Hot Hitter Rundown: July 29

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You should always have the big picture in mind when it comes to your season-long fantasy baseball leagues. Putting too much stock in a small sample size might cause you to make a decision that hurts you in the long run. That said, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be taking stock of what’s happened in the immediate past. It can be useful when it comes to weekly or especially daily lineup decisions, waiver wire considerations, tracking who might be coming into more playing time, etc.

The Rotoworld Player Rater is a handy tool that’s among the extensive offerings in Season Pass. Each week, I’ll be using the Player Rater to look at the hottest hitters, position by position, over the last week, and providing commentary.[[ad:athena]]

*The following data is based on 5x5 Roto scoring and covers games played from July 22-28.

Editor’s Note: Stay ahead of the competition from wire to wire with rankings, customizable projections, trade evaluator, exclusive columns and more in our Season Pass. And start using optimized lineups on Yahoo!, DraftKings and FanDuel with our DFS Toolkit!

Top two-start pitchers

Rotoworld evaluates the the best two-start pitchers to add to your fantasy baseball team, including Marlins' Caleb Smith, White Sox's Reynaldo Lopez, Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly, and Reds' Sonny Gray.

Catcher

Rank	Player	Tm	Pos	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	R	VAL
#1	Travis d’Arnaud	TB	C	1.23905	3.00593	-0.35220	0.88527	1.18148	5.96
#2	Pedro Severino	BAL	C	0.24837	0.59166	1.38431	1.32712	0.69035	4.24
#3	J.T. Realmuto	PHI	C	2.22974	1.79880	-0.35220	-0.21995	0.19922	3.66
#4	Austin Romine	NYY	C	0.24837	0.99404	-0.35220	1.32673	0.19922	2.42
#5	Yan Gomes	WAS	C	1.23905	0.18929	-0.35220	1.10561	0.19922	2.38
#6	Will Smith	LA	C	0.24837	1.39642	-0.35220	1.10542	-0.78305	1.61
#7	Manny Pina	MLW	C	0.24837	0.99404	-0.35220	1.10542	-0.78305	1.21
#8	Mitch Garver	MIN	C	1.23905	0.18929	-0.35220	-0.44127	0.19922	.83
#9	Matt Wieters	STL	C	1.23905	0.18929	-0.35220	-0.22015	-0.29191	.56
#10	John Hicks	DET	C	1.23905	-0.21309	-0.35220	-0.55174	0.19922	.32

Would it surprise you to learn that J.T. Realmuto has been the top-scoring fantasy catcher this season? Well, that’s the case now that he’s homered in three of his last four games. Part of the appeal with Realmuto in drafts this spring was that he had such a safe floor now that he was a Phillie. What he’s done to this point I think it could be argued is pretty much his floor, and it’s been enough to be the top fantasy catcher … Will Smith needed just two games last week to crack this list, as the rookie went off on Saturday in his first game back in the majors, going 3-for-3 with a home run and six RBI. With Austin Barnes in the minors, it sounds like the plan is for Smith to start 4-5 games per week, with Russell Martin being mixed in a couple times per week. That’s plenty enough to make Smith someone to target in leagues where he’s still available. I’m not expecting the rookie to hit for average, but he now has 24 dingers this season between the majors and minors and his power is legit … The Cardinals have needed Matt Wieters more than they anticipated with Yadier Molina banged up and he’s come through in fine fashion with nine home runs over just 131 plate appearances this season. He’s gone deep three times in his last six contests and only Mitch Garver (seven) has more long balls than Wieters (five) this month among catchers …

First Base

Rank	Player	Tm	Pos	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	R	VAL
#1	Paul Goldschmidt	STL	1B	5.20180	4.21306	-0.35220	1.21705	3.14601	13.43
#2	Daniel Murphy	COL	1B	1.23905	2.20117	-0.35220	0.55368	1.18148	4.82
#3	Yuli Gurriel	HOU	1B	1.23905	0.99404	-0.35220	2.76393	-0.29191	4.35
#4	Justin Smoak	TOR	1B	2.22974	0.59166	-0.35220	0.44283	1.18148	4.09
#5	Edwin Encarnacion	NYY	1B	0.24837	0.18929	-0.35220	1.32770	1.67262	3.09
#6	Austin Nola	SEA	1B	0.24837	1.39642	-0.35220	0.44322	1.18148	2.92
#7	Sam Travis	BOS	1B	0.24837	0.18929	1.38431	0.66376	-0.29191	2.19
#8	Joey Votto	CIN	1B	0.24837	0.99404	-0.35220	0.00117	1.18148	2.07
#9	Luke Voit	NYY	1B	0.24837	-0.21309	-0.35220	1.32732	0.69035	1.70
#10	Ji-Man Choi	TB	1B	0.24837	0.18929	-0.35220	0.77422	0.19922	1.06

Finally, the Paul Goldschmidt you drafted made an appearance last week. The first baseman tied a Cardinals record with home runs in six straight games, and he’s now gone deep 10 times over his last 20 contests. Goldy has struck out a little more and walked a little less this season, which has been a trend for him the last few years. He’s also yet to steal a base in 2019 after he used to be a big asset in the category for a first baseman. Goldschmidt is still hitting the ball plenty hard (42.1 percent hard-hit rate, 90 mph exit velocity), though, and he’s probably due for a little BABIP luck (it’s .298 this season after never being lower than .340 in a full season prior to this year) … It’s been a weird season for Daniel Murphy. He seemingly came back too soon from a fractured finger and really struggled for a while, but since the beginning of June he’s sporting a .325/.359/.544 batting line with eight home runs and 32 RBI over 47 games. He went deep a couple times last week and interestingly has now hit nine of his 11 bombs on the road, although he’s still been much better at Coors Field (.331/.384/.500) than everywhere else (.250/.293/.480). The veteran infielder is also back to being an everyday player now after being benched fairly often versus lefties for a while … Austin Nola has quietly been very productive for the Mariners with a .918 OPS over 30 games, and he’s suddenly become a fixture in their lineup with starts in nine straight contests. It’s fair to be skeptical of Aaron’s older brother considering he’s 29 and hadn’t really hit at all at any level prior to 2019. He’s making the most of his opportunity, though, and depending on the platform you use he could have eligibility at multiple positions, including catcher …

Second Base

Rank	Player	Tm	Pos	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	R	VAL
#1	Jonathan Villar	BAL	2B	1.23905	0.99404	8.33032	0.77519	3.14601	14.48
#2	Rougned Odor	TEX	2B	3.22043	1.79880	-0.35220	0.88546	2.16375	7.72
#3	Jose Altuve	HOU	2B	1.23905	1.39642	1.38431	2.32188	0.69035	7.03
#4	Keston Hiura	MLW	2B	1.23905	0.59166	1.38431	0.22190	0.69035	4.13
#5	Robinson Cano	NYM	2B	2.22974	1.39642	-0.35220	-0.44088	1.18148	4.01
#6	Jason Kipnis	CLE	2B	0.24837	1.39642	-0.35220	0.55368	1.67262	3.52
#7	Jace Peterson	BAL	2B	-0.74232	-0.21309	4.85731	-0.44127	-0.29191	3.17
#8	Ryan McMahon	COL	2B	0.24837	1.39642	-0.35220	1.54805	0.19922	3.04
#9	Hanser Alberto	BAL	2B	0.24837	0.59166	-0.35220	2.21141	0.19922	2.90
#10	Brian Dozier	WAS	2B	0.24837	-0.21309	1.38431	0.11163	1.18148	2.71

Jonathan Villar started off last week going 0-for-15 with seven strikeouts in his first three games. He ended it by going 10-for-18 with two long balls and five stolen bases. It’s often been a winding road to get there, but the 28-year-old has been the No. 2 fantasy second baseman and No. 6 fantasy shortstop this season. Worth noting is that Villar’s value has the potential to be affected greatly if he’s traded this week, as there would seem to be a good chance he will find at-bats more difficult to come by wherever he winds up … Speaking of winding roads, no one takes his fantasy owners on more of an adventure than Rougned Odor. The straight stretches where you can roll the windows down and get a heavy foot are exhilarating, but too often it gets curvy and leaving you wanting to vomit. Fortunately, it was the former last week, as Odor went deep four times and pounded out seven hits during a series against the Mariners. Odor’s hard-hit rate (43.7 percent) and barrel rate (13.4 percent) are way up this season, but he’s whiffing more than ever with a 32 percent strikeout rate that ranks in the bottom three percent of the league … After topping this list last week, Keston Hiura kept it going by stealing another base and hitting two more homers, including a walk-off shot off of Craig Kimbrel. The rookie second baseman is still striking out a lot, but he’s ripping the cover off the ball when he does make contact with a 51.5 percent hard-hit rate and 92.9 mph exit velocity. Hiura usually bats 5-7 against righties but has been the Brewers’ cleanup hitter lately versus southpaws …

Third Base

Rank	Player	Tm	Pos	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	R	VAL
#1	Jose Ramirez	CLE	3B	3.22043	2.60355	3.12081	1.99068	2.16375	13.10
#2	Miguel Sano	MIN	3B	3.22043	3.40830	-0.35220	0.99592	1.67262	8.95
#3	Rafael Devers	BOS	3B	0.24837	1.79880	-0.35220	2.10134	3.14601	6.94
#4	Eugenio Suarez	CIN	3B	3.22043	2.60355	-0.35220	0.22209	1.18148	6.88
#5	Yoan Moncada	CWS	3B	2.22974	1.79880	-0.35220	0.55387	1.18148	5.41
#6	Anthony Rendon	WAS	3B	1.23905	2.60355	-0.35220	0.77480	0.69035	4.96
#7	David Fletcher	LAA	3B	-0.74232	0.59166	3.12081	1.43797	0.19922	4.61
#8	Gio Urshela	NYY	3B	1.23905	0.59166	-0.35220	1.87983	1.18148	4.54
#9	Matt Thaiss	LAA	3B	2.22974	0.99404	-0.35220	0.44263	0.69035	4.00
#10	J.D. Davis	NYM	3B	0.24837	0.18929	1.38431	1.43720	0.19922	3.46

Miguel Sano has his OPS on the season up over .900 after hitting four over the boards and driving in 11 runs last week. As usual, Sano has been a Statcast darling this season. Only Aaron Judge has a higher hard-hit percentage than Sano’s 55.5 percent mark, and only Judge, Nelson Cruz and Christian Yelich are sporting higher exit velocities than Sano (93.2 mph). He’s also fanning at a 36.5 percent rate, which is topped only by Chris Davis and Joey Gallo among players with at least 200 plate appearances … Certainly, no one expected Yoan Moncada to be hitting .301 this late in the season, and some level of correction should be expected. However, it might not be as drastic as you’d think, as Moncada has cut down on his strikeouts enough (27.6 percent, down from 33.4 percent in 2018) and is hitting the ball hard enough (93 mph exit velocity) that his xBA is a still-good .282. The 24-year-old is batting .329/.392/.604 with 10 home runs over 40 tilts since the beginning of June … Matt Thaiss got off to an ugly 3-for-27 start in his first stint in the majors, but he bounced back with a three-homer weekend, including the first multi-homer game of his career on Sunday. The former first-round pick has started each of the last four games and it looks like he could see regular duty at third base while Tommy La Stella (leg) is sidelined, with David Fletcher playing more second base …

Shortstop

Rank	Player	Tm	Pos	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	R	VAL
#1	Francisco Lindor	CLE	SS	1.23905	1.39642	3.12081	2.21200	1.67262	9.64
#2	Didi Gregorius	NYY	SS	1.23905	4.21306	-0.35220	1.99049	1.18148	8.27
#3	Xander Bogaerts	BOS	SS	1.23905	1.39642	-0.35220	1.88022	3.63715	7.80
#4	Jorge Polanco	MIN	SS	2.22974	1.79880	-0.35220	0.66453	2.65488	7.00
#5	Paul DeJong	STL	SS	2.22974	1.39642	-0.35220	0.44322	1.67262	5.39
#6	Trea Turner	WAS	SS	0.24837	0.18929	1.38431	1.54863	1.67262	5.04
#7	Marcus Semien	OAK	SS	1.23905	-0.21309	-0.35220	0.88527	3.14601	4.71
#8	Gleyber Torres	NYY	SS	0.24837	0.18929	1.38431	0.00136	1.67262	3.50
#9	Javier Baez	CHC	SS	0.24837	-0.61547	3.12081	-0.66181	1.18148	3.27
#10	Willy Adames	TB	SS	1.23905	0.59166	-0.35220	-0.33061	1.67262	2.82

Unsurprisingly, Didi Gregorius failed to gain much traction initially at the plate after returning from a long layoff. He’s looked like his old self over the last month, though, sporting a .313/.343/.576 batting line with six dingers and 26 RBI across his previous 24 games. He had a monster 5-for-5, seven-RBI game at the beginning of last week and finished off the week with another homer on Sunday. After often hitting sixth or seventh during his struggles, Gregorius was either in the fourth or fifth spots in the Yankees’ batting order during all of his starts last week … Jorge Polanco has slowed down over the last two months (.748 OPS) after a blistering first two months (1.000 OPS) of the season. However, he’s coming off an excellent week that saw him post a 1.020 OPS with three dingers and seven RBI over seven contests. Polanco’s stolen bases haven’t come around as hoped this season, but he’s hitting more flyballs (46.3 percent) than ever to help lead to a power breakout. Also, while the shortstop’s hard-hit rate (35.1 percent) and exit velocity (87.3 mph) are both right at the league average, his elite contact rate (15 percent strikeout rate) means his xBA (.288) and actual average (.305) aren’t all that far off … Since the start of June, Gleyber Torres’ strikeout rate is down a tick at 21.1 percent and his walk rate is way up at 14.4 percent. The 22-year-old could really be something special if he can continue his plate discipline improvement and add it to his power …

Outfield

Rank	Player	Tm	Pos	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	R	VAL
#1	Andrew Benintendi	BOS	OF	2.22974	2.60355	-0.35220	3.20637	3.14601	10.83
#2	Ronald Acuna	ATL	OF	0.24837	1.39642	4.85731	0.44302	1.18148	8.13
#3	Mookie Betts	BOS	OF	2.22974	2.60355	-0.35220	0.33295	3.14601	7.96
#4	Starling Marte	PIT	OF	0.24837	1.79880	1.38431	1.54863	2.65488	7.63
#5	Max Kepler	MIN	OF	3.22043	2.20117	-0.35220	-0.21976	2.16375	7.01
#6	Danny Santana	TEX	OF	1.23905	2.60355	-0.35220	1.32751	1.18148	6.00
#7	Josh VanMeter	CIN	OF	2.22974	0.59166	-0.35220	2.32149	1.18148	5.97
#8	Tommy Pham	TB	OF	0.24837	0.59166	3.12081	0.88527	0.69035	5.54
#9	Anthony Santander	BAL	OF	1.23905	2.20117	-0.35220	1.21724	1.18148	5.49
#10	Adam Eaton	WAS	OF	0.24837	0.18929	3.12081	0.33275	1.18148	5.07

Andrew Benintendi has been a disappointment for fantasy owners this season and entered last week with just a .585 OPS and zero home runs over his first 13 games of July. However, he then picked a good time to perk up against the Red Sox’ American League East rival Rays and Yankees, going 15-for-31 (.484) with three dingers, nine RBI and nine runs scored across seven contests. He also whiffed just six times last week, which is hopefully a good sign for a guy whose strikeout rate has spiked this season … Max Kepler has essentially maintained the bump in his flyball rate from last season and with it he’s also added a pull-heavy approach. Among qualifiers, no one has a higher pull rate than Kepler’s 56.8 percent mark (his previous high was 44.3 percent). Unsurprisingly, the combination has led to a power breakout, with Kepler already shattering his previous career high with 28 homers this season. He’s gone deep in five of his last seven games and driven in 12 runs during that span. It might sound like the approach would lead to more strikeouts, but that hasn’t been the case, as Kepler’s 15.8 percent is excellent. The 26-year-old has also held his own versus lefties this season (.795 OPS, seven homers) after really struggling against them previously … The Reds decided to give Josh VanMeter a look after his breakout season at Triple-A Louisville and things have finally clicked for him following his most recent promotion, as he’s gone 12-for-24 with four bombs over 10 games. The 24-year-old has started in the fifth spot in each of the last four contests and he’s reached base a whopping 11 times during that stretch while homering three times. VanMeter doesn’t play against lefties and could easily be banished to the bench or the minors if he encounters a rough patch, but he looks like he has some juice in his bat and is also multi-position eligible … All the Orioles can really ask for in the midst of a season like this is to uncover a gem or two, and perhaps they have one in Anthony Santander. The 24-year-old spent much of this season in the minors, but he’s become a regular for the O’s and has been on a tear of late with a 1.131 OPS, four home runs, 14 RBI and 11 runs scored over his last 11 games. Santander has batted either third or fourth in each of his last five games while being mixed in at all three outfield spots. The former Rule 5 pick is a wild card since he hasn’t really done much with the bat since the lower minors. However, working in his favor is Camden Yards and the fact that he doesn’t really strike out (17.8 percent) …