Rest-Of-Season Fantasy Baseball Rankings: MLB Mid-Year Updates and Analysis

With the MLB All-Star break approaching and the season's halfway mark upon us, I figure it's time to drop a full-blown fantasy baseball rankings update. Scroll along to see my ranks broken down by position, with a smattering of analysis commentary following each position's table.

To be clear, these rest-of-season fantasy baseball rankings are geared towards traditional 5x5 roto leagues. Don't hate on me for position eligibility crossover quirks, as I'm using the combined eligibility from all major platforms to cast the widest net of help.

I wrote this between Sunday and Monday, with most stats mentioned here going into July 11th. Without further ado, let's kick off my position-by-position breakdown as we look towards the second half of our glorious fantasy baseball season.

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Catcher Fantasy Baseball Rankings 

J.T. Realmuto has quietly been the top catcher over the last 30 days in 5x5 formats, largely thanks to an increase in steals (eight since May 31). He’s 11-of-11 on attempts this season, which helps offset a career-worst .236 batting average and .369 slugging percentage. Bats such as Alejandro Kirk, Will Smith, Willson Contreras, Adley Rutschman, Travis d’Arnaud, and Christian Vazquez have taken the more traditional avenue to value for catchers. Jonah Heim continues to rise and should see plenty of playing time with Mitch Garver out for the season.

MJ Melendez has a 14% walk rate and 25% strikeout rate in the last month, but has been undone by a laughable .167 BABIP in that span. I know he flashes that powerful uppercut swing but come on! If his luck doesn’t turn by August then he could be in trouble as Salvador Perez gears up for a return.

Daulton Varsho remains a solid play but hit .176 in June after batting .301 in May, seeing a May BABIP of .358 plummet to .209 in a win for the regression warriors. Hold the line, he’ll be fine. It’ll be interesting to see if time splits between Yasmani Grandal and Seby Zavala once Grandal is ready to return (Zavala has a .500 BABIP, hah, expect majority Grandal). I wish Elias Diaz or Brian Serven would perform well enough to take the Colorado C reps but there’s no profitable target, sadly.

Rank	Name	Team	Positions
1	J.T. Realmuto	PHI	C,1B
2	Alejandro Kirk	TOR	C,DH
3	Willson Contreras	CHC	C,DH
4	Will Smith	LAD	C,DH
5	MJ Melendez	KC	C,DH,RF
6	Daulton Varsho	ARI	C,CF,DH,LF,RF
7	Travis d'Arnaud	ATL	C
8	Adley Rutschman	BAL	C
9	Sean Murphy	OAK	C,DH
10	Tyler Stephenson	CIN	C,1B
11	Gary Sanchez	MIN	C,DH
12	Christian Vazquez	BOS	C
13	Jonah Heim	TEX	C
14	Jose Trevino	NYY	C
15	Cal Raleigh	SEA	C
16	Eric Haase	DET	C,DH,LF
17	Salvador Perez	KC	C,DH
18	Yasmani Grandal	CWS	1B,C,DH
19	Austin Nola	SD	C
20	William Contreras	ATL	C,DH
21	Carson Kelly	ARI	C
22	Jorge Alfaro	SD	C,DH,LF
23	Max Stassi	LAA	C
24	Keibert Ruiz	WSH	C
25	Elias Diaz	COL	C
26	Kyle Higashioka	NYY	C
27	Victor Caratini	MIL	C
28	Omar Narvaez	MIL	C
29	Ryan Jeffers	MIN	C
30	James McCann	NYM	C,1B
31	Christian Bethancourt	TB	1B,C,DH
32	Gabriel Moreno	TOR	C
33	Nick Fortes	MIA	C
34	Brian Serven	COL	C
35	Martin Maldonado	HOU	C

 

First Base Fantasy Baseball Rankings

There are 23 1B-eligible players within the top 100 on Yahoo’s 5x5 leaderboard over the last month. Expand this to the full season and you have 25 in the top 150. I don’t care much for splitting hairs at the top of a top-heavy crop. Paul Goldschmidt reigns supreme in a bid for the 2022 NL MVP award, but Freddie Freeman has turned it on, Kyle Schwarber is clobbering the ball on a daily basis, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a top-25 bat in the last 30 days.

Scream Coors all you want, but C.J. Cron is crushing it in Colorado. Sure, he has 15 home runs and a .355 batting average at altitude against only five home runs and a .229 average on the road, but no one gets to be surprised by Coors splits in 2022.

And then there’s the stellar crop of Ryan Mountcastle, Josh Bell, and Anthony Rizzo. Pete Alonso is one of the few upper-tier 1B that have “slipped” against the field but that’s largely by virtue of a fluky 23 R+RBI in the last 30 days (Vladito has 40, Freeman 39, Goldschmidt 38, etc.) so hold your breath.

Jared Walsh is one of the few true pain points at the position among highly-drafted starters. The 28-year-old had a .258/.312/.468 slash line with 10 home runs and 59 R+RBI through 205 PAs on June 5 to cover up the 27.8% strikeout rate. In the 113 PAs since (through July 10), Walsh has only three home runs with 14 R+RBI and a .227/.248/.364 triple slash. That’s two walks to 38 strikeouts. The Angels don’t have many excuses to bench Walsh given their depth but fantasy players can do so in the meantime.

Some other quicker hits for 1B eligible bats here: 

Trey Mancini could be dealt away from WALLtimore’s left-field barrier and see his power numbers rebound but he’s a non-factor right now. Christian Walker is a beast with 21 home runs and a healthy 13% walk rate but the .192 BABIP covers up a .272 xBA as the shift and bad luck combine to pummel his value. Matt Carpenter’s revamped swing plays perfectly for Yankee Stadium and is a strong 12-team option. While Spencer Torkelson has stunk, don’t write off other youngsters like Vinnie Pasquantino yet.

Rank	Name	Team	Positions
1	Paul Goldschmidt	STL	1B,DH
2	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	TOR	1B,DH
3	Freddie Freeman	LAD	1B
4	Pete Alonso	NYM	1B,DH
5	Austin Riley	ATL	1B,3B
6	C.J. Cron	COL	1B,DH
7	Kyle Schwarber	PHI	1B,DH,LF
8	Matt Olson	ATL	1B
9	Ryan Mountcastle	BAL	1B,LF,DH
10	Josh Bell	WSH	1B,LF
11	Jose Abreu	CWS	1B,DH
12	Anthony Rizzo	NYY	1B
13	Rhys Hoskins	PHI	1B
14	Kris Bryant	COL	1B,3B,LF,CF,RF
15	Luis Arraez	MIN	1B,2B,3B,DH,LF
16	Ty France	SEA	1B,2B,3B,DH
17	J.T. Realmuto	PHI	C,1B
18	DJ LeMahieu	NYY	1B,2B,3B
19	Patrick Wisdom	CHC	1B,3B,LF
20	Jake Cronenworth	SD	1B,2B,SS
21	Lourdes Gurriel Jr.	TOR	1B,DH,LF
22	Jared Walsh	LAA	1B,RF
23	Brandon Drury	CIN	1B,2B,3B,DH,LF,RF
24	Christian Walker	ARI	1B
25	Isaac Paredes	TB	1B,2B,3B
26	Nathaniel Lowe	TEX	1B
27	Luke Voit	SD	1B,DH
28	Alex Kirilloff	MIN	1B,LF,RF
29	Andrew Vaughn	CWS	1B,DH,LF,RF
30	Jesus Aguilar	MIA	1B,DH
31	Rowdy Tellez	MIL	1B,DH
32	Matt Carpenter	NYY	1B,2B,DH
33	Juan Yepez	STL	1B,3B,DH,LF,RF
34	Max Muncy	LAD	1B,2B,3B,DH
35	Trey Mancini	BAL	1B,DH,RF
36	Eduardo Escobar	NYM	1B,2B,3B
37	Vinnie Pasquantino	KC	1B,DH
38	Yuli Gurriel	HOU	1B
39	Josh Naylor	CLE	1B,DH,RF
40	Harold Ramirez	TB	1B,CF,DH,LF,RF
41	Brandon Belt	SF	1B,DH
42	Hunter Dozier	KC	1B,3B,DH,LF,RF
43	Jurickson Profar	SD	1B,2B,LF,CF,RF
44	Jonathan Schoop	DET	1B,2B,DH
45	Bobby Dalbec	BOS	1B,3B
46	Joey Votto	CIN	1B
47	Tyler Stephenson	CIN	C,1B
48	Connor Joe	COL	1B,DH,LF,RF
49	Seth Brown	OAK	1B,LF,RF
50	Brendan Donovan	STL	1B,2B,3B,LF,RF,SS

 

Second Base Fantasy Baseball Rankings

Shoutout to the guy in one of my leagues who dropped Marcus Semien on the morning of May 15! The 31-year-old was on a six-game hitless streak and owned a .154/.215/.203 slash with zero home runs. The rage-drop was understood, but the hits started falling into late May and since May 15, Semien has a familiar .287/.339/.502 slash with 11 home runs and 12 steals in just 51 games. That’s a superstar-worthy 30/30 pace over a full season! 

In a similar vein, Trevor Story’s been all sorts of hot and cold throughout 2022 but his slot in the middle of Boston’s potent order has yielded 35 R+RBI in the last 30 days. This is the most for a second baseman in that window. Entering play on Monday, Story and Trea Turner paced the field with 107 R+RBI. Story is also one of four at the keystone with double-digit home runs and steals.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. expects to play in the All-Star game and should be ready to continue a stellar sophomore season in the second half. As he trends towards a return, Whit Merrifield’s toe injury has him hitting the injured list. Maybe some of you out there are waiting on Brandon Lowe as his rehab assignment progresses. And maybe some of you wish Jonathan India took longer on his rehab assignment, as the 25-year-old is just now awakening after returning from the IL on June 14. 

India has six hits in his last five games entering Monday but is hitting .176 with five extra-base hits in 100 PAs since the return. He’s struck out 26 times against only three walks while going 1-of-3 on the basepaths, so things are just generally poor across the board. But he remains Cincy’s leadoff man at a hitter-friendly park so try to find a spot on the bench if you must. Speaking of GABP, Brandon Drury demands respect, but a trade away from GABP would hurt (.936 home OPS, .786 road OPS).

And then there’s the meteoric rise of Jon Berti, who was finally given an avenue to playing time and hit the ground running. The speedster only had two stolen bases until May 27 and by July 11 he leads the majors with 27 swipes. Ha, ha, ha. His momentum slowed a bit in early July but then he rattled off back-to-back three-hit games with a steal in each, so the party continues.

Rank	Name	Team	Positions
1	Trea Turner	LAD	2B,SS
2	Mookie Betts	LAD	2B,CF,RF
3	Marcus Semien	TEX	2B,SS
4	Trevor Story	BOS	2B,SS
5	Tommy Edman	STL	2B,RF,SS
6	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	MIA	2B,SS
7	Gleyber Torres	NYY	2B,SS
8	Jose Altuve	HOU	2B
9	Luis Arraez	MIN	1B,2B,3B,DH,LF
10	Ty France	SEA	1B,2B,3B,DH
11	Jorge Polanco	MIN	2B,SS
12	Whit Merrifield	KC	2B,CF,RF
13	Christopher Morel	CHC	2B,3B,CF
14	DJ LeMahieu	NYY	1B,2B,3B
15	Javier Baez	DET	2B,SS
16	Ketel Marte	ARI	2B,CF,DH
17	Jon Berti	MIA	2B,3B,LF,SS
18	Jake Cronenworth	SD	1B,2B,SS
19	Brendan Rodgers	COL	2B,SS
20	Brandon Drury	CIN	1B,2B,3B,DH,LF,RF
21	Isaac Paredes	TB	1B,2B,3B
22	Jonathan India	CIN	2B
23	Brandon Lowe	TB	2B,LF,RF
24	Josh Rojas	ARI	2B,3B,SS,LF,RF
25	Matt Carpenter	NYY	1B,2B,DH
26	Nick Senzel	CIN	2B,CF
27	Gavin Lux	LAD	2B,SS,LF,CF
28	Kolten Wong	MIL	2B
29	Max Muncy	LAD	1B,2B,3B,DH
30	Andres Gimenez	CLE	2B,SS
31	Eduardo Escobar	NYM	1B,2B,3B
32	Ryan McMahon	COL	2B,3B
33	Nico Hoerner	CHC	2B,SS
34	Santiago Espinal	TOR	2B,3B
35	Jurickson Profar	SD	1B,2B,LF,CF,RF
36	Luis Urias	MIL	2B,3B,SS
37	Jonathan Schoop	DET	1B,2B,DH
38	Kike Hernandez	BOS	2B,CF
39	Thairo Estrada	SF	2B,SS
40	Jeff McNeil	NYM	2B,LF
41	Brendan Donovan	STL	1B,2B,3B,LF,RF,SS
42	Jorge Mateo	BAL	2B,SS,CF
43	Luis Garcia	WSH	2B,SS
44	Nolan Gorman	STL	2B,3B,DH
45	Owen Miller	CLE	1B,2B,DH
46	Jace Peterson	MIL	1B,2B,3B,LF,RF
47	Chris Taylor	LAD	2B,3B,SS,LF,CF,RF
48	Nick Gordon	MIN	2B,SS,LF,CF
49	C.J. Abrams	SD	2B,SS
50	Jean Segura	PHI	2B

 

Third Base Fantasy Baseball Rankings

Jose Ramirez homered on July 9 for his 17th home run of the season, which sounds solid until you remember he hit HR No. 16 way back on June 10. I know that powerless streak hurt a bit but he still hit around .280 with four steals and 24 R+RBI in that span to remain a top-150 player. We also stomached a Manny Machado injury that could’ve been a lot worse and now he gets a four-game series at Coors. Rafael Devers is a monster and is day-to-day with a back issue, likely from carrying Boston’s lineup.

That trio has all justified their lofty draft costs throughout 2022 but Austin Riley might be the best buy of them all. I was worried about his stretch run in ‘21 where he swung aggressively and barely drew a walk, but he’s stayed hot this year with a wild 25% HR/FB rate and an improved zone-contact rate. Color me impressed!

Justin Turner has also resuscitated his fantasy stock, much to the chagrin of those stashing Miguel Vargas, but perhaps the injury to Chris Taylor and Max Muncy’s struggles will still crack the door open. Matt Chapman has seen a similar renaissance of late, as has Josh Donaldson. Hopefully, those of you who sat through the struggles for Yoan Moncada, Ke’Bryan Hayes, and Ryan McMahon were able to scoop a replacement such as Alec Bohm or Christopher Morel on the wire.

Rank	Name	Team	Positions
1	Jose Ramirez	CLE	3B,DH
2	Rafael Devers	BOS	3B
3	Manny Machado	SD	3B,DH
4	Austin Riley	ATL	1B,3B
5	Nolan Arenado	STL	3B,DH
6	Bobby Witt Jr.	KC	3B,SS
7	Alex Bregman	HOU	3B
8	Kris Bryant	COL	1B,3B,LF,CF,RF
9	Luis Arraez	MIN	1B,2B,3B,DH,LF
10	Ty France	SEA	1B,2B,3B,DH
11	Christopher Morel	CHC	2B,3B,CF
12	DJ LeMahieu	NYY	1B,2B,3B
13	Eugenio Suarez	SEA	3B,DH,SS
14	Patrick Wisdom	CHC	1B,3B,LF
15	Jon Berti	MIA	2B,3B,LF,SS
16	Justin Turner	LAD	3B,DH
17	Brandon Drury	CIN	1B,2B,3B,DH,LF,RF
18	Isaac Paredes	TB	1B,2B,3B
19	Josh Rojas	ARI	2B,3B,SS,LF,RF
20	Juan Yepez	STL	1B,3B,DH,LF,RF
21	Josh Donaldson	NYY	3B,DH
22	Matt Chapman	TOR	3B
23	Ke'Bryan Hayes	PIT	3B
24	Max Muncy	LAD	1B,2B,3B,DH
25	Eduardo Escobar	NYM	1B,2B,3B
26	Ryan McMahon	COL	2B,3B
27	Alec Bohm	PHI	3B
28	Jeimer Candelario	DET	3B
29	Gio Urshela	MIN	3B,SS
30	Santiago Espinal	TOR	2B,3B
31	Hunter Dozier	KC	1B,3B,DH,LF,RF
32	Luis Urias	MIL	2B,3B,SS
33	Bobby Dalbec	BOS	1B,3B
34	Brendan Donovan	STL	1B,2B,3B,LF,RF,SS
35	Nolan Gorman	STL	2B,3B,DH
36	Kyle Farmer	CIN	3B,SS
37	Jace Peterson	MIL	1B,2B,3B,LF,RF
38	Chris Taylor	LAD	2B,3B,SS,LF,CF,RF
39	Yandy Diaz	TB	1B,3B
40	Wander Franco	TB	3B,SS
41	Rougned Odor	BAL	2B,3B
42	Evan Longoria	SF	3B,DH
43	Diego Castillo	PIT	2B,3B,RF,SS
44	Dylan Moore	SEA	2B,3B,LF,RF,SS
45	Jonathan Villar	LAA	2B,3B,SS
46	Jose Miranda	MIN	1B,3B
47	Nolan Jones	CLE	3B
48	Emmanuel Rivera	KC	3B
49	Spencer Torkelson	DET	1B,3B
50	Jake Burger	CWS	3B

 

Shortstop Fantasy Baseball Rankings

Holy. Dansby. Swanson. The 28-year-old is ranked No. 1 on Yahoo’s 5x5 scoring system in the last 30 days with pure five-category contributions. Congrats to those of you who drafted him because the shortstop position has quietly underwhelmed of late. It hasn’t been bad but we’ve expected more from Bo Bichette, Xander Bogaerts, and Tim Anderson (okay, he’s been bad). Even Francisco Lindor is only ranked 150 in the last 30 days.

And now fantasy teams must replace Wander Franco for possibly two months. We also had to dance around injuries to Jorge Polanco, Bobby Witt Jr., and Jeremy Pena. At least we have seen Corey Seager and Javier Baez come alive, with Willy Adames, Amed Rosario, and Gleyber Torres also holding steady as top-75 players.

As a Yankee boy at heart, I am also begging for Oswald Peraza to get his chance in the majors. I respect how Isiah Kiner-Falefa re-tooled his approach and had a nice 2021 season, but if you’re going to be a defense-first asset then you better be an extremely reliable glove and he’s not. Meanwhile, Peraza is hitting nearly .300 with a wonderful last 30 games:

Oswald Peraza in his last 30 games:

.287/.362/.496, 6 HR, 15 RBI, 11 BB, 10 SB, 33 Hits

We’re waiting @Yankees

— YankeesMuse  (@YankeesMuse) July 11, 2022

Rank	Name	Team	Positions
1	Trea Turner	LAD	2B,SS
2	Marcus Semien	TEX	2B,SS
3	Dansby Swanson	ATL	SS
4	Trevor Story	BOS	2B,SS
5	Bo Bichette	TOR	DH,SS
6	Francisco Lindor	NYM	SS
7	Xander Bogaerts	BOS	SS
8	Fernando Tatis Jr.	SD	SS,CF,RF
9	Bobby Witt Jr.	KC	3B,SS
10	Tommy Edman	STL	2B,RF,SS
11	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	MIA	2B,SS
12	Gleyber Torres	NYY	2B,SS
13	Corey Seager	TEX	SS
14	Carlos Correa	MIN	SS
15	Tim Anderson	CWS	SS
16	Jorge Polanco	MIN	2B,SS
17	Willy Adames	MIL	SS
18	Javier Baez	DET	2B,SS
19	Jeremy Pena	HOU	SS
20	Eugenio Suarez	SEA	3B,DH,SS
21	Jon Berti	MIA	2B,3B,LF,SS
22	Jake Cronenworth	SD	1B,2B,SS
23	Brendan Rodgers	COL	2B,SS
24	Amed Rosario	CLE	CF,LF,SS
25	Oneil Cruz	PIT	SS
26	Josh Rojas	ARI	2B,3B,SS,LF,RF
27	Gavin Lux	LAD	2B,SS,LF,CF
28	Andres Gimenez	CLE	2B,SS
29	Nico Hoerner	CHC	2B,SS
30	Gio Urshela	MIN	3B,SS
31	J.P. Crawford	SEA	SS
32	Isiah Kiner-Falefa	NYY	SS
33	Luis Urias	MIL	2B,3B,SS
34	Miguel Rojas	MIA	SS
35	Elvis Andrus	OAK	SS
36	Thairo Estrada	SF	2B,SS
37	Brendan Donovan	STL	1B,2B,3B,LF,RF,SS
38	Jorge Mateo	BAL	2B,SS,CF
39	Luis Garcia	WSH	2B,SS
40	Kyle Farmer	CIN	3B,SS
41	Brandon Crawford	SF	SS
42	Chris Taylor	LAD	2B,3B,SS,LF,CF,RF
43	Nick Gordon	MIN	2B,SS,LF,CF
44	C.J. Abrams	SD	2B,SS
45	Wander Franco	TB	3B,SS
46	Diego Castillo	PIT	2B,3B,RF,SS
47	Dylan Moore	SEA	2B,3B,LF,RF,SS
48	Jonathan Villar	LAA	2B,3B,SS
49	Ha-Seong Kim	SD	2B,3B,SS
50	Nicky Lopez	KC	2B,3B,SS

 

Outfield Fantasy Baseball Rankings

Losing Bryce Harper for an undetermined amount of time with a broken hand is crippling to any fantasy team and you have my sympathy. I’m over here hoping this quick IL stint for Yordan Alvarez’s hand is enough to keep him chugging in the MVP race throughout the second half. There are several stud OFs performing like we’d expect, with huge summertime sprees coming from Luis Robert, Kyle Tucker, Teoscar Hernandez, and Juan Soto while Aaron Judge continues his own MVP campaign. Plus, Mookie Betts returned from a rib injury and has launched three home runs in a week so he looks A-OK.

Giancarlo Stanton has 16 hits over the last month but 10 of them have left the yard, making him a top-50 bat despite the .174 average in that window. Just mix him with Cedric Mullins’ one home run but .303 average and you have a composite superstar…aka Julio Rodriguez! Mullins has five steals and a .300 average in the last month, which we’ll happily take compared to Nick Castellanos have one home run with only two steals and a .252 average in the same timespan. We have no choice but to bump him down a tier or two.

Raise your hand if you’re rocking with Money Michael Harris II, who is handling MLB pitching with style at just 21 years old. Over his first 41 games, the rookie is hitting .300 with seven home runs while going a perfect 7-for-7 on steal attempts. I anticipated a plus average with wheels but didn’t expect the power to show up until he grew more into his six-foot frame. That said, the HR/FB rate near 25% is very unlikely to hold, but more singles yield additional steal opportunities! Always look on the bright side.

Others brightening their outlooks of late have been Aaron Hicks, Andrew McCutchen, Nick Senzel, Alex Verdugo, and Ramon Laureano. On the flip side, some sliders compared to our last update are Taylor Ward, Austin Hays, and AJ Pollock. I’m not sure Myles Straw has stopped sliding since April ended.

We’ve also seen recent returns of Eloy Jimenez, Seiya Suzuki, Eddie Rosario, and hopefully, Tyler O’Neill by the time this is published! Jimenez only posted a .668 OPS across 63 Triple-A PAs on rehab and has a .633 OPS over 15 MLB games in ‘22, but we hope he finds a groove soon. The White Sox have too many DH-types to let Eloy get comfortable at the dish by consistently taking his mind off of defense, unfortunately.

Rank	Name	Team	Positions
1	Aaron Judge	NYY	CF,RF,DH
2	Mike Trout	LAA	CF
3	Ronald Acuna Jr.	ATL	DH,RF
4	Kyle Tucker	HOU	RF
5	Julio Rodriguez	SEA	CF,RF
6	Juan Soto	WSH	RF
7	Yordan Alvarez	HOU	LF,DH
8	Mookie Betts	LAD	2B,CF,RF
9	Luis Robert	CWS	CF
10	Teoscar Hernandez	TOR	DH,LF,RF
11	Cedric Mullins II	BAL	CF
12	Starling Marte	NYM	CF,RF
13	Byron Buxton	MIN	CF,DH
14	Fernando Tatis Jr.	SD	SS,CF,RF
15	Kyle Schwarber	PHI	1B,DH,LF
16	Tommy Edman	STL	2B,RF,SS
17	George Springer	TOR	CF,DH,RF
18	Randy Arozarena	TB	DH,LF,RF
19	Giancarlo Stanton	NYY	LF,RF,DH
20	J.D. Martinez	BOS	LF,RF,DH
21	Ryan Mountcastle	BAL	1B,LF,DH
22	Josh Bell	WSH	1B,LF
23	Michael Harris II	ATL	CF
24	Marcell Ozuna	ATL	DH,LF
25	Christian Yelich	MIL	DH,LF
26	Bryan Reynolds	PIT	LF,CF
27	Kris Bryant	COL	1B,3B,LF,CF,RF
28	Luis Arraez	MIN	1B,2B,3B,DH,LF
29	Adolis Garcia	TEX	CF,DH,LF,RF
30	Nick Castellanos	PHI	RF
31	Whit Merrifield	KC	2B,CF,RF
32	Tyler O'Neill	STL	LF
33	Christopher Morel	CHC	2B,3B,CF
34	Cody Bellinger	LAD	CF
35	Ketel Marte	ARI	2B,CF,DH
36	Alex Verdugo	BOS	LF,CF,RF
37	Patrick Wisdom	CHC	1B,3B,LF
38	Jon Berti	MIA	2B,3B,LF,SS
39	Taylor Ward	LAA	LF,CF,RF
40	Lourdes Gurriel Jr.	TOR	1B,DH,LF
41	Jared Walsh	LAA	1B,RF
42	Brandon Drury	CIN	1B,2B,3B,DH,LF,RF
43	Seiya Suzuki	CHC	LF,RF
44	Austin Hays	BAL	LF,RF
45	Andrew Benintendi	KC	LF
46	Jesse Winker	SEA	LF
47	Franmil Reyes	CLE	RF,DH
48	Alex Kirilloff	MIN	1B,LF,RF
49	Andrew Vaughn	CWS	1B,DH,LF,RF
50	Tommy Pham	CIN	CF,DH,LF
51	Brandon Lowe	TB	2B,LF,RF
52	Joc Pederson	SF	CF,DH,LF,RF
53	Amed Rosario	CLE	CF,LF,SS
54	Ramon Laureano	OAK	CF,RF
55	Eloy Jimenez	CWS	DH,LF
56	Ian Happ	CHC	CF,DH,LF,RF
57	Brandon Nimmo	NYM	LF,CF
58	MJ Melendez	KC	C,DH,RF
59	Josh Rojas	ARI	2B,3B,SS,LF,RF
60	Juan Yepez	STL	1B,3B,DH,LF,RF
61	Randal Grichuk	COL	CF,DH,RF
62	Charlie Blackmon	COL	DH,RF
63	Andrew McCutchen	MIL	DH,LF,RF
64	Anthony Santander	BAL	DH,LF,RF
65	Daulton Varsho	ARI	C,CF,DH,LF,RF
66	Nick Senzel	CIN	2B,CF
67	Aaron Hicks	NYY	CF,LF
68	Avisail Garcia	MIA	RF
69	Gavin Lux	LAD	2B,SS,LF,CF
70	Dylan Carlson	STL	LF,CF,RF
71	Trent Grisham	SD	CF
72	Trey Mancini	BAL	1B,DH,RF
73	Riley Greene	DET	CF
74	Bryce Harper	PHI	DH,RF
75	Alek Thomas	ARI	CF
76	Adam Duvall	ATL	LF,CF,RF
77	Eddie Rosario	ATL	LF,RF
78	Jorge Soler	MIA	DH,LF,RF
79	Hunter Renfroe	MIL	CF,RF
80	AJ Pollock	CWS	CF,LF,RF
81	Jesus Sanchez	MIA	CF,LF,RF
82	Kole Calhoun	TEX	LF,RF
83	Josh Naylor	CLE	1B,DH,RF
84	Harold Ramirez	TB	1B,CF,DH,LF,RF
85	David Peralta	ARI	LF
86	Michael Brantley	HOU	LF,RF,DH
87	Mike Yastrzemski	SF	CF,RF
88	Mark Canha	NYM	LF,CF,RF
89	Hunter Dozier	KC	1B,3B,DH,LF,RF
90	Steven Kwan	CLE	CF,LF,RF
91	Jurickson Profar	SD	1B,2B,LF,CF,RF
92	Max Kepler	MIN	CF,RF
93	Harrison Bader	STL	CF
94	Albert Almora Jr.	CIN	CF,LF,RF
95	Oscar Gonzalez	CLE	RF
96	Lane Thomas	WSH	LF,CF,RF
97	Jack Suwinski	PIT	CF,LF,RF
98	Kike Hernandez	BOS	2B,CF
99	Tyler Naquin	CIN	CF,DH,LF,RF
100	Seth Brown	OAK	1B,LF,RF

 

Starting Pitcher Fantasy Baseball Rankings

You better rock with my weekly RoS Top 101 starting pitcher articles! That's from last week. Here's a preview of tomorrow's with the table:

Rank	Name	Team	Positions
1	Corbin Burnes	MIL	SP
2	Gerrit Cole	NYY	SP
3	Shane McClanahan	TB	SP
4	Shohei Ohtani	LAA	SP,DH
5	Max Scherzer	NYM	SP
6	Sandy Alcantara	MIA	SP
7	Joe Musgrove	SD	SP
8	Zack Wheeler	PHI	SP
9	Justin Verlander	HOU	SP
10	Carlos Rodon	SF	SP
11	Brandon Woodruff	MIL	SP
12	Max Fried	ATL	SP
13	Aaron Nola	PHI	SP
14	Kevin Gausman	TOR	SP
15	Alek Manoah	TOR	SP
16	Logan Webb	SF	SP
17	Luis Severino	NYY	RP,SP
18	Dylan Cease	CWS	SP
19	Robbie Ray	SEA	SP
20	Nestor Cortes Jr.	NYY	SP,RP
21	Julio Urias	LAD	SP
22	Clayton Kershaw	LAD	SP
23	Yu Darvish	SD	SP
24	Shane Bieber	CLE	SP
25	Lucas Giolito	CWS	SP
26	Chris Bassitt	NYM	SP
27	Tony Gonsolin	LAD	SP
28	Cristian Javier	HOU	SP,RP
29	Spencer Strider	ATL	RP,SP
30	Jacob deGrom	NYM	SP
31	Charlie Morton	ATL	SP
32	Kyle Wright	ATL	SP
33	Frankie Montas	OAK	SP
34	Shane Baz	TB	SP
35	Pablo Lopez	MIA	SP
36	Luis Castillo	CIN	SP
37	Logan Gilbert	SEA	SP
38	Framber Valdez	HOU	SP
39	Sean Manaea	SD	SP
40	Chris Sale	BOS	SP
41	Lance Lynn	CWS	SP
42	Michael Kopech	CWS	SP,RP
43	Luis Garcia	HOU	SP
44	Jordan Montgomery	NYY	SP
45	Zac Gallen	ARI	SP
46	Nick Lodolo	CIN	SP
47	Sonny Gray	MIN	SP
48	Joe Ryan	MIN	SP
49	Tyler Mahle	CIN	SP
50	Nick Pivetta	BOS	SP
51	Tyler Anderson	LAD	SP
52	Patrick Sandoval	LAA	SP
53	Jon Gray	TEX	SP
54	Jose Urquidy	HOU	SP
55	Andrew Heaney	LAD	SP,RP
56	Carlos Carrasco	NYM	SP
57	George Kirby	SEA	SP
58	Jose Berrios	TOR	SP
59	Aaron Ashby	MIL	SP,RP
60	Taijuan Walker	NYM	SP
61	Alex Wood	SF	SP
62	Tarik Skubal	DET	SP
63	Mike Clevinger	SD	SP
64	Jameson Taillon	NYY	SP
65	Triston McKenzie	CLE	SP
66	Alex Cobb	SF	SP
67	Freddy Peralta	MIL	SP
68	MacKenzie Gore	SD	SP
69	Adam Wainwright	STL	SP
70	Blake Snell	SD	SP
71	Miles Mikolas	STL	SP
72	Martin Perez	TEX	SP,RP
73	Nathan Eovaldi	BOS	SP
74	Tyler Wells	BAL	RP,SP
75	Roansy Contreras	PIT	SP
76	Eric Lauer	MIL	SP
77	Josiah Gray	WSH	SP
78	Keegan Thompson	CHC	SP,RP
79	Noah Syndergaard	LAA	SP
80	Paul Blackburn	OAK	SP
81	Hunter Greene	CIN	SP
82	Reid Detmers	LAA	SP
83	Drew Rasmussen	TB	SP,RP
84	Ross Stripling	TOR	SP,RP
85	Jesus Luzardo	MIA	SP,RP
86	Marcus Stroman	CHC	SP
87	Jeffrey Springs	TB	RP,SP
88	Zach Eflin	PHI	SP
89	Trevor Rogers	MIA	SP
90	Kyle Gibson	PHI	SP
91	Luis Patino	TB	SP
92	Cal Quantrill	CLE	SP,RP
93	Corey Kluber	TB	SP
94	Johnny Cueto	CWS	SP
95	Kutter Crawford	BOS	RP,SP
96	Brayan Bello	BOS	SP
97	Brady Singer	KC	SP
98	Graham Ashcraft	CIN	SP
99	Jose Quintana	PIT	SP,RP
100	Chris Flexen	SEA	SP
101	Zach Plesac	CLE	SP

 

Relief Pitcher Fantasy Baseball Rankings

I also have monthly top 150 RP ranking articles but those are for you SV+HLD folks, so this is my chance to angle things for the traditional 5x5 format.

The life of a closer is typically a fickle one and relying on them to hold up over the course of a season is an exercise in madness. That said, most of the top relievers have performed well thus far. Josh Hader paces the field while Liam Hendriks is healthy once again. Edwin Diaz and his otherworldly strikeout rate help us all while Emmanuel Clase saw a stellar stretch of save opportunities to end June. Kenley Jansen should return any day now and continue to anchor Atlanta’s incredible bullpen. My condolences to those who pinned their hopes on Aroldis Chapman, but I hope you got Clay Holmes!

We can’t talk about bullpens in July without sniffing around some trade deadline rumors.

Baltimore’s recent hot streak lessens my confidence in Jorge Lopez being dealt but we must be ready to add Felix Bautista just in case. I doubt Lopez would close on any buying contenders.

Boston may feel more confident in their ‘pen once Garrett Whitlock is back as the 1-2 IP high-leverage weapon. John Schreiber is a beast and Tanner Houck looks comfortable as the closer. Rumors of a Daniel Bard reunion have flown but he may go elsewhere rather than Boston, which would leave Alex Colome as a Coors closer with little strikeout upside. Bleh.

Kansas City’s Scott Barlow is a prime trade candidate that would leave the currently-injured Josh Staumont as the speculative add. Likewise, Oakland could leverage Lou Trivino’s recent run of saves into a small return but I can’t imagine Trivino is the closer on another team. Zach Jackson or Domingo Acevedo would be favorites for the ninth with Trivino out of town.

Detroit’s Gregory Soto and Michael Fulmer are both drawing trade interest, which would leave Andrew Chafin, Alex Lange, and Joe Jimenez all with a shot at saves. Since Soto is a southpaw closer then I wouldn’t worry as much about Chafin’s left-handedness being used against him when evaluating the next man up.

Heading to the NL, we could see Arizona moving Mark Melancon and granting an opportunity for Joe Mantiply in the second half. The Cubbies may move David Robertson, who stands a decent chance at closing in new threads, with Mychal Givens the favorite to step into his gig. The Pirates should flip David Bednar given the state of Pittsburgh, with speculators leaning towards Wil Crowe or Yerry De Los Santos (I’m Team YDLS).

I hope that Cincinnati finds an excuse to deal Hunter Strickland because Alexis Diaz deserves a shot at closing and entering the mainstream conversation. Washington may also decide to move Tanner Rainey with their losing record, which could see Kyle Finnegan reenact his 2021 stretch run.

But it isn’t all about saves! Seattle’s Andres Munoz is on a tear, sporting a 60.9% strikeout rate in the last 30 days that just ekes out Edwin Diaz’s 60% mark. No other RP with at least 10 innings in that window is above 50%! Others to note are the aforementioned Schreiber, Michael King, Evan Phillips, and Nabil Crismatt.

Rank	Name	Team	Positions
1	Josh Hader	MIL	RP
2	Edwin Diaz	NYM	RP
3	Liam Hendriks	CWS	RP
4	Clay Holmes	NYY	RP
5	Jordan Romano	TOR	RP
6	Raisel Iglesias	LAA	RP
7	Emmanuel Clase	CLE	RP
8	Taylor Rogers	SD	RP
9	Kenley Jansen	ATL	RP
10	Ryan Pressly	HOU	RP
11	Craig Kimbrel	LAD	RP
12	Ryan Helsley	STL	RP
13	David Bednar	PIT	RP
14	Paul Sewald	SEA	RP
15	Gregory Soto	DET	RP
16	Jorge Lopez	BAL	SP,RP
17	Tanner Houck	BOS	SP,RP
18	Tanner Scott	MIA	RP
19	Scott Barlow	KC	RP
20	Tanner Rainey	WSH	RP
21	Camilo Doval	SF	RP
22	Daniel Bard	COL	RP
23	David Robertson	CHC	RP
24	Jhoan Duran	MIN	RP,SP
25	Mark Melancon	ARI	RP
26	Seranthony Dominguez	PHI	RP
27	Diego Castillo	SEA	RP
28	Devin Williams	MIL	RP
29	Dany Jimenez	OAK	RP
30	Lou Trivino	OAK	RP
31	Giovanny Gallegos	STL	RP
32	Kendall Graveman	CWS	RP
33	Joe Barlow	TEX	RP
34	Jason Adam	TB	RP
35	A.J. Minter	ATL	RP
36	Andres Munoz	SEA	RP
37	Brett Martin	TEX	RP
38	Hector Neris	HOU	RP
39	Adam Cimber	TOR	RP
40	Colin Poche	TB	RP
41	Josh Staumont	KC	RP
42	Michael King	NYY	SP,RP
43	Garrett Whitlock	BOS	RP,SP
44	Brooks Raley	TB	RP
45	Will Smith	ATL	RP
46	Andrew Chafin	DET	RP
47	Yerry De Los Santos	PIT	RP
48	Joe Mantiply	ARI	RP
49	Alexis Diaz	CIN	RP
50	Rafael Montero	HOU	RP
51	Emilio Pagan	MIN	RP
52	Felix Bautista	BAL	RP
53	John Schreiber	BOS	RP
54	Zach Jackson	OAK	RP
55	Ryan Tepera	LAA	RP
56	Brad Hand	PHI	RP
57	Mychal Givens	CHC	RP
58	Evan Phillips	LAD	RP
59	Corey Knebel	PHI	SP,RP
60	Aroldis Chapman	NYY	RP
61	Tyler Rogers	SF	RP
62	Brad Boxberger	MIL	RP
63	Seth Lugo	NYM	RP
64	Aaron Loup	LAA	RP
65	Dennis Santana	TEX	RP
66	Dylan Floro	MIA	RP
67	Eli Morgan	CLE	RP,SP
68	Kyle Finnegan	WSH	RP
69	A.J. Puk	OAK	RP
70	John Brebbia	SF	RP
71	Jake Diekman	BOS	RP
72	Wandy Peralta	NYY	RP
73	Luis Garcia	SD	RP
74	Jesse Chavez	ATL	SP,RP
75	Nick Martinez	SD	RP,SP
76	Tyler Duffey	MIN	RP
77	Rowan Wick	CHC	RP
78	Jose Leclerc	TEX	RP
79	Domingo Acevedo	OAK	RP
80	Alex Colome	COL	RP

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