Dodgers: Five best positional players over the past decade

Which positional players contributed the most to the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise over the past decade?

Whenever baseball returns in 2020, it will represent the beginning of a new decade of Dodgers baseball. The Dodgers have now played over six decades in Los Angeles, winning five World Series, and setting themselves apart as a premier National League franchise, carrying over the tradition they built from their days in Brooklyn.

With the 2010s (is that what we call them?) coming to a close, I thought it would be fun to rank the best Dodger players over the past decade. This list will focus on the best positional players, with a separate article focusing on the best pitchers.

This is not a list ranking the best Dodger players in terms of pure talent. I tried to consider the best players in terms of how much they contributed to the franchise over the past decade. Superlative seasons are important to consider, but so is longevity. Both peak performance and consistency are factored into the ranking.

I had trouble with players such as Corey Seager and Adrian Gonzalez. I wanted to include them on the top five, but they represent a good example of how I tried to mix superlative performance with longevity. They either didn’t reach a high enough peak or play for enough seasons in blue and white to be included among the top five players listed.

Without further ado, let’s rank the five best positional players of the past decade to wear a Dodger uniform.

Honorable mentions: Adrian Gonzalez, Corey Seager, Yasmani Grandal, Joc Pederson

4) Andre Ethier

No player represents the Dodgers success over the past decade better than Andre Ethier, who has appeared in the most postseason games in Dodger history. Like the team, he never reached the highest of highs in his individual performance, but he was a productive, consistent and winning player.

From 2010-2015, Ethier was a steady performer for the Dodgers. He played in at least 130 games each of those six seasons. He batted .282/.357/.446 during that time, with 84 home runs and 380 RBIs. He made two All-Star teams and won a Gold Glove Award. While playing in more games than any other Dodger player since 2010, his batting average (.281) still ranks fifth over the past decade.

The left-hander participated in nine postseason series with the Dodgers since 2010. He would have ended his career with a World Series championship in 2017 if the Astros had followed the rules.

Ethier’s final two seasons with the team were severely hampered by injuries, but his production over the first half of the decade was good enough to land him 7th among Dodger players in wins above replacement (14.9) since 2010. When you think of Andre Ethier, you think of a consummate Dodger.

3) Cody Bellinger

Cody Bellinger would be at the top of this list if he had played in a few more seasons. The player who closed the decade as the National League’s Most Valuable Player is on a trajectory to become one of the greatest Dodger hitters of all-time. But with only three seasons under his belt, he ranks third behind two players who have had their own superlative seasons along a larger sample of games in the 2010s.

In just three seasons, Bellinger ranks fourth among Dodger players in home runs (111), sixth in RBIs (288), and sixth in wins above replacement value (15.4). His .559 slugging percentage is tops among qualified Dodger hitters since 2010. He has been an absolute hitting machine since breaking into the majors in 2017.

The 24-year-old can do more than just hit the baseball a long way; he is also a Gold Glove outfielder. Using advanced statistics, he ranked as the second best defensive right fielder in baseball last season. His fielding runs above average (FRAA) of 15.4, just above his new teammate, Mookie Betts.

By the end of the next decade, it will be fascinating to see where Bellinger ranks among the Dodgers all-time leaderboards. While a lost 2020 season could impact his chase toward history, his incredible start has put him on a pace to possibly hit 500 home runs in his career.

He only played three seasons over the past decade for the Dodgers, but his performance places him among the best players of the past decade.

2) Matt Kemp

For a while, Matt Kemp looked like he might be a modern-day Willie Mays player for the Dodgers. It’s unfortunate how things ended with the super-talented outfielder after signing a massive contract extension in 2011, but you can’t overlook what he did in a Dodgers uniform during the 2010s.

Of course, Kemp’s best season came in the months leading up to his franchise-record eight-year, $160 million deal. He had a season for the ages in 2011, finishing a close second in MVP voting to Ryan Braun. Kemp did a little of everything that year, batting .324 while leading the National League in home runs (39), RBIs (126), and runs scored (115). He also swiped 40 bases, leaving him one home run short of becoming the first major leaguer since Alfonso Soriano in 2006 to join the 40-40 club. And did I mention Kemp won a Gold Glove Award that season too?

Kemp’s 2011 campaign is the best individual season among Dodger positional players in the 2010s. It is arguably one of the best seasons ever when you consider his dominance across multiple statistical areas that represent power, pure hitting, speed, and fielding.

The Oklahoma native never reached anything close to the peak of his 2011 performance again, his other top seasons coming before 2010; however, over the entirety of the past decade, he still put himself among the best Dodger players. He hit more home runs (142), drove in more RBIs (491), scored more runs (445), and stole the second most bases (85) of any Dodger player since 2010. He also played in the second most games (798).

1) Justin Turner

What a story. When Justin Turner played on the Mets, he was known as a utility player with red hair. That’s how most fans identified him. And while the color of his hair will always be a defining characteristic, after arriving in Los Angeles, he completely changed his career arc, turning into one of the most consistent hitters in baseball.

Turner’s .304 batting average since joining the Dodgers in 2014 ranks 7th among major league hitters who have played at least 300 games in that timeframe. His on-base percentage ranks 12th, sandwiched between Christian Yelich and Jose Altuve. People usually don’t think of Justin Turner when they list the game’s premier hitters, but over the past six seasons, he has been a hitting savant.

It’s worth mentioning again. He was a utility player for the Mets with a .260 career batting average before returning home to California. In his first season with the Dodgers, he hit .340.

Turner has been productive while appearing in the third most games during the 2010s as a Dodger. He has hit the third most home runs (112), drove in the fourth most RBIs (383), and accumulated the most wins above replacement (25.3).

While Turner has never reached the peak of a Matt Kemp or Cody Bellinger season, he has had multiple seasons that value him as a very good player. Since 2014, five of his six seasons were worth more than four wins above replacement level. He hits for power (averaging nearly 20 home runs over the past four seasons), average, and knows how to handle himself on defense.

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Beyond his on-field contributions, it is worth noting his incredible connection with the local community. Along with his wife, Kourtney, he founded the Justin Turner Foundation in 2016 to help homeless veterans, as well as children and families battling life-altering illnesses and diseases.

Justin Turner proves that nice guys can finish first.