MLB Players Power Rankings: Top 10 Hitters in Week-6

Week-6 of the MLB players power rankings features a good mix of veterans and young talent, but who takes the mantle of hitter of the week?

Before we jump into the top 10 hitters in the MLB Player Power Rankings for week-6, let’s take a moment to acknowledge one of the greatest hitters of all time, Albert Pujols. This past week, Pujols reached a milestone that only two other hitters in the history of baseball have ever accomplished, 2000 RBIs.

In this reaching this accomplishment, Pujols also becomes only the third player in the history of MLB to have 3000 or more hits, 600 or more HR, and 2000 or more RBI. The other two? Alex Rodriguez and Hank Aaron.

With two more seasons left on his deal, the 3-time NL MVP award winner will continue to climb the RBI and HR ladder, cementing his legacy as perhaps the best hitter in several generations.

Kudos to “The Machine” on an incredible career.

Now, let’s move on to the top 10 hitters in week-6. For those of you who don’t know how this works, it’s really quite simple.

Here’s how we make our determinations:

1. we base our weekly rankings on a Monday through Sunday schedule. Therefore, these rankings are for the week beginning on May 6h through May 12th.
2. Then, using advanced stats (SLG, wOBA, wRC+) that best represent a players performance, we created a rubric.
3. As a tiebreaker, we used fWAR to determine which player is ahead of who.
4. If the tiebreaker is a tie, then we delve deeper into the weekly stats.

With that in mind, here are the 10th to 6th hitters ranked in this week’s MLB Players Power Rankings.

MLB Players Power Rankings (5): Josh Bell, Pittsburgh Pirates

Week-6 Stats: 0.870 SLG | 0.569 wOBA | 265 wRC+ | 0.5 fWAR

When Josh Bell emerged on to the scene for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016, the future looked bright for the black & yellow. In 2017, he’d present as a versatile power hitter by slapping 26 HR and 90 RBI. That season, he’d place 3rd in the NL Rookie of the Year voting behind Cody Bellinger and Paul DeJong.

In 2018, however, Bell had himself somewhat of a down year. His power production in terms of HRs dropped by more than 50%, thereby dropping his RBI total by close to 30.

2018 wasn’t all lost, however, because, in other areas, Bell showed some improvement. Bell managed to improve his ability to slap doubles – 31 in 2018 vs. 26 in 2017 – and get on base more efficiently – .357 in 2018 vs. .334 in 2017.

So far in 2019, Bell has managed to combine the best of 2017 with the best of 2019 to become one of the better hitters in a stacked NL. This season, Bell already has 10 HR, 13 2B, 34 RBI, and is getting on-base at a .389 clip, a career high.

So, what’s changed, Bell’s average exit velocity (95.1 mph) ranks in the top 1% of the league. This has increased all of his expected stats and seems to be paying off altogether.

MLB Players Power Rankings (4): Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies

Week-6 Stats: 1.050 SLG | 0.612 wOBA | 277 wRC+ | 0.6 fWAR

Charlie Blackmon had a slow start to the 2019 MLB season, however, in week-6 he has finally arrived. This season, the 3-time All-Star is back to leading the league in triples (4) and slugging with the best of them (.573 SLG).

Over the last several seasons, Blackmon has established himself as one of the better hitters in MLB. In 2018, however, he had somewhat of a down season…. by Blackmon’s standards.

Despite leading the league in Rs in 2018, he saw a drop off in most all of his other stats (HR, AVG, SLG, OBP, OPS, etc.). So, now in 2019, Blackmon looks to get back on track, and week-6 should go a long way to helping him do that.

In fact, just this past weekend, Blackmon cemented himself in the top 5 hitters of week-6 when he hit two home runs that combined for more than 900 ft.

While the distance of one’s HR doesn’t a good hitter make, when delving deeper into Blackmon’s stats this past week you’ll notice that his patience at the plate is up and his power production is way up. In fact, for week-6 Blackmon ranks 2nd in MLB in BB% (20) and has 2nd in HR (4).

That’s a recipe for a monster remainder of 2019 for Blackmon.

MLB Players Power Rankings (3): Hunter Pence, Texas Rangers

Week-6 Stats: 1.158 SLG | 0.625 wOBA | 299 wRC+ | 0.6 fWAR

At one point in his career, Pence was the face of the San Francisco Giants franchise. Having led the Giants to two World Series titles in 2012 and 2014, Pence established himself as a unique talent in the game.

Over the last couple of seasons, however, Pence has undergone something of a decline. Injuries paired with a diminished Giants team led to Pence hitting just .265, .320 OBP, and .410 since 2015. In that span, he also only managed to eclipse the 100-game mark just 2x, one of those times just barely.

So, entering 2019 it looked as though Pence wouldn’t have a place in MLB. However, his hometown team, the Texas Rangers gave him a minor league deal in hopes that perhaps they could find a spark. To everyone’s surprise, so far, they were right.

This season, Pence is slashing .316/.389/.658 and a career-high 1.047. What’s more, as the season continues, Pence seems to only be getting better.

In fact, in week-6 Pence slashed .368/.455/1.158, seemingly sending the message to MLB that he is indeed back. If nothing else, Pence is making a really strong case for MLB Comeback Player of the Year. At least for now, he does.

MLB Players Power Rankings (2): Justin Turner, Los Angeles Dodgers

Week-6 Stats: 1.083 SLG | 0.621 wOBA | 302 wRC+ | 0.7 fWAR

After missing significant time in 2018, Justin Turner is looking to re-establish himself as one of baseball’s top hitters in 2019. In week-6, he’s gone a long way into doing just that.

Despite starting the season off slow, Turner turned the dial way up last week by upping his home run total from a grand total of ONE to SIX. His power production wasn’t the only thing he improved upon either.

Turner was so hot last week, that his BB% was a big fat 0%. He figured he’d let the bat do the talking, and it sure did. While slashing .417/.462/1.083 Turner managed to lead the NL in HRs with 5, RBI with 10, SLG, wOBA, and wRC+.

With just one season left on his contract with the Dodgers and approaching age 35, Turner is going to have to continue to exhibit this type of production if he wasn’t to continue playing in the big leagues. As one of the stewards of the current launch angle revolution, Turner still has a lot to offer to the game.

Let’s hope he can continue to produce at this level.

MLB Players Power Rankings (1): George Springer, Houston Astros

Week-6 Stats: 1.148 SLG | 0.668 wOBA | 339 wRC+ | 1 fWAR

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In the past, George Springer has exhibited an ability to hit for power. However, this season he’s presenting as one of the premier power hitters in baseball, leaving some wondering he should be moved from the leader spot into a position that allows him to drive in more runs.

So far in 41 games in 2019, Springer has managed to lead the AL with 15 HR and 37 RBI. By comparison, in 140 games last season, Springer only hit 22 and 71 RBI. If Springer were to play in 140 games this season, at this pace he’ll finish the year with 50+ HRs and 125+ RBI.

Not only has Springer managed to significantly increase his power production, but his contact hitting ability has also increased. In fact, Springer also leads the league in hits with 51. This has also enabled Springer to lead the league in runs scored (35) as well.

Now, while Springer has been consistent all season, in week-6 he took his game to a whole new level by leading all of MLB in SLG, wOBA, and wRC+. Not only that, but he also led MLB with a .519 AVG and .455 SLG in week-6, catapulting himself into the highest ranks of MLB hitters.

En route to an MVP caliber season, Springer will surely hit some potholes along the way. Week-6 and this firey start to the season, however, will go a long way into helping Springer when the time comes to decide.