Hello, and welcome to the middle of the 2024 MLB season.

Crazy, right? But also true. The season has been going for three months and teams have checked off 50 percent of their games. If anyone is still clinging to preseason expectations, it's time to throw those out and give reality a nice, warm hug.

What better way to do this than by honoring the top 25 players of the season so far?

As with any "best of" list, this one is subjective. It would have been easy to rank players according to their wins above replacement, but that would have led to too much weirdness. Like, for example, Tyler Anderson as a top-five pitcher.

The goal was to aim for a list that feels right. Stats obviously count for a lot, but so do vibes. If the story of the 2024 season can't be told without the guy in question, then he's on the list. And the bigger the role he's playing, the higher he goes.

Let's count 'em down two at a time until we get to a final space reserved for the No. 1 player of the year.

25-24: Steven Kwan and Kyle Tucker

25. LF Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians

Age: 26

2024 Stats: 56 G, 252 PA, 7 HR, 3 SB, .368 AVG, .426 OBP, .535 SLG

Kwan is probably not going to hit .368 all year. That's just not a thing hitters do, least of all in a season with a league-wide average of .242.

Yet you'll note I put a "probably" in there. Kwan really is that locked in, after all. He's swinging and missing only 2.1 percent of the time, and his 28.6 line-drive percentage is the highest of any hitter in the American League.

Factoring in that Kwan could go 3-for-3 in winning Gold Gloves and that he's already set a new career high for homers, he has a strong case for the best season that not enough people are noticing.

24. RF Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros

Age: 27

2024 Stats: 60 G, 262 PA, 19 HR, 10 SB, .266 AVG, .395 OBP, .584 SLG

Tucker has been out of action since he fouled a ball off his shin on June 3, so he loses "points" (remember, there aren't any actual points here) on that account.

At the time he got hurt, though, he was tied for second in MLB in home runs and in the top five for OPS at .974. And even close to a month later, the latter remains the case.

Tucker was already a standout power-speed guy, yet this year has brought a more discerning version of the same player. He has a better walk-to-strikeout ratio than everyone except Juan Soto and Mookie Betts.

23-22: Jurickson Profar and Elly De La Cruz

23. LF Jurickson Profar, San Diego Padres

Age: 31

2024 Stats: 86 G, 347 PA, 11 HR, 4 SB, .314 AVG, .408 OBP, .476 SLG

The nadir of Profar's career happened last August, when he was released by the Colorado Rockies while they were careening toward the franchise's first ever 100-loss season.

You'd swear that moment lit a fire under him. After finishing last year strong with the Padres, he's now among the biggest year-to-year gainers in average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage over 2023. Notably, his OBP leads the National League.

If a post-hype breakout can happen in a guy's 30s, then this is the ultimate post-hype breakout. It took over a decade, but the Profar who was once billed as baseball's No. 1 prospect has arrived.

22. SS Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds

Age: 22

2024 Stats: 84 G, 359 PA, 14 HR, 40 SB, .252 AVG, .342 OBP, .468 SLG

De La Cruz still has his warts. One of them concerns his league-leading 111 strikeouts. Another concerns his 16 errors, which likewise leads the league.

The fun stuff, though, is so much fun. De La Cruz already has more stolen bases than Trea Turner did when he led the National League back in 2021, and he's been more dangerous upon making contact than even Corey Seager.

Whatever you do, pitchers, be careful on the first pitch to this guy. When De La Cruz connects on 0-0 counts, he's hitting .512 with 11 extra-base hits.

21-20: Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal

21. LHP Chris Sale, Atlanta

Age: 35

2024 Stats: 15 GS, 93.2 IP, 69 H (7 HR), 118 K, 17 BB, 2.79 ERA

Atlanta essentially made a no-risk trade to get Sale from Boston, so it was a little odd when they literally signed up for a heaping helping of risk by extending him.

Yet what's playing out this year is a reality that had previously not been apparent since all the way back in 2018: When Sale is healthy, he's as good as anyone.

His average fastball is up about 1 mph from where it was in 2023, and his mix of a high strikeout rate and low walk and home run rates add up to the best FIP of any pitcher in MLB. He's back, plain and simple.

20. LHP Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers

Age: 27

2024 Stats: 16 GS, 97.0 IP, 72 H (8 HR), 112 K, 19 BB, 2.32 ERA

Skubal has made 31 starts since he came off a long stay on the injured list on July 4, 2023. In these, he owns a 2.54 ERA and more fWAR than any other pitcher.

I'm not saying he's the best pitcher in baseball right now, but I'm not not saying that either.

He certainly doesn't leave much to be desired, as he's a strike-thrower with a 96.7 mph fastball and a changeup with a 45.9 percent whiff rate. And with an 11-5 record on days he starts, Skubal has been a reliable bright spot amid another dim season for the Tigers.

19-18: Tyler Glasnow and Garrett Crochet

19. RHP Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles Dodgers

Age: 30

2024 Stats: 17 GS, 103.0 IP, 69 H (11 HR), 136 K, 27 BB, 3.23 ERA

He's not there yet, but Glasnow is trending toward uncharted territory with his workload. With just 17.1 more innings, he'll have set a new personal best.

But no matter what the future may hold, he's made his innings so far count. The 6'8" righty is not just the NL leader in strikeouts, but also in hits per nine innings at 6.0.

Glasnow's three-inning, five-run dud his last time out looks like a bad omen from 30,000 feet up, but at least his velocity was back up after dipping in his two previous starts.

18. LHP Garrett Crochet, Chicago White Sox

Age: 25

2024 Stats: 18 GS, 101.1 IP, 74 H (10 HR), 141 K, 20 BB, 3.02 ERA

Crochet is already 47 innings beyond his previous professional high, so the question of how much longer he can keep doing what he's doing is a fair one.

Still, what he's doing is a lot of fun. He's punched out at least 10 batters in a game six times in the process of compiling his MLB-leading 141 strikeouts. He's also walked more than two batters in a game just twice all year.

Despite his escalating workload, Crochet's fastball is notably holding up just fine. He's averaging 96.9 mph for the year, but was at 98.0 and 97.2 his last two times out.

17-16: Logan Gilbert and Adley Rutschman

17. RHP Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners

Age: 27

2024 Stats: 17 GS, 112.1 IP, 78 H (12 HR), 102 K, 21 BB, 2.72 ERA

At a time when most starting pitchers' workloads are trending down, Gilbert's just keeps going up. If he maintains his average of 6.6 innings per start, he'll end up setting a career high for the fourth time in as many years.

Oh, and he also just casually leads the majors with a 0.88 WHIP.

He's still one to fill up the strike zone, and the cutter and curveball he now has in his arsenal allow him to do so with five different pitches. Among other things, these have been helpful in shaving his average exit velocity to a career-low 89.5 mph.

16. C Adley Rutschman, Baltimore Orioles

Age: 26

2024 Stats: 79 G, 357 PA, 15 HR, 1 SB, .294 AVG, .350 OBP, .471 SLG

It wasn't long after he debuted in May 2022 that Rutschman began his effort to claim the mantle of baseball's best catcher. By now, it's decidedly in his hand.

His 3.3 rWAR puts him 1.1 ahead of the next-best catcher of the year. He's otherwise trending toward career highs in several categories, including average, slugging percentage, OPS and home runs.

Even if Rutschman isn't the Orioles' best player of 2024, it remains singularly difficult to separate him from the club's winning ways. They're the winningest team in the American League since he debuted two years ago.

15-14: Ketel Marte and Zack Wheeler

15. 2B Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks

Age: 30

2024 Stats: 81 G, 360 PA, 17 HR, 3 SB, .287 AVG, .353 OBP, .521 SLG

After he made a name for himself in last year's playoffs, it no longer feels appropriate to refer to Marte as underrated. But can we agree to call him under-mentioned?

At 147, this is the third year out of the last four that his OPS+ has been over 128. And while he's lagging from the left side of the plate, he's been a terror from the right side against lefties. He's burned them for a .328 average and 11 of his homers.

There's also the other reason Marte is on this list, which is his defense. That he's handled 341 chances and made only three errors only makes it easier to believe Defensive Runs Saved's position that he's one of the best fielders of the year so far.

14. RHP Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies

Age: 34

2024 Stats: 17 GS, 105.2 IP, 73 H (10 HR), 112 K, 31 BB, 2.73 ERA

This is Year 5 for Wheeler in Philadelphia, and you can see why the Phillies were so eager to sign up for Years 6, 7 and 8 back in March.

The veteran righty has amassed more rWAR over the last five seasons than any other pitcher, and what he's doing in 2024 is more or less the standard experience. He's pitched at least six innings in 13 of his starts, allowing three earned runs or fewer in all 13 of them.

Wheeler is holding all hitters to a career-low .193 batting average, and righties to just a .164 average. They really don't like his sweeper, against which they're 5-for-38 with 13 strikeouts.

13-12: Tanner Houck and Ranger Suárez

13. RHP Tanner Houck, Boston Red Sox

Age: 27

2024 Stats: 17 GS, 107.2 IP, 91 H (5 HR), 105 K, 19 BB, 2.67 ERA

Houck had good stuff before this season, but the 5.01 ERA he posted in 2023 laid bare two primary issues: solving left-handed batters and staying sharp after one trip through the order.

Those issues are gone now. The righty is limiting lefties to a .522 OPS and he's been better than ever in his second and third trips through the order.

The splitter has been a transformational pitch for Houck, but things mostly still flow according to a tried-and-true slider that is among MLB's most valuable pitches. With only 11.1 innings standing between him and his professional high, durability is the only outstanding question.

12. LHP Ranger Suárez, Philadelphia Phillies

Age: 28

2024 Stats: 17 GS, 103.0 IP, 80 H (7 HR), 99 K, 21 BB, 2.27 ERA

Despite all appearances to the contrary, Suárez does have a better season than this one on his record. Don't you know he achieved the second-best ERA+ in modern history in 2022?

Of course you don't, because that's nerd stuff and what's happening now is more exciting anyway. The lefty has personally collected 10 wins for the 14 victories he's led the Phillies to, and that ERA of his is the best of any National League starter.

There's a sense of unsustainability in all this, but it's faint. Suárez really has been that hard to hit, boasting both a top-10 ground-ball rate and exit velocity in the 84th percentile.

11-10: Corbin Burnes and Seth Lugo

11. RHP Corbin Burnes, Baltimore Orioles

Age: 29

2024 Stats: 17 GS, 106.2 IP, 86 H (11 HR), 99 K, 24 BB, 2.28 ERA

If we're going to force any concern about Burnes, there's always his strikeout rate. At his peak in 2020, he whiffed 13.3 batters per nine innings. He's now at 8.4, which is...not great.

To say that Burnes has been everything the Orioles hoped for would nonetheless be understating it. They're 12-5 in the games he's started, in which he's gone at least five innings every time and at least six innings on 14 occasions.

It stands to be a very good year for Burnes. Even after the season is over, he could collect his second Cy Young Award and the huge contract he very much wants.

10. RHP Seth Lugo, Kansas City Royals

Age: 34

2024 Stats: 18 GS, 116.0 IP, 93 H (9 HR), 105 K, 27 BB, 2.17 ERA

This is an announcement from the No Fun Police: As his expected ERA is a run and a half higher than his actual ERA, Lugo is probably overachieving.

Reality rules, though. And the reality in this case is that the veteran righty has won 11 of his 13 decisions while leading all pitchers in both innings and ERA.

It's also cool to see a guy with fastball velocity in the 24th percentile not just surviving, but thriving. Lugo seems intent on testing the limits of PitchCom, as in his arsenal are eight different pitches to throw at hitters.

9-8: Mookie Betts and Bryce Harper

9. SS Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers

Age: 31

2024 Stats: 72 G, 331 PA, 10 HR, 9 SB, .304 AVG, .405 OBP, .488 SLG

Because of a left hand fracture that could take as long as eight weeks to heal, Betts' numbers are going to be frozen in time for a while. A danged shame if there ever was one.

On the plus side, these are some good-looking numbers we're talking about. And they might understate how locked in Betts was before his injury. First, read all about squared-up rate. Then, go look at the leaderboard and see him third on it.

There's also evidence that his out-of-nowhere move to shortstop had been going well. Despite his nine errors, he's still in the top 10 among shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved.

8. 1B Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies

Age: 31

2024 Stats: 76 G, 336 PA, 20 HR, 4 SB, .303 AVG, .399 OBP, .582 SLG

First base is incredibly hard, but apparently not for Harper. Even in just 110 games' worth of work, he's tied for third among first basemen in Outs Above Average for the last two years.

His bat has likewise been in good working condition, and especially since the calendar flipped to May. Prior to hitting the injured list with a hamstring strain on Friday, Harper's previous 46 games had yielded a 1.078 OPS and 14 home runs.

Because his 2015 campaign still exists in the historical record, this will not go down as Harper's best season. But it's still yet another statement in what is increasingly looking like a Hall of Fame career.

7-6: José Ramírez and Jarren Duran

7. 3B José Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians

Age: 31

2024 Stats: 79 G, 346 PA, 23 HR, 15 SB, .280 AVG, .332 OBP, .557 SLG

In case anyone's forgotten the slow start that Ramírez got off to, believe me when I tell you that was indeed a thing that happened.

Even as late as May 4, he was hitting only .277 with a sub-.700 OPS. But then he homered in back-to-back games and has overall hit .317 with 18 home runs ever since.

J-Ram is now on track for a typical J-Ram season. He figures to go at least 25-25, if not 30-30. And with the Guardians leading the way in the AL Central, he's a shoo-in to land in the top 10 of the AL MVP voting for the seventh time in eight seasons.

6. LF/CF Jarren Duran, Boston Red Sox

Age: 27

2024 Stats: 83 G, 381 PA, 9 HR, 20 SB, .288 AVG, .350 OBP, .491 SLG

The season is only halfway over, yet Duran is already just the third player since 2019 to achieve 20 doubles, 10 triples and 20 stolen bases in a season.

The speed has always been there, but Duran is doing a better job of emphasizing it with his approach at the plate. He's been spraying the ball everywhere, and especially to left field for a league-high 37 opposite-field hits.

Duran is otherwise second among outfielders with 11 Defensive Runs Saved. So even if his ranking fourth among all hitters in rWAR feels spit-take-worthy, it does make some sense.

5-4: Bobby Witt Jr. and Juan Soto

5. SS Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals

Age: 24

2024 Stats: 86 G, 377 PA, 12 HR, 22 SB, .312 AVG, .363 OBP, .534 SLG

Witt is still a little too aggressive on the basepaths for his own good. He led the league in caught-stealings in 2023 and his 22 successes this year still come with eight failures.

I bring it up only because it's literally the only thing he's doing worth griping about. He's getting better at pretty much everything else, including avoiding strikeouts and generating walks and higher exit velocities.

With 26 Outs Above Average since the start of last season, Witt is also in the discussion for the best defender in MLB right now. And with the Royals looking for their first winning season since 2015, the MVP energy is strong indeed.

4. RF Juan Soto, New York Yankees

Age: 25

2024 Stats: 82 G, 371 PA, 20 HR, 4 SB, .303 AVG, .437 OBP, .568 SLG

I would say Soto is in a funk right now, as his last 12 games have seen him hit just .189 with two extra-base hits.

I can't say that, however, because he's actually raised his on-base percentage from .435 to .437 in this span. It's an excellent figure even by his own standards, and that .568 slugging percentage has him on track for a personal best for a full 162-game season.

Yankees fans will also make the case that Soto has been clutch. And they'd be right, as his .386 average in high-leverage spots is by far his best ever. The guy clearly wants to win and get paid, in precisely that order.

3-2: Shohei Ohtani and Gunnar Henderson

3. DH Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers

Age: 29

2024 Stats: 82 G, 375 PA, 26 HR, 16 SB, .316 AVG, .399 OBP, .635 SLG

It is funny to think that Ohtani has slumped a couple times this year. He went homerless through his first eight games, and he more recently had a 19-game stretch in which he cleared the fence only twice.

Yet now here he is leading the National League in home runs, average, slugging percentage, OPS, total bases and, even though he's taking the year off from pitching, rWAR as well.

With Mookie Betts and Bryce Harper on the IL, a third MVP for Ohtani is looking like a strong possibility. And barring some kind of catastrophe, it's all but a given that we'll all finally get to see him in October.

2. SS Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles

Age: 22

2024 Stats: 83 G, 380 PA, 26 HR, 13 SB, .288 AVG, .384 OBP, .604 SLG

It took some willpower to not put Henderson at No. 1 on this list. He does, after all, lead all his fellow players in both rWAR and fWAR.

The only defense I have is that he gets a default leg up by virtue of being a shortstop, but he's nothing if not a darn good one. All the metrics agree on as much concerning his work in the field, and it's noteworthy that he's on pace for 50 homers.

Only Alex Rodriguez has ever gone there as a primary shortstop, and even he never achieved an OPS+ as high as the 183 mark Henderson has now. That's more so Honus Wagner territory, and suffice to say shortstops don't usually tread there.

1. CF Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

Age: 32

2024 Stats: 84 G, 370 PA, 31 HR, 5 SB, .316 AVG, .436 OBP, .708 SLG

The way Aaron Judge began this season was...a little alarming, to say the least.

By April 26, he had played in 27 games and taken 123 plate appearances. More than enough time to get comfortable, really, yet the .178 average and .674 OPS on Judge's stat line suggested he was anything but. Not everyone was panicked, but yours truly sure was.

Well, since then he's slashed .385/.496/.885 with 27 home runs. That's more long balls in just 57 games than any other hitter has all season.

Though Judge is technically on pace for 58, a second 60-homer season in three years is a realistic possibility. By some measures, he's even more dangerous this year than he was when he set the AL record with 62 long balls in 2022.

As Judge is a 6'7", 282-pounder who's not young anymore, the question remains whether he can hold up as an everyday center fielder. But at this point, it's really the only question.

Dude's having a monster year, full-stop.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.