Luis Arraez

Please see our player page for Luis Arraez 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.

scar

A Preseason Trip Around The League: 2023 Second Basemen

March 20, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Second Basemen | 4 Comments

by:

This week we’re taking a look at the second base landscape, which is definitely shallower than the shortstop position. Overall, second base is looking even bleaker as Jose Altuve becomes the latest injury casualty of the World Baseball Classic. However, there’s always room for finding value and hidden gems at every position. AL East: Blue […]

Please, blog, may I have some more?
John Frascella

NL Team Predictions And Fantasy Analysis: Trea Turner Transaction Turns The Tide?

March 13, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Book Previews, Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 2 Comments

by:

It was a wild offseason for the National League, one highlighted by Trea Turner’s lucrative ($300 million) transition from the Dodgers to Phillies, along with fellow shortstop Xander Bogaerts’ introduction to the NL, via the San Diego Padres and $280 mil of his own. Two of the absolute best shortstops in the game are anchored […]

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

2023 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Rankings: Top 200

March 11, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Keepers, Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Keeper Leagues | 24 Comments

by:

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?
Grey

Pablo Twincasso

February 10, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes, Featured | 54 Comments

by:

Due to being in the middle of the 2023 fantasy baseball rankings, I got super backlogged on player updates, so this is going to be a huge How’s Your Father. First up, and perhaps the biggest news I missed, Pablo Lopez was shipped to the Twins. Or I should say given away. What’s his downside? Well, he kinda sucked last year. That’s a big one. Here’s the thing: That was last year, not this year. Crazy, right? If you followed my lead, you were out on Pab-Lo last year. And now we’re going back in. Last year, he threw 180 IP, 8.7 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 3.56 xFIP. Was a bit unlucky on men left on base and his command was a little wonky, but he upped his SwStr% and lowered his inside and outside zone contact. His 2nd half really hurt him (4.97 ERA) but that was based on a very high BABIP and he actually had better command. He had the 15th lowest Hard Contact% for the season, and 16th lowest in the 2nd half. That is disconnected from his 2nd half ERA. In fact (Grey’s got more!), he had the 8th highest difference in his 2nd half ERA and FIP. He was one of the unluckiest pitchers last year, and, if he hadn’t been, he would’ve ended the year with something like a 3.10 ERA instead of a 3.75 ERA and would be ranked at least ten starters higher, and drafted about 30 to 50 spots higher in ADP. He’s ranked and projected in the top 60 starters. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this offseason in 2023 fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
The Itch

Prospect News: Big Moves For The Royals, Marlins and Twins

January 25, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Featured | 38 Comments

by:

I have a confession to make, dear reader: I’m glad my wife doesn’t read my work here because I simply cannot stop thinking about . . . . Maikel Garcia. 

We’ll be having dinner, and she’ll be talking about her day, and I’ll be nodding along, or maybe even asking a follow-up question or two, but really all I’m thinking about is Maikel Garcia. 

Well, Nate Eaton, too. And Michael Massey sometimes. This week, Kansas City opened up 1,000 or so hypothetical plate appearances by trading center fielder Michael A. Taylor and shortstop Adalberto Mondesi. Word is the White Sox checked in on Nicky Lopez after that, and the Royals told them they view him as key depth. Sigh. Just when things were getting good. Roster resource plugged Hunter Dozier in at third base, and while that’s certainly plausible, how cool would it be if KC just kept trading these prospect-blockers? An infield of Witt, Garcia, Massey and Vinnie P looks like a lot of fun. So does an outfield of Edward Olivares, Drew Waters, and Nate Eaton with MJ Melendez at DH. Kyle Isbel and Samad Taylor factor in here somewhere, too. The club also signed Johan Camargo, so there’s no real reason to stop trading now. Can just play Camargo if they get scared of the youth movement.

Let’s build an ideal May 1 lineup.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

2023 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Rankings: 175-151

January 21, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Rankings | 5 Comments

by:

Welcome back to another week of the 2023 Dynasty Rankings. After looking at players in Tier 8, this week the focus is on Tier 7 players – numbers 175-151 overall.

As far as advice on how I approach building a team in dynasty leagues, well, nothing has changed since last week. So there is no need to go over that. If you missed last week’s rankings, just go to the bottom of this wonderful list and click on the link. And like magic you will be transported back to the past!

Like Players over 30?

I’ll give you a quick rundown of this week’s rankings. First, you are not going to find very many players who are over 30. In fact, only four players who are 30 or older are ranked in this tier. On the flips side, there isn’t an overabundance of players who are under 25. In fact, there are only four of those players.

These players have great upside but haven’t found their stride or have barely any time in the majors.

So, hope you like the Mid-20s

So what you will find is a strong group of players who are between 25-29, the players who can break out and become stars or simply be solid glue guys who help your team win because they provide solid stats across the board.

Everyone wants the star players, but more often than not, the team that has best depth is the team that wins a league championship.

Now, enough with the lovely banter. Let’s dig in and look at the 2023 Dynasty Rankings: 175-151.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Top 20 2nd Basemen for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

January 20, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Featured | 102 Comments

by:

One super quick word about the top 20 2nd basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball and all the 2023 fantasy baseball rankings, each ranking appears insanely long and it is, but I imagine in a lot of leagues guys won’t have eligibility, because I’m using the extremely lax Yahoo position eligibility (five games started). Without further ado because this post is longer than the combined length of the Gutenberg Bible and Steve Guttenberg’s IMDB page, I mention where tiers start and stop and all projections are mine and cannot be reproduced without the express written consent of Major League–Damn, I’m being told I did not have the express written consent to use MLB’s warning. It was expressly written for them. You guys! 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 20 2nd basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball:

NOTE: All my rankings are currently available on Patreon for the price of a Starbucks coffee, if you get one of those extra grande frappuccino jobbers. Don’t wait for the rankings to come out over the next month, and get them all now.

NOTE II: Free agents are listed as just that and not yet projected. Once a guy signs, I will write out their blurb and add in projections, or remove them, if they sign in an unfavorable place. They are ranked currently where I think they might be if they sign on for a full-time job.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Top 20 1st Basemen for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

January 19, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Featured | 107 Comments

by:

Are the top 20 1st basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball good? How do you define good? Is good definable? Are you Plato? What is a Plato? Any hoo! This post goes on for about 1.8 million words, so let’s dive in. Here’s Steamer’s 2023 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Hitters and 2023 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Pitchers. The projections noted in this post are my own, and I mention where tiers start and stop. Subscriptions are up and running, and you can already get Rudy’s Draft War Room. Anyway, here’s the top 20 1st basemen for 2023 fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

2023 Top Keepers – Second Basemen

November 26, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Keepers | 16 Comments

by:

Welcome back, everyone. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. 

This week we are going to dive into the 2023 Top Keepers – Second Basemen. When it comes to second baseman, it is a position that now seems to be home of platoon players.

Today’s managers and general managers believe that if you can play a position in the field, then you can play second base. In 2022, only 12 players started more than 100 games at second base, and only 15 appeared in more than 100 games at the position. In all, 160 different players started at least one game at second base in the majors this season.

WHAT HAPPENED TO SECOND BASEMEN?

There are 30 teams, and there were only 16 pure second baseman who reached enough plate appearances (3.1/team games played) to qualify for the batting title. Ouch. Injuries did factor into that as Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ozzie Albies missed a chunk of time. But it is still amazing at how few true second baseman reached enough plate appearances to qualify for a possible batting title.

And the quality of those 16 second basemen isn’t great. Of those players, only two of them (Jeff McNeil and Jose Altuve) hit .300 or better with one (Andres Gimenez) just missing at .297. Then it drops down to .266.

Overall, the position is just not deep. There are tons of players getting in time at second base who are now eligible to play there in fantasy leagues. So, in order to narrow down the candidates to consider for these rankings, I made the cutoff to rank a player at 25 starts at second.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Jakkers

2023 Top Keepers – First Basemen

November 19, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Keepers | 8 Comments

by:

I’m not sure what has gotten into general managers, but they are making trades like it is the midseason deadline and free agents are already coming off the board.

This action has me so excited, I can’t wait to get into this week’s 2023 Top Keepers – First Basemen edition.

What Kind of First Baseman Do You Want?

Today’s first basemen are all over the board. Some fall into the category of the traditional first baseman – the dudes who hit with power but didn’t do too much more at the plate. You also have your high average, high OBP first basemen who didn’t hit for a lot of power. And there are the few that do it all – or at least get close to doing it all.

Then you have your utility first basemen. Today’s game features plenty of first basemen who also play two to three other positions. We have second baseman who are playing first, or first basemen playing in the outfield or third base.

Because of this versatility, the position is no longer the home of just sluggers. You have to pick a first baseman to keep who best fills your specific needs because the complete first baseman – a run producing power hitter who hits for average and gets on base, are a rare breed.

So let’s dive in and get to the rankings.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Grey

Top 40 Outfielders for 2022 Fantasy Baseball, a Recap

October 21, 2022 | Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Featured | 49 Comments

by:

With the top 40 outfielders for 2022 fantasy baseball, we’ve finished all the hitter recaps. We meaning me, but I’ll include you. No, that’s not a cue to try to hold my hand. Why are you now patting my butt? Don’t muss my hair! The pitching recap will begin next. You can hardly wait. No, you! To recap, the end of the season rankings are based on our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater. I felt the easiest way to keep it objective would be to go this route. This way when I say a player finished 30th and I ranked them 23rd in the preseason, it carries more weight than Willians Astudillo. Anyway, here’s the top 40 outfielders for 2022 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:

Please, blog, may I have some more?