Category Power Rankings: Week 4

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

 

Batting Average (AVG)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Jean Segura

Through the first three weeks of the year, Ty France is looking like a draft day steal. France is slashing .337/.411/.554 along with 21 RBI, good for second in the majors. The 27-year old has the prospect pedigree to make this breakout very believable and has the early makings of a league winning-type player.

 

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

 

 

Off the list: Jeff McNeil (ownership), Connor Joe (ownership), J.P. Crawford (ownership), Garrett Cooper, Nicky Lopez, Adam Frazier

How about Eric Hosmer, huh? I think we all know the type of hitter Eric Hosmer is at age 32, but that doesn’t take away the fact he is super hot right now at the dish. Hosmer is leading the league in AVG with a robust .389 mark. Pick him up now and ride it out while you can.

 

Runs (R)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Whit Merrifield

Manny Machado has been scorching hot of late and has been excellent through three weeks. Machado is slashing .386/.453/.614 with 15 RBI and a league leading 20 runs scored.

 

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

 

 

Off the list: Connor Joe (ownership), J.P. Crawford (ownership), Mike Yastrzemski (COVID), Mark Canha, Elvis Andrus

Ha-Seong Kim has taken full advantage of the absence of Fernando Tatis Jr. getting just about full time run in the Padres starting nine. Kim has a .927 OPS along with 13 runs scored in 16 games played. There isn’t much long-term value here but a good amount of short-term value and is definitely worth owning for the time being.

 

Home Runs (HR)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Teoscar Hernández (injury), Kris Bryant (injury), Adam Duvall

Current home run leader, Anthony Rizzo, has taken full advantage of his first full season of hitting in Yankee Stadium. Rizzo has mashed seven of his nine HRs in the Bronx and while this pace will be impossible to uphold, Rizzo should thrive on the Yankees and remain a very solid source of power throughout the summer.

 

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

 

 

Off the list: Eugenio Suárez (ownership), Brandon Belt (COVID), Ji-Man Choi (injury), Mike Zunino, Miguel Sanó

With four homers across his last five games, Max Kepler looks like a decent add in deeper leagues or five outfielder formats. We are only a couple years removed from the 29-year-old smacking 36 HRs in 2019. If you are looking for a little jolt in power, Kepler is as streaky as they come, so jump on it.

 

Runs Batted In (RBI)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Teoscar Hernández (injury), Eloy Jiménez (injury)

Aaron Judge has been on a tear of late, driving in 12 runs across his last two weeks of play. Pretty impressive when you consider the fact that Judge hits exclusively in the two-hole of the Yankees’ lineup. Judge will almost certainly finish towards the top of the league lead in HRs, but fantasy owners would love an uptick in RBI for the slugger.

 

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

 

 

Off the list: Jesús Sánchez (ownership), Ji-Man Choi (injury), Bobby Dalbec, Jonathan Schoop, Frank Schwindel

With 10 RBI over as many games, Alec Bohm is back in mixed league relevancy. Bohm was a hot name coming in to 2021 but completely flopped to the tune of a .647 OPS. Bohm’s ability has never been in question, so he might be someone to keep an eye on and maybe even pounce now before it is too late.

 

Stolen Bases (SB)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Adalbert Mondesi (injury), Akil Baddoo, Trent Grisham, Jonathan Villar

One of the hottest prospects in baseball, Julio Rodríguez has gotten off to a relatively mild start at the plate. But, as slow as he has been in the box, he has been that great on the base paths so far. A guy who has shown good speed in the minors, Rodríguez has gone 9-for-9 in SB attempts through the first three weeks of his MLB career. Once his bat comes alive, the young outfielder has all the tools to become a five-category fantasy stud.

 

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

 

 

Off the list: Rafael Ortega

These are the bottom of the barrel right here. Only in the deepest of leagues should you be considering these guys. Harrison Bader has picked it up with the bat lately hitting .350 over the past week with a pair of steals, pushing his season long total up to six.

 

On-Base Percentage (OBP)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Kris Bryant (injury), Carlos Correa

Despite his numbers being pretty terrible to start the season, Jesse Winker does lead the AL in walks. Winker’s ability to get on base has always been his biggest strength, so if he can figure it out at the dish, Winker should come around sooner rather than later. Don’t give up on him just yet.

 

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

 

 

Off the list: Brandon Belt (COVID), Ji-Man Choi (injury), Connor Joe (ownership), Tommy Pham

Daniel Vogelbach is off to a very nice start for the Pirates slashing .311/.373/.508 through his first 17 games. The big first baseman has always possessed good power and on-base ability so here’s to hoping he can stick in the Pittsburgh lineup and put together a solid year.

 

Wins (W)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Charlie Morton

Alek Manoah has won each of his first four outings to start his sophomore season. If I didn’t know any better, my first reaction would be “well, Toronto has a great offense; it’s pretty easy to get wins”. Except Manoah has been nails in all four starts. The 24-year old has gone at least six innings in each start and has allowed two runs or less, and three of the four performances has been against the Yankees, Houston, and Boston.

 

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

 

 

Off the list: Kyle Gibson (ownership), Yusei Kikuchi, Marco Gonzales, Zach Eflin

Chad Kuhl is quickly becoming a must add in mixed leagues. Through four starts, the righty has a sparkly 1.90 ERA and 0.85 WHIP to go along with three wins.

 

Earned Run Average (ERA)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Freddy Peralta

Pablo López has been absolutely money through four turns in the rotation. The righty has only allowed one earned run to this point and has probably helped many fantasy owners win a week or two to this point.

 

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

 

 

Off the list: Nestor Cortes Jr. (ownership), Joe Ryan (ownership), Steven Matz

If you haven’t picked up Eric Lauer yet, stop reading this and do so. But it more than likely too late. Lauer has been downright dominant thus far for the Brew Crew posting a 1.93 ERA with 34 Ks across 23.1 innings.

 

Strikeouts (K)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Eduardo Rodriguez, Chris Bassitt

Shane McClanahan has been racking up the K’s at an insane rate. With 42 punchouts across 27 innings, the young lefty is striking out 14 batters per nine innings. It’s tough to tell how far the Rays will let their talented arm go into the season but until they determine that, enjoy the ride.

 

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

 

 

Off the list: Carlos Carrasco (ownership), Joe Ryan (ownership), Bailey Ober, Kyle Wright (ownership), Jordan Montgomery

Not a ton of noteworthy names here, in all honesty.

 

Saves (SV)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Jake McGee

David Robertson has been pretty unhittable as the newly appointed closer for the Cubs. And when I say “pretty unhittable,” I mean it—Robertson has only allowed one hit and no runs across 11 IP thus far. He is also 5-for-5 in save chances to top it all off.

 

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

 

 

Off the list: Daniel Bard (ownership), David Robertson (ownership), Drew Steckenrider, Diego Castillo, Paul Sewald

Jorge López has had somewhat of a career resurgence in the O’s bullpen so far this year. The righty, who has seen a nice uptick in his velocity, has posted a 1.59 ERA across 11.1 innings and has nailed down four saves. 

 

WHIP (Walks+Hits/Innings Pitched)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: Freddy Peralta

Kevin Gausman has not missed a beat since joining the Blue Jays this year. With a 2.27 ERA and 0.98 WHIP, Gausman has still yet to walk a batter this year. Many felt the 31-year old would be subject to some negative regression moving back to the AL East, but so far so good for Gausman.

 

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

 

 

Off the list: Joe Ryan (ownership), Nestor Cortes Jr. (ownership), Carlos Carrasco (ownership), Kyle Wright (ownership), Zach Plesac

Since his first start, Miles Mikolas has looked outstanding through four turns. The veteran righty has a lovely 0.84 WHIP, three quality starts, and should be owned across all formats.

 

Quality Starts (QS)

 

Top 25

 

 

Off the list: German Márquez

With four consecutive quality starts, the reigning NL Cy Young award winner, Corbin Burnes, has picked up right where he left off. Burned has also posted double digits strikeouts over his last three outings as well. The guy is filthy.

 

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

 

 

Off the list: Kyle Gibson (ownership), Joe Ryan (ownership), Jameson Taillon, Yusei Kikuchi

Chris Flexen has posted three consecutive quality starts, including two against Houston and Tampa Bay. After his breakout in 2021, Flexen has followed that up with a nice little stretch here to open the season to prove he may not have been a product of a fluky year. That still remains to be seen, though.

 

Featured Image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)