17. "When I started with the Twins in 2013, I started following him. Now, everybody is expecting you to get hits. 2023 Fantasy Baseball: Hitter Rankings, Consensus Preseason Rankings If you can't hit at a high level, it's difficult to be a star. 1)Its not exactly a shocking choice, picking our No. He has 126 hits, 35 multiple-hit games, 12 three-hit games, five four-hit games and three five-hit games, one shy of the major-league record. The side-by-side comparison of batted-ball metrics between Aaron Judge and Yordan lvarez is a lot closer than you might expect given the wide gap in their respective home run totals. So as Luis Robert Jr., Alonso, Mookie Betts, Adolis Garcia, Randy Arozarena, Mookie Betts, Julio Rodriguez and Adley Rutschman all step up to the plate on Monday night for the 2023 MLB Home Run Derby, lets take a look at who each player is having pitch to them and who those pitchers are. 31)Lee was thought of as the best pure college hitter in the 2022 Draft class for a reason. He's a career .321 hitter in the Minors who has shown more power and improved his defense since joining the Astros as part of a deal for Myles Straw in July 2021. One of the prize prospects the Nats got back in the Juan Soto trade, Abrams is projected to be the top player on a rebuilding team in 2023, with the 22-year-old in line for 11 homers and 17 steals plus strong defense at shortstop, per Steamer. 1 player in 2023, even ahead of Ketel Marte and Zac Gallen, with Steamer predicting 20 homers and 19 steals for the 22-year-old. That served as a cutoff point to help eliminate small-sample-size data skew, and notably excluded Michael Brantley (HOU) and Vinnie Pasquantino (KC), who would have otherwise cracked the top five. Paul Waner Pittsburgh Pirates (1926-40), Brooklyn Dodgers (1941), Boston Braves (1941-42), Brooklyn Dodgers (1943-44), New York Yankees (1944-45) baseballhall.org Batting Average: .333 Hits: 3,152 While that is a big stage for such a pairing, the Orioles catcher who plans to bat left-handed for the contest as he had to decide with his switch-hitting approach has spoken highly of how his father delivers a routine short-arm delivery, describing it as Catcher-esque. He knows the strike zone. Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Arizona Diamondbacks (132.1 points), Metrics: 16.8 K%, 80.1 Contact%, 45.3 HardHit%, 7.1 Hit/Swing%. The only other players projected for 30 and 20 are Julio Rodrguez and Ronald Acua Jr. Steamer expects last year's No. His 54.9 percent hard-hit rate ranked fourth among all hitters who qualified for inclusion, behind only Aaron Judge (60.9%), Yordan lvarez (59.8%) and J.D. Frelick climbed three levels from High-A to Triple-A, increasing his average and cutting his strikeout rate at every stop to the point where he batted .365 while punching out only 7.4 percent of the time over 46 games with Nashville. Martinez Brantley hits about .300. Red Sox: Marcelo Mayer, SS (MLB No. But pitching plays a role too. Metrics: 95.2 EV, 59.8 HardHit%, .672 xSLG, 37 HR. If anyone is going to knock Judge out of the No. 2023 Tampa Bay Rays Stats - MLB Team Leaders - CBSSports.com Tampa Bay Rays - Stats 58-35 Overall AL 1st East Tampa Bay Rays Team Home Schedule Stats Roster Depth Chart Transactions. 41)Carter has gone from shocking second-round pick out of tiny Elizabeth (Tenn.) HS in 2020 to potential five-tool center fielder now recognized as one of baseball's top prospects. Steamer has Ramrez and Arenado as the top of the class when it comes to MLB third basemen. He has just 22 extra-base hits. Andrew Vaughn hit .374/.539/.704 during his junior season at the University of California, and MLB.com gave him a 65-hit, 60-power offensive profile before he was chosen No. For now, he's still in his prime and eyeing a long-awaited return to the postseason. MLB Power Rankings 2023: Are Astros, Yankees or Mets on top? - ESPN 20. Frelicks plate discipline and short left-handed swing help him work counts and protect the plate, and his plus-plus speed can help him pick up additional knocks on grounders. My methodology and scoring system are outlined on the following slide. ", WHAT'S NEXT?Shohei Ohtani, MLB's most coveted player, focused on season, not free agency. He's a switch-hitter with a nice stroke and advanced approach from both sides of the plate, though his ability to make contact stands out more than his pedestrian exit velocities. He had a career 5 percent strikeout rate at Kansas State, led NCAA Division I in at-bats per whiff (18.6) in 2019 before Cleveland made him an eighth-round pick, and topped the Minors with 166 hits and ranked second with 40 doubles last year before debuting with the Guardians in September. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner is projected for another workhorse season, with an MLB-high 211 innings, 200 strikeouts and a 3.56 ERA. McClure's top MLB DFS picks for Sunday -- with 29 home runs and 99 RBIs to go along with his usual Gold Glove defense. Metrics: 17.3 K%, 80.8 Contact%, 48.4 HardHit%, 6.6 Hit/Swing%. Arraezs hitting prowess has opposing managers and pitchers almost to the point of surrendering. Metrics: 10.8 K%, 87.1 Contact%, 48.6 HardHit%, 6.5 Hit/Swing%. Can J-Rod get even better after taking the baseball world by storm in 2022? He moves every muscle every time he moves. 12. Domingo Germn . With a burly 6'4", 255-pound frame, Tellez looks the part of a middle-of-the-order slugger, and in his first season playing more than 120 games he set career-highs in a number of offensive categories. Injuries limited him to 79 games, but he still hit .300 for the fourth consecutive season, and he's not far removed from winning the AL batting title in 2019. Bichette salvaged a disappointing first half by hitting .337/.378/.543 in 67 games after the All-Star break, including a .406 average in 142 plate appearances over the final month of the season. MLB Rank 2023: Rating baseball's top 100 players - ESPN As: Jordan Diaz, 1B/3BSigned back in 2016, it took a while for Diaz to find his footing, but once he did, he did nothing but rake. 17. A career .306 hitter in the Minors, Mead uses a simple upright stance to see the ball well out of the hand and reacts well to pitches around the zone. Hoerner hit .302 during the 2021 season, but a variety of injuries limited him to 44 games. However, rather than simply looking at batting average, I decided to take a more analytical approach to compile my list. B/R's 2023 MLB Skill Rankings: Aaron Judge and Baseball's Top 25 Power 62 on the Baseball America Top 100 list in 2016. Despite being used more or less as a platoon player, Pederson led the Giants with 23 home runs in 433 plate appearances. Traded to the Cubs for Javier Bez and Trevor Williams in 2021, he batted .312/.376/.520 with 46 extra-base hits and 32 steals in 101 games between Single-A and High-A in his first extended stint in pro ball last season. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. After dealing with some ankle and Achilles issues in 2022, an offseason of rest and recovery and a clean bill of health on Opening Day could be all he needs to return to elite offensive form for the upcoming season. Trea Turner- 92 overall Contact L: 99 Contact R: 88 Power L: 86 Power R: 52 9. Julio Rodrguez, Seattle Mariners (216.7 points), Metrics: 92.0 EV, 50.7 HardHit%, .460 xSLG, 28 HR. Here's the top projected player for all 30 teams in 2023 by Wins Above Replacement. The infielder, who turns 23 on March 3, has shown a steady rate of contact throughout his time in the Royals system, and while there isnt a ton of pop behind it, his plus speed could also help him hit in the .280-.290 region in the bigs. 2023 Tampa Bay Rays Stats - MLB Team Leaders - CBSSports.com 4 overall pick. He strikes out a lot, his batting average is close to .200, and his on base percentage doesn't justify the leadoff hitter designation in the lineup. 10 Best Leadoff Hitters in 2023 1. Metrics: 92.9 EV, 50.2 HardHit%, .509 xSLG, 28 HR. 1 seed in the MCWS, followed closely behind LSU. 2023 ABG-SI LLC. Batys ability to sting the ball from the left side -- he maxed out with a 113 mph exit velocity during his brief stay in the Majors -- will continue to be what drives his chances of picking up hits at the top level. Despite a career-high 16.3 percent strikeout rate in 2022, Mookie Betts remained one of baseball's elite contact hitters, and as usual, that was one of many tools in his overflowing toolbox. The 24-year-old hit .271 with strong batted-ball metrics last year, and now that he can focus solely on his offensive game, he could take another significant step forward next year. He also quietly trimmed his strikeout rate from 29.6 to 24.2 percent, and those adjustments should serve him well going forward. Christian Walker, Arizona Diamondbacks (218.4 points), Metrics: 90.0 EV, 44.0 HardHit%, .484 xSLG, 36 HR. The 23-year-old didn't quite match those numbers this year, but he still hit .274 with only 116 strikeouts in 706 plate appearances as a raw power hitter who also has an elite hit tool and a high contact rate. Yuli Gurriel, Free Agent (125.2 points), Metrics: 12.5 K%, 87.3 Contact%, 35.4 HardHit%, 6.2 Hit/Swing%. Young Toronto Blue Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. claimed the No. Realmuto as the Phillies' top player for 2023 with Bryce Harper recovering from Tommy John surgery. Pirates: Paul Skenes, RHP, Louisiana State (No. Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images, David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images, Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content, Chris Bernacchi/Diamond Images via Getty Images, Gerry Angus/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, 1 point for every 0.1 percent below the 25 percent benchmark in K%, 1 point for every 0.1 percent above the 70 percent benchmark in Contact%, 1point for every 0.1 percent above the 40 percent benchmark in Hard%. Manny Machado, San Diego Padres (217.2 points), Metrics: 91.5 EV, 49.0 HardHit%, .447 xSLG, 32 HR. 20. Daz was thrilled merely to be headed to the All-Star Game. With catchers being lauded for their batting practice tosses, Arozarena approached Rays major league field coordinator (ironic given the ire directed toward The Trop) Tomas Francisco to pitch to him at the Home Run Derby. (5:09) Jeff Passan and Buster Olney discuss the top 10 players in our 2023 MLB Rank. Hitting .400 is hard. Shohei Ohtani was No. Max Clark is the Detroit Tigers . "When he told me that, I told him hes my favorite hitter, too," Arraez said. Like fellow Eastlake HS (Chula Vista, Calif.) product Adrian Gonzalez, he has a sweet left-handed stroke and advanced skills at the plate. George Brett had the highest batting average (.390) in a full season in 1980, and carried a .400 batting average 134 games into the season, the deepest into a season since Williams. He just happens to be baseballs greatest pure hitter at this 93rd All-Star Game, threatening to go where no man has gone since 1941. He's projected to lead the Majors in on-base percentage (.431) and walks (137) by a huge margin, and the 24-year-old lefty slugger is also projected for 33 homers, 95 RBIs and a Major League-high 113 runs scored. Still only 26 years old for the entirety of the 2023 season, he figures to be the next young star to cash in with a nine-figure payday when he hits free agency next winter. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images). Juan Soto, San Diego Padres (215.4 points), Metrics: 91.0 EV, 47.3 HardHit%, .501 xSLG, 27 HR. Matt Chapman, Toronto Blue Jays (213.9 points), Metrics: 92.2 EV, 50.7 HardHit%, .440 xSLG, 27 HR. Robert showed why he was the top-ranked seed in this tournament. The 29-year-old paced the NL with a career-high 46 home runs, recording double-digit long balls in June (12), July (10) and September (10) while hitting primarily out of the leadoff spot in the batting order. 12 Best Designated Hitters in MLB Right Now Top Lists Boby Rai March 25, 2022 This article was last updated by Krisha Shrestha on May 3, 2023 The designated hitters may not play a position in the field, but they sure can bat when they replace the pitcher in the batting order. Corey Seager, Texas Rangers (220.6 points), Metrics: 91.1 EV, 45.5 HardHit%, .510 xSLG, 33 HR. Find sortable fantasy baseball statistics here. He has really quick hands at the plate and makes a ton of contact, with more extra-base thump to come. It's going to be much harder for teams to pitch around him when he's sharing a lineup with Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and eventually Fernando Tats Jr. 21. Yes, the MLB Home Run Derby is very much about the best power hitters in baseball trying to launch bombs all night long, which they will again try to do on Monday night in Seattle as T-Mobile Park hosts the 2023 Home Run Derby. Mookie Betts- 97 overall Contact R: 75 Contact L: 81 Power R:. I mean, youve got to go 2-for-4 every day just to raise your batting average. (5:09) The 2023 MLB Draft is in the books, with a bevy of new prospects poised not only to bolster farm systems for 30 major-league teams, but reshuffle prospect rankings. The Mets brought back Nimmo on a $162 million contract, and Steamer thinks the 29-year-old center fielder will have the best season of anyone on the team -- even better than Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Austin Nola, San Diego Padres (120.3 points), Metrics: 15.1 K%, 86.8 Contact%, 39.4 HardHit%, 5.7 Hit/Swing%. 2 and No. 22. After some digging and debating, I landed on these four: The question was how to use those statistics to best demonstrate the difference between Player A and Player B in terms of contact ability. The 28-year-old has averaged 45 home runs per 162 games during his four seasons in the big leagues, and he should continue to pile up RBI hitting in the middle of a stacked New York Mets lineup. Still, when he was healthy, there were still glimpses of the 80-grade hit tool he showed as a prospect. His talent was impressive even when he was in high school. With a 130 wRC+ over 115 plate appearances for Arizona last year, Carroll is already comfortably an above-average hitter in the bigs with enough ceiling to be even better. Marlins: Jacob Berry, 3B (MLB No. He hears it from opposing second basemen and shortstops when he gets doubles. Standing at just 5-foot-10, the left-handed slugger might not be the biggest presence in the box, but he generates great torque and bat speed to send balls flying in all directions. He could become the first player in history to win consecutive batting titles in different leagues after leading the American League with a .316 batting average last season with the Minnesota Twins. In his first season with the Blue Jays, Chapman ranked among the MLB leaders in average exit velocity (93rd percentile) and hard-hit rate (97th percentile), and he managed to overcome a slow start to post a 115 OPS+ in 155 games. Ranking the 2023 MLB All-Stars - MLB.com He batted .280/.399/.489 with 45 extra-base hits and 17 steals in 91 games between Single-A and High-A during his first full pro season. After a few down seasons from a batting average standpoint, he hit .293/.358/.533 in 2022. 2023 MLB Draft Grades: Best and Worst Picks from Sunday Results Wake Forest, this year's No. 21. It took him some time to develop into an MLB contributor, but he quietly put together a solid 2022 season in Boston, hitting .286 in a career-high 300 plate appearances while serving in a utility role. MLB All-Star Game 2023 rosters: Full list of players, starting lineups 19. Rodriguez put on an absolute show in Los Angeles last year with his personal friend, Franmy Pea, on the bump throwing to him. 23. Burnes is tied for the most projected wins of any NL pitcher (13), he has the lowest projected ERA of any qualified starter in the NL (3.15), and he has the most projected strikeouts in the NL (239). Metrics: 16.3 K%, 84.9 Contact%, 44.7 HardHit%, 6.3 Hit/Swing%. Metrics: 9.6 K%, 88.1 Contact%, 35.4 HardHit%, 7.2 Hit/Swing%. 69)Its clear that Lous kid likes to be challenged. His 16.8 percent strikeout rate in 2022 was a career low and marked the fourth straight season in which he has reduced that number. So as we kick off our series of identifying the prospects with the best individual tools in each organization, we're starting with the bats. The lefty slugger has an uppercut swing built for launching home runs, and he should be a perennial 30-homer threat throughout his eight-year, $168 million contract. Put simply, pitching matters. Twenty-two of the 30 players below made our Top 100 Prospects list, with Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick and Pirates second baseman Termarr Johnson the only ones to earn 70 grades on the 20-80 scouting scale. Christian Arroyo, Boston Red Sox (136.3 points), Metrics: 16.3 K%, 81.9 Contact%, 42.1 HardHit%, 7.7 Hit/Swing%. Really, its like that wherever Arraez goes. Vlad Jr. is projected for 39 home runs in 2023, tied for second-most of any hitter behind Aaron Judge, to go with a .292 batting average, fourth-best of any hitter, and a Major League-best 111 RBIs. 2 in our power hitters skill rankings, there is a strong case to be made that Yordan lvarez is the most complete hitter in baseball right now. 2)Imagine if a spring-loaded action figure took at-bats in a baseball game, and thats what it looks like to watch Carroll at the plate. He's projected for 35 home runs, 16 stolen bases and 96 RBIs as a hitter and 12 wins, a 3.16 ERA and 217 strikeouts as a pitcher. He's fun to watch, and he's fun to watch hit. Alvarez owns an incredible .974 career OPS since reaching the Major Leagues in 2019. Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals (137.2 points), Metrics: 11.6 K%, 82.3 Contact%, 38.9 HardHit%, 7.0 Hit/Swing%. Twins: Brooks Lee, SS (No. Mike Friedland will take the mound for the first time with Alonso, the New York stars former travel ball and Tampa Heat coach. Alvarez is projected for 36 home runs and 105 RBIs, with a 162 wRC+ that would make him a top-five hitter in the Majors and the second-best in the AL behind Judge. 16. So it only makes sense that he runs it back with that combination this year in Seattle. Anyone whos watched Garcia knows that the star outfielder generates monstrous power. Those who might be concerned about his impact should know hes put on about 15 pounds of muscle this offseason. 31. Pirates: Termarr Johnson, 2B (No. NL beats AL in 2023 MLB All-Star Game - MLB.com 37)Lazaro Vargas was the DH on Cuba's 1992 and 1996 Olympic champions, and his son's hitting ability has been evident since he drove in the gold-medal winning run off Team USA's Hunter Greene at the 2014 15-and-under World Cup. 12. Luis Arrez's pursuit of .400 the envy of every hitter in baseball Matt Johnson Who is the best team in MLB? Every MLB Team's Leadoff Hitter, Officially Ranked - TheSportster He recognizes pitches and controls the strike zone better than most 20-year-olds, and his clean left-handed swing has produced a .282/.406/.467 batting line in two pro seasons. 2023 MLB Baseball Regular Season Best Performances - ESPN Signed for $2.6 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2018, he's a career .271/.363/.491 hitter in pro ball despite being consistently two or three years younger than the average player in his leagues. 18.