So Who Are We Starting This Week? Fantasy Baseball Rankings Week 9

Mid-May would seem to indicate we are at the quarter-pole of the MLB season, considering it starts late-March and finishes in October. However, fantasy baseball season is – for many leagues – broken down into a series of weeks from 1 to 27. On the cusp of week 9, we are more like one-third of the way through.

Now is a good time to review what’s happened so far, to learn and adjust going forward. To do that I compiled the position ranking of all hitters by week for weeks 2 through 7. That data is presented below.

Fantasy Baseball Average Weekly Rankings

Based on this, there are quite a few changes to the fantasy baseball rankings for week 9. The most significant changes are adjusting tiers for players who are consistently providing good results and deserve to move up a tier. Alternatively, players consistently underperforming moved down a tier. Check the comments in the rankings and you’ll notice quite a few referencing weekly rankings.

Top Prospects Debut

The other thing, as I am sure you are aware, are the number of hot prospects called up last week that are expected to drain owners of the FAAB budget this week. Regardless of how average top prospect Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.’s been since his call-up to the Toronto Blue Jays, fantasy owners cannot help themselves. We want the future young studs on our teams, regardless of format!

Here is where we have the top prospects ranked for their first week of the 2019 season:

• 2B Keston Hiura, MIL ranks 12th. This position is fairly dismal about the time you get 12 or so deep, so not difficult to justify ranking him this high right from the get-go.
• 3B Austin Riley, ATL ranks 18th. If you are in a spot where you are likely to only get one of these prospects on your squad, position need will come into play. Personally my 3B position in the Draft Buddy H2H Points League is a problem spot, so Riley is my top target.
• SS Nicky Lopez, KC ranks 26th. Shortstop is a deep position and the Royals are not good, keeping Lopez down the ranks.
• SS Brendan Rodgers, COL ranks 31st. Again, deep fantasy position, and for now splitting time on the field at 2B with Ryan McMahon.
• OF Willie Calhoun, TEX ranks in the 60s. Great start with 2 HR in first five games.

Wow, that is a lot of key prospects all shot up to the Majors in one week. Dynasty owners must be loving this… or hating it if your competition for the crown this season just got a lot tougher.

All the best with your FAAB and waiver claims, and good luck in week 9!