It's not Albert Pujols. It's not Alex Rodriguez. It's not Hanley Ramirez. Baseball's best player since 2005, according to John Dewan, is Chase Utley: "Summarizing the past five-plus seasons, we have Utley with 907 Total Runs and Pujols with 878. And that’s why I submit that Utley is currently baseball’s best. (By the way, over that time span, no one else is close; Jimmy Rollins is a distant third with 742 Total Runs)." How's that so? Dewan's ratings of Utley's defense put him over the top, as Utley consistently dominates in the field according to Dewan. And through May 12, Utley has been doing it again this year, with the most total runs in baseball once again. (And let's not forget Jimmy Rollins, third since 2005, just showing what a special middle infield the Phillies have these days, and also how important their defense has been to the team's recent success.)