When it comes to the Top 25 rankings, I often penalize players who are on the disabled list because those players can’t help your fantasy team. But there is always an exception to the rule. The exception is Wander Franco.
Franco left Friday night’s game against Detroit with right hamstring tightness and was placed on the 10-day IL Saturday. According to manager Kevin Cash, Franco can be out two to three weeks, though he hopes it could be a quicker recovery. The injury couldn’t come at a worst time for fantasy owners as the playoffs have started or about to start, depending on the number of teams that make the playoffs in your league.
Despite the injury, I moved Franco into the top 10 in my rankings as he now sits at No. 9. He would be higher, but my rankings also take into account what players have done the entire season, and Franco has not been with the Rays the entire season. If he had been, he would be in the Tier 1 group.
Before suffering his injury, the 20-year-old Franco ripped a pitch up the middle at 107.5 mph to reach base and extend his on-base streak to 39 games. Franco is now four games shy of tying the record for for the longest on-base streak by a player 20-years-old or younger. In 62 games this season, Franco is slashing .285-.347-463 with 49 runs scored, seven homers, 36 RBI and 2 steals. In his last 25 games, his slash line is .347-.407-.571 with 27 runs scored, three home runs and 16 RBI.
Those stats are why Franco has climbed the rankings despite him now being injured. It’s plainly obvious he is one of the best hitting shortstops in baseball and by next year he will likely reside in Tier 1 all season. Now let’s see who else has climbed in the rankings or taken a tumble.
Tier 1
| Rank | Name | Team | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | SD | 1 |
| 2 | Marcus Semien | TOR | 2 |
| 3 | Bo Bichette | TOR | 3 |
| 4 | Jorge Polanco | MIN | 5 |
| 5 | Trea Turner | SD | 4 |
Tier 2
| Rank | Name | Team | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Manny Machado | SD | 8 |
| 7 | Javier Baez | CHC | 16 |
| 8 | Dansby Swanson | ATL | 6 |
| 9 | Wander Franco | TB | 13 |
| 10 | Carlos Correa | HOU | 15 |
Aside from Franco, two more players moved into the Tier 2 rankings, with Javier Baez jumping up nine spots and Carlos Correa five.
Baez may not be making a lot of friends among Mets fans with the thumbs-down celebration, but he is putting up great numbers in 2021. For the year he now has 29 homers and 80 RBI to go with 16 steals and a slash line of .258-.305-.502. Over the last month, he has been outstanding, slashing .343-.397-.672 with 16 runs scored, five homers, 11 RBI, and three steals in 19 games. Baez is certainly making a late-season push to get paid this offseason in free agency.
Carlos Correa wasn’t making many fans happy in Houston in July when he hit .178 with a .256 OBP and .301 slugging percentage. In 20 games, he hit only one home run and drove in nine runs. But the future free agent has turned it around at the plate. In August he slashed .298-.385-.489 with four homers and 11 RBI and has been even better in September with a .364-.400-.606 slash line with two homers and six RBI in his first eight games of the month.
Tier 3
| Rank | Name | Team | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Chris Taylor | LAD | 7 |
| 12 | Tim Anderson | CHW | 10 |
| 13 | Brandon Crawford | SF | 11 |
| 14 | Jake Cronenworth | SD | 12 |
| 15 | Willy Adames | MIL | 9 |
This tier features two players who fell in the rankings as both Chris Taylor and Willy Adames fell from Tier 2. Taylor has struggled the last month for the Dodgers, slashing only .156-.228-.289, though he still has three homers and 10 RBI. Meanwhile, while Adames has been better at the plate than Taylor the last month, slashing .270-.343-.381, he has only one homer and five RBI.
Tier 4
| Rank | Name | Team | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Trevor Story | COL | 18 |
| 17 | Xander Bogaerts | BOS | 14 |
| 18 | Luis Urias | MIL | 17 |
| 19 | Tommy Edman | STL | NR |
| 20 | Jonathan Villar | NTM | NR |
Xander Bogaerts fell from Tier 3 into this grouping due to not matching his first-half production. July saw Bogaerts slash .234-.315-.416 with three homers and only seven RBI. He picked up the pace in August, driving in 15 with four homers while slashing .258-.336-.423 but he entered the weekend playing only one game in September due to COVID plaguing the Red Sox clubhouse.
Two players making the jump into the rankings are Tommy Edman and Jonathan Villar. Edman has been in and out of the rankings this year but is back in thanks to slashing .316-.362-.479 in his last 29 games with 23 runs scored, three homers, 16 RBI, and five steals. Villar has been red-hot for the Mets in his last 29 games, slashing .340-.409-.544 with five homers, 13 RBI, and four steals. If you need middle infield help, there is a chance that Villar is available as he is owned in only 62 percent of Yahoo leagues and 50 percent of ESPN leagues.
Tier 5
| Rank | Name | Team | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Ahmed Rosario | CLE | 21 |
| 22 | Nicky Lopez | KC | 22 |
| 23 | Ketel Marte | ARI | 23 |
| 24 | Corey Seager | LAD | 24 |
| 25 | Edmundo Sosa | STL | NR |
Not much has changed in Tier 5 other than the addition of Edmundo Sosa of the Cardinals. Corey Seager could be ranked a little higher, but compared to Ahmed Rosario, Nicky Lopez, and Ketel Marte, he hasn’t been significantly better over the last month of play to jump those players. Rosario is slashing .309-.330.473 with 15 runs scored, four homers, and 16 RBI while Lopez is slashing .363-.41-.460 with 10 RBI, nine steals, and 19 runs scored in his last 29 games.
Marte has actually been able to stay healthy over the last month and has hit six homers and driven in 18 over his last 26 games while slashing .271-.352-.531. That leads us to Seager. In his last 29 games, he has three home runs and 15 RBI and 12 runs scored while slashing .289-.400-.489. Nice numbers, but not better than those ranked ahead of him.
Meanwhile, I moved Sosa into the top 25 thanks to his play over the last month. In his last 65 at-bats, Sosa is slashing .354-.429-.538 with 12 runs scored, two homers, and 12 RBI to help push the Cardinals into the Wild Card picture.
Dropped Out
| Name | Team | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Kiké Hernandez | BOS | 19 |
| Myles Straw | CLE | 20 |
| Jazz Chisholm | MIA | 25 |
Jazz Chisholm has been a yo-yo when it comes to the rankings this year – up, down, up, down. Well, now he is down as he has struggled at the plate over the last month for the Marlins. In his last 25 games, he is slashing only .244-.293-.453. The good news for Chisholm owners is he swiped seven bags. That almost made me leave him ranked at 25th, but aside from the steals, Sosa (who is widely available in every league) has been better then last month.
