I’ve never been that high on Corey Seager. Back in February I only had him ranked 52nd on this list. Back then I said, “A 25-HR bat with a .300 average? That’s not bad — but boy if he could even just manage 10 stolen bases I’d like him more.” Seager owners are probably begging for a 20 HR bat with a .250 average at this point. Long term? I think he’ll be more Corey Seager 2016 than Kyle Seager 2018. I still worry about that power cap and complete lack of speed though.
Top 100 Hitters
| Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
| 1 | Mike Trout | OF | LAA | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Cody Bellinger | 1B/OF | LAD | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | Christian Yelich | OF | MIL | 1 | -2 |
| 4 | Javier Baez | 2B/SS/3B | CHC | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | Mookie Betts | OF | BOS | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | Trevor Story | SS | COL | 8 | 2 |
| 7 | Nolan Arenado | 3B | COL | 9 | 2 |
| 8 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | OF | ATL | 6 | -2 |
| 9 | J.D. Martinez | OF | BOS | 7 | -2 |
| 10 | Adalberto Mondesi | SS | KC | 16 | 6 |
The king has returned! After a one week absence from the #1 spot I had to put Trout back there. Yelich held the spot for 1 week, but he’s missed a bunch of games with a back injury this week that he suffered from carrying the whole dang team!!! Bellinger could’ve taken the #1 spot this week, but he’s dealing with a separated shoulder which has me pausing for a bit.
Try as I might — I can’t deny Adalberto Mondesi anymore. I had him in my “Players I’m Lower On” article before the season started and really thought he was going to be a bust this season. Yes, I still drafted him in The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational because I needed speed at the time. He’s now 3rd in MLB in RBI, 1st in SB and is top-25 in runs scored. He’s also top-10 in strikeouts which is where my concerns stemmed from — but in 5×5 he’s killing it right now. I was so wrong and so right at the same time!
| Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
| 11 | Jose Altuve | 2B | HOU | 10 | -1 |
| 12 | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | StL | 12 | 0 |
| 13 | Anthony Rendon | 3B | WAS | 14 | 1 |
| 14 | Freddie Freeman | 1B | ATL | 17 | 3 |
| 15 | Rhys Hoskins | OF | PHI | 18 | 3 |
| 16 | Bryce Harper | OF | PHI | 13 | -3 |
| 17 | Marcell Ozuna | OF | StL | 23 | 6 |
| 18 | Juan Soto | OF | WAS | 19 | 1 |
| 19 | Tim Anderson | SS | CHW | 20 | 1 |
| 20 | Whit Merrifield | 2B | KC | 21 | 1 |
In 5×5 leagues Bryce’s average has to be dragging you down. However, he’s second only to Mike Trout in walks so far so his OBP is still fantastic. The 18 runs, 6 HRs, 20 RBI and 1 SB are disappointing — but Harper is the kinda guy who can get hot in a hurry so I’m not going to drop him too much.
It’s great seeing Ozuna up so high. He’s in the top 10 in runs, HRs and RBI right now. The .261 average is just that — average and you’ll shut up and take it with how well he’s doing everywhere else. What I’m loving most about Ozuna is that his walk rate (11.1%) is the highest of his career.
Last week I said this about Tim Anderson: “I can’t ignore Tim Anderson anymore. I want to — but I can’t just yet. A career .258 hitter all of a sudden hitting over .400? Chill. ” Welllll a 3 for 24 week later and he’s down to .342. The average should continue to tumble (a lot,) but the power and speed should still be there.
| Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
| 21 | George Springer | OF | HOU | 25 | 4 |
| 22 | Manny Machado | SS | SD | 15 | -7 |
| 23 | Alex Bregman | 3B/SS | HOU | 22 | -1 |
| 24 | Khris Davis | DH | OAK | 11 | -13 |
| 25 | Domingo Santana | OF | SEA | 24 | -1 |
| 26 | Mitch Haniger | OF | SEA | 26 | 0 |
| 27 | Eddie Rosario | OF | MIN | 27 | 0 |
| 28 | Tommy Pham | OF | TBR | 28 | 0 |
| 29 | Lorenzo Cain | OF | MIL | 29 | 0 |
| 30 | Andrew Benintendi | OF | BOS | 31 | 1 |
I was hoping a lot of these second-tier outfielders were going to make a jump in the rankings, but many of them had bad weeks:
- Khris Davis: 5 for 23 (.217)
- Domingo Santana: 3 for 21 (.143)
- Mitch Haniger: 2 for 14 (.143)
- Eddie Rosario: 0 for 21 (0.000!)
- Andrew Benintendi: 6 for 30 (.200)
I’m going to hold off on their promotions until next week.
| Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
| 31 | Xander Bogaerts | SS | BOS | 32 | 1 |
| 32 | Carlos Correa | SS | HOU | 33 | 1 |
| 33 | Charlie Blackmon | OF | COL | 36 | 3 |
| 34 | Francisco Lindor | SS | CLE | 30 | -4 |
| 35 | Trea Turner | SS | WAS | 37 | 2 |
| 36 | Joey Gallo | 1B/OF | TEX | 41 | 5 |
| 37 | Ozzie Albies | 2B | ATL | 39 | 2 |
| 38 | Pete Alonso | 1B | NYM | 40 | 2 |
| 39 | Matt Chapman | 3B | OAK | 42 | 3 |
| 40 | Elvis Andrus | SS | TEX | 45 | 5 |
Lindor is still going to be an elite player for his career and the face of the sport for years to come, but right now these early season injuries seem to be messing him up. Yes, he’s got the highest hard contact rate of his career (45.2%,) but he’s also got the highest soft-contact rate as well (29.0%.) We saw what a calf injury did to Josh Donaldson last year — maybe Lindor is going through a bit of the same thing. One thing I will say about Lindor though is that his BABIP sits at .214 right now and he’s averaged .300 for his career.
AL HR leader Joey Gallo has a .266 average?! *wipes glasses* buh-whaaaa?! Gallo has lowered his K-rate for the third year in a row and he has the second-best walk rate in the entire league (second to Mike Trout so technically he has the best walk-rate among humans.) It’s easy to forget that Gallo is only 25 years old and was once a top-10 prospect.
| Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
| 41 | Michael Brantley | OF | HOU | 43 | 2 |
| 42 | Daniel Murphy | 1B/2B | COL | 38 | -4 |
| 43 | Eugenio Suarez | 3B | CIN | 34 | -9 |
| 44 | Jose Ramirez | 3B | CLE | 35 | -9 |
| 45 | David Peralta | OF | ARI | 44 | -1 |
| 46 | Yoan Moncada | 2B | CHW | 46 | 0 |
| 47 | Gleyber Torres | 2B | NYY | 47 | 0 |
| 48 | Aaron Judge | OF | NYY | 49 | 1 |
| 49 | Starling Marte | OF | PIT | 50 | 1 |
| 50 | Giancarlo Stanton | OF | NYY | 51 | 1 |
Jose Ramirez Watch! 4 games played since last week — 4 hits, 0 HRs, 1 SB. This is getting depressing.
My Razzball pick for NL MVP watch: Eugenio Suarez! Making me look like a dang fool. I try to make a bold, crazy pick and this is how he repays me? His 20% soft-contact rate and 45% ground ball rate are huge culprits for this drop. Obviously, it’s barely May so there’s still a chance for him to turn it on — but not enough to make me look like a genius with my NL MVP pick which is more important.
“How did Aaron Judge, Starling Marte and Giancarlo Stanton move up a ranking and they’re all not even playing games, you idiot?!” Well, it’s too annoying to keep moving IL-ed players in/out of these rankings so this is where they’ll stay until they’re healthy and then they’ll move up or down based on their performance.
| Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
| 51 | Michael Conforto | OF | NYM | 52 | 1 |
| 52 | Jean Segura | SS | PHI | 53 | 1 |
| 53 | Jose Abreu | 1B | CHW | 60 | 7 |
| 54 | Edwin Encarnacion | 1B | SEA | 54 | 0 |
| 55 | Anthony Rizzo | 1B | CHC | 66 | 11 |
| 56 | Wil Myers | 3B/OF | SD | 48 | -8 |
| 57 | Vlad Guerrero Jr. | 3B | TOR | 55 | -2 |
| 58 | Mike Moustakas | 3B | MIL | 56 | -2 |
| 59 | J.T. Realmuto | C | PHI | 57 | -2 |
| 60 | Yasmani Grandal | C | MIL | 58 | -2 |
“How come Anthony Rizzo got such a big bump?! He’s still only hitting .252 you idiot!” Well, some people have built up careers where I give them the benefit of the doubt and the benefit of trust where I see a player hitting .386 over his last 12 games with 9 runs, 5 HRs and 13 RBI and I say “Oh there you are Anthony!”
Wil Myers’s opening 12 games had me excited for a healthy, breakout season (42 AB, 5 runs, 3 HRs, 6 RBI, 2 SB, .333) all with Manny Machado hitting hear him? Since then he’s hitting .183 over his last 20 games and has the most strikeouts in the NL. Oh there you are Wil…
| Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
| 61 | Willson Contreras | C | CHC | 71 | 10 |
| 62 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | SS | SD | 59 | -3 |
| 63 | Nelson Cruz | DH | MIN | 65 | 2 |
| 64 | Victor Robles | OF | WAS | 73 | 9 |
| 65 | Josh Donaldson | 3B | ATL | 61 | -4 |
| 66 | Paul DeJong | SS | STL | 77 | 11 |
| 67 | Kris Bryant | 3B/OF | CHC | 63 | -4 |
| 68 | Brandon Lowe | 2B | TBR | 88 | 20 |
| 69 | Ketel Marte | 2B/SS/OF | ARI | NA | NA |
| 70 | Nick Castellanos | OF | DET | 67 | -3 |
Alright, alright. Get it out of your system: “Finally, Ketel Marte is getting some love on here, you idiot!” Well excuuuuseee me princess — we’ve all had Marte pegged as a breakout the past few years and he’s disappointed us. Welcome to 2019 — he’s now 5 HRs away from his career high and has tacked on 3 SBs for good measure. He stole 20 three times in the minors so there’s potential for a 20/20 season here from Marte.
I moved Brandon Lowe up a lot because he’s earned it with his play, but he’s second in the major leagues with a .419 BABIP. He’s also 9th in the league with a 32.5% K/rate. There’s some course correction coming, but enjoy it while it lasts!
| Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
| 71 | Justin Turner | 3B | LAD | 68 | -3 |
| 72 | Max Muncy | 1B/3B | LAD | 69 | -3 |
| 73 | Andrew McCutchen | OF | PHI | 72 | -1 |
| 74 | Jonathan Villar | 2B | BAL | 76 | 2 |
| 75 | Dee Gordon | 2B/OF | SEA | 92 | 17 |
| 76 | Luke Voit | 1B | NYY | 86 | 10 |
| 77 | Stephen Piscotty | OF | OAK | 62 | -15 |
| 78 | Trey Mancini | OF/1B | BAL | 74 | -4 |
| 79 | Jason Heyward | OF | CHC | 75 | -4 |
| 80 | Maikel Franco | 3B | PHI | 78 | -2 |
A pair of boring, white-bread Dodgers sit atop the 70s, but I still can’t quit on them. Turner is sitting on just 1 HR, but he’s hitting the worst ground ball rate (40%) that he’s had in the past 4 years. If he gets under a few more balls he’ll be turning his career high hard-contact rate (49.4%) into a few more HRs. 2018 feel-good story of the year, Max Muncy isn’t feeling as good this year. He’s sitting with 6 HRs and 21 RBI — but only has 11 runs and a .242 AVG.
| Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
| 81 | Gary Sanchez | C | NYY | 84 | 3 |
| 82 | Austin Meadows | OF | TBR | 70 | -12 |
| 83 | David Dahl | OF | COL | 79 | -4 |
| 84 | Eduardo Escobar | SS/3B | ARI | 97 | 13 |
| 85 | Joc Pederson | OF | LAD | 89 | 4 |
| 86 | Yasiel Puig | OF | CIN | 80 | -6 |
| 87 | Josh Bell | 1B | PIT | NA | NA |
| 88 | Hunter Dozier | 1B/3B | KC | NA | NA |
| 89 | Shin-Soo Choo | OF | TEX | 82 | -7 |
| 90 | Dwight Smith Jr. | OF | BAL | NA | NA |
Josh Bell keeps this up he’s going to be one of the fastest risers up this list. What an interesting career he’s had so far. In the minors he was known as a low-power, high OBP player. Then, in his first full big league season he showed solid power hitting 26 HRs, but the .334 OBP left a little to be desired. Then, in 2018 he gets the OBP up to .357 but only hits 12 HRs. This year he’s put it all together with 8 HRs and a .361 OBP. If he can keep up this pace an All-Star appearance and maybe even a few MVP votes are in Bell’s future.
| Rank | Name | Position | Team | Last | Change |
| 91 | Corey Seager | SS | LAD | 64 | -27 |
| 92 | Shohei Ohtani | DH | LAA | 85 | -7 |
| 93 | Christian Walker | 1B | ARI | 87 | -6 |
| 94 | Robinson Cano | 2B | NYM | 90 | -4 |
| 95 | Wilson Ramos | C | NYM | 91 | -4 |
| 96 | Nomar Mazara | OF | TEX | 93 | -3 |
| 97 | Kolten Wong | 2B | StL | 95 | -2 |
| 98 | Enrique Hernandez | 2B/SS/OF | LAD | 96 | -2 |
| 99 | Aaron Hicks | OF | NYY | 98 | -1 |
| 100 | Dan Vogelbach | 1B | SEA | 100 | 0 |
There’s Seager tumbling right off this list. Two other guys you may have noticed off this list: Joey Votto and Mallex Smith. I find it hard to believe that age caught up to Votto so quickly, but the guy isn’t even hitting his weight right now. His trademark walk rate is even at it’s the lowest point of his career right now (12.3%.) I feel bad because Votto was such a professional and knowledgeable hitter but number never lie.
Things have gotten so bad for Smith that he’s playing in Tacoma. I knew 2018’s .366 BABIP lead to some unrealistic expectations for Smith heading into this season, but Smith is somehow also not hitting his weight right now (.165.) I think time in Tacoma will do Smith some good — but will he come back up with a guaranteed job? Mitch Haniger and Domingo Santana are having success in the OF for the Mariners and even Jay Bruce has 10 HRs — yes his average is under .200 too, but we expect such things from Bruce.
