Hitter List 4/4: Ranking The Top 150 Batters Every Tuesday

Just as Monday is designated for the eponymous Pitcher List of the Top 100 starting pitchers where Nick Pollack ranks the Top 100 pitchers in fantasy baseball, Tuesday is the hereby appointed day on which Ben Palmer and I will publish our consensus rankings for the Top 150 hitters across the league. Unsurprisingly, we are appropriately calling it The Hitter List. Use these rankings to help understand what to expect from hitters for 2017 and as a tool to gauge trade value in your fantasy leagues. Note: These rankings have been made with H2H 5×5 12-teamers in mind.

With this established baseline, adjustments will be made in each successive edition of The Hitter List to account for performance, changes to spots occupied within batting orders, injuries, callups to MLB, and so on and so forth.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the best bats in fantasy baseball:

[table id=8 /]

Notes

• It’s incredibly tough to gauge value across multiple different positions, making this list more of a loose ranking across all positions as opposed to being a rigid list across the board.
• Being relegated to the 10-day DL in recent days were Colorado’s Ian Desmond and David Dahl, Cleveland’s Jason Kipnis, and Detroit’s J.D. Martinez. As such, their rankings are being discounted for the time being to sort of handicap the status quo, since their talents are worth hanging on to but certainly not doing anything for you in H2H matchups this week. Take the numbers next to their names with a grain of salt, as they will pop right back up to the tiers where they belong when they resume play at full health.
• As you can imagine, it’s difficult to draw an arbitrary line at the 150 mark deciding who “gets in” and who’s left on the outside looking in. It’s important that we assuage any concerns that guys who are actually quite solid might have been overlooked. Brian McCann, Yulieski Gurriel, Nick Castellanos, Cesar Hernandez, Welington Castillo, Josh Harrison, Jay Bruce, Yasmany Tomas, Keon Broxton, Steve Pearce, Yadier Molina, Yunel Escobar, Ender Inciarte, Randal Grichuk and several others are on our radar but not necessarily quite in premier fantasy contention just yet. Again, this is a dynamic document that is subject to change, so please bear that in mind.
• Pittsburgh 3B Jung Ho Kang was left off the rankings entirely, since his current immigration/visa situation is still hanging in the balance. Until he’s able to get approval to return stateside and progress back toward playing time, we are tentatively omitting him from the rankings. As soon as it is pertinent to throw him back in the 150 where he belongs, we’ll be sure to include him accordingly.
• Similar situation for Wilson Ramos as far as how we’re opting to ignore him from a fantasy standpoint right now. The occupants of the 10-day DL are a decidedly different and temporary beast, as compared to a murkier timeline for coming back from such a serious injury. However, the stud that is a healthy Ramos is still a ways away from making his convalesced return to action; he’ll no doubt debut here when Tampa Bay gets him back in the lineup.