Well over 50 games into the 2021 fantasy baseball season have given birth to true breakouts and true concern for the underperformers. In this week for the rest of the season top 100 hitters we see some strong movement from breakout stars that are showing not only top performance but sustained performance. We have the breakouts from players that have shown potential over the past few years in guys like Jesse Winker and Kyle Tucker. Moreover, a group of former stars continue to impress in the mold of Nick Castellanos and Kris Bryant. Finally, we get the pleasure of watching the New Kids on the Block like Adolis Garcia and Tyler O’Neil crush the baseball into the cheap seats on a nightly basis.
For this edition of the Top 100 Hitters for the 2021 Fantasy Baseball season, the rankings breakdown as such:
| Ranking | Player | Movement |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | |
| 2 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | |
| 3 | Trea Turner | |
| 4 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | 5 |
| 5 | Jose Ramirez | -1 |
| 6 | Juan Soto | |
| 7 | Freddie Freeman | 3 |
| 8 | Bryce Harper | -1 |
| 9 | J.D. Martinez | 4 |
| 10 | Nelson Cruz | 2 |
| 11 | Xander Bogaerts | |
| 12 | Cody Bellinger | 9 |
| 13 | Bo Bichette | -5 |
| 14 | Mookie Betts | -9 |
| 15 | Jesse Winker | 39 |
| 16 | Kyle Tucker | 11 |
| 17 | Jose Abreu | 5 |
| 18 | Shohei Ohtani | 8 |
| 19 | Nick Castellanos | 21 |
| 20 | Rafael Devers | -2 |
| 21 | Yordan Alvarez | -4 |
| 22 | Nolan Arenado | -8 |
| 23 | Whit Merrifield | -4 |
| 24 | Aaron Judge | -1 |
| 25 | Byron Buxton | 10 |
| 26 | Christian Yelich | -1 |
| 27 | Marcus Semien | 17 |
| 28 | Javier Baez | 15 |
| 29 | Trevor Story | -14 |
| 30 | Kris Bryant | 23 |
| 31 | Matt Olson | 7 |
| 32 | Ketel Marte | |
| 33 | Austin Meadows | 9 |
| 34 | J.T. Realmuto | -1 |
| 35 | Adolis Garcia | 33 |
| 36 | Alex Bregman | -12 |
| 37 | Manny Machado | -6 |
| 38 | Anthony Rendon | -18 |
| 39 | Giancarlo Stanton | 9 |
| 40 | Mike Trout | -1 |
| 41 | Starling Marte | 10 |
| 42 | Randy Arozarena | -8 |
| 43 | Corey Seager | -27 |
| 44 | George Springer | -8 |
| 45 | Trent Grisham | -4 |
| 46 | Francisco Lindor | -18 |
| 47 | Jose Altuve | 2 |
| 48 | Tim Anderson | -18 |
| 49 | Wil Myers | -3 |
| 50 | Anthony Rizzo | -3 |
| 51 | Charlie Blackmon | -6 |
| 52 | Adalberto Mondesi | 5 |
| 53 | Ozzie Albies | 5 |
| 54 | Trey Mancini | 17 |
| 55 | DJ LeMahieu | -18 |
| 56 | Tyler O’Neill | 30 |
| 57 | Max Muncy | 8 |
| 58 | Jared Walsh | -2 |
| 59 | Ramon Laureano | 1 |
| 60 | Mitch Haniger | 3 |
| 61 | Jazz Chisholm | 3 |
| 62 | Pete Alonso | -1 |
| 63 | Michael Brantley | -13 |
| 64 | Paul Goldschmidt | -9 |
| 65 | Yoan Moncada | -6 |
| 66 | Justin Turner | |
| 67 | Teoscar Hernandez | |
| 68 | Yuli Gurriel | 1 |
| 69 | Carlos Correa | 5 |
| 70 | Mark Canha | 21 |
| 71 | Ryan McMahon | 7 |
| 72 | Gavin Lux | 16 |
| 73 | Jarred Kelenic | -3 |
| 74 | Franmil Reyes | 2 |
| 75 | Salvador Perez | 2 |
| 76 | Robbie Grossman | 7 |
| 77 | Mike Moustakas | 2 |
| 78 | Alex Verdugo | 2 |
| 79 | Bryan Reynolds | NR |
| 80 | Eduardo Escobar | NR |
| 81 | Randal Grichuk | NR |
| 82 | Evan Longoria | NR |
| 83 | Josh Donaldson | 2 |
| 84 | Jeff McNeil | -11 |
| 85 | Eric Hosmer | -3 |
| 86 | Tommy Pham | NR |
| 87 | Nick Solak | -35 |
| 88 | Dansby Swanson | 1 |
| 89 | Rhys Hoskins | 1 |
| 90 | Austin Riley | NR |
| 91 | Dylan Carlson | 2 |
| 92 | Isiah Kiner-Falefa | 3 |
| 93 | J.D. Davis | 3 |
| 94 | Nate Lowe | 3 |
| 95 | Mike Yastrzemski | -14 |
| 96 | Pavin Smith | NR |
| 97 | Buster Posey | 2 |
| 98 | Carlos Santana | NR |
| 99 | Eugenio Suarez | -7 |
| 100 | Garrett Hampson | -13 |
For fun, we are going to group some key movers this week into the Risers, Fallers, and Injury Returners:
Risers:
- I have been a Gavin Lux truther for some time based on his pedigree and minor league track record. I am happy to say that he is starting to show signs of life. Is it time to pronounce him an Allstar? No. But if there was a buying window, it is starting to close.
- Adolis Garcia is yet another former Cardinals outfielder doing damage. He sits in the top 5 hitters for longballs for the year thanks in part to being in the top 10 for barrels, exit velocity, and hard-hit rate. I am still slightly hesitant with his high strikeout rate, but I would rather ride that wave now and worry about risk later.
- Jesse Winker and Nick Castellanos are both having breakout years for the Cincinnati Reds. Both are certainly fueled by a little luck. However, I am buying most underlying numbers for these fellas.
Fallers:
- Some big names up the middle continue to struggle this season and give rise for concern in Francisco Lindor, Trevor Story, and DJ LeMahieu. All three gentlemen have had disappointing seasons by their lofty standards. They are professionals and have as good of a chance as anybody to turn things around. If I had to pick one the rest of the way, the Coors Field-driven Story would be my choice.
- As much as it hurts to do, Mookie Betts takes a small tumble down the rankings this week due to concerns about his durability and ultimately his production. Yes, he missed time with merely bad allergies recently, but his shoulder has also been barking. His OPS is the lowest it has been in four years as the power numbers really have not arrived in Chavez Ravine.
Injury Returners:
- Anthony Rendon returned from injury a few weeks back but is just now starting to awaken from a season-long slump. He falls in the rankings as much from others passing him by as the fact that we are waiting for him to show some sustained progress in his numbers.
- Just this past week, we got a glance at the elusive Starling Marte as he returned from injury and immediately started to produce hitting safely in each game since his IL stay. While the sample size is still smaller for Starling, I see little reason to be concerned for the rest of the season.
