Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide 2018

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Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide 2018 

Post#1 » by RealGM Articles » Mon Mar 19, 2018 1:16 am

With spring training in full swing, we’ve got the 2018 RealGM fantasy baseball draft guide right here. In case you’re not familiar with the format of my rankings, I organize the players in tiers based on position. I strongly suggest using a tier system for all of your drafts. You will also find a composite ranking of the top 150 players at the end of this article, which you must use to cross-check against the tier rankings (since player values vary based on position). So to reiterate because it’s important, you need to use the tier rankings and the top 150 in tandem in order to best make use of this guide (e.g. a tier 1 catcher doesn’t have the same value as a tier 1 first baseman, etc.). Please also note the following with respect to the rankings:

  • Rankings are based on the standard 5 x 5 categories (R, HR, RBI, AVG and SB on offense; W, K, ERA, WHIP and S for pitching). Adjust accordingly for leagues with additional/different categories. For example, Joey Votto gets a bump for leagues with OBP.
  • Rankings cover the 2018 season ONLY. For keeper/dynasty leagues, you will need to factor in keeper ramifications accordingly. 

Please hit me up on twitter at @NeemaHodjat with any questions for your draft or the rankings. With that, here we go:

Catchers: 

Tier 1: Gary Sanchez

Tier 2: Buster Posey, Willson Contreras

Tier 3: Salvador Perez, J.T. Realmuto, Evan Gattis

Tier 4: Wilson Ramos, Mike Zunino, Brian McCann, Yadier Molina, Welington Castillo

Tier 5: Yasmani Grandal, Jonathan Lucroy, Robinson Chirinos, Chris Iannetta, Austin Hedges, Alex Avila, Russell Martin, Matt Wieters

First Base: 

Tier 1: Paul Goldschmidt, Freddie Freeman, Joey Votto, Anthony Rizzo

Tier 2: Cody Bellinger, Jose Abreu, Rhys Hoskins, Edwin Encarnacion

Tier 3: Will Myers, Buster Posey, Eric Hosmer, Matt Olson, Carlos Santana, Joey Gallo, Matt Carpenter

Tier 4: Ian Desmond, Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Zimmerman, Justin Smoak, Josh Bell, Marwin Gonzalez, Justin Bour, Greg Bird, Chris Davis

Tier 5: Logan Morrison, Yonder Alonso, Trey Mancini, Eric Thames, Yuli Gurriel, Brandon Belt, Lucas Duda

Second Base:

Tier 1: Jose Altuve

Tier 2: Jose Ramirez, Brian Dozier, Dee Gordon

Tier 3: Robinson Cano, Jonathan Schoop, Daniel Murphy, DJ LeMahieu, Whit Merrifield

Tier 4: Chris Taylor, Eduardo Nunez, Ian Happ, Rougned Odor, Marwin Gonzalez, Javier Baez, Ozzie Albies, Yoan Moncada

Tier 5: Ian Kinsler, Paul deJong, Starlin Castro, Jason Kipnis, Cesar Hernandez

Third Base:

Tier 1: Nolan Arenado, Kris Bryant, Manny Machado

Tier 2: Jose Ramirez, Josh Donaldson, Anthony Rendon, Alex Bregman, Justin Turner

Tier 3: Miguel Sano, Travis Shaw, Mike Moustakas, Joey Gallo, Kyle Seager, Nick Castellanos, Rafael Devers

Tier 4: Jake Lamb, Eduardo Nunez, Matt Chapman, Evan Longoria, Adrian Beltre, Eugenio Suarez

Tier 5: Todd Frazier, Josh Harrison, Maikel Franco, Ryon Healy

Shortstop:

Tier 1: Trea Turner, Carlos Correa

Tier 2: Francisco Lindor, Corey Seager, Alex Bregman

Tier 3: Jean Segura, Xander Bogaerts, Elvis Andrus, Trevor Story

Tier 4: Didi Gregorius, Marwin Gonzalez, Javier Baez, Gleyber Torres, Amed Rosario, Andrelton Simmons

Tier 5: Orlando Arcia, Paul DeJong, Addison Russell, Tim Anderson, Jose Peraza, Dansby Swanson, Zack Cozart, Marcus Semien, Ketel Marte

Outfield:

Tier 1: Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton, Charlie Blackmon

Tier 2: Aaron Judge, George Springer, JD Martinez, Cody Bellinger, Rhys Hoskins

Tier 3: Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, Justin Upton, Andrew Benintendi, Tommy Pham, Khris Davis, Byron Buxton, AJ Pollock, Yoenis Cespedes, Starling Marte

Tier 4: Lorenzo Cain, Andrew McCutchen, Domingo Santana, Greg Polanco, Billy Hamilton, Ryan Braun, Nick Castellanos

Tier 5: Ian Desmond, Manuel Margot, Ronald Acuna, Yasiel Puig, Ender Inciarte, Adam Eaton, Jay Bruce, Marwin Gonzalez, Eddie Rosario, Adam Jones, Nomar Mazara, Adam Duvall, Brett Gardner, Kevin Kiermaier, Chris Taylor, Steven Souza, Ian Happ, Mitch Haniger

Tier 6: Michael Conforto, Josh Reddick, Max Kepler, Trey Mancini, Stephen Piscotty, Eric Thames, Dexter Fowler, Avisail Garcia, Kole Calhoun, Jackie Bradley Jr., Kyle Schwarber, Odubel Herrera, Corey Dickerson, Lewis Brinson, Aaron Altherr

Tier 7: Delino DeShields, Bradley Zimmer, Shin-Soo Choo, David Peralta, Mark Trumbo, Carlos Gonzalez, David Dahl, Aaron Hicks, Melky Cabrera, Jose Martinez, Michael Taylor

Starting Pitcher:

Tier 1: Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, Corey Kluber, Chris Sale

Tier 2: Noah Syndergaard, Stephen Strasburg, Madison Bumgarner, Carlos Carrasco, Justin Verlander, Jacob deGrom, Zack Greinke, Luis Severino

Tier 3: Robbie Ray, Chris Archer, Dallas Keuchel, Jose Quintana, Carlos Martinez, Yu Darvish, Gerrit Cole

Tier 4: Aaron Nola, James Paxton, Shohei Ohtani, Masahiro Tanaka, Jake Arrieta, Rich Hill, Kyle Kendricks, Luis Castillo, Jon Lester

Tier 5: Alex Wood, Zack Godley, Jose Berrios, Jon Gray, Trevor Bauer, Luke Weaver, Sonny Gray, Lance McCullers Jr., Johnny Cueto, David Price, Danny Duffy, Garrett Richards

Tier 6: Dylan Bundy, Marcus Stroman, Felix Hernandez, Gio Gonzalez, Jeff Samardzija, Lance Lynn, Michael Fulmer, Alex Cobb, Danny Salazar, Kevin Gausman, Chase Anderson, Charlie Morton, Kenta Maeda, Blake Snell, Taijuan Walker, Aaron Sanchez, Sean Manaea, Cole Hamels

Tier 7: Drew Pomeranz, Julio Teheran, Jacob Faria, Eduardo Rodriguez, Alex Reyes, Jameson Taillon, Lucas Giolito, Michael Wacha, Luiz Gohara, Zach Davies, Miles Mikolas, Rick Porcello, JA Happ, Dinelson Lamet, Brad Peacock

Relief Pitcher: 

Tier 1: Kenley Jansen, Craig Kimbrel

Tier 2: Aroldis Chapman, Edwin Diaz, Roberto Osuna, Corey Knebel, Ken Giles, Raisel Iglesias, Cody Allen, Felipe Rivero

Tier 3: Brad Hand, Alex Colome, Wade Davis, Sean Doolittle, Luke Gregerson, Arodys Vizcaino, Mark Melancon, Jeurys Familia

Tier 4: Hector Neris, Kelvin Herrera, Blake Treinen, Kelvin Herrera, Andrew Miller, Brad Brach, Shane Greene, Brad Ziegler, Brandon Morrow, Greg Holland, Fernando Rodney, Alex Claudio

Tier 5: Archie Bradley, Blake Parker, Juan Minaya, Brad Peacock, Dellin Betances, Cam Bedrosian, Mike Clevinger

Top 150: 

  1. Mike Trout
  2. Jose Altuve
  3. Nolan Arenado
  4. Mookie Betts
  5. Paul Goldschmidt
  6. Trea Turner
  7. Bryce Harper
  8. Charlie Blackmon
  9. Clayton Kershaw
  10. Carlos Correa
  11. Giancarlo Stanton
  12. Kris Bryant
  13. Max Scherzer
  14. Freddie Freeman
  15. Manny Machado
  16. Joey Votto
  17. Corey Kluber
  18. Chris Sale
  19. Anthony Rizzo
  20. Francisco Lindor
  21. Aaron Judge
  22. Jose Ramirez
  23. George Springer
  24. Corey Seager
  25. Noah Syndergaard
  26. Josh Donaldson
  27. Brian Dozier
  28. JD Martinez
  29. Stephen Strasburg
  30. Madison Bumgarner
  31. Cody Bellinger
  32. Alex Bregman
  33. Carlos Carrasco
  34. Dee Gordon
  35. Justin Verlander
  36. Jose Abreu
  37. Rhys Hoskins
  38. Jacob deGrom
  39. Justin Turner
  40. Gary Sanchez
  41. Zack Greinke
  42. Luis Severino
  43. Edwin Encarnacion
  44. Christian Yelich
  45. Marcel Ozuna
  46. Justin Upton
  47. Kenley Jansen
  48. Will Myers
  49. Andrew Benintendi
  50. Robby Ray
  51. Chris Archer
  52. Jean Segura
  53. Robinson Cano
  54. Tommy Pham
  55. Khris Davis
  56. Craig Kimbrell
  57. Dallas Keuchel
  58. Jonathan Schoop
  59. Xander Boegarts
  60. Buster Posey
  61. Byron Buxton
  62. AJ Pollack
  63. Jose Quintana
  64. Yoenis Cespedes
  65. Starling Marte
  66. Eric Hosmer
  67. Carlos Martinez
  68. Miguel Sano
  69. Yu Darvish
  70. Elvis Andrus
  71. Gerrit Cole
  72. Daniel Murphy
  73. Aroldis Chapman
  74. Willson Contreras
  75. Trevor Story
  76. Travis Shaw
  77. Lorenzo Cain
  78. DJ LeMahieu
  79. Matt Olson
  80. Andrew McCutchen
  81. Edwin Diaz
  82. Aaron Nola
  83. James Paxton
  84. Whit Merrifield
  85. Domingo Santana
  86. Carlos Santana
  87. Roberto Osuna
  88. Greg Polanco
  89. Mike Moustakas
  90. Joey Gallo
  91. Shohei Ohtani
  92. Matt Carpenter
  93. Corey Knebel
  94. Masahiro Tanaka
  95. Kyle Seager
  96. Billy Hamilton
  97. Ryan Braun
  98. Nick Castellanos
  99. Ken Giles
  100. Jake Arrieta
  101. Rafael Devers
  102. Rich Hill
  103. Raisel Iglesias
  104. Cody Allen
  105. Kyle Hendricks
  106. Felipe Rivero
  107. Luis Castillo
  108. Jon Lester
  109. Ian Desmond
  110. Manuel Margot
  111. Miguel Cabrera
  112. Ryan Zimmerman
  113. Ronald Acuna
  114. Yasiel Puig
  115. Ender Inciarte
  116. Justin Smoak
  117. Adam Eaton
  118. Alex Wood
  119. Brad Hand
  120. Zack Godley
  121. Jake Lamb
  122. Alex Colome
  123. Jay Bruce
  124. Josh Bell
  125. Chris Taylor
  126. Jose Berrios
  127. Wade Davis
  128. Jon Gray
  129. Trevor Bauer
  130. Eduardo Nunez
  131. Luke Weaver
  132. Ian Happ
  133. Sean Doolittle
  134. Didi Gregorius
  135. Sonny Gray
  136. Matt Chapman
  137. Roughned Odor
  138. Luke Gregerson
  139. Marwin Gonzalez
  140. Lance McCullers Jr.
  141. Salvador Perez
  142. Johnny Cueto
  143. Justin Bour
  144. Javier Baez
  145. Eddie Rosario
  146. David Price
  147. Arodys Vizcaino
  148. Ozzie Albies
  149. Evan Longoria
  150. Danny Duffy

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