The fantasy baseball ranking season is in full swing. For me, that typically starts with searching advanced stats leaderboards. Advanced statistics are often more predictive than traditional box score statistics. Thus, they’re an excellent jumping-off point. This series will dive into a variety of my favorite advanced metrics. However, I must caution that no statistic in isolation is the secret sauce for unearthing a hidden gem or burgeoning stud. Instead, they are a piece of the puzzle and best viewed through that lens, using other statistics in conjunction with them to formulate a well-rounded opinion of the fantasy value of players.
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Isolated Power (ISO)
Isolated Power (ISO) measures power, as its name indicates. Essentially, it strips singles out of Slugging Percentage, leaving a number that represents extra-base-hit power. Thus, hitters with a high slugging percentage driven by singles won’t appear on the ISO leaderboard. Instead, the players that tear the cover off the ball for extra-base hits are the leaders in this metric.
According to FanGraphs, the league average for ISO in 2021 was .167. Out of 132 qualified hitters, the highest ISO was .335, and the lowest was .062. ISO has been one of my staple statistics to look at for daily fantasy baseball research. Players that have a high ISO are among the highest-ceiling hitters.
2021 Qualified Hitters ISO Leaders
The ISO leaderboard is genuinely a who's who of the game's top power hitters. In fact, all members of the top-20 qualified hitters in ISO ripped at least 30 homers last season. Further, five of those hitters cleared the 40-homer threshold, such as Fernando Tatis Jr. (42 homers), Marcus Semien (45), Shohei Ohtani (46), Salvador Perez (48), and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (48).
Moreover, 32 hitters were in the top-30 in ISO due to ties. Out of those 32 hitters, the lowest total for homers was 25 by Mike Yastrzemski, followed by 28 homers by C.J. Cron and J.D. Martinez, and 29 homers by Jared Walsh. The other 28 hitters of the 32 in the top-30 qualified hitters for ISO launched at least 30 homers. Therefore, if you're chasing dingers streaming or in DFS, the high-ISO hitters are among your best bets to provide a round-tripper. In addition, they're an excellent source of extra-base hits in general, including doubles and, for some of the speedier sluggers, triples.
Noteworthy Non-Qualified Hitters in 2021
You didn't need me to tell you Guerrero, Bryce Harper, etc. are elite power hitters. However, this section is chiefly why I penned this piece. So bask in the glory of the top-three non-qualified hitters with at least 250 plate appearances in 2021 in ISO, headlined by Mike Zunino, Byron Buxton, and Brandon Belt.
Tinkering with plate appearance thresholds when hunting for power sources can help unearth streamers and DFS options during the season. Taking it a step further, when doing DFS research, I change the split by the handedness of the opposing pitcher to better hone in on the top power sources for that day against righties and lefties. So, don't overlook top-shelf power by excluding non-qualified hitters from your research. Finally, I mentioned him as an annual homer champion sleeper in the FB/LD Exit Velocity piece, but Franmil Reyes's placement on the table above for ISO is another reason I'll be compelled to dabble on his homer crown prop at the right odds.
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers CStr%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers CSW%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers O-Swing%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers GB%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers SwStr%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers Soft%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers IFFB%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers Z-Contact%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers BABIP
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers Whiff% Fastballs
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers Whiff% Curveballs/Sliders
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers Whiff% Changeups/Splitters
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers SIERA
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters BB/K
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters FB/LD Exit Velocity
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters Barrel%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters Z-Contact%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters Z-Swing%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters FB%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters SwStr%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters O-Swing%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters IFFB%
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Max Exit Velocity
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Sprint Speed
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters BABIP
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters Line Drive Percentage
- Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Hitters wRC+
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.