SEC position player and hitter rankings: Auburn's DiChiara tops the list

Here's how we size up the league's best hitters and position players.

Sonny DiChiara photo courtesy of Matthew Shannon/Auburn athletics.

Here's our ranking of the SEC's top 14 hitters/position players through April 21. In parenthesis is how many runs the player is estimated to have created this season (prorated for the runs his team has scored), along with the same number per 27 outs. Various factors--strength of schedule, defensive value, stats in SEC games--are considered even if not discussed below.

1. Sonny DiChiara, 1B, Auburn (53 RC, 20.5 RC/27 outs): Hitting .392/.573/.804 in SEC games.

2. Tim Elko, 1B, Ole Miss (44, 12.7): Batting .397/.449/794 in league play.

3. Jacob Berry, 3B/RF, LSU (44, 11.9): Hit two homers on Thursday vs. Missouri.

4. Trey Lipscomb, 3B, Tennessee (45, 12.7): Leads the SEC with 57 RBIs.

5. Dominic Keegan, C, Vanderbilt (40, 12.4): One of league's best hitters; has caught 21 games and played eight at first. 

6. Dylan Rock, LF, Texas A&M (38, 11.1): No one has hit better in SEC games (.393/.500/.885).

7. Jud Fabian, CF, Florida (43, 11.5): Has decreased his strikeout rate to 18% despite playing against the SEC's toughest slate.

8. Jacob Gonzalez, SS, Ole Miss (41, 11.2): Hitting .232/.386/.643 in conference games.

9. Dylan Crews, CF, LSU (43, 11.1): Ranks seventh in the SEC in total bases (92). 

10. Spencer Jones, RF, Vanderbilt (36, 11.6): Talented bat has broken through, and has been terrific in right also.

11. Luc Lipcius, 1B, Tennessee (36, 11.9): Sixth-year player having his best season yet.

12. RJ Yeager, 2B, Mississippi State (34, 10.3): Steady second baseman hitting .349/.397/.746 and played errorless baseball until Thursday.

13. Blake Rambusch, 3B, Auburn (40.3, 9.8): Hitting .394/.461/.515 in the SEC and fielding .942 at third.

14. Cade Doughty, 2B, LSU (42, 11.0): Gets docked for fielding, but the bat's been legit in (.333/.421/.515) and out of the league.