Fantasy Baseball 2017: Top 250 Rest of Season Rankings

Welcome back! Another week, another Top 250 update. Let’s jump right into it.

Quick reminder, these rankings are for standard 5x5 rotisserie. I’ll do my best to explain any large rankings changes and feel free to ask player specific questions in the comments. This is your weekly forum to sound off with any fantasy questions you have. I’m here to help you!

Quick Hits

• Minor changes to the top 50 with 2 exceptions. Zack Greinke moves up over 40 spots for me and is now a top 10 SP. He has been phenomenal this year with a 2.82 ERA 0.97 WHIP and 10.5 K/9. His strikeout numbers match a career best and his FIP suggests this should continue for him. There’s little reason not to buy in. Michael Conforto is the other new member to the top 50. He has finally arrived and reach him potential so many experts have been waiting on for years. Since gaining everyday PAs, Conforto is hitting .333/.433/.683 with 11 HR 30 R and 26 RBI. That pace is a bit extreme but even if he only gets a quarter of that production, we are talking about a .300 hitter with 40 HR. Sign me up for top 50, easily.
• With new additions to the top 50 come subtractions from it. Kyle Seager falls in this rankings update. Seager has been as consistent as they come. He averages 25 HR 85 RBI 77 R and 8SB with a .266 batting average over the past 5 seasons. This year he’s gotten off to a slow start and could have his worse season to date. His track record prevents me from losing too much faith in him, but he needs to start hitting or he’s only going to keep falling. Christian Yelich was a mainstay among the top 50 in nearly all my top 250 updates throughout the offseason and this year. He’s coming off a career high 21 HR season and his ability to get on base consistently led me to believe a top 50 ranking of him was a safe approach. He currently sits as the #133 overall player in standard roto. He’s having a decent season, but he’s been passed by the likes of Conforto and Cody Bellinger who appear to have much higher ceilings.
• David Price is set to make his 2017 debut on Monday. With that, he moves up to SP #20. I was down on Price before the injury so this ranking may be surprising. That being said, the pitching landscape has been so dreadful this season, the 50/50 chance of Price returning to top 10 SP form has me buying in more than I’d like. I can’t imagine many leagues where he’s still available but keep an eye on his start. Even if the box score looks bad for him, health is the major takeaway. I expect him to be bad his first few outings. As long as he’s healthy, he should return to at least his 2016 form by mid-June. He was the #21 SP last year for the record.
• Andrew McCutchen. Where do I even begin? I’ve been low on him for most of the year but this is even worse than I imagined. The Pirates have sat McCutchen over the past 2 games. The Pirates are paying him a lot of money and they are still sitting McCutchen. The same Pirates who, unlike fantasy owners, don’t have a wealth of options on the waiver wire, yet they still sit Andrew McCutchen. I get it, they are trying to help him figure it out, but what if he doesn’t? I feel like I have to include him in my top 150 but I also see a scenario where he shouldn’t even be ranked. Don’t be surprised to see a big drop from him next week. I just don’t see this ending well.
• Hello, Jose Berrios! If only I spent a last round pick on him in an AL only league… oh wait, I did! Berrios has been incredible since his recent call up. After struggling, and I mean 8.02 ERA struggling, through 14 dreadful starts in 2016, Berrios is a new man in 2017. Through 3 outings, he has a 1.66 ERA 0.55 WHIP and 22 Ks in 21.2 innings. Control was his downfall in 2016, but he has been great with it so far this season. The upside alone jumps him into the top 50 SP. Let’s hope this continues!

Losing Faith

Here are a few players who dropped in my rankings and, if their poor performances continue, could soon be outside my top 250:

• Andrew McCutchen (see above)
• Matt Harvey (walks are up, Ks are down, maybe next year?)
• Yasiel Puig (so good, and yet so bad)

Hello, Goodbye

The following players are new additions to the top 250:

• Jose Berrios (see above)
• Justin Bour (.413 AVG with 8 HR over past 2 weeks)
• Bud Norris (he’s not losing the closer’s role)

The following players are no longer in my top 250:

• Brad Miller
• Jeremy Hellickson
• Zach Davies

See you next week!