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
Player | BBE | Max Exit Velocity (MPH) | Avg Exit Velocity (MPH) | Brls | Brls/PA% | |
Aaron Judge | 165 | 116.1 | 96.9 | 47 | 15.9 | |
Juan Soto | 195 | 115.7 | 95.5 | 39 | 13.4 | |
Bobby Witt Jr. | 214 | 113.3 | 93.2 | 36 | 12.5 | |
Shohei Ohtani | 195 | 119.2 | 94.8 | 36 | 12.5 | |
Marcell Ozuna | 174 | 114.6 | 93.4 | 32 | 12.3 | |
Shea Langeliers | 136 | 110.8 | 91.7 | 24 | 11.5 | |
Giancarlo Stanton | 146 | 119.9 | 93.3 | 27 | 11.4 | |
Corey Seager | 176 | 113.3 | 91.2 | 28 | 11.2 | |
Oneil Cruz | 138 | 121.5 | 95.3 | 26 | 11.0 | |
Kerry Carpenter | 109 | 109.0 | 88.6 | 18 | 11.0 | |
J.D. Martinez | 95 | 109.4 | 91.0 | 16 | 10.6 | |
Adolis Garcia | 166 | 116.1 | 91.2 | 26 | 10.2 | |
Salvador Perez | 187 | 112.6 | 91.6 | 26 | 10.1 | |
Nolan Gorman | 121 | 110.3 | 87.5 | 22 | 9.9 | |
Colton Cowser | 117 | 113.6 | 91.8 | 20 | 9.9 | |
Rhys Hoskins | 122 | 107.4 | 88.6 | 18 | 9.8 | |
Fernando Tatis Jr. | 207 | 116.7 | 92.5 | 29 | 9.7 | |
Taylor Ward | 178 | 108.6 | 90.9 | 26 | 9.7 | |
Christian Walker | 173 | 113.9 | 91.4 | 27 | 9.7 | |
Teoscar Hernandez | 172 | 110.8 | 91.7 | 27 | 9.7 | |
Pete Alonso | 189 | 116.3 | 89.2 | 26 | 9.6 | |
Eloy Jimenez | 109 | 112.2 | 92.4 | 14 | 9.6 | |
Tyler O'Neill | 96 | 110.6 | 92.0 | 17 | 9.4 | |
Yordan Alvarez | 205 | 116.8 | 93.2 | 26 | 9.3 | |
Francisco Lindor | 210 | 109.6 | 90.0 | 26 | 9.2 |
Notable Players
While the top half of the leaderboard remained essentially unchanged, Nolan Gorman snuck his way onto the list at number 14 this week. Gorman had an impressive week at the dish, and we will dive into those stats.
Despite having an uninspiring Statcast page, Gorman clawed his way onto the leaderboard through his four home runs in the past seven days. The Cardinals second baseman slashed .296/.387/.741 in his last 31 plate appearances. The 24-year-old's expected stats suggest this level of slugging could continue, but his batting average should remain low.
Gorman has 14 home runs and a .223 batting average through 227 plate appearances this season. Gorman's 34.5% strikeout and 38.4% whiff rate suggest he is an all-or-nothing hitter. His power could be beneficial in season-long categories leagues, but Gorman is detrimental to the batting average and stolen base categories.
Teoscar Hernandez is another new face on the leaderboard this week. The Dodgers outfielder is one of the unsung sluggers in the stacked Los Angeles lineup. The former All-Star seems to have regained his form in the Dodger blue after a down season in the pitcher-friendly T-Mobile Park. Hernandez's ascension this week is mainly due to his impressive performances against the New York Yankees this past weekend.
The 31-year-old slashed .269/.345/.692 with three home runs and two doubles in his last 29 plate appearances. All three of his home runs this week came at Yankees Stadium, and they were not short porch shots either. With Hernandez typically batting fifth in the Dodgers lineup, he does not always get the recognition he deserves, but he has proven to be one of the best signings for the team this year. With his 92nd percentile xSLG and 94th percentile barrel rate, Hernandez should continue doing damage this season.
It's time to talk about the San Francisco Giants hitter with the 93.9 mph average exit velocity this season, Heliot Ramos. Despite his poor offensive showing in 2023, Ramos is proving to be a different hitter this season.
4th homer in his last 6 games...wow, @HeliotRamos pic.twitter.com/4yyOoZKKNU
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 8, 2024
The 24-year-old is batting .314 with a .533 SLG in 121 plate appearances this season. His season-long numbers look great despite a small sample size, but his numbers in the past week look even better. From June 2 to June 9, Ramos slashed .500/.621/1.091 with four home runs, six singles, and 10 RBI.
Despite not being qualified for the leaderboard, Ramos' stats look the part of a great hitter. The Giants outfielder has an xBA of .270, meaning his batting average should drop, but his quality of contact metrics look well above average. His 32.2% whiff rate and 29.8% strikeout rate may catch up to him soon, but savvy fantasy managers should pick up Ramos wherever he is available.
New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor barely made the cut for this week's leaderboard, coming in at number 25 on the list. The former Cleveland star is having a slow start to the season, but some signs point to a possible turnaround in the future.
Lindor has slashed .235/.302/.408 with 10 home runs through 288 plate appearances this season. The 30-year-old has an xBA of .279 and an xSLG of .496, indicating possible positive regression in his future. The poor batting average could be due, in part, to a .255 BABIP, which would be the second-lowest mark of his career. There is a buy-low opportunity here with Lindor, and it would be advisable to strike sooner rather than later.
The last hitter I want to highlight is Anthony Rizzo. The New York Yankees first baseman had an abysmal week to add to an abysmal season. In the past week, Rizzo slashed .040/.077/.080 with one run scored in 26 plate appearances. Rizzo has slashed .224/.285/.339 for the season with seven home runs in 64 games.
The former Cubs All-Star and World Series Champion has continued his decline in success since his 2019 season, his last full season in Chicago. In 2019, Rizzo slashed .293/.405/.520 with 27 home runs in 146 games played. Since 2019, the Yankees slugger has yet to hit over .248 and eclipsed 25 home runs just once. With an xBA of .232 and xSLG of .344, there is little hope that Rizzo will turn it around soon. Now would be as good a time as any to cut ties with the former star.
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