Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals wastes no time moving ahead of Juan Soto of the Nationals as the top player in the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings. Soto drew a walk and homered in the 5-1 Mets win, but that was not enough to stave off a perfect day at the plate for Goldschmidt as he singles and draws five walks, the Cardinals downing the Pirates 9-0. Fellow Cardinal Tyler O’Neill moves up to third place with a single, homer, walk, and five RBI. He moves ahead of the idle Bryce Harper of the Phillies, with Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers in fifth place, also waiting to play.

The highest game score of the day goes to Austin Riley of the Braves. He provided most of Atlanta’s offense as the Reds take the game 6-3. Riley singled twice and homered for a game score of 72. He begins 2022 on a high note after a break-out season in 2021 where he posted a .303/.367/.531 slash line. In 2022, Riley plays as a 25-year-old, right at the beginning of his peak years. I suspect his emergence as an excellent hitter was another reason the Braves thought they could let Freddie Freeman leave via free agency. Riley now ranks 16th on the list.