Top 20 for 2025 Fantasy Baseball

Yesterday, I went over the top 10 for 2025 fantasy baseball. Today, I throw out preconceived notions, drink some potions and lather up my body with lotions, as I sloppily slip and slide my way through a very precarious top 20 for 2025 fantasy baseball. This top twenty is a blind man playing Twister. Half the time, I’m grabbing for things not knowing if they’re there or not. This top 20 could go countless other ways. Is countless a widowed Countess? No, it’s not, it’s a confusing AF top 20 for fantasy baseball. All the positional rankings will live under the 2025 fantasy baseball rankings. Here’s Steamer’s 2025 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Hitters and 2025 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Pitchers. The projections in this post are, as always, mine. (But if you click on a player’s name, you see Steamer’s projections for that specific player. It’s magic!) Subscriptions are up and running, and you can already get Rudy’s Draft War Room. Anyway, here’s the top 20 for 2025 fantasy baseball:

NOTE: All my 2025 fantasy baseball 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: Watch us discuss the top 20 players:

11. Corbin Carroll – This tier started in the top 10 for 2025 fantasy baseball. This tier goes until Acuña. I called this tier, “It’s The We’re Back Era.” We might never have been more Back than a 24-year-old who went 24/54/.285 his rookie year being ranked this low. That’s pretty Back. Last year this 24-year-old (whoever could I be talking about) went 22/35/.231 and it was fueled by a .231 BABIP with a 2nd half that was 17/17/.258, and this is somehow a guy ranked this low. We’re so Back, baby! Unfortunately, we’re so Back that we’re sold out of the We’re Back Era t-shirts. Quick, new tier: The We’re Back Era is so Back that it’s now the We’re Sold Out of We’re Back Era T-Shirts. Corbin Carroll had a .265 BABIP in the 2nd half last year with that .258 average. That’s easily repeatable. Carroll’s 19 K% and 10.7 BB% with a .256 BABIP on the year with a 12 Launch Angle came with a lower Swinging Strike rate, better Contact% and a better eye, his O-Swing% went down roughly 4%, and somehow hit for a lower average? C’mon, that’s opposite world stuff. If his shoulder holds up — and I’d guess it will since it just did last year — he’s going to have one of those seasons where you’re like, “I could’ve drafted him in every league and didn’t. Everyone talking about the We’re Back Era, and I am not Back. I wanna be Back, too.” 2025 Projections: 117/28/75/.272/48 in 571 ABs

12. Julio Rodriguez – If you count out anyone in the We’re Back Era, then you’re gonna be in your We’re Sad Era. In case you think We’re Sad Era is ironically named, it’s not. It’s named because you’re gonna be sad. JRod usually starts slow, but last year he didn’t start until September. Doesn’t sound great, until you realize he hasn’t slept since last September and will be on zero sleep going into April so he can keep it going. Member the Beasties’ song, No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn. JRod’s doing No Sleep ‘Til April. He hit 10 HRs, .285 with six steals in 46 2nd half games. I’m not gonna ping that idiot, Mr. Prorater, but a 22-year-old who goes 32/37/.275 in 2023, then 10 HRs in only 46 2nd half games? That’s a guy who could easily be a top five hitter in baseball. He just needs to get going sometime before the final two weeks of the season. 2025 Projections: 96/32/101/.272/33 in 605 ABs

13. Ronald Acuña Jr. – This is a tricky We’re Back Era ranking because I don’t know when Tildaddy’s We’re Back Era will begin. Braves have already said that he won’t be back for Opening Day. Tildaddy is ready? Yes, we don’t know. About to start calling him Whendaddy. I ranked him this high because there’s no doubt that If-and-Whendaddy is Tildaddy, Thendaddy will be great. To talk less Seussian, when he’s back, I want him on my fantasy team. This could be the last chance to get him at a discount, which is kinda what I said before the 2023 season, when he went 41/73/.337, after he was coming off another knee injury. If I’m being realistic (which is no fun), how many knee injuries can he have before the Braves are like, “Dude, we like your exciting brand of baseball, but can you chillax on the steals?” I’m going to project the We’re Back Era starts for him mid-April and he’s his old self again, but I’d be lying if I didn’t think there was at least an outside chance he’s out until May-June and he’s more of a 20/30 guy upon return. Here’s hoping his We’re Back Era is so Back. UPDATE: Announced he wouldn’t run as much, so I had to lower him. See his new projections in the top 20 outfielders. 2025 Projections: 93/29/71/.269/42 in 541 ABs

14. Mookie Betts – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Harper. I call this tier, “A 20-something first rounder.” Not a Twenty-Something, like your nephew who says you got no rizz. This is 20-something like the year that starts with 20– and ends with 2023. These guys were all first rounders at some point in the last few years and, unlike Mike Trout, are still in the conversation. Last year, Betts was ranked 6th overall and I said, “Never trust a book by its cover, unless the book’s title is ‘Betts Won’t Steal A Lot Of Bags, Tucker Should.’ That Betts hit 39 homers last year feels like such a trap, but you look at his numbers and you’re like, ‘He’s Mookie Best.'” And that’s me quoting me! He still is the best Mookie. Apologies to Mookie Wilson.

Two years ago, I ranked Yordan 6th and said, “Captain Woo Cubano is Aaron Judge minus five years and nine steals. Woo is actually a better bet for 60 homers than Judge even though Judge just hit 60 in a 35-homers-is-a-lot year. If you’ve seen Captain Woo hit, you’re in love. If you’re not in love, then you have no heart. Not sure what that means for your health, but I’d take out a very large insurance policy for your loved ones, because no heart usually means dead.” And that’s me–Well, you know.

Finally, when I ranked Vlad Jr. 5th overall in 2022, I said, “Cake Batter was the best player for fantasy last year, so obviously it can be done, but you put the Hot Pocket on 75% heat for four minutes and then it’s a Hocked-A Pocket as you’re spitting it across the floor and Cake Batter’s “only” a 35/.300/2 hitter, which is great, awesome, adjective! But is that a top 5 hitter overall? Meh, maybe close, but not without some solid runs and RBIs, which he should get, but those can be fickle.” And that’s me making myself cackle!

Then for the final and maybe best one for “Grey’s got crackers in la cabeza,” Bryce Harper was ranked 4th overall in 2018, and I said, “One of these years we’re going to see the 50 HR, 20 SB, .330 season from Bryce, and now you’re thinking about how you haven’t been hornier for a man since Heath Ledger died. ‘He’s such a gritty Joker,’ you say to yourself as you touch your nipples. That’s what Bryce is gonna do to you. More than likely, we’re going to see a month or two from Bryce that makes him seem headed for a 50/20 season, but then he takes a dookie for a month and you’re thinking about selling him for two Susan B.’s and a two dollar bill. He’s still only 25 years old, and, barring an injury, I see little reason he’ll be worse than a top 25 hitter, with a chance of being the absolute best.” And that’s me howling at me! By the way, Heath Ledger was a dated reference in 2018. Never change, Grey!

As for Betts, those quotes weren’t just me jacking myself like Ice Cube be jacking for beats. It shows you how fickle this entire enterprise is. Beam me up, Scotty, but to where? Where do I beam to? There’s no directions on this beamer! Betts’s quote (and all of them) is still relevant. Betts stopped running. Betts looks like he could steal twice as many as he does, but doesn’t. He’s also in the best lineup in baseball, an easy .290 hitter and has a huge spread for power — anywhere from 25 homers to 40. If he stays on the field, it’s hard to envision a year where he’s worse than this ranking, but that was how I felt when I ranked all the guys in this tier in the first round in the last few years. 2025 Projections: 107/33/102/.294/17 in 579 ABs

15. Yordan Alvarez – Does Captain Woo Cubano have a 158-game season in his giant tree trunks? In his massive branch-limbs that he swings, does he a full season? That’s what it’s going to come down to between him ranking around here at the end of the year and the top 10. Last year Woo ended up around here in value, and I can’t imagine a much worse year for him if he plays around 140 games. His Statcast is as perfect as I think I’ve ever seen:

Well, the most perfect Statcast sliders, outside of Judge and Ohtani, our two perfect unicorns. (Can there be more than one unicorn? Of course! How else are they mating? Wait, if there’s only two unicorns, then there’s some serious unicorn incest going on. Hmm, unicorns are nasty, doing it with their siblings. They’re going to end up with some abnormalities–Oh my God, that’s why unicorns have one horn!). Okay, Woo’s is the best Statcast minus the two nasty unicorns. 2025 Projections: 91/36/102/.306/3 in 561 ABs

16. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – Cake Batter aka Vladdy the Mini Impaler aka Vlad Guerrero, the 2nd of 17 Vlad Jr.’s that are coming, is taking over in the ranking for you know who. You don’t know who? I’ll give you a hint. His name sounds like Fraydie Pheemann. Actually, that’s not what his name sounds like, that’s how you spell his name if you just learned English. Freeman had a solid decade of top 20 ranked seasons, but it’s time to turn the page. (Watch Freeman have his best season yet.) As mentioned above about Judge and Ohtani being the only two unicorns above Yordan, Vlad Jr. has a strong case for another Statcast unicorn. Honestly, happy to hear it, because inbreeding is nasty! Anyway, the difference between Cake and Captain Woo Cubano is roughly 10 degrees on a Launch Angle. Also, I guess there’s a case to be made that Cake could steal a handful more bags, but that hasn’t always been the case in the statline. The whispers around him are he’ll never reach 48 homers again like he did in 2021, when the Jays were playing in MiLB parks, and those whispers might have a point, but he also turns 26 in March, we might not have seen anywhere close to his best. Okay, 48 HRs is a lot, and might be his best for power, but that’s still a very good best. 2025 Projections: 96/32/108/.309/4 in 605 ABs

17. Bryce Harper – One of these years we’re going to see the 50 HR, 20 SB, .330 season from Bryce–I’m kidding! Clearly! He has settled into a 30/10/.280 hitter in one of the best lineups. Harper is a future HOFer and made good on his huge prospect pedigree, so don’t take this the wrong way, and maybe because I just read my insane 2018 expectations for him, but he does feel like he’s slightly underperformed for his career. Not a lot, but he’s gonna end with around 475-525 homers, .280 average and 2300 hits. Not bad at all, and a solid WAR if that’s your thing. But he’s gonna be way more Carl Yastrzemski than Frank Robinson. I guess if he has a huge final five years of his career, that could change a bit, but judging on last five years, it seems we know where he’s headed. I’m talking big picture here because if you don’t know Bryce Harper by now for fantasy, what do you know? Do you know Traitors on Peacock? Because you should. That shizz is so good. 2025 Projections: 89/33/96/.288/9 in 541 ABs

18. Paul Skenes – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until here. I call this tier, “Fritos feet.” Fritos feet is when your dog’s feet smells like Fritos. This is a real thing. Google it, and you’ll see article after article about how to get rid of Fritos feet if your dog suffers from it. An article I am searching for is, “If your dog doesn’t have Fritos feet, how do you give it to them?” Because Fritos feet sounds wonderful. The tier name refers to me ignoring the draft while a pitcher gets drafted in the top 20, and googling “How To Give My Dog Fritos Feet.” If you’ve been following my rankings for a minute, and not an actual minute, but an Urban Dictionary minute, which is actually a long time, you know I’d never draft a starter in the top 20. So, yes, I’ve chosen to only rank one starter in the top 20 this year, and this is more to point out how I would not draft him. If you want to bemoan my low ranking of this one starter, then bemoan away. Just remember, a bemoaner sounds a bit to me like, “U be a boner.”

Here’s what I’ve said previously about ranking starters in the top 20, “Before you say, ‘Grey, you’re handsome AF, and super smart. You rub-a-dub places I thought only ladies could rub and/or dub. Yet, you say you’d never draft a starter in the top 20, but you’ve ranked Skenes in the top 20. Should I not draft Skenes if he’s available? Thank you for your time, you are a real pleasure.’ This always drives me crazy. Not the compliments, those are nice. If you’re following my rankings, JRod, Corbin Carroll, Yordan, and more are ranked higher than their ADP or where others are ranking them (for the most part; there’s exceptions, obviously). So how on earth did you get to pick 18, and have no one else available to you but Skenes? As lovely as that sounds, you’re not in a league with 17 me’s. There’s guys available to draft I like more than Skenes. A companion piece to this question is the guy (and, let’s be honest, it’s always a guy), who says, ‘Only players available were Skenes and Bryce Harper and I didn’t want to draft Harper, so I went with Skenes.’ So, you don’t want to listen to me on who to draft in regards to Harper, but you want me to say it’s okay to draft a guy I’ve ranked later who I’ve said not to draft? Okay…*places traffic cone on head, kneels down in driver’s ed course, gets slammed by pimple-faced teenager’s Sebring* So, why even rank Skenes 18th overall if I wouldn’t draft him here? I gotta rank him somewhere! What, I’m gonna rank him 450th overall next to Matthew Boyd?” And that’s me quoting me! I changed some names and numbers from last year to this year, but that’s still completely applicable, so please appliqué! Few funny things in regards to the find and replace I did on that quote. My example where I say Harper or Skenes here? Last year it was between Spencer Strider and Jose Ramirez. Man, I hope you went with Ramirez. Also, the starter who was ranked at 450th overall who is now Matthew Boyd? I said, where am I gonna rank Strider, next to Sean Manaea? Well, turns out, I should’ve.

As for Skenes, or rather why rank him over Tarik Skubal? Age matters, innings matter, when we’re splitting hairs. Skenes is a bit younger with fewer innings on his arm last year and just in general. They’re both great, if you’re the type to draft a top starter. I considered ranking Skubal in the top 20 with Skenes, but ranking another guy who I do not want to draft seemed daft, even for me. Skenes’s 11.5 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and 51.3% ground ball rate are insane in their own terms. Consider that he was a rookie and this might just be the beginning of him getting better? Well, get ready to learn Yankee in six years, buddy! Oh, and to bring this full circle, Sean Manaea had the 2nd best slider in baseball. The best? Skenes. Oh, and if you’re wondering, Skenes’s fastball, changeup and girlfriend are a tad better than Manaea’s. 2025 Projections: 17-6/2.47/0.97/250 in 192 IP

19. Jarren Duran – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until the end of the top 20. I call this tier, “I’m here to draft sexy hitters and chew gum, and I’m all out of gum.” Jarren Duran was higher than this on the Player Rater at the end of last year. If you were paying attention last year, you heard me repeatedly fall in love for Duran game after game. Repeatedly saying Duran like this, “Duran, Duran,” like it was a Reflex in an Ordinary World. Thinking about a Zoomer learning about the band Duran Duran for the first time and calling them The Durans. I’ve Come Undone.

Last year, Duran went 21/34/.285 with a 21.8 K% and 7.3 BB%. It’s rare for a player who just played his first season to be a neutral .280 hitter, but he is. He hit .313 on fastballs, that he saw 1700 times. He also hit .251 and .260 on breaking and offspeed pitches, respectively. Good luck to pitchers trying to beat him. He’s also neutrally a 30-steal guy, who I think could steal 50+ if he wants. Red Sox also run a lot. Then on the power, he’s actually hurt a bit by the park. In Houston, he would’ve hit 28 HRs; in Cincy, he would’ve hit 31. The homers he’s losing to The Monster, he’s gaining in BABIP and average. His profile reads as 50 doubles with 20 homers. His spray chart is just loaded with doubles. Look:

Could his bat control have him turn on more pitches for homers vs. doubles? I suppose. Could pitchers throw him more inside pitches and he hits more homers? Yes, it’s possible. Both of these scenarios make him even better for us, not worse. Oh, and he plays every day, and wants to, whether he’s banged up on Sunday or there’s a New Moon on Monday. 2025 Projections: 116/23/74/.291/36 in 617 ABs

20. Jackson Chourio – Nearly ranked Trea Turner in the top 20, but he seems like he’s more of a “solid for three months” guy at this point in his career and, at his age, steals tend to erode. I strongly looked at Freddie Freeman, strongly yawned and moved on. I considered Jazz, but I’m more of a rap guy. I even went back to the well of last year and thought about Matt Olson, Albies and every other Braves hitter who had an insanely unlucky previous year. But said nah. Brent Rooker? Well, no, I actually didn’t consider him for this top 20, except to mention he wasn’t considered. My point, it was not easy to land on Chourio as the final guy in my top 20. “Final guy in my top 20” is such a funny concept, by the way. As if this is it. Like, “It’s a wrap, go home and good luck in your fantasy baseball drafts!” And not, “Hey, man, you’ve barely scratched the surface I have about 65,000 more words for you on about 500 more players.” Much like Duran, that was Chourio’s first year and he looks like a neutral .280 hitter, only Chourio is 20 years old until March. I’m sorry, my eyes just legit fell out of my head. Duran is 28! Chourio is 20 until March! It’s one thing to be sexy eh-eff, it’s another thing to do it before you’re legal to drink. Chourio’s age and what he just did his rookie year (21/22/.275) make me want to draft him even if he regresses a little bit his sophomore season. I just want to feel something and I ain’t feeling much more than a 20/20/20-year-old with upside. Last year, I compared Chourio to Acuña because his upside is 30/40 and I am writing th15 wit mi drol–Sorry, I was writing that with the drool hanging from my lower lip. Give me Chourio on every fantasssyy teab–Sorry, it’s my drool typing again. 2025 Projections: 102/26/84/.284/32 in 589 ABs