Once a week, I run through the rest-of-season rankings for fantasy baseball. Use them for a fresh draft, use them for self-scouting, use them to evaluate trades and pickups. It’s all up to you.
Have some respectable disagreement? Catch me on the socials, I’ll listen to anyone with a good idea.
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Jackson Chourio, OF, Brewers: The early injury muted his counting stats and is helping a legitimate breakout season from gaining attention. But it’s scary to think of how good Chourio already is as he navigates his age-22 season. His plate discipline is significantly improved and he’s putting more lift on the ball. Extrapolating a full-season pace can be an intellectually dishonest exercise, but stick with me: his first 41 games pace to just under 40 homers, 120 runs and 120 RBI, with 20 bags mixed in, just for fun. He’ll be a second-round pick for sure next year, perhaps a first-rounder if the story gains more momentum.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Cubs: So much for him struggling against lefties — he’s slashing .287/.380/.447 against them, and of course, he’s crushing righties, as expected. The defense remains angelic and the category juice was always expected. He’ll be a factor in the MVP race again.
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Bryan Reynolds, OF, Pirates: This was one of the easiest buy-lows in the spring, a boring-veteran discount if you could look past the weak supporting cast and the aging curve. But 31 isn’t that old, the Pirates have upgraded the lineup, and Reynolds is back doing his thing, with decent hard-hit sliders, an outstanding walk rate, and a modest strikeout rate.
Jung Hoo Lee, OF, Giants: San Francisco wasn’t content merely to roster Luis Arráez; it now has Arráez 2.0. Lee never strikes out and rarely walks, and the power is modest. But a .327/.359/.456 slash is an asset for any lineup, and over the past month, he’s batting an absurd .452. In a world where most hitters are swinging for the fences and don’t care about striking out — and there’s a legitimate reason why hitters take that approach — it’s nice to have a few throwbacks. Diversity of style makes any sport or pastime more interesting.
Willi Castro, 1B/2B/3B/SS/OF, Rockies: The more you investigate the case, the less impressive he might seem. The road stats aren’t there, the slash against righties is mediocre. Even the one monster game he had came in Las Vegas, in a park that artificially boosts offense. But Castro still gets to play in Colorado half the time, he’s getting run as the No. 1 or No. 2 batter for the Rockies, and he qualifies at every non-catcher position for Yahoo gamers. Ideally, Castro would be one of your super-subs for your bench, but he’s a useful piece.
Caleb Durbin, 2B/3B, Red Sox: He didn’t hit for almost two months and it was stressful for Boston, given that Durbin was the key piece in the Kyle Harrison deal. But Durbin collected a couple of homers and steals last week; he’s batting .319 over the past three weeks, and now takes a trip to Coors Field. Kick some tires.
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Ryan Helsley, RP, Orioles: The velocity has been fine since the return, but the results aren’t clean: five outs against five runs allowed, two walks, three homers. The Orioles had a cumbersome committee when Helsley was out, so there’s no obvious beneficiary if Helsley needs more rehab time. Nonetheless, I’ll stay open-minded with Rico Garcia and Yennier Canó in deeper leagues. Is Helsley’s elbow really 100%? Who’s to say?
Freddy Peralta, SP, Brewers: You try to be open-minded after the 10-run mess against the Phillies — every pitcher gets hit sometimes and the top of the Philly lineup can crush anyone. But Peralta’s had plenty of missteps lately — the Cardinals got him for six runs two weeks ago, and the Marlins had his number in a couple of May turns. Peralta’s reputation as a short-stay starter is also merited — he’s only made it past the sixth inning in one turn this year.
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Luis Castillo, SP, Mariners: He’s become the AL’s answer to Aaron Nola, a name-brand pitcher who’s carrying a lofty roster tag mostly because of past glory. Castillo has a 5.22 ERA and 1.40 WHIP this year, his control is no longer a plus, and he’s navigating in front of a shaky Seattle defense. The Mariners are working with a hybrid six-man rotation now that everyone is healthy, which feels like a mistake. Castillo hasn’t earned the right to throw bulk innings, and he certainly shouldn’t be rostered in two-thirds of Yahoo leagues.
Updated rest-of-season top-250 rankings (as of June 22)
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