2019 Fantasy Baseball ROS Rankings

It's time to reset our expectations for Altuve. He no longer can be counted on to steal bases, which was a huge part of his fantasy appeal. But he's certainly still capable of hitting .300 with solid power and good run production numbers.

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.

Baez still has terrible plate discipline...and he's still one of the best hitters in fantasy baseball.

Torres is a premier talent hitting in a stacked lineup, and his combination of power and batting average has translated to a lot of fantasy value.

After a slow start to the season, Albies has really come on of late, and there's nothing in his underlying numbers to suggest he can't keep it up.

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.

Moncada has put it all together, batting .300 with 22 homers and seven steals through 101 games. Investors hit the jackpot on an elite young talent who was available in the middle of drafts. Although his strikeout rate is slowly rising, his 27.8% is still down significantly from last year's crushing 33.4% clip, and a more aggressive approach has yielded better contact. His breakout season went on hold because of a Grade 1 right hamstring strain, he returned to homer in his first two games back.

Villar is having easily his best fantasy season since his career year in 2016. There simply aren't many players capable of going 20-30 in today's game, and Villar is one of them.

Signed without a clear opening, LeMahieu was practically the Yankees' only healthy player early in the season (and once again in early August). He has come through in a big way, batting .333/.380/.526 with 17 home runs, 77 runs, and 75 RBIs in 100 games. Early playing-time issues have abruptly vanished, and the Bronx Bombers continue to play LeMahieu as their leadoff hitter across the diamond. The career .302 hitter is well on his way to plating 100-plus runs with a high average, over 20 long balls, and a handful of steals. One of this season's most unheralded first-half studs may now be a sell-high candidate, but only if getting an astronomical return.

Mondesi's season has been derailed by injuries. But when healthy, he's shown that last season's breakout was no fluke, providing elite stolen base totals with a bit of power and a serviceable 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.

Gordon already stole a dozen bags in 45 games before getting sidelined with a right wrist contusion, and three home runs represent a seismic power tear for the slap-hitting second baseman. Because of Mallex Smith's resurgence, Gordon has returned to the bottom end of Seattle's depleted lineup. When healthy, he's a one-category asset who could potentially regain some value in the runs and average column.

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.

Repairing his strikeout rate to 13.8%, Hernandez has upped his batting average to .280. His contact rate is up, but his walk rate has also plummeted from 12.3 to 5.4%. As a result, he's no longer leading off for the Phillies despite losing Andrew McCutchen. That mitigates what could have been a lofty run ceiling. He has also stolen just eight bases, jeopardizing his four-year streak of amassing at least 15 steals. The second baseman is now a steady hand who can help a little everywhere as deep-league depth.

It's been another lost year for Dozier, who is batting .236/.341/.430 with 15 homers and three steal in 103 games. The second baseman looked like a promising bounce-back candidate after playing through a knee injury last season, but those struggles banished him to the bottom of Washington's batting order. Don't cut ties with him just yet, as the 32-year-old posted a 141 wRC+ in July and is notoriously a second-half surger.

Following a breakout 2017 and down 2018, Schoop has found some middle ground by batting .253 with 17 homers in 95 games. He's losing playing time to Luis Arraez and batting eighth or ninth when starting, so the second baseman is turning into waiver-wire fodder in mixed leagues.

For the second year in a row, Odor looked poised to turn around an atrocious first half with a sensational finish. After rebounding in July, he has hit a horrid .138 in August, bringing his season batting average below the Mendoza Line. He has 21 homers, eight steals, but the worst wRC+ (65) of all qualified hitters. The Rangers are finally close to their breaking point, as they're considering benching him after promoting Nick Solak. There's too much power to deal up with his anemic batting average (or OBP) anymore.

In mid-April the Blue Jays demoted Gurriel, who was hitting .175 with no homers and 12 strikeouts in 44 plate appearances. It's was still a surprising development for a talented youngster who hit .281/.309/.446 as a rookie last season. The wake-up call was apparently heard loud and clear. Upon returning, he homered in three consecutive games and 10 times more in June. Just like that, he's now batting .279/.331/.548 for Toronto. We've seen too low of a floor to trust this ceiling, but he has shown the promise that made him a popular target after strong finish to 2018. After missing most of August with a quad injury, he could return in early September. Keep him in mind for the final weeks.

Hiura crushed five home runs in his first 17 big league games, but Milwaukee nevertheless sent him back down when activating Travis Shaw from the IL. Less than a month later, the premier prospect was back from Triple-A, where he batted .329 with 19 homers and seven steals in 57 games. Now hitting .299 with 14 homers and seven steals in 55 games for the Brew Crew, he isn't going anywhere this time. While his strikeouts have risen this year, the 22-year-old still profiles as someone who can hit for contact and power. He's a potential league-winning find.

Cano was exceptional in 2018 when he wasn't suspended but apparently, he finally hit the wall towards the end of a player's career. Neither the batting average or power are here nor are the expected to return.

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.

Gennett, who had missed all of 2019 after spraining his groin at the end of spring training, returned on June 28. He has since batted .226 with two homers, no steals, and a 44 wRC+ in 139 plate appearances. It seems safe to say he isn't 100% yet. This is still someone who batted at least .300 with over 20 homers and 90 RBIs in each of the last two seasons, so he could turn the corner eventually. Yet he's not usable in any starting lineups right now, so shallow-league managers in a roster crunch may have little choice but to cut the cord. A trade to San Francisco's spacious park didn't help his cause, and the Giants released him around a month after his arrival.

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 Blue Jays brought up Biggio, who is now the second son of a Hall of Famer in their infield. Although his arrival was nowhere near as ballyhooed as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., there should be some excitement around a prospect who batted .307/.445/.504 with six home runs, five steals, and more walks than strikeouts in Triple-A. His immediate ceiling isn't as high, but the second baseman has offered 10 homers, nine steals, and a .336 OBP in 76 games despite batting .209. He's worth rostering in deeper mixed leagues, but the poor batting average saps his value in most formats.

A boring but effectively above-average hitter for years, Cabrera was batting .235 with an 81 wRC+ before the Rangers designated him for assignment. He has found a home in Washington, where regular reps are not necessarily guaranteed despite his strong start. The veteran is at best a depth piece in larger leagues.

Seemingly on the verge of a legitimate breakout, Wong batted .170 in May. Perhaps it was foolish of us to believe one great month over years of unsensational production. Or maybe it was just one bad month. He's turned the corner again with a .351 second-half batting average and now has nine homers with 17 steals this season. With a secure starting role for the first time in years, the 28-year-old at least still looks like a decent middle infielder capable of going 12/20.

You can be certain that Frazier won't offer any power or speed, but 80 homers and a .280 batting average never hurt anyone. If you need a warm body to fill in for an injured player, he can answer the call without pain.

 

Castro is playing every game for Miami, but that is quite literally all you can say on the pro side of his performance. He doesn't offer power anymore and his batting average will continue to hover around .250 for the remainder of the season.

There is no denying the potential in the Rays' young middle-infielder, but like Dansby Swanson over the past few seasons, he just isn't quite ready at the plate yet. You can still get a handful of steals and homers, but not enough to make up for his batting average.

Replacing the injured Corey Seager at shortstop, Taylor caught fire before injuring his forearm right after the All-Star break. Back on August 20, he's now filling in for Alex Verdugo in center field. The Dodgers' lineup is getting crowded, but Taylor has nine homers, seven steals, a 112 wRC+ in 92 games. There's plenty of fantasy appeal if he gets playing time for this loaded offense.

Few batters make contact more consistently than Fletcher, a career .294 hitter in the minors who is currently batting .281 with a 9.2% strikeout rate for the Angels. He has flaunted more power than usual with five homers (none since June 15) and gets to lead off ahead of Mike Trout, so the 5'9" infielder is an intriguing deep-league average booster.

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.

Opening 2019 in Triple-A after the Padres surprisingly gave his spot to uber-prospect Fernando Tatis Jr, Urias quickly made his way back to the majors, only to get demoted after collecting two hits and 11 strikeouts in 29 plate appearances. He since went on a tear back in the minors, belting a career-high 17 home runs with a .414 wOBA. The 22-year-rejoined San Diego on July 20, but initially struggled despite drawing more walks than strikeouts. Looking way sharper in August than July, he should hold down regular playing time with Fernando Tatis Jr. out for the season.

Kendrick had registered single-digit home runs in each of the last five seasons before belting 12 at the All-Star break. While scouts often said he'd one day win a batting title, they likely didn't think he'd wait until age 36 to hit .316 with a career-high .526 slugging percentage. Don't be so quick to dismiss this unpredictable outburst; his .396 xwOBA ranks 10th in all of baseball. Although not playing every day, he's in Washington's lineup enough to make an impact in deeper leagues. He's not expected to miss more the minimum 10 days after going on the IL with leg cramps.

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.

More than likely, Hampson won't get his job back as the Rockies' primary second baseman. Even with injury, he may be third on the depth chart. With that said, if for whatever reason he does find his way into at-bats, he'll be worth monitoring as a potential pickup.

Garcia has quietly batted .290 with seven homers, 12 steals, and 72 runs atop the White Sox's lineup. Swap a few steals for homers, and he's having a similar season to Jean Segura. The batting average likely won't last given his 3.7% walk rate, but Garcia has certainly helped gamers who grabbed him in deep leagues.

 

Right after returning from a hamstring injury, Wendle fractured his wrist. He missed another seven weeks before returning to the Rays, who have inserted him back into the starting lineup despite collecting four hits in 39 plate appearances. A healthy Wendle could still help in deeper leagues if given an opportunity, as he broke out to bat .300 with seven homers and 16 steals last season.

Sogard has been a pleasant surprise this year with a batting average near 300 and both some power and speed. It's a risk to rely on that continuing, but there is more hope than many other options on your waiver wire in the middle infield.

 

 

Lowrie has yet to make his Mets debut due to a hamstring strain, but he's beginning to rehab in hopes of a September return. Although the 35-year-old could potentially push Jeff McNeil back to the outfield as the starting second baseman, he's only worth stashing in NL-only leagues.

La Stella was among the top breakout infielders this year before going on the IL for 2 to 3 months. If you have enough room on your IL or even bench, he may be worth holding onto for the head to head playoff stretch.

 

 

The Marlins promoted Diaz on August 5, and he promptly homered off Jacob deGrom in his MLB debut. One of the prizes of the now-maligned Christian Yelich trade hit .305/.395/.578 with 26 homers In Triple-A prior to his call-up, and he's swiped double-digit bags in prior years. Take a chance on him contributing some power and speed for a mediocre Marlins lineup.

 

 

Even if he continues to split time with Russell Martin all year, Barnes is one of the few catchers out there who is capable of delivering double digit HRs, a decent batting average, and handful of stolen bases.