Fantasy Baseball Rankings Movers: Maikel Garcia surges at three positions; J.P. Crawford matters again

Most every week, Scott White will highlight some of the more notable changes to his rest-of-season rankings. You’ll find said rankings here and are urged to bookmark them if you haven’t already. There’s no better resource for gauging player value throughout the long season.

Most of my ranking adjustments to this point (and there have been plenty) have focused on the middle and lower reaches of each position. There have been small tweaks at the top, confined mostly to rearranging players within the same tier, but as a general rule, the more you have invested in a player, the more leeway you should give him for a slow start. There is no act more harmful to your Fantasy team than selling your studs short.

Why am I bringing this up now? Because at least at one position, that hands-off approach to the top of the rankings changed this week.

The position is starting pitcher, which is distinct from all the hitting positions in a number of ways, but the biggest being that we can learn more from small samples. What I’m not saying is that sample size doesn’t matter at starting pitcher, so please don’t read it as such. What I am saying is that our understanding of pitching is sophisticated enough that we can distinguish between genuine skill changes and random variance within just a few starts. For hitters, it’s all still a cacophony.

So I’ve made some changes at the top of the starting pitcher rankings for this week, moving two new names into the top 10 and two others into the top 15.

Who are they, you ask? Let’s find out …

Starting pitcher

• The two additions to the top 10 are, perhaps unsurprisingly, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Hunter Greene. Yamamoto has been everything he was hyped to be a year ago. He’s missing bats with a variety of pitches. He’s made home runs a non-issue with his ground-ball rate. Most of all, he’s consistently working six-plus innings, which wasn’t the case last year, particularly after returning from injury. His health was never an issue in Japan, and I may have dinged him too much for getting hurt as a rookie. He’s all the way up to sixth now — ahead of Chris Sale, who’s also trending up.
• Greene, meanwhile, is eighth, just behind Sale, and part of my faith in him is that he actually began this breakthrough last year, putting together a 1.02 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, and 10.2 K/9 in his final nine starts. Improved control had much to do with it, and that’s gone up again this year, taking him from a below-average 64 percent strike rate for much of his career to a best-in-the-league-type 71 percent strike rate so far this year. He’s done this while also adding 1.5 mph to his already impressive velocity. So why only eighth? Well, these are rest-of-season rankings, and if he could never hold up for a full season while throwing 97 mph, it seems even less likely he will while throwing 99.
• The two additions to the top 15 are, also unsurprisingly, Max Fried and Hunter Brown, who actually entered play Wednesday as Nos. 1 and 2 in Head-to-Head points leagues (in actual scoring, not rest-of-season projection). I don’t see anything different going on with Fried and suspect his numbers will normalize over time, but he may have just been underrated to begin with. This range of the rankings is hardly unfamiliar to him, and with others like Framber Valdez, Spencer Schwellenbach, and Shota Imanaga sliding out of the top 15, he seemed like an easy choice to move into it.
• The Brown move is a touch more aggressive, and part of me worries that I’ll need to adjust down later on, as I’ve had to do with Shane Baz. But Brown is throwing harder, commanding and sequencing his pitches better, and all in all, just seems to have a better idea what he’s doing. And like that other Hunter, the one named Greene, Brown gave us a sneak peek at this with a 2.31 ERA over his final 22 starts last year. That’s better than I remembered, honestly.
• Speaking of Baz, I’ve moved him from 22nd to 32nd. That’s not exactly an insult, but it does acknowledge that everything has taken a turn for the ordinary since his 11-strikeout gem April 14. I may have jumped the gun by moving him up so quickly. Basically, he and Bryan Woo have switched places, with the latter going from 34th to 22nd.
• Also switching places, more or less, are Bryce Miller (from 23rd to 37th) and Carlos Rodon (from 41st to 29th). I haven’t lost all hope for Miller (clearly because 37th isn’t very low), but we’ll need to see better control from him. It had always been his selling point, after all. Rodon, meanwhile, seems to have learned that ground balls are the key to success in the AL East, putting him in a better position for ERA without costing him anything in the strikeout department.
• Granted, he’s faced the Marlins twice, but Tony Gonsolin has been a bat-missing maniac since coming off the IL, which is an especially hearty development with the Dodgers lineup and bullpen backing him. He’s up to 54th, which is still showing a great amount of restraint, I think. Other big risers from this week include A.J. Smith-Shawver (77th) and Matthew Liberatore (78th), both of whom haven’t totally sold me yet, but there are enough reasons for optimism that they should be in the must-roster range, at least.
• One name not to overlook if you’re skimming is Eury Perez, who now clocks in at 56th. He still has a month of rehab starts ahead of him, but the assignment is underway and going well so far. What a shot in the arm he’ll be midseason.

Relief pitcher

• Shelby Miller appears to be the favorite for saves in Arizona with Justin Martinez following A.J. Puk on the IL, but I’ve only moved him up to 35th, behind even Cade Smith (who wouldn’t appear to be in line for saves anymore) for a few reasons. One is that he’s already blown a save. Another is that Kevin Ginkel is breathing down his neck. Most of all, though, is that I don’t actually expect Martinez to miss that much time. He’s already scheduled to begin throwing later this week after an MRI revealed no structural damage in his shoulder.
• Zach Agnos has joined the reliever ranks as an uneasy closer choice for a bad Rockies team. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, is it? Still, it’s enough to move him ahead of Calvin Faucher. The Marlins may not be as bad as the Rockies, but they’re bad enough to make save chances scarce and seem even less committed to using a single pitcher in the closer role.

Catcher

• Willson Contreras‘ frigid start is a distant memory now. After striking out 21 times in his first 11 games, he’s struck out 17 times in 25 games since, and all the other numbers have fallen suit. That’s enough reason for me to move him back up to fourth at the position in both scoring formats. Will Smith and Yainer Diaz just can’t compete with him in terms of playing time.
• The catcher everyone is begging me to move up is Carson Kelly, and I’ll admit he’s kept this impossibly hot start going long enough for me to second-guess if that’s all it is. But his max exit velocity is still only 30th percentile, about what it’s always been. If he had really figured out how to tap into more power, it would be most reflected there. I will note, though, that his pull air rate is way up, so maybe once the barrel rate dips to something more sustainable, he’ll still be able to muster more power than we were originally expecting, making for something like a Tyler Stephenson outcome. I don’t know. I’m trying. I’ve moved Kelly up a couple spots, but he’s still only 19th.

First base

• Christian Walker is down a couple spots, from ninth to 11th. I think he’ll probably be fine, but because of his age, I wouldn’t call it the safest bet. And meanwhile, there’s so much to like with Tyler Soderstrom and Willson Contreras that I couldn’t in all honesty say I prefer Walker to them anymore.
• Paul Goldschmidt has been a tricky one to rank all season because he seemed to be in such obvious decline a year ago. Even now, his success is built mostly on batting average, almost as if he’s selling out for contact, which is backed up by both his exit velocities and strikeout rate being lower than in years past. A batting average-first profile is difficult to sustain in the modern game because defensive positioning is so good, so I’m still approaching Goldschmidt with some skepticism. But I’ve at least moved him ahead of Jonathan Aranda, whose platoon role continues to hold him back, and Vinnie Pasquantino, whose best-case scenario might not be any different than what Goldschmidt is currently providing.

Second base

• You know how I said the higher your investment in a player, the more leeway you should give him for a slow start? Yeah, that’s why I haven’t moved Marcus Semien out of the No. 4 spot yet. It’s been pretty miserable so far, but no one at this position is demanding to replace him in the top five. Plus, I remember how bad his April 2022 was (a .157 batting average and .443 OPS), and he obviously turned things around thereafter.
• Last week, it was Jorge Polanco. This week, Maikel Garcia is the Fantasy afterthought surging his way back to prominence with two homers and five steals during that span. Rest assured that moving him into the top 12 at this mostly uninspiring position isn’t some overreaction to those very recent developments. His resurgence had been simmering all along, as evidenced by his 92nd percentile average exit velocity, his improved strikeout and walk rates, and his much improved pull air rate. There’s a real hitter in there, and we’re already well acquainted with his base-stealing prowess. Notably, Garcia’s move up the rankings is also reflected at third base, where he’s now 14th, and outfield, where he’s now 38th.
• Hye Seong Kim is up from the minors and figures to get consistent playing time for the Dodgers with Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernandez both on the IL. I already had concerns about his offensive profile, though, and his time at Triple-A only amplified them by revealing him to be less of a contact hitter than I thought. Hopefully, he’ll get on base enough to make the most of his speed, but I’d rather gamble on Luisangel Acuna doing that, which is why I rank Kim five spots behind him (32nd at second base).

Third base

• Royce Lewis‘ return from a lengthy IL stint for a hamstring strain moves him up only two spots, from 12th to 10th, and even that may be giving him too much benefit of the doubt given how crowded that stretch of the rankings is. Mark Vientos has slipped into that range after dropping behind Matt Chapman and Isaac Paredes. Jordan Westburg has been hanging out there because of his own injury. Eugenio Suarez’s four-homer game buys him more time while I can’t seem to move up Jorge Polanco and Maikel Garcia fast enough. It’s going to take some sorting out, clearly, so don’t get too attached to the order.
• Josh Smith’s hot hitting has moved him into the leadoff spot for the Rangers, and his versatility should ensure he gets semi-regular at-bats for as long as it lasts — which I’m skeptical it will. He’s up to 26th for me at third base (with a similar move up the shortstop and outfield rankings), but that still puts him one spot behind Jake Burger, who was recently optioned to the minors. I suspect Burger will return soon and be the higher-impact hitter for the Rangers when he does. Smith could be a serviceable fill-in in the meantime, though.

Shortstop

• Geraldo Perdomo just won’t slow down, and while I don’t think the contact quality has improved enough for him to sustain these gains, I am at least willing to move him ahead of some other shortstops I’m not completely sold on, like Anthony Volpe and Trevor Story. That puts Perdomo 17th at the position, which may not be enough to satisfy some people, but it’s the best I can do without betraying my convictions.
• J.P. Crawford is suddenly looking like a viable choice again. He was one, remember, in 2023, when he hit a career-high with 19 home runs and was particularly productive in the second half. The story then was that he worked with Driveline Baseball to overhaul his swing for more power, but everyone forgot about that when his production went away in 2024. Turns out, though, he had an aha moment this spring when he remembered how to drive with his legs, regaining the feel from 2023, and it’s shown up in his production so far. Shortstop is so deep that I can only get Crawford up to 30th for now (26th in Head-to-Head points, where his walks count for something), but that’s enough to put him in the relevant range.

Outfield

• Pete Crow-Armstrong has been the name on the tip of everyone’s tongue lately, and I’ve responded by moving him into my top 20 outfielders, which is no slight. In fact, I surprised myself with that move given that I have some real concerns about his hitting profile still, which you can read about here. When push comes to shove, though, I’m not so convinced of Michael Harris’, Anthony Santander’s, Cody Bellinger’s, or Brenton Doyle’s Fantasy greatness that I can’t push them aside for the much, much hotter bat. Crow-Armstrong’s proclivity for stolen bases gives him a pretty nice floor, too. Still, I’d be surprised if he finished with better than a .250 batting average, and I think the chances of him placing as a top-five outfielder, which he’s been so far, are slim to none.
• Tyler Soderstrom has cooled off a bit after his torrid start, which is part of the reason why he debuts at only 26th in my outfield rankings, having recently picked up that position with Nick Kurtz taking over at first base for the Athletics. I’ve been debating moving Soderstrom ahead of Bellinger (both at first base and now also here) for a while now, but if I’ve held out this long, I should probably wait to see which one heats up first.
• My patience is wearing thin for Dylan Crews, who is back to striking out at an unholy rate while sinking to the bottom of the Nationals lineup. He’s down to 40th here, so it’s not a total wipeout like fellow rookie Cam Smith (who has fallen all the way to 71st), but there was a point when I was ranking Crews ahead of Luis Robert and Randy Arozarena. Not anymore.
• Meanwhile, I’ve pretty much run out of patience for Jasson Dominguez, but that’s mostly because the Yankees have, giving him sporadic at-bats with the emergence of Trent Grisham. Eventually, I think they gravitate back to Dominguez, which is why he’s only down to 58th in my rankings, but there are enough encouraging signs for Grisham (higher pull air rate, lower strikeout rate) that they might just stick with him.
• Grisham and Kyle Stowers are among the biggest risers for this week, slotting in between last week’s biggest risers, Andy Pages and Jordan Beck, in the 65 range. Clearly, I retain some skepticism for both, but the expected stats back up what they’ve done so far.
• Other notable risers include Spencer Steer (up to 47th), Daulton Varsho (68th) and Ryan O’Hearn (74th). Meanwhile, Evan Carter starts out at 81 in his return to the big leagues. His exit velocity readings at Triple-A left much to be desired, particularly on the heels of a spring so pitiful that it cost him his job.