Top 150 Hitters For Fantasy Baseball 2025: Week 2 – 4/9

We’re finally starting to see some players hit 50 plate appearances! That’s an important number as it is when strikeout and walk rates start becoming meaningful/relevant to discuss.

You still won’t see a ton of movement for guys in the top 100-ish spots (unless they’ve been injured or have seen their role expanded/diminished), but the back end of the list has some interesting movement and action.

 

• 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

 

• Hooray Kyle Tucker!
• Elly De La Cruz has just two steals so far and I believe it is because steals are fluky and match-up based and not because of some season-long issue we need to get ahead of.
• Here’s to hoping Fernando Tatis Jr.’s shoulder is as OK as he says it is.
• Things look ugly for Gunnar Henderson right now but try not to give it too much time in your head. It’s just timing and rust.

 

Tier 3

 

• Corbin Carroll was cut in a lot of redraft leagues last year, and it wasn’t because those people were crazy. It’s amazing how outlooks change over relatively short periods of time.
• Jackson Chourio is without a walk, but since the second game of the season his strikeout rate is only 22.2%, a number I am more than comfortable living with.
• It took less than a week for Rafael Devers to look fine again.

 

Tier 4

 

• Kyle Schwarber is a monster when he’s hot, and he’s hot a few times a year. Savor it. Enjoy it. It won’t always be this way, but Schwarber is so good when he’s on that the ride is worth it.
• Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson already seem to be righting the ship a bit and are walking a ton, so I will accept their limited power production as a small sample issue where they’re getting pitched around a bit.

 

Tier 5

 

• Keep taking those walks, Oneil Cruz. It’s such a beautiful thing. This balanced version of Oneil Cruz can be a gamebreaker.
• James Wood doubled his home run and RBI totals in one night because it’s the first half of the first month of the season.
• I love Wyatt Langford’s early-season plate discipline and hope this oblique issue is very minor.
• Michael Harris is turning it on a little bit, and he’ll need to keep that up to stay at or near the top of this lineup for the foreseeable future.

 

Tier 6

 

• I am not worried about Christian Walker yet.
• Seiya Suzuki remains healthy and is doing damage for the Cubs. The elevated strikeout rate is within the range of what we’ve seen from him in samples of this size so I’m not fretting about it.
• Riley Greene is striking out a bit more than we saw in similar samples last season, which stinks, but the results are great and I think he can turn it around. It’s cold in Detroit, after all, and they’ve faced some tough starters.
• Lawrence Butler’s plate discipline looks good, but the power hasn’t quite showed up yet.
• Yainer Diaz will be fine.

 

Tier 7

 

• I’ve seen Junior Caminero dropped twice in leagues I play in or am adjacent to and the madness needs to stop.
• Willson Contreras is off to a slow start but it’s not time to panic. He’s had slumps like this in 2022 and 2023 and turned out just fine. I expect he will again.
  
• Luis Robert Jr. is the hardest player to rank in baseball right now. By talent and ability, he’s a top-40 player in baseball. He’s also highly prone to injury, on a historically bad team, and is susceptible to slumps. I’d hold him whenever and wherever possible, as his upside is higher than anyone on your waiver wire, but it’s hard to see how the White Sox get his star to shine.

 

Tier 8

 

• This season’s slow start by Randy Arozarena is considerably better than the start he got off to last season.
• I’m keeping an eye on Steven Kwan’s lack of stolen bases, but it’s too early to think the projections are totally off.
• Today was the first time Luis Arraez struck out this season, so yeah, he’s still Luis Arraez.
• It’s too early to read deeply into groundball and flyball splits, but I hope Anthony Volpe keeps lifting the ball. Some of these flies will turn into liners over the course of April, but where it settles will be interesting.

 

Tier 9

 

• Alec Bohm is hitting the ball fairly hard, but his BABIP luck has been terrible. He’ll go back to being the steady producer we’ve come to expect in short order.
• The Cubs have more steals than any other team right now and that bodes well for Pete Crow-Armstrong.
• How much longer will Andrés Giménez be the guy who hits fourth for this team?
• Jasson Domínguez still looks like a 20-home run, 20-steal sort of player who will have middling ratios.

 

Tier 10

 

• Mark Vientos has done well to avoid strikeouts, but he’s struggling to get the ball in the air with any authority. As a result, he’s been sliding slowly down the lineup. Hopefully, that will end soon.
• Jake Burger is streaky and his slow start isn’t really anything new. I’m just annoyed that he isn’t hitting higher in this batting order.
• Kerry Bonds aka Kerry Carpenter has two home runs against lefties, which is awesome, but the Tigers appear to still want to start him out on the bench against southpaws more often than not.
• Logan O’Hoppe is ripping the cover off the ball, but this feels more like a hot streak due to the crazy volatile plate discipline. That said, when the strikeout rate and walk rate normalize, he’ll remain a useful catcher who is too good to stream.
• Speaking of hot streaks, how about George Springer? He’s still a liability on the health side and has been streaky in recent years, but the guy can still hit.

 

Tier 11

 

• Brice Turang won’t always score this many runs in a week, but the three home runs are cool and he should swipe more bags as the season wears on.
• Kristian Campbell, despite the bad spring, looks like the real deal and I see why the Red Sox were so determined to get him out there. They knew what they had in Campbell due to the time they’d had with him in their minor league system.
• Hooray Spencer Torkelson!
• Jung Hoo Lee doesn’t have the power to hit a bunch of home runs, but he will put good wood on the ball and pile up counting stats with good ratios hitting third for the Giants.
• Tyler Soderstrom has real power and should get to play as long as he’s hitting regardless of what the A’s try to do with Nick Kurtz. I think the ratios will start to fall down to the .230-.240 range but he could threaten 30 home runs if he keeps pulling fly balls.

 

Tier 12

 

• Nico Hoerner is another beneficiary of the Cubs being aggressive on the base paths.
• Welcome back, Josh Jung! Let’s hope he can keep the third strikes under control.
• Victor Scott II is getting regular playing time, but don’t get too excited about the start at the top of the order quite yet as it was due to Nootbaar getting a day off.

 

Tier 13

 

• You don’t have to hold Max Muncy unless you’re in an OBP league.
• Ben Rice makes it onto the list as he’s moved up in the order and is still playing when lefties take the mound.
• Christian Encarnacion-Strand is not exactly taking full advantage of this opportunity to solidify himself as an everyday player going forward.
• Hunter Goodman did not bring his hot streak with him back to Coors, but his catcher eligibility means I’ll keep him on the back of the list for a bit.
• Jake McCarthy is just extremely streaky and I don’t know why I keep losing sight of that.
• Jacob Wilson probably won’t hit 20 home runs, but he’ll put a boatload of balls in play and provide solid ratios with a sprinkling of the other stats.
• Jonathan Aranda isn’t getting everyday playing time yet and there were safer picks to make for the last spot on the list, but he’s hitting the ball in the air, hitting it hard, hitting it to the right part of the field, and just looks ready to be a full-time contributor. The Rays will do their weird Rays nonsense but Aranda should be very much on your radar as he’s got an impactful bat that deserves an opportunity.

 

 

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	Kyle Tucker	OF	+1
7	Elly De La Cruz	3B, SS	-1
8	Yordan Alvarez	OF	-
9	Fernando Tatis Jr.	OF	-
10	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	1B, 3B	-
11	Gunnar Henderson	SS	-
12	Mookie Betts	2B, SS, OF	-
13	Corbin Carroll T3	OF	-
14	Julio Rodríguez	OF	-
15	Jackson Chourio	OF	-
16	Francisco Lindor	SS	-
17	Rafael Devers	3B	+1
18	Austin Riley	3B	-1
19	Brent Rooker T4	OF	+1
20	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	3B, OF	+3
21	William Contreras	C	-
22	Jarren Duran	OF	+2
23	Bryce Harper	1B	+2
24	Kyle Schwarber	OF	+4
25	Manny Machado	3B	+1
26	Pete Alonso	1B	+1
27	Marcell Ozuna	DH	+2
28	Matt Olson	1B	+2
29	Oneil Cruz T5	SS	+2
30	Corey Seager	SS	+2
31	Trea Turner	SS	+2
32	Adley Rutschman	C	+3
33	James Wood	OF	+6
34	Wyatt Langford	OF	+2
35	Anthony Santander	OF	-1
36	Michael Harris II	OF	+1
37	Teoscar Hernández	OF	+3
38	Jose Altuve T6	2B	+4
39	Ozzie Albies	2B	+4
40	Christian Walker	1B	+1
41	Cal Raleigh	C	+3
42	Salvador Perez	C, 1B	+3
43	Seiya Suzuki	OF	+7
44	Josh Naylor	1B	+4
45	Riley Greene	OF	+4
46	Lawrence Butler	OF	+5
47	Willy Adames	SS	-
48	Bryan Reynolds	OF	+4
49	Yainer Diaz	C	-3
50	Junior Caminero T7	3B	+4
51	Will Smith	C	+4
52	Brenton Doyle	OF	+4
53	Mike Trout	OF	+4
54	Vinnie Pasquantino	1B	+4
55	Ian Happ	OF	+4
56	Cody Bellinger	1B, OF	+4
57	Marcus Semien	2B	+4
58	Willson Contreras	C	-5
59	Matt McLain	2B	+4
60	Alex Bregman	3B	+5
61	CJ Abrams	SS	+5
62	Ezequiel Tovar	SS	+5
63	Luis Robert Jr.	OF	-1
64	Nick Castellanos T8	OF	+4
65	Jordan Westburg	2B, 3B	+4
66	Christian Yelich	OF	+4
67	Matt Chapman	3B	+4
68	Randy Arozarena	OF	+4
69	Steven Kwan	OF	+4
70	Luis Arraez	1B, 2B	+5
71	Eugenio Suárez	3B	+5
72	Jeremy Peña	SS	+5
73	Triston Casas	1B	+6
74	Taylor Ward	OF	-10
75	Anthony Volpe	SS	+8
76	Shea Langeliers T9	C	+5
77	Alec Bohm	1B, 3B	+5
78	Adolis García	OF	-4
79	Dansby Swanson	SS	+7
80	Xavier Edwards	SS	+5
81	Pete Crow-Armstrong	OF	+7
82	Bo Bichette	SS	+10
83	Heliot Ramos	OF	+10
84	Andrés Giménez	2B	+5
85	Jasson Domínguez	OF	+6
86	Dylan Crews T10	OF	-2
87	Mark Vientos	3B	-9
88	Isaac Paredes	1B, 3B	+2
89	Yandy Díaz	1B	-2
90	Jake Burger	1B, 3B	-10
91	Lourdes Gurriel Jr.	OF	+3
92	Paul Goldschmidt	1B	+3
93	Xander Bogaerts	2B, SS	+3
94	Brandon Nimmo	OF	+4
95	Kerry Carpenter	OF	+4
96	Logan O’Hoppe	C	+11
97	Cedric Mullins	OF	+3
98	George Springer	OF	+4
99	Jorge Soler T11	OF	+4
100	Brice Turang	2B	+11
101	Bryson Stott	2B	+3
102	Tyler O’Neill	OF	+3
103	Kristian Campbell	2B	+34
104	Austin Wells	C	+8
105	Spencer Torkelson	1B	+11
106	J.T. Realmuto	C	+2
107	Nolan Arenado	3B	+3
108	Jung Hoo Lee	OF	+11
109	Brandon Lowe	2B	+4
110	Lars Nootbaar	OF	+5
111	Lane Thomas	OF	-14
112	Carlos Correa	SS	-3
113	Tyler Soderstrom	1B	+29
114	Luis Rengifo T12	2B, 3B	+3
115	Michael Busch	1B	+3
116	Nico Hoerner	2B, SS	+10
117	Tommy Edman	2B, SS, OF	+3
118	Brendan Donovan	2B, 3B, OF	+5
119	Josh Jung	3B	+UR
120	Spencer Steer	1B, 3B, OF	-14
121	JJ Bleday	OF	+3
122	Byron Buxton	OF	+3
123	Victor Scott II	OF	+23
124	Ryan McMahon T13	3B	+3
125	Luis García Jr.	2B	+3
126	Jonathan India	2B	-12
127	Nathaniel Lowe	1B	+3
128	Ryan Mountcastle	1B	+3
129	Andrew Vaughn	1B	+4
130	Wilyer Abreu	OF	+5
131	Gabriel Moreno	C	+5
132	Ryan Jeffers	C	+6
133	Max Muncy	3B	-12
134	Jackson Holliday	2B	+5
135	Matt Shaw	3B	+6
136	Kyle Manzardo	1B	+7
137	Matt Wallner	OF	+7
138	Michael Toglia	1B, OF	+7
139	Willi Castro	2B, 3B, SS, OF	+8
140	Ben Rice	1B	+UR
141	Christian Encarnacion-Strand	1B	-12
142	Maikel Garcia	2B, 3B	+6
143	Jake Cronenworth	1B, 2B	+6
144	Hunter Goodman	C, OF	+6
145	Masyn Winn	SS	-11
146	Jake McCarthy	OF	-14
147	Jorge Polanco	2B, 3B	+UR
148	Jacob Wilson	SS	+UR
149	Alec Burleson	1B, OF	-27
150	Jonathan Aranda	1B	+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 who 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) — A slow start plus a returning veteran means Baldwin will likely play less than he is now. He’ll still play, according to the manager, but almost certainly not enough for me to hold in single-catcher leagues, especially with no path to starts at DH.
• 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.
• Keibert Ruiz (C, WSH) — The two early home runs were cool and he hits in the heart of the order, but his ceiling is what we saw in 2023 and that wasn’t a top-100 player or top-10 catcher that season. He’d be in the last two tiers for points leagues though.
• Alejandro Kirk (C, TOR) — Points league catcher.
• Dillon Dingler (C, DET) — The injury to Jake Rogers makes Dinger the everyday catcher for at least a little while.
• Pedro Pagés (C, STL) — He’ll get the everyday backstop duties while Herrera is out.

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.
• 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.
• Wilmer Flores (1B, SFG) — It’s a neat little hot streak for a player who is easy to root for.
• Rhys Hoskins (1B, MIL) — Playing time is safe but the production is rather plain. More of a deep league filler.

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.
• 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.
• Colt Keith (2B, DET) — The upside still feels a ways off before we truly see it. The extremely high early walk rate is probably a fluke, but we’ll keep an eye on it.
• Kyren Paris (2B, LAA) — The hot streak is neat and you can stream if you like but he looked far from major-league-ready in the minors.

Third Base

• Cam Smith (3B, HOU) — The early plate appearances aren’t awful, but he’s sat twice already and the defense does not look good. Zach Dezenzo, his primary competition, hasn’t looked any better though, and neither has Chas McCormick, so Smith should be safe for now.
• 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.
• Noelvi Marte (3B, CIN) — There’s pop and speed here but holy heck was he putrid in 2024.

Shortstop

• Isiah Kiner-Falefa (2B/3B/SS, PIT) — He plays every day and doesn’t strike out a ton. If the Pirates continue to steal at insane rates, IKF might be more interesting than we’d have normally expected, but remember that the ratios are generally pretty neutral and he doesn’t have power.
• 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.
• Tyler Fitzgerald (SS, SFG) — I’m not really a believer in this skill set.
• Jordan Lawlar (SS, ARI) — Prospect people I trust have been holding a candle for Lawlar for several years.

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. That is not what is happening as of right now.
• 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.
• Gavin Sheets (DH, SDP) — He’s a platoon bat who has power and contact issues. There are a lot of these guys in the league and he is certainly one of them. All of his stats are essentially from a single night.
• Zac Veen (OF, COL) — There is a 0.01% chance that Colorado does the fun thing here and give Veen regular playing time. He’s still interesting in deep leagues for his speed but the hit tool has some question marks that will be tough to resolve without an extended look.
• Sal Frelick (OF, MIL) — Classic Frelick going on here. He slaps the ball in play and he can get some BABIP-driven hot streaks over short times.
• Michael Conforto (OF, LAD) — Conforto has a little pop, a bit of injury risk, and can be streaky – especially with the K%. Solid streamer, though he’ll drop at least one spot in the order when Freeman returns and another if Will Smith or Max Muncy heat up.

IL Stashes

Players are listed by position and not by projected value.

• Iván Herrera (C, STL) — He’ll be out for at least four weeks with a bone bruise on his knee. Tough to hold in a single-catcher league with limited IL but in deeper leagues and two-catcher formats it’s a must.
• 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.
• Freddie Freeman (1B, LAD) — Should be a short stay on the IL for Freeman, and no, I’m not that worried about him over the full season yet.
• 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.
• Ketel Marte (2B, ARI) — Hoping he comes back in April, but ligaments can be touchy.
• Matt McLain (2B, CIN) — Hits the shelf with a hamstring strain, but could be a minimum stay. Not ready to change his season-long stolen base projections yet, but a lingering hammy issue would be a reason to do that.
• 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.
• Nick Gonzales (2B, PIT) — I’m intrigued by the huge step forward he made with his strikeout rates last season.
• Gleyber Torres (2B, DET) — He’ll hit near the top of the lineup again when he comes back and is worth being on rosters.
• 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.
• 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) — Looks fantastic in his rehab assignment. Start looking to scoop him up if you need a middle infielder and he was left on the wire.
• 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.
• Colton Cowser (OF, BAL) — The injury stinks, and it may be tough to leadoff again if Mullins keeps hitting.
• Josh Lowe (OF, TBR) — Oblique strains are always tough, as if being on the Rays wasn’t enough of a challenge in terms of secure playing time.
• Victor Robles (OF, SEA) — Dislocated shoulder for Robles, who has a bit of a spotty injury history. We should get a timeline on him very soon.
• Jonny DeLuca (OF, TBR) — Likely to miss two to four weeks, just enough time to make the Tampa Bay roster an even bigger mess than it is already.
• Jackson Merrill (OF, SDP) — Yet another man down with a hammy issue. Hopefully, it’s just a short stay and he’s back on the field.

 

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