The 2023 MLB season is in the books, but it’s never too early to look ahead to the upcoming campaign. While much of the MLB landscape is sure to change over the offseason, it can be helpful to get an early sense of where the experts stand in terms of initial fantasy baseball rankings. We’ll have you covered as we approach the spring and new season, but for now let’s take a look at early 2024 fantasy baseball rankings from expert Chris Welsh.
Check out our latest expert consensus fantasy baseball draft rankings
2024 Fantasy Baseball Rankings
| Name | Team | Positions |
| Ronald Acuna Jr. | ATL | RF,DH |
| Bobby Witt Jr. | KC | 3B,DH,SS |
| Julio Rodriguez | SEA | CF |
| Mookie Betts | LAD | 2B,RF,SS |
| Corbin Carroll | ARI | CF,LF,RF |
| Freddie Freeman | LAD | 1B |
| Fernando Tatis Jr. | SD | CF,RF,SS |
| Kyle Tucker | HOU | RF |
| Juan Soto | NYY | LF,RF |
| Shohei Ohtani | LAD | DH,SP |
| Aaron Judge | NYY | CF,RF,DH |
| Jose Ramirez | CLE | 3B,DH |
| Corey Seager | TEX | SS |
| Trea Turner | PHI | SS |
| Matt Olson | ATL | 1B |
| Yordan Alvarez | HOU | LF,DH |
| Bryce Harper | PHI | 1B,DH,RF |
| Austin Riley | ATL | 3B |
| Spencer Strider | ATL | SP,RP |
| Gerrit Cole | NYY | SP |
| Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | TOR | 1B,DH |
| Elly De La Cruz | CIN | 3B,SS |
| Rafael Devers | BOS | 3B |
| Luis Robert Jr. | CWS | CF |
| Francisco Lindor | NYM | SS |
| Gunnar Henderson | BAL | 3B,DH,SS |
| Ozzie Albies | ATL | 2B |
| Pete Alonso | NYM | 1B,DH |
| Corbin Burnes | MIL | SP |
| Kevin Gausman | TOR | SP |
| Marcus Semien | TEX | 2B,SS |
| Zack Wheeler | PHI | SP |
| Michael Harris II | ATL | CF |
| George Kirby | SEA | SP |
| Zac Gallen | ARI | SP |
| Adolis Garcia | TEX | CF,RF,DH |
| Randy Arozarena | TB | LF,RF,DH |
| Oneil Cruz | PIT | SS |
| Bo Bichette | TOR | SS |
| Royce Lewis | MIN | 3B,SS |
| CJ Abrams | WSH | 2B,SS |
| Matt McLain | CIN | 2B,SS |
| Jose Altuve | HOU | 2B |
| Jazz Chisholm Jr. | MIA | 2B,CF |
| Mike Trout | LAA | CF |
| Pablo Lopez | MIN | SP |
| Luis Castillo | SEA | SP |
| Tyler Glasnow | LAD | SP |
| Tarik Skubal | DET | SP |
| Edwin Diaz | NYM | RP |
| Paul Goldschmidt | STL | 1B,DH |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto | LAD | SP |
| Cody Bellinger | FA | 1B,CF |
| Framber Valdez | HOU | SP |
| Blake Snell | FA | SP |
| Emmanuel Clase | CLE | RP |
| Josh Hader | FA | RP |
| Freddy Peralta | MIL | SP |
| Manny Machado | SD | 3B,DH |
| Logan Gilbert | SEA | SP |
| Kodai Senga | NYM | SP |
| Max Fried | ATL | SP |
| Bobby Miller | LAD | SP |
| Nolan Jones | COL | 1B,LF,RF |
| Devin Williams | MIL | RP |
| Adley Rutschman | BAL | C,DH |
| Aaron Nola | PHI | SP |
| Josh Lowe | TB | CF,DH,LF,RF |
| Ha-Seong Kim | SD | 2B,3B,SS |
| Christian Yelich | MIL | LF,DH |
| Kyle Schwarber | PHI | DH,LF |
| Gleyber Torres | NYY | 2B,DH |
| Logan Webb | SF | SP |
| Bryan Reynolds | PIT | CF,DH,LF |
| Joe Ryan | MIN | SP |
| Camilo Doval | SF | RP |
| Ketel Marte | ARI | 2B,DH |
| Eury Perez | MIA | SP |
| Grayson Rodriguez | BAL | SP |
| Christian Walker | ARI | 1B |
| Nick Castellanos | PHI | RF |
| Triston Casas | BOS | 1B |
| Josh Jung | TEX | 3B |
| J.T. Realmuto | PHI | C |
| Kyle Bradish | BAL | SP |
| Nolan Arenado | STL | 3B,DH |
| Zach Eflin | TB | SP,RP |
| Wyatt Langford | TEX | LF |
| Bryson Stott | PHI | 2B,SS |
| Jordan Walker | STL | 3B,LF,RF |
| Nico Hoerner | CHC | 2B,SS |
| Jhoan Duran | MIN | RP |
| Seiya Suzuki | CHC | RF |
| Spencer Torkelson | DET | 1B |
| Joe Musgrove | SD | SP |
| Junior Caminero | TB | 3B |
| Cole Ragans | KC | RP,SP |
| Jesus Luzardo | MIA | SP |
| Alex Bregman | HOU | 3B |
| Walker Buehler | LAD | SP |
| Jordan Romano | TOR | RP |
| Spencer Steer | CIN | 1B,2B,3B,LF |
| Will Smith | LAD | C,DH |
| Tanner Bibee | CLE | SP |
| Justin Steele | CHC | SP |
| Dylan Cease | CWS | SP |
| Justin Verlander | HOU | SP |
| Michael King | SD | RP,SP |
| George Springer | TOR | CF,RF,DH |
| Lane Thomas | WSH | LF,CF,RF |
| Riley Greene | DET | CF,RF |
| Anthony Santander | BAL | 1B,DH,LF,RF |
| Evan Carter | TEX | CF,LF |
| Jackson Chourio | MIL | CF |
| Raisel Iglesias | ATL | RP |
| Lars Nootbaar | STL | LF,CF,RF |
| Paul Sewald | ARI | RP |
| Sonny Gray | STL | SP |
| Merrill Kelly | ARI | SP |
| Hunter Greene | CIN | SP |
| Gavin Williams | CLE | SP |
| Christian Encarnacion-Strand | CIN | 1B,3B,DH |
| Zack Gelof | OAK | 2B |
| Sean Murphy | ATL | C,DH |
| David Bednar | PIT | RP |
| Ryan Pressly | HOU | RP |
| Josh Naylor | CLE | 1B,RF,DH |
| Alexis Diaz | CIN | RP |
| Chris Bassitt | TOR | SP |
| Anthony Volpe | NYY | SS |
| Andres Munoz | SEA | RP |
| Dansby Swanson | CHC | SS |
| Andres Gimenez | CLE | 2B,SS |
| Edouard Julien | MIN | 2B,DH |
| Ryan Helsley | STL | RP |
| Pete Fairbanks | TB | RP |
| Yainer Diaz | HOU | 1B,C,DH |
| Willy Adames | MIL | SS |
| Yandy Diaz | TB | 1B,3B,DH |
| Cedric Mullins II | BAL | CF |
| Jorge Soler | FA | DH,LF,RF |
| Vinnie Pasquantino | KC | 1B,DH |
| Xander Bogaerts | SD | SS |
| Max Muncy | LAD | 2B,3B,DH |
| TJ Friedl | CIN | LF,CF,RF |
| Esteury Ruiz | OAK | CF,LF,RF |
| James Outman | LAD | CF,LF |
| Jackson Holliday | BAL | SS |
| Chas McCormick | HOU | LF,CF,RF |
| Marcell Ozuna | ATL | LF,DH |
| Teoscar Hernandez | FA | DH,RF |
| Masataka Yoshida | BOS | DH,LF |
| Mitch Keller | PIT | SP |
| Shane Baz | TB | SP |
| Chris Sale | ATL | SP |
| Shane Bieber | CLE | SP |
| Nolan Gorman | STL | 2B,3B,DH |
| Jordan Montgomery | FA | SP |
| Salvador Perez | KC | 1B,C,DH |
| Jose Berrios | TOR | SP |
| Carlos Rodon | NYY | SP |
| Hunter Brown | HOU | SP,RP |
| Evan Phillips | LAD | RP |
| Kenley Jansen | BOS | RP |
| William Contreras | MIL | C,DH |
| Francisco Alvarez | NYM | C,DH |
| Ian Happ | CHC | LF |
| Cristian Javier | HOU | SP,RP |
| Eduardo Rodriguez | ARI | SP |
| Aaron Civale | TB | SP |
| Brandon Pfaadt | ARI | SP |
| Cal Raleigh | SEA | C,DH |
| Tommy Edman | STL | 2B,CF,RF,SS |
| Nathan Eovaldi | TEX | SP |
| Ryan Pepiot | TB | RP,SP |
| Trevor Story | BOS | 2B,SS |
| Clay Holmes | NYY | RP |
| Thairo Estrada | SF | 2B,SS,LF |
| Yu Darvish | SD | SP |
| Gabriel Moreno | ARI | C |
| Adbert Alzolay | CHC | RP |
| Jake Burger | MIA | 3B,DH |
| Noelvi Marte | CIN | 3B,SS |
| Ke’Bryan Hayes | PIT | 3B |
| Alec Bohm | PHI | 1B,3B |
| Isaac Paredes | TB | 1B,2B,3B |
| Jarren Duran | BOS | CF,LF,RF |
| Luis Arraez | MIA | 1B,2B,DH |
| Carlos Correa | MIN | SS |
| Ezequiel Tovar | COL | SS |
| Bailey Ober | MIN | SP |
| Craig Kimbrel | BAL | RP |
| Eloy Jimenez | CWS | DH,LF,RF |
| Tanner Scott | MIA | RP |
| Shota Imanaga | INT | P |
| Bryce Miller | SEA | SP |
| Nathaniel Lowe | TEX | 1B |
| Zach Neto | LAA | SS |
| Alex Lange | DET | RP |
What is Fantasy Baseball?
Fantasy baseball is an online game where participants act as managers of virtual baseball teams based on real-life Major League Baseball (MLB) players. The performance of these players in actual games determines the results in the fantasy league. It’s a blend of skill, strategy, and a little bit of luck, akin to the real-world decisions team managers must make.
Basic Strategy for Fantasy Baseball Success
1. Understand Your League’s Format and Scoring
Before drafting your team, it’s essential to understand the scoring system and rules of your specific league, as this will influence your drafting and management strategy. Knowing whether you’re in a points-based, category-based, or head-to-head league will guide you in selecting players whose strengths align with the scoring system.
2. Drafting Your Team Wisely
A solid draft is the foundation of a successful season. Here are a few tips for the drafting phase:
- Balanced Team: Ensure you have a balanced team with a mix of power hitters, average hitters, speedsters, starting pitchers, and relievers.
- Position Scarcity: Be aware of the depth of talent at each position. Some positions, like shortstop, may have fewer high-quality players, making it beneficial to draft a top player at that position early.
- High-Floor Players: Early in the draft, focus on players with a proven track record of consistency.
- Upside Picks: In the later rounds, look for “upside” players. These are athletes who have the potential to outperform their draft position.
3. In-Season Management
- Stay Active: Constantly look for ways to improve your team through waivers, trades, and free-agent pickups.
- Mind the Matchups: Pay attention to player matchups, platoon splits, and ballparks. Starting a pitcher in a hitter-friendly park, for example, can be risky.
- Injury Management: Stay on top of player injuries and have backups ready for your key players.
Check out our early 2024 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit
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