Big Boards: Football | Baseball | Basketball | Hockey
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 are used as the baseline for the Big Board.
| Big Board 50: Baseball | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Player | Stock | Pvs. |
| 1 | Ryan Braun, Mil, OF | Along with Adam Jones, the only 20/10 players in the 1st half (24/15) | 1 |
| 2 | Miguel Cabrera, Det, 1B | Arguably now the best annual guarantee for a .300/30/100/90 line in MLB | 3 |
| 3 | Josh Hamilton, Tex, OF | W/ back issues, .214 BA in past 32 games, AS break came at ideal time | 2 |
| 4 | Carlos Gonzalez, Col, OF | Rocky Mountain high: Top 1st-half home batting average in MLB (.390) | 4 |
| 5 | Jose Bautista, Tor, 3/O | 24 HRs since May 1 is 4 more than the runner-up in that span (Dunn, 20) | 6 |
| 6 | Joey Votto, Cin, 1B | Mr. RoboVotto had MLB-high 1.087 OPS in 1st half (also top LHH vs. LHP OPS - .964) | 5 |
| 7 | Robinson Cano, NYY, 2B | 20 1st-half HRs easily career-high; ranked in top 2 among 2B in 4 of 5 roto cats | 7 |
| 8 | Andrew McCutchen, Pit, OF | No. 1 in Y! game; Hard to imagine he'll fade in 2nd half like last season | 11 |
| 9 | Albert Pujols, LAA, 1B | Something to believe in: .960 OPS or better in 2nd half for 10 straight seasons | 8 |
| 10 | David Wright, NYM, 3B | Power not ideal for an elite CI, but can't argue the .350/20/110/105/20 pace | 9 |
| 11 | Mike Trout, LAA, OF | Big fish: Easily the No. 1 fantasy contributor since May 1 | 22 |
| 12 | Matt Kemp, LAD, OF | No. 2 behind Trout in per game roto value, but will hammy hold up rest of way? | – |
| 13 | Adam Jones, Bal, OF | Big improvement vs. LHP has aided his top 20 1st-half run | 12 |
| 14 | Curtis Granderson, NYY, OF | Has 162-game average of 42 HRs, 109 RBIs, 125 Runs since 2nd half of '10 | 13 |
| 15 | Justin Verlander, Det, SP | Flirting w/ K-per-9, mid-2s ERA, sub-1 WHIP, Mendoza Line BAA for 2nd straight season | 16 |
| 16 | Ian Kinsler, Tex, 2B | Pushing 20/30 pace, leads MLB in Runs , has maintained healthy since start of '11 | 18 |
| 17 | Adrian Beltre, Tex, 3B | For the 3rd straight year since defecting from SEA, pushing a .300/25/100 pace | 20 |
| 18 | Hanley Ramirez, Mia, 3/S | Pushing 25/25 pace; peripherals suggest BA has ample room for improvement | 10 |
| 19 | Prince Fielder, Det, 1B | No. 36 in Y! game not too shabby for 1st half after switching leagues | 17 |
| 20 | Matt Holliday, StL, OF | OPS is over 1.000 since opening month mark of .654 | 35 |
| 21 | Matt Cain, SF, SP | Perfect weapon: Top 6 roto value in ERA, WHIP, Wins, Ks | 21 |
| 22 | David Ortiz, Bos, DH | No. 11 in Y! in the 1st half is No. 4 in Total Bases and No. 2 in – -Base Hits | 34 |
| 23 | Clayton Kershaw, LAD, SP | Run support and HR/FB rate have dampened otherwise solid campaign | 15 |
| 24 | Edwin Encarnacion, Tor, 3B | Top 10 in Y! game for 1st half earned him 3-year, $29 million extension | 36 |
| 25 | Carlos Beltran, StL, OF | Yet another successful St. Louis veteran reclamation project - No. 14 in Y! game | 19 |
| 26 | Mark Teixeira, NYY, 1B | Cleaning up to start July w/ 15 RBIs in 1st 8 games | 32 |
| 27 | Jered Weaver, LAA, SP | Has allowed 1 ER in 1st 27.2 IP since coming off DL | – |
| 28 | Michael Bourn, Atl, OF | Top 1st half three-cat (BA, R, SB) speed weapon - .311, 60 Runs, 25 SB | 29 |
| 29 | Jason Kipnis, Cle, 2B | Very nice 1st impression: .275, 18 HR, 25 SB in first 119 games of his MLB career | 28 |
| 30 | Jay Bruce, Cin, OF | On the take (19 BB in past 34 games) - pushing a .250/35/105/90/10 pace | 25 |
| 31 | Hunter Pence, Phi, OF | No. 35 in Y! doesn't get enough love for his 155-game, .285, 25 HR, 90 RBI consistency | 26 |
| 32 | Mark, Trumbo, LAA, 3/O | Joined Big Papi as only 2 players w/ .600+ SLG% vs. both LHP and RHP in 1st half | 42 |
| 33 | Cole Hamels, Phi, SP | Is considered the top prize of trade deadline arms race | 37 |
| 34 | Stephen Strasburg, Was, SP | Outside top 20 pitchers since May 15th - roughly 60-70 IP left until shutdown | 30 |
| 35 | Justin Upton, Ari, OF | Trade concern: Career home OPS (.924) 180 points higher than road mark | 31 |
| 36 | Starlin Castro, ChC, SS | Closed out final 34 games of 1st half on a dry spell (.244, 1 SB) | 27 |
| 37 | Dan Uggla, Atl, 2B | His early-to-mid season slump is unavoidable - .140 BA in past 32 games | 24 |
| 38 | Melky Cabrera, SF, OF | Melk toast no more: No. 24 in Y! game last year, No.19 this season | 40 |
| 39 | Bryce Harper, Was, OF | Top 25 offensive fantasy contributor over past 2 months - .299/8/22/38/9 | 50 |
| 40 | Adam Dunn, ChW, 1B | Adam bombs have returned w/ a vengeance: 21 HRs in past 52 games | 38 |
| 41 | Ian Desmond, Was, SS | Finally growing into his frame/talent - top 10 hitter in fantasy since May 1 | – |
| 42 | Paul Konerko, ChW, 1B | Just .216/3/9/9/0 in past 33 games - outside top 400 in Y! for that span | 23 |
| 43 | Jose Reyes, Mia, SS | Reyes of hope: .822 June OPS, 84 of 85 games played, career best K/BB rate | 43 |
| 44 | Alex Rios, ChW, OF | No. 23 in Y! game in 1st half pushing a .318/25/100/100/25 pace | – |
| 45 | Zack Greinke, Mil, SP | 18-6, 2.98 ERA, 213 K, 55 BB, 208.1 IP since last season's AS break | 44 |
| 46 | Pablo Sandoval, SF, 3/1 | Panda hitting .312 w/ 32 HRs, 100 RBI, 86 Runs in past 169 games | 46 |
| 47 | Gio Gonzalez, Was, SP | ERA over 4.00 since start of June, but still top 25 in Y! game | 41 |
| 48 | Adrian Gonzalez, Bos, 1B | 2nd-most doubles but, Yo! Adrian, where's the beef? 6 HRs a major letdown | 47 |
| 49 | Felix Hernandez, Sea, SP | Past 5 starts: 36 IP, 2-0, 1.75 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 44 K, 6 BB | – |
| 50 | R.A. Dickey, NYM, SP | Taking Big Board spot by force: No. 1 SP in Y!, Quality Starts in 26 of past 29 starts | – |
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DROPPED OUT: Giancarlo Stanton, Mia, OF (DL – knee); Alex Rodriguez, NYY, 3B; Brandon Phillips, Cin, 2B; Elvis Andrus, Tex, SS; Michael Cuddyer, Col, 1/2/O; Nelson Cruz, Tex, OF NEXT 10: Chris Sale, ChW, SP; Austin Jackson, Det, OF; Brett Lawrie, Tor, 3B; Jason Heyward, Atl; Shin-Soo Choo, Cle; Aramis Ramirez, Mil, 3B; Allen Craig, StL, 1/2/O; Madison Bumgarner, SF, SP; C.J. Wilson, LAA, SP; Ben Zobrist, TB, 2/O ON THE BUBBLE (by position, alphabetical) Middles: Jose Altuve, Hou, 2B; Asdrubal Cabrera, Cle, SS; Rafael Furcal, StL, SS; Aaron Hill, Ari, 2B; Derek Jeter, NYY, SS; Howie Kendrick, LAA, 1/2/O; Jed Lowrie, Hou, 3/S; Trevor Plouffe, Min, 2/3/S/O; Jimmy Rollins, Phi, SS; Outfielders: Alejandro De Aza, ChW; Andre Ethier, LAD; Dexter Fowler, Col; Corey Hart, Mil, 1/O; Jason Kubel, Ari; Colby Rasmus, Tor; Josh Reddick, Oak; Nick Swisher, NYY, 1/O; B.J. Upton, TB; Shane Victorino, Phi; Josh Willingham, Min Catchers: Joe Mauer, Min, C/1; Brian McCann, Atl; Yadier Molina, StL; Miguel Montero, Ari; Mike Napoli, C/1; A.J. Pierzynski, ChW; Buster Posey, SF; Carlos Ruiz, Phi; Carlos Santana, Cle, C/1; Matt Wieters, Bal; Starters: Johnny Cueto, Cin; Yu Darvish, Tex; Ryan Dempster, ChC; Dan Haren, LAA; Mat Latos, Cin; Cliff Lee, Phi; Lance Lynn, StL; James McDonald, Pit; Jake Peavy, ChW; David Price, TB; Ryan Vogelsong, SF; Jordan Zimmermann, Was Relievers: Aroldis Chapman, Cin, RP; Joel Hanrahan, Pit; Kenley Jansen, LAD; Craig Kimbrel, Atl; Joe Nathan, Tex; Jonathan Papelbon, Phi Disabled: Brandon Beachy, ATl, SP (elbow); Lance Berkman, StL, 1/O (knee); Andre Ethier, LAD, OF (; Roy Halladay, Phi, SP (shoulder); Ryan Howard, Phi, 1B (achilles); Matt Kemp, LAD, OF (hamstring); Evan Longoria, TB, 3B (hamstring); Dustin Pedroia, Bos, 2B (thumb); CC Sabathia, NYY, SP (groin); Troy Tulowitzki, Col, SS (groin); |