Byron Buxton, Top 100 Hitters, 2017 Fantasy Baseball

Greetings and welcome back to the Mike Maher end of summer backyard bash, where we talk about our beloved top 100 hitters. I will be taking a one-week hiatus after this post as I pack up my apartment and drive 1,200 miles north from Fort Lauderdale, FL up to Pennsylvania. That’s right, the true King of the North is returning home to his roots. No more tank tops in January for me for a little while. After my one-week absence, though, I will be back to tell you how good Rhys Hoskins is. You may have heard of him by now. We focused on him last week, so we don’t have to go over him again, even though he has pretty much homered in every game since we talked about him. And for once, that isn’t even an exaggeration. Check out his game log:

Take me on in the Razzball Commenter Leagues for a chance at prizes! Free to join, leagues still open!

But enough about Hoskins. Any more and this will turn into a second straight post about him. Maybe next season I can write a third weekly article that will focus solely on Rhys Hoskins and what he did that week. I’ll make a note of it.

I was going to focus on Nicky Delmonico and talk about what he was doing and what I saw, but he had to go and get hurt before I wrote the post. I suppose that is better than him getting hurt AFTER I wrote the post, though. So, we’ll touch on Byron Buxton instead, since he has been mentioned in comments the last couple weeks while he was heating up at the plate.

I have never had any Buxton stock the past two years, so I have never been burned by him and don’t feel as salty about adding him to the list as others might. I have also never been a huge Buxton fan, even back when he was a prospect everyone was drooling over. However, he has been en fuego lately with an 11.03 PR15. Game recognize game. He’s earned his spot. He is still owned in less than 60% of ESPN leagues somehow.

The important factor here is his SAGNOF value down the stretch, as speed is always going to be the key for Buxton owners. The problem up until now has been that he just hasn’t been able to really hit at all, which killed his value and also killed his playing time and led to him getting sent down for a while in the past. He hit .209 during his first taste in the show, then hit .225 last season. At times, his average has dipped below the .200 mark, and he looked absolutely lost at the plate. His top prospect shine started to fade as impatient analysts and fantasy owners moved on to newer, shinier toys.

It’s easy to forget that he is still just 23 and was called up two years ago, which, in retrospect, was probably too soon. So, he has pretty much been gradually figuring things out at the major league level for the better part of three seasons now. What that does to his overall development remains to be seen, but what is important for fantasy owners is that he is hitting NOW.

Buxton’s 11.03 PR15 is good for the fourth best in all of baseball. During this hot streak, he has also moved up in the batting order, which should only help his value going forward, assuming he continues to hit. Steals and runs are going to be his appeal, so being higher in the order is important for those counting stats. While he will probably never hit for much power on a consistent basis, he does have 10 home runs this season, so you aren’t dealing with a Dee Gordon guy who has NO power. There is some pop in there, but it won’t show up all the time.

At this point in the season, with only a few weeks left and, in many H2H leagues, only a week left before the playoffs begin, what is important is what a player is doing recently and what they can do the next few weeks. Buxton hit below .200 in two separate months earlier in the season. But that is behind us now. He hit .387 in July and is hitting .309 overall in the second half. He has been streaky at times in his young career, so enjoy the ride while you can. Watch him closely because he could turn back into that April pumpkin at any time, but his upside is too high not to utilize right now. I’m not sure why he is still owned in less than 60% of ESPN leagues, but hey, that is their loss.

Miguel Sano – Sounds like Sano’s shin injury is lingering longer than expected or hoped, and he is going to need more time than the minimum ten days required by his disabled list designation. Owners hoping for some power down the stretch are going to have to wait at least another week.

Giancarlo Stanton – Do we need to mention him here? I don’t even want to write down any stats because by the time I finish this sentence he will have hit two more home runs.

Gary Sanchez – Suspended four games for throwing punches, which is easily the coolest way to get suspended. Unfortunately for Sanchez owners, he was on fire at the plate, with a 10.82 PR15 and eight home runs in his last ten games. He is appealing the suspension, but I wouldn’t count on him winning that appeal.

Rhys Hoskins – I sat on Hoskins all year in a league that allows one minor league spot, and his call-up could not have come at a better time for me. I lost Bryce Harper, Joey Gallo, and Miguel Sano in the same week, and Hoskins and his dingers have saved me in a H2H league. And to think, some of you were questioning the Hoskins ranking last week. Well, how do you like me now?

Complete list of players to hit 10 home runs in their first 17 career games:

Rhys Hoskins pic.twitter.com/UZ1wngG8Eo

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) August 26, 2017

Manny Machado – No notes. Just this:

Manny Machado last 30 days:
2 BB (1.6%), 8 K (6.3%), 10 HR (7.9%)

— Jeremy Frank (@MLBRandomStats) August 27, 2017

Josh Bell – Bell is another guy I never became enamored with as a prospect but who is delivering at the moment. I probably won’t even glance at him in drafts next season, but a 5.49 PR15 with some pop down the stretch will do just fine, especially with all of the injuries lately.

Yoenis Cespedes/Michael Conforto – Putting these two in the same note because, well, Mets. I can’t recall a team in recent memory that was so cursed with injuries. Of course, there is a reallllly questionable training staff making the calls over there, at least as far as I can tell, so maybe that has something to do with it. If you are ownership, wouldn’t you be asking that staff some questions this offseason? Anyway, Cespedes is done for the year and Conforto probably is, too. Then again, this is the Mets, so Conforto will probably be rushed back to play in meaningless games the last week of the season.

Carlos Correa – Correa is coming back! He should start a rehab assignment this week and return to the team after playing in the minors for about a week. Great news for the Astros, but better news for Correa owners who need him down the stretch. I am adding him back to the list.

Note: These rankings are considered ROS Trade Value

**Mike Maher’s Top ¹⁰⁰ Hitters**

(Rankings based on 12-team Roto. GREEN = player rising. RED = player dropping. BLUE = new to the Top 100 or Honorable Mentions.)

Rank	Name	Team	Pos
1	Mike Trout	LAA	OF
2	Paul Goldschmidt	ARI	1B
3	Jose Altuve	HOU	2B
4	Giancarlo Stanton	MIA	OF
5	Nolan Arenado	COL	3B
6	Charlie Blackmon	COL	OF
7	Mookie Betts	BOS	OF
8	Daniel Murphy	WSH	1B/2B
9	J.D. Martinez	ARI	OF
10	Joey Votto	CIN	1B
11	Cody Bellinger	LAD	1B
12	Freddie Freeman	ATL	1B
13	Manny Machado	BAL	3B/SS
14	Anthony Rizzo	CHC	1B
15	George Springer	HOU	OF
16	Kris Bryant	CHC	3B/OF
17	Corey Seager	LAD	SS
18	Nelson Cruz	SEA	OF
19	Marcell Ozuna	MIA	OF
20	Carlos Correa	HOU	SS
21	Aaron Judge	NYY	OF
22	Jose Ramirez	CLE	3B/OF
23	Francisco Lindor	CLE	SS
24	Robinson Cano	SEA	2B
25	Jean Segura	SEA	2B/SS
26	Dee Gordon	MIA	2B
27	Anthony Rendon	WSH	3B
28	Jake Lamb	ARI	3B
29	Edwin Encarnacion	CLE	1B
30	Justin Turner	LAD	3B
31	Mike Moustakas	KC	3B
32	Christian Yelich	MIA	OF
33	Justin Upton	DET	OF
34	Brian Dozier	MIN	2B
35	Jose Abreu	CWS	1B
36	Gary Sanchez	NYY	C
37	Billy Hamilton	CIN	OF
38	Khris Davis	OAK	OF
39	Travis Shaw	MIL	1B/3B
40	Ryan Braun	MIL	OF
41	Wil Myers	SD	1B/OF
42	Adam Duvall	CIN	OF
43	Josh Donaldson	TOR	3B
44	Rhys Hoskins	PHI	1B/OF
45	Rougned Odor	TEX	2B
46	Tommy Pham	STL	OF
47	Andrew McCutchen	PIT	OF
48	Starling Marte	PIT	OF
49	Jay Bruce	CLE	1B/OF
50	Miguel Sano	MIN	3B/OF
51	Kyle Seager	SEA	3B
52	Ryan Zimmerman	WAS	1B
53	Andrew Benintendi	BOS	OF
54	Rafael Devers	BOS	3B
55	Whit Merrifield	KC	2B/OF
56	Lorenzo Cain	KC	OF
57	Eric Hosmer	KC	1B
58	Elvis Andrus	TEX	SS
59	Jonathan Schoop	BAL	2B
60	Justin Smoak	TOR	1B
61	Eduardo Nunez	SF	3B/SS/OF
62	A.J. Pollock	ARI	OF
63	Chris Taylor	LAD	3B/2B/OF
64	Xander Bogaerts	BOS	SS
65	Buster Posey	SF	C/1B
66	Miguel Cabrera	DET	1B
67	Adrian Beltre	TEX	3B
68	Mark Reynolds	COL	1B
69	Adam Jones	BAL	OF
70	Josh Bell	PIT	1B
71	Paul DeJong	STL	3B/SS/2B
72	Matt Carpenter	STL	1B/2B/3B
73	Domingo Santana	MIL	OF
74	Corey Dickerson	TB	OF
75	Didi Gregorious	NYY	SS
76	Brett Gardner	NYY	OF
77	Eric Thames	MIL	1B/OF
78	Andrelton Simmons	LAA	SS
79	Yasiel Puig	LAD	OF
80	Alex Bregman	HOU	3B
81	Joey Gallo	TEX	3B
82	Yonder Alonso	SEA	1B
83	Ian Happ	CHC	2B/OF
84	Avisail Garcia	CHW	OF
85	Marwin Gonzalez	HOU	1B/3B/OF
86	Hanley Ramirez	BOS	1B
87	Steven Souza Jr.	TB	OF
88	Logan Morrison	TB	1B
89	Evan Longoria	TB	3B
90	Mark Trumbo	BAL	OF
91	Ian Kinsler	DET	2B
92	Carlos Gomez	TEX	OF
93	Matt Adams	ATL	1B
94	Eddie Rosario	MIN	OF
95	Yoan Moncada	CHW	3B
96	Byron Buxton	MIN	OF
97	Josh Harrison	PIT	2B/3B
98	Ender Inciarte	ATL	OF
99	Carlos Santana	CLE	1B
100	Gerardo Parra	COL	1B/OF

The Honorable Mentions (Next Five In…)

Rank	Name	Team	Pos
101	Eugenio Suarez	CIN	3B
102	DJ LeMahieu	COL	2B
103	Javier Baez	CHC	2B/3B/SS
104	Cesar Hernandez	PHI	2B
105	Manuel Margot	SD	OF

Dropped from the rankings: Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Conforto, Jarrod Dyson, Justin Bour

As always, disagree with anything here? Have any questions or comments? Want to tell Mike how great he is or how much you agree with him? Want relationship or investment advice?

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If you want to talk fantasy baseball or football or have players you want Mike to feature, hit him up on Twitter at @mikeMaher or post a comment below!

Mike Maher’s Top 100 Hitters

The Honorable Mentions (Next Five In…)

**Mike Maher’s Top ¹⁰⁰ Hitters**