[hitter_list list_id=”18879″ include_stats=”1″ season=”2018″]
Welcome back to Hitter List. Every Wednesday during the regular season, I’ll rank the current value of the top 150 hitters for the remainder of the year. Use these rankings to help get a sense of both a player’s expected performance and his trade value in your fantasy leagues moving forward. They’re constructed with 12-teamer, H2H, 5×5 leagues in mind; adjust as needed for your specific setup.
As a reminder: There’s a ton of baseball left to be played, and these are rest of season rankings. We’re interested in the long view ’round these parts. As we progress further into the season, movements in either direction will get more aggressive. That said, if you believe I’m way off the mark on any particular player, feel free to make your case in the comments.
On to the highlights!
- Injury roundup: Obviously, the big one here is Corey Seager going down for the year with a torn UCL. Eric Thames also drops off the List this week after tearing a ligament in his thumb; that injury will keep him out of action for most of the remaining games before the All-Star break. Others taking a tumble in the rankings due to injury: Wil Myers, DJ LeMahieu, Adrian Beltre, Yasiel Puig, Miguel Sano, and Byron Buxton.
- New to or back on the List this week: Asdrubal Cabrera, Franchy Cordero, Yonder Alonso, Jeimer Candelario, Miguel Andujar, and Aaron Hicks. Cordero has some contact issues and he won’t keep hitting home runs on over 40 percent of his fly balls, but he’s got great tools and an extremely enticing blend of power and speed. The slumps will be ugly, and if the Padres outfield is ever fully healthy, Cordero’s not a lock for playing time. Most fantasy owners have gravitated toward Andujar, but at least for 2018 I don’t see a lot of separation between him and fellow rookie third baseman Candelario. Hicks fell off the List earlier this year due to injury and should have been back on it before now. Occasional oversights like that will happen, though hopefully kept to a minimum.
- This week’s honorable mentions: C.J. Cron, Matt Kemp, Eduardo Escobar, Scott Schebler, and Max Kepler.
- A few of the major risers this week: Eugenio Suarez came back way sooner than expected from a broken thumb and immediately resumed being awesome. He’s available in more leagues than he should be. Didi Gregorius has cooled off a little in the last few days, but the results so far suggest a player who’s taken a legitimate leap. Ronald Acuna is finally here and looks every bit as good as advertised. Yoan Moncada is also flashing the form that made him a top prospect.
