MLB Players Power Rankings: Top 10 Hitters in Week-16
Who was the best hitter during Week-16 of the baseball season? Find out in this latest edition of MLB Players Power Rankings.
In this week’s “MLB Players Power Rankings,” we get the most diverse list of the season. From rookies to seasoned veterans, former MVP’s, and no-names, week-16 is full of surprises.
Before we jump into this week’s top 10 hitters, let’s understand how we make our determinations.
- We base our weekly rankings on a Monday through Sunday schedule. Therefore, these rankings are for the week beginning on July 15th through June 21st.
- Then, using advanced stats (SLG, wOBA, wRC+, and fWAR) that best represent a players performance, we created a rubric.
- As a tiebreaker, we delve deeper into the weekly stats.
With that being said, here are your 10-6 hitters in this week’s MLB Players Power Rankings.
T10. Enrique Hernandez, Los Angeles Dodgers
Week-16 stats: 0.818 SLG | 0.550 wOBA | 250 wRC+ | 0.6 fWAR
T10. Mike Yastrzemski, San Francisco Giants
Week-16 stats: 0.882 SLG | 0.509 wOBA | 222 wRC+ | 0.7 fWAR
9. Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks
Week-16 stats: 0.826 SLG | 0.553 wOBA | 247 wRC+ | 0.6 fWAR
8. Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
Week-16 stats: 0.913 SLG | 0.569 wOBA | 257 wRC+ | 0.7 fWAR
7. Alex Dickerson, San Francisco Giants
Week-16 stats: 0.913 SLG | 0.598 wOBA | 280 wRC+ | 0.6 fWAR
6. Teoscar Hernandez, Toronto Blue Jays
Week-16 stats: 1.000 SLG | 0.569 wOBA | 268 wRC+ | 0.6 fWAR
MLB Players Power Rankings (5): Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs
Week-16 Stats: 0.900 SLG | 0.618 wOBA | 291 wRC+ | 0.6 fWAR
In his ninth big league season, Anthony Rizzo continues to be the foundation of the Chicago Cubs organization. This season, he’s posting the best numbers of his career, slashing .293 / .400 / .537. So far, he’s on pace to set a career-high in home runs and hopes to lead the Cubs to their fifth consecutive postseason appearance, the most in the history of the franchise.
Currently, the Cubs are in possession of first place in the NL Central, but just barely. The Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals are both within 2.5 games of the division
The Cubs have struggled to maintain possession of the division lead, having spent time at the bottom of the division in the earlier part of the season. Their biggest competition has been the Brewers thus far.
It’s going to take players like Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Javier Baez to continue playing at the high level they are to keep the Cubbies atop in the standings.
Last week, Rizzo slashed a tremendous .550 / .625 / .900 leading the Cubs to win four out of six games against the Cincinnati Reds and Padres.
MLB Players Power Rankings (4): Keston Hiura, Milwaukee Brewers
Week-16 Stats: 0.966 SLG | 0.607 wOBA | 282 wRC+ | 0.8 fWAR
Milwaukee Brewers rookie Keston Hiura is known for his natural ability to hit for contact. Prior to being called up, he played in 57 games in AAA this season. There, he slashed .329 / .407 / .681 and hit an astounding 19 home runs.
In the Majors, Hiura hasn’t really slowed down much. In fact, currently this season Hiura is slashing .331 / .387 / .613 and has 9 home runs in 37 games.
Prior to this season, Hiura wasn’t really regarded for his ability to hit for power. Actually, in 2017 and 2018 combined, in the minors, Hiura only managed to hit 17 home runs.
This level of production could not have come at a better time for the Brew Crew. Having had a desperate need for a second baseman, Hiura fits right into the mix. What’s more, his ability to hit paired with the rise of Christian Yelich makes the Brewers a serious offensive threat in MLB.
This season, Hiura is making a serious case for NL Rookie of the Year. While he’s not hitting for power like Pete Alonso, Hiura does have a better AVG, OBP, SLG, wOBA, and wRC+ than Alonso. The only thing keeping him from the conversation is that Alonso has played significantly more than Hiura has.
No matter who wins it, the future looks bright for MLB.
MLB Players Power Rankings (3): Michael Brantley, Houston Astros
Week-16 Stats: 1.000 SLG | 0.613 wOBA | 301 wRC+ | 0.6 fWAR
Known primarily for being injury-prone, many teams steered clear of Michael Brantley during the offseason. Now, most teams a beating themselves for having let such an elite bat slip through their fingertips.
This season, Brantley is having the best season of his career. The best part of it all is that he’s set to play in 140+ games for the second consecutive season, setting aside all questions about him being injury-prone.
With Brantley’s .332 / .392 / .530 slash line blessing an already deep Houston Astros lineup that already features the likes of Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and George Springs into the scariest lineup in baseball.
During week-16, Brantley slashed .474 / .545 / 1.000 and had a multi-home run game, helping the Astros carry a five-game winning streak into week-17.
In an outfield that ranks 22nd in hitting (.252 AVG and .745 OPS), according to Barstool’s Jarred Carribis, Brantle (.332 AVG and .921 OPS) y has been just the blessing the Astros needed to remain the dominant team they’ve been in the recent past.
Michael Brantley got $32 million over two years from the Astros, an absolute steal for a guy who’s hitting .328 with a .905 OPS. The Indians outfield combined is hitting .252 with a .745 OPS this season, 22nd out of 30 teams. pic.twitter.com/Zs7Dim7V3w
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) July 21, 2019
What’s more, the Astros will be fortunate enough to keep Brantley for one more season after this one at $16M, a bargain of the best kind.
MLB Players Power Rankings (2): Ramon Laureano, Oakland Athletics
Week-16 Stats: 1.042 SLG | 0.651 wOBA | 325 wRC+ | 0.9 fWAR
The Oakland Athletics have surged of late. After spending the vast majority of the season (78 out of 101 games) in third place or worse, the A’s have taken hold of second place in the NL West over the past several weeks.
While they’re 6.5 games behind the division leader Houston Astros, their run differential is just 10 runs apart. One of the reasons the A’s have managed to compete at this level is Ramon Laureano.
Known mostly for his defensive prowess and incredible outfield arm, Laureano’s hitting has been somewhat overlooked this season. In fact, in 2019, Laureano is hitting.284 with a .334 OBP and .518 SLG. His 20 home runs are tied for second-most on a team that ranks seventh in MLB in home runs.
Last week, Laureano really made his presence known at the plate dropping just about 3/4ths of batted balls in play for hits. His 10 runs scored was the most of any player on this list and resulted in him having the best fWAR of any player in MLB during week-16 of the MLB season.
MLB Players Power Rankings (1): Trey Mancini, Baltimore Orioles
Week-16 Stats: 1.278 SLG | 0.685 wOBA | 345 wRC+ | 0.7 fWAR
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Trey Mancini continues to be the bright light of a dismal Baltimore Orioles lineup and team this season. His slash line of .289 / .350 / .539 tops every hitter on the team and his 21 home runs ranks behind Renato Nunez who only has one more home run.
Mancini’s name hasn’t really been mentioned in any recent trade rumors. However, given that Mancini is 27 years old and about to enter arbitration in 2020, the O’s will have to pay him much more than his current salary of just under $600K.
In trading Mancini, the O’s could get a nice package in return which could potentially speed up the rebuild process. They’d also save some money in the long run.
Last week, Mancini put on a show for MLB and declared himself the real deal by slashing an astounding .444 / .524 / 1.278. In that same period, he hit 4 home runs – tied for most in MLB.
💥 Hitting homers off your friends is REALLY fun💥@TreyMancini | #Birdland pic.twitter.com/vZNfL6CFJe
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 21, 2019
Next. Rays: Oliver Drake broke the laws of Physics. dark
By hitting his 20th home run of the season early on in week-16, Mancini has now hit 20 or more home runs in three consecutive seasons. It’ll be interesting to see if any team would be willing to add him to their squad.