Fantasy Baseball Rankings

Fantasy Baseball Rankings

            When it comes to baseball there’s only one thing that tops actually playing the sport and that’s fantasy baseball.  I love this simple little game that has more strategy to it then most people give credit and it also is a game that is tailor made for my statistic loving ways.  Today I want to go over the top 10 players for every position and give my potential busts for all you fantasy players out there.  When I say “busts” I refer to not just players that will have a bad year but a player that has a high chance to not give the stats for when you have to draft them.  So that settled lets get started with my top 10 fantasy players per position.  I’m not going to go to far in depth on my picks but ill talk about my reasons for picking busts and breakout players.

Catcher:

1)   Buster Posey

2)   Joe Mauer

3)   Yadier Molina

4)   Carlos Santana

5)   Jonathan LuCroy

6)   Brian McCann

7)   Salvador Perez

8)   Matt Wieters

9)   Wilin Rosario

10)                  Jason Castro

Busts: Yadier Molina and Carlos Santana

Potential breakout: Francisco Cervelli

I like both Molina and Santana and I do think they’ll be very good fantasy options but I do question where you’ll have to draft them.  Both will be drafted higher than I’d personally draft them and there are a lot of really good options that can be drafted late.  Cervelli has been waiting for a chance to play but just keeps getting blocked by catchers, with rumors of trades coming out he could find a starting job soon.

1B:

1)   Paul Goldschmidt

2)   Joey Votto

3)   Edwin Encarnacion

4)   Prince Fielder

5)   Albert Pujols

6)   Chris Davis

7)   Freddie Freeman

8)   Eric Hosmer

9)   Adrian Gonzalez

10)                  Jose Abreu

Busts: Chris Davis and Eric Hosmer

Potential breakout: Jose Abreu

I have not been a fan of Davis for a while now and the fact you’ll most likely have to spend a 1^st or 2^nd round pick for a guy that’s going to strike out a lot and could see a BA of .260.  But the power is legit and could be a major help.  Hosmer is a great player but he’s been a little inconsistent in the past.  Jose Abreu is a rookie this year and has a lot of potential and could be a great value for where he’s being drafted.

2B:

1)   Robinson Cano

2)   Dustin Pedroia

3)   Ben Zobrist

4)   Brandon Phillips

5)   Jason Kipnis

6)   Jose Altuve

7)   Ian Kinsler

8)   Chase Utley

9)   Aaron Hill

10)                  Daniel Murphy

Busts: Jason Kipnis and Jose Altuve

Potential breakout: Jurickson Profar and Jedd Gyorko

Kipnis and Altuve seem to be prone to slumps that they have a hard time actually getting out of.  They both have potential to be great players and while both have different skill sets so we shall see.  I put both Gyorko and Profar in the breakout since they both have a great chance to really roll with the starting job they have.

3B:

1)   Miguel Cabrera

2)   Adrian Beltre

3)   David Wright

4)   Evan Longria

5)   Matt Carpenter

6)   Josh Donaldson

7)   Aramis Ramirez

8)   Kyle Seager

9)   Martin Prado

10)                  Ryan Zimmerman

Busts: Ryan Zimmerman and Evan Longoria

Potential breakout: Brett Lawrie

Longoria has some health issues and to be honest has never lived up to the “top pick” hype and Zimmerman is never going to be that .300 30 HR guy we hoped he would be.  Both are good players and worth a roster spot just make sure you have a backup.  Lawrie may not be a rookie and has played in the majors for a couple years now but injuries have limited him, he’s prime to breakout and be a star.

SS:

1)   Troy Tulowitzki

2)   Hanley Ramirez

3)   Jose Reyes

4)   Jed Lowrie

5)   Ian Desmond

6)   Elvis Andrus

7)   Andrelton Simmons

8)   Asdrubal Cabrera

9)   Jimmy Rollins

10)                  Alexi Ramirez

Busts: Jean Segura and Elvis Andrus

Potential breakout: Jonathan Villar

I know I didn’t put Segura on the top 10 but I have him ranked lower than many people and considering how hiddenly bad his second half stats were last year its best to keep that in mind.  Andrus had some back issues this spring and with him stealing less bases than wed like he could hurt your speed.  Villar has some major speed potential but has issues with BA so we shall see if he can hit for a decent enough of a BA to keep him in the lineup.

Outfield:

1)   Mike Trout

2)   Andrew McCutchen

3)   Carlos Gonzalez

4)   Ryan Braun

5)   Bryce Harper

6)   Jose Bautista

7)   Matt Holliday

8)   Jacoby Ellsbury

9)   Adam Jones

10)                  Giancarlo Stanton

Busts: Giancarlo Stanton and Jacoby Ellsbury

Potential breakout: Jason Heyward

Stanton is a beast with major power but he has the issue of being a Marlin, really that’s his biggest problem.  Ellsbury has some game changing speed but the major health issues makes him a risk to draft.  Jason Heyward has been looking good during spring and if he can stay healthy he could finally breakout and give us that star season we all have been expecting.

Starting Pitching:

1)   Clayton Kershaw

2)   David Price

3)   Yu Darvish

4)   Max Scherzer

5)   Steven Strausberg

6)   Madison Bumgarner

7)   Justin Verlander

8)   Felix Hernandez

9)   Adam Wainwrigth

10)                  Cliff Lee

Busts: Max Scherzer and Cliff Lee

Potential breakout: Masahiro Tanaka

I have nothing wrong with Scherzer or Lee but I think there’s going to be some regression with Scherzer and Lee is on a bad team so that limits him in a lot of ways.  It’s really no surprise to see Tanaka on the breakout list; so much potential to be a fantastic pitcher but we have to see if it transfers from Japan.

Relief Pitcher:

1)   Craig Kimbrel

2)   Aroldis Chapman

3)   Kenley Jensen

4)   Greg Holland

5)   Trevor Rosenthal

6)   Koji Uehara

7)   Jim Johnson

8)   Joe Nathan

9)   Jason Grilli

10)                  David Robertson

Busts: Jason Grilli and Koji Uehara

Potential breakout: David Robertson

Both Grilli and Uehara are top closers but both kinda got luckey last year; some of the stats say that a regression is possible for both of these pitchers.  Personally I’d be very weary of both of them.  David Robertson gets his second chance to close and he has the talent and the pitches to really get some great save totals.