Welcome back to the third week in our series to introduce the Top 100 Hitters for the 2022 fantasy baseball season. We have covered the top 10 here and the next 20 here over the past few weeks. This week we jump in with two feet to explore spots 31 through 60. At this point, we are starting to explore the fourth and fifth rounds of the draft and hoping to round out our early round moves. There are certainly some upside picks in this section (Brandon Lowe or Wander Franco) to go alongside steady veterans (J.D. Martinez and Nolan Arenado) and the introduction of true high risk/high reward profiles (Adalberto Mondesi and Giancarlo Stanton). Read on for the next 30 spots in our countdown.
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31. Brandon Lowe
32. Francisco Lindor
33. George Springer
34. Cedric Mullins
35. Mitch Haniger
I covered Brandon Lowe and Cedric Mullins earlier this off-season and see players moving in different directions in value this year. While folks will be overpaying for what Mullins did last year, you should be focused on paying for what Lowe will do this year. The rest of this tier are stars that should have solid floors with upside. Mitch Haniger is an underrated player due in large part to his inability to stay on the field. Luckily his injuries have seemed to be anything but chronic and finally staying healthy last season showed us he has 40 homer power in his bat with an improving Mariner’s lineup.
36. Wander Franco
37. Javier Baez
38. Jose Altuve
40. Randy Arozarena
Wander has a ton of potential but I think it will take a few years for him to really grow into the fantasy force that many expect. Let somebody else pay for the production of 2023 or 2024. I will also be one of the lower guys on Teoscar Hernandez. There is something about his aggressive all out power profile trading strikeouts for home runs that is just a disaster waiting to happen. I do not know when it will happen, but there is a cliff in the future and I will not be caught holding the bag. Arozarena will never repeat his postseason hot streak, but the floor is very high here with a mix of power and speed.
41. Nolan Arenado
42. Pete Alonso
43. J.D. Martinez
44. Ketel Marte
45. Bryan Reynolds
As league wide averages continue to fall, the value of guys like Ketel Marte and Bryan Reynolds will just keep climbing. Not to mention both gentlemen have sneaky good power to boot. I also expect to own a decent number of shares of both Nolan Arenado and J.D. Martinez this year. Both have more perceived concerns than real concerns. I expect Nolan to continue to adjust to life outside of Coors Field while Martinez will just keep hitting like he does every year. Let others chase the shiny new toys while you grab the discount on these veterans.
46. Corey Seager
48. Carlos Correa
49. Alex Bregman
50. Austin Riley
This tier and the next is where I like will be turning towards the pitcher’s mound. Each of these guys comes with more risk than I would like in general on my team. We never know if Giancarlo will be healthy despite his immense potential. I also want no part of Austin Riley, he is not a .300 hitter and is only a few too many strikeouts away from a big letdown. Sure, there is a time to draft that profile, but not nearly as early in the draft as he has been going.
51. Salvador Perez
52. Kris Bryant
53. Byron Buxton
54. Jose Abreu
55. Jorge Polanco
Salvador Perez had an amazing season last year and undoubtedly delivered a number of fantasy championship trophies. However, spending a high pick on a catcher is always risky, and expecting a merely good season is much more reasonable than a repeat of 2021. The move to Coors Field gives Kris Bryant a slight boost up my rankings based on intrigue alone, but expectations should be tempered. Byron Buxton is an incredibly hard rank due to his upside and injury risk. I love the gamble if you built a solid foundation limiting risk, but just don’t be surprised if you only get a half season.
57. Jesse Winker
58. Fernando Tatis Jr.
59. J.T. Realmuto
60. Christian Yelich
This last group also has risk and concern, but a level of upside that gets difficult to ignore. Mondesi can single-handedly win the stolen base category if he ever stays healthy for a full season. Jesse Winker moves to a more spacious park in Seattle with questions about the impact to his power. Tatis will return to the top of our list at some point, but when is the bigger question. Finally, between Realmuto and Yelich we have two gentlemen that have been at the top of their positions in the not too distant past. However, there are certainly questions on their ability to ever fully recapture those thrones.
That is it for spots 31 through 60 in our preseason rankings. Next week we will celebrate our opening weekend by updating the top 60 and introducing the remaining spots on the Top 100 Hitters for the 2022 fantasy baseball season. For those of you with drafts this next week, good luck and happy drafting!
