Top 100 Hitters: Summer Heating Up

The weather has certainly turned as June is in full swing across the major league landscape.  With All-Star voting open, fantasy managers and real world teams may have to take drastic action with many former stars.  Luckily for fantasy owners, we do not have to swallow millions on the payroll when cutting a player such as Jose Abreu.  That said, hard decisions still need to be made.  In this week’s rendition of the Top 100 Hitters for the rest of the 2024 fantasy baseball season, we see first rounders dropping and breakouts rising.  Reality has sunk in for our game and if you are too scared to make the hard moves, somebody else will.  Dig in and debate, we are back with another set of our hitter rankings!

Rising

• TJ Freidl – TJ Friedl returned from a fractured thumb on May 29th and has played every game since his return. In his last 10 games, Friedl is hitting .324 with three home runs and has contributed to 19 combined runs and RBIs, along with a few steals. He is currently batting in the lead-off spot against right-handed pitchers, which positions him well to continue scoring runs. Over the past few years, Friedl has been a consistent performer, and there is no reason to expect anything different moving forward.
• Andy Pages – Andy Pages minor league success has translated better than many Dodgers prospects to the big stage.  While generally in the bottom third of the lineup, he has found himself as high as fifth in the order over the last few weeks.  A 27% strikeout rate on the season has been only 20% the last two weeks.  He has been getting some luck over the same time period with a .464 babip, but there is enough talent and a superb situation that we have to count him within the Top 100.
• Jarren Duran – Jarren Duran is having a season that closely mirrors his 2023 performance, but his recent play suggests he has elevated his game. Since the beginning of June, Duran has been hitting .367 and has accumulated a combined 20 runs and RBIs. During this same period, he has demonstrated improved plate discipline by walking as often as he has struck out. Although the sample size is relatively small, Duran has shown he is very comfortable in the lead-off spot for the Red Sox. His ability to get on base, coupled with his recent uptick in performance, indicates that he is poised for continued success as a key contributor to our fantasy lineups.

Falling

• Julio Rodriguez – Julio Rodriguez has been disappointing to many fantasy managers this season.  At the end of the day, it isn’t as bad as it seems while much of his profile is similar to last year with the power lagging.  The problem compounds with his counting stats also dropping and that combination has made him only a slightly above average hitter.  Paying up at the draft table, we expected way more.  I am not writing Julio off the rest of the season, but he has to drop down the rankings with this new middling profile.  Not to mention, the overall Mariners offense is not doing anybody favors in the run production department.
• Jo Adell – You are who we thought you were! Since May 21st, Jo Adell has been struggling significantly, recording only seven hits and maintaining a concerning 40% strikeout rate. His .101 batting average over this period has only been slightly improved by four hits in the last four games. Despite some brief flashes of potential, his ongoing struggles indicate that he has not turned a corner. As a result, Adell should see a drop in rankings and should no longer be part of the discussion for our top hitters. His performance reaffirms the doubts many had about his ability to succeed at the major league level.

Watching

• David Hamilton – David Hamilton has been making waves over the past month, nearly ranking as a top 20 player by WAR. His 14 stolen bases in 45 games have been a boon for fantasy owners, showcasing his stolen base prowess, supported by a top 10% sprint speed rating. However, his batting position near the bottom of the Red Sox lineup and the return of Masataka Yoshida may limit his playing time moving forward. As a result, while Hamilton remains a player to monitor, his role could become more of a plug-and-play option for the rest of the season unless he secures consistent playing time.
• Andrew Vaughn – Andrew Vaughn’s overall season stats may appear disappointing with a .224 average and only eight home runs, compounded by playing in a challenging situation with the White Sox. However, since June began, Vaughn has shown a significant turnaround, batting .333 with nearly half of his season’s production and an impressive wRC+ of 184. This surge underscores his talent, which has always been something he seemed to draw short. We need to monitor Vaughn going forward, as he has the capability to deliver impactful results when in form.