Top 100 Hitters: Catching Grief

It’s Mother’s Day which is a time to honor the women who raised us, fed us, and maybe even reminded us to set our fantasy lineups before Sunday brunch. As we near the summer heat, it’s the perfect time to reassess your roster and see which players are ready to blossom, which are wilting, and who might need a little tough love (just like momma gave us). Whether you are surging up the standings or clinging to hope like a spaghetti-stained Little League jersey, this week’s Top 100 Hitters for the rest of the 2025 fantasy baseball season are just the present you need.  Because nothing says “I appreciate you, Mom” like benching that slumping outfielder she’s never heard of.  Let’s dig in and see what the rest of the season holds.

Rising

• Pete Alonso – Pete Alonso is having arguably the best season of his career. Coming into this year, he was a .250 hitter with great power and little else, which capped his fantasy appeal as a mid-round asset. The 2025 season has been a combination of skill advancement and luck, which is often what leads to career years. From a skill perspective, Alonso has made slight tweaks to his plate approach, showing a bit more aggression while limiting what he chases, resulting in a career-low chase rate. These adjustments have given him the best walk and strikeout rates of his career. While he has benefitted from a .359 BABIP and his .324 average is likely to regress, his quality of contact supports an average closer to .300.  It is time we start recognizing the value Pete can bring as both a power and batting average contributor.
• Jacob Wilson – The Athletic’s rookie makes his first appearance on the Top 100 Hitters list thanks to a unique skill set. In rotisserie formats, batting average has become harder to find, which increases the value of players like Luis Arraez. Jacob Wilson follows a similar path with an expected batting average of .326, though he offers limited speed or power. He has shown in the minor leagues that he has the potential to hit low double-digit home runs, and the ballpark in Sacramento certainly helps. Wilson has a cap on his value, but the upside in bat control can be as impactful to the batting average category as Chandler Simpson is to stolen bases.

Falling

• Jazz Chisholm Jr. – Jazz suffered an oblique injury a few weeks ago while swinging the bat and landed on the injured list earlier this week. He has had a very unusual year in 2025 between broken bats, generous counting stats, and hitting below the Mendoza Line. That is what we have come to expect from the dynamic yet unreliable talent that he is. He drops considerably this week due to the injury for two reasons. First, any core injury carries a risk of decreased production upon return, and it is logical to expect a slow return in terms of power and a cautious approach on the basepaths. Second, while the Yankees and Jazz have been optimistic, they have also called the injury a high-grade strain. Jesse Winker recently suffered a similar, arguably less severe, rare 2 oblique injury, and he is expected to miss up to six weeks. Given the description of Jazz’s injury, I would be surprised to see him back before the midsummer classic.
• Yordan Alvarez – Another injury impacting our rankings this week is Yordan Alvarez and his ongoing hand issues. For a player who relies so heavily on quick hands and a powerful stroke, this is more concerning than other types of injuries. That said, he is still an elite bat with top-tier bat speed and exit velocities. This injury will take time to heal and could reduce his value for the rest of the season if he does not fully recover.  He might not make 30 homers for the first time in the past five seasons, but won’t miss by too much.
• Catchers – This week, we have seen several catchers slip in the rankings, including William Contreras, Adley Rutschman, and Salvador Perez. Over the past two weeks, this group has combined for zero home runs and a batting average in the low .200s. They have still contributed some run production, but the results have not matched the expectations for top-five catchers as they were drafted. On the flip side, players like Augustin Ramirez and Ryan Jeffers have provided exceptional value. This is not to say the top names are no longer valuable or important in fantasy lineups, but the gap at the position is beginning to close.

Watching

• Kyle Stowers – Stowers has burst onto the scene with an exciting young team in Miami after being cast off by the Orioles last year. So far in 2025, he has hit .294 with seven home runs and 26 RBI, which ranks among the top 20 in the league. Looking at his Statcast metrics, he ranks in the top five percent in barrel rate and top twenty percent in expected batting average and hard-hit rate. There is some BABIP luck involved, with a .395 mark, but things are trending positively for Stowers. Watch closely and give him a waiver wire pick up if he is still available in your league.
• Andy Pages – Among the many young Dodgers prospects in recent years, Andy Pages does not seem to get the same level of excitement. However, he continues to produce and carve out a role in the starting lineup for a powerful Dodgers team. Hitting .281 with six home runs, four steals, and 39 combined runs and RBI has made him a valuable asset. After beginning the season near the bottom of the lineup, Pages has moved up considerably, even batting fifth in Friday’s game. That said, his underlying metrics do not strongly support a continuation of these results, which will likely prevent him from taking the next big step.
• Masyn Winn – Winn was mostly a disaster in spring training, collecting only four hits in 50 at-bats. That slump continued into the first week of the season, but since April 4, Winn has hit .315 with a handful of home runs and steals. His value lies in being a 15-homer, 15-steal player with a strong average, and he looks to be rounding back into that form. He is likely to move in and out of the Top 100 Hitters throughout the remainder of the season.  Any manager should be happy with Winn as their plug and play middle infield option.