
It is happening! All at once! I can barely even keep track!
Ok, so it’s only four. Still, it is pretty cool to see four of baseball’s biggest stars come back from injury at around the same time. Freddie Freeman, Madison Bumgarner, Mike Trout, and Zach Britton are all finally healthy and either back playing baseball, whether they are in rehab or already back in the bigs. I admit, it was quite fun to move this amount of players so far up my 2017 Rest-Of-The-Season Rankings.
It will take time for them to get back into their full roles and begin to play like their usual selves. For those reasons, I haven’t immediately put them back in their old spots in the 2017 Rest-Of-The-Season Rankings. They will have to earn back that spot, but for players of this caliber, it shouldn’t take too long.
While there were actually quite a few players who made jumps up in the 2017 Rest-Of-The-Season Rankings this week, none of them came close to the astronomic rises of these four stars. All four of them have made the following Stock Up section of the article, where I discuss their value for the Rest-Of-The-Season (and I didn’t forget about the Stock Down players either).
2017 Rest-Of-The-Season Rankings
Stock Up
Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels
Ah, this is the one we are really excited about. Mike Trout has started his rehab assignment and will return after the All-Star break. Honestly, I am sitting here thinking about what needs to be said but there really isn’t anything. I fully expect him to reclaim his spot as the #1 player in all of Fantasy. It is that simple.
Zach Britton, RP, Baltimore Orioles
This one is also pretty self-explanatory but to a lesser extent. Britton is among the best relief pitchers and baseball and should be treated that way upon his return. There are two things in his way, however. The first is that the Orioles are worse than they were last year, which means less save chances. The other is that Brad Brach has been doing a great job holding down the ninth inning in Britton’s absence, so the Orioles should feel the need to rush him back into a high-leverage role, even though he inevitably will take a while. Even with these two caveats, he still will be one of the top closers in Fantasy and you can expect just that
The other is that Brad Brach has been doing a great job holding down the ninth inning in Britton’s absence, so the Orioles should feel the need to rush him back into a high-leverage role, even though he inevitably will take a while. Even with these two caveats, he still will be one of the top closers in Fantasy and you can expect just that from him the rest of the way.
Madison Bumgarner, SP, San Francisco Giants
I am honestly totally convinced that the vast majority of people forgot that Bumgarner was injured in a dirt bike accident. Seriously, I thought people would never let go of that, especially considering how bad the Giants have been this year, so the only thing people really say about them is bad things. Dirt bike accidents are pretty bad. I am thoroughly surprised.
Anyway, back to Fantasy. Even though Bumgarner got absolutely lit up in his first rehab start, he is still Bummy. It is entirely possible he said to himself, “My team sucks, so why don’t I have some fun and allow a billion runs.” Although the start was bad, and it definitely doesn’t help that this is the first time that he is coming off of the DL in his MLB career, he still should be a solid pitcher. Just don’t forget that the Giants suck, so he won’t be in the elite tier of pitchers, but still a Top 20 type of guy for the Rest-Of-The-Season.
Freddie Freeman, 1B, Atlanta Braves
In an unbiased, pure baseball fan type of opinion, Freddie Freeman might have been the player that I was most unhappy about being injured. He has always been good, but this was the year that he finally turned the corner into great.
Fortunately, Matt Adams put on a show while Freeman was out, but now first base at SunTrust Park belongs to Freeman once again. I admit that I was a bit worried that a player who had just so recently turned the corner had become injured, but Freeman has been red-hot since his return. I see no reason here to not fully expect him to reclaim his success that he enjoyed earlier in the year.
Stock Down
Ian Desmond, OF/1B, Colorado Rockies/Yoenis Cespedes, OF, New York Mets
I really don’t see the need to separate these two players. They both had great seasons last year, with Cespedes having the better one and Desmond being more of the breakout (or re-breakout?) star. Both of them had high expectations going into this year. Both of them have dealt with injuries. Also, both of them have struggled a bit when on the field. Lastly, both of them ran out of time to turn it around on my watch and ended up dropping in this week’s 2017 Rest-Of-The-Season Rankings.
2017 Rest-Of-The-Season Rankings
Rank | Name | Team | Positions |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Bryce Harper | WSH | RF |
2 | Paul Goldschmidt | ARI | 1B |
3 | Nolan Arenado | COL | 3B |
4 | Jose Altuve | HOU | 2B |
5 | Mookie Betts | BOS | RF |
6 | Charlie Blackmon | COL | CF |
7 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | SP |
8 | Joey Votto | CIN | 1B |
9 | Max Scherzer | WSH | SP |
10 | Chris Sale | BOS | SP |
11 | Kris Bryant | CHC | 1B,3B,LF,RF |
12 | Anthony Rizzo | CHC | 1B,2B |
13 | Miguel Cabrera | DET | 1B |
14 | Daniel Murphy | WSH | 1B,2B |
15 | Aaron Judge | NYY | RF,DH |
16 | Josh Donaldson | TOR | 3B |
17 | Dallas Keuchel | HOU | SP |
18 | Corey Seager | LAD | SS |
19 | Francisco Lindor | CLE | SS |
20 | Mike Trout | LAA | CF |
21 | Robinson Cano | SEA | 2B |
22 | Yu Darvish | TEX | SP |
23 | Stephen Strasburg | WSH | SP |
24 | Ryan Braun | MIL | LF |
25 | George Springer | HOU | CF,RF |
26 | Carlos Correa | HOU | SS |
27 | Ryan Zimmerman | WSH | 1B |
28 | Miguel Sano | MIN | 1B,3B,RF,DH |
29 | Xander Bogaerts | BOS | SS |
30 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | SP |
31 | Freddie Freeman | ATL | 1B |
32 | Dee Gordon | MIA | 2B |
33 | Giancarlo Stanton | MIA | RF |
34 | Buster Posey | SF | C,1B |
35 | Jean Segura | SEA | 2B,SS |
36 | Cody Bellinger | LAD | 1B,LF |
37 | Nelson Cruz | SEA | RF,DH |
38 | Manny Machado | BAL | 3B,SS |
39 | Brian Dozier | MIN | 2B |
40 | Carlos Martinez | STL | SP |
41 | Zack Greinke | ARI | SP |
42 | Jon Lester | CHC | SP |
43 | Trea Turner | WSH | 2B,SS,CF |
44 | Jacob deGrom | NYM | SP |
45 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | SP |
46 | Kenley Jansen | LAD | RP |
47 | A.J. Pollock | ARI | CF |
48 | Christian Yelich | MIA | LF,CF |
49 | Wil Myers | SD | 1B,RF |
50 | Billy Hamilton | CIN | CF |
51 | Edwin Encarnacion | CLE | 1B,DH |
52 | Elvis Andrus | TEX | SS |
53 | Marcell Ozuna | MIA | LF,CF,RF |
54 | Jose Ramirez | CLE | 2B,3B,LF |
55 | Khris Davis | OAK | LF,DH |
56 | Jay Bruce | NYM | 1B,RF |
57 | Jonathan Villar | MIL | 2B,3B,SS |
58 | Eric Thames | MIL | 1B,LF,RF |
59 | Jose Peraza | CIN | 2B,SS,LF,CF |
60 | Corey Kluber | CLE | SP |
61 | Craig Kimbrel | BOS | RP |
62 | Jose Abreu | CWS | 1B,DH |
63 | Matt Carpenter | STL | 1B,2B,3B |
64 | Corey Dickerson | TB | LF,DH |
65 | Justin Verlander | DET | SP |
66 | Chris Archer | TB | SP |
67 | David Price | BOS | SP |
68 | Gerrit Cole | PIT | SP |
69 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | SP |
70 | J.T. Realmuto | MIA | C |
71 | Michael Fulmer | DET | SP |
72 | Greg Holland | COL | RP |
73 | Justin Upton | DET | LF,CF |
74 | J.D. Martinez | DET | RF |
75 | Lance McCullers | HOU | SP |
76 | Chris Davis | BAL | 1B |
77 | Jose Bautista | TOR | RF,DH |
78 | Kyle Seager | SEA | 3B |
79 | Wade Davis | CHC | RP |
80 | James Paxton | SEA | SP |
81 | Anthony Rendon | WSH | 3B |
82 | Ervin Santana | MIN | SP |
83 | Aroldis Chapman | NYY | RP |
84 | Yoenis Cespedes | NYM | LF,CF |
85 | DJ LeMahieu | COL | 2B |
86 | Adrian Beltre | TEX | 3B,DH |
87 | Johnny Cueto | SF | SP |
88 | Jake Arrieta | CHC | SP |
89 | Adam Duvall | CIN | LF,RF |
90 | Cole Hamels | TEX | SP |
91 | Alexander Colome | TB | RP |
92 | Gary Sanchez | NYY | C,DH |
93 | Michael Brantley | CLE | LF |
94 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | SP |
95 | Salvador Perez | KC | C,DH |
96 | Matt Kemp | ATL | LF,RF,DH |
97 | Gregory Polanco | PIT | LF,RF,CF |
98 | Lorenzo Cain | KC | CF,RF |
99 | Zach Britton | BAL | RP |
100 | Eric Hosmer | KC | 1B |
101 | Justin Smoak | TOR | 1B |
102 | Yonder Alonso | OAK | 1B |
103 | Travis Shaw | MIL | 1B,3B |
104 | Kenneth Giles | HOU | RP |
105 | Julio Teheran | ATL | SP |
106 | Danny Duffy | KC | SP,RP |
107 | Justin Turner | LAD | 3B |
108 | Seung-Hwan Oh | STL | RP |
109 | Zack Cozart | CIN | SS |
110 | Eduardo Nunez | SF | 3B,SS,LF |
111 | Mark Reynolds | COL | 1B |
112 | Yasmani Grandal | LAD | C |
113 | Jake Lamb | ARI | 3B |
114 | Dustin Pedroia | BOS | 2B |
115 | Jose Quintana | CWS | SP |
116 | Avisail Garcia | CWS | LF,RF,DH |
117 | Cody Allen | CLE | RP |
118 | Ender Inciarte | ATL | LF,CF |
119 | Scott Schebler | CIN | LF,CF,RF |
120 | Cesar Hernandez | PHI | 2B |
121 | Edwin Diaz | SEA | RP |
122 | Mark Melancon | SF | RP |
123 | Madison Bumgarner | SF | SP |
124 | Michael Conforto | NYM | LF,CF,RF |
125 | Robbie Ray | ARI | SP |
126 | Rick Porcello | BOS | SP |
127 | Michael Pineda | NYY | SP |
128 | Dylan Bundy | BAL | SP,RP |
129 | Jason Vargas | KC | SP |
130 | Tanner Roark | WSH | SP |
131 | Kelvin Herrera | KC | RP |
132 | Luis Severino | NYY | SP,RP |
133 | Sonny Gray | OAK | SP |
134 | Eugenio Suarez | CIN | 3B |
135 | Adam Jones | BAL | CF |
136 | Ian Desmond | COL | 1B,LF,CF |
137 | Mark Trumbo | BAL | RF,DH |
138 | Felix Hernandez | SEA | SP |
139 | Yasiel Puig | LAD | RF |
140 | Evan Longoria | TB | 3B,DH |
141 | Carlos Gonzalez | COL | RF |
142 | Chris Owings | ARI | 2B,SS,CF,RF |
143 | Kendrys Morales | TOR | 1B,RF,DH |
144 | Andrew Benintendi | BOS | LF,CF |
145 | Jake Odorizzi | TB | SP |
146 | Jonathan Schoop | BAL | 2B |
147 | Zack Godley | ARI | SP,RP |
148 | Trey Mancini | BAL | 1B,LF,DH |
149 | Starling Marte | PIT | LF,CF |
150 | Didi Gregorius | NYY | SS |
151 | Yasmany Tomas | ARI | LF,RF |
152 | Albert Pujols | LAA | 1B,DH |
153 | Carlos Santana | CLE | 1B,RF,DH |
154 | Starlin Castro | NYY | 2B |
155 | Kevin Pillar | TOR | CF |
156 | Ian Kinsler | DET | 2B |
157 | David Peralta | ARI | RF |
158 | Rougned Odor | TEX | 2B |
159 | Jonathan Lucroy | TEX | C,1B,DH |
160 | Willson Contreras | CHC | C,LF |
161 | Andrew McCutchen | PIT | CF,RF |
162 | Mike Moustakas | KC | 3B,DH |
163 | Sean Manaea | OAK | SP |
164 | Brandon Belt | SF | 1B,LF |
165 | Brandon Phillips | ATL | 2B |
166 | Matt Adams | ATL | 1B,LF |
167 | Jacoby Ellsbury | NYY | CF,DH |
168 | Nomar Mazara | TEX | LF,RF,DH |
169 | Andrew Miller | CLE | RP |
170 | Joey Gallo | TEX | 1B,3B |
171 | Yangervis Solarte | SD | 2B,3B,1B |
172 | Steven Matz | NYM | SP |
173 | Noah Syndergaard | NYM | SP |
174 | Odubel Herrera | PHI | CF |
175 | Ben Zobrist | CHC | 2B,LF,RF,1B |
176 | Roberto Osuna | TOR | RP |
177 | Brian McCann | HOU | C,DH |
178 | Aaron Sanchez | TOR | SP |
179 | Marwin Gonzalez | HOU | 1B,2B,3B,SS,LF |
180 | Brett Gardner | NYY | LF |
181 | Matt Wieters | WSH | C |
182 | Hanley Ramirez | BOS | 1B,DH |
183 | Jacob Faria | TB | SP |
184 | Tony Watson | PIT | RP |
185 | Jose Berrios | MIN | SP |
186 | David Robertson | CWS | RP |
187 | Chris Taylor | LAD | 2B,3B,SS,LF,CF |
188 | Brandon Crawford | SF | SS |
189 | Cameron Maybin | LAA | LF,CF,RF |
190 | Trevor Story | COL | SS |
191 | Addison Russell | CHC | SS |
192 | A.J. Ramos | MIA | RP |
193 | Aaron Nola | PHI | SP |
194 | Yadier Molina | STL | C |
195 | Kole Calhoun | LAA | RF |
196 | Melky Cabrera | CWS | LF,DH |
197 | Stephen Piscotty | STL | CF,RF |
198 | Troy Tulowitzki | TOR | SS |
199 | Todd Frazier | CWS | 1B,3B,DH |
200 | Rich Hill | LAD | SP |
Thank you for reading! Be sure to check out other great articles from our other awesome writers using the links below.
2017 Fantasy Baseball |
Rankings | Waiver Wire | Daily Fantasy Baseball | Bullpen Briefs | Rookie Report | Injury Report | Pitching Planner | Hitting Planner | Player Analysis |
- Week 7 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: The Young And The Old - May 16, 2018
- Week 5 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Replacing Corey Seager - May 6, 2018
- Week 3 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Hidden Gems - April 19, 2018
