Welcome back to week three of unveiling the top 100 Hitters for the 2023 fantasy baseball season. Over the past few weeks, we have walked through the top 25 (check it here) and then rounded out the top 50 (another link) bringing us to this week. We are now entering the back half of the top 100 hitters for 2023. This portion is where the rankings start to bunch up and hitter #51 is much closer to hitter #75 than #1 is to #2. Maybe that is stating the obvious but it is key for how we handle this portion of the draft. With this group of hitters, we start to think about need, team makeup, and shortfalls in our categories to ensure we have a well balanced team rather than trying to win a single roto category by lapping the field. We all know the guy that drafts only steals or seven closers, so do not be that person! With the formalities out of the way, let us get on with the rankings.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Anthony Santander
Please see our player page for Anthony Santander to see projections for today, the next 7 days and rest of season as well as stats and gamelogs designed with the fantasy baseball player in mind.
It’s getting ridiculous now, isn’t it? Once sign stealing was quelled, the haters couldn’t wait for the Houston Astros to fall flat on their faces. But this Day of Reckoning never really comes, does it? No matter what front office or rule changes occur, these modern-day Astros just keep on chuggin’. They are a seemingly […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?If you are starting a team in a new dynasty league, take a look at the position breakdown of the top 200 players, using the main position for utility players except for one, who plays basically any position in the field.
What quickly jumps out is the lack of depth at second base and third base. The second and third base positions alone add up to only one more Top 100 player than the shortstop position. There are some great players at those two positions, but the overall quality lacks compared to shortstop or first base.
When it comes to catchers and relief pitchers, I can tell you right now that there are few of them ranked. There are a lot of good catchers, but many of them will get only 110 or so starts or they are getting up in age, making them less than desired dynasty options.
As for the relivers, I never chase saves (or holds if your league has them). How many players dread chasing Aroldis Chapman last year or a host of other top closers? Meanwhile, five new closer will come out the woodwork this year that you can get in the middle of the season.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Welcome back to the 2023 Dynasty Keepers. This week we will look at my Tier 5 group – players 125 to 101.
When it comes to putting together your dynasty team, you have to try to stick to your formula as much as possible. I’ve discussed my approach to how I build my dynasty teams, but here is a quick reminder:
Young over old.
Draft the hitter over the pitcher.
Draft the starting pitcher ahead of the closer
Trust your gut
Heading into a draft, figure out what your approach is going to be then stick with it as much as possible. Yes, there are times when you need to be flexible, but in the end just go with your gut instinct. You formulated a plan, so trust your plan and don’t make a panic pick because there is a run at a position,
If your plan is to build a team heavy on relatively unknown but high-ceiling players, then go for it. As the season progresses and you need to fill holes, you can always flip a young player and/or prospects (if you have a league with prospect rosters) for a key veteran.
You want to win right away? Then go heavy with proven veteran players, with the risk that many other teams are filling their rosters with younger players who can be core players for years to come. Three years from now your old players may start their decline and then you’re headed for a rebuild.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Top 40 outfielders for 2023 fantasy baseball are here and they’re purdy like your little mouth! Sorry, been wanting to watch Deliverance, but can’t find it streaming, so been reenacting it from my memories with some toys I bought at a yard sale. *holds up Miss Piggy plushie* Squeal, Piggy! So, here’s Steamer’s 2023 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Hitters and 2023 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Pitchers. Subscriptions are up and running, and you can already get Rudy’s Draft War Room. Anyway, here’s the top 40 outfielders for 2023 fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Happy New Year! As the calendar gets set to flip to 2023, it means we are that much closer to the start of the baseball season once again. Thank goodness for fantasy baseball, otherwise the winter months would really drag on.
This week we are doing one final look at the 2023 Top Keepers by position as we wrap up with right fielders.
The Power Position
Of the three outfield spots, right field produced the most power in 2022 as the average was 21 homers and 75 RBI with 10 steals to go with a .241/.309/.405 slash line. And Aaron Judge didn’t inflate those numbers. Judge actually started more games in center (74) than right (54) this past season and hit 32 homers while playing in center compared to 19 as a right fielder.
Eleven of the Top 30 ranked players below hit 25 or more homers. But the position also has players who can steal bases as 11 players reached double digits in that category in 2022.
Overall, it is a pretty deep position and one of the more experienced positions in my rankings. Of the 30 ranked players, 12 are 30 years old or older. But there is still a lot of great, young talent – players who are going to be great keepers for years.
So let’s get past the small talk and take dive into the 2023 Top Keepers – Right Fielders.
Please, blog, may I have some more?Anthony Santander hit how many homers in the 2nd half?! I’ve read the number five times from three different sources, and now I’m on the phone with AppleCare asking them if my computer has been hacked. “No, my computer is acting fine, but I think someone hacked into Anthony Santander’s player page at every source […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Hey, if it’s a day that ends in “y” then it is a good talk to talk about fantasy baseball. This week we are shining a light on left fielders in another edition of the 2023 Top Keepers series.
When it comes to left fielders, they are almost like the second basemen of the outfield. Many left fielders also play other positions, whether it is elsewhere in the outfield, DH, or someone in the infield.
Of the 30 ranked players and the five who just missed, only 15 of them appeared in more than 100 games in left. A few more of them would have reach 100 games if they were called up to the big leagues sooner or didn’t suffer through injuries.
The Average Left Fielder
The goal when building a fantasy team is to obviously have the best players at every position. But that is pretty much impossible to do. But an easier goal to reach is to at least have a player who is better than league average at that position. You may think this is easy, but in 16- to 20-team leagues with deep rosters, this goal is a lot harder to achieve than you may think.
So, what does the average left fielder produce?
A slash line of .250/.322/.403
19 home runs
72 RBI
10 stolen bases
If you can start a player who tops the majority of those players, then you are in good shape. And in case you are wondering, the average left fielder has the best overall slash line compared to center fielders and right fielders, while center fielders have the best speed and right fielders the most power.
Decent Depth
Unlike some other positions we have already looked at, like second base, there is relatively good depth in left field. The top players are head and shoulders better than the rest of the group, but there are decent players to be found in Tier 5.
Now, let’s start our dive into the 2023 Top Keepers – Left Fielders edition.
Please, blog, may I have some more?The good news is the top 20 outfielders for 2022 fantasy baseball are better than the top 20 3rd basemen. The unfortunate news is, if you had a five-outfielder league, you need at least 60 of these guys, and by the time we get through 40 in our next post, we will have already run dry of solid outfielders. Outfield isn’t shallow, but I wouldn’t say it’s deep either. This end-of-the-year ranking is from our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater with my comments. The Player Rater allows me to be impartial while looking at how I ranked them in the preseason. Anyway, here’s the top 20 outfielders for 2022 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:
Please, blog, may I have some more?With the season finished, we can finally look back at the big picture. I sit here watching Shohei Ohtani pitch for the final start of the season and think back on the journey. We witnessed amazing things. Ohtani has done something no one has ever done, again. Is it any less amazing when someone maintains […]
Please, blog, may I have some more?Usually start writing these posts after the game has concluded, but for the Orioles game yesterday, I started working on the Anthony Santander lede about five hours before the game ended. The game was like: Run, run, five runs, seven runs, eleven runs, then fifteen pitcher changes. Has the game ended? I don’t know, and, at this point, it’s no longer my concern. Anthony Santander (3-for-5, 3 runs, 3 RBIs and his 32nd and 33rd homer) is my concern. He now has four homers in the last two games; six homers in four games; 33 homers in 153 games–Wait, that becomes less impressive again. Santander becomes the 2nd player in MLB history to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game four times in a season, joining Ken Caminiti, who did it during his MVP year. Six homers in a four-game span hasn’t been done since the hottest schmotato of all-time, Luke Scott. During Luke Scott’s run, he actually went on Fallon with a schmotato that resembled him. Crazy times. Lucky the season’s gonna end soon or Anthony Santander would pass Judge in…*does quick math*…twelve days. For 2023 fantasy, I bet Santander is still underrated even though he has a 18.6% strikeout rate (excellent for a power hitter), 14.5% HR/FB (not at all obscene), and expected stats that back up just about everything he’s doing. Is he Anthony Santander or Anonymity Santander? Damn, Guy Fawkes, don’t be so Anonymous. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?Before we get to the action, as Jerry Bruckeheimer would say, I just want to point out how MLB schedules are the most ding-dang-dopey things. That’s right, Triple D, but not as in Guy Frieri. It’s almost like they held yesterday for any games that were rained out all year, then, during the year, they forgot they did that, so they had teams in August play nine games a week, and now we have a day with four games. Just gotta tip your hat to MLB’s stupidity. Don’t even get me started on them ending the year on a Wednesday. Um, are you dumb, MLB? Any hoo! The Elder Gods have spoken, the Lord of the Rings new show on Amazon has sponsored the Braves, and the Gnats suuuuuuuuuuuuuck with twelve U’s. Bryce Elder went 9 IP, 0 ER, 7 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.76 vs. the Gnats, and not even Joey Meneses, the Greek God of “Now’s Not A Good Time To Bother Mom” could get him. Braves are hilarious with how they just call-up guys, and they’re the best pitchers ever for a season, then disappear as quickly. Hopefully not Spencer Strider, but I’m not ruling out TTS, The Touki Syndrome. Elder is a 8 K/9, 4+ BB/9, 4.30 xFIP guy, who I wouldn’t trust in most circumstances, but, for this year in fantasy, all that matters is what the Streamonator says. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Please, blog, may I have some more?