Top 100 Hitters: Midseason Shuffle

The calendar has flipped to July, the summer heat has officially arrived, and we’re about a week and a half away from the All-Star break. That also means it’s time to wipe the slate clean and take another hard look at the rest-of-season landscape. A lot has changed since our last update. Injuries have sidelined fantasy juggernauts like Aaron Judge and José Ramírez, forcing managers to scramble for replacements. Early-season darlings like Ildemaro Vargas have come crashing back to earth as regression finally caught up to them. Meanwhile, a new wave of breakout bats has emerged, veterans have rediscovered their swings, and several highly touted prospects are beginning to make their mark. The first half is nearly in the books, but fantasy championships aren’t won in April, May, or June. They’re won by making the right moves over the final three months. With that in mind, we’ve completely reshuffled the deck to reflect current performance, underlying metrics, playing time, health, and rest-of-season outlook. So grab a cold drink, settle into the air conditioning, and let’s reveal the updated Top 100 Hitters for the rest of the season.

Rising

• Pete Crow-Armstrong – Over the last month, Crow-Armstrong has been the best player in baseball. From a WAR perspective, his 3.2 mark is the same as the combined mark of the next two players on the list (Dillon Dingler and Dansby Swanson).  His wRC+ over those 30 days checked in at 241 with a dozen home runs and nine steals.  The PCA profile is very similar to that of Elly De La Cruz with a high strikeout rate, impressive speed, and frustrating streakiness.  The .467 BABIP from the last month is unsustainable, but even with regression, it appears that Crow-Armstrong has made some adjustments and is trying to force himself into that first round conversation for 2027.
• Junior Caminero – Caminero has one of the best Statcast pages in the game. The big challenge for him has been the launch angle preventing him from tapping into his true power.  While he has not solved that problem, he has increased his hard hit rate over 15 points across the last 30 days, putting him in a dead heat with James Wood during that timeframe for best in the league.  Unfortunately, the launch angle has not improved, and the 45% HR/FB rate drove the 11 homers since the start of June.  He rises up slightly in the rankings due to the absolute potential if he truly does adapt, but right now we should expect some slight regression the rest of the season compared to June.
• Luis Garcia Jr. – Did anybody see the Luis Garcia Jr. breakout coming? Over the last 30 days, he has been hitting .317/.356/.780 with eleven homers and 28 RBI.  The BABIP is only .254, giving credence to the quality of the line, although the power has been juiced by a 39% HR/FB rate.  We cannot ignore the progress he has made with the quality of contact, and he is a solid contributor going forward with a little less power.

Falling

• Brent Rooker, Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia – There are several guys hitting the injured list over the past few weeks since we last updated our top 100 hitter rankings for the rest of the season. This group of Rooker, Pasquantino and Garcia were already falling due to production, and their injuries sealed the fate of falling outside the list.  Let’s revisit this group for a rebound in 2027, but hopes have been dashed for this season even when they (excluding Rooker) do return.
• Drake Baldwin – One of my favorite picks coming into the season delivered prior to getting injured with an oblique strain in mid-May. It is hard to tell if Baldwin returned too quickly, but he has been a shadow of himself since returning on June 16^th.  Since that time, he has hit .091 with a 39% strikeout rate and a single home run in his first game back.  That included a 9-game streak without a single hit. As the calendar turned to July, we have seen a little bit of life coming into the bat.  However, at this point it is going to be hard to fully trust until we see sustained performance.

Watching

• Jake McCarthy – We have been here before, tempted by the talent of Jake McCarthy. We dreamed of what he could become during the preseason after his move to Colorado, only to be left wanting more. As we reach the midpoint of the season, he is once again flashing that tantalizing upside. Since June 1, McCarthy has hit .320 with four home runs, three stolen bases, and a combined 33 runs and RBI. While an elevated BABIP has certainly helped fuel the hot streak, Coors Field has a way of sustaining higher batting averages than most environments. McCarthy is still better viewed as a streaming option than a locked-in starter given the modest power profile, but he deserves to be on every fantasy manager’s watch list. His schedule coming out of the All-Star break is particularly enticing, with 12 of his first 17 games at Coors Field, where he owns a .240 ISO compared to just .142 on the road. If there is ever a time to buy back into the talent, it is during that stretch.
• Sam Antonacci – With all of the marquee prospects reaching the majors this season, Sam Antonacci has quietly flown under the radar. Across 67 games, he has produced a 137 wRC+ while contributing five home runs and five stolen bases, showcasing the well-rounded skill set that has made him one of the more underrated hitters in the minors. Even more encouraging is the recent surge. Since the middle of June, Antonacci is hitting .364 with a .444 OBP while posting a strong 40% hard-hit rate, suggesting the breakout is backed by improved quality of contact rather than pure luck. His line-drive oriented swing is unlikely to produce 30-homer upside, but it gives him an excellent chance to hit for average while chipping in double-digit home runs and steals. In OBP formats, where his mature approach and plate discipline receive an added boost, the fantasy ceiling looks even higher. If this stretch continues into the All-Star break, expect Antonacci to force his way into the Top 100 hitters discussion.
• Charlie Condon – Staying in Colorado, but shifting our attention to the Albuquerque Isotopes, Charlie Condon is pounding on the door to the major leagues. Since June 1, the former third overall pick has erupted for a .362 average with 12 home runs and 34 RBI in just 25 games. Those numbers would stand out in any environment, and they come as Condon appears to be making the adjustments many hoped to see after a slow start to his professional career. The strikeout concerns haven’t disappeared entirely, but the impact contact has returned in a big way, reminding everyone why he was viewed as one of the premier power bats in his draft class. Assuming the Rockies give him the call in the coming weeks, he will immediately become one of the more intriguing fantasy additions of the second half. Few parks amplify right-handed power like Coors Field, making Condon a potential difference-maker the moment he arrives. Keep him on your watch list now, because once the promotion is announced, the waiver wire bidding will likely become aggressive.