Updated Points League Rankings Risers and Fallers (July)

Is it feasible to do a weekly H2H league in 2020? Sure. Is it a great idea? Not really. With just under 10 weeks of actual baseball, the whole "sprint" metaphor will become real in a hurry. Total points leagues aren't as popular but make a lot more sense over the course of a 60-game season.

Regardless of how your league proceeds, points leagues must be approached differently from roto, both on draft day and throughout the season. Plate discipline matters more than category specialization and simply showing up to collect IP or AB will make a huge difference, especially in 2020.

Whether you are set to take part in a last-minute draft or simply want to size up the relative strength of your team in an existing league, we have you covered. Here is a final preseason update to our points league rankings, compiled by Nicklaus Gaut, Riley Mrack, and myself. Rather than going position by position, I will highlight some of the biggest risers and fallers since Summer Training began, as well as some sneaky value picks to target late in drafts or in your first waiver run. I won't address the obvious cases of players who have dropped due to COVID-related concerns. Here are the top 250 players in our rankings, followed by analysis, including a few sleepers to keep an eye on.

 

Top 250 Points League Rankings (July)

Rank	Tier	Player Name	Pos	Nicklaus Gaut	Pierre Camus	Riley Mrack
1	1	Christian Yelich	OF	4	1	1
2	1	Cody Bellinger	1B/OF	3	2	5
3	1	Mookie Betts	OF	6	4	2
4	1	Gerrit Cole	SP	1	3	10
5	1	Nolan Arenado	3B	8	5	7
6	1	Alex Bregman	3B/SS	7	6	8
7	1	Jacob deGrom	SP	2	7	13
8	1	Mike Trout	OF	14	8	3
9	2	Ronald Acuna Jr.	OF	11	12	4
10	2	Max Scherzer	SP	5	9	14
11	2	Juan Soto	OF	9	11	9
12	2	Francisco Lindor	SS	13	13	6
13	2	Justin Verlander	SP	12	10	15
14	2	Jose Ramirez	3B	10	16	18
15	2	Bryce Harper	OF	17	17	12
16	2	J.D. Martinez	OF	16	19	11
17	2	Shane Bieber	SP	15	14	22
18	2	Freddie Freeman	1B	18	20	16
19	2	Anthony Rendon	3B	22	15	23
20	2	Rafael Devers	3B	20	21	20
21	2	Jack Flaherty	SP	19	18	28
22	2	Trevor Story	SS	25	26	17
23	3	Mike Clevinger	SP	27	22	21
24	3	Trea Turner	SS	24	30	19
25	3	Stephen Strasburg	SP	23	24	29
26	3	Walker Buehler	SP	21	34	25
27	3	Xander Bogaerts	SS	34	23	24
28	3	Clayton Kershaw	SP	30	25	27
29	3	George Springer	OF	32	27	26
30	3	Jose Altuve	2B	29	37	32
31	3	Ozzie Albies	2B	31	29	41
32	3	Luis Castillo	SP	33	35	38
33	3	Pete Alonso	1B	37	41	30
34	3	Patrick Corbin	SP	40	31	40
35	3	Manny Machado	3B/SS	26	47	39
36	3	Blake Snell	SP	39	32	44
37	3	Kris Bryant	3B/OF	41	40	36
38	4	Charlie Morton	SP	28	55	43
39	4	Anthony Rizzo	1B	50	52	33
40	4	Fernando Tatis Jr.	SS	53	51	34
41	4	Ketel Marte	2B/SS/OF	42	61	46
42	4	Josh Donaldson	3B	36	63	57
43	4	Zack Greinke	SP	63	38	56
44	4	Josh Bell	1B	46	43	71
45	4	Javier Baez	SS	51	44	66
46	4	Charlie Blackmon	OF	73	57	31
47	4	Marcus Semien	SS	48	49	64
48	4	Paul Goldschmidt	1B	49	68	45
49	4	Yu Darvish	SP	47	54	62
50	4	Carlos Santana	1B	38	28	99
51	4	Trevor Bauer	SP	45	53	68
52	4	Jose Abreu	1B	68	45	54
53	4	Aaron Nola	SP	59	36	74
54	5	Gleyber Torres	2B/SS	58	76	37
55	5	Matt Chapman	3B	54	69	49
56	5	Josh Hader	RP	35	73	72
57	5	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	3B	87	33	61
58	5	Marcell Ozuna	OF	55	70	58
59	5	Nelson Cruz	DH	75	58	50
60	5	Starling Marte	OF	81	71	35
61	5	Lucas Giolito	SP	76	48	63
62	5	Yordan Alvarez	OF	106	39	42
63	5	Rhys Hoskins	1B	44	78	67
64	5	Eugenio Suarez	3B	43	86	60
65	5	Matt Olson	1B	74	65	51
66	5	Aaron Judge	OF	80	64	48
67	6	Austin Meadows	OF	100	46	47
68	6	J.T. Realmuto	C	52	77	65
69	6	Eddie Rosario	OF	85	56	55
70	6	Jose Berrios	SP	61	50	86
71	6	Mike Moustakas	2B/3B	56	66	77
72	6	Nick Castellanos	OF	67	67	70
73	6	Michael Brantley	OF	92	42	78
74	6	Lance Lynn	SP	66	60	100
75	6	Chris Paddack	SP	83	75	69
76	6	Michael Conforto	OF	69	72	88
77	6	Max Muncy	1B/2B/3B	57	88	84
78	6	Whit Merrifield	2B/OF	62	85	85
79	6	Andrew Benintendi	OF	84	62	95
80	7	Giancarlo Stanton	OF	113	80	53
81	7	Jeff McNeil	2B/3B/OF	91	59	96
82	7	Tommy Pham	OF	79	79	89
83	7	Joey Gallo	OF	77	89	82
84	7	Eloy Jimenez	OF	93	83	73
85	7	DJ LeMahieu	1B/2B/3B	117	74	59
86	7	Max Kepler	OF	70	97	90
87	7	Jorge Soler	OF	65	113	81
88	7	Brandon Woodruff	SP	60	107	92
89	7	Bo Bichette	SS	#N/A	94	79
90	7	Eduardo Escobar	2B/3B	82	87	91
91	7	Jorge Polanco	SS	72	84	106
92	7	Yoan Moncada	3B	98	93	76
93	7	Kyle Schwarber	OF	64	101	105
94	7	Keston Hiura	2B	#N/A	82	98
95	7	Adalberto Mondesi	SS	112	81	80
96	7	Carlos Correa	SS	90	110	83
97	7	Justin Turner	3B	88	91	111
98	8	Tyler Glasnow	SP	114	128	52
99	8	Corey Kluber	SP	119	102	75
100	8	Tim Anderson	SS	104	90	103
101	8	Kirby Yates	RP	89	117	93
102	8	Sonny Gray	SP	108	92	104
103	8	Shohei Ohtani	DH/SP	103	127	87
104	8	James Paxton	SP	105	116	102
105	8	Paul DeJong	SS	78	99	146
106	8	Yasmani Grandal	C/1B	101	122	101
107	8	Franmil Reyes	OF	102	112	110
108	8	Corey Seager	SS	110	95	120
109	8	Matthew Boyd	SP	97	98	133
110	8	Edwin Encarnacion	1B	116	106	112
111	8	Victor Robles	OF	120	100	116
112	9	Elvis Andrus	SS	123	104	130
113	9	Jonathan Villar	2B/SS	131	129	97
114	9	Frankie Montas	SP	95	140	122
115	9	Robbie Ray	SP	124	111	126
116	9	Carlos Carrasco	SP	133	141	94
117	9	Madison Bumgarner	SP	150	109	109
118	9	Yuli Gurriel	1B/3B	96	151	124
119	9	Eduardo Rodriguez	SP	111	154	107
120	9	Ramon Laureano	OF	164	105	108
121	9	Gary Sanchez	C	121	144	113
122	9	Cavan Biggio	2B	#N/A	130	123
123	9	Edwin Diaz	RP	86	163	132
124	9	Max Fried	SP	138	108	138
125	9	Khris Davis	DH	126	124	137
126	9	Hyun-Jin Ryu	SP	128	135	125
127	9	Bryan Reynolds	OF	136	96	157
128	9	Miguel Sano	1B/3B	147	125	119
129	9	Zack Wheeler	SP	167	103	127
130	9	Mike Soroka	SP	142	142	115
131	9	German Marquez	SP	139	114	147
132	9	Liam Hendriks	RP	71	195	134
133	9	Roberto Osuna	RP	99	159	144
134	10	Mike Minor	SP	149	123	141
135	10	Andrew McCutchen	OF	122	132	160
136	10	Kenley Jansen	RP	125	178	117
137	10	Oscar Mercado	OF	166	118	139
138	10	Dinelson Lamet	SP	162	133	129
139	10	Jean Segura	SS	155	115	158
140	10	David Dahl	OF	175	119	136
141	10	Taylor Rogers	RP	115	182	135
142	10	Ken Giles	RP	94	208	131
143	10	Amed Rosario	SS	141	156	140
144	10	Aroldis Chapman	RP	109	153	177
145	10	Luis Robert	OF	171	147	128
146	10	Eric Hosmer	1B	186	120	142
147	10	Kenta Maeda	SP	146	131	171
148	10	Brad Hand	RP	135	164	152
149	10	Cesar Hernandez	2B	118	143	202
150	10	Joey Votto	1B	134	145	185
151	10	Lorenzo Cain	OF	140	139	186
152	10	Kyle Hendricks	SP	168	149	149
153	11	Brian Anderson	3B/OF	157	137	179
154	11	Lourdes Gurriel Jr.	2B/OF	185	138	151
155	11	Justin Upton	OF	181	146	148
156	11	Julio Urias	SP	160	204	114
157	11	Zac Gallen	SP	165	194	121
158	11	Didi Gregorius	SS	132	157	193
159	11	Adam Eaton	OF	151	126	211
160	11	Ryan McMahon	1B/3B/2B	152	181	155
161	11	Nick Anderson	RP	163	188	143
162	11	David Peralta	OF	202	121	172
163	11	Shin-Soo Choo	OF	195	136	164
164	11	Rougned Odor	2B	148	155	201
165	11	Brandon Lowe	2B	184	150	178
166	11	Willson Contreras	C	145	212	162
167	11	Jake Odorizzi	SP	156	158	205
168	11	Danny Santana	CI/MI/OF	159	172	188
169	11	Jon Gray	SP	214	148	165
170	11	Scott Kingery	MI/3B/OF	207	152	170
171	11	Renato Nunez	1B/3B	193	161	175
172	11	Tommy Edman	2B/3B/OF	#N/A	201	154
173	11	Lance McCullers Jr.	SP	153	235	145
174	11	Joe Musgrove	SP	178	186	169
175	11	Christian Walker	1B	203	167	168
176	11	Alex Verdugo	OF	170	184	191
177	11	Masahiro Tanaka	SP	191	168	187
178	11	Andrew Heaney	SP	137	238	173
179	11	Hunter Dozier	1B/3B/OF	180	173	195
180	11	Dylan Bundy	SP	143	196	215
181	11	Gavin Lux	2B/SS	#N/A	176	194
182	11	Marcus Stroman	SP	211	170	183
183	11	C.J. Cron	1B	190	202	180
184	11	Hunter Renfroe	OF	223	169	182
185	11	Raisel Iglesias	RP	130	219	225
186	11	Dansby Swanson	SS	161	198	217
187	11	Kyle Seager	3B	204	134	239
188	11	J.D. Davis	3B/OF	176	234	167
189	11	Joc Pederson	1B/OF	220	160	198
190	12	Mike Foltynewicz	SP	255	166	159
191	12	William Smith	C	#N/A	213	176
192	12	Brandon Workman	RP	127	215	242
193	12	Nick Senzel	OF	218	207	161
194	12	Jesus Luzardo	SP	281	190	118
195	12	Hector Neris	RP	177	187	227
196	12	Starlin Castro	2B/3B	172	165	255
197	12	Avisail Garcia	OF	205	179	210
198	12	Byron Buxton	OF	187	245	166
199	12	Matt Carpenter	3B	173	232	196
200	12	Willie Calhoun	OF	248	203	150
201	12	Mark Canha	1B/OF	209	180	228
202	12	Mitch Garver	C	225	242	153
203	12	Josh James	RP	224	#N/A	190
204	12	Ryan Braun	OF	107	199	316
205	12	Nomar Mazara	OF	231	185	209
206	12	Caleb Smith	SP	236	192	200
207	12	Randal Grichuk	OF	182	210	245
208	12	Willy Adames	SS	199	224	221
209	12	Sean Manaea	SP	234	229	181
210	12	Howie Kendrick	1B/2B/3B	129	246	272
211	12	Adam Frazier	2B	144	241	263
212	12	Nick Ahmed	SS	169	162	322
213	12	Joey Lucchesi	SP	262	193	199
214	12	Jonathan Schoop	2B	206	189	260
215	13	Kevin Newman	2B/SS	215	227	213
216	13	Carlos Martinez	SP	285	197	174
217	13	Daniel Murphy	1B	189	250	218
218	13	Kyle Tucker	OF	274	220	163
219	13	Luis Arraez	2B	#N/A	225	214
220	13	Andrelton Simmons	SS	208	205	246
221	13	Niko Goodrum	1B/MI/OF	179	211	270
222	13	Jason Heyward	OF	226	206	229
223	13	Salvador Perez	C	194	251	223
224	13	Archie Bradley	RP	158	252	258
225	13	Mike Yastrzemski	OF	239	171	264
226	13	Yandy Diaz	1B/3B	228	183	265
227	13	Garrett Hampson	2B/SS/OF	252	222	204
228	13	Carter Kieboom	SS	#N/A	#N/A	226
229	13	Miguel Andujar	DH	290	200	192
230	13	Justin Smoak	1B	213	223	248
231	13	Jesse Winker	OF	196	177	315
232	13	Anthony Santander	OF	232	248	208
233	13	Jose Leclerc	RP	154	286	253
234	13	Kolten Wong	2B	200	221	275
235	13	Luke Voit	1B	260	239	197
236	13	Brett Gardner	OF	263	191	250
237	13	Corey Dickerson	OF	251	214	243
238	13	Jurickson Profar	2B/OF	174	174	360
239	13	Spencer Howard	SP	201	#N/A	271
240	13	Hanser Alberto	2B/3B	#N/A	253	219
241	13	Hansel Robles	RP	219	254	237
242	14	Craig Kimbrel	RP	183	305	224
243	14	Dallas Keuchel	SP	238	233	244
244	14	Luke Weaver	SP	284	288	156
245	14	Joe Jimenez	RP	188	265	276
246	14	Wilson Ramos	C	192	300	240
247	14	Robinson Cano	2B	229	217	288
248	14	Austin Riley	OF	233	268	233
249	14	Brandon Belt	1B/OF	258	230	247
250	14	Dylan Cease	SP	289	#N/A	203

 

Risers

Marcell Ozuna has jumped up from 79 to 58, presumably due to Nick and I professing our mutual love for him each week on the WPC+ podcast. Nick Markakis is out and Yasiel Puig never came in, so Ozuna's everyday playing time and spot as the cleanup man are locked in. It also helps that Freddie Freeman appears ready for Opening Day, so all the pieces are falling into place for Ozuna to succeed.

Kenta Maeda has jumped 18 spots over the past month for our rankers, from 165 to 147 overall, making him SP42 in our points-league rankings. The new schedule that pits regional teams against each other figures to help Central division pitchers the most. In fact, Riley identified two other Minnesota pitchers as great draft values based on the schedule, but someone higher up like Maeda also gets a bump. His Statcast profile from last year was nothing short of outstanding despite a lack of elite velocity.

Maeda moves to a less favorable home park, but the weaker lineups he'll face throughout the short season will more than make up for it.

Alex Verdugo climbs 15 spots, mainly thanks to Nick giving him a 20-spot bump over the past month. The delay has given him time to recover from offseason back issues and his profile as a high-average, low-strikeout hitter (.294 AVG, 13% K% in 2019) make him very appealing in points formats. Much has been made of the Red Sox looking less like a contender this year, but their offense shouldn't lose very much even with Mookie Betts gone. The main issue with Verdugo is the fact he's projected to bat seventh according to RosterResource, which may cost him runs and RBI opportunities. If he finds his way into the top-half of the order, his value could be that of a top-100 player.

Joe Musgrove isn't the most exciting name on a fantasy roster but his consistency and low walk rate are appealing in this format. He walked 5.4% of batters faced in 2019 after a 4.7% walk rate in 2018, which compensates for the mediocre strikeout rate of 22%. If he can bring his ERA closer to his xERA of 4.03 from last year, ideally lower, then he can be an anchor in the middle of your rotation.

All the Yankees outfielder (other than poor Clint Frazier) has seen his stock rise after the long delay to rest and recover. Aaron Hicks has benefited the most, raising up to 320 from 364 in our rankings. That's still barely within the threshold of fantasy relevance, but he is a nice late-round sleeper or streamer to consider. It's almost hard to judge what he can bring to the table because he simply can't stay healthy long enough. If we get some semblance of the Hicks from two years ago when he held a 3.6% K-BB% as opposed to last year's 16% K-BB% then he could be a revelation.

Everybody Loves Howie. Sounds like a 90s sitcom but it should be the tagline for fantasy baseball analysis everywhere. Nobody's stock has risen more than Howie Kendrick over the last month and our rankings are no exception. Kendrick went from 304th overall to 210th in a month's time for a couple of reasons. Ryan Zimmerman opting out of the season, the DH being fully implemented, and everyone realizing how freaking amazing his Statcast numbers were last year. Oh, and the fact that multi-positional eligibility is even more important this year, with Kendrick being one of the most eligible of fantasy bachelors pickups.

No Yoshi puns here. Just raising awareness that Yoshitomo Tsutsugo is going to be a thing this year. He may DH for the Rays initially, but he is eligible at 3B and OF in Yahoo leagues and is just 16% owned. Manager Kevin Cash recently stated that Tsutsugo won't leadoff as previously speculated, but he will hit somewhere near the top of the order. Obviously, we don't know exactly we'll get from him at the Major League level yet, but he is in his prime at 28 and playing time doesn't seem to be a concern any longer. Just hope he doesn't cross any banana peels on the basepaths.

 

Fallers

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Mike Trout went from the #1 overall player in our June rankings to the eighth spot just ahead of Opening Day. Obviously, this has everything to do with the number of at-bats he may or may not collect due to impending paternity leave and some frightening comments about considering opting out. Nick isn't willing to pay a first-round price anymore, while Riley is holding firm with him at the third spot, whereas I'm the middle man.

It's not a huge decline but Victor Robles tumbled out of the top 100 to 111 overall. His run-scoring and stolen base totals could be underwhelming if he stays in the seventh spot of the lineup. It's not that we're projecting him to be a bust this year; he simply isn't worth his current ADP of 75 in points leagues.

Willie Calhoun can't catch a break and neither can his fantasy owners. He was all of one week into his rookie season before a quad strain landed him on the IL in May of 2019. A month later, he returned and started mashing the ball. He wound up launching 16 homers with 36 RBI and 37 runs scored in the second half of the year. Due to be a popular breakout candidate, he was struck on the jaw by a pitch in spring training, recovered in time for Summer Training, and then suffered a hip injury. Luckily, it appears he may avoid the IL to start the season, so his precipitous drop from 158 to 200 in our rankings should be taken as a sign that his value is depressed relative to what he could produce, assuming he finds a way to stay healthy.

Cardinals reliever Giovanny Gallegos was a popular pickup late last year and a sleeper candidate to earn saves back in the first iteration of fantasy draft season. Now, he appears to be on the outside looking in as Kwang-Hyun Kim has been announced as the closer and Ryan Helsley has made a favorable impression on his manager as well. This isn't directly due to a COVID diagnosis, rather a late arrival at camp after travel issues from Mexico set him back in his preparation. Gallegos could take the role over at some point but even with Jordan Hicks opting out, it isn't guaranteed. Mike Schildt could simply use a committee, which is why we dropped him down to 342, out of draft-worthy range.

 

Sleepers

Here are some players that are lightly owned and ranked outside of our top 250 in points leagues that may warrant a waiver wire add soon.

Ross Stripling (RP/SP, LAD) - With David Price opting out, it appears Stripling is back in the rotation for now. He was one of our biggest risers for that reason, but is still available in 45% of Yahoo leagues. He's never posted an ERA over 4.00 in four Major League seasons and has a career 17.9% K-BB%. He will technically serve as the fifth starter but is set to pitch the second game of the season, which is fortunate because it comes against division rival San Francisco. Even in a swingman or long-relief role, he would have value.

Austin Hays (OF, BAL) - Orioles are usually best avoided, but Hays could be the leadoff hitter for the duration of the season. He showed well last year in a small sample, striking out just 17.3% of the time while posted an expected slash line of .313/.373/.497. I expect him to outperform his projections by reaching double-digit homers with a handful of steals alongside an average in the 280s.

Anthony DeSclafani (SP, CIN) - He doesn't have the best ballpark for a pitcher (OK, it's the worst) but the schedule is favorable for the Reds this year. That helps players like Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray but it also makes DeSclafani an end-of-rotation option. He pitched to a decent 4.29 SIERA which was 30th among qualified starters last year and struck out a batter per inning. He landed on the IL hours before first pitch of Opening Day but is expected to miss just one start before drawing the Tigers in Comerica.

Alex Dickerson (OF, SF) - If you thought the O's offense was bad... The entire Giants lineup is rife with sleepers, mainly because nobody has ever heard of most of them. Buster Posey is out, Evan Longoria and Brandon Belt are hurt, and the team didn't bring in any new blood during the offseason. That means Hunter Pence is back as the cleanup hitter and Alex Dickerson is his support. Dickerson put together a strong start to 2019, hitting .346 before landing on the Injured List. He's had trouble staying healthy his whole career, but if he can show up every day, there's value to be had as a fourth outfielder or utility bat.

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