The 2023 fantasy baseball season will be here before we know it. That means it’s time for you to prepare for your fantasy baseball drafts. Beyond our draft prep articles and mock draft simulator, we will have you covered with 2023 fantasy baseball rankings. You can find our updated 2023 fantasy baseball expert consensus rankings here. And below you’ll find rankings from our analysts to help you prepare for the 2023 fantasy baseball season.
2023 Fantasy Baseball Designated Hitter Draft Rankings
Fantasy Baseball Advice
This is your annual reminder to ensure you know how Shohei Ohtani‘s pitcher/hitter eligibility is treated in your league(s), as it can make a world of difference in fantasy value. What it will not make a difference in, however, is his incredible talent on the field. His fifth season in MLB saw a slight decline in hitting stats (34 HR, 95 RBI, .273/.356/.519) (and yes, that was a decline). However, he threw 166 innings, struck out 219 batters, and maintained a 2.33 ERA and 1.01 WHIP to finish fourth in Cy Young voting. The Angels have stated they plan to pitch Ohtani every sixth day as regularly as possible, meaning he could conceivably get 28-30 starts in addition to 600 plate appearances. On top of all of that, he is in his walk year and will be auditioning for what will surely be a huge contract. Yes, he clogs your Utility spot, and it can be frustrating to manage him in weekly leagues where he can only start as one or the other. But if you play on a platform where he is counted as both at all times, he is the fantasy 1.1, no matter who they give the real-life MVP to.
Some players have power, whereas Yordan Alvarez has POWER. The 25-year-old ranks in the 100th percentile in average EV, HardHit%, xwOBA, xBA, xSLG, and Barrel% while coming in the 99th percentile in MaxEV. He has power to all fields, bats in the middle of a World Champion lineup, and will protect your ratios in traditional 5×5 leagues and those with advanced categories. Really, unless you are playing in a stolen base premium league, Alvarez offers little downside heading into 2023. (Those downsides are only injury concerns (he played in 135 games last year), and his outfield eligibility will probably expire after this season.) The four-category stud is worth a first-round pick.
Kyle Schwarber strikes out at such a large clip (29.9 K%) that it is easy to miss his dominance in other fantasy categories. In his age-29 season, he played 155 games, led the NL in home runs with 46, scored 100 runs, drove in 94, and stole 10 bases. His OBP was the second-lowest of his career at .323, but his xwOBA was .375, so hopefully, some improvement is in the cards for 2023. Schwarber batted leadoff for the vast majority of the season, but the acquisition of Trea Turner will most likely move him down in the order. It’s possible they leave him in the 2-slot, especially until Bryce Harper returns, in which case he will continue to score runs and increase his RBI total. The Phillies will score in bunches, and Schwarber may have multi-position eligibility, depending on your league, which is not a bad fantasy asset to have at all as long as you can absorb the batting average.
Beyond our fantasy baseball content, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Baseball Tools as you prepare for your draft this season. From our free mock Draft Simulator – which allows you to mock draft against realistic opponents – to our Draft Assistant – that optimizes your picks with expert advice – we’ve got you covered this fantasy baseball draft season.
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