79 days until Opening Day …
I'm going to be honest: rankings are one of the things I find toughest about this job, which isn't great because they are one of the absolute most important things about this job!
The problem is an ordinal ranking – "This guy is better than this guy, who is better than the next guy, and so on down the line" – just isn't really how you should be thinking about things. Things just aren't as black and white as all that, and it's always more helpful to think of players in terms of ranges of outcomes rather than just one specific number.
Think of Vladimir Guerrero or Matt Olson and how their respective careers have gone. You know you're always going to get something good from them, but the ranges are incredibly wide – Olson was one of the handful of best hitters in Fantasy in 2023 and then followed it up with a run-of-the-mill good season for a first baseman; Guerrero has had the exact opposite trend. How do you even go about ranking established superstar players who have gone from top-12 overall value to ranking between 60 and 70 from one season to the next? Especially when they've both had that kind of gulf twice in the past four seasons?
And then there's this: Your rankings should look very different in the rest of the draft if you took Elly De La Cruz in the first round compared to Paul Skenes. No ranking can account for every possible team build, let alone your personal risk tolerance or preferences.
(Tiers are a better formulation, on the whole, but are still imperfect – again, if you drafted Elly De La Cruz, you should rank someone like Andres Gimenez or Nico Hoerner a lot lower than someone who takes Yordan Alvarez, and it's hard to account for that beforehand).
But rankings are the way we communicate our player preferences for the upcoming season, and it's rankings time. The Fantasy Baseball Today team has been hard at work putting together our rankings for the 2025 season, and the full rankings from myself, Scott White, and Frank Stampfl will be available on CBSSports.com next week. That'll include both H2H points and Rotisserie scoring formats, plus Salary Cap Draft/Auction values for both formats – and we'll even go 600 deep in both formats for those of you on AL/NL-only leagues.
We'll also have our first round of Sleepers, Breakouts, and Busts, plus Scott White's Tiers 1.0, next week with the launch of our Draft Prep page, which is really what I view as the start of Draft Prep season. If you've been reading along all offseason, you know we've been here all along, reacting to news, recapping the 2024 season, and so much more.
But from here until the end of March, we're here to make sure you have absolutely everything you need to be ready for your drafts. And that starts today with my rankings, and we'll go position-by-position before my first top-200 of the offseason:
Chris Towers' 2025 Rankings
Catchers
The one I'm still trying to figure out is Willson Contreras. Even No. 5 at catcher might be way too low if he's really just going to be the Cardinals full-time first baseman – he has hit .263 while averaging 27 homers, 80 runs, 80 RBI, and eight steals per 162 games since getting to the Cardinals, and might be capable of even more if he avoids the kind of nagging injuries that have tended to befall him behind the plate. If he gets a similar number of plate appearances, he could challenge his younger brother for the top spot at the position.
- William Contreras
- Adley Rutschman
- Yainer Diaz
- Salvador Perez
- Willson Contreras
- Will Smith
- Cal Raleigh
- Shea Langeliers
- J.T. Realmuto
- Logan O'Hoppe
- Francisco Alvarez
- Tyler Stephenson
First basemen
First base feels like it should be a lot stronger than this, honestly – in my State of the Position piece from a few months back, I wrote about how first base is in a state of historical weakness and why that may not change in 2025. I have some hope that Paul Goldschmidt (No. 13 1B in my rankings) could have a better-than-expected season in New York, but there really aren't a ton of options outside of this top-12 I would feel good about starting. It's a problem.
- Vladimir Guerrero
- Bryce Harper
- Freddie Freeman
- Matt Olson
- Pete Alonso
- Christian Walker
- Josh Naylor
- Cody Bellinger
- Triston Casas
- Vinnie Pasquantino
- Spencer Steer
- Jake Burger
Second basemen
I think this sums up the state of the middle infield well: Matt McLain is the No. 6 second baseman for me this season, and he's just the No. 12 shortstop. If you're looking for speed or batting average, you can generally find those two categories, but it's becoming increasingly tough to find power here, especially – only five players managed to get to 20 homers while playing at least 20 games at second base in 2024, compared to 17 in each of the 2019 and 2021 seasons.
- Ketel Marte
- Jose Altuve
- Marcus Semien
- Ozzie Albies
- Jordan Westburg
- Matt McLain
- Luis Garcia
- Brice Turang
- Xander Bogaerts
- Luis Rengifo
- Nico Hoerner
- Jackson Holliday
Third basemen
I think you could put any of the players from Jazz Chisholm (No. 26 in my rankings) to Manny Machado (No. 36) in basically any order, and I wouldn't argue with you. Chisholm managed to stay (mostly) healthy in 2024 and put up a 39-homer, 63-steal pace after getting traded to the Yankees, so I think there might be just a smidge more upside with him – along with a lot more risk.
- Jose Ramirez
- Jazz Chisholm
- Austin Riley
- Rafael Devers
- Manny Machado
- Royce Lewis
- Jordan Westburg
- Mark Vientos
- Junior Caminero
- Matt Chapman
- Alex Bregman
- Eugenio Suarez
Shortstops
It's the deepest position in Fantasy, but I'm a little wary about things once you get outside of the top seven here. You're going to pay a premium for the likes of Abrams, Cruz, and Adames (all top-75 in ADP in December, though Abrams has dropped about a round since signing with the Giants). I'm more inclined to wait things out if I can't get one of the top seven, I think.
- Bobby Witt
- Gunnar Henderson
- Elly De La Cruz
- Mookie Betts
- Francisco Lindor
- Trea Turner
- Corey Seager
- CJ Abrams
- Oneil Cruz
- Bo Bichette
- Willy Adames
- Matt McLain
Outfielders
This is one position that feels significantly stronger than it did this time a year ago, thanks to the emergence of young guys like Jackson Chourio and Jackson Merrill, among others. One player I'm having trouble wrapping my head around at his current cost is one of 2024's biggest breakouts: Lawrence Butler. His ADP in December was up to 71.1 as the No. 18 OF – he's my No. 82 player right now, and even that feels a bit aggressive for a guy who has two career months with an OPS north of .740.
- Aaron Judge
- Kyle Tucker
- Juan Soto
- Mookie Betts
- Fernando Tatis
- Corbin Carroll
- Julio Rodriguez
- Yordan Alvarez
- Jackson Chourio
- Ronald Acuna
- Jarren Duran
- Jazz Chisholm
- Jackson Merrill
- Michael Harris
- Oneil Cruz
- James Wood
- Teoscar Hernandez
- Wyatt Langford
- Luis Robert
- Anthony Santander
- Brenton Doyle
- Lawrence Butler
- Seiya Suzuki
- Christian Yelich
- Riley Greene
- Cody Bellinger
- Bryan Reynolds
- Mike Trout
- Spencer Steer
- Randy Arozarena
- Ian Happ
- Dylan Crews
- Steven Kwan
- Jasson Dominguez
- Brandon Nimmo
- Adolis Garcia
Starting pitchers
I'm only going 48 deep here, so here's an incomplete sample of names who aren't included in the rankings below: Seth Lugo, Luis Gil, Christopher Sanchez, Sean Manaea, Shane Baz, Kevin Gausman, Ronel Blanco, Tanner Houck, Jose Berrios. I don't think my strategy at SP ever really changes – I want two top-20-ish options, and then I'm going to ignore the position until the double-digit rounds, most likely – but there's no shortage of interesting options if you want to wait.
I've talked a lot this offseason about how I'm likely going to be lower on Roki Sasaki than the consensus, and I'm putting my money where my mouth is here. He's the No. 20 SP in NFBC drafts since December 1, with an ADP of 76.8; he's my No. 34 SP and my No. 110 overall player. It's not that I dislike him, but as I wrote earlier in the offseason, I think he's less of a sure thing than he's being treated like right now.
- Tarik Skubal
- Zack Wheeler
- Paul Skenes
- Corbin Burnes
- Logan Gilbert
- Chris Sale
- Cole Ragans
- Garrett Crochet
- George Kirby
- Dylan Cease
- Gerrit Cole
- Framber Valdez
- Michael King
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto
- Shota Imanaga
- Blake Snell
- Jacob deGrom
- Pablo Lopez
- Luis Castillo
- Aaron Nola
- Logan Webb
- Bailey Ober
- Hunter Greene
- Max Fried
- Bryce Miller
- Freddy Peralta
- Hunter Brown
- Zac Gallen
- Joe Ryan
- Shohei Ohtani
- Tyler Glasnow
- Spencer Strider
- Justin Steele
- Roki Sasaki
- Spencer Schwellenbach
- Grayson Rodriguez
- Tanner Bibee
- Carlos Rodon
- Sonny Gray
- Jack Flaherty
- Bryan Woo
- Jared Jones
- Sandy Alcantara
- Kodai Senga
- Reynaldo Lopez
- Yusei Kikuchi
- Shane McClanahan
- Robbie Ray
Relief pitchers
One player I'm lower on than the consensus is Felix Bautista. Yes, he was arguably the best reliever in baseball the last time we saw him, and he figures to be the closer for a very good Orioles team. But I just can't justify a top-65 pick on a closer we haven't seen pitch since 2023. Relievers are never sure things, but that's an especially steep price for an especially un-sure thing.
- Emmanuel Clase
- Edwin Diaz
- Devin Williams
- Josh Hader
- Mason Miller
- Raisel Iglesias
- Ryan Helsley
- Jhoan Duran
- Andres Munoz
- Robert Suarez
- Felix Bautista
- Kirby Yates
Top 200
I'm only realizing now that I'm probably going to have to explain my "Bobby Witt > Aaron Judge > Shohei Ohtani" ranking here, seeing as Judge and Ohtani are coming off historically productive seasons where both outearned Witt. I think there's basically no wrong answer between the three of them, but Witt's youth and relative lack of injury risk make him the better pick here. I'm going to go more in-depth on The No. 1 pick question in the coming weeks, and I certainly reserve the right to change my opinion on the order of all three of them before we get to late March. For now, here's what it looks like:
- Bobby Witt
- Aaron Judge
- Shohei Ohtani
- Jose Ramirez
- Gunnar Henderson
- Kyle Tucker
- Juan Soto
- Elly De La Cruz
- Mookie Betts
- Fernando Tatis
- Corbin Carroll
- Julio Rodriguez
- Francisco Lindor
- Yordan Alvarez
- Tarik Skubal
- Vladimir Guerrero
- Jackson Chourio
- Zack Wheeler
- Paul Skenes
- Ronald Acuna
- Jarren Duran
- Bryce Harper
- Freddie Freeman
- Trea Turner
- Ketel Marte
- Jazz Chisholm
- Austin Riley
- Rafael Devers
- Corbin Burnes
- Logan Gilbert
- Jackson Merrill
- Matt Olson
- William Contreras
- Chris Sale
- Corey Seager
- Manny Machado
- CJ Abrams
- Cole Ragans
- Garrett Crochet
- George Kirby
- Dylan Cease
- Emmanuel Clase
- Michael Harris
- Jose Altuve
- Pete Alonso
- Gerrit Cole
- Edwin Diaz
- Devin Williams
- Josh Hader
- Mason Miller
- Framber Valdez
- Marcus Semien
- Ozzie Albies
- Marcell Ozuna
- Michael King
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto
- Oneil Cruz
- Brent Rooker
- Kyle Schwarber
- Shota Imanaga
- Adley Rutschman
- James Wood
- Teoscar Hernandez
- Raisel Iglesias
- Ryan Helsley
- Wyatt Langford
- Luis Robert
- Blake Snell
- Jacob deGrom
- Pablo Lopez
- Luis Castillo
- Aaron Nola
- Anthony Santander
- Bo Bichette
- Brenton Doyle
- Logan Webb
- Yainer Diaz
- Salvador Perez
- Bailey Ober
- Royce Lewis
- Hunter Greene
- Lawrence Butler
- Jhoan Duran
- Willy Adames
- Max Fried
- Seiya Suzuki
- Bryce Miller
- Jordan Westburg
- Andres Munoz
- Robert Suarez
- Will Smith
- Freddy Peralta
- Christian Yelich
- Felix Bautista
- Hunter Brown
- Mark Vientos
- Riley Greene
- Christian Walker
- Josh Naylor
- Junior Caminero
- Zac Gallen
- Cody Bellinger
- Bryan Reynolds
- Triston Casas
- Joe Ryan
- Tyler Glasnow
- Spencer Strider
- Justin Steele
- Vinnie Pasquantino
- Roki Sasaki
- Spencer Schwellenbach
- Grayson Rodriguez
- Tanner Bibee
- Cal Raleigh
- Mike Trout
- Spencer Steer
- Randy Arozarena
- Kirby Yates
- Carlos Rodon
- Sonny Gray
- Jack Flaherty
- Willson Contreras
- Ian Happ
- Bryan Woo
- Jared Jones
- Matt McLain
- Dylan Crews
- Shea Langeliers
- Sandy Alcantara
- Kodai Senga
- J.T. Realmuto
- Steven Kwan
- Jasson Dominguez
- Luis Garcia
- Reynaldo Lopez
- Yusei Kikuchi
- Brandon Nimmo
- Logan O'Hoppe
- Brice Turang
- Shane McClanahan
- Lucas Erceg
- Matt Chapman
- Alex Bregman
- Adolis Garcia
- Colton Cowser
- Eugenio Suarez
- Trevor Megill
- Pete Fairbanks
- Pete Crow-Armstrong
- Tommy Edman
- Alexis Diaz
- Jake Burger
- Ezequiel Tovar
- Anthony Volpe
- Ryan Walker
- Nick Castellanos
- Robbie Ray
- Ryan Pepiot
- Xavier Edwards
- Seth Lugo
- Luis Gil
- Xander Bogaerts
- Ceddanne Rafaela
- Isaac Paredes
- Luis Rengifo
- Nico Hoerner
- Alec Bohm
- Cristopher Sanchez
- Kenley Jansen
- Jurickson Profar
- Parker Meadows
- Francisco Alvarez
- Sean Manaea
- Lane Thomas
- Zach Eflin
- Taj Bradley
- Shane Baz
- Tyler O'Neill
- Michael Kopech
- Kerry Carpenter
- Spencer Arrighetti
- Jackson Holliday
- Tyler Stephenson
- Nathan Eovaldi
- Masyn Winn
- Jeremy Pena
- Zach Neto
- Tanner Houck
- Andres Gimenez
- Bryson Stott
- Taylor Ward
- Paul Goldschmidt
- Luis Arraez
- Dansby Swanson
- Yu Darvish
- Nick Lodolo
- Michael Toglia
- Evan Carter
- Cedric Mullins
- Victor Robles