Hitters Advanced Metrics Leaders for Brls/PA % - Fantasy Baseball Studs and Duds (Week 10)

Hello, RotoBallers! As another week of baseball wraps up, I will recap which hitters had the most impactful plate appearances in the past few days. Using Statcast's Barrels per Plate Appearance stat, or Brls/PA%, we can narrow our view to the hitters who are the most locked in through the season's first few months.

Statcast's Brls/PA% works by dividing the total number of barrels by the number of plate appearances within the given period. The higher the Brls/PA%, the more often the hitter makes ideal contact with the baseball. We will also examine other stats, but the Brls/PA% will be the main focus of this piece.

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Brls/PA% Leaders

Notable Players

Marcell Ozuna is one of the highest risers this week, entering the top five on the leaderboard. The Atlanta Braves designated hitter has been one of the best hitters in baseball this season, and his Statcast page backs up on the production we've seen from him at the plate.

Despite having below-average chase, whiff, and strikeout rates, Ozuna has made meaningful contact often enough for those setbacks to be negligible. The 33-year-old is in the 95th percentile or better in nearly every quality of contact metric listed on Baseball Savant. Ozuna is slashing .313/.390/.611 with 17 home runs this season, and his expected stats are even better than that. Ozuna is hot right now, and there are no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Will Smith is a new face on the leaderboard this week. The Dodgers catcher is often overlooked when discussing the superstar hitters in the Los Angeles lineup, given that the top of the order consists of three former MVPs. Still, Smith is quietly putting together a solid season. Through 219 plate appearances this season, Smith is slashing .294/.356/.510 with nine home runs. While his expected stats differ slightly from his actual numbers, they are worth discussing.

The 29-year-old owns a .286 xBA and .524 xSLG; both are in the 88th percentile or better among qualified hitters this season. These expected stats suggest Smith's batting average could come down slightly, but his slugging percentage could also increase slightly. Either way, Smith is producing like one of the most valuable catchers in the league. The slugging catcher also benefits from batting cleanup most nights behind a historic top-third of the lineup. Smith will likely remain one of the best catchers in the game for the rest of this year and many years to come.

It's time to talk about the Seattle Mariners hitter with the 96th percentile bat speed and 90th percentile average exit velocity this season, Julio Rodriguez. Despite his poor strikeout, chase, whiff, and walk rates, Rodriguez has been hot lately.

Bliss on the bases ✅
Julio brings him home ✅ pic.twitter.com/EWBIrcGU1Y

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 2, 2024

The 23-year-old is batting .270 with a .340 SLG in 257 plate appearances this season. Despite having another year of experience under his belt, Rodriguez's strikeout and walk rates would be the worst of his young career if they were to hold. In the past week, the Mariners star has been swinging a hot bat. Rodriguez slashed .406/.424/.594 with two home runs, nine RBI, and five stolen bases in 33 plate appearances. Rodriguez is now up to four home runs on the year and if there was a buy-low window open, it may close very soon.

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell is still on the leaderboard, but he had a much less exciting week than anyone else on the list. In the past week, Adell has slashed .045/.045/.182 with one home run and four RBI in 22 plate appearances. Adell also recorded a strikeout rate of 59.1% and a 0% walk rate in that span. Looking closely at Adell's approach may explain his cold stretch.

Adell has been near the top of the Angels' prospect power rankings for the last couple of seasons, but the injury to Mike Trout early in the year paved the way for Adell to prove himself at the major league level. Despite his prospect pedigree, there are some large holes in Adell's game, specifically regarding plate discipline.

The 25-year-old owns a 31.2% strikeout rate and a 32.2% whiff rate. That swing-and-miss aspect of his game makes Adell more vulnerable to extended cold spells. Adell's xSLG, barrel rate, and bat speed are among the game's best. Adell should be considered a buy-low target following this cold spell because his underlying stats show that he can do damage when he lines it up.

The last hitter I want to highlight is Kyle Tucker. The Houston Astros outfielder has been in a bit of a slump lately, but looking at his Statcast page should sway any non-believers back into his camp.

In the past week, Tucker slashed .107/.212/.321 with two home runs and four RBI in 33 plate appearances. Despite his inability to collect hits lately, Tucker still did damage with his two homers. The 27-year-old is now up to 19 home runs this year, tied with Gunnar Henderson for the second-most home runs in the majors. Despite his cold stretch, Tucker is still batting .263 with a .582 SLG. The Astros star will likely bounce back in a big way from his recent rough performances.

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