It's "best tools" week! For a second straight year, Keith Law lays out his rankings (and reasoning) for the players with the best tools in baseball. Today he evaluates the four key hitting/speed tools that scouts use to evaluate players (See last year's rankings here). Future tools posts: fielding/throwing.

Hit tool

1. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Diamondbacks
2. Joey Votto, 1B, Reds
3. Mike Trout, OF, Angels
4. Jose Altuve, 2B, Astros
5. Corey Seager, SS, Dodgers

This is the most difficult tool to assess both for prospects and for big leaguers. For prospects, the difficulty is in projecting how hitters will respond to major league pitching -- better stuff, much better command, a faster game overall. For big leaguers, however, we can spend hours debating what we mean by the ability to hit. Is it just making contact? Is it hard contact? Is it hitting for average? Does someone such as Christian Yelich, who makes a lot of contact and hits for a high average but hits the ball on the ground more than anyone else in baseball, have a plus hit tool? I settled on the definition I've always used: The hit tool reflects the ability to square up good pitching. That means it isn't just contact but hard contact, particularly line drives, as those are most likely to land for hits.

Goldschmidt was No. 1 here last year as well, and nothing has changed. He makes a lot of hard contact, and though his strikeout total is in the top 10 in the National League, it's a question of approach, as he rarely swings and misses; his swinging-strike rate of 6.9 percent is the lowest of his career to date. …