Rest of Season Fantasy Baseball Rankings: First-Half All-Stars

With the MLB All-Star break upon us, now is a good time to reflect on the season’s first half. Specifically, I wanted to show some love to the players who have benefited fantasy managers the most so far. Keep in mind that my selections are largely based on ADP. Nobody who drafted Manny Machado is upset with his production to this point. But the fantasy manager who drafted Austin Riley three rounds later is probably happier with his or her selection. So here are my 2022 first-half Fantasy All-Stars. My rest of season fantasy baseball rankings follow below.

2022 Fantasy All-Star Starters

Catcher: Alejandro Kirk, Toronto

Kirk is neck and neck with Willson Contreras for the top fantasy catcher of the first half. I’m not even sure Kirk has a neck, to be honest. But what he does have is a .315 batting average, which is a tremendous advantage, especially at the catcher position. He also has a spot in the heart of every fantasy manager who drafted him near pick 200. His underlying metrics suggest his year-to-date production is sustainable, and he hits in the middle of a loaded lineup. I expect him to remain a top-five fantasy catcher going forward.

Honorable Mention: Jonah Heim, Texas Rangers (whose arrow is pointing up in the wake of Mitch Garver’s season-ending surgery)

First Base: Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis

I want to try to avoid too many players who were high selections. However, it is hard to deny how valuable Paul Goldschmidt has been so far. I considered him a safe but boring fourth-round pick when I grabbed him in the FSGA Best Ball league. Now he leads all hitters in that league in fantasy points. He is the frontrunner for National League MVP and should continue to put up huge numbers even with a bit of regression baked in.

Honorable Mention: Anthony Rizzo, New York Yankees

Second Base: Brandon Drury, Cincinnati Reds

If you want to talk value, look no further than Brandon Drury. In the last 707 NFBC drafts conducted before the start of the season, Brandon Drury was drafted twice. One manager drafted him at pick 728 and another drafted him at 748. Those were both in 50-round, 15-team Draft Champions leagues. There were 118 of those drafts conducted during that timeframe. Meaning he went undrafted in the other 116 drafts using that format. So far, he has been a top-50 fantasy player by virtually every measure. And he has multi-positional eligibility on top of that! I rank him a lot lower in my rest of season rankings than his year-to-date production numbers may suggest, but I would continue to ride Drury until the wheels fall off.

Honorable Mention: Jon Berti, Miami Marlins

Shortstop: Dansby Swanson, Atlanta Braves

Dansby Swanson was a victim of position depth to a degree when it came to his draft stock. There were so many incredible SS-eligible players that Swanson was a relative afterthought. 15 shortstops had an ADP inside the first seven rounds of 12-team leagues. Most fantasy managers considered Swanson a notch below those players, despite some solid improvement shown last year. Well, Swanson has taken his game to another level. He has provided first-round fantasy value so far this season. He is another player who should continue to put up big numbers even if his second half doesn’t quite mirror his first half.

Honorable Mention: Thairo Estrada, San Francisco Giants

Third Base: Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves

Austin Riley is like Goldschmidt in that he wasn’t exactly a mid or low-round fantasy draft pick. Riley was a fourth-round pick, so expectations were high. But he, like his teammate Swanson, has skyrocketed into fantasy stardom this season. Riley is in the conversation with Jose Ramirez and Rafael Devers for best fantasy third baseman. I still favor those two in terms of my rest of season rankings, but Riley has been outstanding and has arguably been the hottest hitter on the planet during July. He has nine multi-hit games and eight home runs this month. Riley should continue to drive in a ton of runs for a Braves offense that seems to be hitting its stride.

Honorable Mention: Patrick Wisdom, Chicago Cubs

Outfield: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees; Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners; Adolis Garcia, Texas Rangers

 As is the case with Goldschmidt and Riley, I suppose value is a relative statement when it comes to Aaron Judge. After all, he was a consensus third-round pick in most fantasy circles. But Judge has obliterated projections and has provided more production than any other hitter so far in 2022. Per Razzball’s Player Rater, Judge has been worth $47.1 fantasy dollars thus far this year. Goldschmidt is the only other hitter within $10 of that mark. The Yankees have the best record in baseball and have also scored the most runs, so don’t expect Judge to slow down anytime soon.

What can you say about what Julio Rodriguez has done so far this year? The 21-year-old rookie phenom has been even better than advertised. He enters the final weekend of the season’s first half with a .275 average, 52 runs scored, 16 home runs, 50 RBI, and 21 stolen bases. Kyle Tucker is the only other player with at least 15 homers and 15 steals, while Swanson and Shohei Ohtani are the only others with at least 50 runs scored, 50 driven in, and double-digit totals in home runs and stolen bases. J-Rod is leading the surging Mariners into a potential playoff race and is a must-see star in the making.

Adolis Garcia was a player I did everything possible to avoid drafting this offseason. I had him in multiple leagues last year and benefited greatly from it – at first. He was more of a liability in the second half of the year, as the league had seemingly figured him out. But Garcia has maintained his fantasy value with a well-rounded game that includes 15 first-half home runs as well as 13 steals. I consider him a top-100 player in my rest of season rankings despite his proneness to the occasional slump.

Honorable Mention: Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies;  Tommy Edman, St. Louis Cardinals; Luis Arraez, Minnesota Twins

Starting Pitcher: Tony Gonsolin, Los Angeles Dodgers

There is no right answer to choosing a single starter when there are so many incredible hurlers in the game. Young stars like Shane McClanahan, Sandy Alcantara, and Alek Manoah have already exceeded expectations this year and are on their respective paths to greatness. Old veterans like Justin Verlander have proven that rumors of his demise were a bit premature. And players drafted later than Gonsolin such as Kyle Wright and Tyler Anderson have been godsends for their fantasy managers over the first half of the year. But I give Gonsolin a slight edge because I just love the story.

While Wright and Anderson have resurrected their careers, they are both former first-round MLB draft picks. What they have done this season is what many scouts and pundits expected them to do years ago. Gonsolin, on the other hand, was never really supposed to be here. He was always a reliable hand when the Dodgers needed him in a pinch. But it sometimes seemed as though the team viewed him as more of an insurance policy rather than a viable commodity as a starter in his own right. Gonsolin has carved his own path this season and enters the break 11-0 in 17 starts. Though I do expect some pullback in the second half, I hope I am wrong and that he continues to defy the odds.

Honorable Mention: Shane McClanahan, Tampa Bay Rays

Relief Pitcher: Clay Holmes, New York Yankees

There are always several relief pitchers that emerge from relative obscurity to provide a ton of value. That is the nature of the position. Still, it is pretty remarkable to see what Clay Holmes has done thus far in 2022. He is 4-1 with 16 saves and a 1.31 ERA so far this year. His Statcast metrics are among the very best in the game. He has scrapped his curveball and gone almost exclusively to his bread and butter, the sinker. The pitch falls off the proverbial table, and hitters rarely square it up. Holmes has faced 163 hitters and has allowed one barrel. The specter of Aroldis Chapman threatens to hinder Holmes’ value, but time will tell if Holmes can hold the veteran off and remain New York’s primary closer. Either way, it has been an incredible run so far.

Honorable Mention: Ryan Helsley, St. Louis Cardinals

A Category Unto His Own: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels

I mentioned earlier that Aaron Judge has provided the highest dollar value in terms of fantasy production among hitters so far per Razzball’s Player Rater. That is true. Sort of. Shohei Ohtani has “only” provided $28.8 fantasy dollars as a hitter. That is the 14th-highest mark among all Major League hitters. But he has also returned $24.1 fantasy dollars as a pitcher. That is the 7th-highest mark among all MLB pitchers. He has earned more fantasy dollars than Kyle Tucker as a hitter and Gerrit Cole as a pitcher. I don’t know what else we can say at this point. We are witnessing one of the truly great athletes of our time do something that none of us have seen in our lifetimes. I hope he continues to dominate on both sides of the diamond for the next decade.

Rest of Season Fantasy Baseball Rankings