Fantasy Baseball 2015: B/R's 1st Top 150 Big Board as Spring Approaches

With the 2015 baseball season nearing—pitchers and catchers report next week!—the fantasy version of the sport needs all kinds of attention. Like, right now. Because we fantasy folk can be an insecure lot, and we'll spend the next few weeks poring over names, statistics and information to prepare for drafts.

With that in mind, it's time to focus on stacking up players based on their value going forward. That's where the first Big Board of the year comes into play.

Below is a fantasy ranking of the top 150 players from now through draft season—and, in theory, through the end of September.

With opinions and circumstances changing oh-so-much over the offseason, thanks to various player performances, transactions and injuries, a complete, one-stop-shopping rundown is a good place to start.

Think of this as your security blanket in an otherwise insecure world.

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

Before getting to that, though, some housekeeping is in order, as this lengthy list of the top talents comes with a few key qualifications.

First, everything is based on 10- or 12-team mixed leagues with standard 5x5 rotisserie scoring for hitters (BA, R, HR, RBI, SB) and pitchers (W, ERA, WHIP, K, SV).

Second, lineup construction accounts for 22 active roster positions, consisting of one each for catcher, first base, second base, third base, shortstop, corner infield, middle infield and utility, along with five outfielders and nine pitchers.

And third, to be eligible at a particular position, players must have played at least 20 games there in 2014 or 10 games in 2015 (or be projected to play there regularly).

With that out of the way, get ready to count down, starting with No. 150 and working all the way to No. 1.

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION	PREVIOUS
150	Adam Eaton	White Sox	OF
149	Phil Hughes	Twins	SP
148	Leonys Martin	Rangers	OF
147	Charlie Blackmon	Rockies	OF
146	Joc Pederson	Dodgers	OF
145	Anibal Sanchez	Tigers	SP
144	Yordano Ventura	Royals	SP
143	Andrew Cashner	Padres	SP
142	Denard Span	Nationals	OF
141	Brett Gardner	Yankees	OF
140	Jayson Werth	Nationals	OF
139	Neil Walker	Pirates	2B
138	Starlin Castro	Cubs	SS
137	Doug Fister	Nationals	SP
136	Carlos Carrasco	Indians	SP/RP
135	Gio Gonzalez	Nationals	SP
134	Yasmany Tomas	Diamondbacks	3B/OF
133	Manny Machado	Orioles	3B
132	Melky Cabrera	White Sox	OF
131	Koji Uehara	Red Sox	RP
130	Huston Street	Angels	RP
129	Mark Melancon	Pirates	RP
128	Cody Allen	Indians	RP
127	Drew Storen	Nationals	RP
126	Howie Kendrick	Dodgers	2B
125	Evan Gattis	Astros	C/OF
124	Wil Myers	Padres	OF
123	Kolten Wong	Cardinals	2B
122	Brian McCann	Yankees	C
121	Daniel Murphy	Mets	2B
120	Masahiro Tanaka	Yankees	SP
119	Garrett Richards	Angels	SP
118	Jhonny Peralta	Cardinals	SS
117	Xander Bogaerts	Red Sox	3B/SS
116	Kris Bryant	Cubs	3B
115	Alex Gordon	Royals	OF
114	Kole Calhoun	Angels	OF
113	Rusney Castillo	Red Sox	OF
112	Tyson Ross	Padres	SP
111	Hisashi Iwakuma	Mariners	SP
110	Alexei Ramirez	White Sox	SS
109	Jimmy Rollins	Dodgers	SS
108	Alex Wood	Braves	SP/RP
107	Chris Archer	Rays	SP
106	Zack Wheeler	Mets	SP
105	Marcus Stroman	Blue Jays	SP
104	Gerrit Cole	Pirates	SP
103	Jake Arrieta	Cubs	SP
102	Jacob deGrom	Mets	SP
101	Jose Quintana	White Sox	SP
100	Lance Lynn	Cardinals	SP
99	Gregory Polanco	Pirates	OF
98	Mookie Betts	Red Sox	OF
97	Jorge Soler	Cubs	OF
96	Marcell Ozuna	Marlins	OF
95	J.D. Martinez	Tigers	OF
94	Alex Cobb	Rays	SP
93	David Wright	Mets	3B
92	Ryan Zimmerman	Nationals	1B/3B/OF
91	Pablo Sandoval	Red Sox	3B
90	Matt Carpenter	Cardinals	3B
89	Nelson Cruz	Mariners	OF
88	Shin-Soo Choo	Rangers	OF
87	Matt Holliday	Cardinals	OF
86	Jay Bruce	Reds	OF
85	Yan Gomes	Indians	C
84	Devin Mesoraco	Reds	C
83	Dellin Betances	Yankees	RP
82	David Robertson	White Sox	RP
81	Trevor Rosenthal	Cardinals	RP
80	Matt Harvey	Mets	SP
79	Jonathan Lucroy	Brewers	C
78	James Shields	Padres	SP
77	Sonny Gray	Athletics	SP
76	Greg Holland	Royals	RP
75	Kenley Jansen	Dodgers	RP
74	Jeff Samardzija	White Sox	SP
73	Prince Fielder	Rangers	1B
72	Jason Heyward	Cardinals	OF
71	David Ortiz	Red Sox	UTIL
70	Albert Pujols	Angels	1B
69	Dee Gordon	Marlins	2B
68	Billy Hamilton	Reds	OF
67	Yoenis Cespedes	Tigers	OF
66	Carlos Santana	Indians	1B/3B
65	Chris Davis	Orioles	1B/3B
64	Joey Votto	Reds	1B
63	Julio Teheran	Braves	SP
62	Aroldis Chapman	Reds	RP
61	Craig Kimbrel	Braves	RP
60	Buster Posey	Giants	C/1B
59	Starling Marte	Pirates	OF
58	Ryan Braun	Brewers	OF
57	Brian Dozier	Twins	2B
56	Jason Kipnis	Indians	2B
55	Dustin Pedroia	Red Sox	2B
54	Matt Kemp	Padres	OF
53	Carlos Gonzalez	Rockies	OF
52	Christian Yelich	Marlins	OF
51	George Springer	Astros	OF
50	Todd Frazier	Reds	1B/3B
49	Nolan Arenado	Rockies	3B
48	Evan Longoria	Rays	3B
47	Ian Kinsler	Tigers	2B
46	Corey Dickerson	Rockies	OF
45	Freddie Freeman	Braves	1B
44	Cole Hamels	Phillies	SP
43	Adam Wainwright	Cardinals	SP
42	Victor Martinez	Tigers	1B
41	Jon Lester	Cubs	SP
40	Zack Greinke	Dodgers	SP
39	Johnny Cueto	Reds	SP
38	Yu Darvish	Rangers	SP
37	Kyle Seager	Mariners	3B
36	Hunter Pence	Giants	OF
35	Jose Reyes	Blue Jays	SS
34	Adrian Gonzalez	Dodgers	1B
33	Jordan Zimmermann	Nationals	SP
32	Madison Bumgarner	Giants	SP
31	Jacoby Ellsbury	Yankees	OF
30	Justin Upton	Padres	OF
29	Hanley Ramirez	Red Sox	SS/OF
28	Bryce Harper	Nationals	OF
27	Josh Donaldson	Blue Jays	3B
26	Ian Desmond	Nationals	SS
25	Chris Sale	White Sox	SP
24	Corey Kluber	Indians	SP
23	David Price	Tigers	SP
22	Stephen Strasburg	Nationals	SP
21	Max Scherzer	Nationals	SP
20	Michael Brantley	Indians	OF
19	Felix Hernandez	Mariners	SP
18	Adrian Beltre	Rangers	3B
17	Troy Tulowitzki	Rockies	SS
16	Adam Jones	Orioles	OF
15	Anthony Rizzo	Cubs	1B
14	Yasiel Puig	Dodgers	OF
13	Jose Altuve	Astros	2B
12	Anthony Rendon	Nationals	2B/3B
11	Robinson Cano	Mariners	2B
10	Edwin Encarnacion	Blue Jays	1B
9	Jose Bautista	Blue Jays	OF
8	Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	SP
7	Miguel Cabrera	Tigers	1B
6	Jose Abreu	White Sox	1B
5	Carlos Gomez	Brewers	OF
4	Paul Goldschmidt	Diamondbacks	1B
3	Giancarlo Stanton	Marlins	OF
2	Andrew McCutchen	Pirates	OF
1	Mike Trout	Angels	OF

Ins and Outs

Now that the initial Big Board for the 2015 fantasy baseball season has been established, this is the section in future rankings where we'll review the players who jumped on/off the board from the previous iteration.

While those who drop out receive a brief write-up explaining the decision, those who join the mix will get the same treatment, along with the added benefit of being highlighted.

Mark Duncan/Associated Press

On the Bubble

Because you're probably wondering about some players just outside the top 150, that list includes:

• Sal Perez, Yadier Molina, Justin Morneau, Eric Hosmer, Brandon Belt, Adam LaRoche, Lucas Duda, Mark Trumbo, Jedd Gyorko, Pedro Alvarez, Aramis Ramirez, Nick Castellanos, Josh Harrison, Elvis Andrus, Ben Zobrist, Javier Baez, Jung-ho Kang, Oswaldo Arcia, Khris Davis, Avisail Garcia, Ben Revere, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Matt Cain, Homer Bailey, Drew Smyly, Michael Wacha, Kevin Gausman, Steve Cishek, Fernando Rodney, Jonathan Papelbon

Keep in mind: When a few players at the same position are bunched together—like outfielders J.D. Martinez, Marcell Ozuna, Jorge Soler, Mookie Betts, Gregory Polanco—it means they're more or less in the same boat, with no clear-cut favorite at the moment.

That can and will change as more information, news, injuries and performances come to light. After all, it's not even spring yet, and camps across Arizona and Florida are just getting underway. But for now, when players are grouped, consider their value to your team based more on specific category need than overall ranking.

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press/Associated Press

Risers and Fallers

Similar to the "Ins and Outs" portion above, this segment of the board will be updated each time, focusing on players who rose or fell in the rankings by more than 10 spots in either direction.

This is indicated on the table in the right-most column marked "Previous." Similar to the new additions, players who see their value improve by that margin are highlighted.

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Wrapping Up

Are you ready?

This is our time. Spring training is here, and owners everywhere will consume all the fantasy-related content they can cram into their craniums as players settle into new teams and new roles.

It might feel early to start getting reacquainted with your passion for America's (fantasy) pastime, but the longer you put things off, the more you'll have to catch up later—and the further ahead you'll be letting your competition get.

Now that you've perused the board and digested the players projected to be the 150 best, get ready for plenty more fantasy filings to start rolling out, starting with position rankings.

Next week brings the top 20 catchers, top 25 first basemen and top 25 second basemen, and we'll go from there.

Are you ready? Maybe not yet, but don't worry: You will be.

Statistics are accurate through the 2014 season and come from MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs.com, except where otherwise noted.

Need more fantasy baseball help? Have a comment about the rankings? Come pepper me with your thoughts and questions on Twitter today at 2 p.m. ET: @JayCat11