2019 Fantasy Baseball Rankings (AL)

Since Abreu joined the league, he is fifth in the majors with 288 RBIs and #1 among that group with a .295 batting average. As you know, he provides plenty of homers and runs as well. It may not feel interesting to draft Abreu, but with first base more shallow than years past, he is an excellent 6th round pick

With the Royals not expected to compete in 2019, there is little doubt that Merrifield will surpass 40 stolen bases again. He doesn't have much in the way of power, nor will he score a load of runs in this offense, but the batting average should end up around .300 once again

After hitting .265 with 16 HRs in 279 at-bats in 2017, Aguilar got the chance to be a full-time player in 2018, and took advantage to the sweet tune of a .274/80/35/108 line that made him a top-three first baseman in standard 5x5 roto leagues. Aguilar is a zero on the base paths and he strikes out too much to be of much help in batting average, either, but the power is very real and his run production numbers should continue to be excellent in a loaded lineup and great home park. Call Aguilar a HR/RBI specialist if you must, but at least recognize that he is one of the better HR/RBI specialists in the game.

Gallo has reached 40 HRs in each of his two full Major League seasons, and will enter 2019 as one of the best pure power hitters in the game. Unfortunately, that power comes attached to a .203 career batting average, meaning that fantasy owners who draft Gallo in standard 5x5 formats will need to either punt batting average or make a concerted effort to offset the damage he'll do there. Whether you draft Gallo or not is largely a matter of roster construction, but expect him to finish right around the top-100 players in terms of overall fantasy value. He does walk quite a bit, giving him a major boost in OBP formats.

Encarnacion may be getting up there in age, but there are few hitters who have produced consistent power at the rate he has. There is little reason to expect a sudden drop-off but with that said, his RBIs and runs should take a hit with Seattle losing some of their best offensive pieces.

You may be inclined to believe Cabrera is done since he has had two subpar seasons in a row, but he is apparently in the best shape of his life. Add in the fact that he will be spending most of his time as the Tigers DH and we might just have the biggest bounceback player on our hands.

Profar finally got a full chance last year for Texas and posted 20 homers and 10 stolen bases. He takes a hit in projections moving from Texas to Oakland's ballpark, but keep in mind that he just turned 26 years old and very likely hasn't hit his prime yet.

Santana had some of the worst BABIP luck in baseball last year so you can expect his batting average to jump back into the .250s this year to go with his usual 20+ homers and 80+ runs. That makes him a quality late-round corner infielder as always.

Before most of the majors even started the season, Olson got hit on his right hand by a pitch in Tokyo. He underwent hamate surgery, which will keep him out of action for at least a month. A tricky injury from which to recover, he may also need some time to rediscover his power upon returning. Just like that, a popular breakout pick throughout the offseason becomes someone to ignore -- unless given a sizable discount -- in drafts right before the league-wide Opening Day.

Voit was extraordinary for the Yankees once they acquired him from St. Louis last year. In fact, he may have been one of the best hitters in baseball. Don't expect that for all of 2019, but don't be shocked if he puts up a Jesus Aguilar type of season either.

Smoak may not have hit 38 homers with 90 RBIs again like he did in 2017, but there is certainly nothing wrong with the 25 and 77 line he put together. His .242 batting average hurts, but at this stage in the draft, you have to give a little to get this type of power.

Although Bauers was awful last year with a .201 batting average, there is plenty of reason for optimism. Bauers should provide 15 to 20 homers with double-digit steals and a significantly better batting average in 2019.

Gurriel isn't going to mash 25 homers like many of the others going in his late-round range, but he is a sure-bet to boost your batting average which is difficult to find as the draft comes to a close.

While he won't help much in batting average, Cron did hit 30 homers in just 140 games last season. He may see a further bump with full playing time and a ballpark upgrade from Tampa to Minnesota.

Mancini's batting average dropped 50 points last year, but much of that was due to a rough BABIP. While he likely won't bounce-back up to the .290's his batting average likely won't kill you while he provides another 25 homers for fantasy owners.

Sano is out until at least May with a heel injury so he may not be worth drafting unless your league has DL spots available. If not, he is a great waiver wire pickup a few weeks into the season as his career per-162 profile is near identical to fifth round pick, Rhys Hoskins.

 

Outside of Marwin's huge 2017 season, he hasn't offered much from an offensive perspective. There is some power, but his batting average will hurt fantasy teams and the depth chart doesn't guarantee even 450 at-bats for him.