Most important player on every MLB team heading into 2017

One of the best and most consistent offensive players in the game, Goldschmidt had made four consecutive All-Star appearances and has more than 100 walks in consecutive seasons. His career .924 OPS puts him among the elite first basemen in the league, with banner years in 2013 and 2015 when he finished second in NL MVP voting and won the Gold Glove in both seasons.

The Braves are building their future around Swanson, the first overall pick in the 2015 MLB draft acquired from Arizona for Shelby Miller. Swanson hit .302-3-17 in 38 games last season in his MLB debut.

Machado has been an All-Star in three of the last four seasons and finished top five in the MLB voting in consecutive seasons. His OPS continues to climb, up to .876 last season, and he also filled in at shortstop last season when J.J. Hardy was hurt.

Now that David Ortiz has retired, Boston is led by a crew that includes Betts, Dustin Pedroia and defending AL Cy Young winner Rick Porcello. Betts continued his ascent last season, hitting .318-31-113 with 26 stolen bases.

The defending NL MVP, Bryant hit .292-39-102 with a .939 OPS for the eventual World Series champs. He's now won the NL Rookie of the Year and MVP in consecutive seasons.

The White Sox still have plenty of talent, including Jose Abreu, Todd Frazier, Melky Cabrera, Jose Quintana and David Robertson. However, those names could be traded at any moment as the White Sox embark on a rebuild. Moncada is clearly their top prospect, acquired from Boston for Chris Sale during the offseason, and could be a staple in the lineup for years to come.

While the Reds are still in rebuild mode, Votto remains one of the top offensive players in baseball and Cincinnati's highest paid player by a wide margin. He led the NL in on-base percentage for the fifth time in his career last season, finishing the year with a .434 on-base percentage and .985 OPS.

Cleveland has seen plenty of stars emerge, but Kluber has been the one constant in the Indians' success. The team has shaky starting rotation depth, but Kluber has made at least 32 starts in three consecutive seasons and finished third in the AL Cy Young voting last year after winning the award in 2014.

There's plenty of offense to be found in Colorado, but Arenado is clearly the team's best all-around player. He led the NL in home runs and RBI for the second consecutive year in 2016, also winning his fourth Gold Glove and second straight Silver Slugger Award.

Detroit's offense is a significantly bigger strength than its pitching, making Verlander a more important player for the Tigers than Miguel Cabrera. Verlander came just short of winning his second Cy Young Award last season, finishing with a 3.04 ERA in 34 starts.

The Astros are loaded with talent, and shortstop Carlos Correa as well as 2015 AL Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel can stake claims as very important pieces for the team. However, no one has been better or more consistent than Altuve, who has led the AL in hits for three straight seasons and has won three straight Silver Slugger Awards. He also won his second batting title in three years last season.

Perez has won four consecutive Gold Gloves at catcher, while his power has grown with a career-high 22 home runs last season. Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain and Danny Duffy are also extremely important players for K.C., but the team would completely change without the star catcher.

The choice for most important player couldn't be any easier in Anaheim. Trout has been baseball's best player since 2012, finishing no worse than second in the AL MVP balloting over the last five seasons and claiming five consecutive Silver Slugger Awards. He's already aligned with the best players in the game's history for his five-year string.

No team has more depth than the Dodgers, but there's no replacing Kershaw. He's the best pitcher in baseball by a wide margin, with three Cy Young Awards to his name and a cartoonish 1.88 ERA over the last four seasons.

"If only Stanton could stay healthy" is a phrase said all too often in Miami. He has epic power and hit a league-leading 37 home runs in 2014, the last year he did stay on the field. However, Stanton continues to have major injury woes, playing no more than 119 games in the last two seasons.

Now the elder statesman in Milwaukee, Braun is still going strong. He hit .305-30-91 last season at age 32 and continues to hold down the fort after the team traded Jonathan Lucroy last season.

Dozier went on quite a streak in the second half of last season and finished his year with a career-high 42 home runs and 99 RBI. He was mentioned in trade rumors often during the offseason yet never actually moved, but it seems inevitable for the rebuilding Twins.

Syndergaard was the one ace for the Mets last season with Matt Harvey, Steven Matz and Jacob deGrom going down at various points in the year. He's arguably the game's best pitcher not named Clayton Kershaw, posting a 2.60 ERA in 183.2 innings lats season.

The Yankees got an excellent year out of Tanaka in 2016, as he stayed healthy for 31 starts and produced a 3.07 ERA. That's an accomplishment in a hitter-friendly ballpark like Yankee Stadium. The team does pack plenty of power in the lineup but doesn't have many bats it rely on these days.

With Sonny Gray floundering last season, Davis emerged as Oakland's star. He hit a career-high 42 home runs and 102 RBI for the A's, producing an impressive .831 OPS despite playing his home games at the pitcher-friendly O.co Coliseum.

The Philadelphia rebuild is starting on the upswing, with one of the most talented Triple-A rosters in recent memory. There are some building blocks on the MLB roster, including Maikel Franco, Tommy Joseph, Odubel Herrera, Jerad Eickhoff and Vince Velasquez. However, Nola has arguably as much upside as any of those players, and he showed ace potential early last season before an elbow issue hindered him. The team has very high hopes for a rebound this season.

Cole missed significant time to injury last season, and it's no coincidence that the Pirates missed the playoffs. He returns healthy this spring, hoping to pick up where he left off as the team's ace. While the organization does have starting depth, Cole's upside is irreplaceable. 

San Diego could have the least talent of any team in baseball, and that's especially apparent with the starting rotation. The Padres did make Myers the staple of their organization after signing him to a six-year, $83 million contract last year, hoping he can build on his 28 home run season.

Posey and Madison Bumgarner have been stalwarts for San Francisco's three title runs since 2010. Bumgarner is an elite pitcher, but Posey's offense has made him leaps and bounds above every other catcher during that period. He's finished top 20 in NL MVP voting in six of the last seven years and won the award in 2012.

Seattle has plenty of strong bats in its lineup who have provided consistency, like Kyle Seager, Nelson Cruz and Cano. Cano is the most important of the bunch, if for no other reason than his mammoth 10-year, $240 million contract. The Mariners can ill-afford for Cano to not produce at that price, and he delivered last year hitting .298-39-103.

Carpenter has been the Cardinals' most consistent player in recent seasons, and his versatility defensively has added even more value. The team plans to move the former third and second baseman to first base full time this year. His offense should play just fine there, producing an OPS above .870 in three of the last four seasons.

Tampa Bay has been deficient offensively recently, and hitting could be even tougher to come by this year after trading Logan Forsythe. Longoria is the most consistent hitter in the lineup and had a career-high 36 home runs last season. Chris Archer is also a very important player, but the Rays have the pitching depth to fill in if he were to get hurt.

Darvish showed what a difference he could make after returning from Tommy John surgery last season. Texas claimed the AL West with the help of the Japanese ace, who had a 3.41 ERA in 17 starts. The team's pitching depth is even more on the skids this year with Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross set to start the year on the DL.

Donaldson has been an elite player over the last four seasons between Oakland and Toronto, finishing in the top 10 in AL MVP voting in each season. He won the award in 2015 and was arguably even more productive last year, with a career-high .953 OPS.

Harper won the NL MVP in 2015 before faltering last season due to shoulder issues. Washington's offense is decidedly different when Harper is right, though it did get a major boost last season after Trea Turner was promoted. Pitching ace Max Scherzer also has a case to be made as the team's most important player, winning his second Cy Young Award last season.