As of 1:05 today, my kids are officially finished school for the summer. That means two things for me. Number one, I’m now the proud father of 1st Graders. Number two, I have no idea how I’m going to get any work done at home with these gremlins running around all day. Seriously, two and a half months with these monsters destroying the house is going to be a nightmare. Know what else is a nightmare? This list this week. We have Max Muncy hitting the IL, while Kris Bryant and Cody Bellinger are currently DTD. Bryant was hit by a pitch on the hand yesterday and we’re awaiting news on his status. Bellinger is nursing a hamstring injury and that has me pretty worried. The Dodgers’ slugger has dealt with injuries all year and this is not a step in the right direction. Let’s take a look at the list and then we’ll talk about some of the highlights or lowlights from the last two weeks.
| Rank | Player | Position | Team | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. | 1B | Blue Jays | +1 |
| 2 | Freddie Freeman | 1B | Braves | -1 |
| 3 | Jose Abreu | 1B | White Sox | – |
| 4 | Pete Alonso | 1B | Mets | +1 |
| 5 | Matt Olson | 1B | Athletics | +1 |
| 6 | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | Cardinals | +1 |
| 7 | Jared Walsh | 1B/OF | Angels | +1 |
| 8 | Kris Bryant | 1B/3B/OF | Cubs | -4 |
| 9 | DJ LeMahieu | 1B/2B/3B | Yankees | – |
| 10 | Anthony Rizzo | 1B | Cubs | +3 |
| 11 | Trey Mancini | 1B/OF | Orioles | +3 |
| 12 | Yuli Gurriel | 1B | Astros | +6 |
| 13 | Eric Hosmer | 1B | Padres | -1 |
| 14 | Max Muncy | 1B/2B/3B | Dodgers | -4 |
| 15 | Ryan McMahon | 1B/2B/3B | Rockies | – |
| 16 | Dominic Smith | 1B/OF | Mets | +5 |
| 17 | Cody Bellinger | 1B/OF | Dodgers | -6 |
| 18 | Rhys Hoskins | 1B | Phillies | -2 |
| 19 | Patrick Wisdom | 1B/3B | Cubs | NR |
| 20 | Nate Lowe | 1B | Rangers | -3 |
| 21 | Carlos Santana | 1B | Royals | -2 |
| 22 | Joey Votto | 1B | Reds | NR |
| 23 | Ryan Mountcastle | 1B/OF | Orioles | NR |
| 24 | Josh Bell | 1B | Nationals | -1 |
| 25 | Mike Moustakas | 1B/2B/3B | Reds | – |
First and foremost, I finally made the flip to Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. being the top first baseman. He’s earned it and has significantly outplayed Freddie Freeman. I zipped him up the list pretty early in the season and he’s continued to rake.
I slid Kris Bryant down, but it’s kind of a hedge. If news comes out that he has a broken hand, he obviously slides down significantly more. If the news is that he’ll miss a couple of games with a bruised hand, he’d remain in the top five. Unfortunately, I’m not a fortune teller and can not tell the future. With Matt Olson scorching hot, I was tempted to slide him all the way up to number three, but Olson has been streaky his entire career and these hot streaks are usually followed by a chilly streak.
The aforementioned Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger both slid down the list. Muncy is expected to start a rehab stint this week and could return to the team by this weekend. That gives me more confidence than Bellinger, who’s nursing a hamstring injury. How long will the Dodgers wait until they pop Bellinger on the IL to let him get 100% healthy for the playoffs?
First base has become such a mess. If it’s not injuries, it’s the coldest of slumps ever. I’m talking to you Rhys Hoskins and Eric Hosmer. Both will come around, but it’s so difficult to just trust the process. I bumped up Anthony Rizzo and Trey Mancini, who I view as more consistent contributors. Yuli Gurriel is someone who I’ve kind of overlooked most of the year, but he’s consistently putting up decent numbers and deserves a bump up.
Dominic Smith has been a nice surprise, chipping in a handful of steals to go with his pop. That made it easy to bump him up over other slumping hitters. Patrick Wisdom made his list debut and I was tempted to jump him straight up and over some of the slumping vets. Wisdom has always possessed this type of power and it comes with a decent amount of swing and miss. Ride the wave while you can, but be prepared for him to cool off and I’m not against selling high if you can.
Shoutout to “ray” who commented on the last first base update, giving me a heads up that Joey Votto was returning. You’re the real hero!
