The Baller Ranks: Top 200 Hitters Weekly Rankings (Week 3)

Welcome to fantasy baseball if MLB's season were more like the XFL. Between injuries, illness, and inexplicable flukes, this season has already shown the potentially disastrous consequences of an otherwise quiet road-trip to Atlanta.

This weeks' news about the Miami-Philadelphia and St. Louis-Milwaukee situations has provided new variables, and managers are scrambling to keep up with everything. Teams are using their players in bizarre and unexpected ways, Sergio Romo earned a save before Taylor Rogers even took the field, and Mike Trout has left for paternity leave (congratulations to him, of course).

In the middle of all that, here is this week's top-200 hitters and The Baller Ranks list itself. If you are new to The Baller Ranks, we have an intro and a guide for you. You can also view the full Baller Ranks here.

Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including Best MLB Series, NFL Series, NBA Writer, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win big with RotoBaller! Read More!

 

The Top 200 Hitters for Fantasy Baseball - Week 3

Rank	$	Player	Pos	Trend
1	47.0	Mike Trout	OF	2.0 ▲
2	46.0	Christian Yelich	OF	0.0 ▬
3	45.0	Ronald Acuna Jr.	OF	0.0 ▬
4	41.0	Cody Bellinger	1B/OF	-2.0 ▼
5	39.0	Nolan Arenado	3B	-1.0 ▼
6	36.0	Rafael Devers	3B	0.0 ▬
7	35.0	Mookie Betts	3B	0.0 ▬
8	35.0	Jose Ramirez	OF	0.0 ▬
9	34.0	J.D. Martinez	OF/DH	0.0 ▬
10	33.0	Juan Soto	OF	-4.0 ▼
11	33.0	Francisco Lindor	SS	0.0 ▬
12	31.0	Alex Bregman	3B/SS	1.0 ▲
13	31.0	Trevor Story	SS	2.0 ▲
14	30.0	Trea Turner	SS	0.0 ▬
15	29.0	Gleyber Torres	2B/SS	0.0 ▬
16	29.0	Bryce Harper	OF	-2.0 ▼
17	28.0	Freddie Freeman	1B	-4.5 ▼
18	27.0	Javier Baez	SS	2.0 ▲
19	26.0	Nelson Cruz	DH	1.0 ▲
20	26.0	Jose Altuve	2B	2.0 ▲
21	25.0	Pete Alonso	1B	-1.0 ▼
22	25.0	Marcell Ozuna	OF	0.0 ▬
23	25.0	J.T. Realmuto	C	0.0 ▬
24	24.0	Manny Machado	3B/SS	3.0 ▲
25	24.0	Giancarlo Stanton	OF/DH	0.0 ▬
26	24.0	Ozzie Albies	2B	2.0 ▲
27	24.0	Fernando Tatis Jr.	SS	4.0 ▲
28	23.0	Xander Bogaerts	SS	1.0 ▲
29	23.0	George Springer	OF	0.0 ▬
30	22.0	Anthony Rendon	3B	-1.0 ▼
31	22.0	Starling Marte	OF	-1.0 ▼
32	21.0	Joey Gallo	OF	0.0 ▬
33	21.0	Ketel Marte	2B/OF	1.0 ▲
34	21.0	Kris Bryant	3B/OF	1.0 ▲
35	20.0	Eugenio Suarez	3B	1.0 ▲
36	20.0	Bo Bichette	SS	1.0 ▲
37	20.0	Eloy Jimenez	OF	-2.0 ▼
38	19.5	Josh Donaldson	3B	0.5 ▲
39	19.5	Adalberto Mondesi	SS	-0.5 ▼
40	19.5	Luis Robert	OF	3.0 ▲
41	19.0	Eddie Rosario	OF	-1.0 ▼
42	18.5	Aaron Judge	OF	-1.0 ▼
43	18.5	Yoan Moncada	3B	1.5 ▲
44	18.0	Matt Chapman	3B	0.0 ▬
45	18.0	Keston Hiura	2B	-0.5 ▼
46	18.0	Anthony Rizzo	1B	0.0 ▬
47	18.0	Tommy Pham	OF/DH	0.0 ▬
48	17.5	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	3B/DH	0.0 ▬
49	17.5	Marcus Semien	SS	2.5 ▲
50	17.5	Charlie Blackmon	OF	0.0 ▬
51	17.0	Kyle Schwarber	OF	1.0 ▲
52	16.5	Yordan Alvarez	DH	-6.5 ▼
53	16.5	Carlos Correa	SS	2.0 ▲
54	16.5	Ramon Laureano	OF	2.0 ▲
55	16.0	Max Muncy	1B/2B/3B	2.0 ▲
56	16.0	Yuli Gurriel	1B/3B	-1.0 ▼
57	16.0	Gary Sanchez	C	0.0 ▬
58	16.0	Nicholas Castellanos	OF	-1.0 ▼
59	15.5	Tim Anderson	SS	3.5 ▲
60	15.5	Matt Olson	1B	-3.0 ▼
61	15.5	Jorge Soler	OF/DH	0.5 ▲
62	15.0	Josh Bell	1B	-2.5 ▼
63	15.0	Franmil Reyes	OF/DH	0.5 ▲
64	15.0	Justin Turner	3B	1.5 ▲
65	14.5	Paul Goldschmidt	1B	-3.5 ▼
66	14.5	Miguel Sano	3B	0.5 ▲
67	14.5	Victor Robles	OF	1.0 ▲
68	14.0	Mike Moustakas	2B/3B	2.0 ▲
69	14.0	Jorge Polanco	SS	4.5 ▲
70	14.0	Max Kepler	OF	2.0 ▲
71	13.5	Jose Abreu	1B/DH	-1.5 ▼
72	13.5	Michael Brantley	OF/DH	4.5 ▲
73	13.0	Jeff McNeil	2B/3B/OF	4.0 ▲
74	13.0	Oscar Mercado	OF	2.5 ▲
75	12.5	Yasmani Grandal	C/1B	0.0 ▬
76	12.5	DJ LeMahieu	1B/2B/3B	2.5 ▲
77	12.5	Michael Conforto	OF	4.5 ▲
78	12.0	Austin Meadows	OF/DH	-2.0 ▼
79	12.0	Jonathan Villar	2B/SS	-4.0 ▼
80	11.5	Andrew McCutchen	OF	2.0 ▲
81	11.0	Shohei Ohtani	DH	-1.5 ▼
82	11.0	Eduardo Escobar	2B/3B	2.5 ▲
83	11.0	Byron Buxton	OF	2.5 ▲
84	10.5	David Dahl	OF	-0.5 ▼
85	10.5	Willson Contreras	C	0.0 ▬
86	10.5	Corey Seager	SS	1.5 ▲
87	10.0	Whit Merrifield	2B/OF	0.0 ▬
88	10.0	Rhys Hoskins	1B	-3.5 ▼
89	10.0	Andrew Benintendi	OF	0.0 ▬
90	10.0	Mitch Garver	C	1.0 ▲
91	9.5	Salvador Perez	C	-1.0 ▼
92	9.5	Didi Gregorius	SS	3.5 ▲
93	9.5	Carlos Santana	1B/DH	-1.0 ▼
94	9.5	Avisail Garcia	OF/DH	2.0 ▲
95	9.0	Khris Davis	DH	-5.0 ▼
96	9.0	Amed Rosario	SS	2.0 ▲
97	9.0	Adam Eaton	OF	2.5 ▲
98	8.5	Paul DeJong	SS	0.0 ▬
99	8.5	Justin Upton	OF	1.5 ▲
100	8.0	Alex Verdugo	OF	2.0 ▲
101	8.0	Christian Vazquez	C	1.0 ▲
102	7.5	Howie Kendrick	1B/2B	1.5 ▲
103	7.5	Edwin Encarnacion	1B/DH	-1.0 ▼
104	7.5	Yadier Molina	C	0.0 ▬
105	7.5	Austin Hays	OF	2.0 ▲
106	7.0	Lourdes Gurriel Jr.	OF	-0.5 ▼
107	7.0	Elvis Andrus	SS	1.0 ▲
108	7.0	David Peralta	OF	3.0 ▲
109	6.5	Jean Segura	SS	1.0 ▲
110	6.5	Will Smith	C	0.0 ▬
111	6.5	Hunter Renfroe	OF	3.5 ▲
112	6.0	Bryan Reynolds	OF	5.0 ▲
113	5.5	Randal Grichuk	OF	4.5 ▲
114	5.0	Ryan Braun	OF	3.0 ▲
115	5.0	Wilson Ramos	C	-1.0 ▼
116	5.0	J.D. Davis	3B/OF	0.0 ▬
117	5.0	Brandon Lowe	2B	4.0 ▲
118	5.0	Luke Voit	1B/DH	0.0 ▬
119	4.5	Jonathan Schoop	2B	-0.5 ▼
120	4.5	Carson Kelly	C	-1.0 ▼
121	4.5	Miguel Andujar	3B/DH	0.0 ▬
122	4.5	Brett Gardner	OF	2.0 ▲
123	4.0	C.J. Cron	1B	-2.0 ▼
124	4.0	Starlin Castro	2B/3B	-1.5 ▼
125	4.0	Kyle Tucker	OF	0.5 ▲
126	4.0	Dansby Swanson	SS	0.5 ▲
127	4.0	Francisco Mejia	C	-1.0 ▼
128	4.0	Gio Urshela	3B	2.0 ▲
129	3.5	Rougned Odor	2B	0.5 ▲
130	3.5	Joc Pederson	1B/OF	1.0 ▲
131	3.5	Omar Narvaez	C	-1.0 ▼
132	3.5	Travis Shaw	3B	0.5 ▲
133	3.0	Brian Anderson	3B/OF	-1.0 ▼
134	3.0	Victor Caratini	C/1B	2.5 ▲
135	3.0	Willy Adames	SS	0.5 ▲
136	3.0	Cavan Biggio	2B	0.5 ▲
137	3.0	Corey Dickerson	OF	-2.0 ▼
138	2.5	Daniel Murphy	1B	0.5 ▲
139	2.5	Kyle Seager	3B	1.0 ▲
140	2.5	Trent Grisham	OF	1.5 ▲
141	2.5	Niko Goodrum	2B/SS/OF	0.5 ▲
142	2.5	Isiah Kiner-Falefa	C/3B	2.0 ▲
143	2.5	Garrett Hampson	2B/OF	-2.0 ▼
144	2.0	Joey Votto	1B	-1.5 ▼
145	2.0	Kevin Newman	2B/SS	-1.0 ▼
146	2.0	Cesar Hernandez	2B	0.5 ▲
147	2.0	Sean Murphy	C/DH	-1.5 ▼
148	2.0	Yandy Diaz	1B/3B	-1.5 ▼
149	1.5	Danny Santana	1B/OF	-6.5 ▼
150	1.5	Nick Senzel	OF	0.5 ▲
151	1.5	Eric Hosmer	1B	-2.5 ▼
152	1.5	Carter Kieboom	SS	0.0 ▬
153	1.5	Asdrubal Cabrera	2B/3B	0.5 ▲
154	1.5	Danny Jansen	C	0.5 ▲
155	1.0	Christian Walker	1B	-2.0 ▼
156	1.0	Shin-Soo Choo	OF/DH	0.0 ▬
157	1.0	Mike Yastrzemski	OF	0.0 ▬
158	1.0	Maikel Franco	3B	0.5 ▲
159	1.0	Wil Myers	OF	0.5 ▲
160	1.0	Willie Calhoun	OF	-3.5 ▼
161	1.0	Dylan Carlson	OF	0.0 ▬
162	1.0	Shogo Akiyama	OF	0.0 ▬
163	1.0	Kolten Wong	2B	-2.5 ▼
164	1.0	Tommy Edman	2B/3B	0.0 ▬
165	1.0	Renato Nunez	1B/DH	0.0 ▬
166	1.0	Mark Canha	OF	-0.5 ▼
167	1.0	Ryan McMahon	2B/3B	-3.0 ▼
168	1.0	A.J. Pollock	OF	0.0 ▬
169	1.0	Austin Riley	OF	-1.5 ▼
170	1.0	Gavin Lux	2B	-1.0 ▼
171	1.0	Kurt Suzuki	C	-0.5 ▼
172	1.0	Mallex Smith	OF	0.0 ▬
173	1.0	Mauricio Dubon	2B	0.0 ▬
174	1.0	Yoenis Cespedes	OF	-1.5 ▼
175	1.0	Aaron Hicks	OF	0.0 ▬
176	1.0	Scott Kingery	3B/OF	#N/A
177	1.0	Ian Happ	OF	0.5 ▲
178	1.0	Brandon Nimmo	OF	0.0 ▬
179	1.0	Rowdy Tellez	2B/3B	0.5 ▲
180	1.0	Hunter Dozier	3B/OF	0.0 ▬
181	1.0	J.P. Crawford	SS	0.5 ▲
182	1.0	Ji-Man Choi	1B	0.0 ▬
183	1.0	Shed Long Jr.	2B	0.5 ▲
184	1.0	Luis Arraez	2B/OF	0.5 ▲
185	1.0	Justin Smoak	1B/DH	-0.5 ▼
186	1.0	Kevin Pillar	OF	0.5 ▲
187	1.0	Matt Carpenter	3B	-0.5 ▼
188	1.0	Kyle Lewis	OF	0.5 ▲
189	1.0	Teoscar Hernandez	OF	0.5 ▲
190	1.0	Yoshi Tsutsugo	OF	0.5 ▲
191	1.0	David Fletcher	2B/3B/OF	0.5 ▲
192	1.0	Miguel Cabrera	1B/DH	0.0 ▬
193	1.0	Andrelton Simmons	SS	0.0 ▬
194	1.0	Franchy Cordero	OF	0.5 ▲
195	1.0	Anthony Santander	OF	0.0 ▬
196	1.0	Ender Inciarte	OF	0.0 ▬
197	1.0	Enrique Hernandez	2B/OF	0.5 ▲
198	1.0	Jason Castro	C	0.0 ▬
199	1.0	Jesus Aguilar	1B	0.0 ▬
200	1.0	Jo Adell	OF	-0.5 ▼

 

Ballers of Note

Corey Seager (SS, Dodgers)

It's easy to forget that Seager looked like an elite shortstop at the start of his career. However, a torn UCL derailed him in 2018, and it's frequently overlooked that a Tommy-John surgery hinders a hitter for about two months after he returns. Seager had started heating up in June last year when he tore his hamstring, but from July 1^st until the end of the season, Seager put up a 118 wRC+ with a  .277 ISO and a 50% hard-hit rate. That's right, 50%.

So far this season, Seager owns more barrels (7) than anyone else in the league, and he has a 62.7% hard-hit rate. Somehow, Seager's .452 wOBA is trailing behind his xwOBA of .656. It's hard to project Seager too far up the board too quickly. Shortstop is deep, and it has been only eight games, but another week like this, and he'll be jumping up into the next tier.

Brandon Lowe (2B, Rays)

Among the dozens of things that I never did this spring was to write an article on the criminal under-drafting of the Lowe brothers from Tampa Bay. While Nate Lowe wastes away on the Rays' practice squad, Brandon Lowe has been lighting up the Eastern seaboard. Given his modest ADP, that may come as a surprise, but remember that Brandon Lowe owned a 178 wRC+ at AAA in 2018. In 2019 he put up a 125 wRC+ with 17 HR, 42 R, 51 RBI, and 5 SB in 82 games. His MLB time was shortened by injury, and the projection systems were oddly cool on him.

Lowe has started this season by racking up six extra-base hits in eight games, and like Luis Robert below, Lowe's max exit velocity suggests that he will significantly outperform his projections for this season. Notably, THE BAT X, which relies heavily on Statcast data, is the most optimistic about Lowe for this season.

Second base has a unique cluster between Whit Merrifield and Jeff McNeil, but Lowe looks like he should finish in that neighborhood (maybe better) with a line of 28-9-28-2-.260.

Yordan Alvarez (DH, Astros)

The good news is that Alvarez is through the MLB Covid-19 protocol and able to take batting practice. Unfortunately, Dusty Baker reported that it would be a while before Alvarez rejoins the team.

Given how long Alvarez has been gone, it's not likely that he's going to show up and start cranking out dingers, no matter how much my heart wants it. That's reflected by a drop of $6.5 off his seasonal value. Without knowing his real condition or timeline, it's hard to project him, so I've shaved ten additional games off his rest-of-season value. My hope is that he'll miss fewer games than that, but it's hard to imagine there won't be a bit of hangover from all the missed time.

Fortunately, this is probably the low-point for his value this season. If he makes a quick return, he can reclaim most of that value, but it's hard to go beyond that right now.

Gavin Lux (2B, Dodgers)

Unfortunately, there isn't much good news to write about Lux. The Dodgers were able to designate him for assignment because they have such a glut of talent and ability. Lux isn't blocked, but he is marginalized by Kike Hernadez's solid start. Chris Taylor is there as well, but he's been putrid so far.

It's reasonable to expect the Dodgers to call up Lux any day now, but in a league with tight benches or without an NA spot, he's droppable if you need a body. I'm going to keep holding in both leagues where I own him, but I have space in the one and an NA slot in the other.

Asdrubal Cabrera (2B/3B) and Carter Kieboom (SS/3B, Nationals)

Unless there is an injury, Cabrera's value is inversely connected to Kieboom's. Kieboom was supposed to begin the year as the Nationals' starting third baseman. However, he's only played three games so far while Cabrera has seven starts. On a per-game basis, Kieboom has been better than Cabrera, but if he's only going to play part-time, he's going to be hard to hold for long.

Meanwhile, Cabrera has become one of the most consistent accumulators in the league. He's not great, but he provides multi-position eligibility, a little pop, a steal or two, counting stats, and a batting average that isn't likely to hurt you. He's a placeholder for fantasy teams, but one that minimizes damage to a team that needs a body at second or third base.

The Nationals owe Kieboom and fans the opportunity to see what he can do, but even with the 22-year-old's supreme talent, it will be hard to wait much longer.

Khris Davis (OF, Athletics)

Davis has struggled to start the year. It's difficult to dismiss it as a small sample after last season's unhappy line of  61-23-73-0-.220. So far this season, Davis has struck out seven times in fifteen at-bats (41.2%). What is really worrisome is that the team has already given him two games off in the first six. Either Bob Melvin is giving Davis a breather, or he sees trouble as well. If Davis starts to lose playing time, that's probably the end. Davis did strike the ball well last season, so there is some reason for optimism, but the opening week is worrisome.

Luis Robert (OF, White Sox)

I wrote about Robert last week, but the short version is that we've probably undervalued him given his track record in the minors, his power potential, and his clear success against older players. After Tim Anderson's injury, the White Sox moved Robert into the leadoff spot. That should help his run total, but I'm not sure if the White Sox will give him the same opportunities to run if he has Moncada, Abreu, and Jimenez behind him.

Victor Caratini (C, Cubs)

If you've missed it like me, Caratini is seeing time at DH for the Cubs. Last year, Caratini assembled a 108 wRC+ at a position where the 15 best catchers averaged a 115. However, those 15 catchers average only 110 games (about 68% playing time), while Caratini has now played in six of the Cubs seven games this season. There are plenty of reasons why this might be Caratini's high point, but consider the following comparison:

Name	Brls/PA	Max Exit Velo.	BB%	K%	ISO	AVG	OBP	wOBA	wRC+
J.T. Realmuto	6.2	112.9	6.90%	20.70%	0.217	0.275	0.328	0.340	108
Victor Caratini	6.1	113.6	10.40%	21.10%	0.180	0.266	0.348	0.338	108

That's not to suggest that Caratini is going to ascend to Realmuto's production, but he's a definite candidate to move up the rankings. The 25-year-old has a modest defensive skillset, so if the Cubs can get his bat in the lineup more frequently without needing him to catch as often, that's a real benefit to his value. Consider players like Mitch Garver and Alex Avila from a few years ago: catchers who see extra at-bats almost always offer increased value. Even if he assembles middling ratio stats, he should offer an advantage in counting categories.

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