Over the past several weeks, the 2014 fantasy baseball rankings have been rolling out here at Bleacher Report, culminating in the latest, most up-to-date Big Board, which covers the top 150 players heading into the 2014 season.
All the way back in mid-February, the individual position rankings began being pumped out one by one, starting with the top 20 catchers and wrapping up with the top 45 relief pitchers in early March, with every other spot on the diamond included in between.
Thing is, more than a little has changed since then—namely signings, trades, injuries and performances—so the position rankings need to be adjusted to reflect as much. After all, it’s now late March and the season is already underway, thanks to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks journeying to Australia for the first two of 2,430 scheduled games.
Don’t freak out, though: While there are some alterations here and there, it’s not as if everything is all upside down and inside out all of a sudden. Mr. Mike Trout? He’s still the No. 1 overall player, thank you very much.
While most drafts are done by now, plenty are still to come. Whether you’re an owner who falls into the former camp or the latter one, here’s where you can access all of the adjustments in one place.
Presenting for your viewing, drafting and roster-evaluating pleasure, the current fantasy rankings mapped out position by position.
These rankings consider three factors:
First, everything is based on 10- or 12-team mixed leagues with standard 5×5 rotisserie scoring for hitters (BA, R, HR, RBI, SB) and pitchers (W, ERA, WHIP, K, SV).
Second, lineup construction accounts for 22 active roster positions consisting of: one each for catcher, first base, second base, third base, shortstop, corner infield, middle infield and utility; along with five outfielders and nine pitchers.
And third, to be eligible at a particular position, players either must have played at least 20 games there in 2013 or be in line to start there in 2014. Additionally—and this one gets overlooked often—players are listed in the rankings at the position where their fantasy utility would be most useful.
Statistics come from Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.
If you’re looking for more position-by-position fantasy goodness, you’re cordially invited to read this batch of breakout candidates.