Fantasy Baseball's Top 10 (Through 6/23/06)
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by user The shark
I am in a 7x7 league so if you're in a 5x5, your rankings may differ slightly. The 7x7 format uses all of the 5x5's criteria but adds hits and total bases to the equation.
I pulled up the rankings this morning and figured I'd share my findings with the community.
TOP TEN (overall rankings)
1 Alfonso Soriano - He recently passed Albert Pujols who has been nursing a strained oblique. With Albert now back, Alfie may drop - but his numbers have been pretty impressive so far: 24 HR, 51 RBI and 18 steals. I'd say a shot at 40/40 is definitely possible. Although his homer total may be slowed by having to play home games at RFK Stadium. Impressively, Soriano leads all of MLB in total bases with 173.
2 Albert Pujols - Even though he missed 20 days with injury, King Albert is a very close second in the rankings. And even without those 20 days, Pujols is tied for the league lead in HR's (25) and only 1 back to Philadelphia's Ryan Howard in RBI (65). Barring another DL stint, he should be expected to finish the season as Fantasy's top-ranked stud.
3 David Wright - A topic of much debate recently on these very pages, Mr. Wright has proven his fantasy worth thus far. 17/60/.338 and the second most total bases in MLB (169). Throw in his 11 steals and he's a model fantasy guy. In keeper leagues, he could rate out above Pujols and Soriano because he plays a thinner position.
4 Carlos Beltran - Two Mets in the top 4. That may explain their dominance so far this year. AGM User Chachi, who is in my league, posted an article on AGM a few days ago "Why I Hate Carlos Beltran" that spoke well to Beltran's recent inconsistencies, but he has been a solid Fantasy citizen this year: 19/56/.287 with 12 swipes. Money.
5 Carlos Lee - The highest ranking guy on my team, despite the fact that I own David Ortiz, Miguel Tejada, and Ichiro. Power (23 HR), production (59 RBI), and newfound speed (9 steals). Mix in a .274 average and C-Lee is a stud. His batting average should rise if previous performance means anything, as he has been a "dog days of summer" kind of guy the last few years.
6 Jim Thome - My pick for the "Comeback Player of the Year Award" this year. Thome has thrived as a DH in Chicago, despite having to deal with the sideshow that is Ozzie Guillen. Thome is tied for second in MLB with 24 HR's, third in runs with 59, and sixth in RBI with 60. Add to that a solid .288 batting average, and you have a Fantasy workhorse. And in most leagues he wasn't even drafted until the fourth round. A steal!
7 Jose Reyes - Another Met. The first non-power guy on the list. Reyes leads MLB in runs scored (62) and steals (32) while producing a nice bonus in homers with 7. His batting average sits at .286. Imagine what a Fantasy player he would be if he learned to take more walks!
8 Vernon Wells - The only MLB'er this year with a 3-HR game. Wells is putting up solid numbers this year, making his inconsistencies of last year a distant memory (albeit a bad memory). 18/58/.320 with 9 steals and 166 total bases. A strong body of work.
9 Ryan Howard - Last year was no fluke. This guy is the real deal. Tied for the MLB lead with 25 HR, the most RBI in baseball (66) and a .293 average. Not to mention his 161 total bases. The only thing that makes him 9th and not 1st is his lack of steals (0). Definitely worth a long-term keeper!
10 Travis Hafner - Arguably the Tribe's lone bright spot this year (a good case could be made for Grady Sizemore), Hafner is on pace to match or beat last year's numbers. 19/58/.304. And his 58 runs scored rank among the top 5 in MLB. If he keeps it up, it will be easy enough to ignore his zero stolen bases.
So there you have it. I will explore the top 10 Fantasy pitchers next.
Date
Fri 06/23/06, 7:52 am EST
Konerko ranked 17th.