Everyone that reads Razzball knows me as the guy that writes about points leagues. Either that, or the dude whose posts you never read. What most don’t know is that I secretly dislike points leagues, at least traditional head-to-head leagues. I might have mentioned that at some point in some post in the past, but that’s a discussion for another day. While I focus on points leagues for Razzball, I studied the art of rotisserie baseball at a young age. I was introduced to fantasy baseball back in 1991 when I was only fourteen years old. It was supposed to be an NL-only league, but shortly before the draft the league fell apart so I took over a team in the AL-only league. My dad paid and I played. The league was all adults and me, and I somehow managed to finish in third place out of ten teams. Nowadays the only place you can find an adult league that allows boys is through NAMBLA. Do yourself a favor and do not google that acronym. Is google and official verb yet?
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In the first round I drafted Joe Carter. That makes him the first player I ever drafted in fantasy baseball. I followed him up with Ken Griffey Jr. in the second round. Do you remember who took your fantasy baseball virginity?
I decided I’d switch things up today and write a post about roto leagues. After all, they are the most common form of fantasy baseball. I also considered the fact that if I did so I might just gain a few extra followers/readers. Considering I’m still heavily active in the roto community, this wouldn’t be such a shock to the system for me. I hope.
Mike Trout is the best player in roto. He should be the first pick in every league. Period. If you think you are being cute or savvy by drafting Mookie Betts, Jose Altuve or Nolan Arenado with the first pick, you are an idiot. Sorry to be so blunt, but it’s the truth. And as much as I like Clayton Kershaw I’m not taking him with any pick of the first round. Not in roto leagues. Pitching is too deep to pass up a stud bat in the first two rounds. In the last three roto drafts I’ve done this year I haven’t taken a pitcher until the 7th round. And I find that it has worked out pretty well so far. Grab your bats early and then fill in your staff.
With that said, here are my 2017 Roto Rankings:
Top 20
Mike Trout
Mookie Betts
Nolan Arenado
Jose Altuve
Kris Bryant
Paul Goldschmidt
Manny Machado
Anthony Rizzo
Miguel Cabrera
Bryce Harper
Josh Donaldson
Charlie Blackmon
Trea Turner
Clayton Kershaw
Joey Votto
Madison Bumgarner
Nelson Cruz
Freddie Freeman
Chris Sale
Max Scherzer
1B
Paul Goldschmidt
Anthony Rizzo
Miguel Cabrera
Joey Votto
Freddie Freeman
Edwin Encarnacion
Jose Abreu
Chris Davis
Wil Myers
Eric Hosmer
Hanley Ramirez
Albert Pujols
Carlos Santana
Matt Carpenter
Gregory Bird
2B
Jose Altuve
Trea Turner
Robinson Cano
Rougned Odor
Daniel Murphy
Brian Dozier
Ian Kinsler
DJ LeMahieu
Jean Segura
Matt Carpenter
Dee Gordon
Dustin Pedroia
Jonathan Schoop
Ben Zobrist
3B
Nolan Arenado
Kris Bryant
Manny Machado
Josh Donaldson
Kyle Seager
Jonathan Villar
Todd Frazier
Adrian Beltre
Evan Longoria
Anthony Rendon
Matt Carpenter
Maikel Franco
Justin Turner
Alex Bregman
SS
Manny Machado
Carlos Correa
Francisco Lindor
Xander Bogaerts
Corey Seager
Jonathan Villar
Trevor Story
Jean Segura
Jose Peraza
Aledmys Diaz
Elvis Andrus
Addison Russell
Brad Miller
Eduardo Nunez
Troy Tulowitzki
Tim Anderson
OF
Mike Trout
Mookie Betts
Kris Bryant
Bryce Harper
Charlie Blackmon
Trea Turner
Nelson Cruz
Ryan Braun
Yoenis Cespedes
Starling Marte
George Springer
Andrew McCutchen
Christian Yelich
Giancarlo Stanton
J.D. Martinez
Justin Upton
Adam Jones
Matt Kemp
Mark Trumbo
Gregory Polanco
Khris Davis
Jose Bautista
Adam Eaton
A.J. Pollock
Lorenzo Cain
Kole Calhoun
Stephen Piscotty
Carlos Gonzalez
Andrew Benintendi
Odubel Herrera
Kyle Schwarber
Marcell Ozuna
Miguel Sano
Melky Cabrera
Billy Hamilton
Jose Peraza
Jackie Bradley Jr.
Ian Desmond
David Dahl
Nomar Mazara
Jose Ramirez
Ender Inciarte
Hunter Pence
Ben Zobrist
Dexter Fowler
Eric Thames
Max Kepler
Adam Duvall
Carlos Gomez
Joc Pederson
SP
Clayton Kershaw
Madison Bumgarner
Chris Sale
Max Scherzer
Noah Syndergaard
Corey Kluber
Jake Arrieta
Jon Lester
Johnny Cueto
Justin Verlander
Chris Archer
Stephen Strasburg
Carlos Carrasco
Kyle Hendricks
Masahiro Tanaka
Dallas Keuchel
Jacob deGrom
Zack Greinke
Carlos Martinez
Rick Porcello
Yu Darvish
Jose Quintana
Kenta Maeda
Cole Hamels
David Price
Danny Duffy
Marcus Stroman
Felix Hernandez
John Lackey
Julio Teheran
Gerrit Cole
Jeff Samardzija
Aaron Sanchez
Rich Hill
Danny Salazar
Matt Shoemaker
Steven Matz
James Paxton
Tanner Roark
Jameson Taillon
Michael Fulmer
Lance McCullers
Jake Odorizzi
Michael Pineda
Kevin Gausman
J.A. Happ
Aaron Nola
Marco Estrada
Jerad Eickhoff
Hisashi Iwakuma
As for closers, after Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman, it’s too much of a cluster funk to bother rankings. Find a depth chart and use common sense.
Considering I literally just finished my seventh draft or auction in the last five days, and I am exhausted, I think this is all you are going to get from me today. Good luck in your drafts, sorry about any typos and Baba Booey to you all.
