Camp is in full swing, and the initial wave of Covid-19 diagnoses and Opt Outs have taken place. We are not doctors, we only play them on fantasy baseball sites. Seriously, Covid-19 throws a massive shadow and we’re all doing our best. As far as the rankings go, our fearless leader had some big news on Friday:
The @Razzball MLB projections and Preseason Player Raters are updated to account for opponent strength and road park factors (universal DH has been in for a while).
Still drafting? Sign up for our MLB Roto Deluxe package & get a kick ass draft toolhttps://t.co/ctNdyjvrr5
— Rudy Gamble (@rudygamble) July 10, 2020
As you can probably guess, the fine tuning of park effects has an effect on the rankings. In particular, the AL and NL Central nightly battles look to be high scoring affairs. The other 100 pound Gorilla of news is what Mike Trout is going to decide to do. Throw in so many questions with the Yankees, and some with the White Sox, and there are a lot of changes this week. This creates small changes at the top, and many large changes as you go through the list. With all that in mind, here’s the latest rankings. You can find last week’s rankings here.
Top 100 Hitters
| Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian Yelich | OF | MIL | 3 | +2 |
| 2 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | OF | ATL | 1 | -1 |
| 3 | Cody Bellinger | 1B/OF | LAD | 2 | -1 |
| 4 | Francisco Lindor | SS | CLE | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | Jose Ramirez | 3B | CLE | 9 | +4 |
| 6 | Trea Turner | SS | WSH | 5 | -1 |
| 7 | Trevor Story | SS | COL | 6 | -1 |
| 8 | Rafael Devers | 3B | BOS | 11 | +3 |
| 9 | Mookie Betts | OF | LAD | 10 | +1 |
| 10 | Nolan Arenado | 3B | COL | 12 | +2 |
| 11 | J.D. Martinez | OF | BOS | 8 | -3 |
| 12 | Juan Soto | OF | WSH | 13 | +1 |
| 13 | Alex Bregman | SS/3B | HOU | 14 | +1 |
| 14 | Javier Baez | SS | CHC | 17 | +3 |
| 15 | Bryce Harper | OF | PHI | 19 | +4 |
| 16 | Anthony Rizzo | 1B | CHC | 23 | +7 |
| 17 | George Springer | OF | HOU | 21 | +4 |
| 18 | Adalberto Mondesi | SS | KC | 20 | +2 |
| 19 | Keston Hiura | 2B | MIL | 27 | +8 |
| 20 | Ozzie Albies | 2B | ATL | 22 | +2 |
| 21 | Jose Altuve | 2B | HOU | 24 | +3 |
| 22 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | SS | SD | 31 | +9 |
| 23 | Ketel Marte | 2B/OF | ARI | 30 | +7 |
| 24 | Xander Bogaerts – With Yankee pitching taking a hit, Red Sox lower tiered batters getting a lift along with the top two. | SS | BOS | 33 | +9 |
| 25 | Nelson Cruz | DH | MIN | 26 | +1 |
| 26 | Austin Meadows | OF | TB | 35 | +9 |
| 27 | Manny Machado | SS/3B | SD | 32 | +5 |
| 28 | Nick Castellanos – A lack of Covid-19 on his team, for now, boost this formally dark horse NL MVP possibility. Coors is not the best all around park to hit in, it’s Cincinnati. He’s going to rake. | OF | CIN | 86 | +58 |
| 29 | Luis Robert – Gaining more and more respect as the park effects take hold, but then his counting stats take a hit with Moncada potentially being out. | OF | CHW | 29 | 0 |
| 30 | Pete Alonso – The rumors of his demise were perhaps overstated in my last ranking. Park effect ding not as bad as originally thought. But still a regression candidate. | 1B | NYM | 42 | +12 |
| 31 | Josh Donaldson | 3B | MIN | 34 | +3 |
| 32 | J.T. Realmuto | C | PHI | 40 | +8 |
| 33 | Kris Bryant | 3B | CHC | 38 | +5 |
| 34 | Bo Bichette | SS | TOR | 37 | +3 |
| 35 | Starling Marte – 2020 is something else. Lord is it something else. Marte wanted to retire when his wife suddenly died earlier this year. What does that mean about a silly little thing like fantasy baseball? Unkown. It hurts to type this, but unknowns are not good. | OF | ARI | 18 | -17 |
| 36 | Andrew Benintendi – He’s a left handed batter, and Chapman being out for however long helps his revival. I mean, it’s really all about the hair. | OF | BOS | 48 | +12 |
| 37 | Yordan Alvarez | DH | HOU | 36 | -1 |
| 38 | Mike Moustakas – Reds batters getting some bump from park effects, those AL Central NL Central battles are looking higher scoring by the day. | 2B/3B | CIN | 62 | +24 |
| 39 | Gleyber Torres – He’ll get more chances in the best spots in the batting order, but his team is crumbling around him. Aroldis Chapman has joined the Covid All Star crew. The Yankees are favorites no more. He’s much less likely to get injured like Stanton and Judge, but his counting stats are getting worse seemingly by the hour. | 2B/SS | NYY | 28 | -11 |
| 40 | Freddie Freeman – His battle with Covid-19 continues be very tough. | 1B | ATL | 15 | -25 |
| 41 | Marcell Ozuna | OF | ATL | 39 | -2 |
| 42 | Kyle Schwarber – He may’ve been working on his defense over the years, but DH at bats and park effects, well, you’re getting it. | OF | CHC | 54 | +12 |
| 43 | Lorenzo Cain – Say it with me, park effects! | OF | MIL | 59 | +16 |
| 44 | Giancarlo Stanton – The lineup is crumbling around him. Aaron Judge looked healthier, but now he’s come down with a stiff neck. Maybe the Yankees crumbling into obscurity will turn him into peak Miami Stanton, but I doubt it. | OF | NYY | 16 | -28 |
| 45 | Charlie Blackmon – In a similar boat to Freeman. | OF | COL | 25 | -20 |
| 46 | Carlos Correa | SS | HOU | 52 | +6 |
| 47 | Whit Merrifield | 2B/OF | MIL | 47 | 0 |
| 48 | Anthony Rendon – The Trout effect. | 3B | LAA | 41 | -7 |
| 49 | Eugenio Suarez – That theme of themes, NL/AL Central high scoring theater. | 3B | CIN | 79 | +30 |
| 50 | Jose Abreu – Moncada (see below) effect, but a boost because of the AL/NL Central offensive environment. That’s because Abreu will likely get more at bats out of a Moncada absence. | 1B | CHW | 55 | +5 |
| 51 | Eloy Jimenez – The Moncada question hurts these White Sox bats and their potential counting stats. For Jiminez, the effect is neutral for now. | OF | CHW | 50 | -1 |
| 52 | Tim Anderson – Until we see what’s up with Moncada, who was in camp before he got his rumored positive Covid test, I’m downgrading White Sox batters who’s value is wrapped up in runs. | SS | CHW | 46 | -6 |
| 53 | Yuli Gurriel | 1B/3B | HOU | 57 | +4 |
| 54 | Eddie Rosario | OF | MIN | 56 | +2 |
| 55 | Victor Robles | OF | WSH | 53 | +2 |
| 56 | Carlos Santana -What’s this? Another good AL/NL Central bat. You get the message yet? | 1B | CLE | 75 | +19 |
| 57 | Rhys Hoskins – AL East park effects continue to boost him up the list. | 1B | PHI | 71 | +14 |
| 58 | Ryan Braun – He’s in the NL Central/Al Central offensive vortex. His team has a lack of Covid-19 cases. He’s got the Universal DH to add to his at bats. Another sneaky NL MVP possibility if Yellich has a hickup. | OF | MIL | 78 | +20 |
| 59 | Yoan Moncada – A mystery 10 day IL is better than a full on Covid diagnosis, but Covid sure seems to be the answer. More than enough to be cautious drafting him. | 3B | CHW | 44 | -15 |
| 60 | Oscar Mercado – Back to where he was near the beginning of the season, thanks to a strong Cleveland lineup with a lack of Covid problems. | OF | CLE | 77 | +17 |
| 61 | Andrew McCutchen – He hasn’t opted out, and domino effect of strong lineups with less Covid problems and opt outs brings him up. | OF | PHI | 73 | +12 |
| 62 | Michael Brantley | OF | HOU | 58 | -3 |
| 63 | Yasmani Grandal – NFBC loves him, he continues to rise, but a Moncada or more absence could push him off the list. | C/1B | CHW | 85 | +22 |
| 64 | Max Kepler | OF | MIN | 61 | +3 |
| 65 | Franmil Reyes | OF | CLE | 72 | +7 |
| 66 | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | STL | 60 | -6 |
| 67 | Gary Sanchez – Was tempting to move him up even further prior to all the other negative things going on with the Yankees. | C | NYY | 74 | +7 |
| 68 | Marcus Semien – Park effect fine tuning hurts his bat. | SS | OAK | 49 | -19 |
| 69 | Jorge Polanco | SS | MIN | 64 | +5 |
| 70 | Jeff McNeil | 2B/3B/OF | NYM | 67 | -3 |
| 71 | Mike Trout – Trout still doesn’t know if he’s going to play. I mentioned last week that a two week IL destroys a first round pick’s impact on your team. Combine that with an unknown amount of time exists for anyone with Covid-19 and it’s a free for all. With Buster Posey opting out, joining David Price and others, it’s too risky to pick him in the first few rounds. We know for sure he’s leaving for the birth of his first child. All this moves him down my list. But not totally off, because if he does play he can win your playoffs even if he misses a significant amount of time. | OF | LAA | 7 | -64 |
| 72 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – Park effect update continues to knock the shine off. And now he’s in the deeper 1B pool, although will have 3B eligibility in many formats. | 1B | TOR | 65 | -7 |
| 73 | Jonathan Villar – He may be headed back to the AL East, but his team really stinks. | 2B/SS | MIA | 45 | -28 |
| 74 | David Dahl | OF | COL | 70 | -4 |
| 75 | Josh Bell – Slight park effect ding, and a very weak lineup. | 1B | PIT | 68 | -7 |
| 76 | Tommy Pham – Ping ponging as we continue to figure out these park effects. | OF | SD | 43 | -33 |
| 77 | Justin Turner – His right handed bat does get a boost in the new format, but he’s older and lives in LA, so Covid risk. | 3B | LAD | 69 | -8 |
| 78 | Michael Conforto | OF | NYM | 83 | +5 |
| 79 | Byron Buxton | OF | MIN | 81 | +2 |
| 80 | Matt Chapman – Oakland batters looking more and more negatively effected by park effects. | 3B | OAK | 63 | -17 |
| 81 | Joey Votto – Good lineup, AL Central park effects, one last hurrah. | 1B | CIN | 96 | +15 |
| 82 | Amed Rosario | SS | NYM | 87 | +5 |
| 83 | Corey Seager | SS | LAD | 88 | +5 |
| 84 | Jorge Soler – Weaker lineup with Salvador Perez continuing to be out with Covid. | OF | KC | 80 | -4 |
| 85 | Adam Eaton | OF | WSH | 90 | +5 |
| 86 | Shohei Ohtani – Another Trout cascading effect. Plus, he does bat much less than the average batter. | DH | LAA | 51 | -35 |
| 87 | Matt Olson – Repeat it with me, park effect. | 1B | OAK | 66 | -21 |
| 88 | Ramon Laureano | OF | OAK | 84 | -4 |
| 89 | Willson Contreras | C | CHC | 95 | +6 |
| 90 | Edwin Encarnacion – Deserves more respect, getting more in NFBC, actually might increase value if Moncada misses time. | 1B | CHW | NA | NA |
| 91 | Paul DeJong | SS | STL | 92 | +1 |
| 92 | Eduardo Escobar | 2B/3B | ARI | 98 | +6 |
| 93 | Lourdes Gurriel Jr. | OF | TOR | 94 | +1 |
| 94 | David Peralta | OF | ARI | 100 | +6 |
| 95 | Aaron Judge – Was showing himself to be slightly healthier with every summer camp at bat, but now he has a stiff neck. So many injuries so little time. | OF | NYY | 82 | -13 |
| 96 | DJ LeMahieu – Covid-19 diagnosis hurts the “Best 2nd baseman in the AL” talk. | 1B/2B/3B | NYY | 76 | -20 |
| 97 | Alex Verdugo | OF | BOS | 99 | +2 |
| 98 | Mitch Garver – Twins bats getting the park effect book. | C | MIN | NA | NA |
| 99 | Avisail Garcia – Sneaking onto the list, looking better and better. | OF | MIL | NA | NA |
| 100 | Max Muncy – Muncy fans, we have a sighting! | 1B/2B/ 3B | LAD | NA | NA |
