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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 to begin the season.
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.
Take advantage of the rest of our Statcast analysis for fantasy baseball, including weekly Statcast Pitcher Studs and Duds.
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Brls/PA % Leaders
| Player | BBE | Max Exit Velocity (MPH) | Avg Exit Velocity (MPH) | Brls | Brls/PA% | |
| Shohei Ohtani | 111 | 119.2 | 94.4 | 26 | 16.4 | |
| Salvador Perez | 103 | 110.6 | 92.1 | 18 | 13.7 | |
| Shea Langeliers | 79 | 110.8 | 90.9 | 15 | 13.2 | |
| Juan Soto | 113 | 115.7 | 96.0 | 19 | 11.9 | |
| Ryan O'Hearn | 68 | 108.8 | 92.1 | 10 | 11.9 | |
| Tyler Stephenson | 54 | 111.0 | 93.0 | 10 | 11.9 | |
| Christian Walker | 90 | 113.9 | 90.4 | 17 | 11.6 | |
| Mike Trout | 82 | 114.5 | 89.2 | 14 | 11.1 | |
| Davis Schneider | 49 | 108.8 | 91.1 | 9 | 11.1 | |
| Yordan Alvarez | 107 | 113.9 | 92.8 | 16 | 11.0 | |
| Jo Adell | 51 | 113.3 | 89.2 | 8 | 10.7 | |
| Marcell Ozuna | 91 | 114.6 | 92.9 | 14 | 10.6 | |
| Riley Greene | 82 | 111.0 | 91.3 | 15 | 10.6 | |
| Brent Rooker | 44 | 111.2 | 92.8 | 9 | 10.6 | |
| Colton Cowser | 51 | 113.6 | 91.2 | 10 | 10.5 | |
| Tyler O'Neill | 59 | 110.6 | 91.1 | 11 | 10.4 | |
| Bobby Witt Jr. | 107 | 113.3 | 94.3 | 15 | 10.2 | |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 72 | 116.7 | 92.3 | 12 | 10.0 | |
| Taylor Ward | 102 | 108.6 | 91.8 | 14 | 9.9 | |
| Andrew McCutchen | 57 | 108.5 | 89.0 | 10 | 9.8 | |
| Adolis Garcia | 91 | 111.8 | 91.8 | 13 | 9.6 | |
| Manny Machado | 97 | 111.7 | 91.5 | 13 | 9.4 | |
| Austin Riley | 93 | 113.5 | 91.0 | 13 | 9.2 | |
| Elly De La Cruz | 72 | 113.4 | 93.6 | 12 | 9.0 | |
| Fernando Tatis Jr. | 107 | 116.7 | 92.0 | 14 | 8.9 | |
Notable Players
Christian Walker is the highest riser of the past week, going from absent on the leaderboard to seventh in the Top 25 this week. The Arizona Diamondbacks gold-glover has been among the best slugging first basemen for the past few seasons, and the trend appears to continue.
After six weeks of baseball, Walker has the highest xBA, highest xwOBA, highest hard-hit rate, highest walk rate, and second-highest average exit velocity of his career. In the past week, Walker slashed .364/.444/.864 with three home runs, six runs scored, and seven RBI. The D-backs first baseman looks every bit the part of a fantasy stud.
Jo Adell is another new face on the leaderboard this week and perhaps one of the most intriguing. The Angels' long-time top prospect has had numerous stints in the big leagues but has never truly been able to translate his success in the minors to the majors until now. Through 78 plate appearances this season, Adell is slashing .261/.321/.507 with four home runs and seven stolen bases. Those face-value stats are already interesting for fantasy, but the underlying metrics suggest he could be even better.
Adell has a .321 xBA, .594 xSLG, and .416 xwOBA, all 97th percentile among qualified hitters this season. Perhaps the most intriguing stat of all for Adell is his 23.1% strikeout rate, which is by no means impressive from a league-wide standpoint but would be very encouraging individually if it were to hold. The Angels outfielder had previously demonstrated his ability to make loud contact, but it nearly always came at the expense of contact. This season, Adell has a 73.2% contact rate and an 82.1% zone-contact rate. With the extended absence of Mike Trout, Adell is an intriguing add wherever he is still available.
It's time we talk about the Oakland Athletics outfielder with the 100th percentile barrel rate this season, Brent Rooker. Rooker is already up to eight home runs this season and does not appear to be slowing down.
Rook, line, and sinker 🎣 pic.twitter.com/F5YM3mrGNW
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) May 5, 2024
The Athletics right fielder is batting .256 with a .615 slugging percentage, nearly in line with his .247 xBA and .593 xSLG. Rooker demonstrated his tremendous value in the power department with his 30-home run season last year, and he's proving this year that there was no fluke. The obvious flaw in Rooker's game is his whiff and strikeout rates, which have been in the bottom 5% in the past two seasons. That said, there is always a place for bats with significant power upside, especially in roto leagues. Now could be the time to add Rooker or trade for him if your team is lacking in the power department.
Pittsburgh Pirates legend Andrew McCutchen is also making his first appearance on the leaderboard this week. The 37-year-old is not having a particularly remarkable season, but his quality of contact metrics are worth mentioning. McCutchen has a 17.5% barrel rate, in the 96th percentile this season. The Pirates outfielder has a 98th-percentile chase rate of 15.7%. That said, those are nearly the only two attractive features of his Statcast profile.
McCutchen has a 30.4% strikeout rate, 31.7% whiff rate, and a .222 xBA through 102 plate appearances this season. Although his actual batting average of .182 should rise, it would not be a significant enough increase to make him fantasy-relevant unless the power numbers take off. Despite a career-high 45.6% fly-ball rate, McCutchen's HR/FB rate is still a mediocre 11.5% this season. McCutchen is making decent contact but is likely better left on the waiver wire.
The last hitter I want to highlight is Pete Alonso. The Mets first baseman has been among the most prolific power hitters in baseball since his rookie season, but he is struggling this year.
Alonso has consistently had average exit velocities around 90 mph throughout his career, but that number has dropped to 85.9 mph this year. The Mets first baseman also has the lowest xBA and hard-hit rate of his career this season. In the past week, the Polar Bear slashed .036/.200/.071 with a 25.7% strikeout rate in 35 plate appearances. Alonso has a BABIP of .204 this season, but he had a .205 BABIP last season and turned it into a 46-home run year.
Despite the poor numbers, Alonso has eight home runs and a strong enough track record to believe in. He may turn it around and become a .260 hitter with 35 home runs and 120 RBI at the end of the year, but his floor is still among the elite power hitters in the game. Now is an advisable time to acquire Alonso because his value is probably as low as it will get.
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