A lot has changed since we drafted for the 2023 season. A lot, but also a little.
It's obvious now that Ronald Acuna is the most valuable player in Fantasy Baseball. He was in consideration from the start, but coming off a disappointing season, it was debatable. Meanwhile, new scarcities have emerged while others no longer seem as dire.
The goal here is to take the lessons we've learned and apply them to the rest of the season. Basically, if we could redraft today, what would we do differently?
You may wonder why certain underachievers still rank as high as they do, and the answer is pretty simple. It's a forecast, not a recap. You may also wonder why starting pitchers aren't ranked higher given how volatile the position has been so far, but that's because the volatility has extended all the way to the top of the position. If you're going to pay a premium for one, you better be sure he stands apart.
Note that these rankings are for traditional Rotisserie leagues (i.e., 5x5 scoring). I address Head-to-Head points leagues further below.
1 |
Ronald Acuna
Atlanta Braves RF
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As if the return of his power stroke wasn't enough, Acuna is on pace for more than 60 stolen bases while striking out at a lower rate than ever. | |
2 |
Aaron Judge
New York Yankees RF
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Judge probably isn't headed toward another 62-homer season, but his exit velocities readings are as impressive as last year. The home run pace has picked up enough that it's not hard to imagine him leading the majors in the category again. | |
3 |
Fernando Tatis
San Diego Padres RF
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Tatis has been good enough after a year lost to injury and suspension, showing that his power and speed are still intact. We're still waiting for him to get hot, though. | |
4 |
Yordan Alvarez
Houston Astros DH
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His achy hands keep us holding our breath, but Alvarez remains a four-category monster whose Statcast page in every way backs up his production. | |
5 |
Freddie Freeman
Los Angeles Dodgers 1B
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If he played anywhere other than first base, Freeman would be in the running for No. 2 overall, having doubled down on his base stealing from a year ago while recapturing his home run stroke. He's also batting well over .300, as usual. | |
6 |
Jose Ramirez
Cleveland Guardians 3B
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Ramirez has underwhelmed so far, but the 30-year-old has such an impressive track record and still represents a rare power/speed threat at third base. The underlying data is much stronger than last year, actually, so you can trust that he'll get hot soon. | |
7 |
Shohei Ohtani
Los Angeles Angels DH
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There's legitimate question now as to whether Ohtani is best used as a hitter or pitcher in Fantasy. Either role on its own would likely make him an early second-rounder, but the ability to choose in CBS leagues pushes him into Round 1. | |
8 |
Trea Turner
Philadelphia Phillies SS
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Turner seems to be pressing in his first year with a new club, and it's reflected especially in his plate discipline numbers. You may be concerned he's slowing down at age 29, but his 100th percentile sprint speed would suggest otherwise. He'll come around. | |
9 |
Bo Bichette
Toronto Blue Jays SS
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Some changes to Bichette's already excellent hitting profile give him the look of a .330-hitting, 30-homer guy, but the tradeoff is that he doesn't appear to be much of a base-stealer anymore. | |
10 |
Kyle Tucker
Houston Astros RF
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Though Tucker's production has been a little below expectations so far, Statcast actually likes him more than a year ago, when he was a 30-homer, 25-steal guy. His lineup spot does him no favors, but that's always been his cross to bear. | |
11 |
Juan Soto
San Diego Padres LF
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Don't look now, but Soto finally seems to be coming out of the slump that dates all the way back to last season. Taking him here requires some faith, sure, but it may turn out to be a discount. | |
12 |
Julio Rodriguez
Seattle Mariners CF
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Though Rodriguez's sophomore season has been a struggle so far, his Statcast readings are almost identical to his rookie season, with slightly better expected stats. Now is about the point when he picked up the pace last year, and he's showing signs of doing the same this year. |
13 |
Paul Goldschmidt
St. Louis Cardinals 1B
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Goldschmidt continues to deliver five-category production, and we continue to undermine him because he's 35 and plays first base. | |
14 |
Mookie Betts
Los Angeles Dodgers RF
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Betts' base-stealing days appear to be behind him, and his batting average is also suspect. He gets extra credit because of his lineup context and now triple eligibility (second base and shortstop in addition to the outfield). | |
15 |
Shane McClanahan
Tampa Bay Rays SP
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His durability still figures to be tested over the final two-thirds of the season, which is why he doesn't rank higher, but McClanahan has been one of the few bankable aces so far, picking up where he left off last year. | |
16 |
Spencer Strider
Atlanta Braves SP
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Strider has proven to be no one-hit wonder and is on a historic strikeout pace. But his starts tend to be on the shorter side, and like McClanahan, we don't really know how he'll hold up to an ace workload. | |
17 |
Rafael Devers
Boston Red Sox 3B
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Devers' batting average has lagged so far, but not in a way that raises real concerns. Meanwhile, his run production has been on point in a surprisingly fertile lineup. | |
18 |
Vladimir Guerrero
Toronto Blue Jays 1B
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Guerrero has done a better job elevating the ball this year than last, but his power numbers still aren't quite up to snuff. His Statcast page (not to mention his history) suggests he's a sleeping giant. | |
19 |
Pete Alonso
New York Mets 1B
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Alonso is mostly just a slugger (and at a deep position, no less) but has slugged better than anyone so far. You could argue he deserves to rank higher. | |
20 |
Gerrit Cole
New York Yankees SP
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Too low? Cole has been fairly stable during what's been a volatile year for pitching and of course has a track record that's second to none. His strikeout and swinging-strike rates are way down, though, raising questions as to whether it will continue. | |
21 |
Wander Franco
Tampa Bay Rays SS
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Franco at the plate has been pretty good -- high average, decent power -- but what really puts him over the top is the explosion of stolen bases, which seems to be the Rays' philosophy under the new rules. | |
22 |
Marcus Semien
Texas Rangers 2B
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Semien has been a top-five player in every format while playing a historically weak position, which you'd think would earn him a higher spot on the list. While leading off for the Rangers should keep his run and RBI totals high, his batting average will almost certainly regress. | |
23 |
Mike Trout
Los Angeles Angels CF
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Though his plate discipline isn't what it once was, Trout remains a top contributor at a relatively thin position. Feels like we're waiting for the other shoe to drop health-wise, though, doesn't it? | |
24 |
Austin Riley
Atlanta Braves 3B
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Always a streaky hitter, Riley has been on the wrong side of it for most of this year but is showing signs of coming around finally. His exit velocity readings remain elite, and he should still do plenty of damage batting in the heart of a deep lineup. |
The next six (listed alphabetically)
For H2H points
Round 1
1. Ronald Acuna, OF, ATL
2. Aaron Judge, OF, NYY
3. Fernando Tatis, SS/OF, SD
4. Yordan Alvarez, OF, HOU
5. Freddie Freeman, 1B, LAD
6. Jose Ramirez, 3B, CLE
7. Juan Soto, OF, SD
8. Shane McClanahan, SP, TB
9. Spencer Strider, SP/RP, ATL
10. Shohei Ohtani, DH/SP, LAA
11. Trea Turner, SS, PHI
12. Bo Bichette, SS, TOR
Round 2
13. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, STL
14. Mookie Betts, 2B/SS/OF, LAD
15. Gerrit Cole, SP, NYY
16. Rafael Devers, 3B, BOS
17. Vladimir Guerrero, 1B, TOR
18. Pete Alonso, 1B, NYM
19. Wander Franco, SS, TB
20. Marcus Semien, 2B, TEX
21. Sandy Alcantara, SP, MIA
22. Kyle Tucker, OF, HOU
23. Julio Rodriguez, OF, SEA
24. Mike Trout, OF, LAA