RADIO
The first two-thirds of the 2013 fantasy baseball season are in the books, and the fantasy baseball landscape is becoming very concrete. As with the first week of each of the previous months, RotoBaller will be updating our positional rankings over the next couple of days. Today, we're revisiting the first base rankings we initially published in April and have updated every month since. All the ranks below are compared to the FantasyPros ECR (Expert Consensus Rank), which will show you where RotoBaller differs with the expert community and by how much. Check out our tier-by-tier analysis below the rankings, and let us know where you agree or disagree with us!
(All stats as of 8/1/13)
Tier 1: Fantasy Baseball’s number one overall player has missed a few games recently, but Miguel Cabrera (hip flexor, abdominal issue) is still on pace to exceed last year’s Triple Crown numbers. You always wonder how injuries will affect a player when he returns to the lineup, but Miguel Cabrera seems like he could have two broken arms and still hit a 400-foot home run. All joking aside, Cabrera owners would hate to see such a crucial part of their fantasy lineup hit the DL, should either of these injuries continue to nag him.
Tier 2: Some slight adjustments in this tier, as Evan Longoria slips to #3 after hitting under .200 last month. Hanley Ramirez climbs up one tier after basically duplicating his June production in July (.365, 21 R, 5 HR, 17 RBI, 3 SB). Another hot month from HanRam could see him move even higher in the rankings.
Tier 3: Kyle Seager (.396, 21 R, 6 HR, 14 RBI) went bonkers last month and will likely rank inside the Top 10 at third base at season’s end after finishing last season ranked at #12. Josh Donaldson, on the other hand, struggled in July (.233, 10 R, 3 HR, 8 RBI) and slipped a few spots accordingly.
Tier 4: David Wright's injury drops him significantly as he'll miss probably a month and only be back for September. Martin Prado (.316, 12 R, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 2 SB) finally started looking like Martin Prado in July. Even Chase Headley is showing signs of life, albeit modest ones. On the flip side, Headley’s teammate Jedd Gyorko has been terrible since returning from a groin injury. Try to remember the lengthy hot streak Gyorko was on prior to that injury before you go dropping him.
Tier 5: Nolan Arenado struggled through the first three weeks of July, but finished the month strong with four multi-hit games in his last seven. He went yard twice during that span, ending a power drought that lasted 30 games. Mike Moustakas parked a few homers recently as well, and could possibly help teams that are desperate for power.
Tier 6: Not much to see here, although I will admit that I’m starting Eric Chavez on my NFBC Draft Champions team. I’d like to see Lonnie Chisenhall get regular playing time but he’s still sitting a few times per week. Red Sox top prospect Xander Bogaerts (not ranked) could make his MLB debut soon, but will it be at third base or shortstop? He could be an impact bat down the stretch, so add him now if you have the room.
