Despite the many hurdles MLB has faced in this pandemic we’ve now reached the midway mark of the baseball season. It’s a good time to look at overperformers, underperformers, pleasant surprises and disappointments from around the fantasy world.
I’ve outlined the top-five performers at every position group as well as a riser and underachiever in each.
CATCHER
It’s been a tough year fantasy-wise for catchers around Major League Baseball. There are only three players ranked in the top-150, so hopefully you snagged one of the good ones…
1. J.T. Realmuto — Phillies (Rank: 49)
2. Austin Nola — Padres (Rank: 132)
3. Pedro Severino — Orioles (Rank: 150)
4. Travis d’Arnaud — Braves (Rank: 233)
5. Martin Maldonado — Astros (Rank: 300)
Biggest Riser
Heading into the season at 1,380th overall, Isiah Kiner-Falefa of the Texas Rangers has had the greatest leap up the fantasy baseball charts for a player with catcher position eligibility. He currently sits 10th among backstops.
Greatest Underachiever
Gary Sanchez was one of the first catchers drafted, and was generally considered the third-best fantasy backstop. Wow, has he fallen flat. A sub .130 batting average and 14 RBI is not what owners were expecting back in July.
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FIRST BASE
1. Jose Abreu — White Sox (Rank: 10)
2. Brandon Lowe — Rays (Rank: 16)
3. Luke Voit — Yankees (Rank: 19)
4. Dominic Smith — Mets (Rank: 39)
5. Freddie Freeman — Braves (Rank: 42)
Biggest Riser
The Padres’ Jake Cronenworth skyrocketed past his 571st projection to 48th overall at the midway point. Cronenworth also carries the added benefit of being eligible at second base and shortstop.
Greatest Underachiever
A lot more was expected out of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Josh Bell entering this 60-game campaign. His prediction of an 82nd place finish looks like a pipedream at a current fantasy spot of 798.
SECOND BASE
1. Brandon Lowe — Rays (Rank: 16)
2. Whit Merrifield — Royals (Rank: 23)
3. Ian Happ — Cubs (Rank: 41)
4. Jake Cronenworth — Padres (Rank: 48)
5. Cavan Biggio — Blue Jays (Rank: 50)
Biggest Riser
How many owners got a later-round bargain on Brandon Lowe? The Tampa Bay Rays utility man isn’t only the highest-ranked second baseman at the halfway mark of the schedule, he’s also overcome a pre-season ranking of 229th.
Greatest Underachiever
Not too many people are shedding tears over any unsuccessful Houston Astros this year, but what a drop off by Jose Altuve. Hitting .211 with three home runs, Altuve’s begun to gradually turn things around at the plate. However, it’s not nearly enough for the talented second baseman who is rated 770 spots lower than first anticipated.
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SHORTSTOP
1. Fernando Tatis Jr. — Padres (Rank: 1)
2. Manny Machado — Padres (Rank: 3)
3. Trevor Story — Rockies (Rank: 6)
4. Trea Turner — Nationals (Rank: 12)
5. Corey Seager — Dodgers (Rank: 29)
Biggest Riser
Dansby Swanson presently sits as the eighth-best fantasy shortstop and has overshot his pre-draft projection by 140 positions. The Atlanta Braves infielder was having a nice year in 2019 before being side-tracked by injuries, so maybe his success shouldn’t come as that big of a surprise.
Greatest Underachiever
Ouch, what a disaster it’s been for Adalberto Mondesi. There’s struggling and then there’s Mondesi. Expected to be a top-50 fantasy performer, he now sits at an embarrassing 1,127th. He’s been pushed to the bottom portion of the batting order and is contributing next to nothing with a .186-average.
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THIRD BASE
1. Manny Machado — Padres (Rank: 3)
2. Jose Ramirez — Indians (Rank: 27)
3. Ian Happ — Cubs (Rank: 41)
4. Kyle Seager — Mariners (Rank: 53)
5. Matt Chapman — Athletics (Rank: 63)
Biggest Riser
Fantasy players got a treat in Dylan Moore before he was placed on the 10-day injury list with a right wrist sprain back on Aug. 22nd. Being able to slot him in at third, second, shortstop and the outfield provided amazing flexibility for someone predicted to finish 448th overall. Instead, Moore’s stolen six bags to go alongside a .282 average and 22 hits.
Hopefully, he comes back healthy and finishes strong.
Greatest Underachiever
“Underwhelming” is a nice way to describe Eugenio Suarez who is in 616th place amongst all fantasy players. Maybe we can chalk it up to this weird COVID-19 season, but to fall from 49 homers and 156 knocks to a batting average of .185 year-over-year seems excessive.
OUTFIELD
1. Mookie Betts — Dodgers (Rank: 4)
2. Mike Trout — Angels (Rank: 7)
3. Teoscar Hernandez — Blue Jays (Rank: 8)
4. Kyle Lewis — Mariners (Rank: 9)
5. Juan Soto — Nationals (Rank: 13)
Biggest Riser
Teoscar Hernandez and Kyle Lewis both deserve credit for their meteoric rise up the fantasy baseball standings. Not much was expected from either slugger, yet they can be considered among the best waiver-wire pickups of 2020.
Greatest Underachiever
Projected at No. 2 in all of fantasy baseball, Christian Yelich’s 235-ranking has surely ruined multiple owners’ seasons based on where he was drafted.
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STARTING PITCHER
1. Shane Bieber — Indians (Rank: 2)
2. Yu Darvish — Cubs (Rank: 11)
3. Lance Lynn — Rangers (Rank: 15)
4. Max Fried — Braves (Rank: 20)
5. Kenta Maeda — Twins (Rank: 21)
RELIEF PITCHER
For the relief pitcher category, I put down the top hurlers who are true bullpen arms, instead of starters who also had RP designations.
1. Liam Hendriks — Athletics (Rank: 14)
2. Kenley Jansen — Dodgers (Rank: 37)
3. Jonathan Hernandez — Rangers (Rank: 57)
4. Matt Foster — White Sox (Rank: 59)
5. Nick Anderson — Rays (Rank: 66)
Biggest Pitching Riser
Zach Davies has been a solid contributor to the Padres’ stellar 2020 with five wins, a 2.61 ERA and over five strikeouts per appearance. Not bad for a guy who experts thought would be 362 rungs lower on the fantasy ladder.
Greatest Underachieving Arm
In fairness, Max Scherzer has looked more like his Cy Young Award-winning self lately than he did to begin this 60-game sprint. The Nationals ace was one of the first starters off draft boards yet he now sits at 227th in MLB fantasy.
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