2023 Fantasy Baseball Rankings for Opening Day

At some point in time after the invention of this game of fantasy baseball, some so-called experts figured it may be helpful to publish annual rankings of every single player available in the fantasy drafts. It’s a sensible idea as it’s basically a way for well-researched people to give their information and advice to less-informed people. Years have passed and the world has changed but yearly rankings still exist. There’s an endless amount of them out there. And, yes, this post represents yet another one to add to that mix.

I don’t truly believe that rankings are immensely important and helpful. My goal with this site is to provide spreadsheets and tools that allow you to jump to your own conclusions about how to rank players live and during the draft. The tools on this site also help you make sure your own ranking of players is tied to the specific league that you’re in. I find that a lot more valuable than a blind list of generic rankings that may not be catered to your league.

Alas, I am here doing a post on the day before Opening Day where I am posting my rankings though. So, you may ask why I’m doing that. Well, this is more of an accountability exercise for me in some way and I think it just is helpful for future reporting purposes. I also see the value of letting you all know which players I’m excited about so you can see if they ended up on your rosters or not. That’s why I do these late in the draft season as opposed to cobbling together early rankings and constantly changing them.

The outliers in my 2023 rankings

When it comes to my own personal rankings of fantasy baseball players, I think the more interesting part to draw attention to is the players that I am ranking much higher than the general field of experts. There are also players that I ranked much lower than other experts but that’s usually more because of differing opinions about the values of certain positions (my RP’s and C’s are generally ranked lower than the field).

Here are some players that I am more excited about this season compared to the rest of the fantasy world:

My Rank	Player	Others’ Ranks	Difference
9	Jacob deGrom (SP, TEX)	29	20
48	Tommy Edman (2B, STL)	85	37
49	Bryan Reynolds (OF, PIT)	73	24
52	Dansby Swanson (SS, CHC)	74	22
53	Clayton Kershaw (SP, LAD)	91	38
68	Joe Musgrove (SP, SD)	88	20
72	Gunnar Henderson (3B, BAL)	94	22
74	Gleyber Torres (2B, NYY)	101	27
77	Nick Lodolo (SP, CIN)	126	49
80	Anthony Santander (OF, BAL)	102	22
86	Christian Walker (1B, ARI)	107	21
87	Steven Kwan (OF, CLE)	109	22
92	Jake McCarthy (OF, ARI)	112	20
96	Amed Rosario (SS, CLE)	129	33
104	Ryan Mountcastle (1B, BAL)	124	20
110	Andrew Vaughn (1B, CWS)	131	21
113	Lucas Giolito (SP, CWS)	133	20
115	Bryce Harper (DH, PHI)	162	47
117	Jordan Montgomery (SP, STL)	159	42
123	Masataka Yoshida (OF, BOS)	201	78
127	Brandon Nimmo (OF, NYM)	148	21
135	Ty France (1B, SEA)	163	28
137	Jordan Walker (3B, STL)	187	50
139	Jose Miranda (3B, MIN)	165	26
141	Lars Nootbaar (OF, STL)	177	36
143	Jake Cronenworth (2B, SD)	170	27
144	Alex Verdugo (OF, BOS)	172	28
146	Luis Arraez (2B, MIA)	180	34
159	Thairo Estrada (2B, SF)	186	27
163	Jon Gray (SP, TEX)	190	27
164	Joey Meneses (1B, WSH)	191	27
171	Kodai Senga (SP, NYM)	205	34
179	Josh Naylor (1B, CLE)	199	20
198	Jameson Taillon (SP, CHC)	230	32
199	Marcus Stroman (SP, CHC)	243	44
200	Evan Phillips (RP, LAD)	242	42
201	Yandy Diaz (1B, TB)	228	27
204	Jake Fraley (OF, CIN)	252	48
206	Tyler Mahle (SP, MIN)	231	25
207	Luis Urias (2B, MIL)	262	55
221	Austin Meadows (OF, DET)	241	20
225	Kenta Maeda (SP, MIN)	289	64
228	DJ LeMahieu (2B, NYY)	253	25
229	Alex Lange (RP, DET)	264	35
234	Sean Manaea (SP, SF)	260	26
260	Hayden Wesneski (SP, CHC)	299	39
266	Darick Hall (DH, PHI)	377	111

All of the players on the list are guys that I would be comfortable reaching to grab a round or two before they are supposed to go, depending on the flow of the draft. Some may just deliver their expected value, some may break out and way exceed their value… and there will be some who will fall flat on their face for some reason or another. But, these 45+ players are guys I’m ready to go to war with this year and hope for the best.