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Welcome back, RotoBallers! Week 8 is here, and we are already halfway through May. It's time for another rankings check-in. Below is another edition of Nick Mariano's updated 2023 fantasy baseball rankings and tiers for roto leagues (5x5 mixed leagues) as of May 17, 2023. These rankings are being released in May and are looking at rest-of-season fantasy baseball rankings and player values for the rest of this MLB season from this point forward. There are many interesting storylines we are following closely, all baked into these updated rankings.
We have seen some top prospects, such as Cincinnati Reds shortstop Matt McLain, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Matthew Liberatore, and New York Mets designated hitter Mark Vientos called up to the big leagues recently, while Taj Bradley will get another shot in the majors with all the injuries to Tampa Bay's starting rotation. Liberatore was excellent in his season debut, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out six batters over five scoreless innings. Vientos homered in his 2023 debut.
Injuries continue to pile up, especially for pitchers. Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Dustin May (elbow) was diagnosed with a right flexor pronator strain after exiting his previous start early. Cincinnati Reds right-hander Nick Lodolo (calf) was placed on the 15-day injured list with left calf tendinosis. San Diego Padres star third baseman Manny Machado (hand) is dealing with a fractured hand.
Reinforcements are on the way as Cleveland Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie (should) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus on Saturday, while Chicago White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez (shoulder) could return by next weekend.
Chicago Cubs utilityman Christopher Morel has been on absolute fire since getting recalled to the big leagues on May 9th. He is slashing .371/.389/.857 with five home runs, 10 RBI, nine runs, and a stolen base over eight games. Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. has been red hot by homering in four of his last five games.
Some players are off to a terrific start, while some have struggled mightily to start the year. Which of these starts do we take seriously, and which do we put less stock into? Is it time to elevate our expectations on certain players and elevate touted prospects into a higher tier for fantasy baseball leagues? How much patience must we show for highly-touted players who have struggled out of the gate, especially veterans with proven track records?
Hopefully, the rankings below will give you some perspective on our thoughts on these topics and help you assess the strength of your rosters going forward. Let's see where players such as Luis Robert Jr., Christopher Morel, Nick Pratto, Liam Hendriks, Eury Perez, Alex Kirilloff, Chris Bassitt, Harrison Bader, Taylor Walls, Alex Lange, Brandon Pfaadt, rank, all of who are off to interesting starts in 2023.
Top 300 Fantasy Baseball Rankings - Week 8 Update
These rankings will be updated every week throughout the season, so some of these situations are very fluid. It's not panic time yet, and we may not be ready to elevate hot-starting players into the elite yet either, but it's certainly a good checkpoint for the long fantasy season.
As always, be sure to stay on top of all the MLB news with our running list of 24x7 fantasy baseball news and injuries. And if you don't yet have our free mobile app, be sure to download it and stay on top of all the MLB news and analysis with our free push notification alerts.
Nick Mariano's ranks are as of May 17, 2023. They are for 5x5 category mixed roto leagues and will be updated regularly on our main fantasy baseball rankings dashboard all season long. Be sure to read our daily fantasy baseball analysis articles as well.
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