Top 150 Hitters For Fantasy Baseball 2025: Week 3 – 4/16

We are about a week or two away from this list having an EXPLOSION of charts, and I’m very excited to bring them to you. Until then, get prepared for a LOT of boring notes about how everything is fine for veterans and to be conservative about breakouts. Sorry in advance.

 

• 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

 

• If this is what a slow start looks like for Elly De La Cruz, we are in for a very exciting ride.
• Corbin Carroll breaks into the top 10 and could even inch higher.
• Fernando Tatis Jr. looks like the best version of himself right now. Injuries are the only real thing in his way right now, and for the most part he’s avoided them.
• The season line looks ugly, but over his last nine games, Yordan Alvarez is hitting .310/.421/.552 with seven walks and just four strikeouts. He’s just fine, folks.
• There’s nothing wrong with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
• Gunnar Henderson seems rusty and just a bit off. The numbers look ugly, but being just a little bit off in the major leagues can sink your numbers in short order. He’ll find it soon.

 

Tier 3

 

• The walks from Julio Rodriguez are interesting, though all I really care about is seeing him get the ball in the air.
• I don’t really care if Jackson Chourio isn’t walking right now because he’s hitting. The early strikeouts were a small sample mirage, and he looks every bit like the stud we expected.
• Austin Riley’s strikeout rate jumped almost four percentage points after one game. That said, I am not concerned about the strikeouts too much, as they’ve always been at least somewhat a part of his game.

 

Tier 4

 

• Reports of Freddie Freeman’s demise were premature.
• Pete Alonso looks like a new man right now. He’s doing a fantastic job laying off pitches outside of the zone while staying aggressive in the zone with plus contact (relatively speaking). That approach is his path to hitting 35-40 home runs with a .260 or better batting average.
• Brent Rooker looks just fine under the hood. A hot streak will be here soon enough.
• Jazz Chisholm Jr. is hitting everything in the air, which is great for home runs and bad for batting average. I expect that to even out just a little bit, which will make the ratios less painful (but still not good).
• James Wood has been extremely passive in the zone, and while some of that isn’t a bad thing, I’d love to see him crank up the aggression when the ball is hittable. He’s got more than enough contact ability to turn that into excellent outcomes, especially with that prodigious power.

 

Tier 5

 

• Oneil Cruz is streaky, and the steals have certainly slowed down, but I’m still in. UPDATE: After Cruz put up his third combo meal (home run plus steal, coined by ESPN’s Fantasy Focus podcast), I went to take a look at his rolling charts and this one stood out to me.
  
• I’m a little worried about Trea Turner’s batted ball quality. His decision-making and contact have been fine (not good, but fine), but the power is completely absent. He should be safe to keep hitting second for now, but Turner’s spot on top of the lineup is critical to his value, and it won’t be permanent if the quality of contact stays low.
• We are 77 plate appearances, and Josh Naylor has an 11.7% walk rate and a 7.8% strikeout rate. Sure, he’s not keeping up the necessary pace to hit 31 home runs again, but we didn’t really think he’d do that anyway. This amazing plate discipline was something we saw in the second half last season and it’s beautiful to see it carry into 2025. Naylor will fall short of 30 home runs, but hitting 23-25 of them with a solid batting average and over 100 RBI is more than enough to deserve this kind of ranking.

 

Tier 6

 

• Power hitters, as a whole, are streaky. What Cal Raleigh is doing is the fun part of that archetype.
• Ozzie Albies is hitting first against lefties, but there’s a good argument to be made that he should be permanently flipped with Michael Harris II and leadoff against everyone. If that happens, he’d bump up a tier (though Ronald Acuña Jr.’s return will shuffle that part of the lineup again).
• Salvador Perez is fine. He’s hit plenty of barrels and is getting the ball in the air. Sal puts a lot of stuff in play and that means he’s subject to the whims of the BABIP gods, who currently despise him.
• I hope you’re not one of the people who dropped Junior Caminero. It happened in two of my home leagues and I imagine it happened in yours.
• I’m giving Christian Walker more time in standard leagues. He’s still hitting the ball hard, he just is hitting it on the ground too much. We’ve seen samples that were almost this bad before on multiple occasions and he broke out of them fairly quickly.

 

Tier 7

 

• No need to worry about Mike Trout’s batting average, as he will be back in the .240-.260 range soon enough. What we should be doing is celebrating that Mike Trout is healthy and hitting the ball hard.
• Brenton Doyle looked awesome in that homestand and not awesome on the road. That’s the life of a Colorado hitter.
• Alex Bregman might hit 40 doubles for the Red Sox.
• Vinnie Pasquantino is hitting a few too many balls in the air, as he doesn’t have enough power to consistently clear the spacious confines of Kauffman Stadium. Some of those will become line drives in short order, and that will get those ratios back to where we expect them.
• We are still within the range of expected short-term outcomes for Willson Contreras. Don’t drop him.
• Cody Bellinger is an enigma. He’s hitting the ball as hard as ever and doing it consistently, but the results are terrible. In past years, he didn’t hit the ball that hard nor consistently, and he had great results.

 

Tier 8

 

• Jordan Westburg is hitting the ball with authority, but his expected stats from Baseball Savant (.275 xAVG, .512 xSLG) are a bit misleading as he’s hitting everything right up the middle to the centerfielder. Our Pitcher List expected stats capture this more accurately (.234 xAVG, .395 xSLG), but that batted ball distribution should normalize and put Westburg back on the right track.
• For all the excitement around Kyren Paris, why not Taylor Ward? Sure, Ward probably wasn’t on your wire and they have totally different expectations, but five home runs in five games is the same kind of performance and Ward leads off every night.
• Randy Arozarena’s walks are up, the strikeouts are down, and he just stole a ton of bases, which tells us two things: that teams like to pick on Texas and Cincinnati on the basepaths, and that Arozarena should be a fine outfielder for fantasy.
• Ezequiel Tovar was a trendy bust pick in the offseason due to his extreme aggression, but what we are actually seeing is a guy who is hitting the ball hard and who is dramatically improving the swing and miss in his game. If Tovar had this plate discipline and batted ball quality last season, he would not have been viewed so pessimistically in the offseason. There’s a decent buy-low opportunity here.
• Luis Robert Jr. remains the toughest player to rank.

 

Tier 9

 

• The Astros have played 12 of their last 15 games on the road, and in each of those three home games, Isaac Paredes hit a home run. The plate discipline has been strong, and he’s been moved to second in the batting order. If anyone is trying to sell, you should be buying.
• Marcus Semien worries me a lot. How much longer can they keep leading him off? How much tread is left on these tires? Since the start of 2018, Semien leads the league in plate appearances (4,675), which is nearly a full season’s worth more than the guy with the 10th-most (Nolan Arenado with 4,130). Semien is closer to 35 than 34, and while I hate speculating on age-based deterioration, he’s played a ridiculous amount of baseball.
• Triston Casas takes a bit of a tumble, mostly because the walks are way down, he’s moved down in the order, and he sat against two straight lefties. If that doesn’t start to correct in another week or so, we may see him drop a few more slots again.

 

Tier 10

 

• Hooray Jung Hoo Lee! He’s not actually hitting the ball harder or hitting it harder more often, believe it or not. He’s just pulling the ball in the air more (and pulling it more on the ground, not that it matters). Batted ball distribution can be a bit random and for the league as a whole, it’s not predictive (it’s why Baseball Savant doesn’t include it in their expected stats), but it greatly improves the descriptiveness of expected stats, which I strongly believe is the better use of expected stats. Lee has elite bat control and could absolutely hit 20 home runs without hurting his elite batting average with this kind of pull rate if he mostly keeps it up. Toss in the fact that he’s now the everyday hitter in the three-spot, and you could also see a path to 100 RBI.
• Yandy Díaz is worth scooping in all the leagues where he was dropped if you have any holes at first base or corner. He doesn’t have the power upside of the other potential breakouts at the position, but he plays every day and puts the ball in play a ton.
• How do I rank Jake Burger above Tork and Soderstrom? Because for either of them, hitting 30 home runs with a .250 average would be a fantastic outcome and perhaps being a little greedy. For Burger, it would be what he did in both 2023 and 2024. I wouldn’t be surprised if they eventually get above him, but I’m going to give it a full month (possibly) first.

 

Tier 11

 

• Most of you will have Tyler Soderstrom over Spencer Torkelson, and that’s fine. They’re both fun and exciting, and with the way Soderstrom is hitting, there’s no way Nick Kurtz will steal his playing time.
• Eugenio Suárez is 12th since the start of 2018 in plate appearances, and after an explosive start he’s faded hard. I expect us to keep experiencing these ups and downs, with the only real question being how long these cold streaks will last before he gives us another wave of power.
• It’s OK to be worried about Dylan Crews because it’s incredibly difficult to make adjustments at the big league level. I think he’ll make them eventually, but in 12-teamers that require only three outfielders, he should probably be on your bench.

 

Tier 12

 

• Ben Rice falls just a tier below the other two power-hitting first basemen, largely because his margin of error is thinner and the Yankees have sat him against about half of the lefties they’ve faced.
• Michael Busch is likely to remain in a fairly strict platoon, but is a solid hitter when active.
• Welcome back, Gleyber Torres! He’s not a super exciting player and I wouldn’t be shocked if he failed to hit 20 home runs, but the volume of being an everyday leadoff man should make up for it.

 

Tier 13

 

• Austin Wells is fine and the numbers will come around (though it’s a bummer he’s no longer close to the leadoff gig), but also he’s right at the cutoff for when to stream a catcher or to hold in a 12-team single-catcher league.
• Sean Murphy has stepped into what is basically a full-time role batting near the middle of Atlanta’s order, which is cool, but I remain skeptical of the long-term viability.
• Jake Mangum is playing almost every day for the Rays and has a plus hit tool and speed. He’s one of the few speedsters that’s probably just as good in points as he is in standard formats.
• Classic Sal Frelick going on here. He slaps the ball in play and he can get some BABIP-driven hot streaks over short times.
• Rhys Hoskins is heating up, which is somewhat worth monitoring if you’re hunting for power.
• If you need speed or a middle infield replacement, Luisangel Acuña seems to have seized the second base job for the Mets and brings solid contact ability and stolen bases.
• Trevor Story is extremely volatile with as much injury risk as you can assign to a player, but he’s doing fun stuff and hitting near the middle of the order right now.
• Spencer Steer is a bench bat, all of a sudden. He may see a bit more playing time and get a chance to be a full-time regular again with CES hitting the IL, but you don’t need to keep him on your roster.
• I’m not a huge believer in Tyler Fitzgerald but this guy can get scorching hot and plays every day. Once the strikeouts ramp up, it’s time to bail.
• Max Muncy is droppable, though don’t be shocked if right when you do it he hits three home runs in a weekend. Fate is cruel.

 

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

 

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

• 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 Dingler 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.
• Pavin Smith (1B, ARI) — Smith gets hot now and again but there’s not enough juice here to consider him in 12-teamers even if he kept his job all season.
• Alec Burleson (1B/OF, STL) — He’s in a full platoon now.
• Matt Mervis (1B, MIA) — As with many other guys in this part of the article, he’s a free-swinging masher with severe contact issues. The home runs will come and go, and when they go, it will be very ugly.
• Nick Kurtz (1B, ATH) — The logjam might be clearing up, but it’s still very real as Rooker is horrible in the field.
• Ty France (1B, MIN) — France has been creeping up the lineup and is a decent little filler for counting stats if you need to plug a hole.

Second Base

• Luke Keaschall (2B, MIN) — An all-arounder with a good hit tool, though I don’t know if he’ll get enough playing time to be relevant in 12-teamers yet. The power will probably take some time to turn on, but the speed will be available out of the gate.
• Hyeseong Kim (2B, LAD) — He’s performing well in the minors and they could always push Edman to the outfield to make room.
• 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?
• Brett Baty (2B/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/was neat and you can stream if you like but he looked far from major-league-ready in the minors.
• Brooks Lee (2B/3B, MIN) — The upside is fairly limited unless he moves up to the top of the order, which I don’t really expect in the near future.
• Christopher Morel (2B/3B/OF, TBR) — The production is here but the strikeout rate is out of control. I don’t trust this.

Third Base

• Cam Smith (3B, HOU) — There have been flashes here and there, but he’s not driving the ball with much authority, is having some contact issues in the zone, and is struggling to get the ball in the air.
• 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.
• Noelvi Marte (3B, CIN) — There’s pop and speed here but holy heck was he putrid in 2024.
• Matt Shaw (3B, CHC) — No need to hold in 12-team redraft leagues. Shaw could be successful but quality of contact is a tricky demon to slay.
• Connor Norby (3B, MIA) — Expect power and tons of strikeouts, assuming the oblique is fully healthy.
• Gabriel Arias (3B, CLE) — He’s an aggressive hitter with extreme contact issues in the zone. It’s a tale as old as time and almost always turns out the same way (a streamer when hot and a drop when not).
• Dylan Moore (2B/3B/SS/OF, SEA) — He’s a part-time player with speed, some pop, and contact issues. Classic guy where you’ll be trying to catch lightning in a bottle and should probably only try against left-handed pitching.
• Zach McKinstry (2B/3B/SS/OF, DET) — He’s a fine replacement-level guy in OBP but we’ve seen these hot streaks before and they don’t tend to last terribly long.

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.
• Jordan Lawlar (SS, ARI) — Prospect people I trust have been holding a candle for Lawlar for several years.
• Geraldo Perdomo (SS, ARI) — The walks and power surge are interesting, but probably not permanent. His upside is that of Luis Arraez with more walks and a worse batting average (though still a very good one). The question will be whether he can keep hitting these line drives. Historically, he’s been unable to sustain a rate above 20% for long, and to be successful with this profile a 20% line drive rate is probably the minimum for long-term viability (since he almost never hits it very hard and needs it to go over the infield and drop in front of the outfield on most of his hits).

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) — The Rockies gave him regular time, but Veen isn’t ready to hit major league stuff yet.
• Michael Conforto (OF, LAD) — Conforto has a little pop, a bit of injury risk, and can be streaky – especially with the strikeout rate. 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.
• 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.
• Griffin Conine (OF, MIA) — The strikeouts will probably become too much to deal with but there’s huge raw power here that might be relevant in NL-only or very deep formats.

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.
• Christian Encarnacion-Strand (1B, CIN) — He was about to get removed from the list. He’s now on a more permanent “prove it to me first” before he’s recommended again in any format.
• 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.
• Jake Cronenworth (1B/2B, SDP) — No need to stash him unless you have a deep IL.
• 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.
• Royce Lewis (3B, MIN) — He’ll be worth rostering when he’s healthy but goodness this guy has bad luck.
• 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.
• CJ Abrams (SS, WAS) — Shouldn’t be out too long, but don’t expect that level of power again (not because of the injury, just because he’s an extremely aggressive hitter who mostly hits home runs in short waves).
• Masyn Winn (SS, STL) — Winn should be back when first eligible. I’m more concerned about the lineup spot than the injury.
• 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.
• 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.
• Wyatt Langford (OF, TEX) — Might be another couple of weeks yet, but he’s progressing.
• Matt Wallner (OF, MIN) — Hammys are always a little tricky. You don’t NEED to stash him if your IL is full, especially if it’s a format that only requires three outfielders (or four if it’s a 10-teamer).

 

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