MLB Players Power Rankings: Top 10 Hitters in Week-20

MLB Players Power Rankings (5): Matt Chapman, Oakland Athletics

Week-20 Stats:  1.042 SLG |  0.596 wOBA |  288 wRC+ |  0.8 fWAR

When Matt Chapman emerged as a star for the Oakland Athletics last season, he did so by showing his defensive prowess. The 2018 Gold Glove award winner led all MLB players in DRS last season by saving 29 runs.

This season, Champman has continued his dominance on the defensive side of the field, leading all third basemen with 16 runs saved. On top of that, he’s turned into an offensive threat, slashing an impressive .262 / .346 / .534.

While he did post a better batting average (.278) and on-base percentage (.356) last season, this season he has upped his power-hitting quite drastically. Last season, Chapman slugged .508 and this season, he currently sits at a .534 SLG.

His power has come in the form of more home runs – he hit just 24 HR last season and already has 29 this season – and doubles. Last season, Chapman finished the season with 42 doubles, while this season he already has 31 with more than a month left in the season.

Chapman’s performance has helped the Athletics remain in playoff contention throughout the season. After spending a good chunk of the season in 3rd place, the A’s have steadily remained in 2nd, behind the Houston Astros and are currently 1.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the second Wild Card.

As the A’s head into the final stretch of the season, players like Matt Chapman will have to be on their “A” games in order to have a fighting chance at the playoffs. It’s no surprise that Chap broke into the top five this week

MLB Players Power Rankings (4): Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians

Week-20 Stats:  0.962 SLG |  0.602 wOBA |  285 wRC+ |  0.8 fWAR

Carlos Santana has undergone one of the strangest pair of seasons for a player to memory. After spending the first eight seasons of his career with the Cleveland Indians, he signed a free-agent deal with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018.

Entering the 2019 MLB season, however, he was involved in a three-team trade, ultimately ending up right back where it all started, with the Tribe. The move could not have come at a better time for the veteran first baseman.

This season, Santana has stepped up his game to a whole new level, pairing his patience with professional hitting and power production. At age 33, Santana is now a triple threat at the plate.

In fact, this season Carlos Santana was selected to his first-ever All-Star game after posting career highs in AVG (.292), OBP (.414), SLG (.962), and total bases (149). In all of baseball, according to FanGraphs, Santana is ranked 18th in fWAR (4.3) and has the eighth-best OPS (.962) in the game.

If the Indians plan to contend in the postseason, their plethora of hitters will have to continue to mash. After splitting the 4-game series with the best team in baseball this past weekend, the Tribe looks like they’re up for the task.

MLB Players Power Rankings (3): J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies

Week-20 Stats:  0.969 SLG |  0.603 wOBA |  279 wRC+ |  0.9 fWAR

After the Philadelphia Phillies worked aggressively to acquire him from the Miami Marlins in the offseason, J.T. Realmuto hasn’t really made much noise this season. That is, until now.

The Phillies have underwhelmed this season. After spending the better part of the first 1/4 of the season in 1st place, the Phils have been flirting with 3rd place ever since.

This is a team that moved heaven and earth to acquire the likes of Bryce Harper, Jean Segura, Andrew McCutchen, Jay Bruce, and more in an effort to build a juggernaut of a team. However, they’ve been performing more like a mish-mosh of misfit pieces, still learning how to play together.

Now, with crunch time fast approaching, some of these players are taking center stage and making their best effort to fulfill the team’s promise of a postseason. Enter J.T. Realmuto.

This season, while posting a higher batting average than last season, Realmuto’s OPS has taken a dip. This comes at the expense of a decreasing OBP and an increase in strikeouts.

In week-20, however, Realmuto stepped up his game quite drastically by slashing .417 / .440 / 1.083. In that same span, he also hit 4 HR and drove in 9 RBI.

Currently, the Phils sit 9.0 games out of first, tied with the New York Mets in the NL East.  They’re 2.0 games behind the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card.

MLB Players Power Rankings (2): Adam Eaton, Washington Nationals

Week-20 Stats:  1.150 SLG |  0.647 wOBA |  306 wRC+ |  0.8 fWAR

Adam Eaton has been flirting with a break-out for the better part of three seasons now. Unfortunately, a slew of stints on the IL has kept him from playing a full season. He played just 23 games in 2017, 95 in 2018, and is currently sitting at 117 games played this season.

With the Washington Nationals surging into postseason contention post-All Star break, players like Eaton have played an integral part in the team’s success.

In fact, this season, Eaton already has 10 HR, the most he has ever had in a single season since 2016 when he hit 14 HR. What’s more, his slashline this season all exceed his 162 game average on Baseball-Reference.

• 2019 Slashline – .289 / .373 / .430
• 162 Game Avg – .287 / .365 / .417

Eaton is currently on the final year of a deal that has a team option for both 2020 and 2021. If he can say healthy for the remainder of the season, helping the Nats to secure a postseason berth, there is no doubt in my mind that the Nationals will exercise their option to keep Eaton.

After his performance in week-20 of the MLB season, it’s looking like Eaton and the Nats’ future is set in stone.

MLB Players Power Rankings (1): Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox

Week-20 Stats:  1.185 SLG |  0.720 wOBA |  365 wRC+ |  1.1 fWAR

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The Boston Red Sox entered the 2019 season looking to defend their 2018 World Series championship. Unfortunately, through five months of the season, the Sox have underwhelmed… extremely.

Sitting 16 games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East and 6.5 games behind the 2nd Wild Card, the chances of a postseason berth are very bleak at the moment. This is due in part to the fact that players like Chris Sale, Mookie Betts, and the bullpen haven’t quite lived up to the level of play from last season.

On the other hand, players like Rafael Devers have emerged in a big way and are doing everything in their power to keep the 2018 World Series champs relevant. In fact, this season Devers is posting career highs in home runs (27), AVG (.332), OBP (.380), and SLG (.596). What’s more, he leads the league in hits (167), doubles (46), RBI (101) and Total Bases (300).

To top it off, Devers has also drastically improved his defensive play. Increasing his DRS from -16 last season to -2 this season.

His 5.5 fWAR, is tied with Ketel Marte and Alex Bregman for the fifth-highest in MLB, sitting behind the likes of Mike Trout (8.3), Cody Bellinger (6.8), Christian Yelich (6.5), and teammate Xander Bogaerts (5.6).

The Red Sox may not make the postseason this year, but fans will be looking forward to an MVP race for the ages. Can Rafael Devers be the second consecutive AL MVP award winner from the Boston Red Sox?