Top 100 Hitters, Week 11: Stick That In Your Craw

I can’t deny Brandon Crawford a spot on this list any longer. After a putrid April that saw the month end with his average under .200 — Crawford has turned it on more than any other player in the league. From May 1 to June 28 — a span of 34 games, 127 ABs — Crawford is hitting .425. Say whaaaatt?! Sure, 20 runs, 5 HRs, 25 RBI and 2 SBs as well — but .425 in over 30 games? That easily ranks #1 among qualified hitters over that span. The difference between Crawford and the player with the 3rd ranked average over that period (Jean Segura) is the same difference between Segura and Buster Posey — the hitter with the 20th ranked average. Included in this streak are 18 multi-hit games. Crawford is getting punches in bunches and needs to be owned in more than 65% of leagues.

Rising

• Eddie Rosario, OF, MIN: Rosario is actually 4th in batting average on that same list that Crawford is leading, but Rosario has scored 27 runs, 11 HRs, 3 RBI and 3 SBs. This surge has pushed Rosario into 7th on the ESPN Player Rater among OFs. He’s also the only OF in the top-10 on the Player Rater who was drafted after pick 85 so you know a lot of smart owners who drafted Rosario late are probably sitting atop their league’s standings.
• Shin-Soo Choo, OF, TEX: I’ll be honest — I counted Choo out after 2 disappointing, injury riddled seasons in the past three years. But “Big League” is back to his old tricks so far this season. The .272 average is about on par with what we can expect from Choo at age 35 and Choo could put up a .375 OBP when he’s 45. Only Mike Trout, Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge have more walks among OFs than Choo. Not bad company to be in. Also, 11 HRs thus far into the season actually has Choo on pace to break his career high of 22. If Delino Deshields can start getting on base and stealing bases in front of Choo we could see more than his mildly disappointing 27 RBI should rise too.

Falling:

• Carlos Correa, SS, HOU: Overall, Correa’s 36/10/39/2/.264 line isn’t bad — if you drafted him with a 7th or 8th round pick. When you drafted him around pick #11 (as his ADP suggested many of us did) than that is unacceptable. This drop also says a lot more about players in the top 20 than it does Correa. The kid is still only 23 and will become a perennial MVP candidate as he grows and develops — but with wily veterans like Segura crushing every pitch he sees — I can’t justify keeping Correa in the top 10 anymore.
• Jonathan Schoop, 2B, BAL: I’m so mad at Schoop that I was almost considering dropping him off this list entirely. Still thinking about that as I write this sentence. And that one. AND THAT ONE! And that one — I could go on but I don’t want to because I’m so frustrated. The Orioles as a collective unit are just disappointing all over. They’re 28th in team batting average, 29th in OPS, 29th in runs scored, 29th in RBI, 24th in triples — okay now I’m just looking for any reason to complain. I’m still holding out hope Schoop can turn it around. 2017’s .293 average was never realistic — but .270? .250 at this point? With 20 HRs? His contact rate and strikeout rate are on par with year’s past — but a .264 BABIP might be to blame for the extreme drop in production across the board. That is partially fueled by a 14% drop from last year in his hard hit percentage. Schoop is just not making solid contact and hopefully he can turn it around in the second half.

Top 100 Hitters

GREEN: Rising | BLUE: New Additions | RED: Falling

As always — drop me a comment below!