There are those who would call for Yordan Alvarez to be a top-50 player already. With 27 combined HRs this season and 78! 78! 78! RBI in 60 games between AAA and the big leagues — I get that. I’m just a little hesitant due to his playing time. When George Springer comes back and the rest of the Astros get healthy will he stay up? I hope so because he is crushing the ball right now — but he has minor league options left and is still only a 22-year-old kid. Age is just a number though as this kid’s potential has MVP written all over it in one of the best lineups in baseball.
Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
1 | Christian Yelich | OF | MIL | 1 | 0 |
2 | Cody Bellinger | 1B/OF | LAD | 2 | 0 |
3 | Trevor Story | SS | COL | 3 | 0 |
4 | Nolan Arenado | 3B | COL | 4 | 0 |
5 | Mike Trout | OF | LAA | 5 | 0 |
6 | Adalberto Mondesi | SS | KC | 6 | 0 |
7 | Josh Bell | 1B | PIT | 7 | 0 |
8 | Freddie Freeman | 1B | ATL | 9 | 1 |
9 | Alex Bregman | 3B/SS | HOU | 10 | 1 |
10 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | OF | ATL | 12 | 2 |
Not too much moving an a-shaking in the top 10 this week as most of the players had average weeks. Except of course for your reigning, defending, undisputed NL MVP Christian Yelich. He is performing at a Yordanian level!
Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
11 | Mookie Betts | OF | BOS | 11 | 0 |
12 | Javier Baez | 2B/SS/3B | CHC | 8 | -4 |
13 | Anthony Rendon | 3B | WAS | 13 | 0 |
14 | J.D. Martinez | OF | BOS | 15 | 1 |
15 | Eddie Rosario | OF | MIN | 17 | 2 |
16 | Joey Gallo | 1B/OF | TEX | 14 | -2 |
17 | George Springer | OF | HOU | 16 | -1 |
18 | Anthony Rizzo | 1B | CHC | 19 | 1 |
19 | Charlie Blackmon | OF | COL | 22 | 3 |
20 | Marcell Ozuna | OF | StL | 20 | 0 |
I dropped Baez a little bit this week because the lack of steals is keeping him from being a top-10 talent. “But, but, but Kerry!” I’m a boob guy — deal with it. Kid has 21 stolen bases last year and is now only sitting at 2?
Blackmon has had a Yordanian last 5 games: 14 hits in 25 ABs, 8 runs, 5 HRs, and 10 RBI. If he keeps this up (he won’t) I’ll springboard him to the top 10.
Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
21 | Whit Merrifield | 2B | KC | 21 | 0 |
22 | Pete Alonso | 1B | NYM | 23 | 1 |
23 | Xander Bogaerts | SS | BOS | 24 | 1 |
24 | Rafael Devers | 3B | BOS | 25 | 1 |
25 | Kris Bryant | 3B/OF | CHC | 26 | 1 |
26 | Mike Moustakas | 3B | MIL | 35 | 9 |
27 | Eduardo Escobar | SS/3B | ARI | 38 | 11 |
28 | Tim Anderson | SS | CHW | 18 | -10 |
29 | Rhys Hoskins | OF | PHI | 27 | -2 |
30 | Bryce Harper | OF | PHI | 30 | 0 |
Escobar is a surprising 4th in RBI in the league. Between him and Ketel Marte, the Diamondbacks fanbase can’t be missing Paul Goldschmidt all that much.
This drop isn’t Tim Anderson’s fault, but more the team around him. I see the double-digit HRs and SBs and the .300+ AVG, but 30ish runs and 30ish RBI can’t be a top 25 player.
Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
31 | Elvis Andrus | SS | TEX | 33 | 2 |
32 | Michael Brantley | OF | HOU | 28 | -4 |
33 | Francisco Lindor | SS | CLE | 31 | -2 |
34 | Yoan Moncada | 2B | CHW | 32 | -2 |
35 | Austin Meadows | OF | TBR | 34 | -1 |
36 | Eugenio Suarez | 3B | CIN | 29 | -7 |
37 | Trea Turner | SS | WAS | 36 | -1 |
38 | Jose Abreu | 1B | CHW | 37 | -1 |
39 | Ketel Marte | 2B/SS/OF | ARI | 41 | 2 |
40 | Max Muncy | 1B/3B | LAD | 42 | 2 |
You know who isn’t Yordanian? My NL MVP pick Eugenio Suarez. In his last 14 games he has only 8 hits. Yordan Alvarez gets that in a game!
Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
41 | Jorge Polanco | SS | MIN | 45 | 4 |
42 | Starling Marte | OF | PIT | 61 | 19 |
43 | Edwin Encarnacion | 1B | NYY | 49 | 6 |
44 | Juan Soto | OF | WAS | 39 | -5 |
45 | Gleyber Torres | 2B | NYY | 40 | -5 |
46 | Matt Chapman | 3B | OAK | 43 | -3 |
47 | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | StL | 46 | -1 |
48 | Andrew Benintendi | OF | BOS | 48 | 0 |
49 | Joc Pederson | OF | LAD | 44 | -5 |
50 | Luke Voit | 1B | NYY | 59 | 9 |
I’ve been hesitant to move Starling Marte up or down at all. At the end of May 27th, he had a sub-.250 average, 6 HRs, and 8 SB. Starling has been hitting like Ketel over his last 16 games though: 28 hits in 72 ABs, 14 runs, 4 HRs, 13 RBI and 3 SBs.
AL HR Leader Edwin Encarnacion joins the team with the most HRs in 2018, the New York Yankees. And in a few weeks, they should be getting sluggers Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge back. That’s three 50-HR threats in a single lineup. Good luck AL East pitching! It will be interesting, however, to see how E5 handles NY. Not all players can manage the stress and pressure. He does have 18 HRs, .263 AVG and .840 OPS at Yankee Stadium.
Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
51 | Domingo Santana | OF | SEA | 47 | -4 |
52 | David Peralta | OF | ARI | 51 | -1 |
53 | Ozzie Albies | 2B | ATL | 54 | 1 |
54 | Carlos Correa | SS | HOU | 52 | -2 |
55 | Jose Altuve | 2B | HOU | 53 | -2 |
56 | Paul DeJong | SS | STL | 56 | 0 |
57 | Aaron Judge | OF | NYY | 57 | 0 |
58 | Manny Machado | SS | SD | 58 | 0 |
59 | Mitch Haniger | OF | SEA | 60 | 1 |
60 | Lorenzo Cain | OF | MIL | 50 | -10 |
Cain was a top-10 MVP finalist last year and I guess I was kinda holding onto that performance heading into this year. However, outside of his 42 runs he’s been disappointing: 4 HRs, 27 RBI, 7 SB, .250 AVG. That isn’t a top-50 player.
Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
61 | Michael Conforto | OF | NYM | 62 | 1 |
62 | Willson Contreras | C | CHC | 55 | -7 |
63 | Giancarlo Stanton | OF | NYY | 63 | 0 |
64 | J.T. Realmuto | C | PHI | 64 | 0 |
65 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | SS | SD | 70 | 5 |
66 | Trey Mancini | OF/1B | BAL | 73 | 7 |
67 | Hunter Dozier | 1B/3B | KC | 65 | -2 |
68 | Tommy Pham | OF | TBR | 66 | -2 |
69 | Max Kepler | OF | MIN | 72 | 3 |
70 | Hunter Pence | OF | TEX | 75 | 5 |
Another week of me doubting Mancini, another solid week from Mancini. He was 6 for 15 with 4 runs, 2 HRs, 3 RBI and even stole a random base. He is trying to earn every arbitration dollar he can.
Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
71 | Jean Segura | SS | PHI | 68 | -3 |
72 | Yasmani Grandal | C | MIL | 69 | -3 |
73 | Vlad Guerrero Jr. | 3B | TOR | 71 | -2 |
74 | Shin-Soo Choo | OF | OAK | 76 | 2 |
75 | Byron Buxton | OF | MIN | 83 | 8 |
76 | Alex Gordon | OF | KC | 77 | 1 |
77 | Brandon Lowe | 2B | TBR | 78 | 1 |
78 | Khris Davis | DH | OAK | 80 | 2 |
79 | Jonathan Villar | 2B | BAL | 67 | -12 |
80 | Justin Turner | 3B | LAD | 81 | 1 |
Buxton finally has his K/rate under 25% (22.5%) and is on pace for a 20/20 season. It’s not the 50/50 we were promised when he was a top prospect a few years ago, but we can’t forget that he’s still only 25. The young Buck is finally growing up into a 10 pointer.
Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
81 | Dansby Swanson | SS | ATL | 82 | 1 |
82 | David Dahl | OF | COL | 88 | 6 |
83 | Eric Hosmer | 1B | SD | 84 | 1 |
84 | Gary Sanchez | C | NYY | 89 | 5 |
85 | Nelson Cruz | DH | MIN | 95 | 10 |
86 | Dan Vogelbach | 1B | SEA | 92 | 6 |
87 | Ryan Braun | OF | MIL | 79 | -8 |
88 | Michael Chavis | 2B/3B | BOS | 93 | 5 |
89 | Avisail Garcia | OF | TBR | 85 | -4 |
90 | Nick Castellanos | OF | DET | 86 | -4 |
A lot of people were butthurt about Cruz’s ranking so far this year. In his first 36 games, he only had 7 HRs, guys. He’s the oldest guy on this list and is bound to breakdown sooner rather than later. I’ll give him the obvious credit though — in his last 7 games, he has 5 HRs. Like NBA Jam — he’s heating up!
Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
91 | CJ Cron | 1B | MIN | 90 | -1 |
92 | Tommy La Stella | 2B/3B | LAA | 91 | -1 |
93 | Hunter Renfroe | OF | SD | 99 | 6 |
94 | Wil Myers | 3B/OF | SD | 94 | 0 |
95 | Austin Riley | 3B/OF | ATL | 96 | 1 |
96 | Franmil Reyes | OF | SD | 97 | 1 |
97 | Eloy Jimenez | OF | CHW | NA | |
98 | Shohei Ohtani | DH | LAA | NA | |
99 | Yordan Alvarez | OF | HOU | NA | |
100 | Jorge Soler | OF | KC | NA |
Eloy’s first 38 games of 2019: 6 HRs, .227 AVG. Eloy’s last 6 games: 5 HRs, .381 AVG. Jimenez was a top-15 prospect for three years in a row so he deserves the benefit of the doubt for being on this list.
Ohtani’s June: 12 runs, 5 HRs, 13 RBI, 2 SB, .417 AVG. Ohtani’s slash numbers are very close to last year’s and if he can stay healthy he should surpass all his counting numbers.
Jorge Soler: in last week’s column someone wrote in the comments that I should give a second look to Soler. Despite his 7th worst K/rate (29.6%) Soler has still been productive this season: his 47 RBI and 17 HRs are both tied for 5th in the AL.