Mookie Betts (+3)
Slight bump, because Mookie is the second best hitter in baseball in my estimation. Zone contact rate is now up to 98.8%, whiff rate down to 9.6%, chase rate down to 17.8%, making his plate discipline so far this year arguably the best of his career. Line drive rate is an absurd 43.1%. Given his approach and how he’s hit the ball thus far, a .291 BABIP is quite unlucky. If his luck swings around, look out.
Juan Soto (+1)
Slight bump, because pitchers just can’t do anything against him right now. 5 HR in 8 games, 1.486 OPS, and pitchers are afraid to throw him fastballs.
Gleyber Torres (-1)
Yankees have slid him back to 5th in the batting order as he tries to work some stuff out. He might not be seeing the ball real well yet, as his first-pitch swinging percentage is 10 points below his career average. He’s also swinging less at pitches in the zone.
Austin Meadows (-4)
Missed some games early on due to COVID-19 and has been cold since getting back into the fold. The Rays have also given him two days off since he’s come back on August 4. Small downward adjustment for now.
Giancarlo Stanton (-47)
Pulled a hammy, out until early September best case scenario. Don’t be surprised if you don’t see him play again until the playoffs. World’s weakest strong dude.
Ozzie Albies (-10)
Keeps sliding down the ranks. He has not looked very good so far this year, and now he’s on the IL with a wrist injury.
Charlie Blackmon (+12)
He’s making a run at .400. Rolling xwOBA up .51 points over his last 50 PAs. Would need to steal some bases to move up further than this on the rankings. But based on his sprint speed (37th percentile) and OF jumps (7th percentile) so far this season, I’m not sure that we are going to see that happen.
Bo Bichette (+13)
His xwOBA is +217 over his last 50 PAs. He’s now the 33rd overall producer in our standard 5x5 roto grades so far in 2020. Feeling good about the Philthy Projections .295/.350/.512 pre-season line. Probably a Top-10 hitter for dynasty leagues.
Josh Donaldson (-32)
Bad news update regarding his calf injury this week. He hasn’t advanced to sprinting yet and it’s been two weeks since he got hurt. Like Stanton, don’t be surprised if you don’t see Donaldson again until the playoffs.
Starling Marte (+6)
xwOBA is +145 over last 50 PAs, with 5 multi-hit games in his last 8. Power/speed profile, and he gets on base and hits for average because he doesn’t strike out frequently. He’s 31, but his sprint speed is still 90th percentile so he hasn’t slowed down yet. Batting 3rd in the order everyday as well.
Gary Sanchez (-7)
Downward correction for a guy who has started the year in a giant slump. He still pounds the ball when he makes contact, but a 46.3% K-rate backed by a 3rd percentile whiff rate makes him un-rosterable right now.
Corey Seager (+8)
Still rolling, with a xwOBA +208 over his last 50 PAs. 100th percentile xBA, xSLG, and xwOBA!
Max Muncy (-1)
He’s scuffling so far in 2020, with -222 xwOBA, but he’s also getting crushed by a ridiculous .184 BABIP so far this season. Roberts has slid him down the order into the 5th and 6th slots recently, which will ding his counting stats a bit. But just a slight adjustment, don’t freak out yet.
Wil Myers (+12)
Don’t look now, but Myers is a Top-20 player using our roto grading system. xwOBA is +169 over his last 50 PAs. Finding the barrel at a 19% clip. Crushing fastballs. He can run a little bit too.
Dylan Moore (NEW)
Where in the hell did this come from? He’s +156 points in xwOBA over the last 50 PAs. Has been electric for roto with 4 HR and 4 SB on the season while being SS/OF eligible in most leagues. Finding the barrel at a 20% clip means his Statcast page is a sea of red.
David Fletcher (NEW)
Fletch lives. Honestly, I should have had him on this list sooner. He’s a Top-10 player this season according to our YTD roto grades. He’s batted leadoff every game this season for the Angels, with multi-position eligibility and 5-category contribution. 80-grade contact ability will keep his value up.
Gio Urshela (NEW)
One of baseball’s hottest hitters to start 2020. Urshela got a spin in the cleanup spot this week as well. Slugging .773 with 3 home runs in Yankee stadium so far this season, and the Yankees have only played 6 of their 17 games at home so far this year.
Mitch Garver (OUT)
xwOBA -197 points over the last 50 PAs. 2nd percentile xBA, 3rd percentile xSLG, 6th percentile xwOBA. While a .250 BABIP is unfortunate, it doesn’t explain everything going on here. You probably want a new catcher in shallow redraft leagues.
Adam Eaton (OUT)
xwOBA -169 points for a dude that’s in your fantasy lineup because he’s a steady presence means his value has tanked. He needs to get on base and accumulate for you to keep him as an everyday bat. But he’s not getting on base because he’s running a K% nearly 10 points above his career average so far this season. Can’t hit a fastball to save his life right now.
Willie Calhoun (OUT)
He’s not getting it done. Cut bait. Has looked particularly bad against lefties.