2019 Fantasy Baseball ROS Rankings

Bellinger has emerged as a league-winning talent, batting .308/.411/.645 with 42 homers and 11 steals. Everything in his portfolio supports the stupendous season. The 23-year-old has slashed his strikeout rate while exchanging ground balls and pop-ups for line drives. An all-or-nothing slugger as a rookie suddenly touts a solid contact rate (77.9%). He's a stud who will likely go as a top-five pick in 2020.

Freeman is a perennial .300 hitter, but this year he has also topped 30 home runs for just the second time in his career. Even 40 HRs is possible, which would push him into truly elite fantasy territory.

Rizzo is having another typical Rizzo season. He's often overshadowed by the select few first baseman capable of producing even more elite fantasy numbers, but he's one of the safest bets for upper-echelon production year after year.

Goldy is no longer the fantasy superstar he once was, but he has salvaged his season somewhat. Perhaps this is the new normal we should expect from him in St. Louis.

Merrifield has picked up right where he left off last year as one of the best five-category producers in the game. He's even hitting for a bit more power this year.

Bell is one of the breakout players of 2019. With a massive spike in both his hard contact and fly ball rates, he's already surpassed his previous career high of 26 home runs, set in his first full Big League season in 2017. His batting average has predictably tailed off, but most of what he's doing is absolutely legit.

Alonso has been one of the biggest power hitter breakouts of 2019, and his Statcast numbers largely back up what he's doing at the plate.

Throughout the season, a low expected average suggested Hoskins could eventually hit a wall. He's regressed even harder than expected, going 6-for-57 in 16 August contests. He's now hitting .237, and 24 home runs isn't particularly special in 2019. While he still has a shot at reaching 100 RBIs in the heart of Philadelphia's lineup, Hoskins has dropped from a star slugger to one of several flawed power hitters.

Abreu's strikeout rate has risen to the extent that he's unlikely to hit .290-.300 like he used to, but he's still no slouch in that department, and he's on pace to top 30 home runs for the fourth time in six seasons.

Santana looked like a prime regression candidate, but it just hasn't happened. At this point it makes sense to ride out his terrific season and then reassess his long-term outlook next spring.

Muncy had batted .195 with five homers in 245 big league plate appearances prior to 2018, so he naturally towered 35 homers with a .407 wOBA. He's not slowing down. While his ISO has dropped from .319 to a more mortal .271 in 2019, he has maintained a gorgeous walk rate with a high launch angle, 33 homers, and a .375 wOBA. Unlike many lefty sluggers, he actually crushes same-handed opponents. He's a top-flight power play and elite OBP target, but a wrist fracture will unfortunately cost him at least one or two weeks in September. The Dodgers have no reason to rush him back before the playoffs, so he might not help much over the final weeks.

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 kept him out of action for all of April. Although a tricky injury from which to recover, he has quickly rediscovered his form with 26 homers and a .297 ISO in 99 games. There's ample power upside from someone who slugged .651 as a rookie and clubbed 29 home runs in an underwhelming 2018. Just don't expect much help in batting average.

A popular candidate to win the NL batting title in Colorado, Murphy injured his hand less than a week into the season. Avoiding severe tendon damage, he returned from the IL in late April, but stumbled mightily through May. With the help of home cooking, he batted .344 in June and .306 in July. The perennial .300 hitter is back up to .300 on August 6. His recent turnaround is reminiscent of last year's late surge after working off the rust from an injury, so the 34-year-old should regain everyone's trust as a top-100 player.

Mancini has quietly put together a breakout season for the bottom-feeding Orioles. His numbers don't jump off the page, but his solid four category production plays quite nicely in fantasy leagues.

Continuing his every-other-year pattern, Hosmer is once again bouncing back from a rough year. Following a down 2018, he's batting .283/.330/.448 with 19 homers and 85 RBIs near the end of August. Managers in deeper leagues will especially derive value from a locked-in starter who's on pace to record at least 667 plate appearances for the fifth straight season. He is a solid corner-infield compiler piling up counting stats.

Voit has crushed 33 home runs in 133 games since joining the Yankees. While he was never going to match last year's .322 batting average with a contact rate below 70%, 2019's superb version looked fully sustainable, before he went out with a sports hernia shortly after returning from an abdominal strain. He avoided season-ending surgery and returns in time to help fantasy managers in September. If healthy, he's worth trusting during the final weeks.

Votto, now 35 years old, hit 12 homers last year after clubbing 36 in 2017. He has just 12 more in 113 games alongside a .262 batting average and eyebrow-raising uptick in strikeouts. After lacing MLB's second-highest line-drive rate (31.4%) behind Freddie Freeman last year, the mark has dropped with more fly balls, but fewer hard hits. He offered hope by hitting .299/.390/.506 in June but has got cold again in July. Placed on the IL with a lower-back strain on August 18, he could return once eligible. Managers in shallow mixed leagues (without walks or OBP as a category) could reasonably drop him if needing an immediate replacement.

Encarnacion has suffered through an injury-plagued second half, but he could still finish with a bang in September. His power bat is obviously enticing when put into the Yankees' potent lineup.

The only first basemen to bat at least .290 in each of the last two years? Freddie Freeman, Paul Goldschmidt, and Yuli Gurriel. Houston's career .291 hitter is an underrated stabilizer who's also has 88 RBIs in a loaded Astros lineup. After more of the same for the first three months, he has suddenly added elite power to his game. The 35-year-old has belted 17 of his career-high 25 home runs since the start of July. He hit 13 all of last year. Pairing that pop with his usual .306 average makes him a formidable player rather than a boringly productive depth piece.

After a slow start to the season, Realmuto has really turned it on. There's no longer any doubt that he is the best fantasy catcher out there.

Following a tame rookie showing, Dozier has torn the cover off the ball in 2019. The 27-year-old first baseman is batting .286/.364/.550 with 22 homers. Initially expected to avoid the IL, he ended up missing three weeks in June. While some regression hasn't been surprising, he has made enough improvements not to completely dismiss the breakout. A .365 xwOBA isn't far below his actual .381 mark, but it still matches Shohei Ohtani and Ketel Marte in the top-85th percentile. He's now a mixed-league mainstay.

Despite entering 2018 with health woes and batting .155 in April, Carpenter went scorched earth to hit .257/.374/.523 with a career-high 36 homers. Those who bet on a 2019 repeat are running out of time. The third baseman entered the All-Star break batting .216/.325/.381 with 10 homers in 77 games. He went on the IL with illness and back spasms. Shortly after returning, he went back on the shelf with a foot injury and didn't get activated until August 4. MLB's leader in hard-hit rate last year is now in the bottom-30 percentile, and his xSLG has dropped from .546 to .404. We saw his ability to adjust and heat up in a seismic way last year, but it's getting tougher to hold out hope.

Sano, who has never recorded 500 plate appearances in a big league season, is unlikely to reach that mark in 2019. After injuring his heel during the offseason, he didn't make his season debut until May 16. There's also still the matter of him hitting .199/.281/.398 with a 38.5% strikeout rate last season. While he makes too much hard contact to again bat below the Mendoza line, all the punchouts make him unlikely to climb much higher than his career .244 clip. True to form, but has belted 21 home runs in 77 games while batting .237 with 102 strikeouts. Use him if needing power and/or playing in an OBP league.

This is why managers need to maintain the long view. Braun ended April batting .196, but six hits in an 18-inning marathon on May 4 raised his average to .263. Just like that, his early returns look just fine. He has relatively stayed healthy, played regularly, and belted 18 homers with 57 RBIs, 57 runs, and 10 steals for the Brew Crew. He may never return to All-Star form, but the 35-year-old still looks like a solid contributor who can pair 20-plus homers with 10-15 steals and a strong batting average.

Although rises in exit velocity and walks have pointed to better days ahead, Smoak has gone ice cold after a strong April. His .214 batting average remains unrosterable, but a 20.4% K rate, .355 OBP, and .254 xBA are far more encouraging. So is his .382 xwOBA. A strong finish certainly remains possible. However, it's admittedly getting hard to wait for the metrics to come to fruition when power is so plentiful.

Cron has cooled down from a strong May to hit .257/.318/.472 with 20 homers and 63 RBIs in 98 games. He has slashed his strikeout rate by chasing fewer pitches off the plate, and he gets to bat in a red-hot Twins lineup. He still has a shot at another sneaky 30-HR season, likely with a batting average higher than last year's .253. That makes him an underrated CI who has proved 2018 wasn't a fluke. Cron returned from the IL on July 16 after missing the minimum time, but quickly went back days later with the same thumb injury. These injuries have diminished his production a bit.

An annual 20/20 candidate, Desmond has stolen just three bases in 118 games. He bounced back from a terrible start to bat .325 from May through June, but he's ice cold one again this summer. If not for injuries to David Dahl and Raimel Tapia, he'd probably be out of a starting job. Contrary to last season, he's starting to take full advantage of Coors Field, where he holds an .897 OPS. While he was heating up enough to regain mixed-league relevancy, he's now no more of a home streamer without the speed.

Vogelbach had come crashing down from a sensational start with four hits in 10 May games. Then he went yard five times in six contests. The All-Star is now slugging .491 with 26 home runs and a 127 wRC+ this season. Another prolonged slump, however, has dropped his batting average down to .225. Yet the Beefy Baseball Boy is currently batting in the heart of Seattle's lineup. He has also bolstered his walk and strikeout rates, so he might have another hot streak left to hit close to the .230-.240 range.

Given how quickly the Brewers moved on from Eric Thames last year following a breakout 2017, it wasn't surprising to see them do the inverse and abandon Aguilar. A year after he pounded 35 homers, the first baseman got stuck in the light side of a platoon before getting traded to the Rays, who made room at first base by demoting the more productive Nate Lowe. The Rays have given Aguilar more playing time, but he's hit just one home run in 74 plate appearances. He's at least cut down on his strikeouts to submit a .351 OBP, so the 29-year-old remains a viable option in deeper mixed leagues.

The breakout appeared to be arriving a year later than anticipated for McMahon, who made the Rockies' Opening Day lineup after hitting .424 with nine doubles and three homers in spring. An elbow injury, however, sent him to the IL in early April. He homered in his return, but then tumbled into the Rockies promoted uber prospect Brendan Rodgers. Although McMahon is hitting an unexciting .264/.343/.439 with just 13 home runs and four steals, he should keep playing with Rodgers out for the season. Keep him in mind as a streamer when the Rockies are home.

It's time to accept that the old Cabrera is never coming back. While hitting .285 with a .344 OBP, he has seven home runs (as many as Tony Kemp and Ronny Rodriguez) and a .101 ISO. He now has 10 home runs in his last 138 games dating back to the start of 2018. The former Triple Crown winner is more of an empty-average depth piece.

Expected to serve the short side of a platoon, Walker has instead served a regular role due to Jake Lamb's quad injury. The rookie first baseman demolished righties during a scorching start, regressed in May, and picked up the pace again in June. Still slugging .469 with a hard-hit rate in the top 95th percentile, he could remain a decent power source in most formats. While he's hardly peak Paul Goldschmidt, those seven steals also provide sneaky value at first base.

Initially stuck behind Paul Goldschmidt at first base, injuries to Harrison Bader and Tyler O'Neill gave Martinez a chance to play. After offering instant production, he has slipped to slightly below league-average offense (96 wRC+) due to a .135 ISO. As a result, fantasy gamers probably should have moved on before the Cardinals placed him on the injured list with an AC join sprain in his right shoulder.

While Bruce didn't hit for any contact (.214) in Seattle, he scorched 14 long balls and slugged .530 before getting shipped to Philadelphia. This is a slugger who belted at least 25 homers in seven of the last nine seasons and 36 in 2017 before a down 2018, so it's not too shocking in this environment that he already had 24 at the break. Although initially perceived as a platoon bat, the 32-year-old was receiving regular playing time with Odubel Herrera and Andrew McCutchen out for the season. That was before going on the IL with a right oblique strain to start the second half. He returns to find Corey Dickerson in the outfield, making regular reps less certain for the deep-league slugger.

Belt has given fantasy owners reason to be disappointed for years now. Although he is never awful, it may finally be time to give up and cut him loose. There are plenty of other projects on the waivers with more fantasy upside like Bobby Bradley.

It took a bit longer than expected, but Profar finally emerged as a strong major leaguer by batting .254/.335/.458 with 20 homers and 10 steals in 2018. Perhaps the Rangers knew what they were doing when moving him to the A's. He's batting .205/.268/.382. He has at least maintained some power and speed with 15 homers and seven steals. Batting .174 over the last 30 days, he can only be rostered in the deepest of leagues despite his multi-position eligibility.

The Rays don't seem to like Lowe very much. Even though the rookie was batting .294/.365/.510 in 115 plate appearances through July, they demoted him (again) after acquiring Jesus Aguilar. Lowe even hit well against lefties in limited opportunities, but Tampa Bay never let him get comfortable in the majors. Drop him in shallow mixed leagues, but don't be surprised if he gets another chance and runs with it.

 

Thames took back the large end of a platoon after batting .333 with six homers in a sensational June. He has since, however, batted .193 with three long balls in 30 games. The Brewers traded Jesus Aguilar, but Travis Shaw and Ryan Braun could instead challenge for playing time at first base. Thames is droppable in all mixed leagues until he gets hot again.

Hernandez cooled off after a raucous start, but he's catching a hot hand. He hit .352/.417/.574 in July before going on the IL with a hand injury. He's returned to notch a 174 wRC+ in August, and an injury to Max Muncy has cleared up playing time at second base. Grab Hernandez, whose multi-position eligibility will especially help in deeper leagues.

A sleeper targeted for sneaky 20/10 ability, Bauers batted an underwhelming .233/.308/.379 in 100 games for Cleveland. After bolstering their lineup by acquiring Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes, the Indians made room by optioning Bauers to Triple-A. He can safely be dropped in all leagues.

Posey's power is going the path of Joe Mauer. His home runs over the past five seasons: 22, 19, 14, 12, 5. A hip injury limited him to his fewest games (105) since 2011 last season, and he set a personal worst in slugging (.382) while matching a career-low .284 batting average. He has tallied just six long balls in 86 games, missing time with a right hamstring strain and the second concussion of his career. The former MVP's plate approach hasn't decayed enough for his .261 average to stay so low, but an ageing Posey is coasting on name value.

Following a strong start to 2019, Davis fell into the light end of a platoon when Todd Frazier reclaimed third base and Dominic Smith took the job in left field. With Smith sidelined, Davis has gotten another chance in the outfield. This time, he should keep starting for the long haul. He's hitting .307/.368/.511 with excellent Statcast numbers to support the breakout. As long the Mets can tolerate his limited defense, Davis looks poised to end 2019 as a deserving mixed-league mainstay.

Canha has hit 17 home runs with a 133 wRC+ to little fanfare. His walks are up (14.0%), and the lifelong platoon player is suddenly crushing fellow righties. Despite over-performing his Statcast numbers, the 30-year-old is still a sneaky add in deeper mixed leagues.

Boston placed Moreland on the IL on May 29 with a lower back strain. He was leading the Red Sox with 13 home runs, putting him two shy of 2018's tally in 78 more games, but was also batting just .228. After missing nearly two months, managers likely forgot about him. He's worth a look in deeper leagues, but it's not imperative to grab a career .250 hitter who has never tallied more than 23 homers in a season.

After clobbering 17 home runs through May, Dietrich has since collected 14 hits in June and July. The slump paired with Scooter Gennett return has sent him to the bench, and Josh VanMeter has taken over his role as a righty-masher stealing playing time across the diamond. It was fun while it lasted, but Dietrich should be dropped in all leagues.

 

Zimmerman had his run as a useful fantasy baseball player but it seems to be over at this point so go ahead and cut him loose for one of the better options on waivers.

After batting .163/.266/.281 through 40 games, Shaw went on the IL with a hand injury. He didn't fare any better when returning, batting .167 in 17 games. Finally fed up with his struggles, the Brewers demoted him for top prospect Keston Hiura, who excelled in his first call-up. This is a maddening fall from grace for Shaw, who topped 30 homers and 3.0 fWAR in each of the last two seasons, so gamers at least need to monitor his status now that the Brewers are bringing him back. He could be in line for playing time at first base.

Alonso wasn't especially impressive last year with a .250 batting average and just 23 homers, but he is just one year removed from posting an .866 OPS with Oakland and Seattle so don't discount a big bounce-back campaign.

 

Moran is still batting near .300 heading into the all-star break and although he doesn't offer a ton in the power department, finishing with 18 homers and 80 RBIs would be a welcome line to any fantasy owner.

 

 

Smith, a former top prospect who is only 24 years old, treated his sleep apnea during the offseason after a disappointing debut. He forced his way into the Mets' lineup despite Pete Alonso's emergence by batting .278/.352/.506 in 196 plate appearances. He cooled down considerably at the plate and struggled mightily out of position in left field before going on the IL with a stress reaction in his right foot. This takes away the chance of a deadline trade, so he's not an essential stash in the typical mixed league.

 

 

 

 

The A's, who acquired Morales from the Blue Jays early in the season, shipped him off to the injury-bitten Yankees. Despite his listless .211/.321/.289 slash line, the Statcast expected numbers (.279/.380/.469) likes his far more. He could see some reps at DH with Giancarlo Stanton sidelined and Miguel Andujar out for the season, so give him a look in AL-only and 15-team mixed leagues.

After hitting .178 with the Reds last year, Dixon is batting .263 with 14 home runs in 83 games for the Tigers. A 5.5% walk and 30.6% strikeout rate make him an easy bust candidate, but he's also hitting the ball with authority when making contact. While the odds are on him regressing, the Statcast data (.329 xwOBA) isn't so pessimistic. With an everyday job in tow, he's at least worth rostering in deep leagues for steady numbers.

 

 

Duvall has gone deep four times in five games with the Braves since replacing Nick Markakis. While surprising given his 2018 downfall, he did deposit 33 and 31 home runs in 2016 and 2017, respectively. He also slugged .582 in Triple-A, so pick him off for a power jolt while he's hot.

 

 

Osuna is forcing his way into regular playing time by batting .311/.357/.613 in 130 plate appearances. There's room in the outfield after Pittsburgh sent Corey Dickerson to Philadelphia, so give the 26-year-old a look at a sneaky late-season breakout candidate.

Just because Bradley hasn't started out all that hot for Cleveland doesn't mean you should give up on him. Rather, keep a close eye on this potential 40-homer threat, as he could explode onto the fantasy scene any day now.