Stacking the top of the leaderboard of center fielders is relatively simple because The Best Player on the Planet is at No. 1 -- that would be Mike Trout, of course -- and Andrew McCutchen is a solid No. 2 pick.

However, one evaluator who was asked for his input said there may be an intruder in the world of Trout and McCutchen very soon, because of the progress of Arizona’s A.J. Pollock. "I don't think a lot of fans and media understand how good he really is," the evaluator said.

The Diamondbacks certainly do, which is why they intend to follow up on discussions about a long-term deal with him later this winter, once other significant winter work is completed and Arizona begins to prepare for arbitration. Pollock will turn 28 Saturday, has a little over three years of service time and is coming off a season in which he compiled 65 extra-base hits, 111 runs and 39 stolen bases.

When Arizona has asked other teams about possible deals for pitching, Pollock's name has been mentioned repeatedly, and the Diamondbacks quickly deflect. "We aren't going to trade him," one Arizona official said.

Pollock is almost untouchable, Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall said Wednesday night.

Ranking the top 10 center fielders in MLB:

1. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

He just had his 24th birthday in August, and yet sometime during the 2016 season, he'll probably hit the 150th homer of his career and score the 500th run, and by season's end, he'll be closing in on 1,000 hits. That is nuts. He is the only player in history to finish first or second in the MVP voting in each of his first four seasons.

2. Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates

Next season, the drumbeat about his contract situation begins. Under the terms of the deal he signed with the Pirates, he has three years left, including a team option for 2018. McCutchen, 29, is building a formidable legacy, with five All-Star appearances and four consecutive years in which he has finished in the top five in the NL MVP voting. He seemingly has gotten more and more efficient in situational hitting as he gets more adept at picking pitches: He batted .361 last season with runners in scoring position.

Plus McCutchen keeps doing stuff like this.

3. A.J. Pollock, Arizona Diamondbacks

To go with some of the offensive numbers mentioned above, the Diamondbacks center fielder was in the top 10 in the majors in WAR in 2015. Pollack hit 20 homers in 2015, more than twice his previous season high of eight in 2013.

4. Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City Royals

The guy who ranked right behind Pollock in WAR was Cain, who continues to mature as a hitter. His rates of contact went up, his percentage of missed swings went down -- from 11 percent in 2014 to 8.4 percent last year -- and Cain racked up 101 runs in just 140 games last season, with a career-high slugging percentage of .477. Cain ranked in the top 10 among all fielders in defensive runs saved.

5. Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox

Some evaluators actually ranked Betts as high as third in this top 10 because of his extraordinary progress and what they perceive to be a serious devotion to improving. It was just four years ago that the Red Sox selected Betts in the fifth round of the draft, and already he is doing serious damage at the plate. He finished last season with 68 extra-base hits -- 42 doubles, eight triples and 18 homers. At a time when consistent contact is an increasingly rare commodity, Betts has some very Dustin Pedroia-like numbers: 86 extra-base hits and just 113 strikeouts in 197 games.

Keep in mind that Betts was struggling early in the 2015 season, hitting .221 on May 17. From that point forward, he batted .312, with an .861 OPS. Not surprisingly, other teams keep asking about him in trade talks, and not surprisingly, the Red Sox say no.

6. Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles center fielder has been incredibly consistent over the past seven seasons, posting an OPS in the range of .767 to .839 with at least 19 homers and 49 extra-base hits. In 2015, he hit 25 homers with 82 RBIs in 137 games.

7. Kevin Kiermaier, Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays center fielder posted a staggering DRS total of 42, nearly lapping the player who finished second, Andrelton Simmons. So despite some questions about how good of a hitter he will be moving forward (he hit .263 with 24 walks in 151 games), his glovework is so good that even some traditional scouts ranked him high on this list.

8. Dexter Fowler, free agent

He scored 102 runs for the Cubs last season while posting 149 hits, 84 walks and a more than respectable .346 on-base percentage. Plus he is a switch-hitter, hits for some power and steals some bases. He did not fare well in some defensive metrics, such as DRS.

9. Kevin Pillar, Toronto Blue Jays

Evaluators love how hard he plays and how he sells out in his defense. He was difference-maker for Toronto in 2015 and was right there with Pollock in DRS with 14. He's probably not higher on this list largely because of his on-base percentage -- he had 28 walks in 159 games -- and there is a curiosity about how the 26-year-old Pillar improves in the years ahead.

10. Adam Eaton, Chicago White Sox

Like a lot of the White Sox players, Eaton got off to a terrible start. But Eaton greatly improved as the 2015 season progressed, batting .335 after the All-Star break, 11th-best in the majors, and finishing with a career-high 14 homers and 58 RBIs.

Toughest guys to leave off

The Astros' Carlos Gomez. “When he’s healthy, he’s among the best [center fielders],” said one evaluator, and Gomez just wasn’t healthy last season, playing only 115 games.

The Rockies' Charlie Blackmon is widely respected for the type of player that he is, but as with other Colorado hitters, there is some mystery about exactly how good he is because of his Jekyll/Hyde home/road splits. Last season, he had an .890 OPS in games played in Colorado and a .695 OPS in road games. The theory of one evaluator is that Rockies hitters see such a completely different quality of breaking pitches when they play outside of Colorado that they struggle against sliders and curves.

Notables

• Zack Greinke will decide soon where he will land next, and sources say the Dodgers have been extremely reluctant to guarantee a sixth year in their offer, in order to win the bidding against the Giants.

Greinke is not worth with the Giants are offering, writes Mark Purdy.

• The Yankees have been part of a lot of trade conversations that involve a lot of different players, but it seems that on their end, the focus swirls around the possible addition of young starting pitching, whether it's pitchers on the cusp of the big leagues or pitchers who have little service time.

The Yankees are about to ratchet up their marketing of Ivan Nova, writes George King.

• The Angels are focused on position players and apparently have the financial flexibility to at least consider all of the market options, including the more expensive corner outfielders, like Yoenis Cespedes, Justin Upton, Jason Heyward and Alex Gordon.

Angels GM Billy Eppler believes he has an ace, writes Mike DiGiovanna.

• As the offseason began, there was an assumption within the Mets organization that Cespedes was probably going to sign for a whole lot more money that the Mets were willing to pay. However, as the winter drags out and Cespedes remains unsigned -- and his price tag presumably drops -- the Mets could jump back into the mix and look to re-sign him.

Cespedes' representation has been very aggressive in trying to develop some market traction, contacting clubs with repeated phone calls in recent days.

• The Padres are said to be pushing James Shields in their trade conversations in an effort to dump the last three years of his contract. He's guaranteed $63 million in salary for 2016 through 2018.

• Some rival executives believe that although the Marlins aren't shopping Jose Fernandez, it is possible to structure an aggressive deal to get him. In other words, Miami is open to being overwhelmed in a trade for Fernandez.

• A refrain currently spoken by rival executives: What do you hear about the Reds? The perception early in this offseason was that the Reds would be aggressive in changing direction this winter, in starting a modified rebuilding process. Aroldis Chapman has been mentioned in trade talks with the Astros and other teams, and the Reds talked about Todd Frazier with the Rangers, Indians and other clubs. But to date, the Reds still have Chapman, Frazier, Jay Bruce, Brandon Phillips et al.

• Oakland is expected to land one of the second-tier starting pitchers in the market, only the latest indication that the Athletics won't go the route of the Astros and tank a couple of seasons. Other clubs have been wondering whether Oakland would take advantage of the current high prices being paid for pitching and market Sonny Gray. But the Athletics can be confident that they would get a great return for Gray next fall (assuming he stays healthy) because the industry desperation will be only more acute, with such an incredibly thin free-agent class looming next year. The same dynamic is in place for the Braves and Shelby Miller and Julio Teheran; the Indians and their young pitching; the Mets and Matt Harvey; etc., etc.

• Neal Huntington spoke with reporters about the decision to cut loose Pedro Alvarez rather than tender him a contract, and says he made a mistake in how quickly he promoted Alvarez.

Some executives think Alvarez would have to get almost all of his at-bats as a designated hitter. The Orioles have interest in talking with Alvarez, although their own needs are currently in flux. They'd still like to re-sign Chris Davis, but if they can't bring him back, Alvarez would be a natural fit because their projected lineup is heavily right-handed -- Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Jonathan Schoop et al -- and Alvarez would provide left-handed power.

• Ross Atkins is the new GM of the Blue Jays, as expected. He had worked with Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro in Cleveland. Atkins and Shapiro will have to win over title-hungry Toronto fans, writes John Lott.

• Alex Speier writes that in the David Price negotiations, the Red Sox sent a high-level recruiter -- John Henry.

• Nori Aoki signed a one-year deal with the Mariners.

• Teams can now negotiate with Kenta Maeda. The Diamondbacks have been watching him closely.

Moves, deals and decisions

1. The White Sox signed Dioner Navarro and could go with a platoon of Navarro (who hits lefties well) and Alex Avila.

2. The Rays dropped Joey Butler.

3. The Braves are keeping Bobby Cox as a consultant.

AL East

• Larry Lucchino complimented the Red Sox ownership for changing course.

• Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey talked about how much better David Price became.

• Some numbers on how Mark Trumbo might adapt in the AL East.

AL Central

• The Tigers are looking to add a starter and a reliever, writes Anthony Fenech.

• The Twins will try to make all their pieces fit together, writes Phil Miller.

AL West

• With Hank Conger traded, Max Stassi now has an opportunity, writes Evan Drellich.

NL East

• The Phillies have the first pick in next year’s draft, and Jim Salisbury writes about a guy they might consider.

• Bob Brookover thinks the Phillies should target Jason Heyward.

NL Central

• The Cardinals have moved on from some of their worst offensive players, writes Jeff Gordon.

• A Reds pitcher is a big fan of the fans.

NL West

• Patrick Saunders writes about how much money the Rockies have to spend.

• Are the Rockies interested in Shelby Miller?

• The Padres worked out a signing of Cody Decker.

Lastly

• The Royals have donated some items to the Hall of Fame.

• The Diamondbacks unveiled new uniforms.

• Hunter Pence surprised his girlfriend.

• Lynn Henning decided not to submit a Hall of Fame ballot this year.

And today will be better than yesterday.