2019 Fantasy Baseball Rankings (NL)

Baez was excellent last year, hitting 34 homers with 21 steals, 101 runs and a league-leading 111 RBIs. While he is surely a star, every projection model sees those numbers regressing in 2019, especially his batting average which was propped up by a .347 BABIP

Albies got off to a torrid start in his first full season in the Big Leagues, hitting nine home runs in April and heading into the All Star break with 20 HRs and nine steals. He struggled mightily in the second half of the season, but still finished as a top-three second basemen in standard 5x5 formats. There are some concerns that the Braves' acquisition of Josh Donaldson could push Albies down towards the bottom half of the lineup, hurting his counting stats and ability to steal bases, but it's also possible he'll stick in one of the first two lineup spots. Regardless, Albies has already proven he has 20-20 potential and should even be able to improve a bit on last season's .261 batting average.

Murphy's overall stat line wasn't all that impressive last year, but once he was healthy in the second half, he returned to hittin .315 with a 25 HR pace. Move that to Coors Field and we may be looking at the NL Batting Champion with plenty of homers, RBI and runs. Be mindful that he rarely plays a full season, but when he is on the field we are looking at a top 30 fantasy asset

Over the last five years, Carpenter has a remarkable 468 walks, which obviously has contributed to his 483 runs. In that time, his power has steadily improved, all the way to 36 homers last year, and while that total may not be repeatable, 30 homers with 100 runs makes him well worth a sixth round pick in 2019 fantasy leagues

Cano isn't nearly the player he once was, but he's proven over the last several seasons that he is still fully capable of hitting 20-25 HRs with a batting average north of .280. He is 36 years old and coming off of a PED suspension, so the risk for a collapse exists, but it's worth noting that he was actually better following the suspension last season. The move from Seattle to the Mets should be fairly neutral in terms of both ballpark and lineup.

Villar was Adalberto Mondesi version 1.0, posting an unreal .285-19 HRs-62 SBs line in 2016 before falling back to .241-11-23 in 2017. He split the difference last year, and with regular playing time ahead of him in Baltimore, he seems likely to post another .250-15-30 season. It's rarely pretty with Villar, but he could be a solid roto/categories league value going outside the top-100 picks in fantasy drafts.

Muncy was 2nd in HR-rate among all MLB hitters last season. Granted, he slowed down toward the end of the year and his batting average wasn't ideal, but that type of power certainly warrants a top 100 pick. This is especially the case when he qualifies at second base and third base too.

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.

Entrenched in a heated battle for Colorado's second-base gig, Hampson has teased immense fantasy upside with three homers and five steals in his first 13 spring games. The career .315/.389/.457 minor league hitter has swiped 125 bases in three professional seasons, so he could be a major difference-maker if given the opportunity to start regularly while calling Coors Field home. Drafters still must be careful, as Ryan McMahon and Pat Valakia are also making compelling cases for playing time this spring. Hampson, however, would help fantasy investors the most, and thus warrants a late-round gamble.

We have seen enough from Marte to know he will never produce useful batting averages or the speed he teased as a prospect. There is something to be said for an everyday player in terms of counting stats, but outside of that, he is replacement-level.

After hitting .424 with nine doubles and three homers in spring, McMahon made the Rockies' roster and Opening Day lineup. Also heavily hyped entering 2018, he managed a meager .232/.307/.683 slash line in 202 plate appearances. He'll also still have to compete with Garrett Hampson for playing time at second base, but all managers need to pay attention to a promising 24-year-old hitter who gets to play in Coors Field. The breakout may be coming a year later than anticipated.

The Dodgers will oddly relegate Taylor to a super-utility role after recording 7.9 fWAR over the last two years combined. Although he didn't fully repeat a breakout 2017, he was still a productive starter (113 wRC+, 3.1 WAR) in 2018. He's versatile enough to still play more often than not, and an injury (or poor performance from Enrique Hernandez as the full-time second baseman) could propel him right back into an everyday role. He's droppable in shallow mixed leagues with three starting outfielders and no corner/middle infielders, but everyone else should stand pat.

 

Hernandez's production has risen (67, 92, and 118 wRC+) along with playing time (244, 342, 462 PAs) over the past three seasons. The latter trend will at least continue, as he will open 2019 as the Dodgers' starting second baseman. He no longer needs to hide in a platoon after popping 12 homers and a 123 wRC+ against righties last season. His strikeouts also continue to decline, so the featured role could lead to a solid average with 20-25 homers. The 27-year-old is also eligible at least three positions (2B, SS, and OF), making him a useful spark plug to pluck off the waiver wire.

Lowrie gave fantasy owners a surprising boost in power last season in Oakland and always offers a decent batting average. He might start the season on the DL with a knee injury, but once he returns, Lowrie should be owned in every league.

 

 

Urias will open in Triple-A after the Padres surprisingly gave his spot to uber-prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. As a contact-orientated hitter, Urias doesn't elicit as much excitement from a fantasy perspective. He's not a necessary stash in re-draft mixed leagues, but dynasty players should try to use the demotion as a buy-low opportunity.

 

 

 

Although Perez likely won't steal 34 bases like we saw in 2016, he is a sufficient source of speed late into drafts with enough at-bats that he'll add counting stats. There won't be much in the way of power, but his batting average won't kill you either.