined to limit him to just 39 games, Iglesias made the most of them by batting .373/.400/.556, with that average ranking first in MLB among those with 150 plate appearances. Known more for his glove than his bat, Iglesias had an above-average OPS+ for the first time since 2013 and gave the Orioles every reason to exercise his 2021 club option.

Outfield: Teoscar Hernández, Blue Jays
In terms of up-and-coming position players Toronto fans were excited about coming into 2020, Hernández was certainly not at the top of the list. Yet he was the one who ultimately led the Blue Jays in slugging (.579), OPS (.919), and home runs (16), finishing tied for seventh in the Majors in the last of those categories. It was a big leap for Hernández, who was only a bit above MLB average offensively (107 OPS+) over the previous two seasons but now appears to have solidified himself as part of the club’s developing core.

Outfield: Wil Myers, Padres
The numbers Myers put up in 2020 were the sort that were expected of him back when he was a top prospect, then the 2013 AL Rookie of the Year with the Rays. But it had been a struggle for Myers over the past couple of years with the Padres, as he was limited to 83 games in 2018 and put up a below-average 96 OPS+ in ‘19. That led to real questions about whether Myers and his big contract were still a piece of the puzzle in San Diego. Then the 29-year-old went out and slugged .606 -- his first season above .478 -- while mashing 15 homers in only 55 games. Both he and fellow Padres outfielder and All-MLB candidate Trent Grisham were big parts of the club snapping its playoff drought.

Outfield: AJ Pollock, Dodgers
The potential has always been there for Pollock, but his 2019 debut with the Dodgers was another season in which injuries interfered. Pollock played only 86 games, and delivered solid but hardly spectacular numbers before an 0-for-13 postseason ended things on a sour note. In 2020, though, L.A saw the player to whom it had committed $55 million over four years. While Mookie Betts was the eye-popping addition to the outfield, Pollock played in 55 of the team’s 60 games and tied Betts for the team lead with 16 homers, while slugging .566.

Designated hitter: Jesse Winker, Reds
The addition of the DH in the NL this year gave Winker an opportunity to stay in the lineup every day. He took advantage. A good way to do that is to make better contact, and sure enough, Winker’s jump of 9.2 percentage points in barrel rate from 2019 to ‘20 was the largest gain among 188 qualifiers. That helped him raise his OPS to .932 (about 100 points higher than in 2018 and ‘19) while launching 12 homers -- just four fewer than he had the previous season, in 44% as many at-bats.

Starting pitcher: Corbin Burnes, Brewers
If it were judged solely based on 2019 results, Burnes' status as an All-MLB candidate this year would be the most surprising of all. After a strong rookie season in Milwaukee in ‘18, the right-hander endured a miserable sophomore campaign, in which his own struggles combined with some atrocious luck (see: an outrageous .414 BABIP) to produce an 8.82 ERA over 49 innings. Burnes went back to the drawing board and reemerged in 2020 as a legitimate Cy Young Award candidate, authoring one of the most dramatic bounceback seasons for a pitcher in baseball history (2.11 ERA).

Relief pitcher: Devin Williams, Brewers
The nature of the job dictates that every season, some suddenly unhittable relievers emerge seemingly out of thin air. In 2020, Williams was the No. 1 example. His résumé coming into the year included a spotty Minor League track record -- much of it as a starter -- and all of 13 2/3 Major League innings. But armed with baseball’s most devastating pitch, Williams overtook teammate Josh Hader as Milwaukee’s (and perhaps the game’s) most overwhelming reliever this year, allowing one run and striking out 53 batters in 27 innings.

Andrew Simon is a research analyst for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @AndrewSimonMLB.

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