Welcome to Quick Grades. Or Start/Sit Grades. Whatever you want to call it, this is our weekly fantasy baseball article where we provide rankings and grades for all fantasy baseball-relevant players to help you set your weekly lineups. By leveraging our industry-leading projections and rankings from some of the most accurate fantasy baseball experts, we’re able to provide these custom player grades each week. We continue to tweak our process for this series each season to ensure the grades are as predictive and accurate as possible, and this has become an invaluable resource for fantasy managers who have to make difficult start/sit decisions each and every week. Check back each week for updated grades that take each player’s matchups and projected stats into consideration.
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Fantasy Baseball Weekly Player Rankings & Grades
Let’s take a look at our weekly rankings and grades for all fantasy-relevant players.
Note: this table has multiple pages and is sortable and searchable, so feel free to look around!
Weekly Fantasy Baseball News and Notes
Adam Duvall (OF – BOS)
Anyone that was paying attention this offseason should have been aware of the ever-building Adam Duvall hype as the winter rolled on. All signs pointed towards a bounce-back season for the former Brave and so far he has proven that opinion right.
Duvall is tied with the aforementioned d’Arnaud for second in the league with 10 hits, and this already includes a two-homer performance (including a two-run walk-off shot) back on April 1st. The 34-year-old veteran already has nine RBI (also tied for second in the MLB) and an incomprehensible 1.000 SLG%. Duvall is going to be a staple in the middle of the Red Sox lineup and needs to be owned in 100% of fantasy leagues until further notice.
From Depth Chart Review: Kyle Gibson, Adam Duvall, Jeffrey Springs
Gunnar Henderson (3B,SS – BAL)
“The concept of buying low less than a week into the season is a little silly, considering how small our sample size is. But if anybody is panicking on Gunnar Henderson because of his .167 batting average, now is the time to happily take advantage of his slow start. Despite going 2-for-12 to start the year, Henderson still has an on-base percentage of .444 and an OPS+ of 135. The talent is real, and he’s improved every single year as a prospect despite facing stiffer competition at every level. There’s no reason to think this is anything other than a mini-slump to begin the season, and he should still be considered an easy top-10 3B in fantasy rest of season.”
– Ryan Wormeli (FantasyPros)
Jordan Montgomery (SP – STL)
“Since two of my favorites, Gunnar Henderson and Ryan McMahon were already claimed by Ryan and Kelly, I’ll pivot to pitching. We’ve seen some pretty bad pitching through the first week of the season, and I’m looking to buy low on pretty much anyone I can find available. And while I’m aiming high with Jacob deGrom, Logan Webb, and Zac Gallen, Jordan Montgomery is someone in that middle tier of pitchers who might be more available right now. He’s only toed the rubber once so far, but he posted a 5.40 K/9 while pitching to a 5.40 ERA. His xERA (6.81) points to that number being earned, but his FIP from that start was just 2.63. Now, we’re talking about an extremely small sample size, and these numbers don’t even really matter. What matters is that he was already a mid-level starting pitcher for fantasy and got off to a slow start. He was excellent once he arrived in St. Louis in the middle of last season, pitching to a 3.11 ERA with 61 strikeouts over 63 2/3 innings. There are also two factors that could prove to be very important based on what we have seen around baseball this first week. Montgomery is a lefty, so he may not be as affected by the new rules that have led to a boon in stolen bases. He has also limited hard contact in his career, which could be very important since the balls seem to once again be jumping out of ballparks. With everyone else scrambling to find steals, I might see if I can swap one of my sell-high players like Jorge Mateo or flip someone like Joey Gallo who is off to a hot start and see if I can acquire someone like Montgomery to boost my rotation.”
– Mike Maher (FantasyPros)
Brian Anderson (3B,OF – MIL)
“I’m unsure how many people have rostered Brian Anderson, but now is the time to sell. The fact that he qualifies at 3B is the draw, so find the person in your league who needs a third baseman and offer him up for a healthy starting pitcher or a high K/9 reliever, depending on your league categories. His ISO is 120 points higher than his career average, and he is on a tear. I’d pull the trigger if someone is willing to part with an SP like Justin Steele.”
– Kelly Kirby (FantasyPros)
Jorge Mateo (SS – BAL)
“Someone in your league is panicking about steals right now. MLB teams (except for the Twins) are running even more than many expected, and the success rate for stolen bases is through the roof. If you didn’t fill out your roster with players capable of swiping bags, you could already be in a double-digit hole. Enter Jorge Mateo, who already has four stolen bases. He’s also already hit two home runs, which is more of a surprise than the steals. In 2022, Mateo hit 13 HR and led the AL with 35 stolen bases, but he hit just .221 and struck out more than 27% of the time. His current walk and strikeout rates (both 11.8%, oddly enough) aren’t sustainable for him, and neither, obviously, is the .357 average. He could easily steal 40 bases and hit 15 home runs this year, especially since early data points to the balls being juiced to 2019 levels once again. But he’s probably going to hit around .230, and he’s a candidate to lose his starting job or playing time if he starts to struggle. Cash in on the early success, and target the manager in your league who’s likely already looking for speed. I need power in most of my leagues, so I might try to flip Mateo for someone like Ryan McMahon or see if I can work out a bigger package to buy low on someone like Alex Bregman.”
– Mike Maher (FantasyPros)
Alex Bregman (3B – HOU)
Bregman is the classic example of why you don’t sell low on established players that start slow. He started the season going 0-for-16 in his first four games and then went 3-for-5 with two runs scored in his fifth game. While the strikeout rate is abnormally high, it is not indicative of bad skills, just a small sample. He is a pretty easy buy right now.
C.J. Cron (1B – COL)
Cron has started on an absolute tear hitting .467/.529/.1.200 with three home runs in his first four games. Typically Cron is great at home and struggles away from Coors field, but because the Rockies have yet to play at Coors this year, he isn’t experiencing the “Coors Hangover” that hitters run into because of the ball moving differently in the thin air in Colorado versus the sea-level air in other parks. Cron will head to Coors this weekend and I would expect him to go back to being a really great player at home and bad on the road making him a really good sell high candidate after their first homestand.
From Fantasy Baseball Trade Advice: Players to Buy Low & Sell High
Matt Chapman (3B – TOR)
So, we can put it out there right now that Chapman will not hit .522 on the season. I’m not sure what the odds are on that, but you can put your life savings down that he’ll hit under .400.
What I like seeing from him, though, is his quality of contact. Chapman has a 99.7 average exit velocity – higher than the 88.4 league average – and he has five barrels so far on the season. What’s more, the K% is at 16 percent, which is well below his career average.
He’s had poor home run luck so far, but as they get out of Kansas City, I can see that correcting.
Jarred Kelenic (OF – SEA)
Kelenic does well in Spring Training. Kelenic struggles in the big leagues. Is this a thought from 2021, 2022, or 2023? It’s evergreen, folks.
It’s early (last time I’m using the caveat), but Kelenic has a 43.8 percent strikeout rate so far this season. He’s especially struggled early on against fastballs and offspeed offerings, hitting a combined .143 on the 56 such offerings.
The hard-hit metrics are up, but if he doesn’t get the Ks under control, he’ll forever be a Quad-A player.
From Week 2 Stock Report
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