Who else got victimized by Nelson Cruz last week? In his last 75 ABs here’s his line: 19/14/26/0/.333. That’s more than some guys had in the entire first-half. Oh wait — that’s almost more than the 16 Cruz put up the first half. The Twins are going to be battling for the AL Central with the Indians until the bitter end and clutch Cruz should keep them afloat the rest of the way.
Top 100 Hitters
Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change | 2019 |
1 | Christian Yelich | OF | MIL | 1 | 0 | 80 37 82 23 330 |
2 | Cody Bellinger | 1B/OF | LAD | 2 | 0 | 89 36 85 9 326 |
3 | Mike Trout | OF | LAA | 3 | 0 | 85 36 87 8 299 |
4 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | OF | ATL | 4 | 0 | 87 27 70 25 289 |
5 | Trevor Story | SS | COL | 5 | 0 | 81 25 63 14 283 |
6 | Freddie Freeman | 1B | ATL | 7 | 1 | 85 26 86 5 301 |
7 | Nolan Arenado | 3B | COL | 6 | -1 | 71 24 83 2 305 |
8 | Javier Baez | 2B/SS/3B | CHC | 8 | 0 | 77 26 73 9 288 |
9 | Anthony Rendon | 3B | WAS | 9 | 0 | 78 24 85 1 316 |
10 | Mookie Betts | OF | BOS | 10 | 0 | 101 19 59 12 286 |
Not too much movement at the top. In fact the only thing separating the top 3 guys is Yelich’s stolen bases. NL MVP might be decided by team record. I flip-flopped Freeman and Arenado because statistically, Freeman is topping him out in almost every major category. Both are obvious studs — Arenado will always get the first-round love so I thought Freddie deserved this.
Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change | 2019 |
11 | Rafael Devers | 3B | BOS | 14 | 3 | 90 22 86 8 320 |
12 | Charlie Blackmon | OF | COL | 12 | 0 | 82 22 63 2 325 |
13 | Alex Bregman | 3B/SS | HOU | 13 | 0 | 80 27 67 4 267 |
14 | Francisco Lindor | SS | CLE | 21 | 7 | 63 20 48 17 307 |
15 | Xander Bogaerts | SS | BOS | 20 | 5 | 88 25 84 3 309 |
16 | Josh Bell | 1B | PIT | 11 | -5 | 75 27 89 0 282 |
17 | Anthony Rizzo | 1B | CHC | 15 | -2 | 68 21 71 4 286 |
18 | Pete Alonso | 1B | NYM | 16 | -2 | 67 34 78 1 256 |
19 | J.D. Martinez | OF | BOS | 17 | -2 | 65 24 65 1 299 |
20 | Eddie Rosario | OF | MIN | 18 | -2 | 59 23 74 3 286 |
There’s Lindy climbing the ranks. Really I only moved him up because of Baker Mayfield rocking his jersey while shotgunning that beer like a champ. Don’t you dare tell me the HR Derby jinx isn’t real. In the second half Josh Bell has 0 HRs and a .186 BA in 70 ABs.
Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change | 2019 |
21 | Manny Machado | SS | SD | 22 | 1 | 65 26 69 3 278 |
22 | Whit Merrifield | 2B | KC | 23 | 1 | 76 12 55 16 298 |
23 | Kris Bryant | 3B/OF | CHC | 24 | 1 | 81 21 51 2 287 |
24 | Starling Marte | OF | PIT | 31 | 7 | 77 20 67 17 286 |
25 | George Springer | OF | HOU | 25 | 0 | 67 25 62 5 291 |
26 | Trea Turner | SS | WAS | 34 | 8 | 49 9 28 22 288 |
27 | Eduardo Escobar | SS/3B | ARI | 27 | 0 | 69 24 88 4 279 |
28 | Max Muncy | 1B/3B | LAD | 28 | 0 | 75 27 75 3 268 |
29 | Mike Moustakas | 3B | MIL | 29 | 0 | 62 26 61 3 268 |
30 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | SS | SD | 30 | 0 | 55 19 46 14 323 |
Luckily for the Pirates, Marte is picking up all the slack that Bell is letting out. Since the All-Star Break: 90 ABs, 23/8/22/4/.311. Makes me wish there was a stolen base contest during the All-Star festivities.
Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change | 2019 |
31 | Ketel Marte | 2B/SS/OF | ARI | 33 | 2 | 75 24 66 6 319 |
32 | Nelson Cruz | DH | MIN | 89 | 57 | 56 30 72 0 292 |
33 | Elvis Andrus | SS | TEX | 35 | 2 | 55 8 54 23 283 |
34 | Bryce Harper | OF | PHI | 36 | 2 | 64 19 73 6 248 |
35 | Yoan Moncada | 2B | CHW | 38 | 3 | 58 20 59 7 301 |
36 | Michael Brantley | OF | HOU | 39 | 3 | 61 16 67 3 320 |
37 | Jose Altuve | 2B | HOU | 50 | 13 | 51 18 45 4 300 |
38 | Aaron Judge | OF | NYY | 41 | 3 | 39 12 29 2 283 |
39 | Jose Abreu | 1B | CHW | 42 | 3 | 51 23 76 2 259 |
40 | Carlos Santana | 1B | CLE | 43 | 3 | 74 24 63 4 281 |
MVP Altuve is back babyyyyy! Since July 1st he’s hitting close to .400 (.383) in 120 ABs. You’d like to see a bit more speed (3,) but he’s really back in his old form. This Astros team is title bound and Altuve is leading the way.
I know you’re all mad at Judge being this low, but since his return from the IL he only has 7 HRs in 132 ABs. His hard contact rate is the highest of his career, but his fly ball percentage is at it’s lowest. If he can get under the ball a bit more — he could Cruz it up for the Yankees going forward. That’s just science.
Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change | 2019 |
41 | Juan Soto | OF | WAS | 44 | 3 | 64 21 71 8 284 |
42 | Joey Gallo | 1B/OF | TEX | 26 | -16 | 54 22 49 4 253 |
43 | Marcell Ozuna | OF | StL | 37 | -6 | 53 20 62 8 258 |
44 | DJ LeMahieu | 1B/2B/3B | NYY | 46 | 2 | 77 17 75 4 335 |
45 | Gleyber Torres | 2B | NYY | 45 | 0 | 70 23 63 4 288 |
46 | Jonathan Villar | 2B | BAL | 57 | 11 | 72 14 49 24 258 |
47 | Max Kepler | OF | MIN | 58 | 11 | 75 30 76 1 267 |
48 | Yasiel Puig | OF | CIN | 51 | 3 | 52 22 63 16 253 |
49 | Jorge Polanco | SS | MIN | 47 | -2 | 70 17 55 4 299 |
50 | Eugenio Suarez | 3B | CIN | 48 | -2 | 58 29 71 3 259 |
51 | Trey Mancini | OF/1B | BAL | 54 | 3 | 72 26 62 1 280 |
52 | Matt Chapman | 3B | OAK | 52 | 0 | 69 24 64 0 257 |
53 | Adalberto Mondesi | SS | KC | 19 | -34 | 48 7 52 31 268 |
54 | Ramon Laureano | OF | OAK | 32 | -22 | 67 21 58 12 284 |
55 | Austin Meadows | OF | TBR | 40 | -15 | 48 18 53 9 287 |
56 | Andrew Benintendi | OF | BOS | 69 | 13 | 57 12 57 9 284 |
57 | Ozzie Albies | 2B | ATL | 55 | -2 | 68 15 58 10 286 |
58 | Paul DeJong | SS | STL | 56 | -2 | 71 19 52 6 255 |
59 | Rhys Hoskins | OF | PHI | 59 | 0 | 56 24 69 1 254 |
60 | J.T. Realmuto | C | PHI | 62 | 2 | 66 15 55 4 274 |
Max Kepler has done his best to be the Jose Canseco to Cruz’s Mark McGwire in his last 14 games: 16/7/16/0/.302. Kepler could end the season as the league’s biggest surprise 40 HR hitter.
Is Benintendi finally off his bender? In his last 14 games he’s hitting over .400 with 11 runs, 5 HRs and 15 RBI. Anyone counting out the Red Sox might want to reevaluate — they’ve got 4 players in the top 20 and an up and coming Benintendi. Oh wait — their starting rotation has an ERA over 5.00 on the year? Yea, I get it now.
Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change | 2019 |
61 | Shin-Soo Choo | OF | OAK | 65 | 4 | 71 18 44 8 281 |
62 | Luke Voit | 1B | NYY | 53 | -9 | 60 19 54 0 278 |
63 | Jorge Soler | OF | KC | 66 | 3 | 59 29 75 0 251 |
64 | Domingo Santana | OF | SEA | 67 | 3 | 61 21 67 7 266 |
65 | Tommy Pham | OF | TBR | 68 | 3 | 52 16 49 13 278 |
66 | Tim Anderson | SS | CHW | 70 | 4 | 41 12 39 15 307 |
67 | Michael Conforto | OF | NYM | 71 | 4 | 60 22 58 5 253 |
68 | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | StL | 84 | 16 | 67 25 58 0 260 |
69 | Vlad Guerrero Jr. | 3B | TOR | 86 | 17 | 42 13 49 0 279 |
70 | Jean Segura | SS | PHI | 72 | 2 | 61 11 45 7 281 |
71 | Yasmani Grandal | C | MIL | 73 | 2 | 51 19 55 4 251 |
72 | Dansby Swanson | SS | ATL | 60 | -12 | 64 17 57 7 265 |
73 | Willson Contreras | C | CHC | 61 | -12 | 45 19 57 1 275 |
74 | Eric Hosmer | 1B | SD | 75 | 1 | 56 16 75 0 283 |
75 | Edwin Encarnacion | 1B | NYY | 49 | -26 | 75 30 76 0 240 |
76 | Hunter Renfroe | OF | SD | 76 | 0 | 49 30 59 4 237 |
77 | Yordan Alvarez | OF | HOU | 88 | 11 | 24 13 41 0 340 |
78 | Danny Santana | 1B/2B/OF | TEX | — | NA | 57 17 49 12 325 |
79 | Gary Sanchez | C | NYY | 63 | -16 | 43 24 58 0 229 |
80 | Byron Buxton | OF | MIN | 80 | 0 | 48 10 46 14 262 |
What? You expected the prospect with the best hit tool in the last decade to stay down? In his last 60 ABs Vlad is hitting .450. If there is anyone in the majors who could get close to hitting .400 over a whole season — I’m putting my money on the kid.
Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change | 2019 |
81 | Alex Gordon | OF | KC | 81 | 0 | 61 11 60 5 277 |
82 | Victor Robles | OF | WAS | 82 | 0 | 59 14 46 17 238 |
83 | David Dahl | OF | COL | 64 | -19 | 67 15 61 4 302 |
84 | Jose Ramirez | 3B | CLE | 100 | 16 | 55 14 57 22 241 |
85 | Hunter Dozier | 1B/3B | KC | 78 | -7 | 49 18 59 1 277 |
86 | Hunter Pence | OF | TEX | 79 | -7 | 48 16 53 4 293 |
87 | Joc Pederson | OF | LAD | 74 | -13 | 56 23 50 1 228 |
88 | Shohei Ohtani | DH | LAA | 83 | -5 | 35 15 43 9 287 |
89 | Justin Turner | 3B | LAD | 85 | -4 | 64 17 48 1 285 |
90 | Franmil Reyes | OF | SD | 87 | -3 | 44 27 47 0 250 |
91 | Dan Vogelbach | 1B | SEA | 90 | -1 | 59 26 66 0 229 |
92 | Amed Rosario | SS | NYM | NA | NA | 51 11 47 13 280 |
93 | Keston Hiura | 2B | MIL | 92 | -1 | 26 11 27 7 307 |
94 | Michael Chavis | 2B/3B | BOS | 93 | -1 | 46 18 57 2 259 |
95 | Avisail Garcia | OF | TBR | 94 | -1 | 45 14 51 9 279 |
96 | Lourdes Gurriel Jr. | 2B/SS/OF | TOR | 95 | -1 | 49 18 45 6 285 |
97 | Jeff McNeil | 2B/3B/OF | NYM | NA | NA | 61 13 49 4 336 |
98 | Eloy Jimenez | OF | CHW | 97 | -1 | 38 18 42 0 235 |
99 | Yuli Gurriel | 1B/3B | HOU | 98 | -1 | 58 20 69 3 293 |
100 | Carlos Correa | SS | HOU | 99 | -1 | 31 14 44 1 290 |
Another 2 weeks — another big climb for J-Ram. 52 ABs, 9 runs, 4 HRs, 11 RBI, 2 SBs and a .308 AVG. Where are you drafting him next year? Are you drafting him next year??
A pair of Mets enter the fray this week too. It hasn’t been the prettiest year for the Amazin’s, but they Rosario could end up going 15/15 with a .280 AVG. Imagine what his team stats would be on a team that played in the first-half! Same goes for McNeil — he’s leading the NL in batting average (.336) which is contributing to his .400 OBP — but imagine how many runs he’d have if he was on a competitive team (he’s at 61 now.)