Fantasy baseball rankings: Notes on 2017's early top 100
Spring training camps haven’t even opened, but many fantasy owners have already begun looking forward to their first drafts.
There are still so many variables in play, but sometimes the hardest part of preparing for draft day is getting started.
So with the understanding that things can (and will) change considerably before opening day, it’s time to take a crack at ranking the top 100 overall fantasy players for 2017.
The first rounders
1 Mike Trout OF
2 Mookie Betts OF
3 Jose Altuve 2B
4 Paul Goldschmidt 1B
5 Kris Bryant 3B
6 Nolan Arenado 3B
7 Clayton Kershaw SP
8 Manny Machado 3B/SS
9 Bryce Harper OF
10 Josh Donaldson 3B
11 Anthony Rizzo 1B
12 Miguel Cabrera 1B
13 Max Scherzer SP
14 Trea Turner OF/2B
15 Starling Marte OF
Fantasy owners devote far too much time and brainpower to the precise order of these top players. (Some people even dedicate entire articles to which draft spot in the first round is most advantageous.)
Which fantasy draft slot is best? It's not necessarily No. 1
In reality, all of them are supremely talented and excellent cornerstones for a winning team.
The top four are ranked that way because they contribute in all five of the major offensive categories. Next comes a group of elite sluggers who don’t steal many bases, followed by a pair of speed-first hitters with decent power. And included in the first round are the game’s two most dominant starting pitchers.
Still star-quality
16 Madison Bumgarner SP
17 Carlos Correa SS
18 Edwin Encarnacion 1B
19 Corey Seager SS
20 Charlie Blackmon OF
21 Joey Votto 1B
22 Francisco Lindor SS
22 Freddie Freeman 1B
24 Robinson Cano 2B
25 Corey Kluber SP
26 Noah Syndergaard SP
27 A.J. Pollock OF
28 Chris Sale SP
29 Jonathan Villar SS/3B
30 Ryan Braun OF
31 Daniel Murphy 2B/1B
32 Trevor Story SS
33 Jon Lester SP
34 Giancarlo Stanton OF
35 Xander Bogaerts SS
If you didn’t grab Kershaw or Scherzer early, here are still a few aces available in this group. With six consecutive 200-inning seasons and a strikeout rate that keeps rising, Bumgarner could easily go in the top 15 overall. Kluber, Syndergaard, Sale and Lester are also excellent options.
Here is also a good time to start thinking about shortstops. Six of them can be found in the 16-35 range, while there’s only one more in the entire top 100. Strike now or be prepared to wait a while.
Freeman could be a sneaky pick in this group with the Atlanta Braves moving to their new stadium. The dimensions in right field are particularly friendly to left-handed power hitters, so expect Freeman – who hit a career-high 34 home runs last season -- to take advantage.
Run on outfielders
36 Brian Dozier 2B
37 Jake Arrieta SP
38 David Price SP
39 Christian Yelich OF
40 Nelson Cruz OF
41 Rougned Odor 2B
42 Carlos Gonzalez OF
43 Dee Gordon 2B
44 George Springer OF
45 Johnny Cueto SP
46 Buster Posey C
47 Justin Verlander SP
48 Andrew McCutchen OF
49 Kyle Seager 3B
50 J.D. Martinez OF
51 Billy Hamilton OF
52 Jose Abreu 1B
53 Gregory Polanco OF
54 Justin Upton OF
55 Wil Myers 1B
The sheer number of outfielders ensures fantasy owners will have a variety of options available throughout the draft. But don’t lapse into a false sense of security; outfielders who provide the attributes you need aren’t always there for the taking. If you need speed and pass on Hamilton, for example, there may not be another impact base stealer for several rounds.
With a few exceptions, this group is populated by established veterans who haven’t yet begun to show any significant post-peak decline. But there’s always a chance Cruz, Gonzalez, Cueto, Verlander or McCutchen – to name a few – could hit that over-30 wall.
This is also time to consider taking a catcher. Posey was a second-rounder last year, but his numbers regressed in nearly every offensive category. However, his underlying metrics show no perceptible signs of decline.
Breakout level
56 Stephen Strasburg SP
57 Yu Darvish SP
58 Kenley Jansen RP
59 Ian Desmond OF
60 Jean Segura 2B/SS
61 Carlos Carrasco SP
62 Aroldis Chapman RP
63 Adrian Beltre 3B
64 Jonathan Lucroy C
65 Yoenis Cespedes OF
66 Ian Kinsler 2B
67 Anthony Rendon 3B
68 Lorenzo Cain OF
69 Hanley Ramirez 1B
70 Chris Archer SP
71 Jacob deGrom SP
72 DJ LeMahieu 2B
73 Zach Britton RP
74 Adam Jones OF
75 Chris Davis 1B
Closers begin to pop up here with the definitive top three in Jansen, Chapman and Britton.
This is also a good time to take a chance on a player who could take a significant step forward this season. Strasburg and Darvish have top-five talent if they can stay healthy. Cespedes could finally put it everything together. Rendon and Cain could return to their peak performance levels from a couple seasons ago. Carrasco, Archer and deGrom could be this year’s version of Cy Young winners Dallas Keuchel or Rick Porcello.
Rosters take shape
76 Matt Kemp OF
77 Willson Contreras C/OF
78 Jason Kipnis 2B
79 David Dahl OF
80 Mark Trumbo OF
81 Zack Greinke SP
82 Kyle Hendricks SP
83 Masahiro Tanaka SP
84 Matt Carpenter 1/2/3
85 Gary Sanchez C
86 Aaron Sanchez SP
87 Carlos Martinez SP
88 Khris Davis OF
89 Alex Bregman 3B
90 Eric Hosmer 1B
91 Mark Melancon RP
92 Rick Porcello SP
93 Jose Quintana SP
94 Cole Hamels SP
95 Jose Ramirez 3B/OF
96 Gerrit Cole SP
97 Danny Duffy SP
98 Craig Kimbrel RP
99 Adam Eaton OF
100 Seung Hwan Oh RP
Rounding out the top 100, fantasy owners can start addressing weak spots on their rosters by targeting specific needs rather than simply taking the highest-ranked player on the board.
Among the players I like a little better than most people seem to at this stage are Dahl, Aaron Sanchez, Hosmer, Ramirez, Duffy and Eaton.
Totaling up the positions represented in the top 100 (they don’t add up to 100 because of multiposition eligibility), there are five catchers, 15 first basemen, 12 second basemen, eight shortstops, 11 third basemen, 29 outfielders, 26 starting pitchers and six closers.
Even in 15-team leagues, each owner should have at least one pitching anchor – possibly two – plus two outfielders, a middle infielder and two corner infielders. There should also be an ample supply of both power and speed. If any of those areas are lacking, address them quickly or at least have some specific late-round targets in mind.
Don't agree with some of these rankings? Tweet your comments to @SteveAGardner or discuss them on USA TODAY Fantasy Sports' Facebook page.