Excelling and Struggling Fantasy Baseball Hitters from May Includes Ryan O'Hearn and Fernando Tatis Jr.

May just wrapped up, so it's a good time to look over the best and worst MLB performers from the month.

We'll look at hitters in this story, then check in on pitchers in another story. We will focus on relevant fantasy batters when discussing the worst performers.

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Top Averages

Among qualified hitters, Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman led the way with a ridiculous .410 average. He had 10 doubles, four homers and a triple among his 43 total hits. Freeman had 20 runs scored, 21 RBIs, 11 walks and 24 strikeouts.

Freeman is one of the top fantasy hitters year in and year out, and he showed he's got plenty of gas left in the tank for this year at least. He's battled some injuries over the past couple years, so if you don't believe in him staying healthy, now is a great time to sell high on him. I'd just keep rolling with Freeman, because he's one of the top fantasy hitters when healthy, and I don't like to project injuries.

Cleveland's Jose Ramirez had a .386 average over 113 plate appearances in May. He had eight doubles, five homers and a triple among his 39 total knocks. Ramirez also had 14 RBIs, 11 walks, eight stolen bases, 22 runs scored and 11 strikeouts last month.

Ramirez is another elite fantasy hitter, so it's no surprise to see him excelling over a month. I think he kind of goes overlooked sometimes, so he's worth checking in on in a possible trade. If I rostered Ramirez, I'd make him just about off limits, unless there was a big overpay.

LA Dodgers' Will Smith had a big month of May across 91 plate appearances. He finished with a .370 average and 15 runs scored, 16 walks, 13 RBIs and 11 strikeouts. Smith had six doubles and two homers among his 19 total knocks.

Smith is a top-end fantasy catcher, and currently sits second amongst fantasy catchers for 2025 (a long way behind Cal Raleigh). I have Smith as more of a top-five fantasy catcher than a top-three guy, so I think now could be a good time to sell Smith high in a trade, especially if my team needed a boost in another area.

Athletics' Jacob Wilson and Baltimore's Ryan O'Hearn round out the top-five averages from May. Both are surprise names in the top five.

Wilson had six doubles and four homers among his 29 total knocks in May. He added 15 runs scored, 16 RBIs, 11 walks, three stolen bases and struck out just eight times. Wilson had a .368 average for the month.

Wilson is a top-end fantasy hitter and shortstop this season. He's underrated in fantasy leagues still, and is somehow still available to some of you. Scoop him up now if you still can. He's in his breakout season, and I'd be looking to acquire him instead of selling high.

O'Hearn has been extremely hot for several weeks now, and has seen his own percentage rise a ton as a result. He had five doubles and four homers among his 26 total knocks, and finished with a .365 average. O'Hearn also had 14 runs scored, 10 RBIs, 13 walks, two stolen bases and 19 strikeouts last month.

O'Hearn is usually overlooked in fantasy, but his recent hot stretch has him on every fantasy owner's radar now. He can probably slot into multiple fantasy positions too, so he's a great pickup in all league types if he's still available. His hot stretch likely won't last much longer, but he's a fantasy asset who can be utilized until he cools off at least.

Lowest Averages

Among qualified hitters, Boston's Kristian Campbell had the lowest average at .134 last month. He had a homer among his 11 hits across 22 games and 87 plate appearances. Campbell had three runs scored, four RBIs, five walks and 27 punchouts for the month.

Campbell was a great fantasy asset early in the season, but is now owned in just 51% of leagues. He's a better deep-league option in redraft leagues, but is worth keeping tabs on in case he ever heats back up.

Boston's Trevor Story had the third-lowest average at .158. He had a double and homer among his 12 total hits across 25 games and 101 plate appearances. Story had eight runs scored, seven RBIs, four walks, three stolen bases and a whopping 35 strikeouts.

Story was a standard league asset at the start of May, but sits at just 27% owned now. He's still playing enough to warrant rostering in deeper leagues, but until his bat heats up, he's a better depth option in those leagues. 

Baltimore's Cedric Mullins had a .179 average across 22 games and 88 plate appearances last month. He posted four doubles and homers among his 15 total knocks. Mullins had eight runs scored, 11 RBIs, three walks and stolen bases and 27 strikeouts.

Mullins also got hurt at the end of the month, so he's way down to 77% rostered now. That will likely tick down a couple more percent, especially if he's out longer than 10 days. Mullins had a rough month of May, but still does enough to roster in a lot of leagues. He's got bounceback potential written all over him, so watch his status and maybe scoop him up for free when he's nearly back on the field.

Baltimore's Adley Rutschman and San Diego's Fernando Tatis Jr. are big-name hitters who really struggled in May.

Rutschman played in 25 games and got 98 plate appearances. He hit .182 and finished with five doubles, a triple and a homer among his 16 total knocks. Rutschman had eight runs scored, nine walks, six RBIs and 19 strikeouts.

Rutschman isn't a top-10 fantasy catcher so far this season, so he's been one of the bigger draft busts. He's not going to perform this poorly all season, so it's a time to buy low on him, even if he's just a secondary option at catcher for a large portion of the season.

Tatis hit .184 across 26 games and 113 plate appearances. He had four doubles and five homers among his 19 total knocks, and also posted 14 runs scored, 10 RBIs, nine walks, three stolen bases and 25 strikeouts.

Tatis is still a top-10 fantasy outfielder for the season, so while he disappointed last month, he's still a daily starting option at least. Still, now is a time to buy low on him after he struggled last month.

Other Standouts

LA Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani led the MLB with 31 runs scored last month. He had 27 RBIs, 17 walks, two stolen bases and 31 strikeouts over 27 games and 128 plate appearances last month.

Boston's Rafael Devers drove in a league-leading 33 runs last month. He also had 14 runs scored, 22 walks, a stolen base and 23 strikeouts over 28 games and 126 plate appearances.

Atlanta's Marcell Ozuna tied Devers with 22 walks in May. Ozuna also had 11 runs scored, 12 RBIs and 28 strikeouts over 27 games and 118 plate appearances.

Tampa Bay's Chandler Simpson led the MLB with 16 stolen bases in May. He had 12 runs scored, eight RBIs, three walks and nine strikeouts as well. Chandler has been sent back to Triple-A though.

Washington's CJ Abrams had 24 runs scored, 10 walks, four stolen bases, eight RBIs, was plunked by seven pitches and struck out 19 times across 27 games and 125 plate appearances last month.

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong had 29 RBIs, 20 runs scored, five walks and stolen bases and 34 strikeouts in 27 games and 115 plate appearances in May.

LA Angels' Taylor Ward played in 28 games and got 120 plate appearances last month. He had 28 RBIs, 20 runs scored, 11 walks, a stolen base and 37 strikeouts.

Other Struggling Hitters

Atlanta's Michael Harris II scored just two runs across 27 games in May. He had 109 plate appearances, posting 14 RBIs, six walks, four stolen bases and 22 strikeouts.

Kansas City's Salvador Perez scored four runs across 25 games and 105 plate appearances. He also had 11 RBIs, three walks and 26 strikeouts.

Colorado's Michael Toglia struck out a league-high 40 times over 25 games and 95 plate appearances in May. He was optioned down to Triple-A. Toglia had 13 hits, seven RBIs, six runs scored and 13 walks last month.

LA Angels' Zach Neto struck out 39 times, but still had a .263 average. Ward had a .255 average despite his 37 punchouts. Detroit's Riley Greene struck out 36 times, but had a good .275 average still.

Texas' Adolis Garcia had just a .224 on-base percentage over 98 plate appearances in May. Boston's Wilyer Abreu was at a .243 OBP across 103 plate appearances. Chicago White Sox' Luis Robert Jr. got on at just a .245 clip over 94 plate appearances.