2018 Fantasy Baseball Rankings

Cruz is now 37 years old so you might be inclined to think his career is well on the downturn, but he was actually superb again last year. He now has 40+ HR, 100+ RBI, 90 R and a .287 or higher average in 3 of the last 4 seasons.

Encarnacion got off to a very rough start with the Indians, but in the end, he wound up with his standard stat line. He hit at least 34 home runs and tallied 98 RBI for the sixth consecutive season, his strikeout rate remained constant, and he actually set a career-high in walk rate (15.5%). In the end, there's little to suggest a decline is imminent, even as Encarnacion enters his age-35 season. With enough appearances at first base to retain eligibility at the position, Encarnacion can and should once again be valued as a strong fantasy option.

Somehow Davis has now batted exactly .247 each of the previous three seasons. That won't kill you if he repeats in 2018. This is among the most reliable sources for power and RBI, so put 40 HR and 100 RBI in ink if you add him.

You cannot find five hitters in all of baseball with more power than Sano. We haven't seen it fully realized quite yet, but he is still just 24 and hasn't played more than 120 games in his career. If he does this year, don't be startled if he knocks 45 out of the yard with a healthy batting average and a load of RBIs.

At this point, it seems as though the now 39-year-old Beltre might play until he is 50. He is still cruising along with a .312 batting average and a pro-rated 30+ HR, 100+ RBI rate over a full season. Draft away still in the top 100.

Gattis missed tons of time with injuries last season, playing just a bit more than half a season, but his poor performance wasn't just about his missed time. His power output shrank significantly, as he hit just 12 home runs and posted his lowest HR/FB rate of his career. But there were positive signs, too, as Gattis posted a career-low 15.4 percent strikeout rate. For his 2018 outlook, the most important thing is that with Carlos Beltran's retirement, it appears that Gattis should get most of the at-bats at DH, which should keep him in the lineup most days and lead to good health. Considering that the entire league saw an uptick in power last year, Gattis' low home-run totals should probably be considered a one-off and blamed on his injuries. If fully healthy coming into Spring Training, getting back to the 30-homer plateau should be well within reach.

Long gone are the days where Choo will bat .300 or even help you at all in average, but he is still swatting 20 homers a year with double-digit steals and near 100 runs every season. That is well worth a mid-round price.

After a resurgent 2016, Ramirez disappointed last season, hitting just 23 home runs and batting a career-low .242. There was certainly some noise in Ramirez's numbers, as he batted just .179 against lefties after hammering them his whole career, and the underlying metrics, such as his increased line-drive percentage, suggested that he saw his fair share of bad luck. Still, Ramirez is 34 years old at this point and has earned his draft position just once in the last four seasons. While another rebound season is certainly possible, it's not worth wasting significant draft capital on.

Dickerson's batting average bounced back up last season to his career line of .280 and the power stayed despite playing his home games in Tampa. He should have no trouble repeating his 25 HR, .280 BA output in Pittsburgh if he can stay healthy.

It may be tempting to assume Trumbo's career is on the backend and that his 23 HR, .234 BA are now the new expectation, but don't be so quick to forget that he led baseball with 47 homers in 2016 and a bounceback, while not likely, is by no means out of the question.

Over the past three seasons, Morales has averaged 27 homers, 95 RBI and a .265 batting average. If he can come close to maintaining that in his age 35 season this year, you've got yourselves a steal to fill your bench late in drafts.

We won't pretend it is likely that Pujols will bounce back as a 38 year old, but it is entirely possible considering he hit 31 and 40 homers in two of the past three seasons. Even if he just sustains his recent production, 100+ RBI, 20 HR and a .240 BA is well worth owning in fantasy baseball.

Healy had a nice season for the A's and now averages 28 HR, 84 RBI, 75 R and a .282 batting average over his career per 162 games played. The problem here, is that he might start the season on the DL with a hand injury. If he is healthy, you'll end up with a late-round steal.

 

Duda's batting average killed fantasy owners last year, but he has managed 27+ homers in each of the last three seasons that he stayed healthy. That makes up for the batting average deficiencies and makes him a worthwhile fantasy bench bat.

 

If you've got a deep bench, Mejia is a terrific late-round flier to take a shot on. He's got the talent to force his way onto the Indians' opening day roster, and if he does, he will likely get 3B at bats while qualifying at catcher. Some have said he can bat .280 as a rookie with decent pop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If Ohtani wasn't coming off an injury riddled season and expected to be capped in his usage, you could make a case for him being similar to Luis Severino. With that said, the question marks are there so don't jump out of the seat of your pants expecting a Cy Young right away. His bat is unlikely to be ready, so maybe .260 with a dozen homers in 200 to 300 at bats.