Top 150 Hitters for Fantasy Baseball 2026 – Week 9

I have deprived you all of rolling charts for the last few updates, so I’m going to make up for lost time this week.

• 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 

 

• Aaron Judge slumps like this a few times every season. It’s fine.

 

Tier 2

 

• Juan Soto takes over as the new king of Tier 2, and in OBP leagues he’d be in Tier 1. It’s also good to see him get a burst of home runs and stolen bases. He’ll need several more stretches like this to reach the 43 homers or 38 steals from last season due to the slow-ish start and lost time, but 35 homers and 25 steals is nothing to complain about, and the per-game quality is as good as it gets.
• That Yordan Alvarez injury was scary based on the recent track record of the Astros to make what seems to be a minor injury a season-long fiasco. Turns out he’s healthy though. Hooray. No one else in the first three tiers has nearly as much injury risk, but he’s on pace to set a new career highs in home runs, runs scored, and RBI even if he falls short of 125 games.

 

Tier 3 

 

• Elly De La Cruz has just a single stolen base in May, which is likely a product of a much lower walk rate this month than last month.
• James Wood continues to be a solid decision-maker against breakers, and while that has dipped a bit lately, he just needs to be above-average to be a force of nature.

 

 

Tier 4

 

• Both Ben Rice and Shea Langeliers have slowed down a tick over the last week or two, but neither is showing anything terribly alarming in their plate discipline or batted ball profiles over these periods, so there’s not a reason to fret.
• Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a grand slam with two steals today, so maybe he’s about to go on a crazy spree, but he remains merely average at making contact and his exit velocities and barrel rates are well below his career averages, and he’s hitting a whole bunch of pop-ups. Could he finish with 20-25 homers and 30 steals by the end of the season with a .250-.260 average? Absolutely! But that feels more like a best-case scenario than a likely scenario at this point.
• Ketel Marte has multiple RBI in seven of his last 10 games, which I suppose is one way to make up for a slow start. 30 home runs looks a lot more possible now than it did two weeks ago.
• Andy Pages’s poor decision-making out of the zone will likely come back to bite him to some extent, but as long as he keeps displaying this level of contact ability and power, it may not matter that much. More importantly, though, he’s been moved to second in the batting order, and that alone could offset any slumps just from the sheer number of counting stats available in that spot in the order.
  

 

Tier 5 

 

• Trea Turner has turned on the jets lately, with eight steals and three home runs in his last 17 games, though the .224 batting average in that stretch leaves a lot to be desired. The batting average should rebound at some point, though the odds he ends the season above .270 do not seem terribly high, as his expected stats say his poor BABIP is less bad luck and more bad batted balls.
• Michael Harris II keeps swinging away and keeps producing, and it’s great to see that approach working against some lefties. This sort of approach is hard to maintain over an entire career, but it is more than workable for a 25-year-old athlete in his prime. If he’s still this aggressive when he’s 30+, perhaps we will have to start raising alarm bells.
• With Griffin pushing to take over the leadoff role, Oneil Cruz could fall to fifth in the order, which isn’t awesome but doesn’t appear to have much impact on whether they’ll let him run or anything. The biggest threat to Cruz’s production is himself and his crazy strikeout rates and streakiness. It will be a roller coaster all season, but he should have no problem clearing 25 home runs (maybe even 30) with 30-40 steals. The only real question is whether he avoids the soul-crushing slumps that have marred his season lines so far in his career.
• The first big plunge for Kyle Tucker has arrived, though it’s not really an actionable one unless you’re in a league where someone is willing to pay a top-25 hitter price for Kyle Tucker in a standard league (top-20 or better in OBP or points). The reason for the drop? A persistent lack of power. Being a top-25 hitter on contact and decision-making alone isn’t feasible without a bunch of steals, and Tucker has just four so far this season.

• Gunnar Henderson is making some improvements in contact ability, and that matters.

 

Tier 6

 

• Ivan Herrera and William Contreras don’t have the power upside of Rice or Langeliers, but their ability to consistently produce may continue to close that gap little by little.
• The home runs continue to lag for Fernando Tatis Jr., and while that lags, so will his rank (though his speed and ratios should keep him from dropping out of the top 50-60).
• Riley Greene has struck out in bunches lately, though the final line would be a lot better if anyone on his team besides McGonigle and Dingler would do some hitting. Having seven RBI in May when you’re hitting .330 as a heart-of-the-order hitter is just awful luck. Yes, the lack of home runs is annoying, though luck also plays a role, as he’s peppered doubles everywhere this season. The home runs will come, and so will the RBI, but the Tigers need to break this slump first.
• Since the start of April, Kevin McGonigle’s rolling 15-game strikeout rate has not moved above 15% his entire time in the majors so far, and his rolling walk rate was only below 10% for a single game. In fact, he still has more walks than strikeouts so far this season. The maturity he shows at the dish is impressive, and while he did have a bit of a slump in the first half of the month (especially in the power department), McGonigle is already showing signs of breaking out of that while scoring some runs and smacking a triple and a double in his last two series. Home runs may be tough to come by with his spacious home park, but as he continues to develop in the majors, the hit tool and discipline should help him learn to attack the right pitches at the right time to be a perennial 20/20 guy who can hit close to .300 with the upside to even push for 25 home runs if things break right.As a final note, if there’s one thing I love, it’s a guy who shows sustained excellence across all three of our Process+ skills (power, decision-making, and contact). And guess who has been doing that this season?

  

 

Tier 7 

 

• I get a lot of questions on what to do about Brent Rooker, and while I do have some concerns about the poor contact ability he’s shown so far this season, and have dropped him in my rankings accordingly, I am still quite a ways from cutting him outside of extremely shallow formats (like eight teams with tight benches, where you’re loyal to almost no one). So what should you do about Brent Rooker? Somewhere between nothing and benching him in tough matchups for now.
• I was unenthusiastic about Casey Schmitt early in the season because his initial success looked a lot like the unsustained hot streak he had in 2025, driven by some power but with miserable contact skills. The guy we’ve seen for the last several weeks, though, is someone I can get excited about. Schmitt has shown the plus power along with plus contact, and while the decisions have been somewhat poor, that’s just because he’s swinging the bat more. A version of Schmitt with power and contact skills is much more valuable than one with power but without contact skills (even if decision-making is better).

• Over the last two weeks, Jazz Chisholm Jr. has six extra-base hits and a pair of steals to go with a .405/.479/.667 line. That’s the kind of heat we are looking for. Now he just needs to hold it for another two weeks or so before the cold streak starts, and then get back to it within a reasonable time. Roller coasters are fine as long as the ups occur with some frequency and intensity.
• Manny Machado dropped a few spots due to the rise of the four guys immediately above him, but the three home runs in his last eight games are promising, even if they’re the only hits he has.

 

Tier 8

 

• Ian Happ is very streaky, and lately, you’ve seen the good and the bad of it. The final line should get to where it has been for the last several years, but it’s a bit of an adventure to get there.
• Bryan Reynolds isn’t going to wow you on the Statcast sliders or stat sheet, but he’s looking much like the model of consistency we saw from 2021-2024, and that makes him a huge boon for those who got him fairly cheap on draft day. The walk rate is also almost double his mark from the last several seasons, though it has come down quite a bit in the last few weeks.
• I’m getting more and more comfortable with Pete Crow-Armstrong as a 20-25 home run guy with over 30 steals and poor ratios, though his upside is a bit higher as a leadoff guy (not that I expect him to stay there with his poor OBP).

 

Tier 9 

 

• Welcome back, Eugenio Suárez! He’s an extremely streaky power hitter who will look terrible at times, but he’s overdue for a stretch where he dominates the league for a few weeks.
• Nico Hoerner and Alex Bregman are too good to cut, but when they are cold they can feel incredibly painful to roster as they tend to provide basically nothing. I don’t think there’s anything you can act on here, though.
• Oh, hey, it’s the good version of Willy Adames! This is just what he is, folks. Either really bad or really good for weeks at a time. No in between. If you can’t/don’t want to stomach that ride, then move him while he’s hot.
• Alec Burleson will be a solid ratio guy with about 20-23 home runs and 90 RBI, but with poor run production and no speed. That’s useful to a lot of people, though.
• Samuel Basallo has huge power, and while the playing time has been down lately, that’s likely a product of the unusual number of lefties the O’s have faced and not anything else.
• I’ve been slow to promote Christian Walker up this list because I keep waiting for the bottom to fall out, but there’s also a chance it doesn’t, and he ends up in the top-50. I just think that’s less likely than having some painful slumps and ultimately landing somewhere near this range (possibly a bit higher).

 

Tier 10

 

• JJ Bleday’s contact issues have popped up a bit of late, but the power and decision-making are awesome, and as long as the contact doesn’t crater, then I still love the upside, especially in OBP.

• I don’t want to drop Seiya Suzuki yet, but those in 10-teamers with just three outfield spots may be in a pickle. The strikeouts have gone way up, with the walks going way down. Suzuki has slumped like this before and recovered, but that doesn’t take the sting out of his .372 OPS since May 9.
• Maikel Garcia isn’t really showing us the power or speed upside he flashed throughout 2025. He’s making contact, but that’s about it.
• Statcast is not going to ever bring good news about Ozzie Albies, even when he’s hitting well, but I was surprised about how low Process+ is on him as well. It’s all just making contact and hoping for the best, and that’s going to require good luck to play out well.

• It’s another bump for Sam Antonacci as he got some playing time against lefties and even led off against the last one. The power is going to be a negative, but he should steal enough bases, score enough runs, and provide enough ratios to be quite useful to most teams.

 

Tier 11

 

• Jake Burger is walking a little bit, which is something he rarely does. I said in the Hacks and Jacks Podcast that drops today that the version of Jake Burger who walks like 8% of the time is a guy who would take a step up, and the more of that we see, the higher in the ranks he can go.
• Chase DeLauter is probably going to be fine, but since April 5, he has just two home runs and is slugging .361.
• Kazuma Okamoto might just be a super streaky power bat, and that makes me sad.
• Jo Adell is likely to go off and hit a bunch of home runs in a week, probably, but if he is just a 25-home-run guy this year, is he really that special in 12-teamers?
• What choice do the Padres have but to let Xander Bogaerts hit in prime spots in the batting order? He feels like he’s got a shot at nearly 20 home runs and slightly more than 20 steals with middling counting stats and below-average ratios if he stays healthy. It’s not exactly “upside”, but it’s honest pay for honest work.
• Ryan Waldschmidt has moved up to fifth in the batting order thanks to his .302 batting average, though we haven’t seen much power yet, just some nice line drives. If he keeps those up, then he’s more like a 10-15 home run kind of bat with great ratios and 20+ steals, though I’d like to see some of those liners turn to fly balls if he starts unlocking a bit more pop.
• Does Alec Bohm realize he’s supposed to be the steady contributor type and not the up-and-down guy he’s been this season? I’d much prefer some smooth sailing here, even if it’s less exciting.

 

Tier 12

 

• Spencer Steer moved up 20 spots because he’s doing all three things (as in power, contact ability, and decision-making) well right now, and that’s something he’s never really done before.

• CAN WE TALK ABOUT Curtis Mead?! The guy had some miserable seasons in Tampa due to a total lack of power, but something in the water in D.C. has unlocked some pop. He’s doing everything well right now and I’m pretty stoked about it. There are many infielders throughout this tier, and if I were in a risk-taking mood, I’d take Mead over all of them to stream and see what happens.

 

• If you want to cut Ildemaro Vargas to stream someone else, that’s totally fine.
• Spencer Horwitz isn’t a masher or anything, but he’s got great plate discipline and enough pop to stream, especially in OBP and points.
• Taylor Ward just isn’t showing us any power, and it’s wild. While his 36 home runs from 2025 were a bit fluky, it was more like a 28-30 home run guy getting to 36, and not a 20 home run guy hitting 36. At this rate, even 20 feels like a stretch. In OBP, he’s easier to hold on to if you want to see if the power comes back, but in standard leagues, you can look elsewhere if you need pop.
• This is your permission to cut Jackson Merill in a 12-teamer.
• A.J. Ewing is fighting through strikeout issues, which largely stem from suspect decision-making of late, but the power is still present, so he’s worth holding on to to see if he figures this all out, if you have the space and need a guy with speed who might also hit a few home runs.
• Jackson Holliday has looked better than I expected in the big leagues, though the playing time has been a bit slow so far.
• Ezequiel Tovar has been a disappointment this season, but he’s been slightly better of late. Oh, and the Rockies play three of their next four series in Coors, so there’s that, too.

 

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

 

Catcher

• Austin Wells (C, NYY) — Love the walks, and he’s been unlucky with batted balls. Viable second catcher.
• Dalton Rushing (C, LAD) — Lost all of the early-season magic and is not showing any signs of getting it back. Zero extra-base hits over his last 21 appearances (65 PA).
• 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.
• Edgar Quero (C, CWS) — Making the most of very limited playing time.
• J.T. Realmuto (C, PHI) — Not the hitter he once was, but plays often and doesn’t strike out a ton.

First Base

• Andrew Vaughn (1B, MIL) — Streamer with upside if he breaks out of this platoon with Bauers.
• Bryce Eldridge (1B, SFG) — Strikeout rate is slightly improving, and he’s been horribly unlucky on batted balls. Nice speculative add in deeper leagues.
• Nolan Schanuel (1B, LAA) — Points league streamer who is on the IL.
• Paul Goldschmidt (1B, NYY) — Streamable while they let him hit in the heart of the order, but he’ll get bumped down eventually by Jazz.
• Spencer Torkelson (1B, DET) — A few signs of life, but I can’t rank him quite yet.
• Vinnie Pasquantino (1B, KCR) — The plate discipline is good lately, but nothing else is palatable.
• Mark Vientos (1B/3B, NYM) — Swinging at everything lately, which means a ton of poor contact and zero walks.

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.
• Willi Castro (2B/3B/OF, COL) — Utility streamer at home.
• Jeff McNeil (2B/OF, ATH) — Points league streamer.
• Mauricio Dubón (2B/3B/SS/OF, ATL) — Eligible everywhere and a fine short-term streamer, especially in points.
• Vaughn Grissom (1B/2B/3B, LAA) — Hitting near the middle of the order, but just an average hitter.
• Marcus Semien (2B, NYM) — The bottom has dropped out of his already limited power, and it looks like an uphill battle to be anything better than he was last season.

Third Base

• 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.
• Javier Sanoja (2B/3B/SS/OF, MIA) — Might be ranked in points. Slaps the ball around and can play almost anywhere.
• Blaze Alexander (2B/3B/SS/OF, BAL) — Racking up some hits against lefties of late, but may not play as much when the Orioles see more right-handers.
• Brett Baty (1B/2B/3B, NYM) — Can’t seem to string together more than a week’s worth of good plate appearances.

Shortstop

• Colt Emerson (SS, SEA) — The power hasn’t really shown up yet, but if it does, maybe he hits the back of the list.
• Nasim Nuñez (SS, WSN) — Speed streamer.
• Hyeseong Kim (2B/SS, LAD) — Mostly a speed streamer, though I like the improved walk rate so far.
• 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) — Needs to convert some grounders into liners to provide any real help in most leagues.

Outfield/DH

• Mike Yastrzemski (OF, ATL) — Streaky lefty platoon guy.
• 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) — White-hot in his last 10 games in the minors, but the high grounder rate even in triple-A makes me skeptical of this working well in the big leagues.
• Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (OF, ARI) — On the IL again, and not someone you need to try to keep if the IL is full.
• Adolis García (OF, PHI) — Back to near the bottom of the order.
• Jesús Sánchez (OF, TOR) — Streamer who hits in a good spot in the lineup with middling results.
• Henry Bolte (OF, ATH) — Batted ball luck is driving up that batting average. The speed is real and the early strikeout rate is encouraging, but more of a lottery ticket than a sure-fire contributor outside of the steals.
• Jorge Soler (OF, LAA) — Streaky power streamer.
• Cam Smith (OF, HOU) — Hitting better of late, though the average exit velocity in his last seven games is an astonishingly low 84.7 mph.
• 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) — Might be ranked if this were geared towards points and OBP.
• Dylan Crews (OF, WAS) — Has a hit or walk in every start so far, but still hitting a ton of grounders that keep the upside lower than we’d like.
• Justin Crawford (OF, PHI) — Lost interest until the walk rate is closer to 10%.
• Jake McCarthy (OF, COL) — Speed streamer.
• Ryan Ward (OF, LAD) — His minor league numbers (36 dingers and 122 RBI in 2025!) would be more eye-popping if it hadn’t been his age-27 season in the hitter-friendly PCL. There’s some power upside here, but playing time may be tough to come by, and he’ll likely hit low in the batting order. A fifth outfielder stream in deep leagues.
• Evan Carter (OF, TEX) — He’s somewhat in a platoon, but stealing some bases and worth a stream if you need some speed.
• Joc Pederson (DH, TEX) — The streaky veteran southpaw still has a few tricks up his sleeve but don’t expect it to last very long and don’t expect him to get any looks against lefties.
• Colton Cowser (OF, BAL) — Hitting the ball well lately, but firmly in a platoon. Might be a streaky lefty platoon guy.
• Wade Meckler (OF, LAA) — Points league streamer with very little power or speed, but will take walks and won’t strike out much.
• Leody Taveras (OF, BAL) — A second hot streak in the same half of a season? Weird. I’d feel a lot better about his chances of staying an everyday guy if he could hit lefties (career 73 wRC+ against them).