Category Power Rankings: Week 14

Another week of baseball in the books, which means another fresh edition of CPR!

 

Batting Average (AVG)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Ketel Marte (injury), Kris Bryant

Over his last 30 games, Justin Turner has a healthy slash line of .343/.432/.537. After hitting just .267 leading up to that point, Turner has raised his season-long AVG to .296, which is much more in line with his career .293 mark. Turner has always been a sure bet for batting average and solid RBI numbers as long as he is healthy.

 

Deep League Top 10 (>12-team leagues/65% owned or less)

 

 

Off the list: None

For the past month now, J.P. Crawford has been a hitting machine. A .363 AVG during that span has boosted his season-long mark up to .291 and has put himself in the mixed league mix.

 

Runs (R)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: DJ LeMahieu

What Shohei Ohtani is doing right now is pretty unprecedented. At the dish for the past month, Ohtani has an OPS of 1.437, 15 HRs, 26 RBI, and 23 runs. Offensively, he is currently on a full-season pace of 64 HRs, 141 RBI, and 124 runs. He is, quite literally, the modern-day Babe Ruth.

 

Deep League Top 10 (>12-team leagues/65% owned or less)

 

 

Off the list: Tony Kemp, Robbie Grossman

Luis Urías has done a nice job for the Brew Crew since taking over full-time at third base. Urías is up to ten dingers on the year and has scored 21 runs over his last 26 games. Even when Travis Shaw returns, one would have to assume Urías will remain the starter based on his better overall production.

 

Home Runs (HR)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Kyle Schwarber (injury)

With eight homers over his last 19 games, Marcus Semien now has more round-trippers than some of the most prolific sluggers such as Joey Gallo, Aaron Judge, and Nelson Cruz. Semien has been a multi-category contributor in fantasy this year and is well-deserving of the starting nod for the All-Star Game at second base.

 

Deep League Top 10 (>12-team leagues/65% owned or less)

 

 

Off the list: Andrew McCutchen (ownership)

Mike Zunino has five homers over his last eight games, giving him 18 on the year which ranks him second among catchers in the category. Zunino has always presented his raw power when given the opportunity and this year is no exception. If you can take the hit in batting average, Zunino is still only owned in 36% of Yahoo leagues and 27% of ESPN leagues.

 

Runs Batted In (RBI)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Kyle Tucker

Only one player has driven in more runs over the past month than Ozzie Albies. The second baseman has been a major run producer since being put into the three spot in the Atlanta order, hitting .313/.360/.578 with 33 RBI spanning 33 games. With Marcell Ozuna’s future very much up in the air, Atlanta is in need of some help in the middle of the order and Albies has more than delivered.

 

Deep League Top 10 (>12-team leagues/65% owned or less)

 

 

Off the list: Andrew McCutchen (ownership), Joc Pederson

Jake Fraley has been impressive through 32 games, posting a .982 OPS as well as 14 combined HRs and SBs and 21 RBI. Fraley has driven in 17 of those runs over his last 23 games and is looking like a real bright spot for the upstart Mariners.

 

Stolen Bases (SB)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Mookie Betts

Adding to his huge breakout year, Cedric Mullins is 15-for-19 in SB attempts so far and is successful in his last nine. He has done it all for fantasy owners and, realistically, should be starting the All-Star Game.

 

Deep League Top 10 (>12-team leagues/65% owned or less)

 

 

Off the list: Brett Phillips

Not much to write home about here.

 

On-Base Percentage (OBP)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Ketel Marte (injury)

Xander Bogaerts is posting a career-high OBP to this point in the year and has a .418 mark over his last 25 games. He has blossomed into one of the most underrated hitters in all of baseball and even in fantasy. Bogaerts is as reliable as they come and a contributor in several categories across just about any format.

 

Deep League Top 10 (>12-team leagues/65% owned or less)

 

 

Off the list: Andrew McCutchen (ownership), Tony Kemp, Robbie Grossman

After just an abysmal May, Nate Lowe has bounced back over the past month, posting a .310/.385/.500 slash line. Lowe has shown the ability that made him a top prospect in the Tampa Bay organization, but it has just been inconsistent. That may be the story for the rest of the year until he gets enough playing time at the big league level.

 

**As we enter the pitching section, I just wanted to chime in here in regards to Trevor Bauer. With his future very much up in the air as this investigation continues, I felt that it was best to just remove him from the lists altogether until more details come forth and a final decision is made.

 

Wins (W)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Trevor Bauer

Germán Márquez has gone 4-1 over his last five turns including a complete-game shutout in his most recent outing. Going back a little further, the right-hander is 6-2 over his last nine starts. We know what to expect out of Márquez at this point in his career. He is an innings eater who will give his team every chance to win. We may be seeing him pitching for a contender starting in August, which would be very interesting.

 

Deep League Top 10 (>12-team leagues/65% owned or less)

 

 

Off the list: Griffin Canning (demotion)

Jake Odorizzi has now won three of his last four starts. Odorizzi has done a nice job of limiting baserunners as well to the tune of a 0.97 WHIP. He may not go deep into games but with the powerful Houston lineup behind him, there is always an opportunity for a victory.

 

Earned Run Average (ERA)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Trevor Bauer

With a 1.73 ERA over his last six starts, Sandy Alcantara has now lowered his overall figure to under 3.00. He seems to be well on his way to another All-Star selection and deservedly so. The Marlins have a nice three-headed monster, along with Trevor Rogers and Pablo López, in that rotation to look forward to for years to come.

 

Deep League Top 10 (>12-team leagues/65% owned or less)

 

 

Off the list: Matt Manning, Zach Davies

While he can’t buy a win pitching for the Diamondbacks, Caleb Smith has a 2.73 ERA over his last five starts. Smith now holds a 3.08 ERA on the year, and while that may not last due to him being an extreme fly-ball pitcher, he deserves to be streamed in most mixed leagues.

 

Strikeouts (K)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Trevor Bauer

Over his last eight starts, Sean Manaea has 54 K’s across 48.2 innings to go with a 1.85 ERA. The lefty is posting the best strikeout numbers of his career and that is due in large part to his sinker/changeup combo which has been a revelation.

 

Deep League Top 10 (>12-team leagues/65% owned or less)

 

 

Off the list: Jake Odorizzi

The only thing Eduardo Rodriguez has had going for him this year are the K’s. E-Rod is striking out 10.52 batters per nine innings. He has, however, posted three consecutive quality starts, so he may be turning the corner.

 

Saves (SV)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: José Alvarado

Edwin Díaz has been excellent for the past month or so. He has converted his last eight save opportunities and has a 1.74 ERA during that span. The 27-year old stopper has earned the unfortunate nickname in some circles of Ed-LOSE Díaz since joining the Mets but he has been pretty darn good dating back to 2020.

 

Deep League Top 10 (>12-Team leagues/65% owned or less)

 

 

Off the list: Ian Kennedy (ownership), Paul Fry

The Phillies’ bullpen is a dumpster fire right now. In his first couple attempts at handling closing duties, José Alvarado completely flopped. Ranger Suárez has been effective all year and appears to be next up after converting the last save opportunity for Joe Girardi. Regardless, it is a situation to avoid for most fantasy owners.

 

WHIP (Walks+Hits/Innings Pitched)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Trevor Bauer

Since June 9th, Taijuan Walker has lowered his WHIP to 1.01 as he has posted a 0.94 mark during that span. The right-hander has been one of the year’s best free-agent signings and it has been nice to see the 28-year old finally put it all together.

 

Deep League Top 10 (>12-team leagues/65% owned or less)

 

 

Off the list: Tarik Skubal, Patrick Corbin

Kolby Allard has done a nice job of limiting baserunners all year long and especially since he joined the Texas rotation. With a 1.08 WHIP to go along with a very respectable 3.46 ERA, Allard is firmly entrenched among the very good streaming options in mixed leagues.

 

Quality Starts (QS)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Trevor Bauer, José Berríos

Is it possible Max Scherzer is getting better with age? Since the beginning of May, Scherzer has seven quality starts and a microscopic 1.68 ERA. There were some who doubted Mad Max coming into this year, but we haven’t heard from those folks for quite some time.

 

Deep League Top 10 (>12-team leagues/65% owned or less)

 

 

Off the list: Vladimir Gutierrez

James Kaprielian continues to impress for the Athletics. He has quality starts in four of his last five starts and now boasts a 2.84 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. His luck may run out eventually but you need to ride this out as long as you can because he is getting the job done right now.

 

Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)