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Some of you, including one of my buddies in my big money NL-only league asked for updated NL-only rankings, as the ones I previously posted were done before spring training. I was planning on doing it, so here are my updated NL-only position rankings. But, in the interest of time, there will be no dialogue with the exception of a few glaring changes, mainly due to spring training injuries.
With that said, here are my updated NL-only position rankings for 2013:
Catcher
There were no real changes here, with the exception of moving Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal several spots, and moving Wellington Castillo up a few spots. Posey still heads the catcher rankings, and for good reason. He's a top 15-20 pick in mixed leagues. That says it all.
Rank |
Player |
Tm |
1 |
Buster Posey |
SFG |
2 |
Yadier Molina |
STL |
3 |
Miguel Montero |
ARI |
4 |
Wilin Rosario |
COL |
5 |
Jonathan Lucroy |
MIL |
6 |
Brian McCann |
ATL |
7 |
Carlos Ruiz |
PHI |
8 |
A.J. Ellis |
LAD |
9 |
Rob Brantly |
MIA |
10 |
Wilson Ramos |
WSN |
11 |
Russell Martin |
NYY |
12 |
Wellington Castillo |
CHC |
13 |
Ryan Hanigan |
CIN |
14 |
Kurt Suzuki |
WAS |
15 |
John Buck |
NYM |
16 |
Yasmani Grandal |
SDP |
17 |
Devin Mesoraco |
CIN |
18 |
Hector Sanchez |
SFG |
19 |
Nick Hundley |
SDP |
20 |
Michael McKenry |
PIT |
First Base
The only changes here occurred in the bottom five of the rankings where I moved up Matt Carpenter and Daniel Murphy a few slots. Votto still leads the NL first base ranking, and I pondered flip-flopping Allen Craig and Adrian Gonzalez, as well as Ike Davis and my 2013 man-crush Ryan Howard. But, I decided to stick with my original rankings for those guys.
Rank |
Player |
Tm |
1 |
Joey Votto |
CIN |
2 |
Allen Craig |
STL |
3 |
Adrian Gonzalez |
LAD |
4 |
Buster Posey |
SFG |
5 |
Paul Goldschmidt |
ARI |
6 |
Ike Davis |
NYM |
7 |
Ryan Howard |
PHI |
8 |
Anthony Rizzo |
CHC |
9 |
Freddie Freeman |
ATL |
10 |
Adam LaRoche |
WSN |
11 |
Michael Cuddyer |
COL |
12 |
Todd Frazier |
CIN |
13 |
Corey Hart |
MIL |
14 |
Yonder Alonso |
SDP |
15 |
Brandon Belt |
SFG |
16 |
Garrett Jones |
PIT |
17 |
Logan Morrison |
MIA |
18 |
Tyler Colvin |
COL |
19 |
Matt Carpenter |
STL |
20 |
Daniel Murphy |
NYM |
Second Base
The only changes here were moving Dan Uggla down a spot, adding Jedd Gyorko where I ranked him at #10, and removing Ryan Theriot from the rankings and replacing him with Jerry Hairston, Jr. I thought about flip-flopping Brandon Phillips and Aaron Hill, and would not argue either way. Moving Chase Utley up a spot was enticing as well.
Rank |
Player |
Tm |
1 |
Brandon Phillips |
CIN |
2 |
Aaron Hill |
ARI |
3 |
Neil Walker |
PIT |
4 |
Chase Utley |
PHI |
5 |
Rickie Weeks |
MIL |
6 |
Danny Espinosa |
WSN |
7 |
Dan Uggla |
ATL |
8 |
Josh Rutledge |
COL |
9 |
Marco Scutaro |
COL |
10 |
Jedd Gyorko |
SD |
11 |
Chris Nelson |
COL |
12 |
Daniel Murphy |
NYM |
13 |
Logan Forsythe |
SDP |
14 |
Darwin Barney |
CHC |
15 |
Mark Ellis |
LAD |
16 |
Cliff Pennington |
ARI |
17 |
Daniel Descalso |
STL |
18 |
Adeiny Hechavarria |
MIA |
19 |
Jerry Hairston, Jr. |
LAD |
20 |
Donovan Solano |
MIA |
Shortstop
The big change here was moving Hanley Ramirez down to #8 in my rankings, as there is a possibility he will miss the first two months of the season. If we discover that he will miss less time, I would move him back into the 2-3 range.
Rank |
Player |
Tm |
1 |
Troy Tulowitzki |
COL |
2 |
Starlin Castro |
CHC |
3 |
Jimmy Rollins |
PHI |
4 |
Ian Desmond |
WSN |
5 |
Danny Espinosa |
WSN |
6 |
Josh Rutledge |
COL |
7 |
Jean Segura |
MIL |
8 |
Hanley Ramirez |
LAD |
9 |
Marco Scutaro |
COL |
10 |
Zack Cozart |
CIN |
11 |
Andrelton Simmons |
ATL |
12 |
Everth Cabrera |
SDP |
13 |
Yunel Escobar |
MIA |
14 |
Ruben Tejada |
NYM |
15 |
Adeiny Hechavarria |
MIA |
16 |
Brandon Crawford |
SFG |
17 |
Cliff Pennington |
ARI |
18 |
Dee Gordon |
LAD |
19 |
Peter Kozma |
STL |
20 |
Clint Barmes |
PIT |
Third Base
Third base is a MASH unit this season, with several of the top third baseman battling injuries, including Hanley Ramirez, who I dropped to #10, David Wright, Pablo Sandoval, Chase Headley and Aramis Ramirez. I am probably higher on Ryan Zimmerman than most, but I could see a career year from him in 2013. I did not move Chase Headley down in my rankings, as I am wondering if his particular thumb injury (tip of thumb), isn't as severe as other thumb injuries.
Rank |
Player |
Tm |
1 |
Ryan Zimmerman |
WSN |
2 |
Aramis Ramirez |
MIL |
3 |
David Wright |
NYM |
4 |
Pablo Sandoval |
SFG |
5 |
Chase Headley |
SDP |
6 |
Pedro Alvarez |
PIT |
7 |
Todd Frazier |
CIN |
8 |
David Freese |
STL |
9 |
Martin Prado |
ARI |
10 |
Hanley Ramirez |
LAD |
11 |
Chris Johnson |
ATL |
12 |
Michael Young |
PHI |
13 |
Juan Francisco |
ATL |
14 |
Nolan Arenado |
COL |
15 |
Matt Carpenter |
STL |
16 |
Placido Polanco |
PHI |
17 |
Luis Cruz |
LAD |
18 |
Chris Nelson |
COL |
19 |
Jordan Pacheco |
COL |
20 |
Ian Stewart |
CHC |
Outfielders
The big change here was moving Bryce Harper from #12 to #7 in my rankings. I also move the following outfielders up a few spots: B.J. Upton, Jay Bruce, Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier, Carlos Gomez, Dexter Fowler,Jayson Werth, Norichika Aoki, Adam Eaton, Juan Pierre, Domonic Brown, along with a few others.
Rank |
Player |
Tm |
1 |
Ryan Braun |
MIL |
2 |
Matt Kemp |
LAD |
3 |
Andrew McCutchen |
PIT |
4 |
Giancarlo Stanton |
MIA |
5 |
Justin Upton |
ATL |
6 |
Carlos Gonzalez |
COL |
7 |
Bryce Harper |
WAS |
8 |
Jason Heyward |
ATL |
9 |
Jay Bruce |
CIN |
10 |
Matt Holliday |
STL |
11 |
B.J. Upton |
ATL |
12 |
Allen Craig |
STL |
13 |
Shin-Soo Choo |
CIN |
14 |
Carl Crawford |
LAD |
15 |
Andre Ethier |
LAD |
16 |
Carlos Beltran |
STL |
17 |
Martin Prado |
ARI |
18 |
Alfonso Soriano |
CHC |
19 |
Carlos Gomez |
MIL |
20 |
Jayson Werth |
WAS |
21 |
Dexter Fowler |
COL |
22 |
Jason Kubel |
ARI |
23 |
Hunter Pence |
SFG |
24 |
Adam Eaton |
ARI |
25 |
Norichika Aoki |
MIL |
26 |
Ben Revere |
PHI |
27 |
Michael Cuddyer |
COL |
28 |
Denard Span |
WAS |
29 |
Angel Pagan |
SFG |
30 |
Corey Hart |
MIL |
31 |
Cameron Maybin |
SDP |
32 |
Domonic Brown |
PHI |
33 |
Cody Ross |
ARI |
34 |
Jon Jay |
STL |
35 |
Carlos Quentin |
SDP |
36 |
Juan Pierre |
MIA |
37 |
Ryan Ludwick |
CIN |
38 |
Garrett Jones |
PIT |
39 |
Logan Morrison |
MIA |
40 |
Chris Heisey |
CIN |
41 |
Starling Marte |
PIT |
42 |
Justin Ruggiano |
MIA |
43 |
Tyler Colvin |
COL |
44 |
Will Venable |
SDP |
45 |
Gerardo Parra |
ARI |
46 |
Lucas Duda |
NYM |
47 |
Eric Young, Jr. |
COL |
48 |
Jose Tabata |
PIT |
49 |
David DeJesus |
CHC |
50 |
Darin Ruf |
PHI |
I will post my updated NL-only starting pitcher and reliever rankings in a separate post on Friday morning.
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