Coming onto Razzball and providing player rankings and comments on draft values feels like walking onto The Great British Baking Show and telling Paul Hollywood how to make bread and cake. (I want to say Grey would be Paul in this comparison, but I think the flair for eyewear opens it up for debate.) Regardless, that is the task that has been set before me. And I get it. After all, while they may be objectively the best in the business at what they do, what they do is not tailored specifically toward points leagues. So, while I lean on their work heavily as I approach my own drafts, and even in what is about to follow here, I will be diverting from their work at times. Sometimes in fairly significant ways. But what’s the fun in everyone being in complete and total lockstep?
So, here’s how this is going to work. I personally don’t find ranking lists that combine all the different positions particularly helpful to me as I figure out targets to draft. Even during the season, I’m generally trying to see how a couple shortstops compare against each other rather than how a shortstop rates in comparison to a catcher. So rather than one huge ranking list, I’m going to break it up into smaller ones. Today we’ll take a look at the infield spots by groups of 15 or so, next week we’ll look at outfield and relief pitcher, and the week after we’ll turn our attention to starting pitching. That’s the plan, anyway. So, let’s get to it.
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Catchers
| Cal Raleigh | SEA |
| William Contreras | MIL |
| Shea Langeliers | OAK |
| Ivan Herrera | STL |
| Ben Rice | NYY |
| Augustin Ramirez | MIA |
| Drake Baldwin | ATL |
| Hunter Goodman | COL |
| Salvador Perez | KC |
| Will Smith | LAD |
| Gabriel Moreno | ARI |
| Adley Rutschman | BAL |
| Samuel Basallo | BAL |
| Francisco Alvarez | NYM |
| Kyle Teel | CHW |
| Yainer Diaz | HOU |
| Alejandro Kirk | TOR |
Catcher is actually…good? I know, that doesn’t feel right to say, but look at that list! In many years, missing out on one of the top couple guys meant you might as well wait until the last round or two and take whoever’s left. This year, if you miss out one of the top couple guys, you might as well wait until the last round or two and take whoever’s left. Yes, it sounds the same, but it feels different. The quality and depth of that quality means that even if you’re the 12th person to take your catcher, you’re still going to get a pretty good one. You’re going to have to settle somewhere on your roster. Settling at catcher is going to be less painful than settling at 2B at 3B. Even if it feels weird to say.
Notes
- Ivan Herrera doesn’t qualify at C everywhere to begin the year, so be aware. If he does, hooray for you! But even if he doesn’t, the bat is good enough that you could do worse than to plug him in at your utility spot until he gains it.
- On talent alone Will Smith would probably still rate a little bit higher. But, he’s on the Dodgers. In a lot of cases, that’s something you want. In points leagues, though, volume matters. And Smith is going to have less of it than much of his competition.
- Why is Gabriel Moreno ranked this (relatively) high? Because while he doesn’t have a lot of over-the-fence power, he hits for a decent number of doubles and a fairly good average. And in leagues that penalize strikeouts, he has a lower K-rate than some others. Add it all together and, health permitting, he could be sneaky late value in this format.
- I know I just said Will Smith takes a hit due to the lack of volume of plate appearances, so why do I have Kyle Teel ahead of Yainer Diaz? That’s a fair question. When faced with the decision, there’s a good chance I would draft Diaz. He’s a good hitter, and should play a ton. And Teel will be competing for at-bats with Edgar Quero and a glut of other guys the White Sox might want to get in the lineup at DH. But I think he has the necessary skills to be a quality asset and could find himself higher on the list next season if things break right.
Breakout Bet– Carter Jensen, KC
Jensen didn’t play enough last year to qualify for the Baseball Savant leaderboards, but what he did in the time he had looked nice. Salvador Perez is yet another year older, and KC sounds like they really want Jensen to play a lot. If he finishes in the top-10, I wouldn’t be shocked. And this year, that’s actually saying something.
First Base
| Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | TOR |
| Nick Kurtz | OAK |
| Pete Alonso | BAL |
| Bryce Harper | PHI |
| Rafael Devers | SF |
| Matt Olson | ATL |
| Freddie Freeman | LAD |
| Ben Rice | NYY |
| Josh Naylor | SEA |
| Vinnie Pasquantino | KC |
| Yandy Diaz | TB |
| Tyler Soderstrom | OAK |
| Michael Busch | CHC |
| Luiz Arraez | SF |
| Jonathan Aranda | TB |
| Alec Burleson | STL |
First base isn’t the domain of first round superstars like it used to be, but it’s solid. Be aware, it is a position where guys’ value can fluctuate up or down a fair bit in comparison to their roto rankings depending on your scoring format.
Notes
- I love Nick Kurtz. You love Nick Kurtz. Everyone loves Nick Kurtz. But do you know who hates Nick Kurtz? People who set up leagues that penalize a full point for strikeouts. Ok, hate might be overselling it, but it certainly does him no favors. So if you’re playing in that type of league (so, ESPN), be aware that he’d bump down below Alonso.
- Yes, Freddie is getting old. Yes, his homer rate is falling. However, the man can still hit. So while he might not be the same force he used to be in any format, he still more than holds his own here.
- If you draft Luiz Arraez as your 1B in roto, you feel like something went at least a little sideways in your draft. Here though, this ranking might actually be selling him short. He’s the total opposite of Nick Kurtz. There’s basically no power, but he never strikes out. So simply by not losing buckets of points, he ends up a top-10 player at the position. That’s something you can take advantage of, though I wouldn’t plan my whole draft around it. Also, he should be adding 2B eligibility in short order.
Breakout Bet– Sal Stewart, CIN
Will he play? That’s the question. Or, more specifically, will he play enough? When he came up to Cincinnati last summer, he raked. Just like he had in the minors. And still, he found himself parked on the bench for a decent stretch without any real reason given. And the Reds still have more bats to feed than you’d think they should at the spots Stewart can play. Taking him is a bet that talent (read: dingers) wins out and he gets the lion’s share of playing time.
Second Base
| Ketel Marte | ARI |
| Nico Hoerner | CHC |
| Brice Turang | MIL |
| Maikel Garcia | KC |
| Jazz Chisholm Jr. | NYY |
| Jose Altuve | HOU |
| Ozzie Albies | ATL |
| Luke Keaschall | MIN |
| Gleyber Torres | DET |
| Brandon Lowe | PIT |
| Jorge Polanco | NYM |
| Brandon Donovan | SEA |
| Marcus Semien | NYM |
| Xavier Edwards | MIA |
| Otto Lopez | MIA |
| Bryson Stott | PHI |
Second base is not the greatest. It certainly doesn’t have anybody who is pushing to be taken in round one, unless you believe Jazz when he says he’s going to go 50-50 this season. However, if you’re in a 10 or 12-team league, you should be able to land someone who’s at least serviceable.
Notes
- Like Ivan Herrera at catcher, Garcia may not actually be eligible at 2B in your league. I wouldn’t recommend drafting him with the plan that he’ll get it any time soon, either.
- In roto, Jazz is no lower than second here. But, assuming steals count for 2 points, I have him just a bit lower here. If you still like him above Turang and Hoerner, I won’t be mad at you. And in a league where steals only count for 1 point, he’s just behind Ketel. (My kingdom for one standard scoring format.)
- Are Ozzie Albies’ bones made of peanut brittle? If he could just stop breaking things, he’ll be very good. One would think keeping bones intact would be easier than getting problematic hamstrings in order, but things don’t always make sense.
- Last season, Torres was the 7th best 2B over at CBS. At ESPN, he came in 5th! Behold, the power of walks. Drafting him won’t get the groans or “good pick” replies from the other people in your league, but there’s a chance they resent you for it come the end of the season. And isn’t that better?
Third Base
| Jose Ramirez | CLE |
| Junior Caminero | TB |
| Maikel Garcia | KC |
| Manny Machado | SD |
| Jazz Chisholm Jr. | NYY |
| Austin Riley | ATL |
| Eugenio Suarez | CIN |
| Alex Bregman | CHC |
| Matt Chapman | SF |
| Max Muncy | LAD |
| Noelvi Marte | CIN |
| Kazuma Okamoto | TOR |
| Alec Bohm | PHI |
| Addison Barger | TOR |
| Jordan Westburg | BAL |
| Isaac Paredes | HOU |
Notes
- I know, the last couple years haven’t been what you want to see from Riley. Or most of Atlanta’s hitters, for that matter. But wise or not, I still have faith. And at 3B, that’s something.
- In roto I’d prefer to take a flier on one of the guys just below Muncy. And at his age and on that team, volume could be an issue. But after getting his vision right last year, he showed he can still hit. And, for our purposes, take a walk. Hence his relatively generous ranking. That said, we’ll see what happens next time I’m in a draft room looking at him, Okamoto, and Bohm as the best 3B remaining.
- The last two guys on this list would be higher if they weren’t injured (Westburg, as is becoming a habit) or in an unclear situation in regard to playing time (Paredes). The latter could clear up before the season starts. The former…I don’t want to deal with the headache, personally.
Breakout Bet– Munetaka Murakami
A couple issues present themselves when it comes to Murakami. For one, he’s not actually eligible at 3B everywhere, and isn’t likely to gain it. So, that’s a bummer. More significant, though, is the question of whether or not he can hit major league pitching. Fastballs, in particular. If he can’t, then it means the White Sox did a very White Sox thing and signed a name people know and get nothing at all for it. Which, as a White Sox fan, would be an all-too-familiar bummer. But if he can prove those concerns about his contact were much ado about nothing? Then you can put it on the board!
Shortstop
| Bobby Witt Jr. | KC |
| Gunnar Henderson | BAL |
| Francisco Lindor | NYM |
| Elly De La Cruz | CIN |
| Trea Turner | PHI |
| Mookie Betts | LAD |
| Geraldo Perdomo | ARI |
| Corey Seager | TEX |
| Zach Neto | LAA |
| Bo Bichette | NYM |
| Jeremy Pena | HOU |
| C.J. Abrams | WSH |
| Willy Adames | SF |
| Jack Wilson | ATH |
| Xavier Edwards | MIA |
| Trevor Story | BOS |
| Dansby Swanson | CHC |
Oh, that’s what’s up. I am of a vintage where outside one or two names, shortstop was a wasteland for fantasy purposes. That is no longer the case. You do want to make sure you don’t wait forever here if you miss one of the top few names, because when the falloff happens, it happens hard. But for a 10-12 team league that doesn’t use the full roto lineup, you should end up pretty happy with what you get.
Notes
- Seager and Neto have two very different approaches to point accumulation. What they share is a proclivity toward injury. If you don’t want to deal with the Seager injury issues, in particular, I don’t blame you. But he’s still very good in this format when he’s on the field.
- I have Abrams lower than pretty much anyone does anywhere, and I almost want to have him even lower. I don’t have anything solid to point to for why, as he’s been good in this format the last couple years. It’s just a feeling. I should probably get over it.
Breakout Bet– Pick a Youth
When you look at the list of the top prospects in baseball, it is littered with shortstops. Or, at least, guys who are eligible at shortstop to begin the season. J.J. Wetherholt should open the year in St. Louis and be very good, though you’ll want to use him at 2B in short order. Kevin McGonigle in Detroit probably won’t have a starting job right out of the gate, but should be up fairly early and likely pick up eligibility at 2B and/or 3B, which would be nice. And the most exciting of the bunch is Konnor Griffin with the Pirates. However, he will still only be 19 when the season begins, has never played at AAA, and perhaps most significantly, is with the Pirates. So while we might want to see him in April, they could well keep him down there until 2028. Not really, but would it surprise you? It’s the Pirates. Anyway, whenever it is that he does come up, he’s going to be good.
