The second half of the baseball season is humming along. We have a solid base of at-bats to look for in-season risers and fallers. Exit velocity makes a great study for examining who’s been hot in the last ten days. September is the critical point for many fantasy teams. These statcast numbers can hopefully help you navigate.

In the chart below you see exit velocity broken out for games prior to 8/10 and then the last ten days, along with the change in each. These guys are tattooing the ball at the moment.

Player

Last 10

<8/10

Diff

Nelson Cruz

100.4 MPH

94.2 MPH

5.8

Jake Cave

100.1 MPH

89.2 MPH

10.8

Yordan Alvarez

96.2 MPH

91.8 MPH

4.4

Max Muncy

96.2 MPH

89.0 MPH

7.2

A.J. Pollock

95.6 MPH

89.8 MPH

5.8

Jason Castro

95.5 MPH

91.2 MPH

4.3

Jorge Soler

95.3 MPH

92.2 MPH

3.1

Jackie Bradley Jr.

95.2 MPH

88.5 MPH

6.7

Manny Piña

95.1 MPH

87.5 MPH

7.6

Jonathan Schoop

94.9 MPH

87.5 MPH

7.4

Franmil Reyes

94.8 MPH

92.3 MPH

2.5

Teoscar Hernández

94.6 MPH

89.5 MPH

5.1

Alex Avila

94.3 MPH

90.9 MPH

3.4

Miguel Sanó

94.3 MPH

93.7 MPH

0.6

Joey Votto

94.3 MPH

88.2 MPH

6.1

Yasiel Puig

94.2 MPH

89.4 MPH

4.8

Yasmani Grandal

94.1 MPH

90.0 MPH

4.1

Ryan McMahon

94.0 MPH

91.1 MPH

2.9

Rafael Devers

93.7 MPH

92.6 MPH

1.1

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

93.6 MPH

89.8 MPH

3.8

 
  • Even for prolific mashers Nelson Cruz and Yordan Alvarez are smoking the ball. They’re mainstays on many winning lineups.

  • Max Muncy has been underrated all season just because he hasn’t gone a tear the way he did in 2018. He’s been producing and hitting the ball plenty hard.

  • If Jackie Bradley Jr. finds his swing he’s capable of going on a heater. I’d rather stash him on my bench than leave him on the wire for an opponent.

  • Jason Castro and Alex Avilla are a couple of low owned catchers that could help get you some ABs on your primary catchers day off.

  • Jonathan Schoop has always been a streaky hitter. He’s good for one thing primarily: home runs. If you need a middle infielder with a shot at helping there kick his tires and cross your fingers.


You can find all of this and more over at Baseball Savant. Roster decisions are more critical than ever in your push for fantasy baseball greatness. Remember that reward doesn’t come without risk.