Top 150 Hitters For Fantasy Baseball 2024: Week 4 – 4/24

Roughly a third of qualified hitters have reached 100 plate appearances, and we probably won’t see anyone get to 100 batted balls until the end of the weekend series. I know I mention it every week, but most stats have too small of a sample to make sweeping conclusions.

• As a reminder, these rankings are geared toward a standard, daily, 12-team H2H redraft league, as that is typically the most popular fantasy baseball format. They will only factor in the five standard categories: Runs, RBI, Home Runs, Batting Average, and Stolen Bases.

• I would recommend not paying super close attention to the specific ranks of each player, and honing in more on the respective tiers that they’re in. Each tier represents a grouping of players that I think could arguably perform at a similar level, and/or carry similar levels of risk in terms of injury concerns or playing time obstacles. If Player X is ranked at #55 and Player Y is ranked at #65, but they’re in the same tier, it means that I personally like Player X a lot better, but think there’s a valid argument to be made for Player Y performing just as well.

• I take rankings like this as more of an art than a science. Every person’s rankings are influenced by their own biases, strategic philosophies, determinations of risk, and projections. It’s why no two rankings are ever exactly alike. My way of evaluating and ranking players has worked out well for me over the years, but it might not be a great fit for you. I can’t possibly predict your team’s specific needs, your league mates’ player evaluations, or your current waiver wire, and if I could it’d be weird. In a bad way.

• This is a safe space for me where I answer to no one but myself…and you if you leave a comment.

• I’m doing my best to use five starts or 10 appearances as the threshold for positional eligibility. I have not included presumed eligibilities based on likely new positions, but once those eligibilities are earned I’ll add them in. This is just a maintenance thing and we will update eligibility throughout the season. Feel free to let me know if I’m missing any!

 

Ranking Philosophy

 

To keep things in the same ilk, here are a couple of notes on how I generally evaluate hitters before we dive in:

 

• In 12-team formats, I just don’t see much value in guys who only provide stolen bases. It’s an important category, especially in Roto, but in shallower formats, there are too many other (and better) ways to get the steals you need without sacrificing production in the other categories.

 

• If I want to get some insight on whether what I’m seeing is new or if it’s just normal fluctuation, I’d use my favorite tool—the rolling chart, which I’ll also reference as appropriate. You can also get rolling charts from sources like FanGraphs or Baseball Savant. If you have any questions about how to do that or how to read these charts, reach out to me!

 

• No stat is an island and they should all be taken in proper context. For ranking purposes, the primary starting points I use are plate discipline, wRC+, quality of contact metrics (also known as Statcast batted ball data), lineup context, and the skills we can measure using tools such as our PLV Hitter Attributes (available for PL Pro members). I also use various projections (some free, some I buy) and dollar value generators.

 

• Positional eligibility, and specifically multi-eligibility, is neat but also isn’t a huge factor in many 10- and 12-team leagues anymore due to the prevalence of multi-eligible players. It’s of more value in deeper contests like the NFBC, or in leagues with limited roster moves (draft and hold leagues, transaction limits/costs, extremely short benches, etc.), but even then the value is fairly situational and context-dependent.

 

• On a similar note, I don’t penalize players for only qualifying in the utility slot. At most, it is a mild inconvenience if a DH-only player is available at a great value and you already have filled your utility spots.

 

• Anyone talented enough to make it to the big leagues can be brilliant or putrid for 50 to 100 at-bats—regardless of true talent. Heck, it could even last a month with no change in potential or skill. It also could be wildly meaningful. We can’t and don’t know which of these will be true until it’s over, though track record, scouting, and trends give us hints.

 

• If you’d like input on a player or have any feedback, your best bet is to reach out to me on the website formerly known as Twitter (@ifthechufits) or in the comments!

 

Read The Notes

 

• These rankings talk about what I generally project for a player, but these rankings are not projections. They include projections but also take into account performance risk, injury risk, team context, ceiling, and floor.

 

Check out the Hacks & Jacks podcast featuring Scott Chu and Joe Gallina, which also happened to be a finalist for Best Baseball Podcast of 2021 by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA)!

I also host an AMA in the r/fantasybaseball subreddit every Friday (starting sometime in late March) starting around noon ET that lasts through the rest of the day and into the weekend, so feel free to join the fun and ask questions or make comments.

 

Tier 1

 

• Ronald Acuña Jr. has been fantastic over his last 11 games (170 wRC+), and it’s worth noting that on April 24, 2023 he had only three home runs to his name (which is more than he one he has now, but not THAT much more). 30 home runs feels like an absolute floor, and 40 is still in play.
• Mookie Betts being eligible at second, shortstop, and outfield is just insanely valuable so far with how the season has played out. Like, we knew it would be valuable, but those who have run into injury issues in the infield know full well how rough that landscape is right now.
• I’m not worried about Julio Rodríguez, which is why he’s still in this tier. The movement is more about the overall strength at the top in the majors right now. We are loaded with stars.
• Freddie Freeman slides down slightly due to the low stolen base totals.

 

Tier 2

 

• Lots is being written about Aaron Judge right now, and all I have to say is that these slumps happen to everyone every single season. The crazy thing about Judge is that his 20-50 game slumps are barely worse than a league average player. The guy turns it back on every year and when it starts, it takes off like a rocket. Don’t take him out of your lineup.

• Corbin Carroll looks off right now, and it could be related to a past injury, or it could be just the normal ebb and flow. This is still an elite player with elite tools, so I can’t in good conscience drop him very far in the ranks.

 

Tier 3

 

• Elly De La Cruz started making good decisions a lot quicker this season than he did last season. It’s not likely that he stays among the league’s best decision-makers all season, but if he can even hover around league average then we’re looking at a top-ten overall player. The fact he’s not ranked there yet is a representation of the risk and potential for extreme volatility.

• Marcus Semien is hitting the ball a lot better than his 124 wRC+ suggests, though a lot of that is an unsually high line drive rate that will likely settle back in around 20%. Regardless, his extreme consistency and durability can’t be understated.
• Michael Harris II would be ranked even higher if he had extended run at the number two spot in the lineup, but with Albies due to return in a few days and Atlanta being unwilling to keep Harris near the top against lefties, hitting high in the order regularly seems unlikely. Good thing he plays for a team that produces runs all the way through the lineup.
• Mike Trout hitting leadoff in Rednon’s absence is interesting. Perhaps it leads to a few more stolen bases, but it more likely just means more plate appearances and runs scored at the expense of a few RBI.

Tier 4

 

• Ozzie Albies could be back as early as Friday.
• Gunnar Henderson looks well on his way to exceeding his 2023 totals in every single category we care about. It’s crazy to think that at the end of April in 2023, he was hitting just .189 and slugging .311 with a 31.5% strikeout rate (and he wasn’t looking all that great by the end of May, either). He finished last season with 28 home runs, 100 runs scored, and 82 RBI despite spending almost half the season hitting fifth, sixth, or seventh. With Baltimore’s improved offense and Henderson locked into the top of the lineup, we could be looking at a top-20 hitter here before we know it.
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s power has not trended the direction we’d like. There’s still monstrous talent in this still very young player, but it’s hard not to be at least a little worried that the power we’ve seen over the last few seasons is the power we’re going to keep seeing. The fact that a “disappointing” Vladito is still a 25-30 home run guy with good ratios and the fact that we’ve seen him be so much more is enough to keep him at or near the top 30. He finished as hitter #44 per the FanGraphs Auction Calculator last year, and that has to be sort of a floor, right?

 

Tier 5

 

• In 2023, CJ Abrams didn’t steal his fourth bag until May 5, and didn’t have 10 until July. I imagined Abrams would have more than just four by now, but I also did not imagine that he’d have more extra-base hits than singles (13 to 12). The Nationals have been extremely aggressive on the basepaths with 48 attempts in 22 games, with only the Reds attempting more steals (50 in 23 games) and the Rays being a fairly distant third (34 in 25 games). Abrams will get to at least 35, if not 45. Just give it time.
• Randy Arozarena is still cold, and while I’m no where close to considering him a lost cause, this is the worst 20-game sample we’ve seen from him in his entire career (not by much, but still). I didn’t include 2019-2020 on the chart because it made it a bit crammed, but trust me.

 

Tier 6

 

• Adley Rutschman is this era’s Buster Posey.
• Oneil Cruz’s strikeout rate over his last six games is down to 27.3%. That’s an incredibly small sample and a strikeout rate that’s still a bit high, but it’s a start. I still fully believe in the talent and upside to be a top-30 hitter if/when he puts the plate discipline stuff together.
• William Contreras will not be able to keep hitting above .300 with a 60.6% groundball rate, and it’ll be hard to slug over .500 with a 31.8% pull rate. Both should improve a bit with time, but it’s why I’m not ready to put him over Adley.

 

Tier 7

This tier has a net +6 to all rankings.

• Josh Naylor keeps raking, and if he finally stays healthy for more than 122 games, he could definitley push for 30 home runs to go with that .280-.300 batting average. Naylor took a big step in 2023 by turning a bunch of his grounders into line drives, and that success has continued into 2024.
• There’s still reason to believe that Gleyber Torres can get to 20ish home runs and steal 12-15 bases and do most of the things we expected despite what has been a truly miserable August. I’m bummed that we aren’t seeing the same amazing plate discipline we saw in 2023, but his 2024 walk and strikeout rates are still similar to what we saw in Torres’s perfectly acceptable 2022 campaign. For what it’s worth, Torres finished that 2022 season as a top-60 hitter despite missing over 20 games. He also was not the leadoff guy for most of that season.
• Paul Goldschmidt finally hit his first home run since Opening Day and finally hit what is somehow his first double of the season over the last few days. Things are starting to look up, though the zero stolen base attempts and 30% strikeout rate still have me worried that the ceiling and floor are lower than I expected coming into the season.

 

Tier 8

This tier has a net +4 to all rankings

• Cody Bellinger hit the IL with a rib injury, but it looks like he avoided serious injury. It’s terrible timing, though, as Bellinger was on an eight-game hitting streak with a slash line of .300/.412/.700. Get well soon.
• Believe it or not, Spencer Torkelson’s eight doubles are tied for third-most in the league. He’s pulling the ball and also getting the ball in the air, so it seems like he’s just one more minor tweak away from going on a nice heater. I’m still taking the over on 30 home runs. After all, Tork had just four through the end of May before finishing with 31, and his start to 2023 was way uglier than this start to 2024.
• Things are trending in the right direction for Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who has five extra-base hits and 13 combined runs and RBI over his last seven games. The Statcats numbers suggest he’s been very unlucky (xBA of .268, xSLG of .523) and while he’s still not walking at all, I expect the results to start appearing in the box scores. There’s monstrous power in this bat and I’m just waiting for it to come exploding out.

 

Tier 9

This tier has a net +4 to all rankings

• Taylor Ward is still healthy and still hitting and it makes me sooooo happy. Thing is, this isn’t even the best we’ve seen Ward be. There’s a 30 home run ceiling in Ward with a solid set of ratios and 90-100 RBI, though health and consistency issues suggest a more realistic upside is 26-28 home runs and 80-90 RBI. I’m all in on Ward right now.

• Evan Carter has 13 strikeouts in his last 32 plate appearances with no walks, which is obviously not ideal. We saw elevated strikeout rates in his 2023 debut as well, though his minor league track record suggests that the plate discipline should be quite strong at the major league level. This is supposed to be a guy who can hit 15 home runs and steal 20-25 bags with strong ratios, but with just one stolen base attempt and eight extra-base hits through 21 games, it may be tough to reach those numbers.

 

Tier 10

This tier has a net +2 to all rankings

• Christopher Morel was extremely up and down in terms of decision-making in 2023, and that trend appears to have continued into 2024. While the overall outcomes will be a good player, the road is likely to continue being incredibly bumpy. He can take a jump if the dips end before he’s among the worst decision-makers in the league, but for now he still looks like an all-or-nothing fantasy contributor.s

• Lourdes Gurriel Jr. should beat his 2023 totals for runs, RBI, and batting average in 2024, and while he’s sort of an unpredictable guy from month to month, the overall results should work out pretty darn well, especially if he avoids the absolutely abysmal cold stretch he had last summer.
• Max Muncy has fixed the strikeout problem over his last handful of games, and while the batting average will always stink he should put up solid power numbers with good counting stats.
• Watching vintage Starling Marte is fun. Health is always a huge concern, but when active, this is still a guy with just enough pop to be dangerous and 35-steal upside. If he can get to 120 games, Marte could come close to repeating his 2022. History suggests that 120 games at 35 years old for a player with his injury history is unlikely, but we can dream on it.

 

Tier 11

This tier has a net +6 to all rankings

• Nico Hoerner stayed in the leadoff spot even after Happ returned (Happ hit second), and that’s a huge step in the right direction. Hoerner is still along way from his preseason rank due to him being just one for three on stolen base attempts, but at least the rest of the production is sort of there.
• Nathaniel Lowe is back on the field and should be a good source of OBP and RBI. Honestly, Lowe’s 2021 and 2023 are a pretty good baseline for what to expect. 2022 looks like a definite outlier, unfortunately.

 

Tier 12

This tier has a net +6 to all rankings

• It’s a big fall for Nolan Jones, who is striking out way too much, hitting way too many grounders, and now is dealing with back stiffness. The worst part? He’s been even worse at home (-1 wRC+, though that gets adjusted for Coors). Jones has also been abysmal against lefties, and there’s just so little light to find in this current darkness. There’s still 25 home run, 15 stolen base upside with good ratios, but you’ve got to squint REALLY hard to see it right now.
• Love seeing Lars Nootbaar playing every day and hitting in the heart of the order.

 

Tier 13

This tier has a net +8 to all rankings

• Should I have raised Jordan Westburg even higher? Maybe, but Westburg’s full MLB sample shows a player who can hit roughly 15 home runs and steal 15 bases with good ratios if he played a full season, and the Orioles have baseball’s version of competitive Pokemon’s four moveslot syndrome: with Westburg, Holliday, Norby, Mayo, O’Hearn, Mountcastle, Cowser, Mullins, and Kjerstad all being viable options for the six remaining lineup spots after Henderson, Rutschman, and Santander. Westburg should be able to play almost every day between second, third, and the outfield, but how exactly Baltimore handles this when everyone is hitting remains a mystery. Westburg would rank higher if this was a ranking for just April and May, but since I’m trying to consider the whole season, I’m a little stuck on how high he can go. Consider this a midpoint between where I’d rank full-time full-season Westburg (probably between 80-100) and part-time full-season Westburg (135-150).
• Jackson Chourio gives us big games followed by absolutely nothing, and that’s not terribly unexpected for such a young player. I think 20 home runs and 25 steals should be there, but the ratios that come with it are anyone’s guess.
• Wyatt Langford is holding his own at the big league level and doesn’t look overmatched, especially for someone in their first full season of pro ball. Patience is a virtue, and thankfully, Langford’s only real issue is quality of contact, which is generally easier to fix than the issue of no contact at all. I know you likely drafted him early, but this was definitely part of the advertised risk of doing so. Even if Langford fixes the problem, he is almost certainly going to slump again during the season. Probably multiple times. And that’s OK.
• Jonathan India’s plate discipline looks great and he should have a much better batting average than the .174 he has right now. I expect India to retake the leadoff role when he’s over his illness, as Benson hasn’t done enough to keep it for himself, but unless the results start coming in it might not be long before we see India hitting seventh, and that’d push him down much further.
• Josh Lowe has tons of upside, but Tampa’s crowded roster could make it hard to unlock. This ranking assumes Lowe plays five times a week by taking over Palacios’s role and also sliding into right field and DH to spell Rosario and Ramírez, but if a guy like Caminero or Aranda comes up, it could get even messier.

 

Tier 14

This tier has a net +8 to all rankings

• Will Benson has looked rough lately, but that’s just part of the package. You can’t have a 35.7% strikeout rate AND be consistent week to week. It just doesn’t work that way.
• Triston Casas looks like he’s going to miss a big chunk of time with a rib injury, and of course it was right as he was heating up.
• Michael Busch took a seat against two of the last three lefties the Cubs faced, suggesting to me that he’s still platooning. Even though Cooper was DFA’d, I’m still worried that Busch will find more time on the bench than in the lineup whenever a lefty is on the mound.
• Wilyer Abreu has been a revelation for the Red Sox in his 47 games in the bigs over the last two seasons, slashing .300/.385/.477 with four home runs and seven steals. He also was excellent in triple-A back in 2023. It wouldn’t be a huge shock to see Abreu hit 16-18 home runs and steal 10-12 bags over the rest of the season, especially now that he’s being handed a full-time role and is hitting fourth.

 

Tier 15

This tier has a net +10 to all rankings

• Daulton Varsho was supposed to be #150 last week but I inadvertently moved him to #151. He made me pay for it by going off for the entire week. Varsho should be able to repeat his 20 home runs and 16 steals from 2024, though both Statcast and I are skeptical that the strong ratios will continue. The hot streak has helped move him to fifth in the batting order, though, and that boost to his counting stats should offset the pain of the lower ratios that are likely to appear.

 

Tier 16

This tier has a net +10 to all rankings

• Brice Turang can run, but guys with a career 2.9% barrel rate is unlikely to keep slugging .472 (he slugged .300 in 448 PA last season). If you set your expectations to something like 30 steals and a .250 batting average with no power and low counting stats as an achievable ceiling, then you’re probably doing it right.
• Who knows how long Amed Rosario can stay in Tampa’s lineup, but as long as he does, he’s worth a look. Rosario can probably muster 10 home runs in a full season in the right conditions and steal 15 bases with a good batting average. That’s streamable at times, especially in the middle infield where the pickings are slim.
• Bryson Stott isn’t running like we hoped, just sat against two lefties in a role, and he lost his role near the top of the lineup against righties. Granted, Stott only had three steals last April as well, but Stott only cracked the top of the order in 2023 due to Turner’s horrible start, and being in a platoon tanks his value. I’m very worried.
• Mark Canha is eligible at first and outfield and is a model of consistency. The upside is quite low, but he puts a ton of balls in play and hits near the top of the order.
• Luis Garcia Jr. can slap the ball around and provide batting average with double-digit home runs. For those hurting in the middle infield, he can probably help (unless you need steals).
• I said to drop Byron Buxton and he goes on a tear. Now that I’m ranking him, he’ll stink. I don’t make the rules.
• Patrick Bailey is the catcher of the week, I guess. The position is deep and there’s always one or two more worth ranking. Bailey is the primary catcher in San Francisco and was fairly well regarded as a prospect for his hit tool and pop (relative to his position, anyway). I think he’s better than his 2023 suggests, and even if you don’t add him now, he’s worth tossing on your watch list for his hot streaks and trips to Colorado.

 

Rank	Hitter	Position	Change
1	Ronald Acuña Jr.T1	OF	-
2	Bobby Witt Jr.	3B	-
3	Mookie Betts	2B, SS, OF	+1
4	Kyle Tucker	OF	+2
5	Julio Rodríguez	OF	-2
6	Juan Soto	OF	+1
7	Freddie Freeman	1B	-2
8	Shohei Ohtani	DH	+1
9	Aaron Judge T2	OF	-1
10	Matt Olson	1B	+1
11	Fernando Tatis Jr.	OF	+1
12	Yordan Alvarez	OF	+1
13	Bryce Harper	1B	+1
14	Corbin Carroll	OF	-4
15	Austin Riley T3	3B	-
16	José Ramírez	3B	+1
17	Pete Alonso	1B	+1
18	Rafael Devers	3B	-2
19	Trea Turner	SS	+1
20	Elly De La Cruz	3B, SS	+10
21	Marcus Semien	2B	+3
22	Adolis García	OF	-1
23	Michael Harris II	OF	-1
24	Corey Seager	SS	-1
25	Mike Trout	OF	-
26	Ozzie Albies T4	2B	-
27	Gunnar Henderson	3B, SS	+1
28	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	1B	-9
29	Jose Altuve	2B	-2
30	Francisco Lindor	SS	-1
31	Bo Bichette T5	SS	+2
32	Bryan Reynolds	OF	+2
33	Kyle Schwarber	OF	+2
34	CJ Abrams	SS	+5
35	Manny Machado	3B	+1
36	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	OF	+1
37	Randy Arozarena	OF	-5
38	Alex Bregman	3B	-
39	Christian Walker	1B	+1
40	Adley Rutschman T6	C	+1
41	Marcell Ozuna	DH	+9
42	Oneil Cruz	SS	-11
43	Nolan Arenado	3B	-1
44	Dansby Swanson	SS	-1
45	William Contreras	C	-1
46	Ketel Marte	2B	+3
47	Will Smith	C	-2
48	Josh Naylor T7	1B	+6
49	Xander Bogaerts	SS	+3
50	Anthony Santander	OF	+6
51	Teoscar Hernández	OF	+6
52	George Springer	OF	+7
53	Christian Yelich	OF	+7
54	Willson Contreras	C	+7
55	Gleyber Torres	2B	-4
56	Salvador Perez	C, 1B	+11
57	Paul Goldschmidt	1B	-10
58	Anthony Volpe T8	SS	+4
59	Cody Bellinger	1B, OF	-6
60	Brandon Nimmo	OF	+3
61	Andrés Giménez	2B	+3
62	Spencer Torkelson	1B	-4
63	Yandy Díaz	1B	+2
64	Luis Arraez	2B	+2
65	Jarren Duran	OF	+4
66	Yainer Diaz	C	+4
67	Tyler O’Neill	OF	+4
68	Lane Thomas	OF	+4
69	Christian Encarnacion-Strand	1B, 3B	+5
70	Taylor Ward T9	OF	+10
71	Jake Burger	3B	+4
72	Riley Greene	OF	+1
73	Isaac Paredes	1B, 3B	+4
74	Ian Happ	OF	+4
75	Vinnie Pasquantino	1B	+8
76	Willy Adames	SS	+3
77	Evan Carter	OF	-1
78	J.T. Realmuto	C	-32
79	Spencer Steer	1B, 3B, OF	+2
80	Jorge Soler T10	OF	+2
81	Christopher Morel	2B, 3B, OF	-13
82	Nick Castellanos	OF	+2
83	Ha-Seong Kim	2B, 3B, SS	+2
84	Lourdes Gurriel Jr.	OF	+13
85	Max Muncy	3B	+2
86	Starling Marte	OF	+17
87	Ke’Bryan Hayes	3B	+1
88	MJ Melendez T11	C, OF	+1
89	Cedric Mullins	OF	+2
90	Ezequiel Tovar	SS	+4
91	Rhys Hoskins	1B	+5
92	Logan O’Hoppe	C	+6
93	Ryan Mountcastle	1B	+6
94	Nico Hoerner	2B, SS	+16
95	Steven Kwan	OF	+5
96	Nathaniel Lowe	1B	+5
97	Nolan Jones T12	1B, OF	-42
98	Jeremy Peña	SS	+4
99	Alec Bohm	1B, 3B	+5
100	Cal Raleigh	C	+5
101	Ryan McMahon	2B, 3B	+7
102	Zack Gelof	2B	+7
103	Lars Nootbaar	OF	+9
104	Justin Turner	1B	+7
105	Jorge Polanco	2B, 3B	+8
106	Jeimer Candelario T13	1B, 3B	+8
107	Edouard Julien	2B	+8
108	Matt Chapman	3B	+8
109	Jordan Westburg	2B, 3B	+16
110	Jackson Chourio	OF	-18
111	Wyatt Langford	OF	-25
112	Colton Cowser	OF	+14
113	Mitch Haniger	OF	+7
114	Bryan De La Cruz	OF	+7
115	Jonathan India	2B	-22
116	Josh Lowe	OF	-9
117	Maikel Garcia T14	3B	-
118	Jung Hoo Lee	OF	+6
119	Will Benson	OF	-1
120	Royce Lewis	3B	+8
121	Josh Jung	3B	+8
122	Triston Casas	1B	-74
123	Michael Busch	1B, 3B	-
124	Michael Conforto	OF	+7
125	Orlando Arcia	SS	+8
126	Wilyer Abreu	OF	+UR
127	Chas McCormick T15	OF	+5
128	Mitch Garver	C	+9
129	Jake Cronenworth	1B, 2B	+10
130	José Caballero	2B, SS	+12
131	Josh H. Smith	3B, SS, OF	+12
132	Seiya Suzuki	OF	-10
133	Daulton Varsho	OF	+UR
134	Brenton Doyle	OF	+12
135	Brice Turang T16	2B, SS	+UR
136	Amed Rosario	2B, SS, OF	+UR
137	Jackson Merrill	SS, OF	+12
138	Bryson Stott	SS	-48
139	Mark Canha	1B, OF	+UR
140	Kerry Carpenter	OF	+8
141	Luis García Jr.	2B	+UR
142	Byron Buxton	DH	+UR
143	Josh Bell	1B	+4
144	Jack Suwinski	OF	-4
145	Brendan Donovan	2B, OF	-15
146	Gabriel Moreno	C	-10
147	Patrick Bailey	C	+UR
148	Jose Siri	OF	-14
149	Jake Fraley	OF	+UR
150	Eugenio Suárez	3B	+UR

 

Taxi Squad

This year, the Taxi Squad will be a handful of players at each position who either are on the cusp of the list or who have been hot topics of late.

Catcher

• Danny Jansen (C, TOR) — Returning to action soon and should get the majority of starts behind the dish.
• Iván Herrera (C, STL) — Playing time is down with Contreras back.
• Luis Campusano (C, SDP) — 15 home runs and a good average are still useful at catcher.
• Elias Díaz (C, COL) — Always streamable at home.
• Travis d’Arnaud (C, ATL) — White-hot right now and still the same ol’ d’Arnaud we’ve known for years.
• Ryan Jeffers (C, MIN) — Went cold last week but usually worth a stream in the right conditions.

First Base

• Alex Kirilloff (1B/OF, MIN) — Likely a strict platoon, at least for now.
• Anthony Rizzo (1B, NYY) — Making contact, but not with power.
• Ryan O’Hearn (1B/OF, BAL) — It’s a strict platoon and the O’s see three lefties over the next week.
• LaMonte Wade Jr.(1B/OF) — Stuck in a platoon and striking out way more than normal, but leads off.
• Ty France (1B, SEA) — Solid ratios and mostly decent counting stats are there, but power really isn’t.
• Connor Joe (1B/OF, PIT) — Hits lefties well and streamable when the schedule is right.
• Miguel Sanó (1B, LAA) — Hits the ball really hard when he hits it, which is not as often as we’d like.
• Matt Mervis (1B, CHC) — Cubs will only see one lefty over the next three series, so Mervis should play.

Second Base

• Jeff McNeil (2B/OF, NYM) — The ratios will improve significantly, but the power and speed won’t.
• Colt Keith (2B/3B, DET) — Bad luck and too many grounders so far, but still has 20 home run upside.
• Thairo Estrada (2B/SS, SFG) — Call me if he starts hitting second again and/or starts running.
• José Fermín (2B, STL) — Amazing plate discipline in triple-A so far, but don’t expect much (if any) power.
• Brandon Drury (1B/2B, LAA) — Not hitting right now but should become serviceable eventually.

Third Base

• Junior Caminero (3B, TBR) — Slightly sluggish in his first few games back, plus the rays infield is quite crowded.
• Luis Rengifo (2B/3B/SS/OF, LAA) — Versatile and stealing bases, but from the bottom of a weak lineup.
• Tyler Freeman (2B/3B/OF) — Decent prospect with a good hit tool and some speed but very limited pop.
• Anthony Rendon (3B, LAA) — I’d probably keep an eye on him when he returns. If he keeps leading off, I’m interested.
• Coby Mayo (3B, BAL) — There’s no room for him but the power and plate discipline (prior to 2024) is exciting.

Shortstop

• Masyn Winn (SS, STL) — Getting a bit lucky, but very interesting if he can get out of the bottom of the order and/or keep running.
• Blaze Alexander (SS, ARI) — Still hasn’t started against two righties in a row.
• J.P. Crawford (SS, SEA) — Won’t be in the leadoff spot much longer if he stays cold.
• Zach Neto (SS, LAA) — Stuck batting ninth.
• Jackson Holliday (SS, BAL) — Long-term outlook hasn’t changed, but the O’s are in a tough spot.

Outfield/DH

• Ceddanne Rafaela (OF, BOS) — 20/20 upside and got a look at shortstop, but ice cold right now.
• Brandon Marsh (OF, PHI) — Strikes out a ton and very streaky, but fine to stream.
• Jesse Winker (OF, WAS) — Unlikely to keep this up all year, but hitting in the heart of the order and hitting well.
• Andy Pages (OF, LAD) — Needs to cut down the strikeouts to stay out of a platoon.
• Esteury Ruiz (OF, OAK) — The home runs aren’t going to stick around, but the plate discipline might.
• James Wood (OF, WAS) — Top-10 prospect with plenty of pop but may not be up until mid-summer (or later).
• Blake Perkins (OF, MIL) — Nothing under the hood suggests this recent production is sustainable.
• Joey Loperfido (OF, HOU) — Smoking hot in the minors but that strikeout rate won’t play in the majors.
• Heston Kjerstad (OF, BAL) — Curious to see what kind of playing time gets carved out for him. The O’s can only start nine guys.
• Jordan Walker (OF, STL) — If you want a silver lining, he rebounded nicely after his last trip to the minors.
• Masataka Yoshida (OF, BOS) — Sitting against multiple righties is a huge red flag.

 

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