Matt Olson is coming for Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani has had a lock on the highest spot in MLB.com’s Hitter Power Rankings for weeks — and he was a unanimous No. 1 selection within the final three polls. But now Olson is closing in on him.
The Angels two-way celebrity continues to be No. 1 on this week’s Hitter Power Rankings, however he isn’t unanimous anymore. Olson acquired a number of first-place votes from the MLB.com panel and completed a detailed second to Ohtani.
There are different names rising up the rankings, too, together with two newcomers within the prime 10. Here are the newest Hitter Power Rankings.
(All stats are by means of Wednesday’s video games.)
Ohtani leads the American League with 42 residence runs and leads the Majors with a 1.071 OPS. He’s closing in on the 46 homers he hit in his MVP season in 2021, in addition to Troy Glaus’ Angels single-season file of 47 set in 2000.
Olson has overtaken Ohtani within the MLB residence run race, with 43 on the season to associate with his MLB-leading 107 RBIs. So it is no actual shock that he is capturing up the Hitter Power Rankings. Olson’s slugged 14 homers already within the second half and is now on a 58-homer tempo. Could he hit 60?
Acuña is within the prime three within the Hitter Power Rankings for a ninth straight ballot. The National League MVP frontrunner is batting .335 with 27 residence runs and leads the Majors with 55 stolen bases and 109 runs scored. With just a few extra homers, he’ll be part of Barry Bonds (1990) and Eric Davis (1987) as the one gamers with a 30-50 season. With just a few extra steals on prime of that, he’ll change into the primary 30-60 participant in AL/NL historical past.
Mr. Consistency is rolling together with a .339 batting common, 23 residence runs and a 1.003 OPS. Always a doubles machine, Freeman has an MLB-high 44 in 2023 — he may lead the Majors for the third time within the final 4 seasons and lead the National League for the fourth time within the final six.
Are Olson and Acuña the most effective duo in baseball proper now, or are Freeman and Betts? It’s a detailed name. Betts is having probably the greatest seasons of his profession, batting .293 with 31 homers, 81 RBIs and a .973 OPS. He’s batting .404 in August with a number of hits in 9 of 14 video games.
Bellinger is not slowing down in his resurgent season and is pushing his manner towards the highest 5 within the Hitter Power Rankings. He’s batting .327 with 18 residence runs, 17 stolen bases and a .933 OPS; and with the Cubs nonetheless in playoff rivalry, he is rewarding them for holding onto him on the Trade Deadline.
Seager has picked up proper the place he left off since returning to the Rangers’ lineup a few weeks in the past, and that places him proper again into the Hitter Power Rankings. Seager is batting .348, placing him heading in the right direction to win his first profession batting title within the AL, with 22 residence runs and a 1.072 OPS.
Tucker’s go-ahead ninth-inning grand slam off Orioles nearer Félix Bautista final week was the signature second of his season … and that season was already nice. The Astros slugger is as much as 24 residence runs to associate with 24 stolen bases, and he is batting .297 with an .903 OPS.
Arraez has cooled off a little bit in latest weeks, however he is nonetheless main the MLB batting race with a .361 common. He’s additionally nonetheless main the Majors with 164 hits. If the Marlins can declare a Wild Card spot, it will likely be as a result of they’ve Arraez.
Witt’s breakout has thrust him into the Hitter Power Rankings prime 10. The Royals’ 23-year-old rising star has been red-hot all summer season, batting .327 with a .992 OPS because the begin of July. Witt is among the most dynamic power-speed threats in baseball, with 23 residence runs and 34 stolen bases on the season.
Others receiving votes: Juan Soto, Austin Riley, Jose Altuve, Luis Robert Jr., Yandy Díaz, Triston Casas, Kerry Carpenter
Voters: David Adler, Brett Blueweiss, Paul Casella, Doug Gausepohl, Thomas Harrigan, Sarah Langs, Travis Miller, Ricardo Montes de Oca, Brian Murphy, Sweeny Murti, Henry Palattella, Manny Randhawa, Efrain Ruiz, Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, Andrew Simon, David Venn
Content Source: www.mlb.com