2019 Fantasy Baseball ROS Rankings

It's a testament to Trout's dominance that fantasy owners might be a little disappointed by his current output. There's really no reason to think he'll fail to produce another .300/100/30/100/20 season.

Martinez is mashing the ball just like he has over the past two seasons. But this time he's also significantly trimmed his strikeout rate, which suggests that he could end up having his best season yet.

Springer is a very good player who is completely locked in at the plate right now, but the odds are that he's simply started the season hot rather than taken his game to a completely different level at age 29. Springer is a .269 career hitter who is currently batting well over .300, even though he's striking out more often than he has the last couple of years. That's not to say he's just been lucky - his hard contact rate is up significantly from the past - but it does raise the question of how sustainable this hot streak is. He also has one of the highest HR/FB ratios in baseball, so his HR pace is destined to drop off considerably even if he does keep crushing the baseball.

Davis has had his ups and downs so far this season, but he remains on track to produce 40+ home runs for the fourth straight season. And he may well hit exactly .247 for the fifth consecutive year, too.

Abreu's strikeout rate has risen to the extent that he's unlikely to hit .290-.300 like he used to, but he is on pace to easily top 30 home runs for the fourth time in six seasons.

We all know what kind of hitter Stanton can be when he's healthy, but he's hardly been healthy at all so far this season. Once he does finally return, he should perform at a 40-HR pace...until the next injury.

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 in the early going, suggesting his first 20-HR season could be within reach.

The perennially undervalued Cruz was hitting .270/.354/.508 with seven homers before going on the IL with a wrist injury. An MRI came back clean, so he might not require a lengthy absence. Before going down, those numbers actually represented a step down from his usual elite production. Then again, drafters didn't have to pay for that level of dominance because of his age (38) and DH-only status. He's still a superb slugger when healthy, so wait patiently for his return.

With top-notch plate discipline, Brantley is a legitimate contender to win the batting title if he can stay healthy. His power burst is more unexpected, and unlikely to fully keep up, but he does appear destined to reach 20 home runs for just the second time in his career.

Even in a down year, Encarnacion topped 30 homers for the seventh straight season, a span during which 2014's 98 RBIs was the only time he fell short of 100. That bankable power is comforting at his depreciated price, but career worsts in contact (75.7%) and strikeout (22.9%) rate led to his lowest average (.248) since 2010. A repaired strikeout rate has not led to a higher average (.219) as a result of a lower BABIP (.192) and depreciated hard-hit rate. The durable slugger also missed time with a biceps injury during his age-35 campaign, so don't count on a return to peak form.

Judge was producing at a similar clip to last season before hitting the injured list in late April with an oblique injury. As long as he fully recovers from the injury, he should be able to produce at a .280-30-10 kind of pace upon returning.

Sanchez has proven to be capable of producing truly difference-making numbers at fantasy baseball's weakest position, and there is little doubt he can again top 30 home runs if he remains healthy. He is off to a scorching start in the power department in 2019.

Alonso has been one of the biggest power hitter breakouts of 2019, and he should be able to tally 30-35 home runs by the end of the season. He does swing and miss quite a bit, however, so expect his batting average to continue to tumble into the .240 range.

Moustakas is predictably enjoying his first full season in hitter-friendly Miller Park, and he looks well on his way to topping the 30-HR mark for just the second time in his career.

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. He's a bit sharper (.367 wOBA), but still not quite back to MVP form in 2018. If he can stay healthy, managers are probably looking at more of a .250-.260, 25-30-HR hitter who still offer a stout OBP and plenty of counting numbers in Atlanta's strong lineup.

The routinely ignored Choo keeps hitting at age 36. While an unsustainable BABIP above .400 has fueled his hot start, he remains an unheralded OBP and runs asset in five-outfielder formats.

Odor has once again started a season in brutal fashion. He had a 25 wRC+ and 36.8% K rate through May 15 and missed time with a right knee strain. His production continues to trend south, but it's tough to quit a 25-year-old second baseman with two 30-homer seasons under his belt. He has five homers in 16 games since returning from the IL, and he has also swiped at least a dozen bases in each of the last three seasons. There's still immense fantasy potential despite his flaws.

Vogelbach had come crashing down from a sensational start with four hits in 10 May games. Then he went yard in three straight contests. He's still slugging .615 with a 167 wRC+ this season. While another prolonged slump could cost him playing time, the Beefy Baseball Boy is currently batting in the heart of Seattle's lineup. It looks like there's still some juice to squeeze out of him.

Cabrera's 2019 numbers look an awful lot like the 2018 numbers he compiled prior to suffering a season-ending torn biceps tendon. In both admittedly small samples, he provided little more than an empty batting average, and it is possible he doesn't even manage that if he continues to strike out so much. In his age-36 season, Cabrera is fast becoming a dicey hold in standard mixed leagues.

Ramos hasn't done much offensively so far in 2019, and if he doesn't begin to elevate the ball more, a 20-HR season could be a pipe dream. Still, given the state of the catcher position, most Ramos owners don't have much choice but to wait it out and hope he returns to form.

While Smoak fell off from 2017's 38 homers and 133 wRC+, he still chipped in 25 homers and a 121 wRC+ with help from a stellar 14.0% walk rate in 594 plate appearances. He also dealt with a wrist injury early in the season while maintaining impressive hard-hit (41.5%) and barrel (10.5%) rates. He has gone ice cold after a strong April, but rises in exit velocities in walks point to better days ahead. Thirty homers is still in play, in which case he'll make a great corner-infield bargain.

Upton will be out until at least June with a toe injury. If drafts were today, he wouldn't be picked in the first 150 spots since he is clogging up a roster spot for a few months. If you can trade him for that type of return, jump on the opportunity to improve your team's chances.

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. Just don't overreact to his hot start.

 

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.

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's not expected to be ready until May, at the earliest. There's 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. Because of these holes, it's still possible to stash a 25-year-old with a high walk rate and top-shelf power. Add him before his upcoming return if needing power and/or playing in an OBP league.

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 .288 hitter is an underrated stabilizer in batting average who can also drive in 75-85 runs in a stacked lineup. He even popped five homers in September after a long power drought, so the veteran should at least offer double-digit long balls. Having turned the corner from a gloomy April with a sunny May, he's a boring, but productive depth piece for a team with average liabilities.

The Pirates placed Dickerson on the IL with a right posterior shoulder strain on April 4. There's no timetable for his return, and he doesn't brandish enough of a ceiling to stash in shallowed mixed leaguers. Deeper competitors, however, should hold onto the underrated outfielder on the heels of a .300 campaign.

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.

Regardless of how the league's host site manages the Ohtani dilemma, he'll only contribute as a hitter after undergoing Tommy John surgery last season. He wasn't ready for April in that capacity either. The Japanese phenom exceeded expectations inside the batter's box, batting .285/.361/.564 with 22 homers and 10 steals (13 HRs and eight SBs over the final two months) in just 357 plate appearances. There's still 25/10 potential, but those stashing him should temper speed expectations since the Angels won't want to risk another injury. Now that Ohtani is back in the lineup, make sure he's rostered in all leagues in case he rediscovers last year's late game-changing ceiling.

 

 

 

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.

A week after returning from a month-long absence, Andujar went back on the IL with a right labrum tear. He will now undergo the season-ending surgery many expected when he first went down in April, so drop him in all re-draft leagues.

 

 

Catcher is so bad that prospect pedigree kept Mejia in preseason top-10 consideration despite batting .176 (12-for-69) in the majors. He continues to struggle in 2019, batting .152/.204/.217 as of May 5. Without the results or consistent playing time, he's not someone whom anyone can justify rostering in one-catcher mixed leagues.