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 and Witt Jr.)
Betts has SS eligibility in some leagues, but not in others – depending on the eligibility requirements. In leagues Betts has SS eligibility, I’d give him the edge vs. Witt in points leagues or leagues that rewards OBP or power, but I’d give Witt the edge in standard roto.
Fantasy players love Witt, non-fantasy players barely know who he is, because he’s buried in Kansas City. Power, speed, hit tool, all he’s missing is the plate skills and we would be putting him up amongst some of the early Mike Trout years.
This is the super star tier.
TIER 2 (Lindor and Turner)
Lindor has better plate skills, which leads to a bit less volatility and he should get the edge to Turner in points, OBP or deep leagues where your top guys have to stabilize everything for you.
Turner could get the edge in roto with the hit tool and speed advantages.
This is what I call the round two tier.
TIER 3 (de la Cruz, Seager and Henderson)
In tier three we get the reverse where Elly is the man due to his speed; he could pop a 30/60 season if he cuts down the strikeouts.
Seager on the other hand is one of the best hitters in baseball all around and could put up a 40 homer season if he’s healthy. This is the guy you want in this tier in points leagues.
Henderson is a bit of the “best of both worlds” type who should go close to 30/10 with solid plate skills.
Most of these guys are also going in round two, with a little less of a track record (or injury history in Seager’s case)
TIER 4 (McLain – Abrams)
I’m a sucker for Matt McLain, have been since last year and these fScores just pull me in even further. He should be a 25/25 guy over a full season with dual position eligibility.
Bichette looks like 25 homers, 8 steals or something like that with bad plate skills, but he will get counting stats.
Royce Lewis is a beast and is looking like 30/10 or so over a full, healthy season with upside for more. In most leagues he is only 3B eligible, but I’m listing him here in the event of a Correa injury where he shifts over for Miranda, Polanco or Brooks Lee.
Abrams has bad plate skills and is good for roto or cats, but I’m not a fan in OBP or points because he’s basically a slightly below average hitter with the wheels to steal 50+ bags.
This is more like the round 4 tier (there’s a gap between the last tier and this one)
TIER 5 (Kim – Edman)
I have loved Kim for a long time, mostly because I knew he had a season like 2023 in him and he was cheap with great position eligibility, but now he’s getting drafted pretty high and he’s out of my range. Expect some regression off last year, but I bet he still hits 13-17 homers with 25 steals or so.
Torres is just an all around type guy, good average, 25 homers, solid plates skills and 8 steal speed. He’s probably better than Bichette, but won’t get the counting stats of Bichette.
Stott is our value Ha-Seong Kim with less position eligibility this year and a better lineup around him.
Edman is hurt, so let’s keep an eye on that, but he’s a speedier Kim with worse plate discipline and can play more positions.
Here’s your round 6 tier, with another gap between this tier and the last.
TIER 6 (Cruz – Correa)
This is an interesting tier. We have injury rebounds, older, solid “boring” vets and a bunch of young guys still making their way. This tier rounds out the guys I’m comfortable starting in most league formats, even at MI in a 15 teamer.
I’ll go through this tier and further down I will be more generic and let the numbers speak for themselves.
Oneil Cruz has a solid power / speed combo that could get him to 25/25, but I think that’s the peak because the hit tool and plate skills are both sub par.
Gimenez is all about the speed, he should jack 35 plus bags with 15 homers.
Volpe looks like a 20/25 guy once he grows into his bat, but if he doesn’t he’s 15/20 with a bad batting average.
Xander is so boring… his profile looks like a .280 batting average with 17 homers and 10 steals.
Swanson is Xander with a worse average, better power and worse lineup around him (arguably).
Adames is Swanson with 5 more homers and 5 less steals.
If Caminero plays his entire rookie year, I think he could hit around .270 with 25 homers and 10 steals.
Holliday is a little more boring for fantasy and could mirror the early Wander Franco years (sans 14-year-old gf).
Lawlar might end up being a better fantasy player than Holliday (at least short term), because he already has the wheels for 30 steals and the power to hit 15-20 homers; while Holliday has to grow into the physical tools.
Story is super boom or bust… it’s like watching Javier Baez of the Red Sox, except Story can still steal 25 plus bags. Best case for Story I think is .250 with 20 homers and 25 steals.
Turang is a defensive wizard and knows how to get on base. He can snag 40 steals, but I’d like to see some more power… he’s like a 5 homer guy right now.
Donovan is Luis Arraez Junior… with more power and speed, because he has the tools to go 15/8 or so in the power / speed department.
Talk about bad plate skills… Tovar is basically a worse version of Trevor Story right now, but he should still go close to 20 homers, 15 steals.
The Carlos Correa contract might already be looking bad. He’s just kind of OK with good defense. He can hit .270-.280 with 20-25 homers when healthy over a full season, but is a nothing in the steals department.
TIER 7 (Crawford – Pena)
There are some interesting bench types or late MI guys here, mostly Marte, Winn and Rengifo.
TIER 8 (Lux – Arcia)
None of these guys should be counted on as a starter in any league, even though there are some upside plays, such as Lux, Estrada, Westburg, Rafaela and Montgomery.
TIER 9 (Moore – Bae)
I don’t like much in this tier, but if you are doing DCs, there are guys here with some value. Caballero should start and get steals, Hernaiz will start (but will he do anything of value?), Luciano and Peraza might be in that same boat.
TIER 10 (Merrill – Schmitt)
The only guys here interesting to me are Merrill and Vaughn, but even then, their profiles are kind of boring for fantasy.
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 |
Bobby Witt Jr. | 103 | 86 | 120 | 171 | 120 | 127 | 135 |
Francisco Lindor | 100 | 113 | 112 | 142 | 119 | 123 | 128 |
Trea Turner | 109 | 86 | 115 | 159 | 123 | 121 | 122 |
Elly de la Cruz | 100 | 91 | 127 | 200 | 102 | 120 | 127 |
Corey Seager | 128 | 107 | 151 | 71 | 98 | 114 | 119 |
Gunnar Henderson | 102 | 106 | 130 | 105 | 111 | 113 | 120 |
Matt McLain | 100 | 107 | 129 | 129 | 84 | 108 | 115 |
Bo Bichette | 113 | 78 | 110 | 88 | 107 | 100 | 105 |
Royce Lewis | 100 | 95 | 129 | 107 | 70 | 98 | 109 |
C.J. Abrams | 96 | 79 | 85 | 227 | 103 | 119 | 129 |
Ha-seong Kim | 100 | 134 | 72 | 151 | 108 | 114 | 120 |
Gleyber Torres | 106 | 113 | 109 | 92 | 115 | 109 | 119 |
Bryson Stott | 103 | 107 | 81 | 150 | 109 | 109 | 115 |
Tommy Edman | 103 | 103 | 76 | 170 | 105 | 107 | 109 |
Oneil Cruz | 90 | 93 | 132 | 153 | 53 | 102 | 116 |
Andres Gimenez | 96 | 78 | 86 | 182 | 110 | 110 | 120 |
Anthony Volpe | 90 | 92 | 108 | 146 | 109 | 107 | 113 |
Xander Boegaerts | 106 | 110 | 90 | 107 | 119 | 108 | 108 |
Dansby Swanson | 99 | 101 | 115 | 102 | 115 | 106 | 106 |
Willy Adames | 96 | 105 | 131 | 75 | 114 | 105 | 108 |
Junior Caminero | 103 | 74 | 113 | 97 | 55 | 90 | 104 |
Jackson Holliday | 107 | 133 | 91 | 93 | 53 | 93 | 108 |
Jordan Lawlar | 102 | 98 | 96 | 176 | 58 | 100 | 113 |
Trevor Story | 98 | 80 | 106 | 168 | 64 | 93 | 97 |
Brice Turang | 97 | 118 | 55 | 188 | 104 | 103 | 108 |
Brendan Donovan | 125 | 141 | 75 | 80 | 91 | 98 | 105 |
Ezequiel Tovar | 100 | 60 | 99 | 116 | 104 | 96 | 105 |
Carlos Correa | 101 | 119 | 107 | 67 | 103 | 98 | 98 |
J.P. Crawford | 102 | 153 | 80 | 71 | 112 | 103 | 108 |
Noelvi Marte | 96 | 95 | 94 | 125 | 76 | 92 | 99 |
Masyn Winn | 93 | 100 | 76 | 139 | 78 | 90 | 96 |
Chris Taylor | 104 | 111 | 110 | 126 | 85 | 104 | 100 |
Maikel Garcia | 101 | 104 | 59 | 126 | 108 | 97 | 102 |
Luis Rengifo | 108 | 95 | 109 | 80 | 81 | 94 | 109 |
Zach Neto | 95 | 81 | 100 | 93 | 61 | 90 | 100 |
Jeremy Pena | 102 | 80 | 77 | 96 | 101 | 90 | 98 |
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 |
Cedanne Rafaela | 95 | 59 | 93 | 135 | 72 | 88 | 96 |
Jon Berti | 110 | 115 | 70 | 159 | 79 | 99 | 101 |
Colson Montgomery | 96 | 140 | 98 | 60 | 44 | 87 | 99 |
Josh Rojas | 109 | 107 | 70 | 145 | 77 | 93 | 91 |
Carson Williams | 90 | 88 | 106 | 134 | 44 | 86 | 99 |
Tim Anderson | 126 | 72 | 63 | 120 | 93 | 90 | 89 |
Brendan Rodgers | 108 | 92 | 99 | 66 | 69 | 81 | 88 |
Geraldo Perdomo | 96 | 151 | 48 | 110 | 94 | 94 | 99 |
Orlando Arcia | 98 | 100 | 93 | 71 | 86 | 88 | 94 |
Dylan Moore | 95 | 108 | 135 | 150 | 61 | 98 | 99 |
Jose Caballero | 85 | 135 | 58 | 225 | 68 | 100 | 105 |
Amed Rosario | 103 | 78 | 70 | 122 | 106 | 93 | 95 |
Taylor Walls | 92 | 129 | 60 | 155 | 59 | 92 | 95 |
Darell Hernaiz | 97 | 85 | 66 | 130 | 88 | 88 | 92 |
Joey Ortiz | 95 | 88 | 87 | 107 | 84 | 87 | 93 |
Marco Luciano | 84 | 97 | 98 | 93 | 61 | 81 | 93 |
Isiah Kiner-Falefa | 107 | 111 | 50 | 130 | 87 | 89 | 90 |
Luis Garcia | 108 | 86 | 78 | 93 | 85 | 87 | 90 |
Liover Peguero | 87 | 76 | 75 | 145 | 87 | 86 | 90 |
Javier Baez | 92 | 66 | 87 | 125 | 99 | 90 | 86 |
Elvis Andrus | 103 | 97 | 66 | 119 | 89 | 88 | 86 |
Brayan Rocchio | 98 | 88 | 72 | 93 | 89 | 83 | 89 |
Oswald Peraza | 84 | 88 | 81 | 139 | 80 | 85 | 87 |
Ezequiel Duran | 91 | 71 | 85 | 99 | 89 | 85 | 84 |
Tyler Freeman | 96 | 102 | 62 | 140 | 62 | 85 | 91 |
Ji-Hwan Bae | 96 | 103 | 50 | 138 | 71 | 82 | 87 |
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 |
Luis Urias | 91 | 122 | 88 | 66 | 62 | 79 | 78 |
Jurickson Profar | 100 | 126 | 68 | 74 | 91 | 86 | 85 |
Enrique Hernandez | 97 | 101 | 80 | 72 | 93 | 85 | 81 |
Miguel Rojas | 100 | 112 | 60 | 90 | 95 | 85 | 83 |
Edumudo Sosa | 101 | 61 | 94 | 106 | 61 | 80 | 85 |
Gio Urshela | 116 | 90 | 76 | 83 | 59 | 78 | 79 |
Jean Segura | 94 | 104 | 64 | 103 | 60 | 78 | 74 |
Brandon Crawford | 93 | 95 | 97 | 76 | 70 | 80 | 72 |
Nick Gordon | 103 | 64 | 86 | 81 | 57 | 70 | 79 |
Ramon Urias | 98 | 91 | 79 | 69 | 80 | 79 | 76 |
Oslevis Basabe | 92 | 84 | 56 | 94 | 66 | 74 | 75 |
Paul DeJong | 88 | 73 | 86 | 66 | 75 | 75 | 71 |
Casey Schmitt | 93 | 62 | 77 | 81 | 93 | 74 | 71 |
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