ESPN 500: Players No. 101-150

Updated: March 28, 2012, 4:35 PM ET

ESPN.com

Who are the best players in Major League Baseball heading into the 2012 season? ESPN formed a panel of MLB writers, analysts and contributors to rank the top 500. The countdown from No. 500 to No. 1 began March 20 and ends April 3.

The results are being announced on ESPN.com, on Facebook and on Twitter (@ESPN_MLB). Fans can use the hashtag #ESPN500 to join the discussion or to follow along.

To compile a top-500 ranking, 34 ESPN experts started with a list of the top 600 players projected to play in the majors in 2012. Using a 0-to-10 scale, they evaluated only the quality of each player for the 2012 season. Players who are expected to miss 2012 with an injury, such as Victor Martinez, were not included. But Arodys Vizcaino (No. 376) was included because he was injured after the voting. Ages are listed as of July 1, 2012.

Panelists were polled over the final two weeks of February. Dan Szymborski's ZiPS system, which projects 2012 performance, was used to break ties to the fourth decimal point.

RANK	PLAYER	SCORE
101	Johnny Cueto @JohnnyCueto RHP \| @Reds \| Age: 26 \| Stats	6.38
102	Jose Valverde RHP \| @Tigers \| Age: 34 \| Stats	6.35
Jurrjens really ahead of Hanson? Can that be right? And there's no way that Valverde's the 102nd best player in MLB#ESPN500 — Neil Britton (@dodgenik) March 28, 2012
103	Ubaldo Jimenez @UbaldoJimenez22 RHP \| @Indians \| Age: 28 \| Stats	6.34
104	Miguel Montero Catcher \| @Dbacks \| Age: 28 \| Stats	6.33
105	Andre Ethier Right Field \| @Dodgers \| Age: 30 \| Stats	6.31
106	Jason Heyward @JasonHeyward Right Field \| @Braves \| Age: 22 \| Stats	6.28
Sorry, am I the only one who saw @jasonheyward hit below .250 last year? I'd rather see B.Harper this high if we're going off hype #espn500 — Kyle Harris (@KH_4344) March 28, 2012
@JasonHeywardcongrats on #106 on the #ESPN500Keep Climbing and don't lock @FreddieFreeman out anymore :) — Mike Bills (@RedoxAthletics) March 28, 2012
107	Ervin Santana RHP \| @Angels \| Age: 29 \| Stats	6.26
108	Daniel Hudson @DHuddy41 RHP \| @Dbacks \| Age: 25 \| Stats	6.25
109	Clay Buchholz RHP \| @RedSox \| Age: 27 \| Stats	6.25
110	Dan Uggla Second Base \| @Braves \| Age: 32 \| Stats	6.25
111	Tim Hudson RHP \| @Braves \| Age: 36 \| Stats	6.24
112	Carl Crawford @CarlCrawford_ Left Field \| @RedSox \| Age: 30 \| Stats	6.23
113	Andrew Bailey @AndrewBailey40 RHP \| @RedSox \| Age: 28 \| Stats	6.22
114	Joakim Soria @joakimsoria RHP \| @Royals \| Age: 28 \| Stats *OUT FOR THE SEASON*	6.22
115	Derek Jeter Shortstop \| @Yankees \| Age: 38 \| Stats	6.21
116	Mike Adams RHP \| @Rangers \| Age: 33 \| Stats	6.19
117	Trevor Cahill RHP \| @Dbacks \| Age: 24 \| Stats	6.19
118	Doug Fister RHP \| @Tigers \| Age: 28 \| Stats	6.19
119	Joel Hanrahan @hanrahan52 RHP \| @Pirates \| Age: 30 \| Stats	6.18
120	Shin-Soo Choo Right Field \| @Indians \| Age: 29 \| Stats	6.16
121	Jair Jurrjens RHP \| @Braves \| Age: 26 \| Stats	6.16
Jair Jurrjens ahead of Tommy Hanson eh? Granted they are close in the rankings it's just plain wrong. #ESPN500 #jurrmadux — Kyle Walleser (@KyleWalleser) March 28, 2012
122	Chris Young @CY24_7 Center Field \| @Dbacks \| Age: 28 \| Stats	6.15
123	David Freese @dfreese23 Third Base \| @Cardinals \| Age: 29 \| Stats	6.14
@ESPN_MLB pretty sure @dfreese23 world series performance should land him in the top 100, even if its in 90-100 — Tom Wright (@Tom_Wright12) March 28, 2012
124	Alexi Ogando RHP \| @Rangers \| Age: 28 \| Stats	6.13
125	Howard Kendrick @HKendrick47 Second Base \| @Angels \| Age: 28 \| Stats	6.12
126	Michael Morse Left Field \| @Nationals \| Age: 30 \| Stats	6.10
127	Jeremy Hellickson RHP \| @RaysBaseball \| Age: 25 \| Stats	6.09
128	Jordan Zimmermann RHP \| @Nationals \| Age: 26 \| Stats	6.08
Expecting breakout seasons from Jordan Zimmerman and Freddie Freeman, we'll see them in the top 100 in next years #ESPN500 — Double Dees (@DeMattiOhh) March 28, 2012
129	Derek Holland @Dutch_Oven45 LHP \| @Rangers \| Age: 25 \| Stats	6.07
130	Shaun Marcum RHP \| @Brewers \| Age: 30 \| Stats	6.06
131	Adam Jones @SimplyAJ10 Center Field \| @Orioles \| Age: 26 \| Stats	6.06
@SimplyAJ10 espn put you at 131. Little low don't ya think? #espn500 — Branden Ryan (@efficientmartin) March 28, 2012
132	Tommy Hanson @TommyHanson48 RHP \| @Braves \| Age: 25 \| Stats	6.03
133	Aramis Ramirez Third Base \| @Brewers \| Age: 34 \| Stats	6.03
134	Mark Buehrle LHP \| @Marlins \| Age: 33 \| Stats	6.02
135	John Danks LHP \| @WhiteSox \| Age: 27 \| Stats	6.01
136	Hiroki Kuroda RHP \| @Yankees \| Age: 37 \| Stats	6.01
137	Freddie Freeman @FreddieFreeman First Base \| @Braves \| Age: 22 \| Stats	6.00
138	Nick Swisher @NickSwisher Right Field \| @Yankees \| Age: 31 \| Stats	6.00
139	Jaime Garcia LHP \| @Cardinals \| Age: 25 \| Stats	6.00
140	Max Scherzer @Max_Scherzer RHP \| @Tigers \| Age: 27 \| Stats	5.99
141	Brett Gardner Left Field \| @Yankees \| Age: 28 \| Stats	5.99
142	Michael Bourn Center Field \| @Braves \| Age: 29 \| Stats	5.98
143	Peter Bourjos @pbourjos Center Field \| @Angels \| Age: 25 \| Stats	5.97
144	Corey Hart Right Field \| @Brewers \| Age: 30 \| Stats	5.94
145	Dustin Ackley Second Base \| @Mariners \| Age: 24 \| Stats	5.94
146	Brandon McCarthy @BMcCarthy32 RHP \| @Athletics \| Age: 28 \| Stats	5.93
147	Carlos Marmol RHP \| @Cubs \| Age: 29 \| Stats	5.91
Carlos Marmol blew 25% of his saves and had a 4.01 ERA. How does that earn him a 147 ranking?? #ESPN500 — Ed Hu (@EdWho85) March 28, 2012
148	Justin Masterson RHP \| @Indians \| Age: 27 \| Stats	5.91
149	Nick Markakis Right Field \| @Orioles \| Age: 28 \| Stats	5.90
150	Michael Cuddyer @mcuddy3 Right Field \| @Rockies \| Age: 33 \| Stats	5.88