Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Grades & Start/Sit Advice: Week 3 (2023)

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.

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy baseball, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Baseball Tools as you navigate your season. From our Lineup Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup, based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – that allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team, and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy baseball season.

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

Justin Turner (BOS – 3B/DH)
Turner’s numbers could be pedestrian with a .255 average and zero home runs, though he is a notoriously slow starter from his Dodger days. His 8-7 BB-K ratio is a good start, and while the strikeouts will likely surpass the walks, he’s only once in his career punched out more than 100 times (107 in 2016). When the calendar turns to May, and the weather starts to warm up in the Northeast, Turner will launch his fair share of fly balls over the Green Monster.

Spencer Steer (CIN – 1B/3B)
Steer has a strong 5-7 BB-K ratio and has already popped two homers in his first 11 games. He’s primarily batted in the seventh hole, but will likely rise in the batting order on a Reds team that is rebuilding. That .973 OPS is going to help him jump up in the batting order, though his .333 BABIP may see some regression.

From Deep Sleepers & Waiver Wire Pickups

Garrett Mitchell (CF), Brice Turang (2B,SS), Joey Wiemer (RF): The Speed Trio Of Milwaukee

I wanted to get some speed on this list, which is a bit easier with the speed leaderboard now available. My plan was to just highlight someone unexpectedly fast, but once I got my eyes on that list, one thing stood out above the rest. The young trio of rookies in Milwaukee has some serious speed. Keep in mind that 30 feet per second is considered “elite” in the baseball world, and the Brew Crew has three guys already knocking on that door.

Garrett Mitchell is the fastest of the bunch by just a hair, followed by Turang and Weimer, respectfully. Mitchell’s current sprint speed is 29.3 fps, Turang is at 29.2, and Weimer is at 29.0. The average competitive sprint speed in baseball is 27 fps. One thing that has yet to be seen is how much the team will let these youngsters unleash their speed. As it sits, Mitchell has attempted zero stolen bases. Turang has attempted three and was successful on two of them. Wiemer, who I was the most skeptical about when it came to his speed, has also stolen two and attempted three.

Should they be allowed to be a bit freer on the basepaths, there is a chance all of them could reach the 30+ stolen base club. Not bad for a group of guys who also have a little pop in their bat as well. In particular, Mitchell has already hit three dingers and a triple. Keep an eye on these guys moving forward, as all three are still fairly available in deeper leagues. They have “valuable fantasy baseball option” written all over them.

From Statcast Review: Jarred Kelenic, David Robertson, Brice Turang

Ji Hwan Bae (2B – PIT)

Ji Hwan Bae is the first potential player to benefit from injury regarding the Pittsburgh depth chart during this second week of April. Unfortunately for the Pirates, they lost their franchise star Oneil Cruz to a fractured ankle last week. Cruz is expected to miss 10-12 weeks with the injury and will likely be unable to return before mid-August. It was an absolutely brutal blow for a young shortstop that was expected to fully breakout in 2023.

Since the injury, it has looked like Bae will be one of the first options to fill the recent void. He subbed in for Cruz when he went down and more recently moved into the leadoff spot in the batting order, at least for now. Bae has gone 8-for-33 (.242) to kick off the season but has launched two homers and stolen two bases. He could provide some sneaky value in those departments while seeing regular playing time at the top of the Pittsburgh order.

From Fantasy Baseball Depth Chart Review