Honestly, it’s getting tough pinpointing the Creeper of the Week every seven days at this point of the season. A lot of prospects haven’t received the call to the bigs, and the post-draft sleepers are mostly snatched up as we approach July. But…we gotta just keep swimming, because when a prospect gets the call with a certain batting profile, it leads to some hopeful expectations. Success at AAA through the start of the season with an improved ISO, high walk rate, manageable K% (<15%) and track record of solid BABIP all project well to the major league level. You may be thinking, ‘Oh, great…another column on A.J. Reed!’ Haha, while he fully fits this profile, all four of Ralph, Dan, Grey and I have each highlighted him before (I was just a little early). And now with his call up this past weekend his ownership should likely jump well over 20% by the time you’re reading this. But there’s another who fits the profile. And, like Reed, got the call on Saturday.
- Brandon Nimmo, OF (4.0%) – You can keep your Dory, give me more Nimmo. While the theaters are swelling with hype for Disney/Pixar’s latest masterpiece in the big sea, Finding Dory, it would behoove you to shift your attention to the rookie recently called up in the Big Apple. Go. Quick. Find Brandon Nimmo. Why? With the Mets outfield situation constantly in flux, and Michael Conforto being the most recent casualty now back in the minors (remember when he was ranked in the 60-70 range?!?), Nimmo finds himself looking at considerable at bats and a wonderful shot at sticking with the highest level. His ISO of .180 in AAA is serviceable, especially at 23 years old, and he was the 13th pick in 2001, so the pedigree is there. He slashed .328/.409/.508 through 287 at bats, and if he produces even a measure of that he’ll garner a lot more attention in the coming weeks. My favorite piece of his profile, though, is the BB%. Moving from AA to AAA in 2015 his BB% doubled, as did his ISO. This year it sits at 11.6%, meaning that even without a high BABIP, he can get on base enough to bring some counting stats. He’s still quite raw, but we’ve seen players like him come up with a huge burst, even if they tarry off as the season wears on. In need of a boost? Finding Nimmo may be a blockbuster for your lineup’s lackluster trajectory. Or…he may not make it out of this week. Haha! He’s definitely a name to watch, though. Optimistic projection: .275/30/6/25/10 in 300 ABs. (Waiting for Ralph to obliterate this projection now…)
Enough creepin’…Here are those Top 100 Hitters for Week 13!
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 | Yoenis Cespedes | OF | NYM |
| 11 | Anthony Rizzo | 1B | CHC |
| 12 | Kris Bryant | 3B/OF | CHC |
| 13 | Edwin Encarnacion | 1B | TOR |
| 14 | George Springer | OF | HOU |
| 15 | Ian Kinsler | 2B | DET |
| 16 | Xander Bogaerts | SS | BOS |
| 17 | Ian Desmond | SS/OF | TEX |
| 18 | Bryce Harper | OF | WAS |
| 19 | Starling Marte | OF | PIT |
| 20 | Nelson Cruz | OF | SEA |
| 21 | Daniel Murphy | 2B/3B | WAS |
| 22 | Charlie Blackmon | OF | COL |
| 23 | Eric Hosmer | 1B | KC |
| 24 | Carlos Gonzalez | OF | COL |
| 25 | Miguel Cabrera | 1B | DET |
| 26 | Carlos Correa | SS | HOU |
| 27 | Corey Seager | SS | LAD |
| 28 | Matt Carpenter | 3B | STL |
| 29 | Mark Trumbo | OF | BAL |
| 30 | Gregory Polanco | OF | PIT |
| 31 | Marcell Ozuna | OF | MIA |
| 32 | Kyle Seager | 3B | SEA |
| 33 | Chris Davis | 1B/OF | BAL |
| 34 | Giancarlo Stanton | OF | MIA |
| 35 | Francisco Lindor | SS | CLE |
| 36 | Wil Myers | 1B/OF | SD |
| 37 | Joey Votto | 1B | CIN |
| 38 | Trevor Story | SS | COL |
| 39 | Adam Jones | OF | BAL |
| 40 | Ryan Braun | OF | MIL |
| 41 | Jackie Bradley Jr. | OF | BOS |
| 42 | Jonathan Villar | SS | MIL |
| 43 | Victor Martinez | DH | DET |
| 44 | Danny Valencia | 3B/OF | OAK |
| 45 | Jose Abreu | 1B | CWS |
| 46 | Jason Kipnis | 2B | CLE |
| 47 | Jay Bruce | OF | CIN |
| 48 | Ben Zobrist | 2B/OF | CHC |
| 49 | Andrew McCutchen | OF | PIT |
| 50 | Christian Yelich | OF | MIA |
| 51 | Matt Kemp | OF | SD |
| 52 | Lorenzo Cain | OF | KC |
| 53 | Adam Duvall | OF | CIN |
| 54 | Dustin Pedroia | 2B | BOS |
| 55 | Freddie Freeman | 1B | ATL |
| 56 | Evan Longoria | 3B | TB |
| 57 | Adrian Beltre | 3B | TEX |
| 58 | Brandon Belt | 1B | SF |
| 59 | Albert Pujols | 1B | LAA |
| 60 | Carlos Beltran | OF | NYY |
| 61 | Jung-ho Kang | SS/3B | PIT |
| 62 | Nick Castellanos | 3B | DET |
| 63 | Todd Frazier | 3B | CWS |
| 64 | Buster Posey | C | SF |
| 65 | Rougned Odor | 2B | TEX |
| 66 | Melvin Upton, Jr. | OF | SD |
| 67 | Michael Saunders | OF | TB |
| 68 | Nomar Mazara | OF | TEX |
| 69 | Justin Upton | OF | DET |
| 70 | Dexter Fowler | OF | CHC |
| 71 | Jonathan Lucroy | C | MIL |
| 72 | DJ LeMahieu | 2B | COL |
| 73 | Odubel Herrera | OF | PHI |
| 74 | Brian Dozier | 2B | MIN |
| 75 | Jake Lamb | 3B | ARI |
| 76 | Eduardo Nunez | SS/3B | MIN |
| 77 | Stephen Piscotty | OF | STL |
| 78 | Jason Heyward | OF | CHC |
| 79 | Kole Calhoun | OF | LAA |
| 80 | Troy Tulowitzki | SS | TOR |
| 81 | Rajai Davis | OF | CLE |
| 82 | Jonathan Schoop | 2B | BAL |
| 83 | Wilson Ramos | C | WAS |
| 84 | Logan Forsythe | 1B/2B | TB |
| 85 | Aledmys Diaz | SS | STL |
| 86 | Evan Gattis | DH (C) | HOU |
| 87 | Khris Davis | OF | OAK |
| 88 | A.J. Reed | 1B | HOU |
| 89 | Hanley Ramirez | OF/1B | BOS |
| 90 | Jose Ramirez | SS/2B/3B/OF | CLE |
| 91 | Adam Eaton | OF | CWS |
| 92 | Salvador Perez | C | KC |
| 93 | Carlos Santana | 1B | CLE |
| 94 | Trayce Thompson | OF | LAD |
| 95 | Jean Segura | 2B/SS | ARI |
| 96 | Jurickson Profar | 2B | TEX |
| 97 | Jayson Werth | OF | WAS |
| 98 | Willson Contreras | C | CHC |
| 99 | Justin Turner | 3B | LAD |
| 100 | Cameron Maybin | OF | DET |
Dropped from Rankings: Josh Harrison (78), Steve Pearce (85), Adrian Gonzalez (96), Anthony Rendon (97), Brett Gardner (99), Jacoby Ellsbury (100)
- The weekly Bryce Watch continues to trend in the wrong way. In an 8×8 (5×5 + H,TB,OPS) I moved him with Odor for Polanco, Hanley, Archer and Odorizzi. Need SP, and Polanco’s been the better option than him so far. Hopefully turn around comes for everyone’s sake, but for mine…slump it up, Bryce! He’s not the only one, as Cutch continues to fall, surprisingly.
- I introduce A.J. Reed into the Top 100 this week. That’s right…A.J. Reed without a major league hit (as of Sunday afternoon). His upside is high enough where I’d take a shot on him over every name below.
- I really like Contreras, and think he could see enough at bats to garner this position, a la Kyle Schwarber last year. He played some 3B in Spring Training, and has already outhit everything Miguel Montego tried to do this year. He’s obviously a better keeper option than this year, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him end up with 12+ HR.
- Don’t look now but some major names continue to rise in the rankings. Bruce, Votto, Upton (both of them), Jones, and…Stanton. Yep, even without a full resurgence, he’s rising in my ranks due to what he should do. This may be the end of your buy-low window on a universal 1st rounder back in April.
So…what are YOUR thoughts? DROP A COMMENT, let’s dialogue about this. And since it’s asked every week…THESE RANKINGS ARE ROS VALUE. Think of it like a trade value primer.
Good luck in Week 13! Check back at the beginning of next week for the 14th edition!
