Top 150 Hitters For Fantasy Baseball 2025: Week 1 – 3/26

It’s time for the first Hitter List of the year! A few changes from the draft rankings are that injured players and minor leaguers are added at the end of the article as part of the Taxi Squad and I will no longer include a blurb on every single ranked player.

If you want to know more of my thoughts on a player and what they bring to the table, most of what I said in my most recent Top 300 Hitters would still apply today (though some questions about health and roster spot are now resolved).

 

• 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 No. 55 and Player Y is ranked at No. 65, but they’re in the same tier, it means that I personally prefer Player X, 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 over 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 can 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 below!

 

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 Brett Ford, 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 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

 

• As long as Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, and Bobby Witt Jr. are healthy, they’ll be in this tier.

 

Tier 2

 

• Yordan Alvarez moves up one spot over Kyle Tucker because, well, I wanted him too. And because not enough people realize Yordan Alvarez is as dangerous at the plate as anyone in the league.
• I couldn’t remove Mookie Betts from this tier despite the eye-popping news about his weight loss from illness. Might he be drained for a week or two as he gets rehydrated and back to normal? Most likely. Is he still good enough to be a threat? Yes.

 

Tier 3

 

• Corbin Carroll has looked healthy and strong all spring and could be in Tier 2 by week two or three.
• Freddie Freeman slides to the bottom of this tier because I originally assumed we’d hear that he was feeling good. Unfortunately, he’s still dealing with various ailments. He can play through these and be fantastic (he played the entire 2024 playoffs on a bum ankle, after all), but Freeman drops behind some extremely exciting young talent and other established vets while he’s less than 100%.

 

Tier 4

 

• In a head-to-head categories league, I’d probably have Kyle Schwarber even higher as his bad batting average is less of a sandbag when you’re wiping the slate clean every week.

 

Tier 5

 

• Corey Seager isn’t going to miss Opening Day (we think), but you hate to see injury issues already cropping up.
• I still loves James Wood, but have recently realized he hits almost every fly ball the other way. He doesn’t have to pull every fly ball to be successful, but going oppo all the time is a tough way to make a living.

 

Tier 6

 

• Willy Adames flips to the other side of that grouping of catchers if only because I realized I might have been just a little too high on him after looking at updated projections. Tier is definitely right, he just needed a little nudge down.
• I’m higher than most ADP and projections on Riley Greene, but mark my words, I think I’ll be moving him up even more this season, and it won’t be that controversial.

 

Tier 7

 

• I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect a clean bill of health by this time for Mike Trout, but here we are, and healthy Trout always moves up.
• A healthy Luis Robert Jr. is better than this rank, and MUCH better than this rank if he’s also on a good team. Unfortunately, I doubt both of these will be true at the same time at any point this season.
• I mentioned this in the draft prep articles, but the fact Alex Bregman won’t be a second baseman doesn’t really change anything for me in terms of ranking.

 

Tier 8

 

• Triston Casas is day to day due to a bad luck bounce that hit his hand, but the only real concern I have is whether he can keep that strikeout rate below 30%. He wasn’t able to accomplish that this spring over 50 plate appearances, though he was striking out a bit less over the last 10 days.
• I’m bummed that Jake Burger is likely going to be hitting lower in the order than originally expected, but if he heats up there’s plenty of room to climb.

 

Tier 9

 

• It’s awfully neat that Pete Crow-Armstrong hit .500 in the spring, but the stat I really wish I had was his zone contact rate. We want to see that number stay above 80% or else I fear the strikeouts will become too much to overcome.
• Anthony Volpe drops to the bottom of this tier as he’s not likely to hit leadoff to start the season. That said, I think he can still win that job at some point.

 

Tier 10

 

• Brandon Nimmo has been remarkably durable over the last three seasons but it wasn’t that long ago that he was a perennial injury risk. Starting the season with a bum knee combined with the fact that there are higher-upside outfielders available at this point in the ranks sees him slide more than anyone else who stayed on the list.
• Colton Cowser will be the leadoff man for Baltimore for about two weeks, so definitely make sure he’s in your early season lineups. He may fall a bit if he has contact issues again and gets platooned, but for now his role seems safe.

 

Tier 11

 

• And out of nowhere, Spencer Steer is going to be active on Opening Day! There’s more than one nagging voice in the back of my mind wondering if this injury will be something we hear about all season that leads to reduced performance, but for now, we will assume he’s mostly back and ready to DH.
• Carlos Correa went basically undrafted in some of my leagues and that’s fairly ridiculous. I mean, he’s on the wire in 47% of Yahoo leagues and 24% of ESPN leagues? He’s worth a scoop as when he’s healthy he can be a high-level player.
• Masyn Winn may not be the leadoff man after all and that hurts because his approach and skillset is at its peak fantasy potential batting first and at its worst batting last.

 

Tier 12

 

• Austin Wells is getting the first shot at leading off for the Yankees, making him the only catcher I can think of in the last two or three seasons to have the honor. Extra plate appearances for a catcher is always nice, and he will have tons of opportunities to score runs in front of Judge.
• I was worried Steer’s return would knock Christian Encarnacion-Strand off the everyday lineup, but he should be in there at first base until Steer can play the field. Don’t ask me how this lineup plays out at that point, but at least it gives CES a chance to solidify a role on this team.

 

Tier 13

 

• The Spencer Torkelson hype train chugs along. It’s rare that you get a lotto ticket like this who is basically free in drafts or on the wire. He should get plenty of runway to win an everyday role for this team, and if he does, there’s top-50 player upside buried in his bat. Even if all we see is a power-only guy who isn’t a must-roster, the low cost makes it worth the risk.
• Kristian Campbell makes the list over Cam Smith (who I did reference below) for the simple reason that we have more data on him. Campbell is not good this spring, but his 517 plate appearances across high-A, double-A, and triple-A were fantastic. Considering that Campbell struggled to hit this spring, my sense is that the organization just really wants Campbell at the keystone and will give him plenty of room to learn how to hit big league pitching on the job.

 

 

Rank	Hitter	Position	Change
1	Shohei OhtaniT1	DH	-
2	Aaron Judge	OF	-
3	Bobby Witt Jr.	SS	-
4	José Ramírez T2	3B	-
5	Juan Soto	OF	-
6	Elly De La Cruz	3B, SS	-
7	Yordan Alvarez	OF	+1
8	Kyle Tucker	OF	-1
9	Fernando Tatis Jr.	OF	+1
10	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	1B, 3B	+2
11	Mookie Betts	2B, SS, OF	-
12	Corbin Carroll T3	OF	+2
13	Julio Rodríguez	OF	+2
14	Austin Riley	3B	+3
15	Rafael Devers	3B	+3
16	Jackson Chourio	OF	+3
17	Francisco Lindor	SS	+3
18	Freddie Freeman	1B	-5
19	Brent Rooker T4	OF	+2
20	William Contreras	C	+2
21	Ketel Marte	2B	+2
22	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	3B, OF	+2
23	Jarren Duran	OF	+2
24	Bryce Harper	1B	+2
25	Marcell Ozuna	DH	+2
26	Manny Machado	3B	+2
27	Matt Olson	1B	+2
28	Pete Alonso	1B	+2
29	Kyle Schwarber	OF	+2
30	Corey Seager T5	SS	+2
31	Trea Turner	SS	+2
32	Oneil Cruz	SS	+4
33	Anthony Santander	OF	+1
34	Adley Rutschman	C	+1
35	James Wood	OF	+2
36	Wyatt Langford	OF	+2
37	Michael Harris II	OF	+2
38	Jackson Merrill	SS, OF	+2
39	Teoscar Hernández	OF	+2
40	Christian Walker T6	1B	+3
41	Jose Altuve	2B	+3
42	Ozzie Albies	2B	+3
43	Cal Raleigh	C	+3
44	Salvador Perez	C, 1B	+3
45	Yainer Diaz	C	+3
46	Willy Adames	SS	-4
47	Bryan Reynolds	OF	+2
48	Josh Naylor	1B	+2
49	Riley Greene	OF	+2
50	Seiya Suzuki	OF	+2
51	Lawrence Butler	OF	+2
52	Willson Contreras	C	+2
53	Junior Caminero T7	3B	+2
54	Will Smith	C	+2
55	Marcus Semien	2B	+2
56	Brenton Doyle	OF	+2
57	Mike Trout	OF	+7
58	Luis Robert Jr.	OF	+1
59	Vinnie Pasquantino	1B	+1
60	Ian Happ	OF	+1
61	Cody Bellinger	1B, OF	+1
62	Taylor Ward	OF	+1
63	Alex Bregman	3B	+2
64	CJ Abrams	SS	+2
65	Ezequiel Tovar	SS	+2
66	Nick Castellanos T8	OF	+2
67	Jordan Westburg	2B, 3B	+2
68	Matt McLain	2B	+2
69	Triston Casas	1B	+2
70	Christian Yelich	OF	+3
71	Luis Arraez	1B, 2B	+4
72	Matt Chapman	3B	+4
73	Randy Arozarena	OF	+4
74	Steven Kwan	OF	+4
75	Jeremy Peña	SS	+4
76	Mark Vientos	3B	-4
77	Adolis García	OF	+3
78	Jake Burger	1B, 3B	-4
79	Shea Langeliers T9	C	+2
80	Alec Bohm	1B, 3B	+3
81	Luis García Jr.	2B	+1
82	Dylan Crews	OF	+4
83	Xavier Edwards	SS	+5
84	Dansby Swanson	SS	+5
85	Yandy Díaz	1B	-
86	Eugenio Suárez	3B	+4
87	Pete Crow-Armstrong	OF	+4
88	Isaac Paredes	1B, 3B	+4
89	Jasson Domínguez	OF	+4
90	Anthony Volpe	SS	-3
91	Lourdes Gurriel Jr. T10	OF	+3
92	Paul Goldschmidt	1B	+4
93	Andrés Giménez	2B	+7
94	Xander Bogaerts	2B, SS	+3
95	Lane Thomas	OF	+3
96	Brandon Nimmo	OF	-12
97	Jurickson Profar	1B, OF	+2
98	Heliot Ramos	OF	+3
99	Bo Bichette	SS	+8
100	Kerry Carpenter	OF	+2
101	Colton Cowser	OF	+2
102	Victor Robles	OF	+2
103	George Springer	OF	+2
104	Jorge Soler T11	OF	+2
105	Bryson Stott	2B	+3
106	Gleyber Torres	2B	+3
107	Spencer Steer	1B, 3B, OF	+39
108	Logan O’Hoppe	C	+2
109	J.T. Realmuto	C	+2
110	Carlos Correa	SS	+3
111	Cedric Mullins	OF	+3
112	Nolan Arenado	3B	+3
113	Brice Turang	2B	+4
114	Brendan Donovan	2B, 3B, OF	+4
115	Brandon Lowe	2B	+4
116	Jonathan India	2B	+4
117	Josh Lowe	OF	+4
118	Tyler O’Neill	OF	+4
119	Masyn Winn	SS	-7
120	Josh Jung	3B	-4
121	Luis Rengifo T12	2B, 3B	+2
122	Michael Busch	1B	+3
123	Max Muncy	3B	+3
124	Austin Wells	C	+20
125	Alec Burleson	1B, OF	+3
126	JJ Bleday	OF	+3
127	Byron Buxton	OF	+3
128	Nico Hoerner	2B, SS	+3
129	Ryan McMahon	3B	+5
130	Jung Hoo Lee	OF	-6
131	Christian Encarnacion-Strand	1B	-4
132	Nathaniel Lowe	1B	+3
133	Ryan Mountcastle	1B	+3
134	Tommy Edman	2B, SS, OF	+7
135	Jake McCarthy T13	OF	+2
136	Andrew Vaughn	1B	+2
137	Spencer Torkelson	1B	+2
138	Michael Toglia	1B, OF	+2
139	Gabriel Moreno	C	+3
140	Ryan Jeffers	C	+3
141	Colt Keith	2B	-9
142	Jackson Holliday	2B	+5
143	Rhys Hoskins	1B	+5
144	Matt Shaw	3B	+5
145	Kristian Campbell	2B	+UR
146	Lars Nootbaar	OF	+UR
147	Matt Wallner	OF	+UR
148	Jake Cronenworth	1B, 2B	+UR
149	Garrett Mitchell	OF	+UR
150	Maikel Garcia	2B, 3B	+UR

 

Taxi Squad

Players are listed in no particular order. This list is not every single interesting guy out there but a running list of players that either almost made the list or who have been topics of interesting conversation.

If you want to know more of my thoughts on a player and what they bring to the table, most of what I said in my most recent Top 300 Hitters would still apply today (though some questions about health and roster spot are now resolved).

Catcher

• Drake Baldwin (C, ATL) — Rookie catchers are extremely difficult to trust, but the bat seems legit.
• Joey Bart (C, PIT) — Has some nice stretches for the Bucs after leaving the Giants and is a solid streamer when the matchups work out.
• Iván Herrera (C, STL) — Tons of playing time makes him a strong second catcher, but fairly boring for single-catcher formats.
• Keibert Ruiz (C, WSH) — Points league catcher.
• Hunter Goodman (C/OF, COL) — Catcher who plays in Coors and isn’t Jacob Stallings.
• Alejandro Kirk (C, TOR) — Points league catcher.

First Base

• Luke Raley (1B/OF, SEA) — Raley was a top-120 hitter in standard leagues last year and has the upside to do something similar again.
• Tyler Soderstrom (1B, OAK) — I like the low strikeout rate this spring but not the lack of pop.
• Jeimer Candelario (1B/3B, CIN) — Should hit fifth most days for the Reds and stumble into a decent number of RBI as a result in home games.
• Nolan Schanuel (1B, LAA) — Points league contributor who would need to reinvent himself to hit more home runs.
• Ryan O’Hearn (1B/OF, BAL) — He gets hot every year for a bit and always hits righties.
• Jonathan Aranda (1B, TBR) — I hope the Rays let him play more often than not at DH as I think there might be an exciting bat here.
• Ben Rice (1B, NYY) — I’m not interested in Rice, just wanted to spare myself the questions if I left him out entirely.

Second Base

• Gavin Lux (2B, CIN) — He’s had a strong spring and appears to have at least a large share of an outfield job in baseball’s second-best park for home runs.
• Jorge Polanco (2B, SEA) — His first year as a mariner was well below expectations but even a slight bounce back makes him relevant as a replacement middle infielder.
• Nick Gonzales (2B, PIT) — I’m intrigued by the huge step forward he made with his strikeout rates last season.
• Edouard Julien (2B, MIN) — All that decision-making is for naught if he can’t connect on pitches in the zone.
• Travis Bazzana (2B, CLE) — How long will the Guardians stick with Arias and Schneemann at second if the division is as competitive as it was last season.
• Tyler Freeman (2B, COL) — He could hit for a ton of average in Coors and be a points league bargain, but that’s about it.
• Brett Baty (3B, NYM) — Baty will get a look at second base while McNeil is out, and if he gets the ball off the ground (something he has not done in his other MLB stints) he could be interesting.

Third Base

• Cam Smith (3B, HOU) — I will be rooting for Cam Smith as I love this story, but in a 12-team league there are just so many outfield options I feel safer with than a guy with incredibly little exposure to high-level pitching. It’s also worth noting he’s been slumping for a while this spring and struggling with strikeouts.
• Joey Ortiz (3B/SS, MIL) — Does just enough in four of the five hitting categories to be relevant. If this list was for OBP, he might crack the end of it.
• Jose Miranda (3B, MIN) — He’s currently the everyday DH but really isn’t that exciting overall.

Shortstop

• Trevor Story (SS, BOS) — Health is an extreme struggle and hasn’t looked useful in regular season action in recent years, but the nice spring is a good start.
• Willi Castro (2B/3B/SS/OF, MIN) — Does a little bit of everything and can start just about anywhere.
• Tyler Fitzgerald (SS, SFG) — His 46% strikeout rate this spring reaffirms my extreme apprehension about his contact ability.
• Jordan Lawlar (SS, ARI) — Prospect people I trust have been holding a candle for Lawlar for several years.
• Jacob Wilson (SS, ATH) — He’ll play daily for the Athletics and should hit for a good average.

Outfield/DH

• Roman Anthony (OF, BOS) — He’s the top prospect in a top-heavy Boston system and should get a chance to play at some point this summer.
• Emmanuel Rodriguez (OF, MIN) — He’s possibly the most passive hitter I’ve ever seen and it’s tough to make that work in the majors (especially if you have contact issues), but he hits the ball hard and has a lot of buzz right now.
• Jordan Walker (OF, STL) — If he ever hits the ball in the air, I’ll be interested.
• Victor Scott II (OF, STL) — He’s the Opening Day center fielder and has been great this spring, but not so great that I can forget about the .502 OPS he had last year.
• TJ Friedl (OF, CIN) — The more he leads off, the more I’ll possibly care. That said, I’m not trying to chase 2023’s numbers as Friedl is too fragile and rarely hits the ball hard.
• Joc Pederson (DH, TEX) — Always a viable play against righties.
• Max Kepler (OF, PHI) — It’s a nice lineup spot but he’s been wildly inconsistent over his career.
• Jake Fraley (OF, CIN) — He’ll find a way to steal 20 bases again and hit .250-.260, but everything else is a crapshoot.
• Trevor Larnach (OF, MIN) — He’d be on the back of the list if he had a full-time role but he doesn’t have the pop of Wallner to carry him through the off days.
• Mike Yastrzemski (OF, SFG) — The definition of a replacement-level fantasy outfielder in 12-teamers.

IL Stashes

Players are listed by position and not by projected value.

• Francisco Alvarez (C, NYM) — Tons of power but injuries and inconsistency have been a problem. Top ten catcher upside.
• Tyler Stephenson (C, CIN) — Probably won’t play as much or hit 19 home runs again, but should be useful most of the time.
• Spencer Horwitz (1B/2B, PIT) — He’ll be in the everyday lineup almost immediately on his return. Has enough plate discipline and contact to be roster-worthy.
• Thairo Estrada (2B, COL) — Should be the everyday guy again when healthy, and while it ain’t exciting, it’s honest work.
• Zack Gelof (2B, ATH) — He’ll likely steal bases when he’s back but the power will be questionable. He’s also ratio poison due to an inability to make contact.
• Ha-Seong Kim (2B/SS, TBR) — Should be back by June and ready to swipe bags.
• Brooks Lee (2B/3B, MIN) — Deep league relevance as he’ll be an everyday player but doesn’t do enough of anything for 12-teamers.
• Gunnar Henderson (3B, BAL) — Stay on the IL should be minimal.
• Royce Lewis (3B, MIN) — He’ll be worth rostering when he’s healthy but goodness this guy has bad luck.
• Connor Norby (3B, MIA) — Expect power and tons of strikeouts, assuming the oblique gets fully healthy.
• Matt Vierling (3B/OF, DET) — I have no idea how this Tiger lineup shakes out when he’s healthy, especially if Tork is hitting.
• Zach Neto (SS, LAA) — Should be a top-12 shortstop by years end even if he misses 20 games.
• Ronald Acuña Jr. (OF, ATL) — I think he can quickly make people forget that lackluster 2024. Let’s also not forget that he’s barely 27 and in the prime of his career.
• Parker Meadows (OF, DET) — Hitting the 60-day IL is rough but he’ll play when he’s back this summer.
• Daulton Varsho (OF, TOR) — If you’re indifferent to ratios (which is a viable strategy in H2H Category leagues), Varsho is an easy player to roster as a fifth outfielder.
• Austin Hays (OF, CIN) — I don’t love Hays’ skillset as a hitter, but if they plug him back into the heart of the order for the Reds he’ll produce enough to be a final outfielder on any squad.
• Giancarlo Stanton (DH, NYY) — We have no idea when he’s even going to begin baseball activities, so he’s only relevant if you have unlimited IL spots.

 

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