EAST LANSING- As we reach the unofficial halfway point in the MLB season here at the end of June, we have our third edition of the hitter power rankings this week.
With some new faces on the list, and mainstays who have somehow stepped it up even more over the course of the season, here are the top fifteen hitters in baseball right now. (All stats recorded are as of the end of play on June 24th.)
1. Aaron Judge (NYY)
AVG: .300 HR: 28 RBI: 70 OPS: 1.109
Surprise surprise, Aaron Judge is still the best hitter on the planet and number one in the hitter power ranking for the third time in a row.
Judge is on pace to hit well over 50 home runs again this season, and leads the league once again. He is also leading all of baseball in RBI, OPS, slugging, total bases, doubles, and is second in the league in walks and on-base percentage, just behind his teammate Juan Soto.
Even with the Yankees struggling this month, going just 7-8 in their last fifteen games, Judge has not cooled off one bit despite the scare he had getting hit on the left hand against the Orioles last week. The Yankee captain is healthy and playing at an MVP level once again, and currently leads all of baseball in fan voting for the All-Star Game this year.
2. Shohei Ohtani (LAD)
AVG: .318 HR: 23 RBI: 58 OPS: 1.021
Shohei Ohtani is red-hot once again and it should come as a surprise to no one. He has been one of the best hitters in the world for a few years now and he continued his unreal season at the plate with an excellent showing in his last eight games, slashing an astonishing .433/.539/1.133 with six home runs and fourteen RBI in that time.
His recent hot streak has lifted him into first place in the National League in categories such as home runs, OPS, and slugging, and batting average.
Ohtani is also in the top ten in all of baseball in on-base percentage and doubles, there are a ton of ways to quantify just how great the modern-day Babe Ruth is, but even though he’s only hit this year, he has still been one of the most effective players in the league.
3. Juan Soto (NYY)
AVG: .305 HR: 18 RBI: 56 OPS: .994
Juan Soto continues to be a consistent bat at the top of the Yankees order and has been everything New York could have hoped for when they traded for him this past off-season. Soto is leading the league in on-base percentage and walks, is third in OPS, and is also top ten in baseball in RBI, slugging, and home runs.
He has been on the field every day and has been a constant for a Yankees team that has struggled to get production from the depth in their lineup in the last few weeks.
Soto is likely second in MVP voting if the season ended today, behind his teammate Judge. The 25-year-old right fielder is playing like the superstar we’ve seen ever since he broke into the league as a teenager, gearing up to sign a huge contract this off-season.
4. Bryce Harper (PHI)
AVG: .303 HR: 19 RBI: 56 OPS: .978
Bryce Harper has been a superstar in this league for well over a decade now and that has been no different as he moves up to four in this week’s rankings. Harper may be the overall most effective and consistent player in the National League right now.
The Phillies first baseman is having as good of an offensive year as we’ve seen in his time in the bigs while picking up a new position.
Harper is top ten in all of baseball in categories such as OPS, batting average, slugging, home runs, RBI, and on-base percentage. Harper is one of the most complete hitters in the league and has been a constant in a dangerous Philadelphia lineup, showing why he leads the National League in All-Star voting so far.
5. Marcell Ozuna (ATL)
AVG: .314 HR: 21 RBI: 64 OPS: .985
Marcell Ozuna continues to rake for the Braves as he may be the best overall hitter in the National League so far this season.
For most of the year, Ozuna has ranked first in the N.L. in OPS and home runs (now second behind Ohtani in both categories) while he still ranks first in slugging and RBI. Ozuna is deserving of a top-five ranking this week as he has ranked top five in OPS and slugging for most of the season, as he’s fourth in all of baseball in both of those statistics right now.
Perhaps most impressively, Ozuna is third in the league in batting average. Ozuna has been a complete hitter all year long, doing it for contact and power, and highlighting an Atlanta lineup that has had more struggles than they’re used to so far this year.
6. Gunnar Henderson (BAL)
AVG: .278 HR: 24 RBI: 53 OPS: .973
Gunnar Henderson is once again in the top five hitters in the league so far in this week’s rankings as he continues to be the best hitter in a potent Orioles lineup.
Henderson is leading the charge for Baltimore, as he is second in all of baseball in home runs and top ten in the league in OPS and slugging as well. Henderson is slashing .316/.409/.658 in his last eight games, on par with his numbers all season which speaks to his unbelievable consistency.
Henderson has held an OPS above .900 since April 16 and is currently leading all of baseball in WAR with a 5.6 according to Baseball-Reference. Henderson is putting himself right in the center of the conversation for American League MVP and is well on his way to his first All-Star game.
7. Freddie Freeman (LAD)
AVG: .300 HR: 11 RBI: 46 OPS: .901
Freddie Freeman has been heating up a lot more lately for the Dodgers as he continues to show why he’s been one of the best first basemen in the league for well over a decade now.
Freeman is one of six players in baseball who currently hold a batting average of .300 or higher and an OPS of .900 or higher and has been excellent for the last month, slashing .315/.406/.574 in his last twenty-nine games.
Freeman is poised to be an All-Star for the eighth time in his career and has been excellent as part of the three-headed monster in Los Angeles, alongside Ohtani and Betts.
Freeman ranks fifth in all of baseball in on-base percentage and continues to be one of the best first basemen in baseball.
8. Jurickson Profar (SD)
AVG: .317 HR: 10 RBI: 50 OPS: .887
Jurickson Profar continues to be one of the best overall surprises this season and is well on his way to his first All-Star Game the way he’s produced for the Padres.
The former first-overall pick ranks second in all of baseball in batting average and third in on-base percentage. Profar also ranks top ten in the National League in OPS and walks, showing how he is one of the most complete hitters in all of baseball so far this season.
Profar and Luiz Arraez have been boosting San Diego’s offense as of late as the Padres try to separate themselves in the N.L Wild Card standings, currently holding the third spot but only leading by half a game.
9. Bobby Witt Jr. (KC)
AVG: .312 HR: 12 RBI: 53 OPS: .894
Bobby Witt Jr. continues his impressive campaign as he makes a spot in the power ranking for a second consecutive time. Witt Jr is leading the American League in total hits and is also top five in all of baseball in stolen bases.
Witt is also the only player in MLB right now with an OPS above .850 and at least twenty bags stolen. The Royals have stumbled a bit as of late, having won only three of their last ten games, but Witt has not slowed down and has continued to be one of the best shortstops in all of baseball this year.
The 24-year-old has an OPS of only .600 in his last eleven games but has still been one of the very best at the plate so far this season.
10. Rafael Devers (BOS)
AVG: .282 HR: 15 RBI: 41 OPS: .910
Rafael Devers sneakily continues to put up fantastic numbers in Boston as the Red Sox have caught a winning streak and are hotter now than they’ve been all season.
Devers is leading the way offensively with a top-ten OPS in baseball, and top-ten in the American League in slugging, on-base percentage, and home runs.
The Red Sox have been surging as of late in Devers has been a big reason why, as he is making an excellent case to be one of the All-Star third basemen in the American League for the third year in a row, especially with the Red Sox currently holding the third spot in the Wild Card standings.
11. José Ramírez (CLE)
AVG: .276 HR: 20 RBI: 69 OPS: .869
José Ramirez continues to be the stud offensive player he’s been for the better part of a decade as he makes the top-15 ranking for a second consecutive time.
Ramírez ranks second in all of baseball in RBI and is top ten in the American League in categories such as OPS and home runs.
Ramírez is competing with Devers for the starting third baseman spot in the American League, and is doing it all for a Guardians team with the second-best record in the A.L. Players like Josh Naylor, Steven Kwan, and especially Ramírez have been huge reasons why Cleveland has been so great in this first half.
12. Alec Bohm (PHI)
AVG: .313 HR: 9 RBI: 64 OPS: .873
Alec Bohm arrives on the power ranking for the first time this season as he continues to put up steady numbers offensively for a surging Phillies team. Bohm is tied for the National League lead in RBI with Ozuna and is leading all of baseball with his twenty-eight doubles so far this season.
Bohm is on pace to make his first All-Star team this season and is well deserving, as his OPS has not dipped below the .800 mark since April 17.
As great as Harper and the Phillies’ pitching staff have been, it’s hard to imagine where they’d be this season without this level of production from Bohm, who is blossoming into one of the best third basemen in the league.
13. Yordan Alvarez (HOU)
AVG: .288 HR: 16 RBI: 41 OPS: .877
Yordan Alvarez gets on the list for the first time this year as he’s been heating up at the right time for Houston.
The Astros are playing better ball as of late and so is Alvarez, as he has an OPS of 1.153 in eighteen games so far in June, Houston has been having their best month of the season thus far inching closer and closer back to .500.
With the recent injury to Giancarlo Stanton, it just became a lot more likely that Alvarez will start at DH in the All-Star Game for the American League, and will likely get the start for the first time with Ohtani’s move to the Dodgers.
14. Royce Lewis (MIN)
AVG: .348 HR: 10 RBI: 14 OPS: 1.261
Earlier this season Royce Lewis became the first Minnesota Twin to ever hit a home run in each of his first three games of the season. He has followed that up by continuing his torrid pace in the following fifteen games of the season as he is already third on the Twins in home runs despite only playing eighteen games so far this season.
The former first-overall pick will likely not keep up a pace quite this hot for the remainder of the season, but he has been amazing for Minnesota since re-entering the lineup earlier this month and can be a huge boost for a Twins team vying for a Wild Card spot in the American League.
15. Mookie Betts (LAD)
AVG: .304 HR: 10 RBI: 40 OPS: .893
Mookie Betts continues to be one of the best and most consistent players in baseball as he has ever since he broke into the league, and is now doing it all as a shortstop.
Unfortunately for Betts, he is expected to be out for the next six to eight weeks with a fracture in his left hand but he still deserves some spotlight which is why he comes in at the 15 spot on this week’s list.
His OPS is currently at a season-low and is under .900 for the first time right now, which just shows how good Betts was at the plate for L.A.
