Welcome back to the Top 100 hitters, where the dog days of August bring both scorching heat and sizzling opportunity. With less than a quarter of the season remaining, this is the toughest stretch to rank players when an injury or cold streak can crater a hitter’s value in an instant. At the top, the heavyweights still reign. Shohei Ohtani has edged past Aaron Judge, setting the stage for a potential repeat MVP campaign. Ohtani leads the Dodgers with 43 home runs and 117 runs scored, while Judge counters with a .330+ average and 39 homers of his own. But scroll further down the list, and the landscape shifts. New names are surging, veterans are fading, and the rankings are in flux. As the fantasy playoffs loom, let’s dive into the chaos and uncover which bats are rising, falling, or waiting to make some noise.
| Rank | Player | Movement |
| 1 | Shohei Ohtani | 1 |
| 2 | Aaron Judge | -1 |
| 3 | Elly De La Cruz | |
| 4 | José Ramírez | |
| 5 | Bobby Witt Jr. | 1 |
| 6 | Kyle Tucker | -1 |
| 7 | Juan Soto | 1 |
| 8 | James Wood | 1 |
| 9 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | 3 |
| 10 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | 1 |
| 11 | Ronald Acuña Jr. | -4 |
| 12 | Francisco Lindor | 1 |
| 13 | Pete Alonso | 4 |
| 14 | Kyle Schwarber | 2 |
| 15 | Corbin Carroll | 12 |
| 16 | Gunnar Henderson | 2 |
| 17 | Cal Raleigh | -2 |
| 18 | Trea Turner | 1 |
| 19 | Junior Caminero | 2 |
| 20 | Brent Rooker | |
| 21 | Julio Rodríguez | 4 |
| 22 | Pete Crow-Armstrong | -12 |
| 23 | Manny Machado | -1 |
| 24 | Rafael Devers | -1 |
| 25 | Bryce Harper | 3 |
| 26 | Matt Olson | -2 |
| 27 | Oneil Cruz | 2 |
| 28 | Christian Yelich | 11 |
| 29 | Seiya Suzuki | 5 |
| 30 | Eugenio Suárez | 1 |
| 31 | Josh Naylor | 9 |
| 32 | Ketel Marte | |
| 33 | Alex Bregman | 2 |
| 34 | Corey Seager | -8 |
| 35 | Jackson Chourio | -21 |
| 36 | Jarren Duran | |
| 37 | Freddie Freeman | 4 |
| 38 | Nick Kurtz | 6 |
| 39 | Jose Altuve | 11 |
| 40 | Mookie Betts | 2 |
| 41 | Randy Arozarena | 5 |
| 42 | Mike Trout | 1 |
| 43 | Byron Buxton | 2 |
| 44 | Riley Greene | 3 |
| 45 | CJ Abrams | 3 |
| 46 | Wyatt Langford | -8 |
| 47 | Teoscar Hernández | -10 |
| 48 | Jackson Merrill | -15 |
| 49 | Tyler Soderstrom | 3 |
| 50 | Trevor Story | 12 |
| 51 | Vinnie Pasquantino | 10 |
| 52 | Cody Bellinger | 2 |
| 53 | Jazz Chisholm Jr. | -2 |
| 54 | Bo Bichette | 5 |
| 55 | Brandon Nimmo | |
| 56 | William Contreras | 2 |
| 57 | Willson Contreras | -1 |
| 58 | Will Smith | -5 |
| 59 | Kyle Stowers | 17 |
| 60 | Zach Neto | |
| 61 | Geraldo Perdomo | 20 |
| 62 | Austin Riley | -32 |
| 63 | Bryan Reynolds | |
| 64 | Maikel Garcia | 8 |
| 65 | Drake Baldwin | 14 |
| 66 | Brice Turang | 3 |
| 67 | Lawrence Butler | -18 |
| 68 | Steven Kwan | -4 |
| 69 | Ian Happ | -2 |
| 70 | Jeremy Peña | NR |
| 71 | Marcus Semien | -14 |
| 72 | Ramón Laureano | NR |
| 73 | Ozzie Albies | |
| 74 | Spencer Torkelson | |
| 75 | Andy Pages | |
| 76 | Brandon Lowe | NR |
| 77 | Addison Barger | |
| 78 | Spencer Steer | |
| 79 | Christian Walker | 1 |
| 80 | Luis Robert Jr. | 9 |
| 81 | Shea Langeliers | NR |
| 82 | Nick Castellanos | 1 |
| 83 | Heliot Ramos | 1 |
| 84 | Taylor Ward | 9 |
| 85 | Kerry Carpenter | |
| 86 | Jackson Holliday | 2 |
| 87 | George Springer | 3 |
| 88 | Dansby Swanson | 3 |
| 89 | Agustín Ramírez | NR |
| 90 | Jakob Marsee | NR |
| 91 | Sal Frelick | NR |
| 92 | Willy Adames | 2 |
| 93 | Jordan Westburg | 2 |
| 94 | Anthony Volpe | -7 |
| 95 | Salvador Perez | 2 |
| 96 | Hunter Goodman | NR |
| 97 | Roman Anthony | NR |
| 98 | Yordan Alvarez | -27 |
| 99 | Wilyer Abreu | NR |
| 100 | Matt McLain | -18 |
Rising
- Jakob Marsee – If you haven’t heard about Jakob Marsee, you may have been living under a rock these past few weeks. Since his debut on August 1st, he’s been on fire hitting .383 with three homers, six steals, and a combined 21 runs and RBI. He’s led the league in WAR during that stretch while maintaining his signature patient approach at the plate. Sure, the .455 BABIP is completely unsustainable, but he has full run to play in Miami and should deliver mid-level power and top tier speed the rest of the way. If he’s available, he needs to be rostered, especially in OBP leagues, where he’s a big-time asset.
- Trevor Story – Across the fantasy industry, Trevor Story is getting absolutely no love despite being on pace for a 20/20 season with a shot at 100 RBI. He’s posting his highest hard-hit rates in five years, has stolen 21 bases without being caught once, and just keeps producing. Yes, the underlying metrics look a bit shaky, but how can we keep ignoring the production of the 25th-ranked player on the Player Rater?
- Geraldo Perdomo – Speaking of underlying numbers, Geraldo Perdomo might have the best plate approach in the majors. He walks at a 13% clip while striking out less than 11% of the time. He’s been efficient on the basepaths, stealing 19 bases in 23 attempts, and continues to rack up runs batting near the top of the Arizona lineup. There’s little reason to doubt that this production will continue through the rest of the season and he’ll likely remain an overlooked value heading into 2026.
Falling
- Austin Riley – Riley hasn’t been far off his career metrics when healthy this season, but that’s the key, staying healthy. Repeated issues with an abdominal strain have kept him sidelined. He returned to the lineup a few weeks ago, but that was short-lived, and he’s now back on the injured list, still feeling discomfort while throwing. With the Braves having nothing to play for, they should prioritize Riley’s long-term health for 2026 and avoid rushing him back. Let’s hope we see him by September, but I’m not counting on it.
- Pete Crow-Armstrong – After an electric start that has PCA flirting with a 30/30 season, we’re starting to see some cracks. His plate approach with just a 4% walk rate and 24% strikeout rate is aggressive and prone to streakiness. As we hit mid-August, he’s in a slump with no walks, a 33% strikeout rate, and a .136 average with a 55% pull rate, scoring only a single run. PCA seems to be pressing. While the talent nearly guarantees a turnaround, time is running short as the season winds down.
Watching
- Andrew Vaughn – Yes, Andrew Vaughn is making yet another appearance in a fantasy column, this time going full Prince Fielder on the NL Central as a fixture in the middle of the Brewers’ lineup. Since joining Milwaukee, he’s hit nine homers, driven in 35 runs, scored 18, and posted a .343 average in just 29 games. That’s an unbelievable pace, driven by some subtle tweaks at the plate. It still feels a bit too good to be true, but we can’t ignore what he’s doing. If Vaughn sneaks into the Top 100 hitters by season’s end, it will mark an incredible turnaround nobody saw coming.
- Brenton Doyle – Doyle fell out of the Top 100 hitters after a dismal start to the season, hitting just .202 with a handful of homers and steals through the All-Star break good for a wRC+ of 46. But since the break, he’s shown signs of life with four homers, two steals, and a .385 average in just 20 games, good for a 170 wRC+. Still, the .467 BABIP and sub-5% walk rate are concerning. Let’s keep watching, but I worry Doyle might be following the Nolan Jones breakout-and-fade trajectory.
