2019 Fantasy Baseball ROS Rankings

Drafters know what they're getting in Arenado, who has batted no lower than .287 with at least 37 homers and 110 RBIs in the last four years. He has played all but 16 games in those four seasons, making him a durable beacon of consistency worthy of a first-round selection. He signed an extension during the offseason, so investors no longer need to worry about a midseason trade removing him from Coors Field. A lack of steals is an unfortunate, but acceptable tradeoff for locking in bankable production at every other category. This steadiness earned him the benefit of the doubt despite still not hitting a home run until April 14. He made up for lost time once the Rockies hosted more at Coors Field and now has 24 taters while hitting .305/.368/.539. It's a bit underwhelmed compared to past returns, but trust the stud to heat up once again after a slugging start to the second half.

Bregman is proving that last season's power breakout was no fluke, and he continues to display an excellent approach at the plate with a low strikeout rate and high walk rate.

Rendon is having an outstanding season. We already knew he was a true .300 hitter, but this year he's also increased his launch angle and hard contact rate, which explains why he's experiencing a power breakout. He had never hit more than 25 home runs in a season, but he could get to 35 this year.

Fully recovered from the shoulder injury that derailed his 2018 season, Bryant is back to being the high-end hitter we've come to expect.

Machado's first season in San Diego has been terribly disappointing for fantasy owners. He hasn't been awful at the plate, but he hasn't stood out in any statistical category, either. It's fair to wonder if he'll be able to return to the elite production he produced in a more favorable hitting environment in Baltimore.

Devers started the season making contact gains diminished by a power funk. He then put it together with eight home runs and a .416 wOBA in May. Now he's hitting .326 with 28 homers, 111 runs, 104 RBIs, and eight steals, making him one of fantasy's five-category contributors. He's 22 years old. A rise in exit velocity and fall in strikeouts support the elevated average, and he's always had the look of someone who could swat-30 long balls in a season. The speed is an unexpected treat that has already faded, but managers should buy this breakout.

Suarez was never all that likely to match last season's .283 batting average, but he's already blown past the 34 home runs he hit in 2018. He's a fairly one-dimensional fantasy asset, but there's no doubt that the power will play.

A strikeout liability in the minors, Chapman now has a 10.7% K rate. He has paired those superb contact gains with a 10.3% BB rate, 29 homers, and a .361 wOBA. If these gains stick, he's a four-category fantasy stud and a borderline MVP candidate for Oakland due to his elite defense at the hot corner. There's still a limited batting-average ceiling, but he should at least maintain his current .258 clip. Given all the power and potential to score triple-digit runs, he deserves to reside as a top-75 player.

Moustakas rejoined the Brewers on his second straight one-year deal, so early drafters likely snagged a power bat at a discount. Playing mostly at second base, he has already crushed 31 homers with a 116 wRC+ through 121 games. While the ultra-high launch angle limits his batting-average upside despite a career 16.5% strikeout rate, he could tally 35-40 long runs in a full season with the Brew Crew.

Guerrero hasn't had quite the impact as a rookie that many fantasy managers were expecting, but he's done nothing to weaken his long-term outlook. He still looks like one of the best bets for power and batting average for years to come.

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.

A calf injury limited Donaldson to just 52 games last season. He also wasn't his dominant self when healthy, batting .245/.352/.449 with his lowest wOBA (.345) since 2012. Still yet to rediscover his MVP gear, he's once again a high-end power option hitting .259/.374/.526 and .376 wOBA. Yet the arrow is ticking upward. He has collected 25 of his 32 home runs since June 1 and is sporting his highest average exit velocity in the last five years. If he stays healthy, managers are looking at a .260, 35-HR hitter who still offers a stout OBP and plenty of counting numbers in Atlanta's strong lineup.

An underrated stud when healthy, Turner touted a higher wRC+ (141) than Paul Goldschmidt, Giancarlo Stanton, Nolan Arenado, and Manny Machado from 2016-18. He has recovered from an early power drought to bat .293/.374/.509, and he'll compile plenty of runs and RBIs in a prolific Dodgers lineup. He has also stayed healthy, which has proven the main detriment to his fantasy value. Turner may never hit 30 homers in a full season, but there are few safer bets to bat around .300.

Escobar is in the midst of a huge fantasy season, particularly in terms of home runs and RBIs. It's fair to question whether he can repeat the trick next year, but just enjoy the production down the stretch of 2019.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Myers followed 28/28 and 30/20 campaigns with 11 homers and 13 steals an injury-shortened 2018, so it was easy to envision a 25/20 rebound if he stays healthy. He also added third-base eligibility to his portfolio, making him an intriguing bounce-back option. Having stayed healthy so far, Myers has 14 long balls and 10 steals in 125 games. A .224 batting average and bloated 35.4% strikeout rate banished him to the bench, where he's stayed even after the Padres traded Franmil Reyes. Now that he's gone over two weeks without an extra-base hit, Myers should be dumped in all formats.

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.

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.

Kingery, who batted .226/.267/.338 in his rookie campaign, is now hitting .275/.336/.503 with 14 homers and 10 steals through 351 plate appearances. He has turned on the jets again in August after predictably fading from an unsustainable stellar start in July, and the 25-year-old has grown exponentially from 2018's disappointing debut. He's comfortably emerged as a top-200 player to roster in all mixed leagues.

Nunez has gone from hot to cold, back to scorching hot, and then back to cold one more. He homered six times over an eight-game window in late May. After cooling down again, he went deep three times in four games. He now has 28 long balls, 76 RBIs, and a .479 SLG this season. He may barely keep his OBP over .300 or hit higher than .240, but playing time should lead him to over 30 homers and 85 RBIs. He's a nice power source to roster in deeper leagues.

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.

Seager, who started 2019 on the 60-day IL following offseason hand surgery, returned on May 25. He hadn't done much to merit excitement before hitting three homers on August 13. He now has six long balls during an ongoing 11-game hitting streak. Prior to last year's downfall, Corey's Brother had offered 25-30 homers in four consecutive seasons. There could still be some more power to squeeze out of his bat, particularly in deeper leagues.

Longoria was finally starting to heat up, hitting six home runs in nine games before going on the IL with plantar fasciitis in his foot. He has returned to bat 9-for-27 and now holds a .275 xBA, .501 xSLG, and .363 xwOBA. That makes the veteran an intriguing add in most spots.

Shortly after the Braves starting giving Riley outfield reps, an injury to Ender Inciarte opened the door to a big league promotion. The third baseman had clobbered 15 homers in 37 Triple-A games before touching them all nine times in his first 18 games. An untenable approach eventually caught up to him, as he's hitting .240/.294/.492 in early August despite batting .307 on June 8. The power is legit, but the sky-high strikeout rate makes him susceptible to alarming batting-average downside. He has also lost playing time on the contending Braves because of these struggles, so he'll need to pick it up again to maintain his spot on mixed-league rosters.

A fringe prospect for years, Urshela is suddenly raking as an unlikely hero for the Yankees. He's batting .331 with 18 home runs and plenty of scorching plenty of hard hits to support the high average. He'll start September on the IL with groin tightness, but the unlikely breakout star hopes he can return after the minimum 10 days. Keep him rostered in all leagues.

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.

At this point, it almost feels like a running gag to say Franco could one day take a leap akin to Edwin Encarnacion. It seemed like this could be the year, as the 26-year-old third baseman hit .252 with seven homers through April. He got us again. He was batting .231 with 15 home runs before getting surprisingly demoted to Triple-A. It's past time to abandon hope of a breakout and cut him in all formats.

Frazier has had a bit of a resurgence this season, and while it hasn't amounted to a ton, there is a place on a fantasy roster for a guy with 25 homer power and a mediocre batting average which is what he appears to offer again.

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.

Placed on the IL in early April, Lamb missed nearly three months with a grade 2 quad strain. Splitting time between first and third base, it took eight games until his return to capture his first homer of 2019. After batting just .229/.307/.348, Lamb will need to prove worthy of rostering beyond deep leagues.

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.

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.

There is nothing sexy about drafting Candelario, but you can anticipate his batting average coming up 20 points this year, as he was among the most unlucky hitters in that department last year. Along with that, fantasy owners should get around 20 homers from him.

Surprisingly demoted to Triple-A to start the season, Happ stayed there far longer than expected. He hadn't quite earned his promoted by batting .242/.364/.432, but the Cubs wanted to send a message to Addison Russell this time. He has since notched a .917 OPS in 24 game. Because of his power and speed potential, he's worth grabbing deep mixed leagues and monitoring in shallower formats.

Kang may not open the season as the starter in Pittsburgh, but with the way he is playing this spring, you'll want to keep a close eye on him. After all, we've seen Kang be a useful fantasy piece in years prior.

 

Astudillo missed two weeks with a hamstring strain, but when healthy he has continued to look like a legitimate threat to hit .300 thanks to his prodigious contact rate. He's unlikely to provide much in way the of power, but he doesn't really need to in order to be a helpful fantasy player at a weak position.

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.

 

 

 

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.

France has been terrific in the minors this season and while he wasn't impressive in his MLB debut, there is a chance that he gets another shot before the end of the season and proves to be a worthwhile waiver wire addition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Receiving more playing time while Jose Altuve recovers from a hamstring injury, Diaz has homered twice in two starts. He offered 18 homers and a 102 wRC+ in 452 plate appearances for the Blue Jays last year, so he's a fine short-term scoop while getting reps in a loaded Astros lineup.