My May 19th Hitter Rankings will be somewhat similar to my May 7th Ranks. As your reading keep this in mind: If you were drafting your team right now does the rank fit the value? In short, my rankings are how I would project players for the rest of the season. Next to the player's name in parenthesis I will put their rank from my last article so that you can see the change. 


May 19th Hitter Ranks
1. Ryan Braun MIL (2) 
2. Miguel Cabrera DET (3)
3. Joey Votto CIN (4)
4. Josh Hamilton TEX (10)

I know Hamilton is the best hitter in the world right now but my rankings are projections from here on out. That being said, in 15 May games, he has 9 homers and 20 runs batted in. Ross Vader traded for him in our Website's League. Braun appears to be the most consistent player in my top 4 which gives him an edge. Miggy is close, but I value outfielders slightly more than corner infielders. 

5. Carlos Gonzalez COL (6)
6. Jose Bautista TOR (8)
7. Dustin Pedroia BOS (9)
8. Troy Tulowitzki COL (5)
9. Matt Kemp LAD (1)
10. Adrian Gonzalez BOS (7)

Even with Kemp hitting the DL I still have him in my top 10. He should only miss the minimum and the two week break may rejuvenate him. I called CarGo a darkhorse MVP candidate entering the year and I think he'll be just that. Bautista climbs my ranks 2 spots, he has 5 home runs in his last 9 games. I mentioned him last week on twitter (@Awies28) that a .260ish average with 40 dingers is realistic after his slow start. Dustin Pedroia has 50 hits (19 XBH) and a .305 average makes him the safest two bagger right now, but Robinson Cano is closing in on him.

11. Ian Kinsler TEX (11)
12. Curtis Granderson NYY (14)
13. Robinson Cano NYY (15)

Granderson has 13 homers (tied for 2nd in all of baseball) and he is actually hitting better off lefties (.269) than righties (.260) this year. I'm starting to believe that Granderson can hit .270 with 40 home runs. His teammate Robinson Cano climbs a few spots from my last rankings. Cano is hitting .369 in May and now has a .310 season average. At this rate, by the All Star break, Cano will surpass Pedroia as the top second baseman in fantasy.

14. Prince Fielder DET (14)
15. Andrew McCutchen PIT (26)

Andrew McCutchen has a .341 average with 5 homers and 7 steals. He is the most underrated NL Central outfielder and I see him as a 30/30 guy if he keeps his average up. Prince retains the 14th spot this week and although he only has 6 bombs through 40 games but he has a low 9% walk rate. Once he starts being more selective at the plate he will begin to find his pitch and up his power numbers.

A Quick Note: Baltimore has the best record in the AL.

Another Quick Note: McCutchen just hit 2 more bombs, he now has 7 on the year.

16. Jay Bruce CIN (16)
17. David Wright NYM (17)
18. Justin Upton ARI (18)
19. Hanley Ramirez MIA (12)
20. Adrian Beltre TEX (20)

David Wright is still hitting over .400 but only has 4 home runs and 4 steals. Wright appears to be a lock for 20/20 but with a .400 average the hope would be that he could flirt with a 30/30 season. Justin Upton has a career low BABIP right now accounting for his low batting average. Once his luck turns around you will see the 24 year put up All Star numbers. My biggest drop off to this point is Hanley Ramirez. Maybe it's the position change, his .250 BABIP or the fact he's seeing a career high number of curveballs thrown at him (10.8%) but I'm starting to think the .300 plus average hitter is gone. Say high to the new Hanley; AKA Mark Teixeira with speed.

21. Adam Jones BAL (24)
22. Michael Bourn ATL (21)
23. Giancarlo Stanton MIA (22)
24. Starlin Castro CHC (19)

Castro falls here mostly due to the players above him have just been hitting out of their mind. Castro still looks like an All Star and a top 3 shortstop. Stanton is high on my list compared to other analysts because his .281 average blows my mind. If he hits at this average for the rest of the season, he may touch 50 home runs. Adam Jones deserves a lot of credit for what he's done up to this point. Jones' has 13 bombs, 6 thefts, and a .299 average. He is starting to put it all together and is currently a top 10 outfielder.

25. Paul Konerko CHW (23) 
26. David Ortiz BOS (25)

Once interleague play begins Ortiz's value will take a hit but until then he is a top 30 hitter. Paul Konerko has a few interesting numbers here with 8 bombs and a .367 average. He was an early 5th round pick entering the year, Teixeira was a mid third round pick. I know he's 36 and was just smoked in the head by a runaway slider but Konerko is about as consistent and productive as they come (28 plus HR's every year since 2009).

26. Albert Pujols LAA 1B (40)
27. Mark Teixeira NYY (27)

We make a lot of Teixeira's label of a "slow starter" but keep in mind over the past 3 seasons he's hit .258 prior to the All Star game and .276 after the mid summer classic. He's hitting .228 right now and I would not be shocked if he finishes the year below .250, which means I'm down on him a bit right now. Pujols has begun to heat up with 2 homers in his last 3 games. Pujol's is riding a 7 game hit streak. Buy low but don't expect top 20 production.

28. Elvis Andrus TEX (33)
29. Jose Reyes MIA (28)
30. Dan Uggla ATL (29)
31. Brett Lawrie TOR (35)
32. Carlos Santana CLE (37)

I wrote about Santana, here, and the next day he hit a walkoff. I've been on record as saying Uggla will hit over .270 this year and I'm sticking with that prediction. Elvis Andrus moved up 5 spots from my last article. Andrus is hitting .373 on the road (past 3 years .267) and .254 at home (past 3 years .274). Keeping that in mind, Andrus may maintain a close to .300 average which vaults him into my top 30.

33. Matt Weiters BAL (30)
34. Matt Holliday STL (31)
35. Mike Napoli TEX (32)
36. Shane Victorino PHI (38)
37. Jason Heyward ATL (39)
38. Carlos Beltran STL (42)
39. Evan Longoria TB (43)
40. Hunter Pence PHI (41)
41. Eric Hosmer KC (36)

Hosmer has struggled mightily with a .174 average but he has an abysmal .165 BABIP. Both of those numbers will increase as the season progresses. Hosmer will finish in the top 40 by season's end, he's a buy low candidate. Carlos Beltran is a sell high. Beltran has gotten off to a monster start but some knee issues are starting to occur making Beltran owners (I'm not an owner) weary of him moving forward.

Another Quick Note: I picked up Josh Beckett in one of my league and although I'm struggling with ERA and WHIP in all my league's I'm still not panicking. You shouldn't either.

42. Derek Jeter NYY (49)
43. Brian McCann ATL (51)
44. Billy Butler KC (45)
45. Nelson Cruz TEX (44)
46. Corey Hart MIL (46) 
47. Andre Ethier LAD (47)

Eithier does not receive the credit he deserves. Andre posts a .299 average with a very quiet 35 runs batted in. Billy Butler is hitting .300 (not surprising) but his 7 dingers is a bit of a shock considering he's never hit over 21 in a season. Butler is only 26 years old, he just now may be entering his power prime. If he finishes with 30 bombs I wouldn't be surprised. 

48. Michael Cuddyer COL (48)
49. Alex Rodriguez NYY (50)
50. Asdrubal Cabrera CLE (57)
51. Michael Young TEX (52)
52. Edwin Encarnacion TOR (66)

E5 continues to win the fantasy world over with his monster production (13HR, 6SB, .270 and climbed 14 spots in my ranks). Asdrubal Cabrera (moved up 7 places) is currently hitting .316 and with a career low 6.5% strikeout rate looks to maintain his great season. 

53. Buster Posey SF (56) 
54. Ben Zobrist TB (54)
55. Martin Prado ATL (76)
56. Jimmy Rollins PHI (60)
57. Pablo Sandoval SF* (59)

Martin Prado was my second biggest jumper (21 spots) and for good reason. He is now hitting .324 with 3 homers and 4 steals and is on a 10 game hit streak (in 8 of those games he has at least 2 hits). Ben Zobrist has a horrible .221 average but has still managed 6 long balls and 3 steals. When his .235 BABIP trends back to normal he will challenge a .265 average.

59. Alex Gordon KC (58)
60. Freddie Freeman ATL (61)
61. Melky Cabrera SF (65)
62. Brandon Phillips CIN (55)
63. David Freese STL (67)
64. Chris Young ARI (81)

Chris Young is back, he had a .500 OBP prior to hitting the DL early in the season. I'm down on Phillips (7 spots) because a .152 average against lefties means one thing late in games: YOUR GOING TO FACE A LEFTY OUT OF THE PEN. If the Reds second baseman is going to turn things around he needs to stop swinging at pitches out of the zone (career high 40.5% swings at pitches outside the strike zone).

JOKE: My grammar skills


65. Nick Swisher NYY (62)
66. Shin-Soo Choo CLE (63)
67. Ryan Zimmerman WAS (69)
68. Matt Joyce TB (77)
69. Joe Mauer MIN (64)
70. Bryan LaHair CHC (94)

My biggest jumper was Bryan LaHair (24 spots). He is attacking the outside pitch with authority clobbering 10 home runs so far. I think he could be traded away soon to make room for Anthony Rizzo but right now LaHair is a top 70 hitter in my eyes. I'm expecting a regression from LaHair but until I see it I'm riding the LaHair bandwagon.

71. Lance Berkman STL (72)
72. Yadier Molina STL (85)
73. Howard Kendrick LAA (68)
74. Desmond Jennings TB* (34)
75. B.J. Upton TB (73)
76. Emilio Bonifacio MIA (84)

20 steals with a decent average describes Bonifacio (plus 8 spots). His .268 is for real and the speed is unquestionable. At this rate 60 steals is more likely to happen than me dating a Kardashian. 

77. Ichiro Suzuki SEA (70)
78. Brett Gardner NYY* (71)
79. Cameron Maybin SD (74)
80. Jason Kipnis CLE (83)
81. Michael Morse WAS* (95)

Morse (moved up 14 spots) should return in two weeks. Expect him to return during interleague play serving as a DH. I'm high on Kipnis (rose 3 spots), as I was entering the year, and if he keeps his average up he will challenge 20/20 in a very underrated Indians lineup.

JOKE: My pickup lines
1. Hey girl I'm a fantasy sports writer, wana go out?
2. Hey beautiful wana be my Stephania Bell?
3. Hi, what's your name? Will you marry me?
4. Your cute, what's your fantasy roster look like?
5. I don't have a fifth, they usually walk away after I ask them to marry me anyways.


82. Josh Willingham MIN (82)
83. Mike Moustakes KC (86)
84. Rafael Furcal STL (NR)
85. Austin Jackson DET (92)

Why is Austin Jackson so good? Maybe it's the .331 average, the 5 bombs or 6 steals but it's more likely the fact he's hitting .382 of righties this year. Just like I said with Brandon Phillips,  other teams will exploit your weakness late in games. Expect a bit of a regression (he's also dealing with an abdominal strain like Chris Bosh).

86. Jesus Montero SEA (80)
87. Aramis Ramirez MIL (87)
88. Nick Markakis BAL (79)
89. Miguel Montero ARI (78)
90. Alex Avila DET (75)

I have 3 catchers from 86-90. Avila (down 15 spots) has fallen off a bit lately going 2 for his last 21. Montero (down 11 spots) hasn't been as flashy as years past and is beginning to be dropped in leagues. Montero (down 6 spots) has the brightest future of them all even though he has struggled recently as well. Jesus is 3 for his last 30.

91. Bryce Harper WAS (89)
92. Kelly Johnson TOR (NR)
93. J.J. Hardy BAL (NR)
94. Mike Trout LAA (97)
95. Adam Dunn CHW (100)
96. Chris Davis BAL (99)
97. Jacoby Ellsbury BOS* (98)
98. Rickie Weeks MIL (88)
99. Angel Pagan SF (NR)
100. Jose Altuve HOU (93)

Adam Dunn now has 12 long balls (up 5 spots). Rickie Weeks is now hitting .159 (down 10 spots). Mike Trout (up 3 spots) has a .338 average with 3 bombs and 4 steals. Once Pujols turns it around, Trout will increase his run production as well (13 runs scored in 18 games to this point). 


Thanks for reading my May 19th hitter rankings. If you want to discuss some players or wonder why I didn't put one of your sleeper picks on here hit me on twitter @Awies28

Alex Wiesner