
Credit: Steve Shupe
Ten Weeks. Two and a half months. Forty percent of the season. Say it any way you want, but it’s time. It’s time to stop being so patient and start to drop some of those sleepers that never broke out for some players who are actually doing something.
It’s also time to rethink your strategy. If you see you’ve got no chance in wins or K’s, but could pick up three points in HR if you add a hot power bat, then it’s time to drop that inconsistent fringe pitcher who occasionally blows up your ratios for an Adam Duvall out-of-nowhere type.
Speaking of Adam Duvall, let’s go ahead and get to this week’s Fantasy Baseball Top 250 Rankings.
Stock Rising
Jonathan Villar, SS/3B, Milwaukee Brewers
Psych! I’m not starting with Duvall. I’ve got to start with a guy who has been a top-10 overall contributor thus far on both ESPN and Yahoo thanks mostly to his 21 stolen bases, which leads all of baseball.
I’ve got to confess I didn’t want to believe his hot May (18 R, 16 RBI, 14 SB, .355 AVG) at first. But take a look at his batted ball stats: he has a career high walk rate, an almost 3 to 1 GB/FB (meaning his speed might be able to sustain a lot of that .407 BABIP).
He also has career high line drive and hard hit percentages so he is making better contact. Don’t expect him to hit for the same AVG and RBI as he did in May, but those run and steal numbers are legit.
Adam Duvall, OF, Cincinnati Reds
Alright, here he is, as promised. Don’t let the fact he’s finally getting his first full-time job at age 27 fool you. Duvall’s 16 HR is currently tied for fourth in MLB with the likes of David Ortiz and Robinson Cano.
And the power isn’t really out-of-nowhere: He hit 35 HR between AAA and the bigs last season. He might still be out there in your league since he plays on the lowly Reds.
Wilson Ramos, C, Washington Nationals
Let’s play word association: dumpster fire, wasteland, the catcher position in fantasy baseball 2016. Other than Buster Posey and Jonathan Lucroy, Ramos is the only catcher ranked in the top 300 so far this season.
He’s actually been better than Posey so far. I’m not saying that will stay the same, and his .364 BABIP will likely regress bringing down his average with it, but his HR/FB and hard hit rates look a lot like his injury-shortened 2013, when he hit 16 HR and drove in 59 runs in just 78 games.
Evan Gattis, C/OF, Houston Astros
Gattis is currently ranked 415th in the Yahoo game. So why do you care? Because of that aforementioned dumpster-fire catcher position, where that is actually good enough for fifth best among all catchers!
And guess what? Gattis just started his 5th game there last week, earning him eligibility in Yahoo. He’s already up to eight games started this season, so those of you in ten or twenty game eligibility leagues should go ahead and stash now.
He’s been on fire at the plate since he made the switch, too. Eight of his nine homers have come since he came back from working on his catching in the minors on May 17.
Stock Falling
Luke Gregerson, RP, Houston Astros
Gregerson has been relieved of his closing duties for the time being after blowing his fifth save of the season on June 4. While he may well get the job back, there are a lot of interesting arms in the Houston bullpen.
Ken Giles is the big name (and 5.76 ERA), but Will Harris has the shiny ratios (0.34 ERA, 0.71 WHIP).
Francisco Liriano, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
What in the name of Ray Searage is going on? After not posting an ERA north of 3.38 in his three years with the Pirates, this year’s Liriano looks a lot like the post-Tommy John American League version, except with a career high 1.64 WHIP to boot.
He’s more than halfway to his 2015 walk total in less than a third of the innings. There are whispers he could be moved to the bullpen to make room for top prospects Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon. As my confidence in him has dropped, so has his ranking.
Hunter Pence, OF, San Francisco Giants
Mike Moustakas, 3B, Kansas City Royals
As usual, injuries knock a couple big names from the ranks. Pence will miss at least eight weeks and maybe more after undergoing surgery to repair a torn hamstring.
Moustakas will miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL in a collision with teammate Alex Gordon.
Fantasy Baseball Top 250 Rankings
Rank | Name | Team | Positions |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Mike Trout | LAA | CF |
2 | Bryce Harper | WSH | CF,RF |
3 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | SP |
4 | Manny Machado | BAL | 3B,SS |
5 | Jose Altuve | HOU | 2B |
6 | Paul Goldschmidt | ARI | 1B |
7 | Nolan Arenado | COL | 3B |
8 | Josh Donaldson | TOR | 3B,DH |
9 | Mookie Betts | BOS | CF,RF |
10 | Jake Arrieta | CHC | SP |
11 | Giancarlo Stanton | MIA | RF |
12 | Miguel Cabrera | DET | 1B |
13 | Anthony Rizzo | CHC | 1B |
14 | Chris Sale | CWS | SP |
15 | Kris Bryant | CHC | 3B,LF,RF |
16 | Max Scherzer | WSH | SP |
17 | Jose Bautista | TOR | RF,DH |
18 | Andrew McCutchen | PIT | CF |
19 | Chris Davis | BAL | 1B,RF,DH |
20 | Robinson Cano | SEA | 2B |
21 | Edwin Encarnacion | TOR | 1B,DH |
22 | Jose Fernandez | MIA | SP |
23 | Buster Posey | SF | C,1B |
24 | George Springer | HOU | CF,RF |
25 | Starling Marte | PIT | LF,CF |
26 | Madison Bumgarner | SF | SP |
27 | J.D. Martinez | DET | RF |
28 | Noah Syndergaard | NYM | SP |
29 | Carlos Correa | HOU | SS |
30 | Jose Abreu | CWS | 1B,DH |
31 | Corey Kluber | CLE | SP |
32 | David Price | BOS | SP |
33 | Charlie Blackmon | COL | LF,CF |
34 | Zack Greinke | ARI | SP |
35 | Yoenis Cespedes | NYM | LF,CF |
36 | Todd Frazier | CWS | 3B |
37 | Nelson Cruz | SEA | RF,DH |
38 | Stephen Strasburg | WSH | SP |
39 | Jon Lester | CHC | SP |
40 | Xander Bogaerts | BOS | SS |
41 | Johnny Cueto | SF | SP |
42 | David Ortiz | BOS | 1B,DH |
43 | Eric Hosmer | KC | 1B |
44 | Justin Upton | DET | LF |
45 | Jacob DeGrom | NYM | SP |
46 | Lorenzo Cain | KC | CF |
47 | Matt Carpenter | STL | 2B,3B,1B |
48 | Ryan Braun | MIL | LF,RF |
49 | Corey Seager | LAD | SS |
50 | Daniel Murphy | WSH | 1B,2B,3B |
51 | Joey Votto | CIN | 1B |
52 | Carlos Gonzalez | COL | RF |
53 | Kenley Jansen | LAD | RP |
54 | Matt Harvey | NYM | SP |
55 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | SP |
56 | Wade Davis | KC | RP |
57 | Aroldis Chapman | NYY | RP |
58 | Craig Kimbrel | BOS | RP |
59 | Francisco Lindor | CLE | SS |
60 | Adrian Beltre | TEX | 3B |
61 | Jonathan Lucroy | MIL | C,1B |
62 | Kyle Seager | SEA | 3B |
63 | Danny Salazar | CLE | SP |
64 | Gregory Polanco | PIT | LF,RF |
65 | Gerrit Cole | PIT | SP |
66 | Cole Hamels | TEX | SP |
67 | Jason Kipnis | CLE | 2B |
68 | Ian Kinsler | DET | 2B |
69 | Ian Desmond | TEX | SS,LF,CF |
70 | Hanley Ramirez | BOS | 1B,LF,DH |
71 | Brian Dozier | MIN | 2B |
72 | Felix Hernandez | SEA | SP |
73 | Adam Jones | BAL | CF |
74 | Adrian Gonzalez | LAD | 1B |
75 | Jason Heyward | CHC | CF,RF |
76 | Matt Kemp | SD | RF |
77 | Sonny Gray | OAK | SP |
78 | Albert Pujols | LAA | 1B,DH |
79 | Trevor Rosenthal | STL | RP |
80 | Jeurys Familia | NYM | RP |
81 | Stephen Piscotty | STL | 1B,LF,RF |
82 | Rougned Odor | TEX | 2B |
83 | Freddie Freeman | ATL | 1B |
84 | David Robertson | CWS | RP |
85 | Mark Melancon | PIT | RP |
86 | Justin Verlander | DET | SP |
87 | Dustin Pedroia | BOS | 2B |
88 | Prince Fielder | TEX | 1B,DH |
89 | Chris Archer | TB | SP |
90 | Zach Britton | BAL | RP |
91 | Carlos Martinez | STL | SP |
92 | Maikel Franco | PHI | 3B |
93 | Yu Darvish | TEX | SP |
94 | Cody Allen | CLE | RP |
95 | Roberto Osuna | TOR | RP |
96 | Gerardo Parra | COL | LF,CF,RF |
97 | Trevor Story | COL | SS |
98 | Mark Trumbo | BAL | 1B,LF,RF,DH |
99 | Jordan Zimmermann | DET | SP |
100 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | SP |
101 | Evan Longoria | TB | 3B |
102 | Salvador Perez | KC | C |
103 | Christian Yelich | MIA | LF,CF |
104 | Jeff Samardzija | SF | SP |
105 | Jose Quintana | CWS | SP |
106 | Adam Eaton | CWS | CF,RF |
107 | Troy Tulowitzki | TOR | SS |
108 | Michael Wacha | STL | SP |
109 | Hector Rondon | CHC | RP |
110 | Kole Calhoun | LAA | RF |
111 | Jonathan Villar | MIL | 3B,SS |
112 | Miguel Sano | MIN | 3B,RF,DH |
113 | Jacoby Ellsbury | NYY | CF |
114 | Russell Martin | TOR | C |
115 | Francisco Rodriguez | DET | RP |
116 | Steven Matz | NYM | SP |
117 | Jonathan Papelbon | WSH | RP |
118 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | SP |
119 | Adam Wainwright | STL | SP |
120 | Dallas Keuchel | HOU | SP |
121 | Brandon Belt | SF | 1B,LF |
122 | Kenta Maeda | LAD | SP |
123 | Taijuan Walker | SEA | SP |
124 | Francisco Liriano | PIT | SP |
125 | Dexter Fowler | CHC | CF |
126 | Eugenio Suarez | CIN | 3B,SS |
127 | Wil Myers | SD | 1B,CF |
128 | Brett Gardner | NYY | LF,CF |
129 | Hisashi Iwakuma | SEA | SP |
130 | A.J. Ramos | MIA | RP |
131 | Ben Zobrist | CHC | 2B,LF |
132 | Lance McCullers | HOU | SP |
133 | Elvis Andrus | TEX | SS |
134 | Anthony Rendon | WSH | 2B,3B |
135 | Matt Duffy | SF | 2B,3B |
136 | Kendrys Morales | KC | 1B,DH |
137 | Rich Hill | OAK | SP |
138 | John Lackey | CHC | SP |
139 | Victor Martinez | DET | 1B,DH |
140 | Brian McCann | NYY | C,1B |
141 | DJ LeMahieu | COL | 2B |
142 | David Peralta | ARI | LF,RF,CF |
143 | Wilson Ramos | WSH | C |
144 | Adam Duvall | CIN | LF |
145 | Marco Estrada | TOR | SP,RP |
146 | Jung-Ho Kang | PIT | 3B,SS |
147 | Julio Teheran | ATL | SP |
148 | Aaron Sanchez | TOR | SP,RP |
149 | Brandon Crawford | SF | SS |
150 | James Shields | CWS | SP |
151 | Addison Russell | CHC | 2B,SS |
152 | Marcell Ozuna | MIA | CF,RF |
153 | Michael Conforto | NYM | LF |
154 | Evan Gattis | HOU | C,LF,DH |
155 | Yasiel Puig | LAD | RF |
156 | Stephen Vogt | OAK | C,1B,DH |
157 | Randal Grichuk | STL | LF,CF,RF |
158 | Andrew Miller | NYY | RP |
159 | Drew Smyly | TB | SP |
160 | Yordano Ventura | KC | SP |
161 | Odubel Herrera | PHI | CF |
162 | Matt Wieters | BAL | C |
163 | Jake Odorizzi | TB | SP |
164 | Nick Castellanos | DET | 3B |
165 | Carlos Beltran | NYY | RF,DH |
166 | Scott Kazmir | LAD | SP |
167 | Mike Napoli | CLE | 1B,LF,DH |
168 | Collin McHugh | HOU | SP |
169 | Jay Bruce | CIN | RF |
170 | Kevin Pillar | TOR | LF,CF |
171 | Joe Ross | WSH | SP |
172 | Alexander Colome | TB | SP,RP |
173 | Ben Revere | WSH | LF,CF,RF |
174 | Melvin Upton Jr. | SD | LF,CF |
175 | Byung-ho Park | MIN | 1B,DH |
176 | Devon Travis | TOR | 2B |
177 | Brad Ziegler | ARI | RP |
178 | Santiago Casilla | SF | RP |
179 | Starlin Castro | NYY | 2B,SS |
180 | Jaime Garcia | STL | SP |
181 | Jake McGee | COL | RP |
182 | Dellin Betances | NYY | RP |
183 | Wei-Yin Chen | MIA | SP |
184 | Drew Pomeranz | SD | SP,RP |
185 | Nomar Mazara | TEX | RF |
186 | Sam Dyson | TEX | RP |
187 | Huston Street | LAA | RP |
188 | Carlos Santana | CLE | 1B,DH |
189 | Khris Davis | OAK | LF,DH |
190 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | SP |
191 | Michael Brantley | CLE | LF,CF |
192 | Jackie Bradley | BOS | LF,CF,RF |
193 | Jeremy Jeffress | MIL | RP |
194 | Colby Rasmus | HOU | LF,CF,RF |
195 | Joc Pederson | LAD | CF |
196 | Josh Harrison | PIT | 2B,3B,LF,RF |
197 | Billy Hamilton | CIN | CF |
198 | Steven Wright | BOS | SP,RP |
199 | Welington Castillo | ARI | C |
200 | Yan Gomes | CLE | C |
201 | Jeanmar Gomez | PHI | RP |
202 | Gio Gonzalez | WSH | SP |
203 | Michael Pineda | NYY | SP |
204 | Neil Walker | NYM | 2B |
205 | Carlos Gomez | HOU | CF |
206 | Patrick Corbin | ARI | SP |
207 | Mike Fiers | HOU | SP |
208 | Matt Holliday | STL | 1B,LF |
209 | Fernando Rodney | SD | RP |
210 | Ryan Madson | OAK | RP |
211 | Jason Hammel | CHC | SP |
212 | Travis Shaw | BOS | 1B,3B |
213 | Jean Segura | ARI | 2B,SS |
214 | Ender Inciarte | ATL | LF,CF,RF |
215 | Yasmani Grandal | LAD | C |
216 | Steve Cishek | SEA | RP |
217 | Corey Dickerson | TB | LF,DH |
218 | Mark Teixeira | NYY | 1B |
219 | Justin Turner | LAD | 1B,3B |
220 | Vincent Velasquez | PHI | SP,RP |
221 | Curtis Granderson | NYM | RF |
222 | Dee Gordon | MIA | 2B |
223 | Mike Leake | STL | SP |
224 | Steven Souza | TB | RF |
225 | Jake Lamb | ARI | 3B |
226 | Francisco Cervelli | PIT | C |
227 | Chris Tillman | BAL | SP |
228 | Ian Kennedy | KC | SP |
229 | Jurickson Profar | TEX | 2B,SS |
230 | Brett Lawrie | CWS | 2B,3B |
231 | Billy Burns | OAK | CF |
232 | Jonathan Schoop | BAL | 2B |
233 | Josh Reddick | OAK | RF |
234 | Alcides Escobar | KC | SS |
235 | Kevin Gausman | BAL | SP,RP |
236 | Byron Buxton | MIN | CF |
237 | Shin-Soo Choo | TEX | RF |
238 | Arodys Vizcaino | ATL | RP |
239 | Joe Panik | SF | 2B |
240 | Travis d'Arnaud | NYM | C |
241 | Aledmys Diaz | STL | 2B,SS |
242 | Brandon Phillips | CIN | 2B |
243 | Denard Span | SF | CF |
244 | Michael Saunders | TOR | LF,RF |
245 | Aaron Nola | PHI | SP |
246 | Alex Wood | LAD | SP |
247 | Leonys Martin | SEA | CF |
248 | Danny Valencia | OAK | 3B,LF |
249 | Luke Gregerson | HOU | RP |
250 | Jose Reyes | COL | SS |