Top 100 Hitters For 2024: Early Looks

Let’s get it out of the way right now, the Top 100 Hitters for 2024 being released on the final day of regular season will be wrong.  Did you expect it to be 100% right?  Players will surge in the playoffs; home ballparks will change with the trade or free agency landscape and deeper analysis will shed light on potential hidden gems.  Frankly, your 2023 final standing may not even be settled.  However, there is no point in waiting for our first draft of 2024 rankings as the successful fantasy owner never rests!  So, for my last post of the 2023 fantasy baseball season, it is time to predict the future and dig into the Top 100 Hitters for the 2024 fantasy baseball season.

Tier 1

In the top tier of 2024 hitters, it is all about the well-rounded player.  The average 2024 first rounder will be hitting .290 and putting up a 30/30 season.  There should be no mystery at the top with Ronald Acuña Jr. as the only question being how he will amaze us next season.  Speed has really transformed the fantasy game this year and it is a requirement to invest draft capital into speed early next season to set a solid foundation.  Luckily, we have a young core of players that do everything on the diamond.  There is some injury risk with Shohei, Tatis, and Harper, however, the ceiling for these players more than makes up for that concern.  Looking at the top in 2024, it might be better to be drafting at the turn with the hopes of grabbing two 5-tool players than in recent memory.

Tier 2

The second tier of hitters for 2024 all have one good argument for keeping them out of the first round.  First off, we always have injury concerns with guys like Luis Robert Jr., Aaron Judge, Yordan Alvarez, and Mike Trout.  Then we have the lack of speed with the likes of Matt Olson, Rafael Devers, and Corey Seager.  Then there are simply the hitters that have shown us that they do have a downside to be wary of such as Christian Yelich and Marcus Semien.  This is a star-studded group and picking the right player to pair with your first round gem is critical.  I expect a lot of championship teams will find themselves with boring combinations of Kyle Tucker and Ozzie Albies while others chase the highest of high ceilings.

Tier 3

Tier 3 for 2024 is all about the potential.  These players all have the potential to return first round results, but the floor is about as scary as the ceiling is high.  For example, Elly De La Cruz could easily have a 25/50 season in 2024 but if he only hits .220 will there be enough batting average in your fantasy lineup to balance out that penalty?  The same average concerns are certainly there for Pete Alonso as well.  On the other side of the coin, well balanced profiles of aging players are enticing if they can produce for another year such as Paul Goldschmidt or Jose Altuve.  This is a tier that will tempt many but may be the right time to start picking up your first starting pitcher as there is plenty of upside later in our rankings.

Tier 4

In the middle of our Top 100 Hitters for 2024 lands the most boring tier of players.  These are guys who generally lack the tools to vault to the top of our rankings but are still very valuable parts of a winning team.  We have our first catcher in Adley Rutschman and a potential comeback Story (Trevor).  Matt McLain sits in this tier and will likely get a lot of hype going into 2024 due to what appears to be the potential of a 5-tool profile; however, he will be a player we discuss later in the off-season as a risk that may be best left for others chasing the ceiling.  We also include fantasy enigmas in Kyle Schwarber who just produced one of the most interesting stat lines of all time with his 2023 all-or-nothing power season and Statcast darling Yandy Diaz who will almost always look better on paper.

Tier 5

Now for some fun in Tier 5 for 2024, we have the potential for breakout profits.  I expect to be shopping in this group often next year.  Royce Lewis made a lot of noise in the last month of the season as Player Rater’s 11th most valuable hitter launching seven home runs and delivering 24 RBI.  Spencer Torkelson has really been figuring things out in the second half as have Triston Casas and Kerry Carpenter.  While a bit cardiac during the season, there is no denying that Anthony Volpe and James Outman are just one step away from stardom.  It is easy to dream on Ke’Bryan Hayes if he ever consistently puts the ball in the air with his power as he did over the last two months of the season.  Grab yourself a solid foundation early in the draft and fill up on these guys wherever you can.

Tier 6

Tier 6 is where we can easily argue about a player being twenty spots off and have a valid argument.  This group includes last month of the season breakout Evan Carter.  Potential comeback player of the year Vinnie Pasquantino lives here as well.  One of my favorite players for 2024 will be Mitch Garver as he continues to display 40-homer power from the catcher position.  Finally, it might just be a matter of time but Christian Encarnacion-Strand being at the back of the Top 100 may look silly come spring training with all the potential he has in what looks to be a stacked Cincinnati lineup in 2024.

That will do it for the Top 100 Hitters for the 2024 fantasy baseball season.  If you made it this far, thank you for reading all season.  For many of us here at Razzball, it is a labor of love with late nights and sacrifices on our own fantasy teams to put out content for all of you.  I hope you gleaned something and fought your way to a championship season.  Until next year!