Why do I continue to highlight songs from my middle school days? I honestly have no idea. But it works. However, I can’t take the credit for this one. Thank you, creative Royals fan and MLB.com. If only I could pull the freakin gif off of Twitter now. Ugh. Am I a Royals fan? No. Do I #VoteRoyals? No. Do I still get jiggy with it? Um, I’m not sure that I ever did. I don’t know that Will Smith did, either. But in terms of a creeper, it’s a perfect moniker for another MI that’s already given the boot to one established veteran, and is proving that he’s more than worthy of his spot at 2B. Since taking the leadoff slot in the lineup, the Royals are 8-2 in their past 10. Who we talking about?
- Whit Merrifield, 2B (21.2% owned) – He’s jumped up just above the 20% threshold with a 15.2+ added percentage. And smart of you if you already grabbed him. Is he cracking the Top 100 quite yet? No. But just barely. Consider him the honorable mention of the week. In the past 15 days Merrifield is tied with Robinson Cano and Paul Goldschmidt for the most hits in the majors (21), Rougned Odor for the most at bats (63), and is tied for 11th in total bases (33) while slashing .333/10/2/8/1. His BABIP is an unsustainable .400, but through the minors he’s proven he can get on base (~.350 OBP past three years), provide a little pop and swipe some bases (48 SB in last 750 minors ABs). Hitting atop the Royals lineup should give him ample opportunity to rack up runs, and it seems that he’s here to stay after the Royals DFA’d Omar Infante due to Merrifield’s emergence. He may slow down a tick, but while he’s hot I’d grab him, especially if you need AVG, R and SB help. Let’s safely project .275/40/6/30/15 the rest of the way. I can get jiggy with that.
Enough creepin’…Here are those Top 100 Hitters for Week 12!
RED = Falling
GREEN = Rising
BLUE = New to the 100
| Rank | Name | Pos | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Altuve | 2B | HOU |
| 2 | Mike Trout | OF | LAA |
| 3 | Mookie Betts | OF | BOS |
| 4 | Manny Machado | 3B/SS | BAL |
| 5 | Nolan Arenado | 3B | COL |
| 6 | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | ARI |
| 7 | David Ortiz | DH | BOS |
| 8 | Robinson Cano | 2B | SEA |
| 9 | Josh Donaldson | 3B | TOR |
| 10 | George Springer | OF | HOU |
| 11 | Bryce Harper | OF | WAS |
| 12 | Yoenis Cespedes | OF | NYM |
| 13 | Anthony Rizzo | 1B | CHC |
| 14 | Starling Marte | OF | PIT |
| 15 | Kris Bryant | 3B/OF | CHC |
| 16 | Edwin Encarnacion | 1B | TOR |
| 17 | Ian Kinsler | 2B | DET |
| 18 | Xander Bogaerts | SS | BOS |
| 19 | Daniel Murphy | 2B/3B | WAS |
| 20 | Miguel Cabrera | 1B | DET |
| 21 | Nelson Cruz | OF | SEA |
| 22 | Ian Desmond | SS/OF | TEX |
| 23 | Eric Hosmer | 1B | KC |
| 24 | Gregory Polanco | OF | PIT |
| 25 | Charlie Blackmon | OF | COL |
| 26 | Mark Trumbo | OF | BAL |
| 27 | Carlos Gonzalez | OF | COL |
| 28 | Matt Carpenter | 3B | STL |
| 29 | Marcell Ozuna | OF | MIA |
| 30 | Carlos Correa | SS | HOU |
| 31 | Corey Seager | SS | LAD |
| 32 | Lorenzo Cain | OF | KC |
| 33 | Kyle Seager | 3B | SEA |
| 34 | Chris Davis | 1B/OF | BAL |
| 35 | Ben Zobrist | 2B/OF | CHC |
| 36 | Christian Yelich | OF | MIA |
| 37 | Jackie Bradley Jr. | OF | BOS |
| 38 | Trevor Story | SS | COL |
| 39 | Francisco Lindor | SS | CLE |
| 40 | Andrew McCutchen | OF | PIT |
| 41 | Joey Votto | 1B | CIN |
| 42 | Wil Myers | 1B/OF | SD |
| 43 | Ryan Braun | OF | MIL |
| 44 | Jonathan Villar | SS | MIL |
| 45 | Victor Martinez | DH | DET |
| 46 | Jason Kipnis | 2B | CLE |
| 47 | Danny Valencia | 3B/OF | OAK |
| 48 | Adam Jones | OF | BAL |
| 49 | Albert Pujols | 1B | LAA |
| 50 | Stephen Piscotty | OF | STL |
| 51 | Jose Abreu | 1B | CWS |
| 52 | Matt Kemp | OF | SD |
| 53 | Adrian Beltre | 3B | TEX |
| 54 | Giancarlo Stanton | OF | MIA |
| 55 | Jung-ho Kang | SS/3B | PIT |
| 56 | Dustin Pedroia | 2B | BOS |
| 57 | Rougned Odor | 2B | TEX |
| 58 | Adam Duvall | OF | CIN |
| 59 | Evan Longoria | 3B | TB |
| 60 | Jay Bruce | OF | CIN |
| 61 | Carlos Beltran | OF | NYY |
| 62 | Nick Castellanos | 3B | DET |
| 63 | Todd Frazier | 3B | CWS |
| 64 | Buster Posey | C | SF |
| 65 | Dexter Fowler | OF | CHC |
| 66 | Nomar Mazara | OF | TEX |
| 67 | Jason Heyward | OF | CHC |
| 68 | Freddie Freeman | 1B | ATL |
| 69 | Brandon Belt | 1B | SF |
| 70 | Jonathan Lucroy | C | MIL |
| 71 | Eduardo Nunez | SS/3B | MIN |
| 72 | Hanley Ramirez | OF/1B | BOS |
| 73 | Melvin Upton, Jr. | OF | SD |
| 74 | Odubel Herrera | OF | PHI |
| 75 | Michael Saunders | OF | TB |
| 76 | DJ LeMahieu | 2B | COL |
| 77 | Kole Calhoun | OF | LAA |
| 78 | Josh Harrison | 2B/3B/OF | PIT |
| 79 | Trayce Thompson | OF | LAD |
| 80 | Brian Dozier | 2B | MIN |
| 81 | Troy Tulowitzki | SS | TOR |
| 82 | Justin Upton | OF | DET |
| 83 | Jurickson Profar | 2B | TEX |
| 84 | Rajai Davis | OF | CLE |
| 85 | Steve Pearce | 1B/OF/2B | TB |
| 86 | Jonathan Schoop | 2B | BAL |
| 87 | Aledmys Diaz | SS | STL |
| 88 | Evan Gattis | DH (C) | HOU |
| 89 | Wilson Ramos | C | WAS |
| 90 | Logan Forsythe | 1B/2B | TB |
| 91 | Adam Eaton | OF | CWS |
| 92 | Jean Segura | 2B/SS | ARI |
| 93 | Jose Ramirez | SS/2B/3B/OF | CLE |
| 94 | Jake Lamb | 3B | ARI |
| 95 | Salvador Perez | C | KC |
| 96 | Adrian Gonzalez | 1B | LAD |
| 97 | Anthony Rendon | 2B/3B | WAS |
| 98 | Jayson Werth | OF | WAS |
| 99 | Brett Gardner | OF | NYY |
| 100 | Jacoby Ellsbury | OF | NYY |
Dropped from Rankings: Jose Bautista (31), J.D. Martinez (47), David Peralta (73), Brandon Moss (87), Mike Napoli (89), Travis Shaw (91), Cameron Maybin (92)
- The rise of the Blue Jays is in full tilt mode. Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion make big leaps back into the top tier category after they’ve finished second and fifth in total bases over the past 15 days. Edwin will easily top the 100 RBI mark again, and is on pace to approach 100 R, as well. 40 HR? It’s in his sights after bombing 7 of them in the past two weeks. And Donaldson may be even better. Where he was slowing down through the end of May, June has brought nothing but fresh wind in his sails to the tune of a .352/18/4/16/2 slash line over his last 15 days. Toronto will need all of them with Joey Bats hitting the DL (why he’s out of the rankings, along with J.D. Martinez).
- You could categorize this week’s rankings as the resurgence edition. Freddie Freeman, Joey Votto, Justin Upton, Jason Heyward, Adam Jones, Jose Abreu, and the aforementioned Blue Jays sluggers all made big leaps this week. These guys are elite talents, but, for whatever reason, they were trending in the wrong direction when looking at their production. Freeman’s been as elite as Paul Goldschmidt in June, Abreu is finding the power stroke again, Votto is now on pace for 25HR/10SB, and the ex-Braves Heyward and Upton are finally showing signs of life. And for all you who will mention my lack of Upton love the past few weeks, especially my hesitation on him in Week 11, NOW you can say he’s ‘showing signs of life’. Hitting .240 didn’t do it for me; going .304/10/3/16/2 does. Window is most likely closed on the buy-low, but I’d still try to grab him for $.80 on the $1 if you can.
- Can somebody check Carlos Beltran’s birth certificate? Are we sure when he was in KC and HOU that he wasn’t 14, and now he’s in his early 30’s. What he’s doing is bananas, and perhaps the steal of this year’s draft after bringing a 285 ADP into the season (according to FantasyPros). .283/38/18/48/0 is crazy for the 39 year old OF.
- Winner of the week? Wil Myers. As @JB mentioned on the most recent podcast, he’s the new Adrain Gonzalez of 6 years ago…the only Padre doing much of anything. And by anything I mean he’s been the most valuable 1B in fantasy baseball this year. Bonkers.
Drop those comments and good luck in Week 12! Check back next Monday for the newest updated Rankings and Creeper of the Week!
