Power. It’s why we’re all here, right? As Kanye so eloquently penned:
See, it’s power that rules supreme in fantasy baseball. Whether it’s a pitcher’s flaming fastball for strikeouts or a hitter dropping mammos into the light tower, power brings strength in numbers. Power is like the tide of fantasy baseball: when the tide rises, everything else rises; when the tide falls, everything else falls. So, if you want to accumulate the most stats possible, target power. And, for hitters, the best way to muster up power? The pull.
While it comes with pros and cons, pulling the baseball provides more power as the batter generates more torque from the turn in his hips. Chubbs was right, it really is all in the hips. As the body turns and the hitter gets out in front of the ball for contact, the shoulders, the hips and the wrists are all engaged to bring the bat through the swing creating the greatest exit velocity of the baseball. Now, before all the baseball purists yell at me, this is not to say that the best hitters in the game are those that only pull the ball. The truth would actually be the opposite, as hitters must be able to take what’s given to them and hit to all fields. But…this isn’t real life. We’re talking fantasy. And in fantasy, gimme those pulled home runs all. day. long, because sometimes a hitter unlocks his development and success when he pulls the ball more. Case in point? The creeper for week 9…
Adam Duvall, OF (16.9%) – I mentioned Duvall twice last week as he almost topped Trayce Thompson for the highlighted hitter, but he’s jumped him this week all the way into the Top 100 rankings, which is rare for players owned in less than 20% of leagues. But that’s where you can find Duvall, available in 80%+ of ESPN leagues. Duvall’s taken over everyday duty in the Reds outfield and is producing like a fantasy darling since he took the job. The reason for his recent success (4 HR last 6 games) he highlighted himself in a recent interview with Zach Buchanan, “‘It’s probably because I’m getting the head [of the bat] out,’ Duvall said. ‘Your bat speed maxes out from the plate to a little bit past it. Anytime you can catch the ball out there, you’ve got a chance to do some damage.'” And that’s just what he’s doing: serious damage. Now, be careful with Duvall, as his sub-.300 OBP and 30%+ K% scream cold spells are coming, but he’s pulling the ball so well that he’s raising his average, blasting the ball out of the park and racking up the counting stats. Oh, and that power? Duvall has a .313 ISO. As Kanye said, ‘no one man should have all that power.’ But he does.
Enough creepin’…Here are your Top 100 Hitters for Week 9!
RED = Falling
GREEN = Rising
BLUE = New to the 100
The Top 100 Hitters
| Rank | Name | Pos | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Altuve | 2B | HOU |
| 2 | Manny Machado | 3B/SS | BAL |
| 3 | Mike Trout | OF | LAA |
| 4 | Nolan Arenado | 3B | COL |
| 5 | Josh Donaldson | 3B | TOR |
| 6 | Anthony Rizzo | 1B | CHC |
| 7 | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | ARI |
| 8 | Mookie Betts | OF | BOS |
| 9 | Bryce Harper | OF | WAS |
| 10 | Starling Marte | OF | PIT |
| 11 | George Springer | OF | HOU |
| 12 | Ryan Braun | OF | MIL |
| 13 | Yoenis Cespedes | OF | NYM |
| 14 | David Ortiz | DH | BOS |
| 15 | Kris Bryant | 3B | CHC |
| 16 | Andrew McCutchen | OF | PIT |
| 17 | Robinson Cano | 2B | SEA |
| 18 | Carlos Correa | SS | HOU |
| 19 | Nelson Cruz | OF | SEA |
| 20 | Miguel Cabrera | 1B | DET |
| 21 | Xander Bogaerts | SS | BOS |
| 22 | Daniel Murphy | 2B/3B | WAS |
| 23 | Ian Kinsler | 2B | DET |
| 24 | Jose Bautista | OF | TOR |
| 25 | Edwin Encarnacion | 1B | TOR |
| 26 | Francisco Lindor | SS | CLE |
| 27 | Charlie Blackmon | OF | COL |
| 28 | Dexter Fowler | OF | CHC |
| 29 | Gregory Polanco | OF | PIT |
| 30 | Eric Hosmer | 1B | KC |
| 31 | Chris Davis | 1B/OF | BAL |
| 32 | Giancarlo Stanton | OF | MIA |
| 33 | Matt Carpenter | 3B | STL |
| 34 | Jose Abreu | 1B | CWS |
| 35 | Todd Frazier | 3B | CWS |
| 36 | Christian Yelich | OF | MIA |
| 37 | Freddie Freeman | 1B | ATL |
| 38 | Hunter Pence | OF | SF |
| 39 | Ben Zobrist | 2B/OF | CHC |
| 40 | Ian Desmond | SS/OF | TEX |
| 41 | Stephen Piscotty | OF | STL |
| 42 | Hanley Ramirez | OF/1B | BOS |
| 43 | Lorenzo Cain | OF | KC |
| 44 | Jason Kipnis | 2B | CLE |
| 45 | Buster Posey | C | SF |
| 46 | Mark Trumbo | OF | BAL |
| 47 | Carlos Gonzalez | OF | COL |
| 48 | Jackie Bradley Jr. | OF | BOS |
| 49 | J.D. Martinez | OF | DET |
| 50 | Rougned Odor | 2B | TEX |
| 51 | Marcell Ozuna | OF | MIA |
| 52 | Kyle Seager | 3B | SEA |
| 53 | Travis Shaw | 1B/3B | BOS |
| 54 | Adam Jones | OF | BAL |
| 55 | Victor Martinez | DH | DET |
| 56 | Trevor Story | SS | COL |
| 57 | Adrian Beltre | 3B | TEX |
| 58 | Odubel Herrera | OF | PHI |
| 59 | Corey Seager | SS | LAD |
| 60 | Brandon Belt | 1B | SF |
| 61 | Adam Eaton | OF | CWS |
| 62 | Adrian Gonzalez | 1B | LAD |
| 63 | Nick Castellanos | 3B | DET |
| 64 | Jung-ho Kang | SS/3B | PIT |
| 65 | Jean Segura | SS | ARI |
| 66 | Dustin Pedroia | 2B | BOS |
| 67 | Albert Pujols | 1B | LAA |
| 68 | Wil Myers | 1B/OF | SD |
| 69 | Aledmys Diaz | SS | STL |
| 70 | Gerardo Parra | OF | COL |
| 71 | Danny Valencia | 3B/OF | OAK |
| 72 | Miguel Sano | OF | MIN |
| 73 | Matt Kemp | OF | SD |
| 74 | Joey Votto | 1B | CIN |
| 75 | Anthony Rendon | 2B/3B | WAS |
| 76 | Jonathan Villar | SS | MIL |
| 77 | Melvin Upton, Jr. | OF | SD |
| 78 | Justin Upton | OF | DET |
| 79 | Addison Russell | 2B/SS | CHC |
| 80 | Jay Bruce | OF | CIN |
| 81 | Jacoby Ellsbury | OF | NYY |
| 82 | Steven Souza, Jr. | OF | TB |
| 83 | Josh Harrison | 2B/3B/OF | PIT |
| 84 | Michael Conforto | OF | NYM |
| 85 | Maikel Franco | 3B | PHI |
| 86 | Adam Duvall | OF | CIN |
| 87 | Kole Calhoun | OF | LAA |
| 88 | Cameron Maybin | OF | DET |
| 89 | Evan Longoria | 3B | TB |
| 90 | Starlin Castro | SS | NYY |
| 91 | Michael Saunders | OF | TB |
| 92 | Carlos Beltran | OF | NYY |
| 93 | Jonathan Lucroy | C | MIL |
| 94 | Wellington Castillo | C | ARI |
| 95 | Jason Heyward | OF | CHC |
| 96 | Eduardo Nunez | SS/3B | MIN |
| 97 | Nomar Mazara | OF | TEX |
| 98 | Khris Davis | OF | OAK |
| 99 | Steve Pearce | 1B/OF/2B | TB |
| 100 | Brett Gardner | OF | NYY |
Dropped from Rankings: DJ Lemahieu (67), Troy Tulowitzki (73), Chris Carter (77), Joc Pederson (91), Carlos Santana (98), Neil Walker (99)
- Alright errbody…here he is. Khris Davis! He makes the Top 100! Barely. He kept hitting with incredible pop and forced my hand. The past seven days he raised his average to a whopping .237, but hit more HR and accumulated some counting stats by means other than the long ball. He’ll reach the 30 HR mark (haha, could he get to 40?!?), but he’s a bittersweet option as he won’t win you any other categories. He’s a polarizing player and still scares the bejeezus out of me with his 26.2% K and just 2.6% BB rate. Adam Duvall, as I mentioned above, should have close to the same numbers, but his AVG isn’t hurting you right now. He’s getting everyday at bats in a much better park than Davis in Oakland and actually has a higher ISO (.313 to .283), but his K:BB ratio is nearly 10:1, worse than Khris. Regression is coming, folks. Sell high, yes, for both, while you can. Am I really saying that after saying pick him up? Haha, of course. Don’t be confused, just take advantage of the market.
- A trend seen through the Top 100 this week, especially without a ton of movement at the top, is the falling 1B. Remember that one level in The Legend of Zelda in the mountains, with the spider-things jumping around everywhere and the falling rocks? Yeah, it’s like the 1B landscape for the month of May. It hasn’t been kind to many of these guys, and even worse for all of you that own them. Abreu, Adrian, Belt and Votto are driving people crazy with their lack of power. Of these options, I see Abreu as still holding the most upside, and I believe he’ll come on strong still, but if you can get value for the other guys, go ahead. And by get value, I mean don’t do what I did in an RCL: desperate for saves, and with options at CI available, I traded Cano for Votto/Street. Face. Palm.
- Let me also give a quick Honorable Mention to some 2B options: Jose Ramirez (CLE), Jonathan Schoop (BAL) and Johnny Giavotella (LAA). I considered all of them for the bottom of the rankings, but each of them have their flaws. Schoop may possess the most power of any 2B not named Robinson, but his counting stats have yet to blossom given his position in the order. However, with a few more HR he’ll force his way in. Ramirez and Giavotella are both great pickups for the past two weeks, especially Ramirez with his 2B/SS/3B/OF position eligibility. Goodness. Swiss Army Knife. They’re contributing with a lot of hits, but neither has shown enough of a history to believe it’s fully sustainable. Let’s watch another week.
Alright, enough creeping…good luck in Week 9! Check back next weekend for the new names in Week 10!
