2019 Fantasy Baseball Rankings

Congratulations on landing the first pick. Your reward is Trout, a super-duper-star who is somehow getting better. The Angels stud set career highs in walk rate (20.1%), OBP (.460), wOBA (.447), and wRC+ (191) during his seventh season. He has cleared a .300 batting average in each of the last three years and averaged 33.6 homers per season after popping 39 in 2018. The floor and ceiling remain sky-high despite missing time over the past two years.

Martinez is a rare first-round hitter who rarely runs, but he'll make up for it in every other spot. While the 31-year-old probably won't win another batting title at .330, he's a .307 hitter since 2014's breakout who has exceeded .300 in three straight years. He boasts an MLB-high .655 slugging percentage in the past two seasons with 88 long balls. Last season, he placed within the 97th percentile or better in exit velocity, hard-hit%, xAVG, xSLG, and xWOBA. Hitting in the middle of Boston's lineup also makes him a strong bet to drive in and score over 100 runs. Limited fielding reps helped him stay healthy, but he played enough OF (25 games) to maintain fantasy eligibility, making him a strong four-category star.

Judge had a down year in 2018 which means his OPS was merely .919. If he can get back to playing 150 games this year, fantasy owners can bank on 45 homers, 110 runs and 100 RBIs. That may have you ready to grab him in the first round, but he comes with more injury risk than anyone else in the top 20

After obliterating pitchers in 2017, Stanton cooled off in a big way last year, striking out 211 times and hitting just .266 with 38 homers. There is upside for 60+ bombs this year, but believe it or not, he has only hit 40 or more once his entire career

Looking for 40 homers? Draft Davis and write it in ink. He has knocked 133 over the last three seasons with 335 RBIs in that time. The floor is as high as you'll find in the first five rounds but the batting average is almost certainly going to be around .250 again

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

Springer is one of a handful of stars who started off their season with a rough patch. He started to turn in around in the second half before his injury, but only enough to get his final line to 22 homers and a .265 batting average. If he can stay healthy, Springer might lead the AL in runs scored along with plenty of homers and RBIs, but the speed has essentially disappeared

Forget the groundhog seeing his shadow; there's no better sign of spring's arrival than seeing Cruz get drafted criminally late. After merely clobbering 37 homers-his lowest tally since 2013-the stud DH has a consensus ADP outside of the top 100. That's an absurdly low price for a dependably elite slugger who finished in the 98th percentile of hard-hit rate, exit velocity, xwOBA, and xSLG. Despite logging a .282 xBA for the third straight year, his actual average dropped from .287 and .288 to .256. Even if he merely splits the difference and reverts to .270, he'd be a better version of Rhys Hoskins going multiple rounds later. So what if he doesn't have a position? Were you planning on leaving a utility spot empty?

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

How why are you willing to take a guy who batted .186 last season? Turns out the answer is pretty high for Sanchez, who's challenging J.T. Realmuto as the top catcher off the board. He did, after all, hit .284/.354/.568 in 754 prior MLB plate appearances. A groin injury also hampered his production, and he additionally underwent offseason shoulder surgery. He struggled mightily against breaking balls, but actually deposited more walks without significant contact declines. The average could easily rise back to .250 with around 30 long balls, but is that enough to justify an investment around pick 60? Catcher is worse than usual, but that's still too steep in one-catcher formats.

Erratic over the course of a season, Upton is consistent on a year-to-year basis. Even if he never lived out Ken Griffey Jr. comparisons, the outfielder has logged over 600 plate appearances in each of the last eight seasons with at least 30 homers in the last three. A rise in ground balls and fall in fly balls, however, puts that streak in jeopardy. So does a toe injury that will likely send him to the IL to start 2019. That's a big blow since stability was a major driving force in drafting Upton.

Donaldson was one of the very best hitters in fantasy in 2015 and 2016. A calf injury cost him a big chunk of the 2017 season, but he still hit 33 home runs in 113 games. Then, in 2018, calf and shoulder injuries limited Donaldson to 52 games -- and had a huge impact on his performance while on the field. It's possible that Donaldson's body is falling apart and he'll never be the same, but it's also possible that he has one or two more big years left in the tank. That makes Donaldson a boom-or-bust pick, but the potential reward far outweighs the risk at his current ADP of 98.7.

Andujar flew under the radar until his major breakout last season. We've seen players like that face major challenges in their sophomore campaign so beware of the risk associated with picking him, but as we've seen, the upside is tantalizing and may prove well worth a mid-round pick.

After back-to-back 30 HR campaigns, Odor managed to hit just 18 in 129 games last year, but there is little in his batted ball profile to suggest the power drop-off will be permanent. Of greater concern is the fact that Odor's strikeout rate has increased significantly over the last two seasons, and his stolen base success rate plummeted last season. Odor is certainly capable of producing a .250-30-15 season, but that outcome feels a little closer to his ceiling than his floor at this point. Still, unless he gets the red light on the base paths, Odor is a solid bet to again finish among the top-12 second basemen in standard 5x5 leagues.

Batting average tends to be an underrated ability in fantasy baseball, and that is an area in which Brantley excels. But durability is also an underrated commodity, and that has been Brantley downfall for big chunks of his career. If Brantley can just manage to stay healthy, he should be able to contribute enough balanced production across all five roto categories to be a valuable third outfielder in mixed leagues.

Moustakas has been an excellent source of power for several years running now and doesn't have as much swing and miss in his game as you might imagine. Now that he qualifies at second base and is back in Milwaukee, there is a strong case for drafting him within the top 100 overall.

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.

 

Ramos missed most of 2017 and struggled while he was healthy, but that seems to be the outlier, as he was tremendous in both 2016 and 2018, batting over .300 both seasons with plenty of power. Ramos is one of the safest fantasy catchers and may have as much upside as anyone besides Sanchez and Realmuto.

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.

 

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.

While Jed Lowrie and Todd Frazier both starting 2019 on the IL, Alonso forced the Mets' hand and won an Opening Day by displayed his Herculean power throughout spring training. The rookie could promptly crush 30 long balls if locked into the starting role all year. Their infield, however, could get crowded when Lowrie and Frazier return, so he may need to hit out of the gate to preserve a big league role.

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.

Steven Souza's season-ending knee surgery will likely clear up a starting spot for Jones, who still hit .281 with 15 homers in a down 2018. The durable veteran has averaged 151 games played over the past nine seasons, and he had gone seven straight seasons with at least 25 long balls before last year's decline. He's a boring depth piece who can help fill an injury void in deep leagues.

 

Catcher is so bad that prospect pedigree has kept Mejia in top-10 consideration despite batting .176 (12-for-69) in the majors. Even his Triple-A production dipped (.279/.328/.426) after getting traded from Cleveland to San Diego, where Austin Hedges is still clamoring for reps behind the plate. Contact and power upside still makes the 23-year-old Mejia a viable dart throw for anyone who missed out on the big names. Those in one-catcher leagues, however, should move on quickly if he's not playing much in April.

 

 

 

It is too bad that we don't get to see Ohtani pitch this season since he was so dominant, but his bat is very nearly on the same level. His full season pace last year had him at 34 homers, 16 steals, 95 RBIs, 92 runs and a .285 BA. That is a second round level season. Granted, he likely won't debut until May since he is recovering from an injury, but remember that he was only 23 last year and will finally get to focus on just hitting for the first time in his life.

Kipnis has been around forever and reached his peak long ago, but he is still just 32 years old and has plenty of baseball left in him. Unfortunately for fantasy owners, it will come without any speed or a quality batting average. Still, 20 homers and 70 RBIs will do the trick as a late-round pick.