EAST LANSING- The All-Star break is upon us and the players and teams are getting a few days break for the first time since the end of March.
With the unofficial second half of the season kicking off this weekend we take a look at who the best hitters have been throughout the first half, as well as some of the hottest in the league right now.
As some new names join the list and a lot of the same mainstays, here is this week’s power ranking for best hitters in baseball right now. (All stats used are recorded as of the end of play on July 14, 2024).
- Aaron Judge (NYY)
AVG: .306 HR: 34 RBI: 85 OPS: 1.112
Previous Ranking: 1
Aaron Judge still ranks number one in this week’s categories as he has been the most impactful player in baseball all the way into the All-Star break.
The Yankee Captain is still leading the league in home runs, RBI. OPS, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, total bases, and is second in walks behind only his teammate Juan Soto.
Judge has also accumulated the most WAR in the league according to baseball-reference, with an astounding 6.4 at this point in the season. Judge also just broke his own record for most home runs by a Yankee going into the All Star break with his thirty-fourth dinger this past Saturday.
The Yankees have been struggling more as of late, but Aaron Judge has not been the issue as he won AL Player of the month for the second straight month in June, and is heating back up with two home runs against Baltimore going into the All-Star break.
- Shohei Ohtani (LAD)
AVG: .316 HR: 29 RBI: 69 OPS: 1.035
Previous Ranking (2)
Shohei Ohtani comes in at number two in this week’s rankings yet again, as he continues to be the best overall hitter in the National League this year.
Ohtani ranks second in all of baseball in OPS, and slugging percentage, and home runs, also ranking top ten in stats such as batting average, on-base percentage, RBI, and runs scored.
The two-time MVP also provided the only offense for the National League in the All-Star game, crushing a no-doubt three-run home run off Tanner Houck in the third inning.
The Japanese slugger is slashing .347/ .462/ .821 in his last twenty-five games, homering twelve times in that span, proving why he has been one of the best, and overall hottest hitters in the league so far this season. It is remarkable how Ohtani is first or second in so many offensive categories.
- Juan Soto (NYY)
AVG: .295 HR: 23 RBI: 66 OPS: .984
Previous Ranking (3)
Juan Soto has been one of the better hitters in the league over the last few years, and he has continued that this season as one of the most consistent lefties in the league. Soto is leading all of baseball in walks (79), top five in other categories such as OPS and on-base percentage, and top ten in slugging percentage, home runs, and RBI.
His OPS has remained above .970 since May 18, and has been far and away the Yankees second best offensive player. Judge and Soto have combined for 57 home runs and 151 RBI so far this season, and the two have undoubtedly been the best offensive duo in the league so far this season.
Soto hasn’t gone more than eight games without a home run, and six games without an RBI all season, he has been a constant at the top of the New York order all year so far. Soto stayed hot with a walk and a two-run single in the All-Star game.
- Bryce Harper (PHI)
AVG: .301 HR: 21 RBI: 61 OPS: .982
Previous Ranking (4)
Bryce Harper has not missed a beat since returning from the I.L, and continues to be one of the best players in all of baseball this season.
Harper has a 1.010 OPS in five games since returning from injury, and picked up a first inning double in the All-Star game Tuesday night.
Harper ranks top five in the National League in OPS, slugging percentage, on base percentage, walks, and home runs, while ranking seventh in batting average. Harper has continued to be the best hitter on a Philadelphia team that has been the best in baseball from start to finish, as he has put up an OPS of 1.071 since the beginning of May.
Harper has made the adjustment to first, and continues to show why he has been one of the faces of the league for over a decade now, as he continues to live up to the hype in his age 31 season.
- Rafael Devers (BOS)
AVG: .295 HR: 23 RBI: 61 OPS: .977
Previous Ranking (10)
Rafael Devers has a 1.076 OPS since the start of June, and has been even hotter in July, sporting a 1.195 so far this month.
Devers ranks top five in the league in OPS and slugging percentage, and top ten in home runs and extra base-hits. He was selected as an All-Star for this time in his career and has been one of the hottest hitters in the league for one of the hottest teams in the league in the last month.
Devers and the Red Sox are currently sitting in a playoff spot, and he has been a huge reason why Boston has played so well to this point in the season.
He continues to push the agenda as one of the best third baseman, and hitters overall in the whole league. Devers has been getting better throughout the year, and has put himself right in the conversation for another silver slugger.
- Gunnar Henderson (BAL)
AVG: .286 HR: 28 RBI: 63 OPS: .957
Previous Ranking (6)
Gunnar Henderson continues to put up MVP-caliber numbers going into the break, as last year’s American league Rookie of the Year continues to show that he is one of the best young players in baseball.
Henderson hasn’t gone longer than eight hames without a home run this season, and more than six without an RBI, and has been sporting an OPS of .979 since the beginning of June. Henderson ranks top five in baseball in categories such as slugging percentage, home runs, OPS, hits, and RBI, while also ranking eighth in on-base percentage.
Henderson is second in the league in WAR according to baseball-reference with 6.2, and leads the league in runs scored with 78. Henderson has headlined an Orioles team looking to win their second straight A.L. East title, and they’re doing a great job so far, headed into the break one game ahead of the Yankees in the standings.
- Marcell Ozuna (ATL)
AVG: .303 HR: 26 RBI: 77 OPS: .960
Previous Ranking (5)
Marcell Ozuna has not cooled off all season as he is still one of the best hitters in the whole league right now into the All-Star break.
Ozuna is leading the National League in RBI, and ranks top five in the N.L in OPS, home runs, total bases, and slugging percentage while ranking top ten in on-base percentage and batting average.
Ozuna hasn’t gone longer than five games without an RBI all season long, and his OPS has remained above .900 since April 2. Ozuna smashed five home runs in his last ten games leading into the break, putting up an OPS of 1.176 in that span, including a two-home run game in that span, his third of the season. Ozuna was an All-Star for the third time in his career, and he has been the best hitter for the Braves all season.
- Christian Yelich (MIL)
AVG: .326 HR: 11 RBI: 41 OPS: .933
Previous Ranking (N/R)
Chrstian Yelich has propelled himself onto the list for the first time this season, as he has revitalized his career, putting up his best numbers since 2019 right now.
Yelich missed about a month of games earlier in the season, but has been worth his contract when he has been on the field, as he is leading the National League in on-base percentage, and batting average in the 70 games he’s played in.
Yelich also ranks fourth in the National League in both slugging percentage and OPS now that he’s qualified, and he’s been slashing .355/ .460/ .645 with four home runs in his last seventeen games.
Yelich’s OPS has not fallen below the .870 mark at any point this season, and he is giving himself an excellent chance to compete for a batting title yet again, something he has won twice already in his career.
- Bobby Witt Jr (KCR)
AVG: .323 HR: 16 RBI: 63 OPS: .927
Previous Ranking (9)
Bobby Witt Jr continues to be one of the best young players and shortstops in the league this year as he finds himself in the top ten of the rankings yet again.
The Royals’ shortstop is leading the American League in base hits and games played, while ranking third in the league in batting average. Witt also ranks top ten in baseball in OPS, slugging percentage, doubles, stolen bases, and RBI.
Witt’s season low in OPS is .845, as he has been one of the most consistent hitters in baseball this season, as his batting average has also remained over .300 since May 20. Witt Jr. is slashing .409/ .417/ .750 so far in eleven games in July, with four home runs on the month already.
Witt was an All-Star for the first time this season, and is showing that he could make that status perennial, in what has been an excellent age-24 season thus far.
- Steven Kwan (CLE)
AVG: .352 HR: 9 RBI: 27 OPS: .919
Previous Ranking (N/R)
Steven Kwan is finally on the list and the power ranking for the first time this season, and he continues to get better and better.
Kwan led off the All-Star game for the American League, which made sense giving his league-best .352 average to start the season. Kwan already has more home runs this season than he did in each of the first two seasons of his career, and ranks top five in the American League in on-base percentage, while ranking top ten in slugging percentage and OPS.
Since the beginning of June, Kwan’s batting average has not dipped below .350, and he has been a constant at the top of a Guardians lineup that has been one of the very best in the league so far, as they sit atop the American League Central at the break. Kwan is making an excellent case for his first silver slugger, and is pacing to win his first batting title as well.
- Yordan Alvarez (HOU)
AVG: .296 HR: 19 RBI: 52 OPS: .913
Previous Ranking (13)
After a slow start, Yordan Alvarez is right back to being one of the best power hitters in baseball yet again.
Alvarez ranks fifth in the American League in on-base percentage, and ranks top ten in many categories such as, OPS, slugging percentage, batting average, walks, home runs, and hits. Alvarez was just named an All-Star for the third time in his career (and in as many seasons) and has been a huge reason why the Astros have been storming back into the playoff picture after an extremely slow start to the season.
Alvarez has a 1.127 OPS since the beginning of June and has ten home runs and thirty RBI in the thirty-four games he’s played in that span of time. Alvarez has gone deep twice in a game three times this year, and has been one of the best all-around hitters in baseball for the fourth straight season.
- Brent Rooker (OAK)
AVG: .291 HR: 21 RBI: 62 OPS: .942
Previous Ranking (N/R)
Brent Rooker returns to the rankings this week after a brief hiatus as he has heated back up for the struggling Oakland A’s.
Rooker was snubbed of making the All-Star team this season, despite ranking top ten in all of baseball in OPS, slugging percentage, and top ten in the American League in on-base percentage, home runs, RBI, and batting average.
Rooker is putting up an OPS of 1.353 in his last eighteen games, and has homered eight times while driving in eighteen runs in that span as well. Rooker has not gone longer than six games without driving in a run so far this season, and he was the only player in baseball with an OPS above .900 to not qualify for an All-Star team.
Despite being snubbed from the mid-summer classic, Rooker has still been one of the best hitters all year, and could be seen as an interesting trade piece at the deadline.
- Jurickson Profar (SDP)
AVG: .305 HR: 14 RBI: 59 OPS: .870
Previous Ranking (8)
Jurickson Profar started in the All-Star game this Tuesday for the National League, in what was the first appearance in the 31 year-old former first overall pick’s career.
Profar leads the N.L in games played with 97, and has not gone any longer than six games without driving in a run so far in 2024. His OPS has remained above .800 since his fifth game of the season, and he is fourth in the National League in batting average and top ten in OPS, on-base percentage, and hits.
Profar started hot with a base hit in the ASG and came around to score on the home run by Shohei Ohtani. Profar has maintained a batting average of above .300 since April 28, and his resurgence as one of the best hitters in baseball this year has been a story to watch all season long.
- José Ramírez (CLE)
AVG: .271 HR: 23 RBI: 77 OPS: .842
Previous Ranking (11)
José Ramírez has been a perennial MVP candidate in the American League for the better part of a decade now, and this season is no different as he continues to be one of the most impactful hitters in the league.
Ramírez ranks second in baseball in RBI, as he hasn’t gone more than seven games without driving in a run so far in 2024. In his last fifty-two games, Ramírez is slashing .300/ .358/ .570 with fourteen home runs and forty-four RBI in that span.
Ramírez ranks top ten in the American League in slugging percentage, extra base-hits, and is ranked top five in home runs and total bases. The battle between Ramírez and Devers for silver slugger as a third baseman in the A.L. This season should be one of the most fun individual award races to keep an eye on down the stretch.
- Carlos Correa (MIN)
AVG: 308 HR: 13 RBI: 47 OPS: .897
Previous Ranking (N/R)
Carlos Correa rounds out the rankings this week as he makes the list for the first time this season. The All-Star shortstop is just starting to come into form for the Twins as he slashed .375/ .435/ .625 in his final thirty-three games going into the All-Star break, slugging nine home runs and twenty-seven RBI in that time span as well.
Correa has only played in seventy-five games so far this season but he has been remarkable in the games he has played, and is likely putting up his best season in a Minnesota Twins uniform so far right now. Correa ranks third in the A.L. in batting average and is also top ten in stats such as on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS.
The Twins are right in the thick of the American League Wild Card race, and if they want to make the playoffs for the second consecutive year, Correa will need to continue to be playing his best baseball.
