Can anyone catch reigning No. 1 in Hitter Power Rankings?

Can anyone catch reigning No. 1 in Hitter Power Rankings?

August 3rd, 2023

Will anyone knock from his perch atop the Hitter Power Rankings?

At this point, it doesn’t seem likely. Ohtani, who also makes regular appearances in the Starting Pitcher Power Rankings, has now finished first in this particular poll four straight times -- with the past three selections by our MLB.com panel each being unanimous.

This edition of the Hitter Power Rankings includes four new names from our last poll, including three making their first appearances of 2023. But none could overcome the power of Ohtani.

All stats are through Tuesday’s games.

1. Shohei Ohtani, Angels (Last poll: 1)
What more can you say? Ohtani entered Wednesday holding at least a share of the Major League lead in homers (39), triples (seven), slugging (.676), OPS (1.081), OPS+ (188), total bases (269) and intentional walks (13).

2. , Braves (2)
Beating out Ohtani may be an impossible task right now, but his fellow MVP Award frontrunner has finished no lower than second in each of our past eight polls. Acuña remains a threat to crack both 40 homers and 80 steals, which would be an unprecedented combo of power and speed.

3. , Dodgers (4)
He has started every game this season for the first-place Dodgers, and if not for Acuña’s sensational performance, he might be a favorite for his second NL MVP Award. Freeman batted .359/.438/.685 in July, his second month this season with an OPS over 1.100.

4. , Braves (8)
Olson has looked like a future home run champ ever since bashing 24 big flies in 59 games for the A’s in 2017. In his second season since trading Oakland’s spacious home park for Atlanta’s more hitter-friendly yard, Olson is making good on that potential, with a solid lead over Pete Alonso in the NL homer race.

5. , Padres (not ranked)
Tuesday’s Trade Deadline passed without Soto being dealt. Then he went out and bashed a pair of homers at Coors Field for his third straight multi-hit game, which lifted Soto’s second-half line to .323/.449/.726, with seven homers and 21 RBIs in 18 games.

6. , Marlins (5)
The .400 chase may not have been realistic, but every time it seems as if Arraez’s batting average is going to plummet, he has a big game or two (or three). One number to keep in mind is .372. That was Ichiro Suzuki’s career-high average in 2004, a feat nobody has matched since.

7. , Dodgers (3)
After missing two games with a sore ankle, Betts returned to the lineup on Tuesday and smacked his 28th homer of the season. That’s just seven shy of last year’s career high, as well as a record for any player who has appeared at least 15 times apiece at second base, shortstop and any outfield position.

8. , Astros (not ranked)
Tucker continues to fly under the radar, even though he’s a top-10 position player by Baseball-Reference WAR over the past three seasons. With a .370/.449/.685 line since June 28, Tucker has put a slow-ish start behind him and has a shot at a 30-30 campaign to boot.

9. , Cubs (not ranked)
At one point, it looked like Bellinger was a good bet to move at the Trade Deadline, but the surging Cubs elected to hold on to him instead. Bellinger has done a great job of rebuilding his value after a couple of tough seasons in L.A., posting by far his best numbers since his 2019 NL MVP campaign.

10. , Red Sox (not ranked)
Here are the best qualified hitters in the Majors (by wRC+) since June 16: 1) Ohtani, 2) Olson, 3) Casas. Now in his second big league season, the 23-year-old first baseman has been scorching hot for the past several weeks, making good on his past status as a top-20 prospect.

Also receiving votes: Yandy Díaz (Rays), Christian Yelich (Brewers), Aaron Judge (Yankees), Luis Robert Jr. (White Sox), Austin Riley (Braves), Chas McCormick (Astros), Dansby Swanson (Cubs), Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals), Ketel Marte (D-backs), Josh Naylor (Guardians)

Voters: David Adler, Brett Blueweiss, Paul Casella, Doug Gausepohl, Thomas Harrigan, Sarah Langs, Travis Miller, Ricardo Montes de Oca, Brian Murphy, Sweeny Murti, Manny Randhawa, Efrain Ruiz, Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, Andrew Simon, David Venn