Top 100 Hitters: April Awakening

Mid-April is where the fantasy baseball season truly begins to take shape. The opening weeks are filled with noise between small samples, cold weather, and unpredictable playing time, but by now, we’ve crossed an important threshold. A month and a half of games gives us something meaningful to evaluate. The numbers are stabilizing, roles are becoming clearer, and injuries have already started to reshape the landscape. Yet at the same time, there’s still a long runway ahead, making this one of the most volatile and opportunistic periods of the entire season. This is when we start to see real movement. Players returning to full health for the first time in months, or even years in some cases, are beginning to climb the rankings as their underlying skills reemerge. Early-season playing time battles are settling, and managers are showing us who they trust as the weather warms and lineups lengthen. At the same time, a handful of surprise starts are forcing us to take a closer look, with some unexpected names beginning to push toward the edges of the rankings. Not all of these starts will stick. Some will fade as pitchers adjust and regression arrives. But others are quietly building foundations for breakout seasons with improved contact quality, better swing decisions, or new roles that hint at something more sustainable. This is the point in the season where smart fantasy managers lean in. There’s enough data to believe, enough uncertainty to create opportunity, and enough season remaining for bold moves to pay off.

Rising

• Jordan Walker – In our last Top 100 Hitter rankings, we discussed Jordan Walker calling out how “time will tell if these adjustments hold true. However, Walker could be a potent bat if he puts everything together.” At this point, we must recognize that Walker is not simply on a hot streak but has shown sustainable adjustments in his profile. Over his last 10 games, he has hit .326 with six home runs while maintaining a reasonable strikeout rate around 30% and only slight BABIP luck (.348). Walker maintains some of the highest sprint speeds in the majors and could easily sneak into double digits steals across a full season. All the metrics and the eye tests are being passed at this point, and after nearly 20 games, it is fair to say that Jordan Walker is blossoming into the player we have hoped for.
• Mike Trout – Another repeat from our last article, Mike Trout was jumping up the rankings once the season began. That only continues as he now is leading the league in runs, second in walk rate, and only one home run behind the league leaders. The biggest piece of all for Trout is the fact that he has been able to stay healthy, even if he did have a scare with a hit by pitch earlier in the week. At this point, we can say he has been unlucky with a .217 BABIP, and as long as the injury bug stays away, Trout will be winning some leagues this year.

Falling

• Michael Busch – A dreadful showing after a breakout season in 2025 has Michael Busch falling down the rankings. Sitting with an average of .164, zero homers, and zero steals has delivered a profile with zero help to fantasy owners. There remains little hope as we look under the covers, as he is making poor contact with nearly all his power metrics in the bottom 5-10% of the league. If things do not turn around soon, the Cubs will need to start looking elsewhere for production for a team that has playoff aspirations.

Watching

• Jeremiah Jackson – With all the young talent in Baltimore, Jeremiah Jackson is turning heads with his start to the season. Through 18 games, he is hitting .317 with five homers and a combined 33 runs and RBI. He is barreling the ball almost twice as often as he did last year and has increased his bat speed. However, the reasons he has not jumped into the rankings are just as plentiful. With zero walks and a lower exit velocity than 2025, Jackson has seen his fair share of luck. The power numbers are intriguing until we see a 33% HR/FB rate, which is three times what he produced last season. We must watch over the next few weeks, but the guess is that this hot streak will be cooling off sooner than later.
• Cam Smith – A big prospect name in 2025, Cam Smith has been slowly building back his stock value. Smith is hitting .264 with three homers and steals apiece with plenty of counting stats. He has a 48% hard hit rate with an increasing walk rate and decreasing strikeout rate. All that combines for a 131 wRC+ this early in the season. The bat speed has impressed as well, with a 98^th percentile rating that supports a higher power output. If we can see continuation in the plate discipline, we will be talking a lot more about Cam Smith the rest of this season.
• Dillon Dingler – A preseason favorite in our Hitter Profiles, Dillon Dingler is an absolute Statcast darling. If you are intrigued by Cam Smith, then check out Dingler because it is a similar profile with even better power potential. We are looking at an expected batting average of .328 with 95^th percentile barrel rates. While we had several catchers burst on the scene in 2025, Dingler flew under the radar but 2026 might be his year. Already delivering a 155 wRC+ with a career best strikeout rate at 18%, the Detroit Tigers have no reason to worry about what they will do about their clean-up spot for the foreseeable future.