With the playoffs approaching for many and everyone now in crunch time, this article will now have a new format to help guide you through the short-term decision-making that comes into play at this point in the season.
I will group players into tiers and go over each team’s lineup and outlook for the next three series. Players will be classified as Auto-Start, Solid Start, Streamer, and Desperate. If I don’t list a guy, it’s because you don’t need him.
Auto-Start – Just leave them in all season. Don’t get cute.
Solid Start – A safe start at the moment, but if they’re struck by a slump, they could get moved down to Streamer by the next update.
Streamer – Worth considering in a 12-teamer due to a hot streak, a specific matchup (such as heading to Coors), or a specific tool (such as speed). It may also include players who I would usually consider a Solid Start, but are dealing with playing time issues due to either injury or platoons that might cause them to play in fewer than four or five games that week.
Desperate – For players in deep leagues or in very dire straits. Prospects waiting to be called up will usually be in this category.
As you may have noticed, we no longer allow comments on the site. I’m grateful to have been able to engage with you all here, and if you have questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me on Twitter (@ifthechufits), BlueSky (scottchu.pitcherlist.com), or Reddit (u/ChusephEsquire).
IL – This will be limited to hitters who would actually make one of the tiers above immediately upon activation.
As a reminder, this article is geared toward a standard, daily, 12-team H2H redraft league, as that is typically the most popular fantasy baseball format. They will only factor in the five standard categories: Runs, RBI, Home Runs, Batting Average, and Stolen Bases.
I take rankings like this as more of an art than a science. Every person’s rankings are influenced by their own biases, strategic philosophies, determinations of risk, and projections. It’s why no two rankings are ever exactly alike. My way of evaluating and ranking players has worked out well for me over the years, but it might not be a great fit for you. I can’t possibly predict your team’s specific needs, your league mates’ player evaluations, or your current waiver wire, and if I could, it’d be weird in a bad way.
This is a safe space for me where I answer to no one but myself…and you if you hit me up on Twitter (@ifthechufits), BlueSky (scottchu.pitcherlist.com), or Reddit (u/ChusephEsquire).
I’m doing my best to use five starts or 10 appearances as the threshold for positional eligibility. I have not included presumed eligibilities based on likely new positions, but once those eligibilities are earned, I’ll add them in. This is just a maintenance thing, and we will update eligibility throughout the season. Feel free to let me know if I’m missing any!
Ranking Philosophy
To keep things in the same ilk, here are a couple of notes on how I generally evaluate hitters before we dive in:
In 12-team formats, I just don’t see much value in guys who only provide stolen bases. It’s an important category, especially in Roto, but in shallower formats, there are too many other (and better) ways to get the steals you need without sacrificing production in the other categories.
If I want to get some insight on whether what I’m seeing is new or if it’s just a normal fluctuation, I’d use my favorite tool—the rolling chart, which I’ll also reference as appropriate. You can also get rolling charts from sources like FanGraphs or Baseball Savant. If you have any questions about how to do that or how to read these charts, reach out to me!
No stat is an island, and they should all be taken in proper context. For ranking purposes, the primary starting points I use are plate discipline, wRC+, quality of contact metrics (also known as Statcast batted ball data), lineup context, and the skills we can measure using tools such as our PLV Hitter Attributes (available for PL Pro members). I also use various projections (some free, some I buy) and dollar value generators.
Positional eligibility, and specifically multi-eligibility, is neat, but also isn’t a huge factor in many 10- and 12-team leagues anymore due to the prevalence of multi-eligible players. It’s of more value in deeper contests like the NFBC, or in leagues with limited roster moves (draft and hold leagues, transaction limits/costs, extremely short benches, etc.), but even then, the value is fairly situational and context-dependent.
On a similar note, I don’t penalize players for only qualifying in the utility slot. At most, it is a mild inconvenience if a DH-only player is available at a great value and you already have filled your utility spots.
Anyone talented enough to make it to the big leagues can be brilliant or putrid for 50 to 100 at-bats, regardless of true talent. Heck, it could even last over a month with no change in potential or skill. It also could be wildly meaningful. We can’t and don’t know which of these will be true until it’s over, though track record, scouting, and trends can give us hints.
If you’d like input on a player or have any feedback, your best bet is to reach out to me on the website formerly known as Twitter (@ifthechufits) or BlueSky (scottchu.pitcherlist.com), or Reddit (u/ChusephEsquire).
Read The Notes
These rankings talk about what I generally project for a player, but these rankings are not projections. They include projections but also take into account performance risk, injury risk, team context, ceiling, and floor.
Check out the Hacks & Jacks podcast featuring Scott Chu and Brett Ford, which also happened to be a finalist for Best Baseball Podcast of 2021 by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA)!
I also host an AMA in the r/fantasybaseball subreddit every Friday starting around noon ET that lasts through the rest of the day and into the weekend, so feel free to join the fun and ask questions or make comments.
Gabriel Moreno has multiple hits in each of his last five games with a robust 1.011 OPS since returning to action in late August. The plate discipline has always been a plus, but the power comes as quite a surprise. He’s hitting the ball in the air over 50% of the time since his return, which would be a very interesting long-term development if it holds.
I still have no idea how projections will deal with Geraldo Perdomo. There’s nothing “fake” about his production, but his 2025 numbers are vastly different than anything we saw from him before at any level. He’ll surely rank among the top 30-40 hitters, but how high among them remains a bit of a mystery to me.
Blaze Alexander strikes out a lot, but he also takes his walks and plays every day. Between the limited contact ability and the high ground ball rates, we’re looking at a player who will likely be a bit more streaky than we hoped.
Tim Tawa takes over for Locklear at first base as Locklear will miss the rest of the season. Tawa has swung a hot bat since being activated, though he was rather unimpressive in his debut early in the season and his underlying metrics suggest he’s merely a deep league flyer with some extra positional eligibility.
Athletics
It has been annoying to see Tyler Soderstrom sit against two lefties in the last week and then hurt his groin, but assuming he returns to action early this week I’d be firing him up. The A’s saw an unusual number of lefties in the last 11 games and their schedule should be a lot more balanced going forward.
Jacob Wilson is weird, because we just don’t see guys who have an exit velocity this low (83 mph since coming off the IL) slug over .500. The friendly home park helps as his home OPS on the season is 152 points higher than his OPS on the road, but even if the power is a bit of a fraud, Wilson’s elite ability to put the ball in play will make him an attractive fantasy asset for what should be years to come.
It’s good to see Shea Langeliers get the walk rate back on track. Go ahead and leave him locked in the rest of the way.
Atlanta
This team, as a whole, has been putrid in September, with a collective 74 wRC+, the third-worst in the league this month.
Matt Olson is destroying the baseball these days, slashing .350/.429/.717 in his last 17 games with six homers, a triple, and two doubles. It has been a bit of a bumpy ride for Olson in 2025 but he should finish as a top-50 hitter thanks to his strong September and will likely be viewed roughly that way in 2026 drafts.
Jurickson Profar still leads off, which has value, though he hasn’t been strong over his last 14 games with just a 76 wRC+ and a single home run and one stolen base. His second half numbers have been strong enough to leave him in your lineup, though if you’re in a shallower format, particularly one with just three starting outfielders, it may behoove you to explore the wire.
Ronald Acuña Jr. has strung together some hits lately, though he doesn’t have a stolen base this month. Talent-wise, he’s still a top-10 player in the league, but the struggles this season for him and Atlanta suggest that those in three-outfield redraft might not be insane to look for options if you need a desperate push.
Michael Harris II, Marcell Ozuna, and Drake Baldwin all can be cut for hotter hands.
Ha-Seong Kim, in theory, is a speed streamer for the desperate as the starting shortstop, but he has only attempted one steal for Atlanta and it wasn’t successful.
Gunnar Henderson is having a fine overall season, but he’s just not showing any of the elite upside we saw in 2023 and 2024, particularly when it comes to power. Unless he goes absolutely ballistic over the next two weeks, Gunnar will end the season without a single month of five or more home runs.
Jackson Holliday is walking more than he has all season and striking out less, and over the last 15 games he’s slashing a whopping .364/.485/.564 with two home runs and five steals. I love what we are seeing and it’s the outburst we’ve been waiting for. I wouldn’t be shocked if he was a player we drafted in the first 100-120 picks next season.
Dylan Beavers is walking a ton (21.7% of the time so far) and is hitting a ton of line drives, which makes him a boon in OBP and points leagues. In standard leagues, though, there isn’t a lot of juice coming with those ratios and it makes him more of a streamer.
Tyler O’Neill is back and you know the drill: he will either be incredibly good or incredibly bad or incredibly hurt. The latter two are more common the former.
Jordan Westburg has begun a rehab assignment and will likely return this week. Adley Rutschman is about a week behind Westburg.
Jarren Duran sits against the occasional lefty but
Alex Bregman isn’t hitting or walking as much as we’d like this month, but he’s scored a run in six of his last seven games and should be more than productive enough to leave in your third base or corner infield slot.
Romy González is on a 14-game hitting streak, though 20 of the 23 hits have been singles. He’s more interesting facing lefties than righties, but he’s streamable in general while he’s hot.
Rob Refsnyder and Nate Eaton can be considered against lefties but that’s about it.
Kristian Campbell and Jhostynxon Garcia aren’t going to make any impact without an injury on the major league roster.
Wilyer Abreu isn’t going to be back long enough to make a difference in most leagues.
Roman Anthony is out for the rest of the regular season.
Seiya Suzuki is having the most productive season of his career in the majors, but that’s almost entirely a product of his first half production. He has just two home runs and 14 RBI in the second half with a .603 OPS. He could explode at any moment, theoretically, but in your fantasy playoffs you might be forced to find a producer.
Pete Crow-Armstrong has a similar story as Suzuki, albeit more extreme. After being one of the best hitters in all of baseball for several months, PCA completely collapsed, and his 26 wRC+ since August 1 is the worst among all qualified hitters in that stretch. I don’t love the idea of cutting him, but in a 10-teamer with only three or four starting outfielders, there’s a chance that a case could be made.
Matt Shaw and Willi Castro have some value in deep formats where their positional eligibility is useful.
This offense is as streaky as it is bad.
Colson Montgomery has given more than a few fantasy managers moments of glory during that insane 12-game stretch, but the extreme contact issues are tough to ignore and I doubt other teams are going to let him beat them going forward.
Miguel Vargas walks and that’s about it.
Kyle Teel doesn’t play against lefties, but he sprays enough line drives around that there’s value in most formats as a back-end catcher.
Elly De La Cruz isn’t hitting at all so far in September, but he still steals bases and the strikeouts aren’t as bad as you think. If you absolutely don’t need steals, I guess you could bench him, but I don’t see many scenarios outside of certain types of points leagues where I want to let someone else have him on their roster.
Noelvi Marte has started striking out in bunches and it scares me a lot. If you have a short-term replacement, go for it.
TJ Friedl, Austin Hays, and Tyler Stephenson are mildly attractive options at home against bad pitching, which is actually a situation they’ll see a few times over the next week.
Sal Stewart had a fantastic season in triple-A and should hit enough to take advantage of his opportunity over Steer. He could be a 20 home run, 15 steal guy with decent ratios in the next one or two years, given the chance.
We’ve seen this movie about Will Benson before. He’s a classic streaky power hitter with big contact issues.
Steven Kwan remains a useful bat for average, runs, and points, but not too useful for anything else
Kyle Manzardo and C.J. Kayfus have hit well lately but watch out, these lefties get Skubal twice in a seven-day period.
Bo Naylor has six hits in his last four games, and outside of those two upcoming matchups with Skubal he should be a decent back-end streaming catcher for power.
Six games at home this week, so you know the drill.
Hunter Goodman is the only Rockies hitter you start day in and day out.
Mickey Moniak won’t play against lefties but he can mash at home.
Ezequiel Tovar is a demon in Coors with a .952 OPS, and should be dropped when they hit the road thanks to his .494 OPS away.
Riley Greene is the only part of this offense I feel confident in.
The Tigers offense has perked up with some recent soft matchups and facing the back half of the Cleveland and Atlanta rotations should help keep that ball rolling.
Spencer Torkelson is walking more and is knocking on the door to 30 home runs on the season, but the counting stats aren’t quite what you’d hope for from a 30-home run bat.
Parker Meadows is leading off against righties while swinging a hot bat and is a nice plug-n-play into your lineups if you need some pop and speed.
Gleyber Torres is best deployed in points leagues, and in standard leagues is halfway between streamer and desperate.
Yordan Alvarez has a 180 wRC+ in September so far.
Christian Walker is striking out more lately and walking less, but still has strong ratios over his last nine games and plenty of counting stats.
Jeremy Peña is peppering plenty of singles but the extra-base hits are a bit few and far between. Shortstop is tough and he does still lead off, but if you need specific category juice in a desperate way, he might not be the guy you’re looking for.
Carlos Correa has been incredibly unlucky in his counting stats in September, as 15 hits with three doubles and three home runs should get a lot more than 6 RBI. For example, his teammate Yainer Diaz has 14 hits with five doubles and one home run, but has 10 RBI to go with them.
Jake Meyers is hot right now and can steal a few bases from time to time.
The core of this offense is grooving again, and while they have some tougher matchups over the next week, Bobby wiit Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez, and Maikel Garcia can remained locked into in your lineups.
Mike Yastrzemski leads off, hitting in front of the four good hitters in this lineup. He hasn’t produced much out of that spot, but those in very deep formats can likely appreciate his opportunity.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Jo Adell can’t be benched right now. He’s too hot.
Zach Neto is a top-50 hitter, if not top-40, and it’d be a pretty unique situation for me to suggest benching him.
Mike Trout’s home run drought is over! Still, he’s not hitting all that much and outside of taking a bunch of walks, there’s not much to be excited about at the moment.
Yoán Moncada is hitting third now and has not been useless. I guess, technically speaking, you could do worse for a stopgap third baseman.
Nolan Schanuel is a decent streamer in OBP and points leagues when healthy.
Will Smith did not avoid the IL like I hoped and can be dropped in playoff formats that end before the end of the season.
Teoscar Hernández is on fire over his last five games, with three home runs, seven runs scored, and six RBI. If you’ve held on this long, you might as well let it ride as he’s notoriously streaky.
Remember how I said Mookie Betts would be only marginally useful unless “he becomes a very different hitter in September than he has been for the majority of the season”? That’s what has happened. His four home runs and 16 RBI in September are close to his entire output from July and August combined.
Max Muncy is sitting against lefties and does not look much like the locked-in hitter he was before hitting the IL. Still, he’s eligible at third base and can sock dingers.
Jakob Marsee has just one home run and one steal on the month with a .264 average and an average walk rate. I think there should be more walks and steals here, but if they don’t show up, he’ll keep dropping tiers.
Otto Lopez can hit for a strong average and doesn’t strike out, but the batting average will likely be empty (14 of his 16 hits this month are singles), making him better in points leagues than anything else.
Xavier Edwards isn’t running or hitting, and while he certainly has upside, there’s precious little time to wait and see if it shows up this season.
Agustín Ramírez gets enough volume while hitting in the heart of a bad lineup to be worthy of consideration as a streaming catcher, but that’s about it.
Kyle Stowers probably won’t be back in time to help you.
Jackson Chourio is dialed in as the table-setter in this offense and you gotta love it.
Brice Turang hit fifth on Sunday and I’m not sure what to make of it yet, but you need to keep starting him.
Sal Frelick is leading off again for a good offense, and that’s worth something.
Isaac Collins had a lot of good fortune in a recent hot streak and the pendulum has begin to swing the other way.
Joey Ortiz is just a desperation fill-in for your middle infield.
Andrew Vaughn and Rhys Hoskins both ride too much pine to be considered in any but the deepest NL-only leagues.
Luke Keaschall hasn’t hit a home run yet in September, but the hits keep coming and he’s swiped five bags, so keep rolling with him.
Royce Lewis continues to fill up the box score, with four home runs and seven steals in his last 15 games. I don’t trust it long term, but lucky for Royce, the remaining term of his 2025 season is not long.
Matt Wallner is a power streamer who produces in bunches.
Trevor Larnach is hitting second if you’re in dire need of plate appearances and mild-to-moderate pop in an outfielder.
Kody Clemens had a three homer game and that’s really cool. He’s not really anything but a desperation play for very deep leagues, but it was still a fun night.
You don’t need much on the three core pieces of this lineup.
Mark Vientos has screeched to a halt in September, with just a .686 OPS this month. He’s still playing every day and hitting in the middle of the order so I’m not dropping him yet, but there’s a chance that his hot streak was a flash in the pan.
Brandon Nimmo has slowed down considerably as well but I’m hoping that part of the issue was just a wave of left-handed starters on the mound.
Jeff McNeil’s plate discipline is fine, but his 82.9 mph average exit velocity in his last 10 games has led to a single measly single and one lonely RBI. Second base has several streamers these days so I’d be looking around in a hurry.
Brett Baty is in a full platoon and that hurts.
Francisco Alvarez is a power streamer at catcher at best and didn’t look as good as I hoped when he was activated earlier this month.
The heart of this lineup should be in your lineup every day. Ben Rice is part of that.
Trent Grisham had a rough week as the strikeouts have mounted, but it’s worth noting that he’s still hitting the ball awfully hard during this mini-slump and I think he will bounce back quickly.
Giancarlo Stanton is the epitome of streaky power. I bet he wrecks havoc on the O’s when he heads there later this week.
Paul Goldschmidt only plays against lefties.
Anthony Volpe hasn’t hit the IL but is not an option right now in standard leagues. José Caballero is getting playing time in his place, but I don’t think it’s permanent.
The offense has turned it on in a big way this month and you should trying to get every piece of it you can.
J.T. Realmuto gets a lot of volume at catcher and hits fourth behind three of baseball’s finest hitters. That’s it.
Harrison Bader and Brandon Marsh, and to a lesser extent Max Kepler, have upside while they run hot but injuries and streakiness have plagued all of them over their careers.
Nick Castellanos has been a roster casualty due to Bader, Kepler, and Marsh getting hot, but should any of them falter, Casty will get back into the lineup regularly.
Alec Bohm should be back after the minimum stay, so either this weekend or early next week. Trea Turner also shouldn’t be on the shelf long, so both can be held on your IL.
Y’all this offense is really bad.
Oneil Cruz needs to be kept in dynasty and keeper formats but in standard redraft, he’s just a source of speed right now.
Spencer Horwitz is a high floor, low ceiling streamer best suited to OBP and points.
Jared Triolo leads off and can be slotted into the MI or CI spot. The hits fall in bunches with limited pop, but they do indeed fall.
Nick Gonzales plays almost every day and has some pop, but the bad has outweighed the good far too often.
This is one of the best hitting situations over the next three series and you should try to take advantage as much as you can.
Fernando Tatis Jr. rediscovered the power stroke and it’s all very exciting. That said, a chunk of that newfound success might have been because of really soft opponents (in Coors, then home against the Reds and Rockies).
Luis Arraez helps ratios and that’s it.
Jackson Merrill finally flashed the power we got so excited about last season, and while I’d love to buy in harder, it’s worth noting that all four of his home runs this month were against Colorado pitching.
Ramón Laureano did not take advantage of the soft schedule in the same way his teammates did and it concerns me, especially because all of this production was basically out of nowhere and is hard to really trust.
Gavin Sheets is hot right now, and again, some of that might be the easy pitching they’ve seen of late. Still, he has plenty of power if you need a streamer.
Jake Cronenworth gets this sweet schedule.
Jose Iglesias will play most days and can provide a little contact and speed, especially in Coors.
Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, and Matt Chapman had a great time in Coors and will hopefully bring some of that swagger into the next three series. Don’t be shocked if there’s a tiny hangover, though, as that’s part of the Coors effect.
Heliot Ramos and Rafael Devers are ice cold. The former is always streaky and is somewhere between streamer and desperate depending on how much you need power and how many OF you need to roster. The latter needs to stay in your lineup.
Patrick Bailey is extremely hot right now, and while I generally don’t buy it (we’ve seen this before and it’s mostly driven by line drives and luck), you could do worse for the next week or two if you’re desperate.
The top five hitters in this lineup are all hitting a ton and should stay in your lineups every single day.
Randy Arozarena and Jorge Polanco have a bit more up and down in their nature and don’t have the extreme hot streaks of Eugenio to balance it out at times, so they have just a little less trust. If either slumped hard for a week or two, we’d be asking the tough questions. Right now, though, keep them in.
Eugenio Suárez is cold, and that’s because he’s an extremely streaky power hitter. I guess cold is an understatement, in that he’s 0-28 in his last seven games with four walks and 12 strikeouts. If you want to bench him for a few games, fine, but note that he could blast two homers at any moment.
J.P. Crawford doesn’t get the volume he used to as a leadoff hitter, but he does play every day and is putting the ball in play a ton, which is nice when the next five hitters after you are crushing the ball.
vs. SFG, @ SEA, @ MIL
Iván Herrera and Willson Contreras are solid fantasy catchers that I’d just leave in my lineups for the rest of the season.
Lars Nootbaar didn’t lose his job and is hitting fifth, which isn’t the worst.
Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan can provide ratios and little else. I prefer Donovan of the two by a decent amount, but not enough to call either a solid start.
Alec Burleson is back as well and is hitting third, albeit for this lackluster offense. He doesn’t have a ton of power, but he does put up good enough ratios to be a balanced, if low-ceiling option.
Victor Scott II can steal bases sometimes if you’re desperate.
vs. CLE, @ CHW, @ CHC
Tampa is at home all week, which means they are better-than-usual as streamers.
Brandon Lowe has always been extremely streaky, but hopefully some extra time in his tiny home park can turn things around for him.
Josh Lowe is also extremely streaky, but I’m less optimistic about this Lowe.
Chandler Simpson isn’t running at nearly the clip we came to expect after his debut, but batting average is also a stat and he does that. As a leadoff hitter, though, he scores surprisingly few runs.
Jake Mangum can be considered a streamer in points leagues.
Jake Burger is and always has been a guy who goes streaking, and if you need power in the corners then look no further. Just keep an eye on the strikeouts as they usually act as a harbinger of the cold streaks.
Josh Jung has cooled off a ton and isn’t walking.
Josh Smith and Joc Pederson are somewhat viable in deep leagues, but they’d be someone I was always looking to upgrade from.
I did not expect George Springer and Bo Bichette to be such fantastic contributors this season, but here we are.
Alejandro Kirk doesn’t have a ton of power but he puts the ball in play and hits in a sweet part of the lineup. He’s less hot than he was before, so if you need something besides ratios you might need to go search the wire.
Daulton Varsho has cooled off because this is the nature of his game. In three outfield leagues, you can go find the next schmo who flows.
Addison Barger is streamable as a third baseman but if you were solely using him in the outfield you can likely find better options.
Nathan Lukes is hitting second, which is mildly interesting for deep league managers.
Holy cow, Josh Bell. Out of nowhere. Gotta ride this train while it’s on the tracks, even if long-term he’s just a replacement-level first baseman.
CJ Abrams is running a bit, despite the lack of hits, but I’m worried about his streaky nature in these desperate times.
Daylen Lile wasn’t that highly regarded as a prospect but he does have a decent hit tool with just enough pop to make it count and enough speed to be interesting in short spurts. He puts the ball in play, too, so he’s quite points league friendly. Just don’t expect him to walk.
I don’t love that Dylan Crews was caught in his only stolen base attempt so far in September, but he’s smacked a few home runs and the strikeouts have come down so perhaps he gives us one more flash of upside before the season is out. In theory, he’s a better version of Daylen Lile, though there may not be enough time left in 2025 for that to play out the way I expect.
Keibert Ruiz will be a volume-based desperation catcher in points leagues if activated.
Photo by Icon Sportswire | Design by J.R. Caines (@JRCainesDesign on Twitter and @caines_design on Instagram)