Points League Hitter Rankings for 2021 Fantasy Baseball

After writing points league posts for the best fantasy baseball sports advice website on the planet for the last six years I think it’s time to switch things up. And by “switch things up” I mean approach my posts from a different angle. I thought about completely fabricating my content, but I think most of you would eventually catch on. Besides, I think there was a writer that already tried that approach. Instead I think I’m going to turn my posts into something of a hybrid between rankings, buy/sell and whatever the heck else I feel like tossing in. I don’t quite have a name for it yet, but I’ll come up with something in due time. With just one post a week, I feel like I need a way to pack as much punch into my attack. More bang for your buck if you will.

Current Hitter Rankings

The following rankings are based on a blend of preseason projections and year-to-date performance. The exact formula used is a Razzball family secret that will change as the season progresses, but what I will say is that it is weighted in a way such that YTD has more of an impact. How did I arrive at these rankings? I’m glad you asked. Technically I guess I asked, but I’m also going to answer. These rankings are based on the number of points I estimate each player will end the season with.

Rank	Name	FPTS YTD	PPPA YTD	Total
1	Ronald Acuna	139	1.02	619.15
2	Mike Trout	106	0.88	536.78
3	Jose Ramirez	108	0.80	535.81
4	Vladimir Guerrero	118	0.86	532.71
5	Juan Soto	57	0.74	511.24
6	Whit Merrifield	111	0.78	511.15
7	J.D. Martinez	132	0.91	490.04
8	Xander Bogaerts	106	0.77	485.20
9	Bryce Harper	87	0.76	482.18
10	Nick Castellanos	101	0.81	481.49
11	Freddie Freeman	93	0.65	481.27
12	Trea Turner	81	0.65	466.65
13	Mookie Betts	86	0.65	461.34
14	Trevor Story	96	0.70	460.24
15	Kris Bryant	105	0.78	458.27
16	Yordan Alvarez	86	0.79	453.31
17	Shohei Ohtani	112	0.87	452.91
18	Nolan Arenado	95	0.65	451.46
19	Carlos Santana	95	0.68	447.37
20	Yuli Gurriel	99	0.72	444.90
21	Byron Buxton	99	0.99	442.87
22	Fernando Tatis	68	0.64	442.62
23	Alex Verdugo	102	0.77	439.27
24	Nelson Cruz	93	0.76	438.81
25	Rafael Devers	94	0.70	437.82
26	Justin Turner	99	0.72	432.78
27	Alex Bregman	81	0.70	432.71
28	Corey Seager	87	0.58	424.59
29	Marcus Semien	87	0.60	424.03
30	Anthony Rizzo	82	0.59	419.86
31	Bo Bichette	84	0.59	416.92
32	Mark Canha	97	0.66	415.51
33	Ozzie Albies	84	0.64	410.96
34	Manny Machado	78	0.54	410.38
35	Jesse Winker	85	0.75	409.85
36	Jesus Aguilar	88	0.71	393.84
37	Franmil Reyes	81	0.68	391.51
38	DJ LeMahieu	74	0.51	391.22
39	Jared Walsh	89	0.70	390.53
40	Miguel Rojas	87	0.70	390.45
41	Max Muncy	84	0.61	389.47
42	Mitch Haniger	92	0.65	388.95
43	David Peralta	88	0.68	387.00
44	Eddie Rosario	72	0.59	380.65
45	Giancarlo Stanton	82	0.63	379.89
46	Pete Alonso	63	0.53	378.55
47	Randal Grichuk	89	0.68	377.67
48	Yermin Mercedes	73	0.68	376.47
49	Eric Hosmer	82	0.59	374.50
50	Raimel Tapia	85	0.65	374.28
51	Ramon Laureano	85	0.62	373.11
52	Isiah Kiner-Falefa	92	0.61	370.76
53	Michael Brantley	74	0.62	369.09
54	Jose Abreu	65	0.49	367.24
55	Adam Frazier	81	0.57	367.12
56	Kyle Seager	76	0.54	366.85
57	Chris Taylor	87	0.70	365.95
58	Tommy Edman	83	0.54	364.49
59	Eduardo Escobar	76	0.55	363.47
60	Francisco Lindor	52	0.43	362.34
61	Jeff McNeil	58	0.56	361.93
62	Trey Mancini	79	0.56	360.24
63	Matt Olson	77	0.64	358.45
64	Charlie Blackmon	66	0.56	354.78
65	Ryan McMahon	84	0.60	354.06
66	J.T. Realmuto	76	0.67	353.54
67	Kyle Tucker	64	0.50	350.71
68	Nick Madrigal	70	0.65	349.70
69	Paul Goldschmidt	69	0.49	349.55
70	Buster Posey	81	0.95	348.11
71	Rhys Hoskins	67	0.47	345.94
72	Cedric Mullins	92	0.62	345.91
73	Bryan Reynolds	74	0.56	344.57
74	Robbie Grossman	78	0.55	343.52
75	Carlos Correa	70	0.51	343.24
76	Austin Meadows	76	0.55	342.96
77	Nick Solak	78	0.54	342.83
78	Nate Lowe	90	0.59	341.14
79	Javier Baez	70	0.60	341.03
80	Dylan Carlson	77	0.58	338.31
81	David Fletcher	64	0.43	337.69
82	Tim Anderson	60	0.59	333.31
83	Marcell Ozuna	55	0.37	332.10
84	Trent Grisham	65	0.60	330.60
85	Salvador Perez	70	0.52	329.25
86	Jose Altuve	59	0.56	327.63
87	Jake Cronenworth	74	0.52	327.39
88	Carson Kelly	81	0.87	326.86
89	Paul DeJong	68	0.51	324.95
90	Max Kepler	54	0.59	322.28
91	Will Smith	73	0.71	322.27
92	Starling Marte	54	0.78	321.92
93	Joey Votto	57	0.47	321.10
94	Brandon Crawford	73	0.74	321.09
95	Luis Arraez	63	0.61	320.24
96	Jorge Polanco	60	0.48	318.55
97	Anthony Rendon	44	0.64	318.37
98	Michael Conforto	48	0.42	318.32
99	Brandon Belt	66	0.59	316.68

I got 99 batters and Aaron Judge ain’t one. I’m sure the above list is bound to stir up some controversy, but this is my first go at this exercise. Judge actually clocks in at number 101, just missing the cut. I’ve never been a big Judge fan in points leagues. Between injuries, strikeouts and overrated ADP, he’s just not a player that’s ever going to find his way onto my roster. I’m gonna let everyone else chase 2017.

It’s early in the season and I expect this list to fluctuate plenty over the next couple of months. Other notable omissions include: Mike Moustakas, Didi Gregorius, Gleyber Torres, Matt Chapman, Josh Bell, Dansby Swanson, Cristian Yelich, Cavan Biggio and Eugenio Suarez.

Please note that players that have missed time due to injury are likely to have their rankings greatly lowered due to me not being able to really calculate what to expect from them this year. So if an obvious player is missing, such as Yelich, that’s most likely why.

Now let’s take a look at some players that are performing either much below or above preseason expectations.

Eugenio Suarez – Man, I wish I knew what to do with this freaking guy. Only Joey Gallo (51) and Matt Chapman (49) have more strikeouts than Suarez (47). Since 2017 his strikeout rate has gradually increased from 23.3 to approximately 35 percent this season. He’s walking less and striking out more. That’s a double negative which doesn’t cancel each other out. I’ve got to imagine he’s going to right the ship to some degree at some point. In the meantime he’s been sitting on my bench the last two weeks and will continue to do so until he shows some signs of life or forces me to drop him. If you can get him on the cheap of someone has already given up on him in your league, I’d consider buying low. He’s a career .256 hitter that is currently batting .130!

Cavan Biggio – I’m not the guy to say I told you so, but I did pick Biggio as my bust in the Razzball Staff Picks. I never saw him as an All-Star quality player. I think he somehow got his car hitched onto the Guerrero/Bichette superstar train when he really should have been checking tickets. I don’t think you can drop him, but if he shows some flashes of upside, I’d try and trade him.

Francisco Lindor – Lindor will continue to be a “buy” for me until he finishes a full season as a bust. He’s well on his way towards doing that this year, but I still believe he will turn the corner. Perhaps he hasn’t fully adjusted to the change of scenery. I’m not sure what happened with Jeff McNeil, but maybe Lindor needs a few skirmishes to get him fired up. Lindor’s walk rate is up and his strikeout rate is down, he’s just not hitting the ball. I’d scoop him up anywhere I could at a discount. The opposite of the regression fairies has to be around the corner.

Marcell Ozuna – I’m buying Ozuna. At least until I’m not, but that goes for any player. He’s underperforming. He’s going to hit at least 25 home runs and he’s only got four at the moment.

Gleyber Torres – The shortstop position is too deep for me to be worrying about Torres. Right now he’s not even in the top 20 at SS. I don’t expect him to finish in the top 12, which means he’s a pretty much a bench player. He will rebound, but when and how much is too much of an unknown. I’d much rather have Carlos Correa.

Mookie Betts – Obvious buy, but I don’t ever see him coming at a discount. Still someone I’d be thrilled to acquire.

Here are a few sells: J.D. Martinez, Nick Castellanos, Kris Bryant and Buster Posey. Now I’m not saying these guys are going to fall apart, but I just don’t see them maintaining their current point scoring pace.

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