BBTN 100: Top 25 players

Who are the best players in Major League Baseball heading into the 2015 season?

ESPN formed a panel of MLB writers, analysts and contributors to rank the top 100. We ranked the top 10 at every position and then counted down from No. 100 to No. 1, revealing the top 25 on "Baseball Tonight."

Fans can use the hashtag #BBTN100 to join the discussion and follow along.

To compile the top 100, we polled more than 60 ESPN experts in February and March, starting with a list of more than 300 players. Using a 0-to-10 scale, they evaluated the players based only on how well they are projected to perform in 2015. Players expected to miss 2015 with an injury were not included.

Three of the top four players were the same as last year, with Giancarlo Stanton joining the top of the list.

There were four players who didn't make last year's BBTN 100 at all that were in the top 25 -- Jonathan Lucroy, Johnny Cueto, Corey Kluber and Jose Abreu. Yu Darvish (who is out after having elbow surgery) was the only player in last year's top 25 to fall completely out of the top 100.

Here's the 2015 BBTN 100 top 25. Also, check out our team-by-team breakdowns to see where players on your favorite team ended up.