Fantasy Baseball > 2018 Rankings

Early 2018 Fantasy Baseball Rankings

It's never too early to talk about baseball, and it's especially never too early to prepare for next season's fantasy baseball draft. You don't want to get burned by draft busts, and you're sick of always seeing the other guys in your league master the art of finding a guy who's about to have a career year. With Fantasy Baseball Brass, your chances are way better to finish on top this season, so we're starting you off early with the top 300 hitters in terms of fantasy value. Continue below...

Don't forget about our 2018 Starting Pitcher Rankings

Mike Trout is the top fantasy draft pick in every pre-season ranking, but every year, someone outperforms him in the stats him by just a little bit...

Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies Third Baseman

Nolan Arenado is a fantasy baseball sure-thing every season, especially when you need Home Runs and RBI.

Jose Altuve is the MLB MVP and he's also the fantasy MVP by helping you in every category.

We aren't looking at fielding; we aren't using gratuitous Saber Metrics (we're using some Saber Metrics, just not the ridiculous stats that they continue to come up with every year just to prove how smart they are). For now, we're going on raw, basic statistics plus a few other metrics thrown in. We're using the same fantasy baseball metrics that we have proven to be the most-reliable predictors of success over the past 25 years... that's right: we've been doing this and studying fantasy baseball stats for 25 years. Back when we had to to the stats by hand, baby. Newsprint, highlighters and calculators, oh my!

The lists of fantasy rankings, below - broken down into 25 players at a time - involve raw, statistical indicators that will help you in your draft for 2018. We'll be changing our top-300 rankings over the next few months, so keep an eye out as some of the "x-factors" appear and change things over the next few months until baseball season starts.

Top 25 Fantasy Baseball Position Players (of the Top 300)

RANK	PLAYER	POS	G	AB	Runs	H	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	AVG	SLG	OB%	OPS	R 162	H 162	HR 162	RBI 162	SB 162
1	Blackmon, Charlie	OF	159	644	137	213	37	104	65	135	14	.331	.601	.399	1.000	139.6	217.0	37.7	106.0	14.3
2	Ramirez, Jose	3B/2B	152	585	107	186	29	83	52	69	17	.318	.583	.374	.957	114.0	198.2	30.9	88.5	18.1
3	Altuve, Jose	2B	153	590	112	204	24	81	58	84	32	.346	.547	.410	.957	118.6	216.0	25.4	85.8	33.9
4	Trout, Mike	OF	114	402	92	123	33	72	94	90	22	.306	.629	.442	1.071	130.7	174.8	46.9	102.3	31.3
5	Goldschmidt, Paul	1B	155	558	117	166	36	120	94	147	18	.297	.563	.404	.966	122.3	173.5	37.6	125.4	18.8
6	Votto, Joey	1B	162	559	106	179	36	100	134	83	5	.320	.578	.454	1.032	106.0	179.0	36.0	100.0	5.0
7	Harper, Bryce	OF	111	420	95	134	29	87	68	99	4	.319	.595	.413	1.008	138.6	195.6	42.3	127.0	5.8
8	Judge, Aaron	OF	155	542	128	154	52	114	127	208	9	.284	.627	.422	1.049	133.8	161.0	54.3	119.1	9.4
9	Freeman, Freddie	1B	117	440	84	135	28	71	65	95	8	.307	.586	.403	.989	116.3	186.9	38.8	98.3	11.1
10	Pham, Tommy	OF	128	444	95	136	23	73	71	117	25	.306	.520	.411	.931	120.2	172.1	29.1	92.4	31.6
11	Arenado, Nolan	3B	159	606	100	187	37	130	62	106	3	.309	.586	.373	.959	101.9	190.5	37.7	132.5	3.1
12	Rizzo, Anthony	1B	157	572	99	156	32	109	91	90	10	.273	.507	.392	.899	102.2	161.0	33.0	112.5	10.3
13	Martinez, J.D.	OF	119	432	85	131	45	104	53	128	4	.303	.690	.376	1.066	115.7	178.3	61.3	141.6	5.4
14	Upton, Justin	OF	152	557	100	152	35	109	74	180	14	.273	.540	.361	.901	106.6	162.0	37.3	116.2	14.9
15	Rendon, Anthony	3B	147	508	81	153	25	100	84	82	7	.301	.533	.403	.937	89.3	168.6	27.6	110.2	7.7
16	Dozier, Brian	2B	152	617	106	166	34	93	78	141	16	.269	.496	.357	.853	113.0	176.9	36.2	99.1	17.1
17	Lindor, Francisco	SS	159	651	99	178	33	89	60	93	15	.273	.505	.337	.842	100.9	181.4	33.6	90.7	15.3
18	Springer, George	OF	140	548	112	155	34	85	64	111	5	.283	.522	.367	.889	129.6	179.4	39.3	98.4	5.8
19	Turner, Justin	3B	130	457	72	147	21	71	59	56	7	.322	.530	.415	.945	89.7	183.2	26.2	88.5	8.7
20	Hosmer, Eric	1B	162	603	98	192	25	94	66	104	6	.318	.498	.385	.882	98.0	192.0	25.0	94.0	6.0
21	Correa, Carlos	SS	109	422	82	133	24	84	53	92	2	.315	.550	.391	.941	121.9	197.7	35.7	124.8	3.0
22	Murphy, Daniel	2B	144	534	94	172	23	93	52	77	2	.322	.543	.384	.928	105.8	193.5	25.9	104.6	2.3
23	Bryant, Kris	3B	151	549	111	162	29	73	95	128	7	.295	.537	.409	.946	119.1	173.8	31.1	78.3	7.5
24	Abreu, Jose	1B	156	621	95	189	33	102	35	119	3	.304	.552	.354	.906	98.7	196.3	34.3	105.9	3.1
25	Stanton, Giancarlo	OF	159	597	123	168	59	132	85	163	2	.281	.631	.376	1.007	125.3	171.2	60.1	134.5	2.0

Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians Infielder

Who knew Jose Ramirez would be the 2nd-best fantasy baseball player?

In the stats above, not only have we shown you the standard 5x5 fantasy baseball statistical categories, we've also included other baseball stats that we have seen contribute to the predictability of a player's success. Things like walks show you the level of patience a player has at the plate, while the number of strikeouts is a pretty-reliable predictor of a player who may be more streaky than someone who likely strikes out less: players who strike out less put the ball in play more, therefore you can usually predict how well they'll do while in your lineup.

We also included stats the project (or prorate) out to 162 games to give you an idea of what a player would - or could - have done in a full season.Projecting their fantasy stats out to 162 games also gives you an idea of what you can expect from a player while he's actually in your lineup.

Top 26-50 (of 300)

RANK	PLAYER	POS	G	AB	Runs	H	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	AVG	SLG	OB%	OPS	R 162	H 162	HR 162	RBI 162	SB 162
26	Betts, Mookie	OF	153	628	101	165	24	102	77	79	26	.263	.457	.343	.800	106.9	174.7	25.4	108.0	27.5
27	Bellinger, Cody	1B/OF	132	480	87	128	39	97	64	146	10	.267	.581	.352	.933	106.8	157.1	47.9	119.0	12.3
28	Andrus, Elvis	SS	158	643	100	191	20	88	38	101	25	.297	.471	.337	.808	102.5	195.8	20.5	90.2	25.6
29	Ozuna, Marcell	OF	159	613	93	191	37	124	64	144	1	.312	.548	.376	.924	94.8	194.6	37.7	126.3	1.0
30	McCutchen, Andrew	OF	156	570	94	159	28	88	73	116	11	.279	.486	.363	.849	97.6	165.1	29.1	91.4	11.4
31	Gonzalez, Marwin	OF/SS/1B/2B	134	455	67	138	23	90	49	99	8	.303	.530	.377	.907	81.0	166.8	27.8	108.8	9.7
32	Santana, Domingo	OF	151	525	88	146	30	85	73	178	15	.278	.505	.371	.875	94.4	156.6	32.2	91.2	16.1
33	Shaw, Travis	3B	144	538	84	147	31	101	60	138	10	.273	.513	.349	.862	94.5	165.4	34.9	113.6	11.3
34	Zimmerman, Ryan	1B	144	524	90	159	36	108	44	126	1	.303	.573	.358	.930	101.3	178.9	40.5	121.5	1.1
35	Garcia, Avisail	OF	136	518	75	171	18	80	33	111	5	.330	.506	.380	.885	89.3	203.7	21.4	95.3	6.0
36	Cozart, Zack	SS	122	438	80	130	24	63	62	78	3	.297	.548	.385	.933	106.2	172.6	31.9	83.7	4.0
37	Cruz, Nelson	DH	155	556	91	160	39	119	70	140	1	.288	.549	.375	.924	95.1	167.2	40.8	124.4	1.0
38	Taylor, Chris	OF/2B	140	514	85	148	21	72	50	142	17	.288	.496	.354	.850	98.4	171.3	24.3	83.3	19.7
39	Merrifield, Whit	2B	145	587	80	169	19	78	29	88	34	.288	.460	.324	.784	89.4	188.8	21.2	87.1	38.0
40	Reddick, Josh	OF	134	477	77	150	13	82	43	72	7	.314	.484	.363	.847	93.1	181.3	15.7	99.1	8.5
41	Sanchez, Gary	C	122	471	79	131	33	90	40	120	2	.278	.531	.345	.876	104.9	174.0	43.8	119.5	2.7
42	Yelich, Christian	OF	156	602	100	170	18	81	80	137	16	.282	.439	.369	.807	103.8	176.5	18.7	84.1	16.6
43	Rosario, Eddie	OF	151	542	79	157	27	78	35	106	9	.290	.507	.328	.836	84.8	168.4	29.0	83.7	9.7
44	Nunez, Eduardo	3B/2B/OF	114	467	60	146	12	58	18	54	24	.313	.460	.341	.801	85.3	207.5	17.1	82.4	34.1
45	Bregman, Alex	3B/SS	155	556	88	158	19	71	55	97	17	.284	.475	.352	.827	92.0	165.1	19.9	74.2	17.8
46	Conforto, Michael	OF	109	373	72	104	27	68	57	113	2	.279	.555	.384	.939	107.0	154.6	40.1	101.1	3.0
47	Donaldson, Josh	3B	113	415	65	112	33	78	76	111	2	.270	.559	.384	.943	93.2	160.6	47.3	111.8	2.9
48	Seager, Corey	SS	145	539	85	159	22	77	67	131	4	.295	.479	.375	.854	95.0	177.6	24.6	86.0	4.5
49	Gennett, Scooter	2B	140	456	78	134	26	95	30	114	3	.294	.526	.341	.868	90.3	155.1	30.1	109.9	3.5
50	Encarnacion, Edwin	DH/1B	157	554	96	143	38	107	104	133	2	.258	.504	.377	.881	99.1	147.6	39.2	110.4	2.1

Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi, Red Sox Outfielders

Mookie Betts was still a top fantasy outfielder and we expect to up his rankings for 2018.

The 26-50 rankings, as you'll notice, are FULL of guys who had out-of-nowhere and/or career years. Cody Bellinger with 39 HR, 97 RBI and 10 stolen bases (in 132 games) heads that list, although it'll be interesting to see if he learns to hit a right-hander's curveball after the Astros exposed that giant hole in his swing in the World Series (but we'll save that for our first-base rankings). Then there's Domingo Santana with his 30 HR, 85 RBI and 15 SB in Minnesota... and Marwin Gonzalez... and Chris Taylor... and Whit Merrifield... Then there are a bunch more guys who cracked the top-50 fantasy baseball rankings by having excellent comeback seasons: Andrew McCutchen, Marcell Ozuna, Ryan Zimmerman, Alex Bregman, Travis Shaw, Michael Conforto... and then there's even more guys in the 26-50 rankings who just had ridiculous, unpredictable seasons, like Elvis Andrus and freakin' Scooter Gennett (really?!). And at the top of this part of the list is our #1 outfielder from last season, Mookie Betts, who proved, despite the Saber Metrics nerds' insistence, that batting average does matter in fantasy baseball as it dropped him from top-10 rankings down to the 26-spot. Everything else was great: 101 runs, 24 HR, 102 RBI and 26 stolen bases. Still, though, maybe those nerds have a point: we'll take 4 out of 5 categories any day, but imagine those numbers had he kept his batting average around .300, let alone at .318 like it was last season! That would mean an extra 30+ hits - how many of those would have been homers and how many more runs would he have scored and driven in with 30 more hits?

Top 51-75 (of 300)

RANK	PLAYER	POS	G	AB	Runs	H	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	AVG	SLG	OB%	OPS	R 162	H 162	HR 162	RBI 162	SB 162
51	Schoop, Jonathan	2B	160	622	92	182	32	105	35	142	1	.293	.503	.338	.841	93.2	184.3	32.4	106.3	1.0
52	Beltre, Adrian	3B/DH	94	340	47	106	17	71	39	52	1	.312	.532	.383	.915	81.0	182.7	29.3	122.4	1.7
53	Benintendi, Andrew	OF	151	573	84	155	20	90	70	112	20	.271	.424	.352	.776	90.1	166.3	21.5	96.6	21.5
54	Lamb, Jake	3B	149	536	89	133	30	105	87	152	6	.248	.487	.357	.844	96.8	144.6	32.6	114.2	6.5
55	Gregorius, Didi	SS	136	534	73	153	25	87	25	70	3	.287	.478	.318	.796	87.0	182.3	29.8	103.6	3.6
56	Davis, Khris	OF/DH	153	566	91	140	43	110	73	195	4	.247	.528	.336	.864	96.4	148.2	45.5	116.5	4.2
57	Machado, Manny	3B	156	630	81	163	33	95	50	115	9	.259	.471	.310	.782	84.1	169.3	34.3	98.7	9.3
58	Turner, Trea	SS	98	412	75	117	11	45	30	80	46	.284	.451	.338	.789	124.0	193.4	18.2	74.4	76.0
59	Puig, Yasiel	OF	152	499	72	131	28	74	64	100	15	.263	.487	.346	.833	76.7	139.6	29.8	78.9	16.0
60	Hicks, Aaron	OF	88	301	54	80	15	52	51	67	10	.266	.475	.372	.847	99.4	147.3	27.6	95.7	18.4
61	Hoskins, Rhys	OF/1B	50	170	37	44	18	48	37	46	2	.259	.618	.396	1.014	119.9	142.6	58.3	155.5	6.5
62	Bour, Justin	1B	108	377	52	109	25	83	47	95	1	.289	.536	.366	.902	78.0	163.5	37.5	124.5	1.5
63	Posey, Buster	C/1B	140	494	62	158	12	67	61	66	6	.320	.462	.400	.861	71.7	182.8	13.9	77.5	6.9
64	Cain, Lorenzo	OF	155	584	86	175	15	49	54	100	26	.300	.440	.363	.803	89.9	182.9	15.7	51.2	27.2
65	Gurriel, Yulieski	1B	139	529	69	158	18	75	22	62	3	.299	.486	.332	.817	80.4	184.1	21.0	87.4	3.5
66	Gardner, Brett	OF	151	594	96	157	21	63	72	122	23	.264	.428	.350	.778	103.0	168.4	22.5	67.6	24.7
67	Santana, Carlos	1B	154	571	90	148	23	79	88	94	5	.259	.455	.363	.818	94.7	155.7	24.2	83.1	5.3
68	Choo, Shin-Soo	OF/DH	149	544	96	142	22	78	77	134	12	.261	.423	.357	.780	104.4	154.4	23.9	84.8	13.0
69	Brantley, Michael	OF	90	338	47	101	9	52	31	50	11	.299	.444	.357	.801	84.6	181.8	16.2	93.6	19.8
70	Fowler, Dexter	OF	118	420	68	111	18	64	63	101	7	.264	.488	.363	.851	93.4	152.4	24.7	87.9	9.6
71	Reynolds, Mark	1B	148	520	82	139	30	97	69	175	2	.267	.487	.352	.839	89.8	152.1	32.8	106.2	2.2
72	Smoak, Justin	1B	158	560	85	151	38	90	73	128	0	.270	.529	.355	.883	87.2	154.8	39.0	92.3	0.0
73	Braun, Ryan	OF	104	380	58	102	17	52	38	76	12	.268	.487	.336	.823	90.3	158.9	26.5	81.0	18.7
74	Haniger, Mitch	OF	96	369	58	104	16	47	31	93	5	.282	.491	.352	.843	97.9	175.5	27.0	79.3	8.4
75	Segura, Jean	SS	125	524	80	157	11	45	34	83	22	.300	.427	.349	.776	103.7	203.5	14.3	58.3	28.5

In the 51-75 rankings, there are a few more familiar faces, but the main "we told you so" in this part of the list is Jonathan Schoop. Before last season, we predicted that Schoop was primed for a breakout year. He's the right age and his statistical indicators - plus his extensive, big-league experience at such a young age - were all leading to him being primed for a huge fantasy season. He didn't disappoint with his 92 runs, 32 HR and 105 RBI. Couple that with the fact that he's a Second Baseman you were probably able to draft in the second tier group, and Jonathan Schoop may have just been your league's MVP.

On the other end of the breakout-year spectrum, WTF was up with Justin Smoak in 2017?! If anyone actually drafted him, it was purely an emergency, "Oh crap - I didn't draft any first basemen," type of draft pick. Smoak is (or was) a perennial do-nothing type of fantasy player. He was 30 years old, a career .223 hitter going into last season, and he maxed out at 20 HR with Seattle in 2013. Suddenly, at the age of 30, Smoak figured it all out. Don't expect it again this year, but do take a flier on him late in your draft just in case he is the greatest fantasy baseball late-bloomer in the history of the game.

The rest of the list is full of names you would expect to see, but there there are a few more in there who are a bit of a surprise: Buster Posey, for instance, may see his fantasy ranking move up once we see him in spring training. Also, he's one of three elite catchers who can actually significantly help your fantasy team, so expect him to jump to the top 50 in March... and don't forget about old man Adrian Beltre. If you prorate his stats out to a full season, he was on pace for an 80/30/120 season, so draft him late, too (well, late for him) - plus you know he'll DH as much as possible, so that should help hold off the injury bug a bit.

Then there's Didi Gregorius who had a huge season. Not totally unpredictable, but no one expected that much of an offensive output. He's not quite to "Derek Who?" status, yet, but damn - what a season... and Trea Turner performed extremely well while healthy enough to be in your fantasy lineup. Look for Turner to compete for the league lead in steals, but he'll also post some quality power numbers, too (HR, RBI)... And then there's Mitch Haniger. In 96 games, Haniger managed 16 HR and 47 RBI while hitting .282. He even scored 58 runs. Prorate out Mitch Haniger's stats to a full season and you're looking at about 90 runs, 30 HR and 80-90 RBI depending on the lineup around him and where he hits in that lineup. He finished the year hitting in the 2-spot in the lineup in Seattle, but if something happens to the older guys behind him, he could end up being a 3, 4 or 5 hitter which could mean a boost in RBI as well.

Top 76-100 (of 300)

RANK	PLAYER	POS	G	AB	Runs	H	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	AVG	SLG	OB%	OPS	R 162	H 162	HR 162	RBI 162	SB 162
76	Altherr, Aaron	OF	107	372	58	101	19	65	32	104	5	.272	.516	.340	.856	87.8	152.9	28.8	98.4	7.6
77	Cano, Robinson	2B	150	592	79	166	23	97	49	85	1	.280	.453	.338	.791	85.3	179.3	24.8	104.8	1.1
78	Pollock, A.J.	OF	112	425	73	113	14	49	35	71	20	.266	.471	.330	.801	105.6	163.4	20.3	70.9	28.9
79	Souza, Steven	OF	148	523	78	125	30	78	84	179	16	.239	.459	.351	.810	85.4	136.8	32.8	85.4	17.5
80	Peralta, David	OF	140	525	82	154	14	57	43	94	8	.293	.444	.352	.796	94.9	178.2	16.2	66.0	9.3
81	Castellanos, Nick	3B/OF	157	614	73	167	26	101	41	142	4	.272	.490	.320	.811	75.3	172.3	26.8	104.2	4.1
82	Inciarte, Ender	OF	157	662	93	201	11	57	49	94	22	.304	.409	.350	.759	96.0	207.4	11.4	58.8	22.7
83	Dickerson, Corey	OF/DH	150	588	84	166	27	62	35	152	4	.282	.490	.325	.815	90.7	179.3	29.2	67.0	4.3
84	Jones, Adam	OF	147	597	82	170	26	73	27	113	2	.285	.466	.322	.787	90.4	187.3	28.7	80.4	2.2
85	Contreras, Willson	C	117	377	50	104	21	74	45	98	5	.276	.499	.356	.855	69.2	144.0	29.1	102.5	6.9
86	Suarez, Eugenio	3B	156	534	87	139	26	82	84	147	4	.260	.461	.367	.828	90.3	144.3	27.0	85.2	4.2
87	Myers, Wil	1B	155	567	80	138	30	74	70	180	20	.243	.464	.328	.792	83.6	144.2	31.4	77.3	20.9
88	Castro, Starlin	2B	112	443	66	133	16	63	23	93	2	.300	.454	.338	.792	95.5	192.4	23.1	91.1	2.9
89	Bruce, Jay	OF	146	555	82	141	36	101	57	139	1	.254	.508	.324	.832	91.0	156.5	39.9	112.1	1.1
90	Moustakas, Mike	3B	148	555	75	151	38	85	34	94	0	.272	.521	.314	.835	82.1	165.3	41.6	93.0	0.0
91	Simmons, Andrelton	SS	158	589	77	164	14	69	47	67	19	.278	.421	.331	.752	78.9	168.2	14.4	70.7	19.5
92	LeMahieu, DJ	2B	155	609	95	189	8	64	59	90	6	.310	.409	.374	.783	99.3	197.5	8.4	66.9	6.3
93	Sano, Miguel	3B/DH	114	424	75	112	28	77	54	173	0	.264	.507	.352	.859	106.6	159.2	39.8	109.4	0.0
94	DeJong, Paul	SS/2B	108	417	55	119	25	65	21	124	1	.285	.532	.325	.857	82.5	178.5	37.5	97.5	1.5
95	Thames, Eric	1B/OF	138	469	83	116	31	63	75	163	4	.247	.518	.359	.877	97.4	136.2	36.4	74.0	4.7
96	Morrison, Logan	1B	149	512	75	126	38	85	81	149	2	.246	.516	.353	.868	81.5	137.0	41.3	92.4	2.2
97	Baez, Javier	2B/SS	145	469	75	128	23	75	30	144	10	.273	.480	.317	.796	83.8	143.0	25.7	83.8	11.2
98	Happ, Ian	OF/2B	115	364	62	92	24	68	39	129	8	.253	.514	.328	.842	87.3	129.6	33.8	95.8	11.3
99	Kiermaier, Kevin	OF	98	380	56	105	15	39	31	99	16	.276	.450	.338	.788	92.6	173.6	24.8	64.5	26.4
100	Kendrick, Howie	OF	90	304	39	95	9	41	22	68	12	.313	.470	.366	.837	70.2	171.0	16.2	73.8	21.6

Nick Castellanos, Detroit Tigers 3rd Baseman

No pressure, Nick... Nick Castellanos is being counted on to take over for JD Martinez and the aging Miguel Cabrera.

Okay, this is the group you want to be careful with. When you look at the fantasy baseball rankings from 76-100, above, you'll see a lot of names in there that have frustrated you, and there are just as many who helped save your ass in a couple of categories when you needed them the most. For example, a lot of us drafted Eric Thames late last season on a whim after four successful seasons in Japan. If, like us, you traded him away at his peak, knowing it wasn't sustainable, congratulations. For those of you who did it the other way around: regretted not drafting him, then traded for him at his peak, only to get totally burned by him late in the year, well, too bad, sucka.

Then, there are other guys who are household names who will get drafted way too early: Robinson Cano, Adam Jones, Mike Moustakas and Jay Bruce. All these guys are good (and Cano has the ability to be much better than the other three), but they're a predictable mediocre batting average, 25-30 HR, 80-100 RBI and no speed and too few runs to matter. Leave it to the ignorant fantasy baseball managers to draft these guys way too early.

On the other side of that coin, you can still get a great deal on AJ Pollock thanks to a lingering hamstring problem that caused him to miss just enough games last season to keep him under the fantasy radar... Nick Castellanos, Eugenio Suarez, Ian Happ, Willson Contreras, Miguel Sano and even Wil Myers will put up dependable numbers with a chance for improvement. If any one of these guys improves their patience at the plate and batting average, you can expect them to have bigger years this year and for the next few seasons. No guarantees, of course - we've said the same thing about Adam Jones and Jay Bruce for years, but no dice, and it's too late for those guys to learn to lay off bad pitches.

Top 101-125 (of 300)

RANK	PLAYER	POS	G	AB	Runs	H	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	AVG	SLG	OB%	OPS	R 162	H 162	HR 162	RBI 162	SB 162
101	Realmuto, J.T.	C	141	532	68	148	17	65	36	106	8	.278	.451	.332	.783	78.1	170.0	19.5	74.7	9.2
102	Alonso, Yonder	1B	142	451	72	120	28	67	68	118	2	.266	.501	.365	.866	82.1	136.9	31.9	76.4	2.3
103	Molina, Yadier	C	136	501	60	137	18	82	28	74	9	.273	.439	.312	.751	71.5	163.2	21.4	97.7	10.7
104	Gallo, Joey	3B/1B	145	449	85	94	41	80	75	196	7	.209	.537	.333	.869	95.0	105.0	45.8	89.4	7.8
105	Mancini, Trey	OF/1B	147	543	65	159	24	78	33	139	1	.293	.488	.338	.826	71.6	175.2	26.4	86.0	1.1
106	Albies, Ozzie	2B	57	217	34	62	6	28	21	36	8	.286	.456	.354	.810	96.6	176.2	17.1	79.6	22.7
107	Hernandez, Cesar	2B	128	511	85	150	9	34	61	104	15	.294	.421	.373	.793	107.6	189.8	11.4	43.0	19.0
108	Phillips, Brandon	2B/3B	144	572	81	163	13	60	21	73	11	.285	.416	.319	.735	91.1	183.4	14.6	67.5	12.4
109	Cespedes, Yoenis	OF	81	291	46	85	17	42	26	61	0	.292	.540	.352	.892	92.0	170.0	34.0	84.0	0.0
110	Gyorko, Jedd	3B	125	426	52	116	20	67	47	105	6	.272	.472	.341	.813	67.4	150.3	25.9	86.8	7.8
111	Duvall, Adam	OF	157	587	78	146	31	99	39	170	5	.249	.480	.301	.782	80.5	150.6	32.0	102.2	5.2
112	Beckham, Tim	SS	137	533	67	148	22	62	36	167	6	.278	.454	.328	.782	79.2	175.0	26.0	73.3	7.1
113	Suzuki, Kurt	C	81	276	38	78	19	50	17	39	0	.283	.536	.351	.887	76.0	156.0	38.0	100.0	0.0
114	Pirela, Jose	OF	83	312	43	90	10	40	27	71	4	.288	.490	.347	.837	83.9	175.7	19.5	78.1	7.8
115	Martinez, Jose	OF/1B	106	272	47	84	14	46	32	60	4	.309	.518	.379	.897	71.8	128.4	21.4	70.3	6.1
116	Harrison, Josh	2B/3B	128	486	66	132	16	47	28	90	12	.272	.432	.339	.771	83.5	167.1	20.3	59.5	15.2
117	Parra, Gerardo	OF	115	392	56	121	10	71	20	67	2	.309	.452	.341	.793	78.9	170.5	14.1	100.0	2.8
118	Devers, Rafael	3B	58	222	34	63	10	30	18	57	3	.284	.482	.338	.819	95.0	176.0	27.9	83.8	8.4
119	Taylor, Michael	OF	118	399	55	108	19	53	29	137	17	.271	.486	.320	.806	75.5	148.3	26.1	72.8	23.3
120	Eaton, Adam	OF	23	91	24	27	2	13	14	18	3	.297	.462	.393	.854	169.0	190.2	14.1	91.6	21.1
121	Bogaerts, Xander	SS	147	570	93	155	10	61	56	116	14	.272	.402	.342	.744	102.5	170.8	11.0	67.2	15.4
122	Cabrera, Melky	OF	156	620	78	177	17	85	36	74	1	.285	.423	.324	.746	81.0	183.8	17.7	88.3	1.0
123	Bell, Josh	1B	159	549	75	140	26	90	66	117	2	.255	.466	.334	.800	76.4	142.6	26.5	91.7	2.0
124	Carpenter, Matt	1B	145	497	91	120	23	69	109	125	2	.241	.451	.384	.835	101.7	134.1	25.7	77.1	2.2
125	Mauer, Joe	1B	141	525	69	160	7	71	66	83	2	.305	.417	.384	.801	79.3	183.8	8.0	81.6	2.3

"Hmmm... I think I'll have another breakout year." Sincerely, Matt Carpenter.

The group of players ranked above (101-125) is actually a pretty exciting group of players you can get for cheap in your draft this season. Check out where Xander Bogaerts is - tell us he didn't go super-early in your draft last season. Now, because of name recognition, Bogaerts may still get drafted early (too early, even) - and you know how Red Sox fans can be. But then there's Jose Martinez in St. Louis: he's slated to hit cleanup behind Matt Carpenter (also a steal in this list), Paul DeJong and Tommy Pham. Dude could hit .230 and still drive in 100 runs.

There are also a few guys in this list who could be a pain-in-the-ass for your opponents, stealing just enough bases to win that category by 1 every week. Guys like Josh Harrison, Adam Eaton, Cesar Henrandez and even everyone's favorite base-stealing catcher, JT Realmuto.

Other guys who could finally have breakout, live-up-to-their potential kind of years include Michael Taylor, Josh Bell, Tim Beckham, and Adam Duvall. Then Yoenis Cespedes will get drafted early on - probably too early, again...

And then there's the guys who are just fun to have on your roster: Joey Gallo and Jedd Gyorko. You really don't want to have to start them, but once in a while - in a pinch - you put them in on a gut feeling, and they carry your fantasy team with a ridiculous, hot, home run streak that just kills your opponent for that one week. After that, you better get them out of your lineup because they hit homers in bunches, then they go back to swinging like a blind windmill in a hurricane.

Top 125-150 (of 300)

RANK	PLAYER	POS	G	AB	Runs	H	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	AVG	SLG	OB%	OPS	R 162	H 162	HR 162	RBI 162	SB 162
126	Gomez, Carlos	OF	105	368	51	94	17	51	31	127	13	.255	.462	.340	.802	78.7	145.0	26.2	78.7	20.1
127	Joyce, Matt	OF	141	469	78	114	25	68	66	113	4	.243	.473	.335	.808	89.6	131.0	28.7	78.1	4.6
128	Jackson, Austin	OF	85	280	46	89	7	35	33	64	3	.318	.482	.387	.869	87.7	169.6	13.3	66.7	5.7
129	Olson, Matt	1B	59	189	33	49	24	45	22	60	0	.259	.651	.352	1.003	90.6	134.5	65.9	123.6	0.0
130	Span, Denard	OF	129	497	73	135	12	43	40	69	12	.272	.427	.329	.756	91.7	169.5	15.1	54.0	15.1
131	Herrera, Odubel	OF	138	526	67	148	14	56	31	126	8	.281	.452	.325	.778	78.7	173.7	16.4	65.7	9.4
132	Longoria, Evan	3B	156	613	71	160	20	86	46	109	6	.261	.424	.313	.737	73.7	166.2	20.8	89.3	6.2
133	Chisenhall, Lonnie	OF	82	236	34	68	12	53	25	55	2	.288	.521	.360	.881	67.2	134.3	23.7	104.7	4.0
134	Perez, Salvador	C	129	471	57	126	27	80	17	95	1	.268	.495	.297	.792	71.6	158.2	33.9	100.5	1.3
135	Seager, Kyle	3B	154	578	72	144	27	88	58	110	2	.249	.450	.323	.773	75.7	151.5	28.4	92.6	2.1
136	Pedroia, Dustin	2B	105	406	46	119	7	62	49	48	4	.293	.392	.369	.760	71.0	183.6	10.8	95.7	6.2
137	Williams, Nick	OF	83	313	45	90	12	55	20	97	1	.288	.473	.338	.811	87.8	175.7	23.4	107.3	2.0
138	Delmonico, Nick	OF	43	141	25	37	9	23	23	31	2	.262	.482	.373	.856	94.2	139.4	33.9	86.7	7.5
139	Cabrera, Asdrubal	SS/3B/2B	135	479	66	134	14	59	50	83	3	.280	.434	.351	.785	79.2	160.8	16.8	70.8	3.6
140	Belt, Brandon	1B	104	382	63	92	18	51	66	104	3	.241	.469	.355	.823	98.1	143.3	28.0	79.4	4.7
141	Lowrie, Jed	2B	153	567	86	157	14	69	73	100	0	.277	.448	.360	.808	91.1	166.2	14.8	73.1	0.0
142	Kinsler, Ian	2B	139	551	90	130	22	52	55	86	14	.236	.412	.313	.725	104.9	151.5	25.6	60.6	16.3
143	Escobar, Eduardo	3B/DH	129	457	62	116	21	73	33	98	5	.254	.449	.309	.758	77.9	145.7	26.4	91.7	6.3
144	Headley, Chase	3B/1B	147	512	77	140	12	61	60	132	9	.273	.406	.352	.758	84.9	154.3	13.2	67.2	9.9
145	Polanco, Jorge	SS	133	488	60	125	13	74	41	78	13	.256	.410	.313	.723	73.1	152.3	15.8	90.1	15.8
146	Panik, Joe	2B	138	511	60	147	10	53	46	54	4	.288	.421	.347	.768	70.4	172.6	11.7	62.2	4.7
147	Story, Trevor	SS	145	503	68	120	24	82	49	191	7	.239	.457	.308	.765	76.0	134.1	26.8	91.6	7.8
148	Gordon, Dee	2B	158	653	114	201	2	33	25	93	60	.308	.375	.341	.716	116.9	206.1	2.1	33.8	61.5
149	Marte, Starling	OF	77	309	48	85	7	31	20	63	21	.275	.379	.333	.712	101.0	178.8	14.7	65.2	44.2
150	Castillo, Welington	C	96	341	44	96	20	53	22	97	0	.282	.490	.323	.813	74.3	162.0	33.8	89.4	0.0

Matt Olson's prorated stats are absurd, but we still expect 35+ HR out of him in 2018.

Check out this group, man - a lot of fantasy studs (or potential fantasy studs) in this list, and, theoretically, you should be halfway through your fantasy draft by the time you get to these guys. Dee Gordon may not contribute to every category, but he will help you in 3 out of 5, and his move to Seattle isn't gonna hurt, either. And Trevor Story sure dropped (as we predicted he would) in his second season. This year, he'll be a little bit better, and he'll definitely be worthy of a mid-round pick, although being a power-hitting shortstop, you can probably count on him being gone a little too early in your draft or for a bit too much money in your auction draft. Carlos Gomez is still worth a flier every year - there's still a 30-30 guy in him dying to come out (or maybe a 20-30 guy... or a 15-30 guy). Still, Carlos Gomez is a great roster filler in the late rounds, especially given his upside when he's healthy.

And check out Matt Olson's pace! While everyone was watching the Rhys Hoskins show (and for good reason), Matt Olson was quietly dominating the American League. He only hit .259, so there's a concern that he may be inconsistent enough to have a sophomore slump, but then there's his pace for 162 games: 91 Runs, 66 HR and 124 RBI. Of course, we don't expect that kind of fantasy baseball ridiculousness out of Matt Olson (especially playing in Oakland), but damn he's fun to watch. And we do expect 35+ HR, 80 Runs and 85+ RBI at the very least.

Then there's Dustin Pedroia, Evan Longoria, Ian Kinsler, Starling Marte and Kyle Seager who could all drop to the middle-late rounds of your draft. I guess the moral of this story is not to panic early on in your fantasy draft if you don't get Trout, Betts, Blackmon or Stanton - you'll be just fine in the middle and late(r) rounds with a bunch of guys in the middle of the pack.

Top 151-175 (of 300)

RANK	PLAYER	POS	G	AB	Runs	H	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	AVG	SLG	OB%	OPS	R 162	H 162	HR 162	RBI 162	SB 162
151	Castillo, Welington	C	96	341	44	96	20	53	22	97	0	.282	.490	.323	.813	74.3	162.0	33.8	89.4	0.0
152	Lind, Adam	1B/OF	116	267	39	81	14	59	28	47	1	.303	.513	.362	.875	54.5	113.1	19.6	82.4	1.4
153	Wong, Kolten	2B	108	354	55	101	4	42	41	60	8	.285	.412	.376	.788	82.5	151.5	6.0	63.0	12.0
154	Owings, Chris	SS/2B/OF	97	362	41	97	12	51	17	87	12	.268	.442	.299	.741	68.5	162.0	20.0	85.2	20.0
155	Schebler, Scott	OF	141	473	63	110	30	67	39	125	5	.233	.484	.307	.791	72.4	126.4	34.5	77.0	5.7
156	Rasmus, Colby	OF	37	121	17	34	9	23	7	45	1	.281	.579	.318	.896	74.4	148.9	39.4	100.7	4.4
157	Frazier, Todd	3B	147	474	74	101	27	76	83	125	4	.213	.428	.344	.772	81.6	111.3	29.8	83.8	4.4
158	Mazara, Nomar	OF	148	554	64	140	20	101	55	127	2	.253	.422	.323	.745	70.1	153.2	21.9	110.6	2.2
159	Semien, Marcus	SS	85	342	53	85	10	40	38	85	12	.249	.398	.325	.722	101.0	162.0	19.1	76.2	22.9
160	Ellsbury, Jacoby	OF	112	356	65	94	7	39	41	63	22	.264	.402	.348	.750	94.0	136.0	10.1	56.4	31.8
161	Healy, Ryon	DH/1B/3B	149	576	66	156	25	78	23	142	0	.271	.451	.302	.754	71.8	169.6	27.2	84.8	0.0
162	Chirinos, Robinson	C	88	263	46	67	17	38	34	79	1	.255	.506	.360	.866	84.7	123.3	31.3	70.0	1.8
163	Mahtook, Mikie	OF	109	348	50	96	12	38	23	79	6	.276	.457	.330	.787	74.3	142.7	17.8	56.5	8.9
164	Frazier, Adam	OF/2B	121	406	55	112	6	53	36	57	9	.276	.399	.344	.743	73.6	150.0	8.0	71.0	12.0
165	Kemp, Matt	OF	115	438	47	121	19	64	27	99	0	.276	.463	.318	.781	66.2	170.5	26.8	90.2	0.0
166	Gonzalez, Carlos	OF	136	470	72	123	14	57	56	119	3	.262	.423	.339	.762	85.8	146.5	16.7	67.9	3.6
167	Walker, Neil	2B	111	385	59	102	14	49	55	77	0	.265	.439	.362	.801	86.1	148.9	20.4	71.5	0.0
168	Calhoun, Kole	OF	155	569	77	139	19	71	71	134	5	.244	.392	.333	.725	80.5	145.3	19.9	74.2	5.2
169	McCann, Brian	C	97	349	47	84	18	62	38	58	1	.241	.436	.323	.759	78.5	140.3	30.1	103.5	1.7
170	Arcia, Orlando	SS	153	506	56	140	15	53	36	100	14	.277	.407	.324	.731	59.3	148.2	15.9	56.1	14.8
171	Zunino, Mike	C	124	387	52	97	25	64	39	160	1	.251	.509	.331	.840	67.9	126.7	32.7	83.6	1.3
172	Gamel, Ben	OF	134	509	68	140	11	59	36	122	4	.275	.413	.322	.735	82.2	169.3	13.3	71.3	4.8
173	Granderson, Curtis	OF	147	449	74	95	26	64	71	123	6	.212	.452	.323	.775	81.6	104.7	28.7	70.5	6.6
174	Morales, Kendrys	DH/1B	150	557	67	139	28	85	43	132	0	.250	.445	.308	.753	72.4	150.1	30.2	91.8	0.0
175	Kepler, Max	OF	147	511	67	124	19	69	47	114	6	.243	.425	.312	.737	73.8	136.7	20.9	76.0	6.6

Jacoby Ellsbury used to be an elite outfielder. Now he's constantly injured, but he can still contribute while he's healthy.

We have to admit that this group kinda stunned us in spots. There are some players in this group who have some serious fantasy baseball upside in 2018 - and not even like the sleeper-pick type of upside. We're talking actual, legitimate, solid, reliable fantasy numbers. Keep in mind, too, that we not only looked at these players' actual stats, but we also took into consideration their pacing or prorated stats to a full season (where applicable). Now, these guys also aren't the types to carry your fantasy team all season, but they are guys who you can largely count on. Matt Kemp misses games every year, but while he's in your lineup, you know what you're gonna get. And Ryon Healy is very likely going to have a repeat season of last year. He strikes out way too much and he almost never walks, and that's a sign that he's going to continue to hit for power, but he's not going to score as many runs as he should, nor will he cash in as many RBI as he should. There may be a slight uptick in production being in Seattle, now, but he's also going to hit lower in the lineup than he did in Oakland.

Then there's Carlos Gonzalez who is, unfortunately, a perennial disappointment for fantasy owners. Still, though, the upside with CarGo is huge - we all know what he can do if he stays healthy. Also, with the Rockies being a legitimate contender these days, he may just be motivated enough to live up to expectations - or at least get closer to them.

There are also a couple of emergency catchers in this group who could pay off: Mike Zunino, another blind windmill type of free swinger, will hit you plenty of homers. Best of all with Zunino is that he tends to hit them in bunches - you just have to luck out a bit and make sure you stick him in your lineup when he just happens to be hot, or you have to just put him in your lineup, leave him there and forget about him. Nothing is worse than having a guy like Zunino in your lineup while he goes 0 for 4 with 4 strikeouts, then you bench him, and he suddenly goes 3 for 4 with 2 HR and 5 RBI. So draft him as a backup or as an emergency catcher if you can... and Wellington Castillo is very similar to Zunino. Expect Castillo to light up bad pitchers and to strike out every time against good pitchers. That's just the way it goes, so watch his pitching matchups closely every day if you end up with him after draft day.

Other guys we like from this part of the fantasy rankings: Scott Schebler, Kolten Wong, Kendrys Morales, Marcus Semien and Kole Calhoun. Again, none of them will carry your team on their own, but they all have a lot of upside and decent consistency all season long.

Top 176-200 (of 300)

RANK	PLAYER	POS	G	AB	Runs	H	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	AVG	SLG	OB%	OPS	R 162	H 162	HR 162	RBI 162	SB 162
176	Buxton, Byron	OF	140	462	69	117	16	51	38	150	29	.253	.413	.314	.728	79.8	135.4	18.5	59.0	33.6
177	Moreland, Mitch	1B	148	505	72	125	22	79	56	119	0	.248	.446	.327	.772	78.8	136.8	24.1	86.5	0.0
178	Solarte, Yangervis	2B/3B/SS	128	466	49	119	18	64	37	61	3	.255	.416	.314	.731	62.0	150.6	22.8	81.0	3.8
179	Alfaro, Jorge	C	29	107	12	34	5	14	3	33	0	.318	.514	.360	.874	67.0	189.9	27.9	78.2	0.0
180	Anderson, Tim	SS	146	587	72	151	17	56	13	162	15	.257	.402	.276	.679	79.9	167.5	18.9	62.1	16.6
181	Bradley, Jackie	OF	133	482	58	118	17	63	48	124	8	.245	.402	.323	.726	70.6	143.7	20.7	76.7	9.7
182	Sanchez, Carlos	2B/3B	141	484	63	129	12	59	35	111	8	.267	.413	.319	.732	72.4	148.2	13.8	67.8	9.2
183	Barnes, Austin	C/2B	102	218	35	63	8	38	39	43	4	.289	.486	.408	.895	55.6	100.1	12.7	60.4	6.4
184	Pillar, Kevin	OF	154	587	72	150	16	42	33	95	15	.256	.404	.300	.704	75.7	157.8	16.8	44.2	15.8
185	Flowers, Tyler	C	99	317	41	89	12	49	31	82	0	.281	.445	.378	.823	67.1	145.6	19.6	80.2	0.0
186	Flores, Wilmer	3B/1B	110	336	42	91	18	52	17	54	1	.271	.488	.307	.795	61.9	134.0	26.5	76.6	1.5
187	Gattis, Evan	C/DH	84	300	41	79	12	55	18	50	0	.263	.457	.311	.767	79.1	152.4	23.1	106.1	0.0
188	Grichuk, Randal	OF	122	412	53	98	22	59	26	133	6	.238	.473	.285	.758	70.4	130.1	29.2	78.3	8.0
189	Winker, Jesse	OF	47	121	21	36	7	15	15	24	1	.298	.529	.375	.904	72.4	124.1	24.1	51.7	3.4
190	Hernandez, Teoscar	OF	27	88	16	23	8	20	6	36	0	.261	.602	.305	.908	96.0	138.0	48.0	120.0	0.0
191	Desmond, Ian	OF/1B	95	339	47	93	7	40	24	87	15	.274	.375	.326	.701	80.1	158.6	11.9	68.2	25.6
192	Margot, Manuel	OF	126	487	53	128	13	39	35	106	17	.263	.409	.313	.721	68.1	164.6	16.7	50.1	21.9
193	Iannetta, Chris	C	89	272	38	69	17	43	37	87	0	.254	.511	.354	.865	69.2	125.6	30.9	78.3	0.0
194	Garcia, Leury	OF	87	300	41	81	9	33	13	69	8	.270	.423	.316	.739	76.3	150.8	16.8	61.4	14.9
195	Adams, Matt	1B	131	339	46	93	20	65	23	88	0	.274	.522	.319	.841	56.9	115.0	24.7	80.4	0.0
196	Heyward, Jason	OF	126	432	59	112	11	59	41	67	4	.259	.389	.326	.715	75.9	144.0	14.1	75.9	5.1
197	Pujols, Albert	DH/1B	149	593	53	143	23	101	37	93	3	.241	.386	.286	.672	57.6	155.5	25.0	109.8	3.3
198	Galvis, Freddy	SS	162	608	71	155	12	61	45	111	14	.255	.382	.309	.690	71.0	155.0	12.0	61.0	14.0
199	Markakis, Nick	OF	160	593	76	163	8	76	68	110	0	.275	.384	.354	.738	77.0	165.0	8.1	77.0	0.0
200	Marisnick, Jake	OF	106	230	50	56	16	35	20	90	9	.243	.496	.319	.815	76.4	85.6	24.5	53.5	13.8

"Remember the days when I was always the first pick in your fantasy baseball draft? Yeah... that was awesome." ~Albert Pujols

Okay, don't freak out too much over Byron Buxton just yet. He was awful in the first half last year, then he got hot - then he got hurt in July, then he tore up August (.324 with 8 HR, 22 runs, 22 RBI and 8 stolen bases). But then, he came back down to Earth a bit in September/October (.270, 2 HR, 17 R, 13 RBI and 5 SB) to close out the season. The end of his season was still pretty good in terms of fantasy output, but it was a down-trend. Buxton proved he's streaky, so we're just a little leery of him at the start of the 2018 sesaon. Still draft him - and, in all honesty, we'd be fine with you drafting him way earlier than this list suggests given his potential (especially in keeper leagues) - but don't be surprised if he absolutely ruins your team for a week or two (or more) while he re-learns how to hit.

And who the F is Teoscar Hernandez?! In short, he's the unproven replacement for Jose Bautista in the Blue Jays' lineup, except he may hit leadoff despite his power output last season. We left him in this list despite his minimal cross-section of fantasy stats data solely because the Blue Jays apparently believe he's the real deal.

Evan Gattis is in this list, too, and he's another guy who we're fine with being drafted earlier than this list recommends because he's a catcher... and Matt Adams could end up being a huge steal in your draft this season. He's been hurt and he's been nudged out of St. Louis and Atlanta. Now, Matt Adams is going to Washington DC. Ryan Zimmerman is in his way at first base, but Zimmerman gets hurt all the time. If Matt Adams gets a chance to play this year, he can definitely help your team. Check on him in spring training and watch for any trade rumors about him. Someone out there needs him - they just don't know it, yet.

Jackie Bradley, Jr., Tim Anderson, Randal Grichuk, Manuel Margot, Freddy Galvis, Kevin Pillar... oh, and lookie there - it's Albert Pujols! Remember him?! Wow!... and there's Ian Desmond and Jason Heyward (if you can ever get yourself to believe the hype on him again). A lot of good roster-fillers in this chunk of fantasy rankings. The best thing to get out of this list is a guy who helps with one or two stats: find a guy who hits for a high average and steals bases or hits homers and drives in runs. Don't expect too much out of these guys, but the quality of players in this list can make a significant difference in one or two stats, and that's very often enough to get you a close win in your fantasy leagues.

Top 201-225 (of 300)

RANK	PLAYER	POS	G	AB	Runs	H	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	AVG	SLG	OB%	OPS	R 162	H 162	HR 162	RBI 162	SB 162
201	Spangenberg, Cory	3B/OF	129	444	57	117	13	46	34	128	11	.264	.401	.322	.723	71.6	146.9	16.3	57.8	13.8
202	Ramirez, Hanley	DH/1B	133	496	58	120	23	62	51	116	1	.242	.427	.320	.747	70.6	146.2	28.0	75.5	1.2
203	Odor, Rougned	2B	162	607	79	124	30	75	32	162	15	.204	.397	.252	.649	79.0	124.0	30.0	75.0	15.0
204	Renfroe, Hunter	OF	122	445	51	103	26	58	27	140	3	.231	.467	.284	.751	67.7	136.8	34.5	77.0	4.0
205	Presley, Alex	OF	71	245	30	77	3	20	15	49	5	.314	.416	.354	.770	68.5	175.7	6.8	45.6	11.4
206	Schwarber, Kyle	OF	129	422	67	89	30	59	59	150	1	.211	.467	.315	.782	84.1	111.8	37.7	74.1	1.3
207	Holliday, Matt	DH/1B	105	373	50	86	19	64	46	114	1	.231	.432	.316	.748	77.1	132.7	29.3	98.7	1.5
208	Aoki, Nori	OF	109	336	48	93	5	35	29	44	10	.277	.393	.335	.728	71.3	138.2	7.4	52.0	14.9
209	DeShields, Delino	OF	120	376	75	101	6	22	44	109	29	.269	.367	.347	.714	101.3	136.4	8.1	29.7	39.2
210	Crawford, Brandon	SS	144	518	58	131	14	77	42	113	3	.253	.403	.305	.709	65.3	147.4	15.8	86.6	3.4
211	Perez, Hernan	OF/3B	135	428	47	112	14	51	20	78	13	.262	.418	.292	.710	56.4	134.4	16.8	61.2	15.6
212	Vazquez, Christian	C	99	324	43	94	5	32	17	64	7	.290	.404	.330	.735	70.4	153.8	8.2	52.4	11.5
213	Duda, Lucas	1B/DH	127	423	50	92	30	64	60	135	0	.217	.496	.322	.818	63.8	117.4	38.3	81.6	0.0
214	Cron, C.J.	1B	100	339	39	84	16	56	22	96	3	.248	.437	.305	.741	63.2	136.1	25.9	90.7	4.9
215	Valencia, Danny	1B	130	450	54	115	15	66	40	122	2	.256	.411	.314	.725	67.3	143.3	18.7	82.2	2.5
216	Pence, Hunter	OF	134	493	55	128	13	67	40	102	2	.260	.385	.315	.701	66.5	154.7	15.7	81.0	2.4
217	Bautista, Jose	OF	157	587	92	119	23	65	84	170	6	.203	.366	.308	.674	94.9	122.8	23.7	67.1	6.2
218	Pina, Manny	C	107	330	45	92	9	43	20	79	2	.279	.424	.327	.751	68.1	139.3	13.6	65.1	3.0
219	Grossman, Robbie	DH/OF	119	382	62	94	9	45	67	79	3	.246	.380	.361	.741	84.4	128.0	12.3	61.3	4.1
220	Bonifacio, Jorge	OF	113	384	55	98	17	40	35	118	1	.255	.432	.320	.752	78.8	140.5	24.4	57.3	1.4
221	Escobar, Yunel	3B	89	350	43	96	7	31	29	51	1	.274	.397	.333	.730	78.3	174.7	12.7	56.4	1.8
222	Travis, Devon	2B	50	185	22	48	5	24	7	38	4	.259	.438	.291	.729	71.3	155.5	16.2	77.8	13.0
223	Young, Eric	OF	47	110	24	29	4	16	5	31	12	.264	.418	.336	.754	82.7	100.0	13.8	55.1	41.4
224	Avila, Alex	C	112	311	41	82	14	49	62	120	0	.264	.447	.387	.834	59.3	118.6	20.3	70.9	0.0
225	Moncada, Yoan	2B	54	199	31	46	8	22	29	74	3	.231	.412	.338	.750	93.0	138.0	24.0	66.0	9.0

Texas Rangers Second Baseman, Rougned Odor

Rougned Odor could bounce back big-time in 2018, but be wary of his streakiness and propensity for striking out too much.

The 221-225 fantasy baseball rankings list above is a strange, yet telling, one. Check it out: only 2 of the guys in this list played a (relatively) full season: Jose Bautista (157 games) and Rougned Odor (162 games). Brandon Crawford was close (144 games), even though he missed some time with an injury. The rest of the guys in this part of the the rankings are the guys who either can't stay healthy or are guys who can never quite prove to the big-league managers that they're worthy of a full season in the bigs.

CJ Cron is a guy who we just can't see staying out of the Major Leagues this season. The Angels don't have any other real options at first base (other than Albert Pujols, so...) and the are going to be full of base-runners, so a guy like Cron - even with his near-one-strikeout-per-game average - is a good dude to put in that spot.

You know what... if you look at this list a little more closely, and speaking of guys who strike out a lot like CJ Cron... this part of the list is full of guys who are all-or-nothing power hitters. There are a few exceptions, but check out the strikeouts vs. the number of games played: 9 of them - in fact, check that - we're gonna say 10 of the 25 ranked hitters above have the same number of strikeouts as they have games played (sorry, we counted Corey Spangenberg, too - he was only one off). Even more ridiculous, 14 of these 25 hitters had more strikeouts than they had hits in 2017. Sure, we at the Fantasy Baseball Brass are ahead of the curve in the coming trend of managers caring about players striking out again, but you just watch: this is gonna become a thing in the big leagues very soon. Managers and GMs are going to get back to the idea of making contact - just put the ball in play like your Little League coaches used to tell you.

Take Rougned Odor as an example: Rougned Odor is a .247 career hitter, but last year, he hit .204 (124 hits in 607 at bats). Had he gotten 150 basehits, that would have gotten him to .247 no the season. Over his career, 17% of his hits are home runs. Had he hit just .247, theoretically, he would have ended up with 35 HR, 92 runs, 88 RBI and 17-18 stolen bases. Billy Beane's "Money Ball" theory of "just get on base" includes at least putting the ball in play. If you strike out, you aren't getting on base; if you aren't on base, you can't score.

Anyway, enough of the coaching clinic. Within this list, there are still a lot of good players, but ironically a lot of these guys are household names who will be drafted way too early. Guys like Devon Travis, Delino DeShields, Hunter Renfroe, Eric Young and Jorge Bonifacio could be late-round picks who have breakout years, or they could be quality stat-fillers if you need help in a specific category (stolen bases for DeShields and Young; Homers for Bonifacio and Renfroe).

Top 226-250 (of 300)

RANK	PLAYER	POS	G	AB	Runs	H	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	AVG	SLG	OB%	OPS	R 162	H 162	HR 162	RBI 162	SB 162
226	Smith, Seth	OF	111	330	50	85	13	32	36	79	2	.258	.433	.340	.774	73.0	124.1	19.0	46.7	2.9
227	Davis, Chris	1B	128	456	65	98	26	61	61	195	1	.215	.423	.309	.732	82.3	124.0	32.9	77.2	1.3
228	Trumbo, Mark	DH/OF	146	559	79	131	23	65	42	149	1	.234	.397	.289	.686	87.7	145.4	25.5	72.1	1.1
229	Broxton, Keon	OF	143	414	66	91	20	49	40	175	21	.220	.420	.299	.719	74.8	103.1	22.7	55.5	23.8
230	Drury, Brandon	2B	135	445	41	119	13	63	28	103	1	.267	.447	.317	.764	49.2	142.8	15.6	75.6	1.2
231	Maybin, Cameron	OF	114	395	63	90	10	35	51	94	33	.228	.365	.318	.683	89.5	127.9	14.2	49.7	46.9
232	Jay, Jon	OF	140	376	65	111	2	34	37	80	6	.295	.375	.373	.748	75.2	128.4	2.3	39.3	6.9
233	Grandal, Yasmani	C	129	438	50	108	22	58	40	130	0	.247	.459	.308	.767	62.8	135.6	27.6	72.8	0.0
234	Kipnis, Jason	2B	90	336	43	78	12	35	28	71	6	.232	.414	.291	.705	77.4	140.4	21.6	63.0	10.8
235	Toles, Andrew	OF	31	96	17	26	5	15	5	16	0	.271	.458	.314	.772	88.8	135.9	26.1	78.4	0.0
236	Hamilton, Billy	OF	139	582	85	144	4	38	44	133	59	.247	.335	.299	.634	99.1	167.8	4.7	44.3	68.8
237	Franco, Maikel	3B	154	575	66	132	24	76	41	95	0	.230	.409	.281	.690	69.4	138.9	25.2	79.9	0.0
238	Pinder, Chad	OF/SS	87	282	36	67	15	42	18	92	2	.238	.457	.292	.750	67.0	124.8	27.9	78.2	3.7
239	Joseph, Tommy	1B	142	495	51	119	22	69	33	129	1	.240	.432	.289	.721	58.2	135.8	25.1	78.7	1.1
240	Chapman, Matt	3B	84	290	39	68	14	40	32	92	0	.234	.472	.313	.785	75.2	131.1	27.0	77.1	0.0
241	Dyson, Jarrod	OF	111	346	56	87	5	30	28	55	28	.251	.350	.324	.674	81.7	127.0	7.3	43.8	40.9
242	Cabrera, Miguel	1B	130	469	50	117	16	60	54	110	0	.249	.399	.329	.728	62.3	145.8	19.9	74.8	0.0
243	Werth, Jayson	OF	70	252	35	57	10	29	35	69	4	.226	.393	.322	.715	81.0	131.9	23.1	67.1	9.3
244	Polanco, Gregory	OF	108	379	39	95	11	35	27	60	8	.251	.391	.305	.695	58.5	142.5	16.5	52.5	12.0
245	Iglesias, Jose	SS	130	463	56	118	6	54	21	65	7	.255	.369	.288	.657	69.8	147.0	7.5	67.3	8.7
246	Candelario, Jeimer	3B	38	127	18	36	3	16	13	30	0	.283	.425	.359	.784	76.7	153.5	12.8	68.2	0.0
247	Mercer, Jordy	SS	145	502	52	128	14	58	51	88	0	.255	.406	.326	.733	58.1	143.0	15.6	64.8	0.0
248	Napoli, Mike	1B/DH	124	425	60	82	29	66	49	163	1	.193	.428	.285	.713	78.4	107.1	37.9	86.2	1.3
249	Almora, Albert	OF	132	299	39	89	8	46	19	53	1	.298	.445	.338	.782	47.9	109.2	9.8	56.5	1.2
250	Hicks, John	1B	60	173	25	46	6	22	13	51	2	.266	.439	.326	.766	67.5	124.2	16.2	59.4	5.4

Cameron Maybin takes a picture with pretty girl fans

"Omygod, omygod, omygod! Take a picture with us, Cameron! You know, before you get traded again!"

Man, even when you get this deep into the offensive fantasy rankings, there are still quite a few very draft-worthy names from 226-250. First, the easy ones: Miguel Cabrera will get drafted, and he'll get drafted way too early (and it pains us to say that, BTW). Mike Napoli will find a home and he'll get drafted by someone late, but still probably a round or two too early... Billy Hamilton will get drafted way earlier than this list suggests, and we're okay with it for the most part. After all, we're the ones who started the whole trend of drafting pitching and speed and winning 6-4 every week, and Billy Hamilton is definitely built for that model of success.

On this list are also a few guys who are suddenly looking for room to play: Yasmani Grandal is now the second-string catcher for the Dodgers, so he may get traded to a great fit, or - if it were up to us - Grandal would go back to being the starter in LA, but that's another topic altogether... and Jason Kipnis is figuring out how to be an outfielder in Cleveland, although he'll probably hold on to his 2nd base spot this season... And Cameron Maybin found a great home with the Angels last season, then he found an even better home (for him) in Houston just in time to win a championship - and now he's out of a job and looking for another new home to prove that last year was no fluke.

Last season, the Dodgers' Andrew Toles started off looking like the real deal, and to be honest, we weren't buying his act at the end of 2016. Just as he was proving us totally wrong in 2017, Andrew Toles ripped up his ACL in May and ended up being out for the year. He'll be ready for Spring Training, but the Dodgers' outfield is full. And the Dodgers just traded to bring Matt Kemp back to LA, too. We're not sure where Toles is going to fit in the Dodgers' outfield, but keep an eye on Andrew Toles (and subsequently, Joc Pederson, too) in the spring and draft him accordingly. Prorated out to a full season (although the data sample is largely insignificant), Toles was on pace for 89 runs, 26 home runs and 78 RBI. Again, those projections are sketchy in the the real-world where Chris Taylor showed up as the best player on the roster, but the potential for Toles to replace Joc Pederson is real.

Other notables on this list: Jarrod Dyson got his chance at a full-time gig as a leadoff guy in Seattle last season. This season, he's looking for another shot somewhere as the Mariners have brought in Dee Gordon to play center field, no less... Mark Trumbo followed up his career-year with a very below-average, disappointing season for those who were dopey enough to draft him expecting the same... and then there's the perennial roster-filler that is Jayson Werth: always good enough to get drafted, but never good enough to crack your fantasy team's starting lineup. Now he's a free agent at the age of 38 (39 in May), so go ahead and fill your roster with him, then be prepared to find a waiver-wire stud to replace him when he inevitably lands on the disabled list.

Top 251-275 (of 300)

RANK	PLAYER	POS	G	AB	Runs	H	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	AVG	SLG	OB%	OPS	R 162	H 162	HR 162	RBI 162	SB 162
251	Rivera, T.J.	3B/1B	73	214	27	62	5	27	9	32	1	.290	.430	.330	.760	59.9	137.6	11.1	59.9	2.2
252	Aguilar, Jesus	1B	133	279	40	74	16	52	25	94	0	.265	.505	.331	.837	48.7	90.1	19.5	63.3	0.0
253	McCann, James	C	106	352	39	89	13	49	26	89	1	.253	.415	.318	.733	59.6	136.0	19.9	74.9	1.5
254	Phillips, Brett	OF	37	87	9	24	4	12	9	34	5	.276	.448	.351	.799	39.4	105.1	17.5	52.5	21.9
255	Pearce, Steve	OF	92	313	38	79	13	37	27	68	0	.252	.438	.319	.757	66.9	139.1	22.9	65.2	0.0
256	Dietrich, Derek	3B	135	406	56	101	13	53	36	98	0	.249	.424	.334	.758	67.2	121.2	15.6	63.6	0.0
257	Vargas, Kennys	1B/DH	78	241	33	61	11	41	20	77	0	.253	.444	.314	.758	68.5	126.7	22.8	85.2	0.0
258	Martin, Russell	C	91	307	49	68	13	35	50	83	1	.221	.388	.343	.731	87.2	121.1	23.1	62.3	1.8
259	d'Arnaud, Travis	C	112	348	39	85	16	57	23	59	0	.244	.443	.293	.735	56.4	122.9	23.1	82.4	0.0
260	Barnhart, Tucker	C	121	370	26	100	7	44	42	68	4	.270	.403	.347	.750	34.8	133.9	9.4	58.9	5.4
261	Tomas, Yasmany	OF	47	166	19	40	8	32	13	50	0	.241	.464	.294	.758	65.5	137.9	27.6	110.3	0.0
262	Russell, Addison	SS	110	352	52	84	12	43	29	91	2	.239	.418	.304	.722	76.6	123.7	17.7	63.3	2.9
263	Carrera, Ezequiel	OF	131	287	38	81	8	20	30	75	10	.282	.408	.355	.763	47.0	100.2	9.9	24.7	12.4
264	Zobrist, Ben	2B/OF	128	435	58	101	12	50	54	71	2	.232	.375	.318	.693	73.4	127.8	15.2	63.3	2.5
265	Ahmed, Nick	SS	53	167	24	42	6	21	10	39	3	.251	.419	.298	.717	73.4	128.4	18.3	64.2	9.2
266	Ramos, Wilson	C	64	208	19	54	11	35	10	36	0	.260	.447	.290	.737	48.1	136.7	27.8	88.6	0.0
267	Lucroy, Jonathan	C	123	423	45	112	6	40	46	51	1	.265	.371	.345	.716	59.3	147.5	7.9	52.7	1.3
268	Villar, Jonathan	2B	122	403	49	97	11	40	30	132	23	.241	.372	.293	.665	65.1	128.8	14.6	53.1	30.5
269	Zimmer, Bradley	OF	101	299	41	72	8	39	26	99	18	.241	.385	.307	.692	65.8	115.5	12.8	62.6	28.9
270	Rojas, Miguel	SS	90	272	37	79	1	26	27	32	2	.290	.375	.361	.736	66.6	142.2	1.8	46.8	3.6
271	Davidson, Matt	DH/3B	118	414	43	91	26	68	19	165	0	.220	.452	.260	.711	59.0	124.9	35.7	93.4	0.0
272	Pederson, Joc	OF	102	273	44	58	11	35	39	68	4	.212	.407	.331	.738	69.9	92.1	17.5	55.6	6.4
273	Nimmo, Brandon	OF	69	177	26	46	5	21	33	60	2	.260	.418	.379	.797	61.0	108.0	11.7	49.3	4.7
274	Marte, Ketel	SS	73	223	30	58	5	18	29	37	3	.260	.395	.345	.740	66.6	128.7	11.1	39.9	6.7
275	Camargo, Johan	3B/SS	82	241	30	72	4	27	12	51	0	.299	.452	.331	.783	59.3	142.2	7.9	53.3	0.0

James McCann (the other McCann who plays catcher) had a good fantasy season in 2017 and we expect he'll do it again, if not more.

Okay, cue up Simple Mind's "Don't You Forget About Me" for this portion of the rankings list. We're getting close to the end of the top 300 fantasy hitters for 2018, and the 251-275 list is better than we would have imagined when starting our research. This part of the rankings is full of guys you may have forgotten all about or guys you may just forget to draft until someone else in your draft proudly exclaims his name as a sleeper pick, and everyone else shouts, "Ooooohhhhh! Dammit, that was my next pick!"

Don't forget about: Addison Russell. Russell's a shortstop playing in a top-to-bottom, potent offense with the Cubs. He only hit 12 HR last year, but he's capable of 20+ HR and he'll likely accomplish that feat in 2018 if he stays healthy.

Don't forget about: Bradley Zimmer. Zimmer is an up-and-coming beast in center field with the Cleveland Indians. There's no way he doesn't play full time in 2018, and there's no way he doesn't help your team with speed, runs scored and a touch of power.

Don't forget about: Ben Zobrist. Nothing flashy, nothing eye-catching, just on base all the time and always putting something extra in the box score to help your team. Even though he only hit .232 last season, he still produced while he was healthy.

Don't forget about: Travis d'Arnaud. When you're scrambling for a catcher - you know, because you forgot to draft one - take Travis d'Arnaud. When he's healthy, he produces. He hits for power, and he's always a tough out.

Also don't forget about: Kennys Vargas, Joc Pederson, Jonathan Villar, Yasmany Tomas and James McCann. Vargas is a year overdue for his breakout season... if Pederson performs well in spring training, he'll be worth drafting, especially after his excellent showing in the World Series... Jonathan Villar was a huge disappointment last season compared to expectations, but we expect he'll bounce back in both power and speed output... Yasmany Tomas was having a pretty good season until he went down with an injury... and James McCann's stats prorated out for 60 runs, 20 HR and 75 RBI. At the catcher position, that's freaking fantastic.

Top 276-300 (of 300)

RANK	PLAYER	POS	G	AB	Runs	H	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	AVG	SLG	OB%	OPS	R 162	H 162	HR 162	RBI 162	SB 162
276	Descalso, Daniel	2B/OF	129	341	47	80	10	51	47	87	4	.235	.399	.332	.731	59.0	100.5	12.6	64.0	5.0
277	Adams, Lane	OF	85	109	19	30	5	20	10	37	10	.275	.468	.339	.807	36.2	57.2	9.5	38.1	19.1
278	Freese, David	3B	130	426	44	112	10	52	58	116	0	.263	.371	.368	.739	54.8	139.6	12.5	64.8	0.0
279	Nava, Daniel	OF	79	182	21	55	4	21	26	37	1	.302	.423	.394	.817	43.1	112.8	8.2	43.1	2.1
280	Hazelbaker, Jeremy	OF	40	51	10	18	2	10	9	19	1	.353	.588	.450	1.038	40.5	72.9	8.1	40.5	4.1
281	Sogard, Eric	2B/SS	94	249	37	68	3	18	45	37	3	.273	.378	.393	.770	63.8	117.2	5.2	31.0	5.2
282	Martinez, Victor	DH	107	392	38	100	10	47	36	63	0	.255	.372	.324	.697	57.5	151.4	15.1	71.2	0.0
283	Hechavarria, Adeiny	SS	97	330	37	86	8	30	13	67	4	.261	.406	.289	.695	61.8	143.6	13.4	50.1	6.7
284	Tapia, Raimel	OF	70	160	27	46	2	16	8	36	5	.288	.425	.329	.754	62.5	106.5	4.6	37.0	11.6
285	Adrianza, Ehire	SS	70	162	30	43	2	24	16	25	8	.265	.383	.324	.707	69.4	99.5	4.6	55.5	18.5
286	Peraza, Jose	2B/SS	143	487	50	126	5	37	20	70	23	.259	.324	.297	.622	56.6	142.7	5.7	41.9	26.1
287	Diaz, Aledmys	SS	79	286	31	74	7	20	13	42	4	.259	.392	.290	.682	63.6	151.7	14.4	41.0	8.2
288	La Stella, Tommy	2B	73	125	18	36	5	22	20	18	0	.288	.472	.389	.861	39.9	79.9	11.1	48.8	0.0
289	Valbuena, Luis	3B/1B	117	347	42	69	22	65	48	106	0	.199	.432	.294	.727	58.2	95.5	30.5	90.0	0.0
290	Gomes, Yan	C	105	341	43	79	14	56	31	99	0	.232	.399	.309	.708	66.3	121.9	21.6	86.4	0.0
291	Escobar, Alcides	SS	162	599	71	150	6	54	15	102	4	.250	.357	.272	.629	71.0	150.0	6.0	54.0	4.0
292	Piscotty, Stephen	OF	107	341	40	80	9	39	52	87	3	.235	.367	.342	.708	60.6	121.1	13.6	59.0	4.5
293	Castro, Jason	C	110	356	49	86	10	47	45	108	0	.242	.388	.333	.720	72.2	126.7	14.7	69.2	0.0
294	Sucre, Jesus	C	62	176	20	45	7	29	7	35	2	.256	.409	.289	.699	52.3	117.6	18.3	75.8	5.2
295	Difo, Wilmer	SS/2B	124	332	47	90	5	21	24	74	10	.271	.370	.319	.690	61.4	117.6	6.5	27.4	13.1
296	Utley, Chase	2B	127	309	43	73	8	34	32	57	6	.236	.405	.324	.728	54.9	93.1	10.2	43.4	7.7
297	Moss, Brandon	DH/1B/OF	118	362	41	75	22	50	37	128	2	.207	.428	.279	.707	56.3	103.0	30.2	68.6	2.7
298	Beltran, Carlos	DH/OF	129	467	60	108	14	51	33	102	0	.231	.383	.283	.666	75.3	135.6	17.6	64.0	0.0
299	Torreyes, Ronald	2B/3B/SS	108	315	35	92	3	36	11	43	2	.292	.375	.314	.689	52.5	138.0	4.5	54.0	3.0
300	Smith, Mallex	OF	81	256	33	69	2	12	23	62	16	.270	.355	.329	.684	66.0	138.0	4.0	24.0	32.0