Hitter List 5/3: Top 150 Hitters – Week 5 Fantasy Baseball 2023

Sorry, folk! You’ve got me instead of the fabulous Scott Chu for one more week. And since this is my opportunity to makes waves in the list, we’ve shuffled things up quite a bit. So, expect changes; some dramatic and some not so much.

Let’s get some basics out of the way regarding how to interpret these rankings. None of this stuff should come as any major surprise, but it never hurts to provide background:

I would recommend not paying super close attention to the specific ranks of each player, and honing in more on the respective tiers that they’re in. Each tier represents a grouping of players that I think could arguably perform at a similar level, and/or carry similar levels of risk in terms of injury concerns or playing time obstacles. If Player X is ranked at #55 and Player Y is ranked at #65, but they’re in the same tier, it means that I personally like Player X a lot better, but think there’s a valid argument to be made for Player Y performing just as well.

I take rankings like this as more of an art than a science. Every person’s rankings are influenced by their own biases, strategic philosophies, determinations of risk, and projections. It’s why no two rankings are ever exactly alike. Jon’s way of evaluating and ranking players has worked out well for Jon (and me) over the years, but it might not be a great fit for you. I can’t possibly predict your team’s specific needs, your league mate’s player evaluations, or your current waiver wire, and if I could it’d be weird. In a bad way.

Yes, these ranks vary from the official PL positional rankings that I also developed in the off-season. That’s because these are only mine – no input from others. This is a safe space for me where I answer to no one but myself…and you if you leave a comment.

I’m doing my best to use 5 starts or 10 appearances as the threshold for positional eligibility. I have not included presumed eligibilities based on likely new positions, but once those eligibilities are earned I’ll add them in. This is just a maintenance thing and we will update eligibility throughout the season. Feel free to let me know if I’m missing any!

To keep things in the same ilk, here are a couple of notes on how Scott (and myself) generally evaluate hitters before we dive in:

I’ve gotten more level-headed over the years regarding weighing stolen bases, but I still think they’re precious given how rare they’re becoming. Every steal is important, so don’t take those “chip-in” steals for granted. Finding steals at the end of the season can be a dogfight.
If I did want to get some insight on whether what I’m seeing is new or if it’s just normal fluctuation, I’d use my favorite tool—the rolling chart. Our PL Pro members can use the tools in the Hub, which I’ll also reference as appropriate.

No stat is an island and they should all be taken in proper context. For ranking purposes, the primary starting points I use are plate discipline, wRC+, quality of contact metrics (also known as Statcast batted ball data), lineup context, and the skills we can measure using the tools in our PL Pro Tools Hub. I also use various projections (some free, some I buy) and dollar value generators. Unlike Nick, I’ll also look at other rankings as I prepare my own to feel how my colleagues value certain players, positions, or stats. I recommend trying as many of these things as you can until you find what you like.
Positional eligibility, and specifically multi-eligibility, is neat but also isn’t a huge factor in many 10- and 12-team leagues anymore due to the prevalence of multi-eligible players. It’s of more value in deeper contests like the NFBC, or in leagues with limited roster moves (draft and hold leagues, transaction limits/costs, extremely short benches, etc.), but even then the value is fairly situational and context-dependent.

On a similar note, I don’t penalize players for only qualifying in the utility slot. At most, it is a mild inconvenience if a DH-only player is available at a great value and you already have filled your utility spots.
Anyone talented enough to make it to the big leagues can be brilliant or putrid for 50 at-bats regardless of true talent. Heck, it could even last a month with no change in potential or skill. It also could be wildly meaningful. We can’t and don’t know which of these will be true until it’s over, though track record, scouting, and trends give us hints.
If you’d like input on a player or have any feedback, your best bet is to reach out to me on Twitter (@davithius) or in the comments!

Ranking Notes

Check out the Hacks & Jacks podcast featuring Scott Chu and Joe Gallina, which also happened to be a finalist for Best Baseball Podcast of 2021 by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA)!

TIER 1

With Aaron Judge on the IL, you might ask why he hasn’t dropped. Well, unless it’s a substantial amount of time, he’s still as elite as they come and isn’t going anywhere … yet.
Mookie Betts gets another slight bump with the 2B eligibility and very soon could gain SS.

TIER 2

Welp! Soon as we slam Manny Machado down a few pegs, he starts crushing. Hence, he gets a bump. Let’s hope he can get back to form and keep hitting the ball as hard as he did in the previous seven days(60% HC rate and 13.3% barrel%).
If Luis Robert Jr. doesn’t want to leg out grounders to third base, he drops down. Although, be wary, as Cedric Mullins isn’t getting leadoff ABs vs. southpaws.

TIER 4

Will Smith is back! In his short time back, he didn’t appear to have any issues and collected two extra-base hits. He moves back up to the top of the C1 heap.

TIER 5

Falling out of favor in the C1 discussion is Daulton Varsho. Sure, the playing time is there because he’s playing in the OF, except the production has been dreadful. The quality of contact isn’t there (5% barrel rate) and it’s leading to a .186/.288/.284 slash line. It’s never good to have an SLG% lower than your OBP.

Taylor Ward has fallen out of favor as the leadoff hitter. While the walk rate has stayed intact(12% BB%), his 35% HC% and lack of consistency are not helpful. The .208 batting average with no speed and middling power is an eyesore from your OF spot.
Andrés Giménez’s underlying metrics point to him being the same player as last year(17 HR/20 SB). But he’s swinging a little bit less in the zone and no power is showing up. He was likely ranked a tad bit high, and the drop is a correction.

TIER 7

This tier features a TON of exciting names. Although, none is more interesting than Bryce Harper. We’ve seen what he’s capable of and if you believe he’ll be fine from day one; heck, #64 overall is too low. Still, we need to see more. He could move either way in next week’s column.
Michael Harris II is back and roaming the Atlanta OF. He’s shown the ability to be a 20/20 player, so he’ll slide up the ranks a touch. But mainly because a few fell.

TIER 8

Salvador Perez is hitting the ball fine. But it’s not his usual quality of contact and he’s no longer a cut above the rest masses at the catcher position. It’s still early and he could finish the season as a top-five catcher, but right now he’s closer to the pack than we’d like.
Gunnar Henderson and Tommy Edman are not getting regular playing time atop the lineup. Both could quickly regain their ranks among their respective teams but neither is doing much at the dish lately.
Maybe I’m being a little harsh on Gleyber Torres. Don’t let the -11 fool you, he’s been a serviceable player that might have been unlucky the past two weeks.

TIER 9

Ok! Let’s talk about Nico Hoerner! I’m willing to admit he needed to get a bump, however, not to the extreme as some may suggest. He’s still only showcasing a 1.8% barrel rate and putting nearly 50% of his batted balls on the ground. Furthermore, while it’s impossible to discredit his disruptions on the basepaths, he 100% deserves a bump.
Tim Anderson is back and slotted into the leadoff role for his first game back. His stolen base aggression and plentiful batting average are enough to send him racing up the list. He could go higher, but we hit the pause button and kept him behind Nico and Jeremy Peña.
Sean Murphy and Jarred Kelenic continue to smash baseballs. They jump an extra tier and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Murphy surpass Perez in the near future. Kelenic is just held back by his lack of ABs vs. LHP.

TIER 10

Willson Contreras drops five spots. He’s been extremely frustrating for fantasy managers because we all expected a bit more. Although, I wouldn’t go moving him for pennies on the dollar. Behind his lackluster production is a 9.6% barrel rate and 35% HC%(91st percentile). Just wait, it’ll come.
After diving into Anthony Santander, it’s apparent that pitchers are throwing him inside more than before and he’s been unable to make adjustments. Furthermore, it’s caused his K% to jump nearly 10%. He’ll need to figure this out quickly or continue to fall.

TIER 11

Yandy Díaz and Rowdy Tellez are still crushing baseballs. They jump up and help push Ty France down. For France, he’s been in a horrendous slump, and outside of counting stats, not much of a help from your 1B-especially since there have been so many serviceable ones.
Seiya Suzuki continues to hit the ball hard(31% HC%) but not in the air(52% GB%).

TIER 12

Jorge Mateo is having an unreal start from what anyone expected. He gets the pause button while we wait and see if this is just a hot start or the production sticks around.
Cody Bellinger has cut his K% under 20% and is making very loud contact. As he keeps flexing his power/speed skill set, he’ll climb the ranks. The question is, can he get back to the MVP caliber we’ve seen in the past?
Tyler O’Neill takes a big hit. In the past, he’s been able to overcome the bloated K% because he made enough hard contact. However, even though he’s doing that again, getting everyday playing time hasn’t been there. At some point, it’ll start creeping into everyone’s head to cut him – especially in three OF leagues.

TIER 13

James Outman came back down to life…a smidge. He was knocked down a peg after a rough week but shouldn’t get dropped in your leagues. Additionally, it seems fitting that he sits next to his teammate (J.D. Martinez).

TIER 14

Jack Suwinski and Brent Rooker are fresh faces to know. Both have become 12-team relevant. Yes, I said 12-team relevant. Scoop them up if available.
Oof! It’s been a rough start for M.J. Meledenz. He’s hitting well below the Mendoza Line and not for much power. At some point, he might start losing some playing time entirely.

TIER 15

Jonah Heim has become a catcher you need to consider in all formats. The power is real and he’s even racking up the counting stats.
Josh Lowe doesn’t start every day, but when he does it’s been filled with production.
Esteury Ruiz showed he can steal bases in a hurry, as he swiped six in the last seven days.

And now, once again, it’s time for the Hitter List:

Rank	Hitter	Position	Change
1	José RamírezT1	3B	-
2	Ronald Acuña Jr.	OF	-
3	Trea Turner	SS	-
4	Kyle Tucker	OF	-
5	Mookie Betts	2B, OF	+1
6	Julio Rodríguez	OF	-1
7	Aaron Judge	OF	-
8	Shohei Ohtani T2	DH	+3
9	Freddie Freeman	1B	-1
10	Yordan Alvarez	OF	-1
11	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	1B	-1
12	Bo Bichette	SS	-
13	Pete Alonso	1B	-
14	Rafael Devers	3B	-
15	Mike Trout	OF	-
16	Fernando Tatis Jr.	SS, OF	+1
17	Austin Riley	3B	-1
18	Randy Arozarena	OF	-
19	Paul Goldschmidt T3	1B	-
20	Juan Soto	OF	-
21	Francisco Lindor	SS	-
22	Manny Machado	3B	+3
23	Bobby Witt Jr.	SS	-1
24	Marcus Semien	2B, SS	-1
25	Kyle Schwarber	OF	-1
26	Nolan Arenado	3B	-
27	Matt Olson	1B	-
28	Bryan Reynolds	OF	-
29	Adolis García	OF	-
30	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	2B, SS	-
31	Teoscar Hernández	OF	-
32	Cedric Mullins	OF	+1
33	Luis Robert Jr.	OF	-1
34	Ozzie Albies T4	2B	-
35	Corbin Carroll	OF	-
36	George Springer	OF	-
37	Will Smith	C	+3
38	Adley Rutschman	C	-1
39	J.T. Realmuto	C	-1
40	Eloy Jiménez T5	OF	+1
41	Wander Franco	3B, SS	+1
42	Xander Bogaerts	SS	+1
43	Daulton Varsho	C, OF	-4
44	Starling Marte	OF	-
45	Alex Bregman	3B	+1
46	Willy Adames	SS	+1
47	Matt Chapman T6	3B	+2
48	Dansby Swanson	SS	+2
49	Byron Buxton	OF	+2
50	Nathaniel Lowe	1B	+2
51	Vinnie Pasquantino	1B	+2
52	Taylor Ward	OF	-7
53	Steven Kwan	OF	+4
54	Kris Bryant	OF	+4
55	Andrés Giménez	2B	-7
56	Carlos Correa T7	SS	+3
57	Christian Yelich	OF	+3
58	Michael Harris II	OF	+6
59	Brandon Lowe	2B	+4
60	Hunter Renfroe	OF	+6
61	Alec Bohm	1B, 3B	+7
62	Ryan Mountcastle	1B	+7
63	Anthony Rizzo	1B	+7
64	Bryce Harper	DH	+63
65	Christian Walker T8	1B	-3
66	Gleyber Torres	2B, SS	-11
67	Salvador Perez	C	-13
68	Nick Castellanos	OF	+3
69	C.J. Cron	1B	+4
70	Gunnar Henderson	3B, SS	-9
71	Tommy Edman	2B, SS, OF	-15
72	José Abreu	1B	-
73	Masataka Yoshida T9	OF	+1
74	Max Muncy	2B, 3B	+1
75	Nico Hoerner	2B, SS	+9
76	Jeremy Peña	SS	-
77	Tim Anderson	SS	+28
78	Andrew Vaughn	1B, OF	-1
79	Jarred Kelenic	OF	+20
80	Sean Murphy	C	+14
81	Ian Happ	OF	+2
82	Jonathan India	2B	+4
83	Willson Contreras T10	C	-5
84	Anthony Santander	OF	-17
85	Eugenio Suárez	3B	-4
86	Amed Rosario	SS, OF	-1
87	Jorge Polanco	2B	-
88	Brandon Nimmo	OF	+1
89	Thairo Estrada T11	2B, SS, OF	-1
90	Yandy Díaz	1B, 3B	+7
91	Luis Arraez	1B, 2B, 3B, OF	+1
92	Rowdy Tellez	1B	+6
93	Seiya Suzuki	OF	-14
94	Riley Greene	OF	-4
95	Jose Miranda	1B, 3B	-2
96	Jake Cronenworth	1B, 2B, SS	-5
97	Ty France	1B, 3B	-15
98	Josh Jung	3B	-3
99	Jeff McNeil	2B, OF	-3
100	T12	SS	+3
101	Cody Bellinger	OF	+10
102	Alex Verdugo	OF	+6
103	Tyler Stephenson	C	-1
104	Alejandro Kirk	C	+2
105	Lars Nootbaar	OF	-5
106	Tyler O’Neill	OF	-26
107	Miguel Vargas	1B, 2B, OF	-
108	Ketel Marte	2B, OF	+2
109	Cal Raleigh T13	C	+4
110	Nolan Gorman	2B	+4
111	Bryson Stott	2B, SS	+7
112	James Outman	OF	-8
113	J.D. Martinez	DH	+2
114	Brandon Drury	1B, 2B, 3B	+5
115	William Contreras	C	+1
116	MJ Melendez T14	C, OF	-7
117	Brent Rooker	OF	+UR
118	Jack Suwinski	OF	+UR
119	Ramón Laureano	OF	+2
120	Josh Naylor	1B, OF	+2
121	Isaac Paredes	2B, 3B	+2
122	Josh Bell	1B	-2
123	Javier Báez	SS	+2
124	Triston Casas	1B	+2
125	Spencer Steer	3B	+3
126	Andrew Benintendi	OF	-9
127	Ke’Bryan Hayes T15	3B	+4
128	Anthony Rendon	3B	+5
129	Anthony Volpe	SS	+7
130	Mitch Haniger	OF	+11
131	Austin Hays	OF	+UR
132	Jonah Heim	C	+UR
133	Patrick Wisdom	1B, 3B, OF	+7
134	Joey Gallo	1B, OF	+15
135		3B	+UR
136	Josh Lowe	OF	+UR
137	Brandon Marsh	OF	+UR
138	Michael Conforto	OF	-8
139	Lourdes Gurriel Jr.	1B, OF	-7
140	Josh Rojas	2B, 3B, SS, OF	-1
141		3B	+7
142	Shea Langeliers	C	+2
143	Jorge Soler	OF	-1
144	Jake Burger	3B	+UR
145	Kiké Hernández	2B, SS, OF	+UR
146	Ji Hwan Bae	2B, OF	-3
147	Jeimer Candelario	3B	+UR
148	Ha-Seong Kim	2B, 3B, SS	-2
149	Esteury Ruiz	OF	+UR
150	Mauricio Dubón	2B, OF	+UR

And here’s the Taxi Squad, presented in no particular order:

Taxi Squad

Hitter	Position	Team	Comment
Akil Baddoo	OF	DET	Yes, Scott, he’s still here.
Nick Maton	3B/OF	DET	With Carpenter out, we’ll see more playing time and showing a little pop lately.
LaMonte Wade Jr.	1B/OF	SFG	Gets leadoff ABs, walks a ton, and flexes a little power(6 HR).
Zach Neto	SS	LAD	Now batting leadoff, ahead of Trout and Ohtani.
Edward Olivares	OF	KCR	Kansas City only values him as a 4th OF option, but power/speed showing up.
Jurickson Profar	OF	COL	The leadoff hitter in Coors Field is worth something.
Jordan Walker	3B/OF	STL	If he’s there, find a way to stash him. He’ll be back in the bigs eventually.
Nick Senzel	OF	CIN	Yes, I’m ready to get my heart broken again. Please, stay healthy because he can be so good.
Trent Grisham	OF	SDP	Still hanging around, even though it’s the bottom of SDP’s order.
Justin Turner	3B	BOS	Doesn’t wow you, but steady and in heart of the lineup.
Alec Burleson	STL	OF	Might be stuck in a platoon but HC% is intriguing.
Jon Berti	2B/3B/SS/OF	MIA	He’ll be worth streaming for steals on occasion but otherwise should be on the wire.
Alek Thomas	OF	ARZ	There’s still an upside here, and less crowded in the OF now.
Henry Ramos	OF	CIN	Been very productive in a short stint, with a good ballpark.
Manuel Margot	OF	TBR	Power and speed are present, but injuries are a regular occurrence.
Gio Urshela	SS/3B/1B	LAA	Buried in the lineup but getting ABs all over the diamond.
Luke Raley	OF	TBR	Puts up stats when in the starting lineup. The only issue is when, and how often, that will be.
Rodolfo Castro	2B/SS	PIT	Very serviceable option in your MI slot.
Brice Turang	2B/SS	MIL	Looks to be on the large side of a platoon right now, quieting down after a hot start.
DJ LeMahieu	1B/2B/3B	NYY	The elevated strikeouts are very strange and disturbing for a guy who has never really struck out much.
Jose Siri	OF	TBR	Hits for power and steals bases could be a huge upside play for roto.
Harrison Bader	OF	NYY	Back from a lengthy IL stint, and thrust into 5th spot in the lineup.
Ezequiel Duran	SS/OF	TEX	Texas has him playing all over the field and he’ll gain 3B/2B soon.
Connor Joe	1B/OF	PIT	Scoring a bunch of runs but won’t be playing in Coors.

9 responses to “Hitter List 5/3: Top 150 Hitters – Week 5 Fantasy Baseball 2023”

Mike Honcho says:

May 3, 2023 at 2:08 PM

J.Duran no mas?? Not even on the taxi squad. Ouch

Sweet Chin Music says:

May 3, 2023 at 2:25 PM

Great list Dave!

Papi says:

May 3, 2023 at 2:50 PM

No Harold Ramirez?

- Jim says:
  
  May 3, 2023 at 5:00 PM
  
  This is crazy. HR has some of the best metrics in the game right now.
  Playing time is the only concern.
  
David says:

May 3, 2023 at 3:19 PM

I had a strategy question that I really don’t have a good answer to, so I wanted to pick your brain!

If I was somehow able to pick up Sean Murphy as my second catcher in a h2h 10 teamer 1-catcher league (my drafted catcher is Will Smith), would you think it’s worth it to roster two catchers considering they’re both elite bats regardless of C eligibility?
Or is it still not worth rostering a second catcher even if it’s Sean Murphy?

My other end of bench bats are the likes of Volpe, Henderson, Vargas (Vargas is my only backup 1B and 2B).

Please let me know your thoughts! Thanks so much.

- CJ Adams says:
  
  May 8, 2023 at 10:10 AM
  
  David,
  
  I’m not a pro by any means, but I win my league with a pretty high degree of regularity so you can take this for what it’s worth.
  
  Please God do not give up Sean Murphy unless you are getting good value for him. He is obviously performing above expectation right now, but he’s also playing for a real MLB team for the 1st time in his career.
  
  This is what his statcast page looks like https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/sean-murphy-669221?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb
  
  I know statcast isn’t the answer to everything, but it certainly gives context to what he is doing. I would very happily slide him into a utility slot and leave him there. He’s hitting in the middle of one of the best lineups in baseball so the counting stats are going to be there. His avg is up, but his BABIP is running just a tick over last year.
  It’s his year 28 season ( theoretical peak). He is walking more than he ever has. His strikeouts are up a negligible amount from last year.
  
  If you got him cheap you may well have gotten an incredible deal the kind of value that wins your league for you. If you don’t want to fill a utility slot with him then trade him for great value. There are not many catchers that are both great hitters and play for one of the best offensive teams in baseball.
  
  Good Luck!
  
Mark says:

May 4, 2023 at 12:35 AM

Jonathan India has been putting in work. He needs to move up higher. The fact that Tommy Edman is above him is laughable.

Chris says:

May 5, 2023 at 10:14 AM

Cutch is playing like 2010 Cutch basically. Low BA, but his BABIP is pretty low too. He’s still slashing .238/.339/.465 with 6 HR, 4 SB, 16 runs scored and 15 RBI.

Not sure what the Conforto/Solers of the world have done to show more value than this guy. He’s batting 3rd on the 1st place team in the NL Central and are 20-12 even after getting swept by TB.

Him coming back to Pittsburgh and raking is such a great story. Get him up there!

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Hitter List 5/3: Top 150 Hitters – Week 5 Fantasy Baseball 2023

Dave Swan

9 responses to “Hitter List 5/3: Top 150 Hitters – Week 5 Fantasy Baseball 2023”

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