The Big Board takes into consideration past returns, current performance and expected future gains in determining who should be included among the top 50 fantasy baseball players. Essentially, the Big Board is a cheat sheet designed for a fantasy owner who is planning to participate in a draft today. Yahoo! Sports Fantasy baseball default scoring settings (5x5) are used as the baseline for the Big Board.
| Big Board 50: Baseball | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos. | vs ECR | Stock |
| 1. Mike Trout | OF | +2 | No. 1 roto value in '12 is most disruptive all-around force in MLB |
| 2. Miguel Cabrera | 3B | -1 | First Triple Crown winner since '67, and won't turn 30 until mid-April |
| 3. Ryan Braun | OF | -1 | Will he avoid getting burned by another PED fire? Probably |
| 4. Robinson Cano | 2B | 0 | Mr. Roboto freakish in his .300/25/100/100 consistency |
| 5. Matt Kemp | OF | 0 | Can count Kemp among very few w/ .900+ OPS, 30/20 upside |
| 6. Andrew McCutchen | OF | +2 | 25/25 skills are real but the '12 BA (.327) is likely to regress a bit |
| 7. Carlos Gonzalez | OF | +2 | Loves Coors home cookin': 3 straight seasons of .880+ OPS, 20/20 |
| 8. Joey Votto | 1B | -2 | 7th in MLB in Doubles (44), 3rd in Walks (94) despite just 111 games |
| 9. Albert Pujols | 1B | -2 | Had rough AL initiation last April, but was vintage Albert after that |
| 10. Clayton Kershaw | SP | +2 | Avg. over past 2 seasons: 18 W, 239 K, 2.40 ERA, 1.00 WHIP |
| 11. Prince Fielder | 1B | -1 | Still well shy of 30 years old, he's .290/30/100 money in the bank |
| 12. Stephen Strasburg | SP | +4 | Goodbye IP cap, hello 225+ Ks and, perhaps, a Cy Young award |
| 13. Bryce Harper | OF | +14 | WAS wunderkind closed rookie year w/ 12 HR in final 44 games |
| 14. Jose Bautista | OF | 0 | Wrist injury derailed what would have been 3rd straight 40-HR |
| 15. Giancarlo Stanton | OF | -2 | Tied w/ Bautista as Vegas' early odds on fave to win HR title |
| 16. Troy Tulowitzki | SS | -1 | Ultimate dice roll - top 5 upside, well established health downside |
| 17. Evan Longoria | 3B | +3 | Had 162-game pace of .289/37/120 in '12, and now in prime time (27) |
| 18. Justin Verlander | SP | -7 | Pitching equivalent of Miggy - elite production you can take to the bank |
| 19. Dustin Pedroia | 2B | +4 | Was the Pedroia we thought he was in '12 2nd half (.880 OPS) |
| 20. Jose Reyes | SS | +1 | Explosive TOR offense nice, but Rogers Centre turf not ideal for health |
| 21. Adrian Beltre | 3B | -4 | Averaging .314/32/103/87 in 3 seasons since exiting Seattle |
| 22. David Wright | 3B | +2 | Virtual .300/20/15 lock, but run prod. hurt by lack of lineup support |
| 23. Josh Hamilton | OF | -5 | If he stays healthy, orbiting Planet Pujols will do wonders |
| 24. Jason Heyward | OF | +1 | 27/21 in '12 and, at age 23, all arrows still pointing up |
| 25. Yoenis Cespedes | OF | +14 | Fantasy's No. 14 hitter over final 93 games of '12 (.299, 17/12) |
| 26. Justin Upton | OF | -7 | Even w/ injury issues, has established a .280, 20/20ish floor |
| 27. Edwin Encarnacion | 1B | +2 | Had his put-it-all-together Bautista '10-like breakout last season |
| 28. Buster Posey | 1B,C | +2 | He's everything we once hoped Joe Mauer would be |
| 29. Adam Jones | OF | +2 | At age 27, 30+ HR now expected as few of his 32 last year were cheap |
| 30. David Price | SP | -8 | 1st in AL in WIns (20), ERA (2.56), Quality Starts (25) |
| 31. Felix Hernandez | SP | -5 | Has averaged 2.82 ERA and 224 K over past 4 seasons |
| 32. Ryan Zimmerman | 3B | +10 | Top 5 fantasy offensive value from final week of June on (90 games) |
| 33. Ian Desmond | SS | +26 | Insane HR/FB spike likely to regress but, at 27, maybe not much |
| 34. Cole Hamels | SP | -2 | Given consistency past 6 seasons, 180+ IP, low 3 ERA, K/IP expected |
| 35. Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | +9 | Solid Gold: Led 1Bs in SB (18) and was + roto contributor in all 5 cats |
| 36. Starlin Castro | SS | 0 | Power leap will make him truly elite, but that probably not likely in '13 |
| 37. Pablo Sandoval | 3B | +38 | Sept/postseason surge (WS MVP) put hammate issue to rest |
| 38. Adam Wainwright | SP | +13 | Strong return after TJ surgery, but little luck (3.23 xFIP; 3.94 ERA) |
| 39. Allen Craig | 1B,OF | +7 | Past 162 games: .308, 30 HR, 115 RBI, 98 R |
| 40. Gio Gonzalez | SP | +7 | Every bit an ace w/ 3-yr avg of 17 W, 190 K, and 3.08 ERA |
| 41. Jason Kipnis | 2B | +19 | In 1st full season, top 5 among 2Bs in SB (31), Runs (86), RBIs (76) |
| 42. Ben Zobrist | 2B,OF,SS | +10 | 3-pos eligibility a major +, as is .822+ OPS in 3 of past 4 seasons |
| 43. Ian Kinsler | 2B | -15 | Rollercoaster ride, but you should get .260/20/80/100/20 in the end |
| 44. Aaron Hill | 2B | +18 | Has exorcised his demons in ARZ (.880 OPS in 189 games) |
| 45. Matt Cain | SP | -11 | Premier workhorse dinged for lower K/9 upside than those SPs above |
| 46. Matt Holliday | OF | -8 | Mr. Rock Steady in a .300/25/100 kind of way |
| 47. Jacoby Ellsbury | OF | -7 | Fair to hope for .300, 100 R, 30 SB, but power is the big X factor |
| 48. Adrian Gonzalez | 1B,OF | -15 | Career low HR/FB rate in '12 looks unlucky given batted ball profile |
| 49. Aramis Ramirez | 3B | +8 | Age starting to concern (35 in June), but coming off .901 OPS campaign |
| 50. Cliff Lee | SP | -15 | 200+ K, low 3 ERA in '12, but low run support crushed Wins (6) |
Note: "vs. ECR" compares my rank to the Expert Consensus Rank (ECR) as compiled by FantasyPros.