2010's All-Decade Team

November 17th, 2023

I’m going to try to list my dream team of the 2010’s. 5 starting pitchers, 8 bullpen arms, 8 position players, and one DH. I’ve always wanted to do this.

Starting Pitchers: Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Jacob DeGrom, and Chris Sale.

Kershaw posted an ERA under 3.00 over the course of the 2010s with a 28% K rate. Scherzer recorded 10.6 K/9 with the most wins of the decade. If he’s on the bump, you’re probably gonna win. Verlander’s stats were almost identical to Scherzer’s, and he finished the 2010s with 20 complete games. DeGrom is just nasty. 10.2 K/9 with a 2.62 ERA over the decade with the least amount of BBs of all the top eligible pitchers. Chris Sale recorded 11 K/9 with over 2,000 strikeouts.

Bullpen Pitchers: Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Miller, Kenley Jansen, Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, David Robertson, Koji Uehara, and Fernando Rodney.

Kimbrel and Chapman both had a strikeout percentage north of 41% and recorded over 14 K/9. Andrew Miller had over 12 K/9 and when he entered the game, opponents confidence deflated completely. Jansen posted a WHIP under 1.000 and recorded over 3,000 saves (as well as Kimbrel). Britton wasn’t a huge strikeout guy but had incredible bite on his pitches that resulted in weak contact consistently. Robertson was consistent and finished the decade with an ERA under 3.00. Koji Uehara was an absolutely disgusting bullpen arm who filled up the zone and went under a lot of people’s radars. His ERA in 2013 was a hair over 1.00 as he contributed a great deal for the Red Sox en route to the World Series. Fernando Rodney is a journeyman who was able to close out a ton of games.

Catcher: Buster Posey

A great defensive catcher with an .828 OPS and 3 World Series over the decade.

First Base: Miguel Cabrera

268 Home Runs, 2 MVPs, and one triple-crown will get you here.

Second Base: Jose Altuve

His batting average never went below .276. He continued to get better each year.

Third Base: Nolan Arenado

10 straight gold gloves should be enough. He also went 5 straight seasons finishing with over 110 RBIs and over a .890 OPS.

Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki

This was a hard one to pick as there aren’t a ton of great hitting shortstops in general. However, Tulowitzki finished with an OPS over .900 for four of these seasons, with one over 1.000. His batting average was maintained around .300 and he always finished with a decent amount of HRs and RBIs.

Left Field: Ryan Braun

One of the best hitters in the league over the course of this decade. His OPS lived around .800-.900 and he always provided a lot of hits. Unfortunately he was caught using PEDs, but still. He could hit.

Center Field: Mike Trout

3 straight seasons with an OPS over 1.070. 4 straight seasons with an OBP over .438. 1 Rookie of the year award. 3 MVP awards. Pure greatness. This was easy.

Right Field: Giancarlo Stanton

Posted league highs in Home runs, SLG% and OPS. He was a game changer.

DH: Nelson Cruz

Similar to Stanton - consistent power-hitting production.