One of, if not the biggest theme of the season and one we will touch on plenty in this release of the Fantasy Baseball Top 250 Rankings, is starting pitching busts.
So many of our Top-25 starting pitchers have been, well disappointing is a nice way of putting it. Trust me I could have used many choice words here, but this is a PG site folks.
I have talked about Matt Harvey, Francisco Liriano and Chris Archer before, so no need to go there again. Just want to remind you of their struggles and despite Harvey and Archer looking better lately, we are not out of the woods yet with either one.
Liriano on the other hand, woof! Mentioned him last week and even though he pitched pretty well against the Cardinals, he is still walking way too many batters for him to continue to have success.
This week we are only going to have a Stock Down discussion. As many of the adjustments I made to my rankings were moving a lot of star players down my rankings, mostly pitchers that we had high hopes for. Yes, there were subsequent moves for other players to rise in the rankings, but not significant enough to discuss.
Stock Down
Buster Posey, C, San Francisco Giants
This is not the Buster Posey we are used to seeing. His batting average is more than 50 points lower than his career average. On top of that his run and RBI totals are below his normal pace too. Some of this might have to do with the fact that the rest of the Giants offense, besides Brandon Belt, does not really scare anyone.
I still have him ranked as the No. 1 catcher going forward, because I do think he will eventually rebound a little, mainly due to his BABIP correcting itself. But he no longer has that huge advantage he once did over the rest of the catchers.
Dallas Keuchel, SP, Houston Astros
Man on man, where to begin here?
As an owner of him, I just keep thinking, OK the next time is it. He’ll bounce back and be the pitcher we saw in 2015.
I’ve been waiting for next time all season it seems and he now sits with a 5.57 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP after 14 starts.
Some will point to his FIP and xFIP which are in the mid-threes and say there is some correction coming, probably mostly because of his slightly inflated BABIP. But I’d also be quick to point out he is allowing more home runs this season than in the previous two and his hard-hit ball rate is up to 30-percent, up from 20 and 19 in the previous two seasons.
All in all, I want to buy into a rebound for him, but for now he keeps sinking in my rankings with each poor start.
Marcus Stroman, SP, Toronto Blue Jays
Stroman was not great to begin the season, but he wasn’t horrible either. His up and down performances kept him pretty steady in the ranks most of the season.
A stretch of three starts here lately though, where he has allowed 17 earned runs in 16.1 innings, has my confidence in waning.
James Shields, SP, Chicago White Sox
The largest drop in the rankings this week. Shields has two things not going for him now.
- He isn’t a good pitcher anymore
- Now he is pitching in the AL again
When he was still pitching in San Diego, I thought maybe there was a chance he turned things around since he got to face some softer offenses, especially with the pitcher in the lineup.
Now back in the American League, I think he is going to be mediocre at best. His first two starts in Chicago have not been promising, that’s for sure. He has allowed 13 runs in just seven innings of work and only struck out three. He’s not that bad, but he clearly is not very good anymore.
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Toronto Blue Jays
Tulo suffered a setback in his rehab last week when he was playing in an extended spring training game.
Now there is no timetable for his return and he has not even restarted his rehab.
This combined with his poor play overall to start the season and he dropped significantly in the latest rankings.
Billy Burns, OF, Oakland Athletics
This one hurts. I had really high hopes for Burns this season.
Instead Burns has gotten off to a horrible start. He is currently batting .247 on the season with 12 steals, 26 runs and six RBI. Yes that’s right I said just six RBI. We weren’t expecting a lot of RBI from Burns, but come on, six?
Even with the lack in RBI, what you were really hoping to get out of him was a good average and steals. The 12 steals is fine, actually tied for eighth most, but he is now in a horrible slump 7-44 over the last 12 games and hasn’t stolen a base in even more time. Worst of all he is losing playing time, only starting once in the last four games.
Burns actually is close to being completely knocked out of the Top 250 if things don’t get better soon.
Fantasy Baseball Top 250 Rankings
Rank | Name | Team | Positions |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Mike Trout | LAA | CF |
2 | Bryce Harper | WSH | CF,RF |
3 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD | SP |
4 | Manny Machado | BAL | 3B,SS |
5 | Paul Goldschmidt | ARI | 1B |
6 | Nolan Arenado | COL | 3B |
7 | Josh Donaldson | TOR | 3B,DH |
8 | Mookie Betts | BOS | CF,RF |
9 | Anthony Rizzo | CHC | 1B |
10 | Jose Altuve | HOU | 2B |
11 | Carlos Correa | HOU | SS |
12 | Miguel Cabrera | DET | 1B |
13 | Kris Bryant | CHC | 3B,LF,RF |
14 | Starling Marte | PIT | LF,CF |
15 | Jake Arrieta | CHC | SP |
16 | Edwin Encarnacion | TOR | 1B,DH |
17 | Chris Sale | CWS | SP |
18 | Jose Bautista | TOR | RF,DH |
19 | Andrew McCutchen | PIT | CF |
20 | Giancarlo Stanton | MIA | RF |
21 | Chris Davis | BAL | 1B,RF,DH |
22 | Yoenis Cespedes | NYM | LF,CF |
23 | Madison Bumgarner | SF | SP |
24 | Nelson Cruz | SEA | RF,DH |
25 | George Springer | HOU | CF,RF |
26 | Ryan Braun | MIL | LF,RF |
27 | Max Scherzer | WSH | SP |
28 | Jose Fernandez | MIA | SP |
29 | Carlos Gonzalez | COL | RF |
30 | J.D. Martinez | DET | RF |
31 | Xander Bogaerts | BOS | SS |
32 | Lorenzo Cain | KC | CF |
33 | Jose Abreu | CWS | 1B,DH |
34 | Stephen Strasburg | WSH | SP |
35 | Jacob DeGrom | NYM | SP |
36 | David Price | BOS | SP |
37 | Matt Kemp | SD | RF |
38 | Noah Syndergaard | NYM | SP |
39 | Gregory Polanco | PIT | LF,RF |
40 | Mark Trumbo | BAL | 1B,LF,RF,DH |
41 | Gerrit Cole | PIT | SP |
42 | Johnny Cueto | SF | SP |
43 | Kenley Jansen | LAD | RP |
44 | Adam Jones | BAL | CF |
45 | Brandon Belt | SF | 1B,LF |
46 | Robinson Cano | SEA | 2B |
47 | Zack Greinke | ARI | SP |
48 | Corey Kluber | CLE | SP |
49 | Cole Hamels | TEX | SP |
50 | Eric Hosmer | KC | 1B |
51 | Christian Yelich | MIA | LF,CF |
52 | Joey Votto | CIN | 1B |
53 | Jon Lester | CHC | SP |
54 | David Ortiz | BOS | 1B,DH |
55 | Danny Salazar | CLE | SP |
56 | Buster Posey | SF | C,1B |
57 | Aroldis Chapman | NYY | RP |
58 | Kole Calhoun | LAA | RF |
59 | Charlie Blackmon | COL | LF,CF |
60 | Todd Frazier | CWS | 3B |
61 | Corey Seager | LAD | SS |
62 | Ian Kinsler | DET | 2B |
63 | Matt Harvey | NYM | SP |
64 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE | SP |
65 | Ian Desmond | TEX | SS,LF,CF |
66 | Adrian Gonzalez | LAD | 1B |
67 | Chris Archer | TB | SP |
68 | Brett Gardner | NYY | LF,CF |
69 | Dexter Fowler | CHC | CF |
70 | Craig Kimbrel | BOS | RP |
71 | Wade Davis | KC | RP |
72 | Ben Zobrist | CHC | 2B,LF |
73 | Rougned Odor | TEX | 2B |
74 | Hanley Ramirez | BOS | 1B,LF,DH |
75 | Jonathan Lucroy | MIL | C,1B |
76 | Mark Melancon | PIT | RP |
77 | Curtis Granderson | NYM | RF |
78 | Jose Quintana | CWS | SP |
79 | Carlos Martinez | STL | SP |
80 | Sonny Gray | OAK | SP |
81 | Matt Carpenter | STL | 2B,3B,1B |
82 | Maikel Franco | PHI | 3B |
83 | Zach Britton | BAL | RP |
84 | Trevor Rosenthal | STL | RP |
85 | Justin Upton | DET | LF,CF |
86 | Freddie Freeman | ATL | 1B |
87 | Jordan Zimmermann | DET | SP |
88 | Dallas Keuchel | HOU | SP |
89 | Stephen Piscotty | STL | 1B,LF,RF |
90 | David Peralta | ARI | LF,RF,CF |
91 | Daniel Murphy | WSH | 1B,2B,3B |
92 | Jay Bruce | CIN | RF |
93 | Marcus Stroman | TOR | SP |
94 | David Robertson | CWS | RP |
95 | Addison Russell | CHC | 2B,SS |
96 | Michael Wacha | STL | SP |
97 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY | SP |
98 | Steven Matz | NYM | SP |
99 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | SP |
100 | Salvador Perez | KC | C |
101 | John Lackey | CHC | SP |
102 | Jeurys Familia | NYM | RP |
103 | Adam Duvall | CIN | LF |
104 | Khris Davis | OAK | LF,DH |
105 | Francisco Lindor | CLE | SS |
106 | Randal Grichuk | STL | LF,CF,RF |
107 | Wilson Ramos | WSH | C |
108 | Miguel Sano | MIN | 3B,RF,DH |
109 | Taijuan Walker | SEA | SP |
110 | Jason Heyward | CHC | CF,RF |
111 | Yasiel Puig | LAD | RF |
112 | Michael Conforto | NYM | LF |
113 | Cody Allen | CLE | RP |
114 | Welington Castillo | ARI | C |
115 | Joc Pederson | LAD | CF |
116 | Alex Gordon | KC | LF |
117 | Kyle Seager | SEA | 3B |
118 | Anthony Rendon | WSH | 2B,3B |
119 | Jason Kipnis | CLE | 2B |
120 | Steven Souza | TB | RF |
121 | Jacoby Ellsbury | NYY | CF |
122 | Jung-Ho Kang | PIT | 3B,SS |
123 | Albert Pujols | LAA | 1B,DH |
124 | Adam Eaton | CWS | CF,RF |
125 | Carlos Gomez | HOU | CF |
126 | Francisco Liriano | PIT | SP |
127 | Adam Wainwright | STL | SP |
128 | Hector Rondon | CHC | RP |
129 | Jason Hammel | CHC | SP |
130 | Trevor Story | COL | SS |
131 | A.J. Ramos | MIA | RP |
132 | Lance McCullers | HOU | SP |
133 | Francisco Rodriguez | DET | RP |
134 | Adrian Beltre | TEX | 3B |
135 | Jonathan Papelbon | WSH | RP |
136 | Prince Fielder | TEX | 1B,DH |
137 | Carlos Rodon | CWS | SP |
138 | Hisashi Iwakuma | SEA | SP |
139 | Roberto Osuna | TOR | RP |
140 | Brian Dozier | MIN | 2B |
141 | Gerardo Parra | COL | LF,CF,RF |
142 | Neil Walker | NYM | 2B |
143 | Julio Teheran | ATL | SP |
144 | Jake Odorizzi | TB | SP |
145 | Jackie Bradley | BOS | LF,CF,RF |
146 | Brian McCann | NYY | C,1B |
147 | Santiago Casilla | SF | RP |
148 | Leonys Martin | SEA | CF |
149 | Elvis Andrus | TEX | SS |
150 | Byung-ho Park | MIN | 1B,DH |
151 | Kenta Maeda | LAD | SP |
152 | Patrick Corbin | ARI | SP |
153 | Gio Gonzalez | WSH | SP |
154 | Danny Valencia | OAK | 3B,LF |
155 | Alex Rodriguez | NYY | DH |
156 | Aaron Sanchez | TOR | SP,RP |
157 | Aaron Nola | PHI | SP |
158 | Josh Harrison | PIT | 2B,3B,LF,RF |
159 | DJ LeMahieu | COL | 2B |
160 | Joe Ross | WSH | SP |
161 | Huston Street | LAA | RP |
162 | Dustin Pedroia | BOS | 2B |
163 | Steve Cishek | SEA | RP |
164 | Brandon Crawford | SF | SS |
165 | Evan Gattis | HOU | C,LF,DH |
166 | Chris Carter | MIL | 1B |
167 | Jeff Samardzija | SF | SP |
168 | Chris Tillman | BAL | SP |
169 | Kevin Gausman | BAL | SP,RP |
170 | Yu Darvish | TEX | SP |
171 | Brad Ziegler | ARI | RP |
172 | Fernando Rodney | SD | RP |
173 | Felix Hernandez | SEA | SP |
174 | Evan Longoria | TB | 3B |
175 | Nick Castellanos | DET | 3B |
176 | Wil Myers | SD | 1B,CF |
177 | Rich Hill | OAK | SP |
178 | Matt Holliday | STL | 1B,LF |
179 | Michael Saunders | TOR | LF,RF |
180 | Alexander Colome | TB | SP,RP |
181 | Jeremy Jeffress | MIL | RP |
182 | Drew Smyly | TB | SP |
183 | Jimmy Nelson | MIL | SP |
184 | Marcell Ozuna | MIA | CF,RF |
185 | Lucas Duda | NYM | 1B |
186 | Yadier Molina | STL | C |
187 | Aledmys Diaz | STL | 2B,SS |
188 | Edinson Volquez | KC | SP |
189 | Wei-Yin Chen | MIA | SP |
190 | Jean Segura | ARI | 2B,SS |
191 | Nomar Mazara | TEX | RF |
192 | Mallex Smith | ATL | LF,CF |
193 | Drew Pomeranz | SD | SP,RP |
194 | James Shields | CWS | SP |
195 | Carlos Beltran | NYY | RF,DH |
196 | Mike Napoli | CLE | 1B,LF,DH |
197 | Carlos Santana | CLE | 1B,DH |
198 | Rick Porcello | BOS | SP |
199 | Justin Bour | MIA | 1B |
200 | Matt Wieters | BAL | C |
201 | Kevin Pillar | TOR | LF,CF |
202 | Travis Shaw | BOS | 1B,3B |
203 | Ben Revere | WSH | LF,CF,RF |
204 | Ender Inciarte | ATL | LF,CF,RF |
205 | Justin Verlander | DET | SP |
206 | Sam Dyson | TEX | RP |
207 | Steven Wright | BOS | SP,RP |
208 | Yasmani Grandal | LAD | C |
209 | Jorge Soler | CHC | LF,RF |
210 | Billy Hamilton | CIN | CF |
211 | Jhonny Peralta | STL | 3B,SS |
212 | Ryan Madson | OAK | RP |
213 | Joe Panik | SF | 2B |
214 | Troy Tulowitzki | TOR | SS |
215 | Corey Dickerson | TB | LF,DH |
216 | Ian Kennedy | KC | SP |
217 | Michael Brantley | CLE | LF,CF |
218 | Yan Gomes | CLE | C |
219 | Nathan Karns | SEA | SP |
220 | Matt Adams | STL | 1B |
221 | Kendrys Morales | KC | 1B,DH |
222 | Eduardo Rodriguez | BOS | SP |
223 | Tyson Ross | SD | SP |
224 | Mitch Moreland | TEX | 1B |
225 | Russell Martin | TOR | C |
226 | Jonathan Schoop | BAL | 2B |
227 | Devon Travis | TOR | 2B |
228 | Michael Pineda | NYY | SP |
229 | Scott Kazmir | LAD | SP |
230 | Will Harris | HOU | RP |
231 | Jeanmar Gomez | PHI | RP |
232 | Arodys Vizcaino | ATL | RP |
233 | Andrew Miller | NYY | RP |
234 | Dellin Betances | NYY | RP |
235 | Tony Watson | PIT | RP |
236 | Billy Burns | OAK | CF |
237 | Colby Rasmus | HOU | LF,CF,RF |
238 | Matt Duffy | SF | 2B,3B |
239 | Pedro Strop | CHC | RP |
240 | Jake Lamb | ARI | 3B |
241 | Brandon Drury | ARI | 3B,LF,RF,2B |
242 | Collin McHugh | HOU | SP |
243 | Shelby Miller | ARI | SP |
244 | Justin Wilson | DET | RP |
245 | Derek Norris | SD | C,1B |
246 | Anthony Cingrani | CIN | RP |
247 | Marcus Semien | OAK | SS |
248 | Jake McGee | COL | RP |
249 | Yordano Ventura | KC | SP |
250 | Jurickson Profar | TEX | 2B,SS,3B |
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