It is that time! Opening day has passed and that means it is time for our first Top 100 Hitter rankings for the rest of the 2022 season. Every other week we will be looking at the movers and shakers for rest of the season value. This will be the place to be every Saturday throughout the season to get your rankings fix. For this first version, we will discuss where some of the young upstart rookies fit such as Bobby Witt Jr. We will also look at a few Spring Training performances and where guys like Cody Bellinger and Francisco Lindor land after springs heading in opposite directions. As always, thanks for reading, and good luck to you this season.
With the formalities out of the way, here are the Top 100 Hitters for the rest of the 2022 fantasy baseball season:
The Young Guns
Welcome to the big leagues for several top prospects coming out of Spring Training. As we update our rankings going into the season, the art of finding their place begins. Rookies are inherently high risk/high reward. So we welcome Bobby Witt Jr. (72), Julio Rodriguez (62), Spencer Torkelson (99) and Josh Lowe (100) to their opening day spots. The mix of power and speed provide a floor for all but Torkelson. As we see over the coming weeks how these guys adjust, expect them to move throughout the rankings as they settle into their new digs. They all seem ready, but I am most excited about the potential for Julio and simply hope he has full playing time in a decent Mariners outfield.
Spring Training Studs or Duds
It is like that commercial that says, “If it is on the internet it just be true”. If you see it in spring training, it must be indicative of the regular season? Not really. However, for a few guys, we can look at the spring games to give us solace in what we should expect going into the season. The following three guys really changed their value with their spring performance or in the case of our first guy, lack thereof:
- Cody Bellinger – For a guy with a full offseason to figure out his demons, a spring training with 5 hits and 18 strikeouts is probably not ideal. I am not buying here even if the price is right.
- Francisco Lindor – Lindor powered up this spring with four longballs after a down year in the power category during 2021. Still just 28, with some positive regression it looks like Lindor might be primed for a strong rebound
- Paul Goldschmidt – A hot hitting spring to the tune of a .500 average tied in with four opening day walks hints to Goldy being locked in to start the season. He bumped up a few spots going into the year as a 35/15/.300 season might just be in reach.
Guys to Watch
You would think there would be enough spots to cover with 100 hitters, but here at Razzball, we go the extra mile. Well maybe more like the extra few steps, but who is keeping track? Anyway, there are a few guys that just missed the top 100 this time around that I will be watching closely and think you should too. For the honorable mention this week, we have a number of young outfielders in Alex Kirilloff, Dylan Carlson, Andrew Benintendi, and Jesus Sanchez. Not to be left out, we do have to open one watch spot in the infield for Nate Lowe in Texas coming off a strong spring. All of these guys have the opportunities to run with their roles and make an impact on this fantasy season.
Thanks for stopping by and come back next week as we start into our hitter profiles during the regular season as we try to find the next big thing!
