We’ve been rolling through the early 2019 fantasy baseball positional rankings here at FantraxHQ, so this exercise was inevitable given the way my mind works. Once we’ve decided how the players stack up at their individual positions, we can’t help but wonder – how do the positions play off of each other in 2019? For starters, we’ll see the elite class of middle infielders peel off the board right away. There is incredible talent at the top of the Second Base and Shortstop ranks, but they’ll go fast.
Ace pitching is hard to come by, pushing pitching up as early as ever. The upper-tier starters will probably get drafted even higher than I have them ranked. If I’m going to be happy with my team, I’m going to want to come away with one ace pitcher (maybe two) in the first three rounds. Once you hit the SP25 mark, there are questions with everyone and you get a real drop off.
Can’t wait until the spring to get the 2019 fantasy baseball season started? Well, you don’t have to. Leagues are already open, so get your league started today.
Another note about the ranks: you won’t see a lot of relievers. At this point in the offseason, the closer situations are extremely fluid in about half the league. None of the free agent relievers have signed. Rather than speculate on who will sign as a closer or who will come away from a committee with a closing gig, I just ranked the higher-end options and left the rest off. Closers will get pushed up higher than I have them ranked here to be sure, but at this point, it is more beneficial to look at what we know.
I’m interested to know your thoughts on who I might be too high or too low on. Let me know in the comments or find me on Twitter @NathanDokken and I’ll be happy to debate with you.
More Early 2019 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF | SP | RP
Top 300 Rankings for 2019 Fantasy Baseball
| Rank | Player | Position | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Trout | OF | LAA |
| 2 | Mookie Betts | OF | BOS |
| 3 | Jose Ramirez | 3B | CLE |
| 4 | Francisco Lindor | SS | CLE |
| 5 | Trea Turner | SS | WSH |
| 6 | Alex Bregman | SS/3B | HOU |
| 7 | Manny Machado | SS | FA |
| 8 | Trevor Story | 2B | COL |
| 9 | Jose Altuve | 2B | HOU |
| 10 | Ronald Acuna | OF | ATL |
| 11 | Nolan Arenado | 3B | COL |
| 12 | JD Martinez | OF | BOS |
| 13 | Javier Baez | 2B/3B/SS | CHC |
| 14 | Max Scherzer | SP | WSH |
| 15 | Jacob DeGrom | SP | NYM |
| 16 | Christian Yelich | OF | MIL |
| 17 | Aaron Judge | OF | NYY |
| 18 | Giancarlo Stanton | OF | NYY |
| 19 | Bryce Harper | OF | FA |
| 20 | Blake Snell | SP | TB |
| 21 | Justin Verlander | SP | HOU |
| 22 | Chris Sale | SP | BOS |
| 23 | Charlie Blackmon | OF | COL |
| 24 | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | ARI |
| 25 | Freddie Freeman | 1B | ATL |
| 26 | Gerrit Cole | SP | HOU |
| 27 | Trevor Bauer | SP | CLE |
| 28 | Eugenio Suarez | 3B | CIN |
| 29 | Patrick Corbin | SP | FA |
| 30 | Corey Kluber | SP | CLE |
| 31 | Aaron Nola | SP | PHI |
| 32 | Whit Merrifield | 2B/OF | KC |
| 33 | Juan Soto | OF | WSH |
| 34 | Anthony Rizzo | 1B | CHC |
| 35 | Clayton Kershaw | SP | LAD |
| 36 | Luis Severino | SP | NYY |
| 37 | Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. | 3B | TOR |
| 38 | Andrew Benintendi | OF | BOS |
| 39 | Khris Davis | DH | OAK |
| 40 | Zack Greinke | SP | ARI |
| 41 | Matt Carpenter | 1B/3B | STL |
| 42 | Carlos Correa | SS | HOU |
| 43 | Ozzie Albies | 2B | ATL |
| 44 | Carlos Carrasco | SP | CLE |
| 45 | Kris Bryant | 3B/OF | CHC |
| 46 | Stephen Strasburg | SP | WSH |
| 47 | James Paxton | SP | SEA |
| 48 | Noah Syndergaard | SP | NYM |
| 49 | Starling Marte | OF | PIT |
| 50 | Adalberto Mondesi | SS | KC |
| 51 | Anthony Rendon | 3B | WSH |
| 52 | Shohei Ohtani | DH | LAA |
| 53 | Corey Seager | SS | LAD |
| 54 | Jonathan Villar | 2B | BAL |
| 55 | Mike Clevinger | SP | CLE |
| 56 | Walker Buehler | SP | LAD |
| 57 | Cody Bellinger | 1B/OF | LAD |
| 58 | Max Muncy | 1B/3B | LAD |
| 59 | Joey Votto | 1B | CIN |
| 60 | Tommy Pham | OF | TB |
| 61 | Xander Bogaerts | SS | BOS |
| 62 | Edwin Diaz | RP | SEA |
| 63 | Craig Kimbrel | RP | FA |
| 64 | JT Realmuto | C | MIA |
| 65 | George Springer | OF | HOU |
| 66 | Gary Sanchez | C | NYY |
| 67 | Rhys Hoskins | OF | PHI |
| 68 | Lorenzo Cain | OF | MIL |
| 69 | Nelson Cruz | DH | FA |
| 70 | AJ Pollock | OF | FA |
| 71 | Dee Gordon | 2B/OF | SEA |
| 72 | Jack Flaherty | SP | STL |
| 73 | David Price | SP | BOS |
| 74 | Gleyber Torres | SS | NYY |
| 75 | Jesus Aguilar | 1B | MIL |
| 76 | Jean Segura | SS | SEA |
| 77 | Edwin Encarnacion | 1B | CLE |
| 78 | Justin Upton | OF | LAA |
| 79 | Wil Myers | 3B/OF | SD |
| 80 | German Marquez | SP | COL |
| 81 | Jose Berrios | SP | MIN |
| 82 | Jameson Taillon | SP | PIT |
| 83 | Scooter Gennett | 2B | CIN |
| 84 | Jose Abreu | 1B | CHW |
| 85 | Travis Shaw | 2B/3B | MIL |
| 86 | Ross Stripling | SP/RP | LAD |
| 87 | Zack Wheeler | SP | NYM |
| 88 | Aroldis Chapman | RP | NYY |
| 89 | Blake Treinen | RP | OAK |
| 90 | Brad Hand | RP | CLE |
| 91 | Salvador Perez | C | KC |
| 92 | Matt Chapman | 3B | OAK |
| 93 | Willson Contreras | C | CHC |
| 94 | Kenley Jansen | RP | LAD |
| 95 | Raisel Iglesias | RP | CIN |
| 96 | Mike Foltynewicz | SP | ATL |
| 97 | Buster Posey | C | SF |
| 98 | Mitch Haniger | OF | SEA |
| 99 | Jose Peraza | SS | CIN |
| 100 | Josh Donaldson | 3B | FA |
| 101 | Felipe Vazquez | RP | PIT |
| 102 | Cody Allen | RP | FA |
| 103 | Nicholas Castellanos | OF | DET |
| 104 | Justin Turner | 3B | LAD |
| 105 | Ian Desmond | 1B/OF | COL |
| 106 | Matt Olson | 1B | OAK |
| 107 | Charlie Morton | SP | FA |
| 108 | Masahiro Tanaka | SP | NYY |
| 109 | Miguel Andujar | 3B | NYY |
| 110 | Madison Bumgarner | SP | SF |
| 111 | Rougned Odor | 2B | TEX |
| 112 | Miles Mikolas | SP | STL |
| 113 | Elvis Andrus | SS | TEX |
| 114 | Tim Anderson | SS | CHW |
| 115 | Joey Gallo | 1B/OF | TEX |
| 116 | Corey Knebel | RP | MIL |
| 117 | Kyle Freeland | SP | COL |
| 118 | Carlos Martinez | SP/RP | STL |
| 119 | Wilson Ramos | C | FA |
| 120 | Robinson Cano | 2B | SEA |
| 121 | Eddie Rosario | OF | MIN |
| 122 | David Peralta | OF | ARI |
| 123 | Carlos Santana | 1B | PHI |
| 124 | Yadier Molina | C | STL |
| 125 | Yasmani Grandal | C | FA |
| 126 | Jose Martinez | 1B/OF | STL |
| 127 | Luis Castillo | SP | CIN |
| 128 | Mike Soroka | SP | ATL |
| 129 | Nick Pivetta | SP | PHI |
| 130 | Andrew Heaney | SP | LAA |
| 131 | Sean Doolittle | RP | WSH |
| 132 | Kirby Yates | RP | SD |
| 133 | Jon Gray | SP | COL |
| 134 | Eduardo Rodriguez | SP | BOS |
| 135 | Eloy Jimenez | OF | CHW |
| 136 | Gregory Polanco | OF | PIT |
| 137 | Rick Porcello | SP | BOS |
| 138 | Jonathan Schoop | 2B | MIL |
| 139 | Daniel Murphy | 2B | FA |
| 140 | Jose Leclerc | RP | TEX |
| 141 | J.A. Happ | SP | FA |
| 142 | Brandon Nimmo | OF | NYM |
| 143 | Michael Brantley | OF | FA |
| 144 | Marcell Ozuna | OF | STL |
| 145 | Andrew McCutchen | OF | SF |
| 146 | Peter Alonso | 1B | NYM |
| 147 | Cesar Hernandez | 2B | PHI |
| 148 | Alex Wood | SP | LAD |
| 149 | Odubel Herrera | OF | PHI |
| 150 | Aaron Hicks | OF | NYY |
| 151 | Mallex Smith | OF | SEA |
| 152 | Derek Holland | SP | FA |
| 153 | Tyler Glasnow | SP/RP | TB |
| 154 | Miguel Sano | 3B | MIN |
| 155 | Wade Davis | RP | COL |
| 156 | Brandon Morrow | RP | CHC |
| 157 | Jesse Winker | OF | CIN |
| 158 | Michael Conforto | OF | NYM |
| 159 | Rich Hill | SP | LAD |
| 160 | Cole Hamels | SP | CHC |
| 161 | Chris Archer | SP | PIT |
| 162 | Adam Eaton | OF | WSH |
| 163 | Victor Robles | OF | WSH |
| 164 | Jeff McNeil | 2B | NYM |
| 165 | Jorge Polanco | SS | MIN |
| 166 | Robbie Ray | SP | ARI |
| 167 | Brian Dozier | 2B | FA |
| 168 | Jeremy Jeffress | RP | MIL |
| 169 | Roberto Osuna | RP | TOR |
| 170 | Josh Hader | RP | MIL |
| 171 | Kenta Maeda | SP | LAD |
| 172 | Seranthony Dominguez | RP | PHI |
| 173 | Arodys Vizcaino | RP | ATL |
| 174 | Garrett Hampson | 2B/SS | COL |
| 175 | Yasiel Puig | OF | LAD |
| 176 | Shin Soo Choo | OF | TEX |
| 177 | Harrison Bader | OF | STL |
| 178 | Michael Wacha | SP | STL |
| 179 | Kyle Hendricks | SP | CHC |
| 180 | Kevin Gausman | SP | ATL |
| 181 | Dereck Rodriguez | SP | SF |
| 182 | Shane Bieber | SP | CLE |
| 183 | Nathan Eovaldi | SP | FA |
| 184 | Tyler Skaggs | SP | LAA |
| 185 | Byron Buxton | OF | MIN |
| 186 | Mike Moustakas | 3B | FA |
| 187 | Yoan Moncada | 2B | CHW |
| 188 | Rafael Devers | 3B | BOS |
| 189 | Jurickson Profar | 1B/SS/3B | TEX |
| 190 | Marcus Semien | SS | OAK |
| 191 | Hyun-Jin Ryu | SP | LAD |
| 192 | Jose Quintana | SP | CHW |
| 193 | Carlos Rodon | SP | CHW |
| 194 | Kyle Tucker | OF | HOU |
| 195 | Austin Meadows | OF | TB |
| 196 | Yu Darvish | SP | CHC |
| 197 | Kyle Seager | 3B | SEA |
| 198 | Jake Lamb | 3B | ARI |
| 199 | Jed Lowrie | 2B | OAK |
| 200 | DJ LeMahieu | 2B | FA |
| 201 | Mike Minor | SP | TEX |
| 202 | Kyle Gibson | SP | MIN |
| 203 | Sean Newcomb | SP | LAA |
| 204 | Justin Smoak | 1B | TOR |
| 205 | Kurt Suzuki | C | FA |
| 206 | Welington Castillo | C | CHW |
| 207 | Dallas Keuchel | SP | FA |
| 208 | Jeurys Familia | RP | FA |
| 209 | Kyle Schwarber | OF | CHC |
| 210 | Ender Inciarte | OF | ATL |
| 211 | Joe Musgrove | SP | PIT |
| 212 | Josh James | SP | HOU |
| 213 | Paul DeJong | SS | STL |
| 214 | Mike Zunino | C | SEA |
| 215 | Yoenis Cespedes | OF | NYM |
| 216 | Nomar Mazara | OF | TEX |
| 217 | Stephen Piscotty | OF | OAK |
| 218 | Andrelton Simmons | SS | LAA |
| 219 | Chris Taylor | SS/OF | LAA |
| 220 | Franchy Cordero | OF | SD |
| 221 | Tyler White | 1B | HOU |
| 222 | CJ Cron | 1B | TB |
| 223 | Eduardo Escobar | SS | ARI |
| 224 | Willy Adames | SS | TB |
| 225 | Amed Rosario | SS | NYM |
| 226 | Joey Lucchesi | SP | SD |
| 227 | Marco Gonzales | SP | SEA |
| 228 | Brad Boxberger | RP | ARI |
| 229 | Joey Wendle | 3B | TB |
| 230 | Anibal Sanchez | SP | FA |
| 231 | Matt Boyd | SP | DET |
| 232 | Jake Arrieta | SP | PHI |
| 233 | Ryan Braun | OF | MIL |
| 234 | Billy Hamilton | OF | CIN |
| 235 | Hunter Rendroe | OF | SD |
| 236 | David Dahl | OF | COL |
| 237 | Eric Hosmer | 1B | SD |
| 238 | Yuli Gurriel | 1B | HOU |
| 239 | Willie Calhoun | OF | TEX |
| 240 | Steven Matz | SP | NYM |
| 241 | Dustin Fowler | OF | OAK |
| 242 | Jon Lester | SP | CHC |
| 243 | Jackie Bradley, Jr | OF | BOS |
| 244 | Todd Frazier | 3B | NYM |
| 245 | CC Sabathia | SP | NYY |
| 246 | Jesus Luzardo | SP | OAK |
| 247 | Miguel Cabrera | 1B | DET |
| 248 | Reynaldo Lopez | SP | CHW |
| 249 | Max Kepler | OF | MIN |
| 250 | Ketel Marte | 2B/SS | ARI |
| 251 | Brandon Belt | 1B | SF |
| 252 | Isiah Kiner-Falefa | C/2B | TEX |
| 253 | Francisco Mejia | C | SD |
| 254 | Kevin Pillar | OF | TOR |
| 255 | Corey Dickerson | OF | PIT |
| 256 | Delino DeShields, Jr. | OF | TEX |
| 257 | Jake Bauers | 1B | TB |
| 258 | Asdrubal Cabrera | 2B/SS | FA |
| 259 | Ryon Healy | 1B | SEA |
| 260 | Luis Urias | 2B | SD |
| 261 | Marwin Gonzalez | 2B/SS | FA |
| 262 | Avisail Garcia | OF | CHW |
| 263 | Tyler O'Neill | OF | STL |
| 264 | Zack Godley | SP | ARI |
| 265 | Michael Taylor | OF | WSH |
| 266 | Didi Gregorius | SS | NYY |
| 267 | Tucker Barnhart | C | CIN |
| 268 | Francisco Cervelli | C | PIT |
| 269 | Jorge Alfaro | C | PHI |
| 270 | Maikel Franco | 3B | PHI |
| 271 | Forrest Whitley | SP | HOU |
| 272 | Matt Kemp | OF | LAD |
| 273 | Vince Velasquez | SP | PHI |
| 274 | Caleb Smith | SP | MIA |
| 275 | Jeff Samardjiza | SP | SF |
| 276 | Touki Toussaint | SP | ATL |
| 277 | Nick Kingham | SP | PIT |
| 278 | Trey Mancini | 1B | BAL |
| 279 | Josh Bell | 1B | PIT |
| 280 | Jimmy Nelson | SP | MIL |
| 281 | Trevor Richards | SP | MIA |
| 282 | Ian Happ | 3B/OF | CHC |
| 283 | Nick Markakis | OF | ATL |
| 284 | Brian Anderson | 3B | MIA |
| 285 | Sandy Alcantara | SP | MIA |
| 286 | Clay Buchholz | SP | ARI |
| 287 | Randal Grichuk | OF | TOR |
| 288 | Adam Jones | OF | FA |
| 289 | Fernando Romero | SP | MIN |
| 290 | Alex Reyes | SP | STL |
| 291 | Zack Cozart | 3B | LAA |
| 292 | Starlin Castro | 2B | MIA |
| 293 | Albert Pujols | 1B | LAA |
| 294 | Greg Bird | 1B | NYY |
| 295 | Mychal Givens | RP | BAL |
| 296 | Kevin Kiermaier | OF | TOR |
| 297 | Pablo Lopez | SP | MIA |
| 298 | Brent Honeywell | SP | TB |
| 299 | Christin Stewart | OF | DET |
| 300 | Steven Souza, Jr. | OF | ARI |
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No Piscotty in the Top 300?
He somehow got glossed over initially, but he’s in there now at 217.
Ill take Conforto at 158 all day every day
Come on! Mondesi at 50???? Too small a sample size and he still has a terrible
BB/K … i see regression, not progression.
I think your right about Mondesi…..I’m not buying the hype….possibly another Billy Hamilton….I remember how much hype there was about him initially.
Mondesi has always been the youngest player at every level he’s played. He’s a second generation player and a building block for the Royals. He won’t end up being a one trick pony like Hamilton who has never ever had a season or half a season like anything Mondesi experienced last year.
You’re right, he won’t be a one-trick pony like Hamilton. He does have some power. He also made 16% less contact than Hamilton and walked half as much with a much higher strikeout rate. There’s risk that Mondesi gets on base at a .275 clip, which is really detrimental to R+RBI totals. And, of course, you can’t steal second if you don’t make it to first. I see the upside, and it’s tantalizing, but he’s also a tremendous risk that early in drafts that I just can’t convince myself to buy into.
I’m not saying Mondesi is a surefire superstar going forward. He’s just not gonna be a bum like Billy Hamilton. Mondesi has power and wheels and he’s still just 23. He’s a tremendous risk/reward player. Unlike Hamilton whose just a tremendous burden to anyone’s fantasy lineup.