Utley_fant

Chase Utley

AP

Tuesday May 06
By Ray Flowers, Fanball.com, Special to SI.com

Who is the most valuable fantasy player going? Are saves "worth" more or less than stolen bases? How do you compare a hitter to a pitcher on an equal playing field? We at Rototimes have a tool called the Player Rater, and each week I will discuss the top-50 fantasy baseball players based upon the rankings of this tool using the following parameters: mixed league, 12-teams, standard 5x5 scoring, 14 hitters, nine pitchers, with a $260 salary cap.

1. Chase Utley, 2B, PHI: Want to play the projection game? Utley is on pace to hit .362 with 64 HR, 128 RBI, 147 runs with 15 SB, 59 doubles and 231 hits.     

2. Lance Berkman, 1B/OF, HOU: Over the last four games Berkman has two home runs, eight RBI and eight hits. He has also scored a run in nine straight games.

3. Hanley Ramirez, SS, FLA: Seven games without a home run with only one RBI and a .250 batting average is his first real slump of the early season.

4. Rafael Furcal, SS, LAD: The Dodgers speedy shortstop is hitting .407 over his last 27 AB with nine runs and two SB over the six games.

5. Chipper Jones, 3B, ATL: Jones is hitting .351 with the bases empty and an unfathomable .500 in 56 AB with runners on base leading to an overall mark of .425 in 113 AB.   

6. Derrek Lee, 1B, CHC: Even though he is seven for his last 29 (.241), Lee is still hitting .325 over his last 80 AB and .333 overall.

7. Nate McLouth, OF, PIT: The average has taken a major tumble the past two weeks (.234) but he still has four home runs, nine RBI and 12 runs scored in his last 12 games.

8. Brandon Webb, SP, ARI: Seven starts and seven victories for the surging D’backs ace. Webb has allowed more than two earned runs only twice leading to a 2.49 ERA.     

9. Ervin Santana, SP, LAA: Through seven starts last year (2-5, 5.23 ERA, 1.1.57 WHIP, 1.68 K/BB), through seven starts this year (6-0, 2.02 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 4.22 K/BB). Notice a difference?   

10. Pat Burrell, OF, PHI: Though he is hitting only .244 the past two weeks he still has 11 RBI in 13 games.

11. Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, BOS: Eleven SB and 25 runs in 29 games are fantastic numbers which have led to most of the value from the Red Sox youngster as he is hitting just .275-3-12.

12. Jonathan Papelbon, RP, BOS: The definition of lights out. In 16.1 IP he has 21 K (11.57 K/9) with just a single walk leading to 10 saves and a 0.67 WHIP.

13. Matt Kemp, OF, LAD: Kemp is working on a 10-game hitting streak that has boosted his average from .273 to .330. He has also been running wild with six SB in those 10 games.

14. Miguel Tejada, SS, HOU: Guess you could say that his move to the NL hasn’t hurt his production, thanks in large part to his work at home (.439-3-15 in 14 games).

15. Conor Jackson, 1B, ARI: He has finally started to slow the past two weeks though he is still hitting .294-2-8 over 13 games.

16. Cliff Lee, SP, CLE: Leads baseball in ERA (0.96), WHIP (0.58), BAA (.151) and K/BB (16.00). Add that up and he is 5-0 in five starts.

17. Carl Crawford, OF, TB: Over his last 10 games Crawford has eight RBI and seven runs scored though he has failed to steal a base.

18. Albert Pujols, 1B, STL: Pujols is hitting .355 overall thanks in part to a .429 average in 42 AB on the road.  

19. Mark Reynolds, 3B, ARI: Over the last 12 games he has only one home run but he has still knocked in six runs despite an awful .146 average.

20. Ichiro Suzuki, OF, SEA: You knew the run was coming didn’t you? Over his past 13 games he is hitting .309 with nine SB.

21. Matt Holliday, OF, COL: The last 19 games are a pretty depressed streak of games for this fantasy star (.286-2-8) though he does have 14 runs scored and four SB to make up for it.

22. Carlos Quentin, OF, CWS: Has a tremendous OBP (.407) and OPS (.990) so far but he is only 2-for-19 over the past week (.105).

23. David Wright, 3B, NYM: It doesn’t get much worse than it has been the past 12 games for this stud as he’s sporting a .174 average and .609 OPS with only one SB in that time.

24. Chien-Ming Wang, SP, NYY: Besides the 6-0 record he is on pace for career bests in ERA (3.00), WHIP (1.13), K/9 (6.40) and K/BB (2.46).  

25. Alex Rios, OF, TOR: Has become a weapon on the bases with eight SB already, though his current SLG of .458 is well below his mark the past two years (.505).     

26. Xavier Nady, OF, PIT: Look at that trend of a rising OPS since 2003 - .712, .717, .760, .790, .805 and .948 this year.

27. Manny Ramirez, OF, BOS: Fourteen games without a home run for Manny though he is still on pace to knock in about 100 runs even with the dry spell.    

28. Jake Peavy, SD, SP: Tied for second in baseball with 46 K (Javier Vazquez), Peavy has 17 K in his last two starts (12.2 IP).  

29. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, SD: Though he has 23 RBI he is batting only .226 with runners in scoring position (7-for-31).

30. Josh Hamilton, OF, TEX: Crushing it under the lights at night (.329-4-25 in 20 games), he has fallen off the pace under the sun (.250-2-8 in 12 games).   

31. Johnny Damon, OF, NYY: Hitting .295 overall, Damon has found success no matter who is on the hill with a .290 mark against left-handers and a .296 mark against righties.

32. Nick Markakis, OF, BAL: After seven games with one RBI, Markakis appears to be back on track with two home runs and three RBI the past four games.      

33. Carlos Gomez, OF, MIN: A one-trick pony, though it’s a good trick (13 SB). His average is on the upswing as well as he is nine for his last 25 (.360).

34. Joe Saunders, SP, LAA: Who needs John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar when you have Santana and Saunders? Saunders is 6-0 to go along with a 2.61 ERA and 1.10 WHIP though he has a pathetic 3.91 K/9.

35. Brian Roberts, 2B, BAL: Over the last eight games he is hitting .266-0-1-2-1, not what we are used to seeing from this top of the lineup force.

36. Grady Sizemore, OF, CLE: Is virtually dead on his numbers from last season in average (.277), OBP (.393), SLG (.446) and OPS (.839), but not in runs scored where he is averaging one run per 7.94 plate appearances (compared to one per 6.33 PA last season).

37. Geovany Soto, C, CHC: The new Mike Piazza? Soto is simply scalding the ball with a .462-3-10 line with a 1.586 OPS over his last seven games.

38. Torii Hunter, OF, LAA: Hunter is still keeping that average up at .306, but the lack of power of late is a bit distressing (one double in 10 games and just one home run in 23 games).

39. Edinson Volquez, SP, CIN: This young flame thrower has at least seven K in 4-straight starts and through six outings this year he has yet to allow more than one earned run.

40. Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP, BOS: Leads the AL in BB (27) despite a 2.43 ERA. It may have something to do with his .158 BAA, the second best mark in baseball.

41. Casey Kotchman, 1B, LAA: In an odd twist Kotchman is eight for his last 23 (.348) and 16 for his last 46 (.348).  

42. Tim Lincecum, SP, SF: Fourth in baseball in strikeouts (45), “The Franchise” has allowed zero earned runs in three of his last four outings.

43. Francisco Rodriguez, RP, LAA: Leads baseball with 13 saves though his WHIP is high (1.39) while his K/9 is way down (6.58), but don’t worry, he is no Todd Jones.

44. Jose Reyes, SS, NYM: Now that’s more like it Jose. Over the past six games Jose is hitting .381 with four runs scored a whopping five steals starting the long road back to fantasy excellence.

45. Brandon Phillips, 2B, CIN: Over his last 19 games (74 AB) Phillips is hitting just .257 and that number has worsened of late as he is just 5-for-23 the last seven days (.217).   
46. Willy Taveras, OF, COL: Working on a cold spell of 7-for-33 (.212) though has been impressive on the bases with eight steals in his last 10 games.

47. Magglio Ordonez, OF, DET: Has been on a tear over his last 13 games hitting .347 with four taters and 16 RBI.

48. Garrett Atkins, 3B, COL: Over the last eight games he has failed to go deep and has only two RBI while batting .281.     

49. Ryan Church, OF, NYM: More than filling the void on offense left by the injured Moises Alou, Church has 22 RBI and 23 runs in 29 games this season.

50. Joe Nathan, RP, MIN: A perfect 11-for-11 on save chances with only one run allowed in 13 innings (0.69 ERA).     

Ray Flowers is Managing Editor for Fanball.com Owners Edge and RotoTimes.com. His work can be found weekly, exclusively at the home of fantasy baseball: Fanball.com.