It is hard to believe, but we have rounded the three-quarter turn on the 2023 MLB season. All teams have 40 or fewer games remaining, and contenders are beginning to separate themselves from pretenders. Injuries and shifting bullpen roles remain issues for fantasy managers to navigate. Not to mention the normal ebbs and flows that occur throughout. Just look at players like Julio Rodriguez and Bobby Witt. Both players are first-round values on the season after struggling for most of the season’s first half. These next few weeks will be crucial to the fate of your fantasy teams, so make sure you are maximizing every roster spot. That is where my rest of season fantasy baseball rankings (hopefully) come in.
Most leagues no longer allow trades, so most managers have to scour the waiver wire or acquire free agents through FAAB at this point in the year. Pitching always seems to be at a premium, but never more so than now. Here are a few hurlers who have seen their stock change compared to where I had them in my last ROS update. Let me know if you agree or not in the comments below. My latest full set of rankings are at the bottom of this page.
More great fantasy baseball advice and analysis: Waiver Wire & FAAB Recommendations | Daily MLB Injury Report | MLB DFS Picks | Line-up Analysis | Dynasty Rankings and Strategy | MLB Bullpen Updates | MLB Player Props | Prospect Rankings & Analysis | Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers
Three Up
Cole Ragans, SP, Kansas City Royals
Ah yes, the Kansas City Royals, those bastions of quality pitching. Recent history aside, they may have found something in the former first-round pick. In five starts since coming over from Texas last month, Ragans has registered two wins and three quality starts. And in all three, he struck out at least eight hitters. The WHIP is not great at 1.36 in those five starts. But if your leagues are anything like mine, pickings can get slim mighty fast. If the current rotation holds, Ragans would face Oakland, Pittsburgh, and the Chicago White Sox in his next three starts. Schedules do not get much better than that. Ragans should be a popular streamer over the next few weeks.
Eury Perez, Miami Marlins
Unlike Ragans, Perez has been featured in my ROS rankings in the past. But Miami sent the young star down to the Minors to manage his workload. Perez returned to the bigs on August 7 but struggled in starts versus the Reds and Yankees. Perez allowed a total of eight runs in just 8.2 innings pitched in those starts. However, things clicked for the 20-year-old in his most recent outing. Perez struck out 10 while allowing just two of 20 batters faced to reach while blanking the Dodgers over six innings. Miami ended up losing the game, but you can see why everyone is so high on the young phenom. I believe Perez will continue to be up and down, but he should be started in good matchups. Perez should face the Washington Nationals in each of his next two trips to the mound.
Brandon Pfaadt, Arizona Diamondbacks
Brandon Pfaadt was a popular pick late in drafts this spring. The first half of the season was not kind to the young right-hander. Pfaadt finished June with an ERA over 9.00, and the Diamondbacks sent him back to the Minor Leagues. They recalled him last month, and the results have been much better. There is still some inconsistency, but you can see signs of excellence. In two of his past five starts, Pfaadt has surrendered two or fewer hits in seven innings of work. What is impressive to me about those outings is that they occurred the second time he was facing each opponent. That suggests the maturation process has begun in earnest for Pfaadt. I still have him outside my top 300 overall in this week’s ROS rankings, but I may be moving him up in the coming weeks.
Three Down
Alek Manoah, Toronto Blue Jays
What a season it has been for Alek Manoah and his fantasy managers. And I do not mean that in a good way. A glimmer of hope was restored when Toronto called Manoah back up to the Majors in July. But alas, that hope was short-lived. Manoah recorded just one quality start over his last five games and dealt with extreme wildness. He walked 17 batters over his last 23.1 innings and broke Taylor Ward’s face with a fastball. The Blue Jays sent Manoah back to Triple-A last week. Even if he makes it back up again, I do not envision Manoah becoming a fantasy asset this season. Fantasy managers can safely drop him in Redraft leagues.
Daniel Bard, Colorado Rockies
Perhaps I was a bit too optimistic to begin with regarding Daniel Bard. Right around the All-Star break, Bard had a win, a save, and a hold over six appearances. Then he spectacularly blew a save on July 26. His next two appearances resulted in holds. Not as good as saves, of course, but a potentially positive step. But Bard failed miserably to keep a game close on August 2, and Colorado has kept him in the doghouse ever since. His last six outings have all come in Rockies losses. And he has not proven he can find the plate even in lower-pressure situations. Bard has seven walks over his last 2.2 innings. I probably should just remove him from my ROS rankings altogether at this juncture.
Drew Smyly, Chicago Cubs
Hopefully, you were not relying on Drew Smyly to get you over the hump in your fantasy leagues. If you were, chances are high that you incurred some ratio damage along the way. Smyly’s last quality start came on June 8. Since then, the veteran gave up 40 earned runs in 46 frames spanning 10 appearances. The Cubs removed Smyly from their rotation for good just after my last rankings piece was published. As luck would have it, Smyly recorded a win out of Chicago’s bullpen on Wednesday, The win was his second in the last 60 days. Smyly did not have much fantasy value as a starter but certainly has zero appeal out of the pen.
Rest of Season Fantasy Baseball Rankings
RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | POS |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | ATL | OF |
2 | Shohei Ohtani | LAA | SP/DH |
3 | Mookie Betts | LAD | 2B/SS/ OF |
4 | Freddie Freeman | LAD | 1B |
5 | Kyle Tucker | HOU | OF |
6 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | SD | SS/OF |
7 | Spencer Strider | ATL | SP |
8 | Aaron Judge | NYY | OF |
9 | Matt Olson | ATL | 1B |
10 | Julio Rodriguez | SEA | OF |
11 | Jose Ramirez | CLE | 3B |
12 | Austin Riley | ATL | 3B |
13 | Bobby Witt Jr. | KC | SS/3B |
14 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | TOR | 1B |
15 | Juan Soto | SD | OF |
16 | Rafael Devers | BOS | 3B |
17 | Corey Seager | TEX | SS |
18 | Kevin Gausman | TOR | SP |
19 | Yordan Alvarez | HOU | OF |
20 | Pete Alonso | NYM | 1B |
21 | Gerrit Cole | NYY | SP |
22 | Luis Robert Jr. | CHW | OF |
23 | Aaron Nola | PHI | SP |
24 | Manny Machado | SD | 3B |
25 | Felix Bautista | BAL | RP |
26 | Paul Goldschmidt | STL | 1B |
27 | Corbin Burnes | MIL | SP |
28 | Zack Wheeler | PHI | SP |
29 | Corbin Carroll | ARI | OF |
30 | Framber Valdez | HOU | SP |
31 | Luis Castillo | SEA | SP |
32 | Michael Harris II | ATL | OF |
33 | Bo Bichette | TOR | SS |
34 | Josh Hader | SD | RP |
35 | Bryce Harper | PHI | 1B |
36 | Trea Turner | PHI | SS |
37 | Francisco Lindor | NYM | SS |
38 | Max Scherzer | TEX | SP |
39 | Randy Arozarena | TB | OF |
40 | Zac Gallen | ARI | SP |
41 | Marcus Semien | TEX | 2B |
42 | Devin Williams | MIL | RP |
43 | Max Fried | ATL | SP |
44 | Emmanuel Clase | CLE | RP |
45 | Justin Verlander | HOU | SP |
46 | Cedric Mullins | BAL | OF |
47 | Yu Darvish | SD | SP |
48 | Pablo Lopez | MIN | SP |
49 | Bryan Reynolds | PIT | OF |
50 | Christian Yelich | MIL | OF |
51 | Adolis Garcia | TEX | OF |
52 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | SP |
53 | Sandy Alcantara | MIA | SP |
54 | George Kirby | SEA | SP |
55 | Nolan Arenado | STL | 3B |
56 | Christian Walker | ARI | 1B |
57 | Jose Altuve | HOU | 2B |
58 | Logan Webb | SF | SP |
59 | Blake Snell | SD | SP |
60 | Nico Hoerner | CHC | 2B/SS |
61 | Julio Urias | LAD | SP |
62 | Kyle Schwarber | PHI | OF |
63 | Tyler Glasnow | TB | SP |
64 | Brandon Woodruff | MIL | SP |
65 | Raisel Iglesias | ATL | RP |
66 | Logan Gilbert | SEA | SP |
67 | Cody Bellinger | CHC | 1B/OF |
68 | Teoscar Hernandez | SEA | OF |
69 | Alex Bregman | HOU | 3B |
70 | George Springer | TOR | OF |
71 | Alexis Diaz | CIN | RP |
72 | Gleyber Torres | NYY | 2B |
73 | Dansby Swanson | CHC | SS |
74 | Jazz Chisholm Jr. | MIA | 2B/OF |
75 | Matt Chapman | TOR | 3B |
76 | Xander Bogaerts | SD | SS |
77 | Andres Gimenez | CLE | 2B |
78 | Will Smith | LAD | C |
79 | Jordan Romano | TOR | RP |
80 | Lance Lynn | LAD | SP |
81 | Gunnar Henderson | BAL | SS/3B |
82 | Dylan Cease | CHW | SP |
83 | Ryan Pressly | HOU | RP |
84 | Freddy Peralta | MIL | SP |
85 | Nick Castellanos | PHI | OF |
86 | Ozzie Albies | ATL | 2B |
87 | Anthony Santander | BAL | 1B/OF |
88 | Max Muncy | LAD | 2B/3B |
89 | Zach Eflin | TB | SP |
90 | J.D. Martinez | LAD | DH |
91 | Nathaniel Lowe | TEX | 1B |
92 | David Bednar | PIT | RP |
93 | Ketel Marte | ARI | 2B |
94 | Cristian Javier | HOU | SP |
95 | Masataka Yoshida | BOS | OF |
96 | Seiya Suzuki | CHC | OF |
97 | J.T. Realmuto | PHI | C |
98 | Jhoan Duran | MIN | RP |
99 | Charlie Morton | ATL | SP |
100 | Camilo Doval | SF | RP |
101 | Jesus Luzardo | MIA | SP |
102 | Elly De La Cruz | CIN | SS/3B |
103 | Lucas Giolito | LAA | SP |
104 | Eloy Jimenez | CHW | OF |
105 | Kodai Senga | NYM | SP |
106 | Chris Bassitt | TOR | SP |
107 | Ian Happ | CHC | OF |
108 | Jose Berrios | TOR | SP |
109 | Kenley Jansen | BOS | RP |
110 | Andrew Vaughn | CHW | 1B/OF |
111 | Tommy Edman | STL | 2B/SS/ OF |
112 | Jordan Montgomery | TEX | SP |
113 | Hunter Brown | HOU | SP |
114 | Sonny Gray | MIN | SP |
115 | Carlos Correa | MIN | SS |
116 | Andres Munoz | SEA | RP |
117 | Ke’Bryan Hayes | PIT | 3B |
118 | Jeremy Pena | HOU | SS |
119 | Ezequiel Tovar | COL | SS |
120 | Joe Ryan | MIN | SP |
121 | Willy Adames | MIL | SS |
122 | Ha-Seong Kim | SD | 2B/SS/ 3B |
123 | Merrill Kelly | ARI | SP |
124 | Daulton Varsho | TOR | C/OF |
125 | Paul Sewald | ARI | RP |
126 | Carlos Rodon | NYY | SP |
127 | Salvador Perez | KC | C |
128 | Brandon Nimmo | NYM | OF |
129 | Eduardo Rodriguez | DET | SP |
130 | Chris Sale | BOS | SP |
131 | Yandy Diaz | TB | 1B/3B |
132 | Jorge Soler | MIA | OF |
133 | Ryan Mountcastle | BAL | 1B |
134 | Ryan McMahon | COL | 2B/3B |
135 | Whit Merrifield | TOR | 2B/OF |
136 | Riley Greene | DET | OF |
137 | Justin Steele | CHC | SP |
138 | Adley Rutschman | BAL | C |
139 | Pete Fairbanks | TB | RP |
140 | Giancarlo Stanton | NYY | OF |
141 | Trevor Story | BOS | 2B |
142 | Nathan Eovaldi | TEX | SP |
143 | Sean Murphy | ATL | C |
144 | Luis Arraez | MIA | 1B/2B |
145 | Evan Phillips | LAD | RP |
146 | Clay Holmes | NYY | RP |
147 | Tarik Skubal | DET | SP |
148 | Thairo Estrada | SF | 2B/SS |
149 | Matt McLain | CIN | 2B/SS |
150 | Alex Cobb | SF | SP |
151 | Reid Detmers | LAA | SP |
152 | Mike Trout | LAA | OF |
153 | Tim Anderson | CHW | SS |
154 | Jon Gray | TEX | SP |
155 | CJ Abrams | WSH | SS |
156 | Lourdes Gurriel Jr. | ARI | OF |
157 | Alec Bohm | PHI | 1B/3B |
158 | Jorge Polanco | MIN | 2B/3B |
159 | Hunter Greene | CIN | SP |
160 | Mitch Keller | PIT | SP |
161 | Joc Pederson | SF | OF |
162 | Steven Kwan | CLE | OF |
163 | Tyler O’Neill | STL | OF |
164 | Harrison Bader | NYY | OF |
165 | James Paxton | BOS | SP |
166 | Bailey Ober | MIN | SP |
167 | Miles Mikolas | STL | SP |
168 | Ryan Helsley | STL | RP |
169 | Jeff McNeil | NYM | 2B/OF |
170 | Ty France | SEA | 1B |
171 | Alex Verdugo | BOS | OF |
172 | Justin Turner | BOS | 1B/2B/ 3B |
173 | Kenta Maeda | MIN | SP |
174 | Javier Baez | DET | SS |
175 | Anthony Volpe | NYY | SS |
176 | Eugenio Suarez | SEA | 3B |
177 | Austin Hays | BAL | OF |
178 | Esteury Ruiz | OAK | OF |
179 | Jeimer Candelario | CHC | 3B |
180 | Brady Singer | KC | SP |
181 | David Robertson | MIA | RP |
182 | Andrew Heaney | TEX | SP |
183 | Lane Thomas | WSH | OF |
184 | Kyle Bradish | BAL | SP |
185 | Patrick Sandoval | LAA | SP |
186 | Seth Lugo | SD | SP |
187 | Amed Rosario | LAD | 2B/SS |
188 | Grayson Rodriguez | BAL | SP |
189 | Jose Urquidy | HOU | SP |
190 | Will Smith | TEX | RP |
191 | Jack Flaherty | BAL | SP |
192 | William Contreras | MIL | C |
193 | Joey Meneses | WSH | 1B/OF |
194 | Chris Taylor | LAD | 2B/SS/ 3B/OF |
195 | Spencer Torkelson | DET | 1B |
196 | Spencer Steer | CIN | 1B/3B/ OF |
197 | Andrew Benintendi | CHW | OF |
198 | Michael Conforto | SF | OF |
199 | Orlando Arcia | ATL | 2B/SS |
200 | Craig Kimbrel | PHI | RP |
201 | TJ Friedl | CIN | OF |
202 | Christopher Morel | CHC | 2B/OF |
203 | Andrew Abbott | CIN | SP |
204 | Hunter Renfroe | LAA | OF |
205 | Yusei Kikuchi | TOR | SP |
206 | Jack Suwinski | PIT | OF |
207 | Willson Contreras | STL | C |
208 | Marcell Ozuna | ATL | OF |
209 | Cal Raleigh | SEA | C |
210 | Brandon Lowe | TB | 2B |
211 | Luis Severino | NYY | SP |
212 | Nolan Jones | COL | 1B/OF |
213 | Braxton Garrett | MIA | SP |
214 | Ezequiel Duran | TEX | SS/3B/ OF |
215 | Adbert Alzolay | CHC | RP |
216 | Bryson Stott | PHI | 2B/SS |
217 | Carlos Estevez | LAA | RP |
218 | Aroldis Chapman | TEX | RP |
219 | Hyun Jin Ryu | TOR | SP |
220 | Tyler Anderson | LAA | SP |
221 | Josh Bell | MIA | 1B |
222 | Leody Taveras | TEX | OF |
223 | Royce Lewis | MIN | SS/3B |
224 | Michael Wacha | SD | SP |
225 | Travis d’Arnaud | ATL | C |
226 | Jonah Heim | TEX | C |
227 | Jake Cronenworth | SD | 1B/2B |
228 | Jarren Duran | BOS | OF |
229 | Michael King | NYY | RP |
230 | Jordan Walker | STL | 3B/OF |
231 | Jonathan India | CIN | 2B |
232 | Byron Buxton | MIN | OF |
233 | Nick Pivetta | BOS | SP |
234 | Jose Abreu | HOU | 1B |
235 | Aaron Civale | TB | SP |
236 | Alex Lange | DET | RP |
237 | Joe Musgrove | SD | SP |
238 | Chas McCormick | HOU | OF |
239 | Jameson Taillon | CHC | SP |
240 | Starling Marte | NYM | OF |
241 | Tommy Pham | ARI | OF |
242 | Matt Brash | SEA | RP |
243 | Giovanny Gallegos | STL | RP |
244 | Seth Brown | OAK | 1B/OF |
245 | Josh Lowe | TB | OF |
246 | Andrew McCutchen | PIT | OF |
247 | A.J. Minter | ATL | RP |
248 | Jason Adam | TB | RP |
249 | Brusdar Graterol | LAD | RP |
250 | Kyle Gibson | BAL | SP |
251 | Dean Kremer | BAL | SP |
252 | Brayan Bello | BOS | SP |
253 | Anthony Rizzo | NYY | 1B |
254 | Michael Kopech | CHW | SP |
255 | Triston Casas | BOS | 1B |
256 | MJ Melendez | KC | C/OF |
257 | Carlos Carrasco | NYM | SP |
258 | Max Kepler | MIN | OF |
259 | Griffin Canning | LAA | SP |
260 | Brandon Drury | LAA | 1B/2B/ 3B |
261 | Charlie Blackmon | COL | OF |
262 | Chase Silseth | LAA | SP |
263 | Kyle Finnegan | WSH | RP |
264 | Nick Lodolo | CIN | SP |
265 | Mike Clevinger | CHW | SP |
266 | Cole Ragans | KC | SP |
267 | Tanner Bibee | CLE | SP |
268 | Carlos Hernandez | KC | RP |
269 | Oneil Cruz | PIT | SS |
270 | Ranger Suarez | PHI | SP |
271 | Zack Gelof | OAK | 2B |
272 | Keibert Ruiz | WSH | C |
273 | Maikel Garcia | KC | SS/3B |
274 | Trevor May | OAK | RP |
275 | Taijuan Walker | PHI | SP |
276 | Kerry Carpenter | DET | OF |
277 | Shane Bieber | CLE | SP |
278 | Zack Littell | TB | SP |
279 | Bryce Miller | SEA | SP |
280 | Jose Quintana | NYM | SP |
281 | JP Sears | OAK | SP |
282 | Josh Naylor | CLE | 1B |
283 | C.J. Cron | LAA | 1B |
284 | Kris Bryant | COL | OF |
285 | Kutter Crawford | BOS | SP |
286 | James Outman | LAD | OF |
287 | Luke Raley | TB | 1B/OF |
288 | Dane Dunning | TEX | SP |
289 | Jake Fraley | CIN | OF |
290 | David Peterson | NYM | SP |
291 | Eury Perez | MIA | SP |
292 | LaMonte Wade Jr. | SF | 1B/OF |
293 | Francisco Alvarez | NYM | C |
294 | Christian Encarnacion-Strand | CIN | 3B |
295 | Jose Leclerc | TEX | RP |
296 | Clarke Schmidt | NYY | SP |
297 | Isaac Paredes | TB | 1B/2B/ 3B |
298 | Jorge Mateo | BAL | SS |
299 | Jose Siri | TB | OF |
300 | Andrew Chafin | MIL | RP |
301 | Josiah Gray | WSH | SP |
302 | Seranthony Dominguez | PHI | RP |
303 | Lars Nootbaar | STL | OF |
304 | Gregory Soto | PHI | RP |
305 | Bryce Elder | ATL | SP |
306 | Trent Grisham | SD | OF |
307 | Tyler Stephenson | CIN | C |
308 | Joel Payamps | MIL | RP |
309 | Brandon Pfaadt | ARI | SP |
310 | Ross Stripling | SF | SP |
311 | Adam Ottavino | NYM | RP |
312 | Bryan De La Cruz | MIA | OF |
313 | Rich Hill | SD | SP |
314 | Alex Wood | SF | SP |
315 | Danny Jansen | TOR | C |
316 | Jordan Hicks | TOR | RP |
317 | Yimi Garcia | TOR | RP |
318 | J.D. Davis | SF | 3B |
319 | Bryan Abreu | HOU | RP |
320 | MacKenzie Gore | WSH | SP |
321 | DJ LeMahieu | NYY | 1B/2B/ 3B |
322 | Tanner Houck | BOS | SP |
323 | Erik Swanson | TOR | RP |
324 | A.J. Puk | MIA | RP |
325 | Tanner Scott | MIA | RP |
326 | Matt Strahm | PHI | RP |
327 | Reynaldo Lopez | LAA | RP |
328 | Alejandro Kirk | TOR | C |
329 | Jurickson Profar | COL | OF |
330 | Michael Lorenzen | PHI | SP |
331 | Aaron Bummer | CHW | RP |
332 | Taj Bradley | TB | SP |
333 | Scott McGough | ARI | RP |
334 | Justin Lawrence | COL | RP |
335 | Sean Manaea | SF | SP |
336 | Adam Duvall | BOS | OF |
337 | Jake Burger | MIA | 3B |
338 | Alek Manoah | TOR | SP |
339 | Luis Rengifo | LAA | 2B/SS/ 3B/OF |
340 | Scott Barlow | SD | RP |
341 | Yoan Moncada | CHW | 3B |
342 | Touki Toussiant | CHW | SP |
343 | Matthew Liberatore | STL | SP |
344 | Adrian Houser | MIL | SP |
345 | Chris Martin | BOS | RP |
346 | Eddie Rosario | ATL | OF |
347 | Wilmer Flores | SF | 1B/2B/ 3B |
348 | Jordan Lyles | KC | SP |
349 | Matt Manning | DET | SP |
350 | Dakota Hudson | STL | SP |
351 | J.P. France | HOU | SP |
352 | Brendan Rodgers | COL | 2B |
353 | Rowdy Tellez | MIL | 1B |
354 | Graham Ashcraft | CIN | SP |
355 | Reese Olsen | DET | SP |
356 | Wade Miley | MIL | SP |
357 | Cristopher Sanchez | PHI | SP |
358 | Kyle Wright | ATL | SP |
359 | Nolan Gorman | STL | 2B/3B |
360 | Johan Oviedo | PIT | SP |
361 | Jose Alvarado | PHI | RP |
362 | Caleb Ferguson | LAD | SP |
363 | Triston McKenzie | CLE | SP |
364 | Elvis Andrus | CHW | 2B/SS |
365 | Garrett Whitlock | BOS | RP |
366 | Josh Jung | TEX | 3B |
367 | Brenton Doyle | COL | OF |
368 | Jhony Brito | NYY | SP |
369 | Yainer Diaz | HOU | C |
370 | Bobby Miller | LAD | SP |
371 | Marcus Stroman | CHC | SP |
372 | Edward Cabrera | MIA | SP |
373 | Taylor Rogers | SF | RP |
374 | Tylor Megill | NYM | SP |
375 | Brandon Marsh | PHI | OF |
376 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | SP |