Top 150 Hitters for Fantasy Baseball 2026 – Week 8

It’s a new set of rankings, and if there’s one thing you should take away from it, it’s that opportunity and lineup spot can change a player’s outlook in a hurry.

• As a reminder, these rankings are geared toward a standard, daily, 12-team H2H redraft league, which 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.
• These are not best ball or draft and hold rankings. The 12-team redraft format with daily moves is the fundamental opposite of that. Pure volume plays are not valued as much here as in those no-move formats.
• I take rankings like this more as art than science. Every person’s rankings are influenced by their biases, strategic philosophies, risk assessments, and projections. It’s why no two rankings are ever exactly alike. My way of evaluating and ranking players has worked well for me, but it might not be an excellent fit for you. I can’t possibly predict your team’s specific needs, your leaguemates’ 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 I’ll add them once those eligibilities are earned. 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 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.
• 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, specifically multi-eligibility, is neat but 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.). Still, the value is fairly situational and context-dependent.
• Similarly, 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.
• Regardless of true talent, anyone talented enough to make it to the big leagues can be brilliant or putrid for 50 to 100 at-bats. 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 will be valid until it’s over, though track record, scouting, and trends can give us hints.
• One of the most difficult things to account for in these rankings is the dynamic between low-ceiling players who have clear roles and players who could have higher ceilings but are without a clear path to playing time. I try to note this in the blurbs as much as I can.
• THIS IS NOT A TRADE CHART. Trade charts need to account for “market” value, which is largely perception-based.

 

Read The Notes

 

If you’d like input on a player or have any feedback, your best bet is to contact me on Bluesky (@scottchu.pitcherlist.com), X (@ifthechufits), or Reddit (u/ChusephEsquire)

I also host an AMA in the r/fantasybaseball subreddit every Friday (starting sometime in late March) with Nate Schwartz, 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.

For additional insight, also check out the Hacks & Jacks podcast! This is a hitter-focused pod with myself, Brett Ford, and occasional special guests.

 

Tier 1 

 

• See? Shohei Ohtani is fine.

 

Tier 2

 

• Juan Soto has five home runs, 19 combined runs and RBI, and three steals in his last seven games, which is just silly.
• Yordan Alvarez has the best xwOBA in the league and the second best wRC+. When healthy, he’s just an absolute terror at the plate.

 

Tier 3 

 

• Nick Kurtz will continue to be up and down but the end result looks like it will be a top-10 hitter. Next time he slumps, don’t ask “what’s wrong” because the answer is almost certainly that everything is fine and that his limited contact ability makes him streaky.
• Ben Rice takes over as the top dog at catcher with Baldwin hitting the IL, and owns the league’s best wRC+. The long-awaited breakout has finally arrived and I’m hoping he doesn’t have an inexplicable two-month slump like he has in the last few seasons.
• Matt Olson is still hitting the ball extremely hard, but he’s hitting some extra liners in place of home runs and striking out a bit more so the pace has slowed. He’ll go through some of these throughout the season, the only question is how quickly he can get through these slumps.

 

Tier 4

 

• Welcome back, Ronald Acuña Jr.! The injury risk is the main concern I have, though the lack of home runs so far brings a little worry along with it, and the two things combined are what keep him out of Tier 3.
• James Wood might be a bit overdue for a move up into Tier 3, and if he continues the strong decision-making against breakers, he’ll be there soon.
• Hopefully the lack of hitting in Detroit doesn’t make its way to Riley Greene. He has a hit or a walk in 29 of his last 30 games while batting .387/.484/.557.

 

Tier 5 

 

• CJ Abrams is still a top-10 hitter in standard leagues, and while he did have a 13-game slump from mid-to-late April, he never spiked his strikeout rate and he rebounded quickly. If you’ve been reading this column this year, then you know that gets me excited. The walk rate has fallen in May, but that 11.5% April walk rate was more a product of pitchers avoiding him than it was a change in who he is. Abrams is an aggressive hitter, but that’s totally fine. I’ll be keeping an eye on the home run to fly ball rate that is currently double his career average (which can be an indicator of luck), but even with some luck regression on the way, this season could give us a new level of expectations for Abrams as a 25 home run, 30 steal guy who bats .275 or better.
• Signs of life from Trea Turner, Ketel Marte, and Sal Stewart are likely making a lot of people feel a little bit better heading into the holiday weekend.
• Brent Rooker has looked a little better of late also and remains a strong trade target if you’re light on power. He does move down this week, but only due to Stewart and Marte moving up.
• I spoke at length about Fernando Tatis Jr. in the Hacks & Jacks podcast, but the summary is this: the guy we’ve seen over his last 200 games is more or less what we saw from CJ Abrams in 2024-2025 (15-20 home run power, steals 30+ bases, bats .260, scores runs but doesn’t drive in many runners). That’s a top-50 hitter or so, but not what you hoped for ond raft day. Still, he’s a difficult guy to trade away (I’d at least want a top-50 hitter) and he’s too good to cut. It’s a tough spot, but if you recognize that the power could be 15-20 home runs short of what you hoped, you can start trying to address that now with your trade market or waiver priorities.

 

Tier 6

 

• Here’s the thing with Gunnar Henderson: you can’t be lagging in both decision-making and contact and expect to be elite. He was good at both at many points last season (in addition to his plus power, which is always around), but with two skills dropping off, things could stay ugly for a while.

  

• Ivan Herrera is about a week away from catcher eligibility in 20-game formats, and should be scooped everywhere even if he never got there.
• Konnor Griffin continues showing us that he’s left his teens behind him, with three home runs, seven steals, and a .348/.396/.522 line since his 20th birthday on April 24. He could swat 15 home runs with 30 steals and solid ratios this year and still have plenty of room for growth in 2027.

 

Tier 7 

 

• Mike Trout is still walking a ton, but the strikeouts have picked up considerably in May (29.9%). His expected stats for the month are roughly as bad as his actual stats, too, but I’m going to give a healthy Trout the benefit of the doubt for just a week or two more.
• Jazz Chisholm Jr. has looked strong for the last five games or so, but I won’t move him up unless I can see that his hot streaks can last more than a series or two, because the cold streaks are just brutal.
• Welcome back, Jeremy Peña! He’s been locked back into the leadoff role and should score plenty of runs batting ahead of Yordan Alvarez. My only mild concern is that hitting in front of a machine like Yordan might limit his stolen base upside (in addition to any caution they have based on the hammy).
• Pete Crow-Armstrong might not ever find that 30-home run pop again, but he can still steal a boatload of bases and provide some decent counting stats.

 

Tier 8

 

• Miguel Vargas is a different looking hitter than he had been in the two seasons prior. The 2 mph uptick in bat speed seems like an obvious culprit, but in reality he’s not hitting the ball harder on average than he ever had before, nor is he squaring the ball up more often. I suppose it could be the reason why his home run to fly ball rate is double what it used to be, but it also helps that he’s walking 15% of the time and striking out less than ever. The plate discipline change gives me hope that the two miles per hour to his bat speed doesn’t on its own, and assuming he stays healthy, Vargas could hit 25 or more homers with double-digit steals. The batting average won’t be pretty due to the extreme fly ball rate, but everything else should be gravy.
• Jo Adell will get hot with homers at some point and hit like five in a week, but the question now is how often he’ll do that and whether it be enough to clear 35 home runs again.

 

Tier 9 

 

• Kazuma Okamoto is struggling with strikeouts again and it worries me a bit? Is he going to be a streaky power bat instead of the steady producer we expected?
• Carson Benge is our feature today, and he’s the epitome of a player who can see his fantasy fortunes change by a simple lineup card. Benge has moved into the leadoff spot ahead of the hottest hitter on the planet in Juan Soto, and in the nine games he’s led off, he has 18 hits, 10 runs scored, and two stolen bases. The power upside is fairly limited as I wouldn’t project more than 12-15 home runs, but as a leadoff guy he could swipe 20 total bases and get his runs scored to 90 or better without changing much of his game. As a bottom of the order hitter, Benge needed to be white hot to generate the counting stats needed to be a must-start in 12-team leagues, but as a leadoff man, he just needs to be good enough to let Juan Soto drive him home.
• The steals have slowed down for Travis Bazzana but he keeps piling up the singles. I’m hoping that with more time to get used to major league pitching, his speed will help turn some of these singles into doubles soon.
• Alec Bohm is as hot as it gets, and more importantly, has retaken his role as the cleanup hitter. Like Benge, Bohm doesn’t have the juice to consistently produce at the bottom of the order, but with an ideal lineup spot, Bohm can provide ratios, a little bit of pop, and a boatload of RBI.

 

Tier 10

At this point, you can start to consider players expendable in 10-12 team leagues based on your needs and what’s on your wire. I’m not excited about cutting any of these guys and wouldn’t do it for a guy like , but if there’s upside you want to chase and one of these guys isn’t providing what you need, you can consider moving on.

• Perhaps Bo Bichette has some life left after all, though it may also just be because he hits near Juan Soto.
• Trent Grisham is no longer the sole leadoff man with Paul Goldschmidt stealing that spotlight a few times a week, and when you combine that with Grisham sitting against about half the lefties the Yankees see, you get a guy who is more of a backend outfielder than a guy you feel super comfortable with rest-of-season.
• Sam Antonacci is another guy benefitting from the leadoff role as he slaps balls into the outfield. The counting stats would be better if he didn’t play for the White Sox (who are better than expected, but not good), but he’s a solid add if you need speed or are in a points league.
• I’m giving Isaac Paredes just a bit more time to keep pulling fly balls because his home run to fly ball rate is just shockingly low, especially at home. If it corrects back to closer to his 12.7% career rate, the numbers should follow.
• Carter Jensen isn’t exactly raking, but I like that he’s walking nearly as much as he’s struck out in his last 10 appearances and want to see how that plays out.

 

Tier 11

 

• Yet another little tumble for Jackson Merrill, but I’m holding him in the vast majority of scenarios.
• Gavin Sheets is mostly just a streaky lefty power hitter, but that has value at times. This is one of those times.
• Jarren Duran is showing just enough for me to stop the freefall here, but there’s only so much a five-game streak can do, especially with all these strikeouts.
• Brandon Nimmo was quite durable from 2022-2025 after a long career of managing injuries, and I’m not saying that he’s back to being injury-prone. I’m just saying that he’s 33 and that he’s managing injuries right now and that it’s something that has held Nimmo back in the past.
• If Ernie Clement sniffed the leadoff role or two spot more often, he’d move up these ranks just like the other guys I’ve discussed.
• Tyler Soderstrom is starting to hit the pine against lefties ands move down in the order and my patience is wearing thin. I already kicked Spencer Torkelson off the list, and Soderstrom may not be far behind.

 

Tier 12

 

• Mickey Moniak is striking out a lot less and it’s the only reason I didn’t remove him from this list.
• Luke Raley is mostly just a streaky lefty power hitter, but that has value at times. This is one of those times.
• Ryan Waldschmidt is proving he belongs in the Show, and while I usually say that guys with high line drive rates aren’t going to keep it up, this is something Waldschmidt did throughout the minors. It may hamper his home run upside a bit (line drives are rarely homers), but it will keep the ratios up and help with counting stats.
• Jake Bauers just keeps hitting and who am I to deny it in here?
• The Guardians are hitting like crazy of late and Angel Martínez, Kyle Manzardo, and Brayan Rocchio are at the heart of it. All three have shown flashes of upside before and all three have been disappointing far more often than they have been promising, but there’s nothing wrong with clinging on to the coattails of a hot offense and seeing what comes of it.
• I don’t trust Matt McLain or Zack Gelof much, but they are perfectly valid streamers for now.
• Brett Baty’s eligibility and upside will have him bouncing on and off this list until he (hopefully) finally sticks for good. Or disappears completely.
• Gabriel Moreno and Keibert Ruiz have limited power and speed, but their ability to avoid strikeouts and provide plus ratios make them solid backend catchers (or even mid-tier catchers in points formats, particularly those with a strikeout penalty).
• Austin Martin remains the leadoff man (at times) in Minnesota even as he cools off a bit, and if he heats up again perhaps he can secure that job for good.
• This is your permission to drop Luke Keaschall, Vinnie Pasquantino, and George Springer in 10-12 team leagues. These guys do have upside (particularly the latter two), but there are other options with similar upside elsewhere in these ranks and you don’t need to keep clinging on to these guys. In deeper leagues, though, you may have little choice but to keep waiting.

 

Rank	Hitter	Team	Position	Change
1	Aaron JudgeT1	NYY	OF	-
2	Shohei Ohtani	LAD	DH	-
3	José Ramírez T2	CLE	3B	-
4	Juan Soto	NYM	OF	-
5	Bobby Witt Jr.	KC	SS	-
6	Julio Rodríguez	SEA	OF	-
7	Yordan Alvarez	HOU	OF	-
8	Nick Kurtz T3		1B	-
9	Elly De La Cruz	CIN	SS	+1
10	Kyle Schwarber	PHI	OF	+1
11	Ben Rice	NYY	C, 1B	+5
12	Shea Langeliers		C	+3
13	Matt Olson	ATL	1B	-4
14	Kyle Tucker	LAD	OF	-2
15	Corbin Carroll	ARI	OF	-2
16	Ronald Acuña Jr. T4	ATL	OF	+UR
17	James Wood	WSH	OF	+4
18	Junior Caminero	TB	3B	-1
19	Pete Alonso	BAL	1B	-1
20	Brice Turang	MIL	2B	-1
21	Byron Buxton	MIN	OF	-1
22	Bryce Harper	PHI	1B	-
23	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	TOR	1B	-
24	Josh Naylor	SEA	1B	-
25	Jackson Chourio	MIL	OF	-
26	Cody Bellinger	NYY	1B	-
27	Riley Greene	DET	OF	-
28	CJ Abrams T5	WSH	SS	+15
29	Trea Turner	PHI	SS	+4
30	Ketel Marte	ARI	2B	+1
31	Sal Stewart	CIN	1B, 3B	+3
32	Michael Harris II	ATL	OF	+3
33	Brent Rooker		OF	-3
34	Zach Neto	LAA	SS	-6
35	Oneil Cruz	PIT	OF	+1
36	Jordan Walker	STL	OF	+5
37	Fernando Tatis Jr.	SD	OF	-8
38	Andy Pages	LAD	OF	+4
39	Randy Arozarena	SEA	OF	+5
40	Freddie Freeman T6	LAD	1B	-8
41	Hunter Goodman	COL	C	-3
42	William Contreras	MIL	C	-3
43	Gunnar Henderson	BAL	SS	-6
44	Austin Riley	ATL	3B	+1
45	Munetaka Murakami	CWS	3B	+1
46	Ivan Herrera	STL	C, DH	+8
47	Rafael Devers	SF	1B	+1
48	Manny Machado	SD	3B	-1
49	Konnor Griffin	PIT	SS	+7
50	Ian Happ	CHC	OF	+5
51	Christian Yelich	MIL	OF	+1
52	Nico Hoerner	CHC	2B, SS	-1
53	JJ Wetherholt	STL	2B, SS	+6
54	Maikel Garcia	KC	2B, 3B, SS, OF	-4
55	Alex Bregman T7	CHC	3B	-6
56	Jonathan Aranda	TB	1B	+2
57	Yandy Díaz	TB	1B	+10
58	Mike Trout	LAA	OF	-5
59	Brandon Lowe	PIT	2B	+11
60	Otto Lopez	MIA	2B, SS	+14
61	Mookie Betts	LAD	SS	-
62	Seiya Suzuki	CHC	OF	-5
63	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	NYY	2B, 3B	-1
64	Jeremy Peña	HOU	SS	+UR
65	Xavier Edwards	MIA	2B, SS	+6
66	Teoscar Hernández	LAD	OF	+2
67	Alec Burleson	STL	1B, OF	+2
68	Josh Jung	TEX	3B	-3
69	Pete Crow-Armstrong	CHC	OF	-6
70	Kevin McGonigle	DET	SS	-6
71	Ozzie Albies T8	ATL	2B	-11
72	Salvador Perez	KC	C, 1B	+1
73	Miguel Vargas	CWS	1B, 3B	+25
74	Michael Busch	CHC	1B	+1
75	Liam Hicks	MIA	C, 1B	+1
76	Max Muncy	LAD	3B	+1
77	JJ Bleday	CIN	OF	+1
78	Jo Adell	LAA	OF	-12
79	Colson Montgomery	CWS	SS	+11
80	Will Smith	LAD	C	-8
81	Bryan Reynolds	PIT	OF	-2
82	Chase DeLauter	CLE	OF	-
83	Daylen Lile	WSH	OF	-
84	Chandler Simpson	TB	OF	+2
85	Wilyer Abreu	BOS	OF	-4
86	Kazuma Okamoto T9	TOR	3B	-1
87	Casey Schmitt	SF	1B, 2B, 3B	+UR
88	Adley Rutschman	BAL	C	+4
89	Daulton Varsho	TOR	OF	+8
90	Samuel Basallo	BAL	C	+12
91	Travis Bazzana	CLE	2B	+UR
92	Carson Benge	NYM	OF	+UR
93	Alec Bohm	PHI	3B	+42
94	Dillon Dingler	DET	C	+UR
95	Christian Walker	HOU	1B	-7
96	Ceddanne Rafaela	BOS	2B, OF	+8
97	Brandon Marsh	PHI	OF	+9
98	Willy Adames	SF	SS	+1
99	Jakob Marsee	MIA	OF	+30
100	Willson Contreras	BOS	1B	+8
101	Luis Arraez	SF	1B, 2B	+15
102	Bo Bichette T10	NYM	3B, SS	+3
103	Bryson Stott	PHI	2B, SS	+9
104	Sam Antonacci	CWS	2B, OF	+11
105	Isaac Paredes	HOU	3B	+4
106	Chase Meidroth	CWS	2B, SS	-6
107	Xander Bogaerts	SD	SS	-12
108	Trent Grisham	NYY	OF	-24
109	Taylor Ward	BAL	OF	-22
110	TJ Rumfield	COL	1B, 3B	+UR
111	Dansby Swanson	CHC	SS	+2
112	Carter Jensen	KC	C	+7
113	Jake Burger T11	TEX	1B	+7
114	Brooks Lee	MIN	2B, 3B, SS	+UR
115	Ildemaro Vargas	ARI	2B, 3B	+11
116	Luis García Jr.	WSH	2B	+11
117	Jackson Merrill	SD	OF	-24
118	Jung Hoo Lee	SF	OF	+13
119	Gavin Sheets	SD	1B, OF	+UR
120	Ernie Clement	TOR	1B, 2B, 3B, SS	+13
121	Mark Vientos	NYM	1B, 3B	+UR
122	A.J. Ewing	NYM	OF	+15
123	Jarren Duran	BOS	OF	-27
124	Brandon Nimmo	TEX	OF	-35
125	Tyler Soderstrom		1B, OF	-31
126	Nolan Arenado	ARI	3B	+UR
127	Geraldo Perdomo T12	ARI	SS	-3
128	Mickey Moniak	COL	OF	+UR
129	Miguel Andujar	SD	OF	+UR
130	Luke Raley	SEA	1B, OF	+16
131	Ezequiel Duran	TEX	2B, 3B, SS, OF	+UR
132	Ryan Waldschmidt	ARI	OF	+UR
133	Jake Bauers	MIL	1B, OF	+UR
134	Angel Martínez	CLE	2B, OF	+UR
135	Kyle Manzardo	CLE	1B	+UR
136	Brayan Rocchio	CLE	SS	+UR
137	Gabriel Moreno	ARI	C	+UR
138	Keibert Ruiz	WSH	C	+UR
139	Matt McLain	CIN	2B, SS	+UR
140	Zack Gelof		3B, SS, OF	+UR
141	Brett Baty	NYM	1B, 2B, 3B, OF	+UR
142	Jacob Young	WSH	OF	+UR
143	Spencer Steer	CIN	1B, OF	+UR
144	Austin Martin	MIN	2B, OF	+UR
145	Marcus Semien	NYM	2B	-23
146	Jake McCarthy	COL	OF	+UR
147	Kyle Stowers	MIA	OF	-37
148	Luke Keaschall	MIN	2B	-1
149	Vinnie Pasquantino	KC	1B	-42
150	George Springer	TOR	OF	-14

 

Catcher

• Austin Wells (C, NYY) — Love the walks and he’s been unlucky with batted balls. Viable second catcher.
• Dalton Rushing (C, LAD) — Hard to find playing time, hard to stay hot when you don’t play.
• Brandon Valenzuela (C, TOR) — His minor league track record is uninspiring at best.
• Tyler Stephenson (C, CIN) — A fine fill-in if you just lost your catcher.

First Base

• Andrew Vaughn (1B, MIL) — Streamer with upside if he breaks out of this platoon with Bauers.
• Spencer Horwitz (1B, PIT) — Replacement-level first baseman in points and OBP leagues.
• Jake Bauers (1B/OF, MIL) — In a platoon now with Andrew Vaughn.
• Bryce Eldridge (1B, SFG) — Huge power here, but contact issues have been a consistent issue in the big leagues (and minors, frankly).
• Nolan Schanuel (1B, LAA) — Points league streamer.
• Paul Goldschmidt (1B, NYY) — Beat up some lefties but can’t be considered in mixed leagues.
• Nathaniel Lowe (1B, CIN) — Fun while it lasted, but appears to be a streaky lefty platoon guy.
• Spencer Torkelson (1B, DET) — The decision-making and power remain very strong (bordering elite), but the contact ability has become so bad that those things can’t shine. I’d hold in deeper formats but in 10-12 there are too many other options.

Second Base

• Andrés Giménez (2B/SS, TOR) — Drop. Producing very little outside of that random two-home run game.
• Cole Young (2B, SEA) — The plate discipline has improved, but there’s just not that much category juice in this bat.
• Nick Gonzales (2B/3B, PIT) — Streaky infield streamer with a little pop.
• David Hamilton (2B/SS, MIL) — Middle infielder who plays most of the time and steals bases. Might be slightly more interesting if he keeps walking.
• Edouard Julien (1B/2B, COL) — Lost his mojo and can be dropped in all mixed leagues.
• Willi Castro (2B/3B/OF, COL) — Utility streamer at home.
• Jeff McNeil (2B/OF, ATH) — Points league streamer.
• Jackson Holliday (2B, BAL) — The exit velocity was painfully low in his rehab and setbacks to hamate bone issues scare me. Some hard-hit balls would get him back in the ranks.
• Mauricio Dubón (2B/3B/SS/OF, ATL) — Eligible everywhere and a fine short-term streamer, especially in points.

Third Base

• Gage Workman (3B, DET) — Workman was hitting well in the minors and has a part-time opportunity in Detroit due to injuries. Deep league streamer but likely won’t play enough to warrant consideration in standard leagues.
• Luis Rengifo (2B/3B, MIL) — Stringing some singles together but nothing but a desperation streamer.
• Coby Mayo (1B/3B, BAL) — Showing some signs of life, but the strikeout rate is still way too high for a guy with an average walk rate.
• Matt Chapman (3B, SFG) — I’m sure he’ll go on a hot streak at some point and get re-ranked, but if you’re in a 10-12 teamer, it’s OK to move on if there are ranked players available.
• Brady House (3B, WAS) — Despite the rough plate discipline, I was shocked to see him go to the minors.
• Royce Lewis (3B, MIN) — Getting sent down was not on my bingo card. Not a ton of mixed league formats where he’s a must-roster.

Shortstop

• Colt Emerson (SS, SEA) — It’s debut time! He’s not ranked yet, as I worry a little about how he’s been a bit below expectations since coming back from the IL in the minors (especially with grounders and pop-outs), plus it’s not clear how everything will shake out when Donovan is healthy. Still, there’s ratio upside here if he starts smacking liners around (which was a big part of his identity in the minors), plus an shot at double-digit homers and steals.
• Nasim Nuñez (SS, WSN) — Speed streamer.
• Hyeseong Kim (2B/SS, LAD) — Mostly a speed streamer, though I like the improved walk rate so far.
• Ezequiel Tovar (SS, COL) — Looking a little better the last two series but he’s nothing but a deep league flyer if at home (with a little bit of upside if he turns things around).
• Anthony Volpe (SS, NYY) — He’s back up for a little. Might steal some bags but I’m not interested outside of dynasty.
• Ha-Seong Kim (2B/SS, ATL) — Looks like a starter, now the question is whether I care. Injuries and limited effectiveness have made him mostly unworthy of a roster spot in 12-teamers since 2021.
• Masyn Winn (SS, STL) — Had two fun weeks but has quieted down to a below-replacement option.
• J.P. Crawford (SS, SEA) — I get scared when a guy gets pushed down the order a bit and sits against a lefty. He’d be ranked in OBP.

Outfield/DH

• Mike Yastrzemski (OF, ATL) — Streaky lefty platoon guy.
• Matt Wallner (OF, MIN) — Ouch, relegated to triple-A. Outside of deep AL-only dynasty, I don’t think you need to have him on your radar anymore.
• Josh Lowe (OF, LAA) — Streaky lefty platoon guy.
• Dominic Canzone (OF, SEA) — Streaky lefty platoon guy.
• Owen Caissie (OF, MIA) — Streaky lefty platoon guy.
• Noelvi Marte (OF, CIN) — Hitting a bunch of singles in the minors.
• Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (OF, ARI) — Streaky as heck, but when hot will pile up some RBI.
• Adolis García (OF, PHI) — No idea why he’s hitting fourth but if he ever did heat up he’d have some short-term value.
• Marcell Ozuna (UT, PIT) — Desperation streamer.
• Jesús Sánchez (OF, TOR) — Streamer who hits in a good spot in the lineup with middling results.
• Lawrence Butler (OF, ATH) — Fully platooned now. No thanks.
• Henry Bolte (OF, ATH) — Power and speed are there, but the contact ability and ground ball issues could hold him back severely.
• Spencer Jones (OF, NYY) — His upside is less Judge and more Murakami, but players who whiff in the zone as much as this are nearly impossible to trust.
• Esteury Ruiz (OF, LAD) — He stole 67 bases for the A’s back in 2023 and he could do it again, but he’ll sandbag you in all other categories over time.
• Jorge Soler (OF, LAA) — Streaky power streamer.
• Cam Smith (OF, HOU) — There’s talent, I’m sure, but it’s not something you have to wait around for in an outfielder in 12-team leagues.
• Garrett Mitchell (OF, MIL) — Takes walks and has a power-speed blend, but the strikeouts are maddening.
• Ramón Laureano (OF, SDP) — Is the magic fading as quickly as it appeared?
• Jac Caglianone (OF, KCR) — The power is there, but the decision-making is awful and the contact ability is volatile at best.
• Steven Kwan (OF, CLE) — There is not path to success with an average exit velocity under 82 mph.
• Carlos Cortes (OF, ATH) — The hot streak was cool and looked legit in the Statcast data, and he’s getting a shot to lead off. Still, he sits a lot and that’s hard to stomach.
• Dylan Crews (OF, WAS) — Started hitting better in triple-A and has some power/speed upside, though the ratios have been awful.
• Justin Crawford (OF, PHI) — He’s started to sit against a lot of lefties, though I love seeing the steals pick up.