Sluggers top latest Hitter Power Rankings

It’s time for the second edition of our Hitter Power Rankings, which debuted two weeks ago to provide a snapshot look at the game’s hottest bats. Once again, our MLB.com voters were tasked with considering track record, while also heavily weighting recent performance and factoring in the fun storylines of the moment.

There was quite a bit of turnover, as one might expect at this time of year, with the sample size still small. Only two of our original top 10 made the list this time around, with the eight new names featuring established stars and surprise breakouts alike.

Who stuck around and who crashed the party? Read below to find out.

1) Mike Trout, CF, Angels (last poll: not ranked)
The king takes his throne. Yes, injuries have kept Trout off the field a bunch in recent years, and yes, he’s now on the “wrong” side of 30. But the bat has never shown a single sign of slipping. Trout has slashed .349/.472/.767 with nine walks and nine extra-base hits in his past 12 games, vaulting him into the MLB lead in park-adjusted wRC+ (224) entering Thursday. The only difference between 2022 and past Trout seasons? The Angels are in first place.

2) Aaron Judge, RF, Yankees (NR)
If Judge is going to become a free agent at season’s end, he’s certainly putting his best foot forward. During the Yankees’ 11-game winning streak that ended on Wednesday in Toronto, Judge slugged .976 with eight homers, two doubles and 17 RBIs, grabbing a share of the MLB lead in big flies.

3) José Ramírez, 3B, Guardians (2)
J-Ram has come back to Earth a bit since the first edition of these rankings -- but even then, he’s recorded a multi-homer game and walked more than he has struck out during that time. He still boasts an OPS of 1.054 and leads the Majors in RBIs with 29.

4) Nolan Arenado, 3B, Cardinals (1)
After his five-RBI performance, including a three-run homer, spurred a blowout win over the Royals on Wednesday, Arenado held NL leads in slugging (.698), OPS (1.125), OPS+ (232) and RBIs (23). That’s been huge for a St. Louis offense that has seen several regulars struggle to get going.

5) Taylor Ward, RF, Angels (NR)
The Halos are off to a flying start not only because Trout is healthy and doing Trout Things, but also because players such as Ward have stepped up around him. Ward had appeared for the club in each of the previous four seasons, never locking down a regular role (534 total plate appearances) but showing steady improvement. Now the breakout has arrived in a hurry. The 28-year-old was named AL Player of the Week on Monday and celebrated by rocketing a go-ahead two-run homer in the 10th inning Wednesday at Fenway Park. He actually has a higher OPS (1.197) than Trout, albeit in 12 fewer plate appearances.

6) Manny Machado, 3B, Padres (NR)
When the Padres signed Machado to a 10-year, $300 million contract before the 2019 season, this level of production is what they had in mind. He smashed two more home runs in Thursday night’s game against Miami and now leads MLB in hits (37) and runs (25), while ranking second among qualifiers in OPS (1.104). His 2.3 WAR entering Thursday also ranked first, per both Baseball Reference and FanGraphs. He already has five games with three or more hits, and the Padres are hanging with the Dodgers in the NL West.

7) Yordan Alvarez, DH, Astros (NR)
When Alvarez has been on the field, all he’s done since debuting in Houston in June 2019 is hit (156 career wRC+). This year? More of the same. Alvarez has eight home runs already, including five -- with a .400/.514/.933 slash line -- in a nine-game span from April 25 through Tuesday.

8) J.P. Crawford, SS, Mariners (NR)
In 1,540 career plate appearances entering 2022, Crawford had a .367 slugging percentage. In his first 26 games of ’22, he's posted a .363 batting average, while his four homers are nearly halfway to last year’s career-high total of nine. It’s been Crawford and Ty France -- not Jesse Winker, Julio Rodríguez and Jarred Kelenic -- leading the offensive charge so far in Seattle.

9) Byron Buxton, CF, Twins (NR)
Health has been the only thing holding Buxton back, and it’s the only thing keeping him from being higher on this list -- for now. Despite missing several games with a knee injury, leaving him short of qualifying for league leaderboards, Buxton has popped eight homers in 17 games and is slugging .716. If he can stay in the Twins’ lineup, watch out.

10) Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B, Marlins (NR)
One of the most electrifying young players in the sport, Chisholm seems to be taking a big step forward in his second full season. The ball jumps off the 24-year-old’s bat, and he boasts 97th-percentile sprint speed to go with it. He already has five doubles, three triples, four homers and six steals.

Also receiving votes: Willy Adames (Brewers), Josh Bell (Nationals), C.J. Cron (Rockies), Ty France (Mariners), Adolis García (Rangers), Eric Hosmer (Padres), Joc Pederson (Giants), Anthony Rizzo (Yankees), Julio Rodríguez (Mariners), Kyle Schwarber (Phillies), George Springer (Blue Jays), Juan Soto (Nationals), Kyle Tucker (Astros), Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals)

Voters: David Adler, Nick Aguilera, Doug Gausepohl, Thomas Harrigan, Sarah Langs, Ted Lee, Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, Andrew Simon