National Analyst Ranks José Ramírez as One of MLB's Top 5 Players

It should come as no surprise, but it's nice to see the Cleveland Guardians finally receive the recognition they deserve on a national stage.

In the evening hours of Wednesday, Jan. 21, the MLB Network began discussing who some of the best players in the league are, with Guardians third baseman José Ramírez being listed within the Top 5. The rankings, which were done by ESPN Insider Cliff Floyd, a former 17-year pro ball player, gave Ramírez and the Guardians credit for just how good they've played recently.

Ramírez and the Guardians marched back from a 15.5-game deficit to win the American League Central over the Detroit Tigers, making the 2025 MLB Postseason. While they ended up being knocked out in the opening round, it was still an impressive season.

At times, Ramírez has fallen into the shadows as one of the league's best players, mainly because he's on a small-market team like the Guardians, which haven't done much in the postseason since the organization's 2016 World Series run.

The six-time Silver Slugger winner put up a .283/.353/.504 slashing line with an OPS of .863 last year.

Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez ranked as the No. 3 player in major league baseball right now. https://t.co/Plfk8lRt9A
— Bill Kurelic (@Bill_Kurelic) January 22, 2026

The list and more

Atop the list was a player that shouldn't shock anyone; Shohei Ohtani, who's coming off a 55 home run season and three-straight MVP awards. He's been on top of the world and is poised to lead his team to a potential third consecutive World Series title.

Just behind Ohtani comes Aaron Judge, who's one of baseball's best outfielders. The 33-year-old's won three MVPs and five Silver Sluggers, with the last two seasons being his best hitting numbers in his career.

Through 10 major league seasons, he's averaging over a 1.0 OPS, an incredible feat.

At the No. 3 spot is where Cleveland's representation comes in, with Ramírez being lauded as one of baseball's best players. That's exciting, but it really does show that Cleveland's front office has to recognize the type of player they have and the opportunity in front of them to compete at a high level. When he does end up hanging up his cleats, one can only hope he'll have a title trophy to hang on his shelf.

While Ramírez is a bright spot for Cleveland, the front office is going to have to hope that the rest of the team's players, with a majority of them being prospects, can break out and be good pieces to play alongside the 32-year-old.

This sentiment was backed up by ESPN analyst Jesse Rogers, who said that the Guardians need to still add a bit to the roster.

"Cleveland probably isn't done adding to its pen," Rogers said. "The Guardians will look for another arm before spring training, but it's their offense that needs the boost."

Ramírez is always going to be consistently able to rake for the Guardians, posting over 15 home runs in each season since 2020, with an average batting mark of .280. He's impressive, but baseball's not a one-man sport. He's going to need some extra help added to the roster, especially late in the season.

As of now, the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets are frontrunners for the World Series title in 2026, but it's hard not to count out the little-market teams like the Guardians that always seem to want to slay Goliath.

And when you have a player like Ramírez on the roster, anything can happen.