Last week, we walked through my initial top 25 as we began to count down, or rather count up our top 100 hitters for the 2023 fantasy baseball season. While the top 25 was a star studded group on which fantasy dreams are born, the next 25 contain breakout potential and a number of reliable veterans. Once we get past this group, the questions start to grow and the debate will certainly spark. Without further ado, let us jump into our continuing view of the top 100 hitters for the 2023 fantasy baseball season with spots 26 through 50!
26. Matt Olson
27. Randy Arozarena
28. Marcus Semien
29. Luis Robert Jr.
30. Cedric Mullins II
One masher and the dual power and speed threats. I personally believe Olson is only one good BABIP fueled season away from hitting 40 homers and driving in 120 runs in a talented Atlanta lineup. The rest of this tier maintains a solid floor thanks to their speed. Robert has the biggest upside by far of this group and is definitely worth the gamble if you made low risk picks in the first few rounds. I would not be surprised if there was at least one 30/30 player in this group.
31. Corey Seager
32. Eloy Jimenez
33. Kyle Schwarber
34. Michael Harris II
35. George Springer
While the tier before this was all about speed and athleticism, this next group is nearly the inverse. Seager and Eloy are only 28 and 26 years old respectively and they are being passed over often because that prospect shine has worn off. Speaking of players with prospect shine, Michael Harris is a popular pick by many this season. He was featured in our bust column this year driven by league average exit velocities, too many ground balls and some luck in the power department last season. This will be a pass for me with current price being second or third round.
36. J.T. Realmuto
37. Adolis Garcia
38. Alex Bregman
39. Starling Marte
40. Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Our first catcher sighting is J.T Realmuto. He has been my top catcher for a number of years and carries that distinction once more barley beating out Will Smith. Just two years removed from a 45+ steal season, Starling Marte has taken a step back in the speed category, but he remains plenty useful and a lock for 100+ runs if he can get to a full slate of games. Finally, Jazz sits a bit lower in the rankings than you might expect with his natural talent, but a combination of inability to stay on the field and a weaker Marlins lineup that will not deliver much in the way of counting stats will cap his upside.
41. Dansby Swanson
42. Xander Bogaerts
43. Jose Abreu
44. Bryan Reynolds
45. Tim Anderson
This group may as well be known for their time gracing the trade and free agent rumors this offseason as Swanson, Bogaerts and Abreu all moved to new teams over the winter. I love the landing spot for Abreu and see a more neutral benefit for Swanson and Xander. Tim Anderson has delivered a .300+ average over the last four seasons and is a worthy investment if you skimmed on batting average with somebody like Pete Alonso or Kyle Schwarber while searching for power.
46. Willy Adames
47. Will Smith
48. Wander Franco
49. Corbin Carroll
50. Giancarlo Stanton
Wrapping up the top 50 hitters, we have a few young guns between Wander Franco and Corbin Carroll. While Wander has yet to demonstrate an aptitude for the power we expected him to grow into, he is still just 22 years old. Carroll on the other hand has flashed a bit more power but has less experience at the big league level. Ultimately, it is a coin flip between these two at this point in the draft season. Finally, we wrap with Giancarlo Stanton who’s immense talent is only overshadowed by his injury history. You could argue, though I am not, that he is just as talented as his Yankee peer in Aaron Judge. If he slips in the draft, there are worse gambles to take as the Yankees will do everything they can to keep him healthy through the DH spot this year.
