Top 100 Hitters: The Beginning

Welcome to the countdown of the top 100 hitters for the 2024 fantasy season.  This season we will be bringing you the top 100 hitters every other week during the regular season.  There is a clear shift taking place in the hitter draft dynamic and the name of that game is speed.  While some of the most talented hitters may be guys like Juan Soto or Matt Olson, the need for speed at the top of the draft has pushed down that pure hitting talent.  There should be no question at the top of the draft where the only player in the league that can go 40/70 has to be taken.  However, as the rest of the first round unwinds there is a plethora of young talent with what feels like limitless upside.  Take a risk on a pitcher or power-only slugger and the sledding will be tough the rest of the draft.  Good luck to all fantasy managers during this draft season and without further ado, let the debate begin as we work through the beginning of the top 100 hitters for the 2024 fantasy baseball season.

Tier 1: The MVP

1) Ronald Acuna Jr.

We are starting at the top with what should be the easiest pick of the draft for fantasy owners.  The only player in history to hit 40 home runs and steal 70 bases in a season, Acuna is the rare first overall pick that actually could still have upside for the price.  Being able to grab Acuna and then utilize the turn with the next two picks is an enviable position.  That turn should net a clear ace, like Corbin Burnes, to pair with another power and speed combo, like Francisco Lindor, to render speed an afterthought the rest of the draft.  If you are still not convinced, there is nothing else to say here.

Tier 2: Can’t Go Wrong

2) Mookie Betts
3) Bobby Witt Jr.
4) Kyle Tucker
5) Julio Rodriguez
6) Corbin Carroll

Mookie might be a surprise pick for the second overall hitter for 2024, but he has positional flexibility, speed/power profile, and the potential to score considerably more runs than most hitters in the draft with an average approaching .300.  Plus Mookie has the longest track-record of the next tier which gives him considerable stability when that is exactly what you want with a top of the draft pick.  Once we get past Mookie, we get into a group of 23-year old (besides the 27-year old Tucker) hitters that in 2023 averaged 29 long balls and 43 steals. There are options depending on whether you want to focus on positional flexibility with Witt, batting average upside with Tucker, speed ceiling with Carroll, or all around excitement with Rodriguez.  There is really no wrong choice in this tier and the order may jockey based on spring starts, but fantasy owners will want to leave the first six picks of the draft with a power and speed combination

Tier 3: Star Power

7) Shohei Ohtani
8) Freddie Freeman
9) Juan Soto

This next tier is full of players that could conceivably jump into number one overall pick consideration if we were certain their 2023 seasons would be built upon in their new situation.  For Shohei, he put up an incredible season at the plate and seems to be taking some form of penalty in drafts this spring due to not pitching.  However, he delivered 44 homers, nearly 200 combined runs, and RBI with 20 steals and a .300+ average in 2023 which should put him even higher on this list.  He sits at the seventh hitter recognizing he will be coming off a major surgery and in a new environment where the running may be held back.  For Freeman, he also had an outstanding 2023 with the big question mark being his newfound stolen base skill.  Hitting in the number two spot in front of Ohtani for the Dodgers, I would expect a bit less running from Freddie in 2024.  That said, Freeman hits on all cylinders and can make a fantasy manager’s life easy later in a draft with the high batting average potential he provides.  Finally, we have Juan Soto in this tier as a New York Yankee.  There will be helium dreaming of a .300 average with 50 home runs.  Soto is still only 25-years old and has the potential to put up a season for the ages with the ballpark in the Bronx.  However, with the lower speed potential he sits at the backend of the top hitters.  In 2024 drafts, owners picking in the top eight or nine spots are all guaranteed a strong base for their lineup.

Tier 4: Upside Plays

10) Fernando Tatis Jr.
11) Jose Ramirez
12) Matt Olson
13) Trea Turner
14) Aaron Judge
15) Yordan Alvarez

Moving into the next tier of hitters, we have a hitter group that all have question marks or a key category deficiency compared to the hitters before them.  These players are still stars and critical to the success of your team pairing with your first-round no-brainers.  We have a group of sluggers with Matt Olson, Aaron Judge, and Yordan Alvarez.  Olson was incredible last year hitting over 50 homers with 260+ runs and RBI.  The key question for Olson is how will the batting average stand up recognizing he brings no speed to the equation.  Judge and Yordan both bring just as much upside as Olson but have been and continue to be injury risks which make them a bit harder to invest in at this draft price.  On the flip side, we have Tatis Jr., Ramirez, and Turner who bring the power and speed combination we need as a basis in 2024.  Tatis Jr. has had an injury history and a bit more streaky profile, but a 30/30 season is very much possible.  Ramirez and Turner on the other hand bring the combination of power and speed but with a bit more variability (Turner) or slightly lower ceiling (Ramirez).  First round picks will likely drive the necessary step in the next round because leaving the top two rounds without speed is ill-advised.

Tier 5: The Others

16) Austin Riley
17) Marcus Semien
18) Francisco Lindor
19) Bryce Harper
20) Ozzie Albies

As we round out the first twenty hitters in our countdown, our last group all makeup great players but generally have larger question marks in their background.  If we get the 30/30 Francisco Lindor from 2023 we are thrilled at this point in the draft rather than the 20/10 guy from two years ago.  Harper and Albies have seen their speed drop off mixed with injury concerns as well.  Semein and Riley have been very strong in the last two seasons both sitting in high-producing lineups on playoff teams.  Riley has nearly broken the 40 homer mark and Semein is a constant 20/20 threat with very little injury concern as both players have averaged nearly 160 games the last three seasons.  Reliability in the early rounds cannot be dismissed.

Let the debate begin as we have outlined the top 20 hitters for the 2024 fantasy baseball season.  With this top group, there are absolutely leaps to be taken for ‘your guy’.  Who would you move up?  Who would you move down?  Thanks for stopping in.