Aaron Judge, 2017 Fantasy Baseball

When you’re 6’7″, 275 lbs as an athlete there are a few limits to how you can reach the highest level. Running back? Nope. Shortstop? Nope. Quarterback? Well, Jared Lorenzen did at about 4 bills, so maybe? But as much as Andre 3000 loved singing about the prototype, you can’t put that label on a 6’7″, 275 lb outfielder. Remember Richie Sexson? Ugh. Hey, @JB…what would it look like with you galavanting around the outfield? #Razz30

All that to be said, I was totally out on the Aaron Judge experiment. He has massive power in his bat, but I just didn’t see his build and makeup translating well into a MLB slugger. Same worry I have about Phillies minors monster Dylan Cozens. In 670 plate appearances at AAA the last two years Judge hit around .250 with 27 HR. He improved from 2015 to 2016, but I just held some big hesitations.

And man…was I wrong.

Aaron Judge, OF, NYY (75.4% owned) – Alright, it’s a small sample size, but in 63 PA this year Judge is slugging .281/14/6/13 with a 25.4% K rate and almost double-digit BB%. That’s solid, fam, and his patience at the plate shows he’s disciplined enough to adjust and continue improving. I don’t see any reason the Yankees don’t play him every day as he’s the face of the youth movement they desperately need along with Gary Sanchez and Gleyber Torres. The ISO should drop from .386, but the hard hit % could easily remain at a ridiculous 48.8%. Even in his poor 2016 debut of 27 games he had the identical %. The super easy, low hanging comp that everyone can see coming: Giancarlo Stanton. And it wouldn’t surprise me if it comes true. Oh, and he’s got an inch and 30 lbs on him according to his profile. I’m a fan. I’m in. And I’m pissed I missed him on every team. He’s climbing fast.

Eye rolls all day. And much of the below rankings are my subjective thoughts, so don’t agree? THAT’S WHAT THE COMMENTS ARE FOR!

Note: These rankings are considered ROS Trade Value

M@’s Top Hitters

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

Rank	Name	Pos	Team
1	Mike Trout	LAA	OF
2	Bryce Harper	WSH	OF
3	Mookie Betts	BOS	OF
4	Nolan Arenado	COL	3B
5	Jose Altuve	HOU	2B
6	Paul Goldschmidt	ARI	1B
7	Kris Bryant	CHC	3B/OF
8	Charlie Blackmon	COL	OF
9	Freddie Freeman	ATL	1B
10	Anthony Rizzo	CHC	1B
11	Manny Machado	BAL	3B/SS
12	Trea Turner	WSH	2B/OF
13	Corey Seager	LAD	SS
14	Daniel Murphy	WSH	1B/2B
15	Josh Donaldson	TOR	3B
16	Ryan Braun	MIL	OF
17	Joey Votto	CIN	1B
18	Miguel Cabrera	DET	1B
19	Francisco Lindor	CLE	SS
20	Carlos Correa	HOU	SS
21	Nelson Cruz	SEA	OF
22	Wil Myers	SD	1B/OF
23	Brian Dozier	MIN	2B
24	George Springer	HOU	OF
25	Edwin Encarnacion	CLE	1B
26	Robinson Cano	SEA	2B
27	Xander Bogaerts	BOS	SS
28	Yoenis Cespedes	NYM	OF
29	Giancarlo Stanton	MIA	OF
30	Khris Davis	OAK	OF
31	Jonathan Villar	MIL	3B/SS
32	A.J. Pollock	ARI	OF
33	Eric Thames	MIL	1B/OF
34	Christian Yelich	MIA	OF
35	Rougned Odor	TEX	2B
36	Kyle Seager	SEA	3B
37	Jose Abreu	CWS	1B
38	Matt Kemp	ATL	OF
39	Andrew McCutchen	PIT	OF
40	Carlos Gonzalez	COL	OF
41	Ian Kinsler	DET	2B
42	Chris Davis	BAL	1B
43	Mark Trumbo	BAL	OF
44	Buster Posey	SF	C/1B
45	Adam Eaton	WSH	OF
46	Trevor Story	COL	SS
47	Adam Jones	BAL	OF
48	J.D. Martinez	DET	OF
49	Gregory Polanco	PIT	OF
50	Hanley Ramirez	BOS	1B
51	Matt Carpenter	STL	1B/2B/3B
52	Aledmys Diaz	STL	SS
53	Marcell Ozuna	MIA	OF
54	Ian Desmond	COL	OF
55	DJ LeMahieu	COL	2B
56	Miguel Sano	MIN	3B/OF
57	Kyle Schwarber	CHC	OF
58	Eric Hosmer	KC	1B
59	Carlos Santana	CLE	1B
60	Michael Brantley	CLE	OF
61	Jose Ramirez	CLE	3B/OF
62	Justin Upton	DET	OF
63	Alex Bregman	HOU	3B
64	Stephen Piscotty	STL	OF
65	Evan Longoria	TB	3B
66	Jake Lamb	ARI	3B
67	Nomar Mazara	TEX	OF
68	Jackie Bradley	BOS	OF
69	Jonathan Lucroy	TEX	C
70	Brad Miller	TB	1B/SS/2B
71	Albert Pujols	LAA	1B
72	Andrew Benintendi	BOS	OF
73	Lorenzo Cain	KC	OF
74	Jay Bruce	NYM	OF
75	Mitch Haniger	SEA	OF
76	Gary Sanchez	NYY	C
77	Odubel Herrera	PHI	OF
78	Aaron Judge	NYY	OF
79	Adam Duvall	CIN	OF
80	Justin Turner	LAD	3B
81	Todd Frazier	CWS	1B/3B
82	Eugenio Suarez	CIN	3B
83	Ender Inciarte	ATL	OF
84	Elvis Andrus	TEX	SS
85	Cesar Hernandez	PHI	2B
86	Anthony Rendon	WSH	3B
87	Dee Gordon	MIA	2B
88	Billy Hamilton	CIN	OF
89	Manuel Margot	SD	OF
90	David Dahl	COL	OF
91	Jean Segura	SEA	2B/SS
92	Jason Kipnis	CLE	2B
93	Brandon Phillips	ATL	2B
94	Eduardo Nunez	SF	3B/SS
95	Kevin Kiermaier	TB	OF
96	David Peralta	ARI	OF
97	Steven Souza Jr.	TB	OF
98	Troy Tulowitzki	TOR	SS
99	Michael Conforto	NYM	OF
100	Yasmany Tomas	ARI	OF

The Honorable Mentions (Next Five In…)

Rank	Name	Pos	Team
101	Jason Heyward	CHC	OF
102	Starlin Castro	NYY	2B
103	Jonathan Schoop	BAL	2B
104	Chase Headley	NYY	3B
105	Salvador Perez	KC	C

Dropped from the Rankings: Starling Marte (14), Joc Pederson (59), Yasiel Puig (87), Adrian Beltre (93), Willson Contreras (95), Avail Garcia (99), Keon Broxton (100)

A few notes on the 100:

Yep, Harper up to #2. It’s like I’ve been fighting against myself to put him there since the offseason. He’s the same player that went ham in 2015, and showing to be even better now. The Trout and Harper tandem is back in full effect as the top tier.
Starling Marte drops out of the rankings due to the 80-game suspension, but I’m still targeting him everywhere. If he’s been dropped, stash him (if you can). Be smart on your league settings and format, but from July-September he could be a Top 20 player again. RCL’s make it tricky with the format, but if you’re stashing Yoan Moncada for two months, it’s worth stashing Marte for three. Beltre also drops out due to the injury, but when he’s healthy he’ll likely jump back in immediately.
Eric Thames jumps his ranking again this week. Doubles it. I’m a believer, so I’d rather take his upside than the names under him. I think that ceiling will be met. However, don’t overpay as a buy-high right now when he just had a Bondsian-type two weeks.
Should be fun to watch all the young OF populating the bottom of the rankings the rest of the year. Margot, Conforto (I want every share), Souza, Tomas, Kiermaier, Dahl, Haniger. How do y’all think they rank ROS?

As always…don’t agree with something?

DROP THOSE COMMENTS!

Follow M@ on Twitter at @matthayes for far more than just fantasy advice.