Freddie Freeman named 17th best player in ESPN MLB rankings

$The Braves could have Freddie Freeman and his sweet swing back in their lineup next week for a series at Washington, barely seven weeks after he fractured his left wrist. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)$

The Braves could have Freddie Freeman and his sweet swing back in their lineup next week for a series at Washington, barely seven weeks after he fractured his left wrist. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

By Juliakate E Culpepper

June 30, 2017

Atlanta Braves infielder Freddie Freeman landed the No. 17 spot in ESPN’s MLB rankings on Friday.

Freeman’s .288/.373/.484 stat line before his wrist injury in May propelled the eight-year veteran up ESPN’s list from his No. 77 ranking last season.

The rankings were determined by a panel of MLB writers, analysts, contributors and Insiders who ranked the top 100 Major League Baseball players of the season, evaluating the quality and the quantity of each player's contributions to his team.

“Freddie Freeman has a .290 lifetime batting average to go along with a .376 on-base percentage and a .495 slugging percentage in about 4,000 plate appearances,” ESPN’s Michael Bonzagni wrote. “There are only two other players in Braves franchise history to reach those thresholds with that many plate appearances through their first eight seasons: future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones and 1960s star Rico Carty.”

ESPN's full 1-20 MLB rankings can be found on ESPN.com.

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Freddie Freeman named 17th best player in ESPN MLB rankings