If you have been reading or listening to my content, you have likely heard me reference fScores (named fScores for “fantasy scores”) or use them to compare players. This is a custom fantasy stat I created that aggregates other stats into core skills, weighted against the average player where 100 is average, similar to wRC+ or OPS+. Drafting based on core skills, rather than attempting a “one size fits all” ranking allows for more customization in team build and team design to target the weak points of your team and allow for more balance.
Most sets of player rankings are built toward a traditional roto 5×5 setting and most people play in H2H categories or points leagues with custom settings. Additionally, drafting based on projections is a faulty strategy, rather it makes more sense to draft based on underlying skills and factors that may enhance or hold back those skills. Projections are often too high, too low or too safe. Drafting based on proven skills for what you need is the way to go.
HITTING
There are six main skills that go into an effective fantasy baseball hitter.
- fContact
- fPlate Discipline
- fPower
- fSpeed
- fDurability
- fEF (external factors)
Please read the article “What the f*** is an fScore” for a betting understanding before going through the below rankings.
Other Positions: Catcher fScores, 1B fScores, 2B fScores, SS fScores, 3B fScores, OF fScores, SP fScores, RP fScores
Ranking Notes:
TIER 1 (Betts)
Betts is in a tier of his own at 2B, because he’s a top tier overall hitter and he’s the only 2B who qualifies as a first rounder. Power, speed and he will be hitting in front of Ohtani and Freeman this year, he could set a record in runs.
TIER 2 (Semien, Albies, Altuve, McLain)
Semien gets picked behind Albies in most drafts right now, but Semien will hit at the top of the WS lineup, has a track record of insanely good health (he’s basically the 2024 Cal Ripken Jr.) and he grades out for better speed and plate discipline than Albies. Albies is younger and better for dynasty, but in re-draft I’m going with Semien.
Albies is coming off the best season of his career and looks to have cemented himself at the top of the lineup after battling with Harris for the 2 spot last year at this time.
Altuve missed the first couple months of the season in 2023, but had a very good season per game played. He’s another year older, so there is some regression risk to go along with aging curve risk, but he’s a stud and is still doing it without much reason for us to expect a drop off this season.
McLain had an insane debut in 2023 that was shortened by injury, but I project him as a 25/25 guy at worst who is the catalyst of a strong, young Reds lineup in a great ball park.
TIER 3 (Julien – Edman)
This tier is full of strong starters, but each guy in this tier has weaknesses to be aware of prior to drafting.
Julien has an insane batting profile. He has 25-30 homer upside as a middle infielder who can snag a few bases, has a great hit tool and amazing eye at the plate (maybe too good), as the K rate is high and doesn’t match the K rate. If he can bring the K rate down closer to 20%, this guy is going to be a stud.
Muncy has batting average issues due to the below average contact tool and below average speed, but has nice position eligibility and 30 homer power.
Gorman is more or less a more athletic Max Muncy with worse plate skills. Due to the athleticism, he will hit for a higher average and might hit for more power, but in points leagues Muncy gets the edge.
Kim rates out as a multi-position stud with great plate skills and should go 15/25 based on his profile.
Arraez has bar none the best hit tool and best eye in the majors, but the lack of power or speed limits his fantasy value as a high floor, low ceiling batting average stud.
Torres is really coming into his own as a player and is still young, it’s funny Yankees fans want to trade a 2B who hits for a solid average with 25-30 homer power.
Steer has insane multi-position eligibility, but rates out as average pretty much across the board and gets a nice ballpark and lineup boost to make him a solid counting stats guy.
Stott could put up a similar season to Kim (minus the position eligibility) and it shouldn’t surprise anyone, he is a good value play.
Hoerner is a high batting average, steals guy without much power, but should hit .280 with 30 plus steals.
Edman is Kim without the plate discipline, but you can get him a bit cheaper so he’s a good value at this point.
TIER 4 (Marte – Donovan)
This tier is the last tier of starting middle infielders I want to be drafting from in pretty much any league size.
Marte kind of reminds me of a worse version of Spencer Steer in a worse hitters park.
Polanco is underrated and very solid when healthy, but hasn’t had a completely healthy season in a couple years. I think he’s a nice value play for 2024.
Morel is a worse version of Nolan Gorman. All power, but below average everywhere else.
Lowe is another bounce back candidate like Polanco, he hasn’t been healthy in a couple of seasons either, but still has enough power in the stick to hit 30 homers if he can stay on the field and should hit in the middle of the Rays lineup.
Gimenez had a rough season in 2023, but did show an uptick on the basepaths and should be a regular 30-40 steal guy.
Gelof has a ton of potential, but the holes in the swing scare me as I talked about at length last season when he was hot. We saw the cold stretch. I’m interested in seeing a full season before I buy in on his current value.
Davis Schneider has a sub par hit tool, which puts his small sample size from 2023 in question, but he’s being pushed too far down value wise so far this draft season.
India is best in a points or OBP format and should be bumped up in those leagues, but in a standard roto league, he kind of caps out as a .260 guy with 20 homers.
Paredes had a career year and even with the ridiculous pull rate, I don’t think that kind of power is repeatable, though he can still be a solid multi-position player.
Story was atrocious upon his return in 2023 and I’m not sure we will ever see Colorado Story again. Best case scenario at this point might still be a .260 hitter with 20-25 homers and 30 steals, but he’s going to be volatile and I don’t necessarily see all those things coming together again for him over a full season.
Turang is a poor man’s Andres Gimenez, but if you need steals, he should get them and get on base.
Donovan is a stud for points leagues or OBP, but the power speed is likely capped out at 15 homers and 10 steals.
TIER 5 (Black – Flores)
There are some interesting young players in this tier and maybe some backup MI / CI types in deeper leagues or DCs.
Black, Keith and Vargas are the most interesting names in this tier. Black and Keith especially as Vargas, despite the excellent line in AAA last year seems to be blocked by the Dodgers.
TIER 6 (Lux – Triolo)
This tier will likely be waiver types in most leagues, but there are still some interesting names that could provide some value in 2024.
Earlier guys who could catch on are Lux, Estrada, Westburg and Mead; while Loperfido is a guy I like who likely won’t debut on the opening day roster, but could provide some nice super utility value by the end of the season.
TIER 7 (Acuna – Rosario)
This is the mid-late season prospect call up tier who likely won’t get drafted but could be providing value by mid season in deeper fantasy leagues.
Acuna, Saggesse and Mauricio are the most interesting names in this tier to me.
Caballero and Bliss could provide some nice value early in the season if they snag starting rolls out of camp.
TIER 8 (Merrill – Sosa)
This later tier is full of waiver guys that will probably go through some hot and cold stretches and might be worth picking up at some points, along with some late call up guys.Most interesting are Merrill and Grissom.
Please follow me on Twitter @fantasyaceball and subscribe to the Fantasy Aceball podcast for more great content throughout the season. More of my written work, including in-season daily articles can be found on FWFB and Fantasy Pros.
Name | fContact | fDiscipline | fPower | fSpeed | fDurability | TOTAL | FUTURE |
Mookie Betts | 115 | 158 | 147 | 98 | 112 | 131 | 139 |
Marcus Semien | 107 | 123 | 111 | 106 | 129 | 119 | 116 |
Ozzie Albies | 109 | 92 | 112 | 98 | 103 | 109 | 116 |
Jose Altuve | 104 | 123 | 111 | 120 | 95 | 110 | 111 |
Matt McLain | 100 | 107 | 129 | 129 | 84 | 108 | 115 |
Edouard Julien | 110 | 161 | 135 | 85 | 96 | 111 | 118 |
Max Muncy | 94 | 142 | 156 | 69 | 104 | 115 | 112 |
Nolan Gorman | 95 | 98 | 147 | 87 | 95 | 105 | 111 |
Ha-Seong Kim | 100 | 134 | 72 | 151 | 108 | 114 | 120 |
Luis Arraez | 200 | 166 | 66 | 71 | 109 | 116 | 121 |
Gleyber Torres | 106 | 113 | 109 | 92 | 115 | 109 | 119 |
Spencer Steer | 96 | 113 | 99 | 89 | 112 | 104 | 109 |
Bryson Stott | 103 | 107 | 81 | 150 | 109 | 109 | 115 |
Nico Hoerner | 107 | 121 | 53 | 165 | 106 | 112 | 120 |
Tommy Edman | 103 | 103 | 76 | 170 | 105 | 107 | 109 |
Ketel Marte | 99 | 124 | 96 | 81 | 104 | 104 | 105 |
Jorge Polanco | 105 | 120 | 129 | 86 | 78 | 99 | 105 |
Christopher Morel | 95 | 91 | 147 | 95 | 100 | 104 | 108 |
Brandon Lowe | 96 | 108 | 123 | 98 | 81 | 101 | 104 |
Andres Gimenez | 96 | 78 | 86 | 182 | 110 | 110 | 120 |
Zac Gelof | 101 | 98 | 105 | 138 | 85 | 101 | 107 |
Davis Schneider | 92 | 127 | 135 | 104 | 63 | 100 | 111 |
Jonathan India | 100 | 122 | 106 | 96 | 79 | 100 | 107 |
Isaac Paredes | 92 | 126 | 108 | 66 | 98 | 101 | 106 |
Trevor Story | 98 | 80 | 106 | 168 | 64 | 93 | 97 |
Brice Turang | 97 | 118 | 55 | 188 | 104 | 103 | 108 |
Brandon Donovan | 125 | 141 | 75 | 80 | 91 | 98 | 105 |
Tyler Black | 90 | 132 | 73 | 143 | 69 | 96 | 108 |
Colt Keith | 98 | 96 | 96 | 77 | 76 | 88 | 100 |
Chris Taylor | 104 | 111 | 110 | 126 | 85 | 104 | 100 |
Miguel Vargas | 93 | 131 | 97 | 83 | 92 | 92 | 90 |
Ryan McMahon | 100 | 106 | 116 | 67 | 111 | 100 | 100 |
D.J. LeMahieu | 109 | 146 | 83 | 73 | 104 | 99 | 100 |
Luis Rengifo | 108 | 95 | 109 | 80 | 81 | 94 | 109 |
Brandon Drury | 99 | 73 | 125 | 62 | 83 | 91 | 97 |
Wilmer Flores | 103 | 125 | 103 | 62 | 100 | 98 | 100 |
Gavin Lux | 106 | 116 | 85 | 85 | 72 | 89 | 98 |
Thairo Estrada | 98 | 79 | 76 | 116 | 84 | 92 | 95 |
Jordan Westburg | 92 | 90 | 99 | 98 | 91 | 90 | 95 |
Jorge Mateo | 93 | 81 | 72 | 251 | 71 | 105 | 104 |
Whit Merrifield | 104 | 90 | 66 | 162 | 112 | 104 | 98 |
Jon Berti | 110 | 115 | 70 | 159 | 79 | 99 | 101 |
Jake Cronenworth | 106 | 118 | 82 | 87 | 94 | 93 | 88 |
Jeff McNeil | 109 | 115 | 59 | 97 | 113 | 97 | 98 |
Josh Rojas | 109 | 107 | 70 | 145 | 77 | 93 | 91 |
Joey Loperfido | 111 | 96 | 93 | 118 | 76 | 92 | 97 |
Brendan Rodgers | 108 | 92 | 99 | 66 | 69 | 81 | 88 |
Curtis Mead | 93 | 102 | 89 | 77 | 65 | 84 | 88 |
Geraldo Perdomo | 96 | 151 | 48 | 110 | 94 | 94 | 99 |
Michael Massey | 99 | 77 | 98 | 97 | 98 | 91 | 99 |
Jared Triolo | 91 | 120 | 67 | 119 | 77 | 91 | 96 |
Luisangel Acuna | 86 | 88 | 66 | 200 | 75 | 91 | 95 |
Dylan Moore | 95 | 108 | 135 | 150 | 61 | 98 | 99 |
Thomas Saggesse | 96 | 82 | 100 | 98 | 69 | 85 | 96 |
Taylor Walls | 92 | 129 | 60 | 155 | 59 | 92 | 95 |
Zack McKinstry | 106 | 97 | 78 | 111 | 83 | 91 | 94 |
Cavan Biggio | 106 | 143 | 76 | 92 | 71 | 91 | 93 |
Isiah Kiner-Falefa | 107 | 111 | 50 | 130 | 87 | 89 | 90 |
Michael Busch | 96 | 104 | 107 | 83 | 71 | 88 | 86 |
Jose Caballero | 85 | 135 | 58 | 225 | 68 | 100 | 105 |
Luis Garcia | 108 | 86 | 78 | 93 | 85 | 87 | 90 |
Jonathan Aranda | 92 | 117 | 96 | 69 | 84 | 87 | 86 |
Ryan Bliss | 86 | 82 | 79 | 174 | 66 | 88 | 99 |
Liover Peguero | 87 | 76 | 75 | 145 | 87 | 86 | 90 |
Tony Kemp | 102 | 146 | 51 | 123 | 86 | 93 | 92 |
Ronny Mauricio | 88 | 64 | 95 | 141 | 90 | 91 | 98 |
Enmanuel Valdez | 89 | 98 | 104 | 93 | 72 | 85 | 89 |
Tyler Freeman | 96 | 102 | 62 | 140 | 62 | 85 | 91 |
Connor Norby | 93 | 91 | 96 | 97 | 71 | 84 | 90 |
Nick Madrigal | 116 | 138 | 42 | 115 | 54 | 84 | 93 |
Mauricio Dubon | 104 | 85 | 71 | 76 | 84 | 82 | 88 |
Ji-Hwan Bae | 96 | 103 | 50 | 138 | 71 | 82 | 87 |
Eguy Rosario | 90 | 86 | 90 | 97 | 73 | 81 | 85 |
Jackson Merrill | 100 | 82 | 71 | 107 | 47 | 76 | 90 |
Tsung Che-Cheng | 91 | 106 | 64 | 139 | 59 | 85 | 88 |
Brooks Lee | 95 | 96 | 89 | 66 | 66 | 78 | 85 |
Vaughn Grissom | 91 | 80 | 81 | 77 | 75 | 78 | 83 |
Adam Frazier | 104 | 103 | 65 | 97 | 98 | 91 | 84 |
Nick Loftin | 91 | 90 | 73 | 110 | 61 | 79 | 86 |
Justin Foscue | 89 | 98 | 89 | 66 | 63 | 77 | 86 |
Luis Urias | 91 | 122 | 86 | 66 | 62 | 78 | 77 |
Jurickson Profar | 100 | 126 | 68 | 74 | 91 | 86 | 85 |
Enrique Hernandez | 97 | 101 | 80 | 72 | 93 | 85 | 81 |
Owen Miller | 104 | 89 | 60 | 132 | 55 | 80 | 77 |
Kolten Wong | 95 | 100 | 74 | 107 | 65 | 80 | 76 |
Jean Segura | 94 | 104 | 64 | 103 | 60 | 78 | 74 |
Nick Gordon | 103 | 64 | 86 | 81 | 57 | 70 | 79 |
Ramon Urias | 98 | 91 | 79 | 69 | 80 | 79 | 76 |
Gabriel Arias | 87 | 73 | 88 | 80 | 75 | 76 | 77 |
Nick Gonzales | 92 | 88 | 80 | 69 | 65 | 76 | 76 |
Oslevis Basabe | 92 | 84 | 56 | 94 | 66 | 74 | 75 |
Lenyn Sosa | 94 | 62 | 101 | 50 | 75 | 71 | 76 |
Leave a Reply
Friends don't let friends talk to themselves.
You must be logged in to post a comment.