Fantasy Baseball 2014: Updating the Top 150 Big Board, Week 11

With the 2014 baseball season going full tilt, the fantasy version of the sport needs all kinds of attention. Like, every-week attention—lest we fickle owners get frustrated and cranky, and that just isn't good for anyone.

With that in mind, it's time for the weekly update of the Big Board, which focuses on evaluating players' values over the rest of the season. Below is a ranking of the top 150 players from now until the end of September. With opinions and circumstances changing since the last iteration (which was two weeks ago, due to the MLB draft last week), including player performances, transactions and injuries, a refreshing is in order.

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

Before getting to that, though, some housekeeping is needed, 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 2013 or 10 games in 2014.

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(S)	LAST
150	Howie Kendrick	Angels	2B
149	C.J. Wilson	Angels	SP
148	Adam Lind	Blue Jays	1B	NR
147	Xander Bogaerts	Red Sox	SS/3B	NR
146	Daniel Murphy	Mets	2B
145	Huston Street	Padres	RP
144	Brian McCann	Yankees	C	127
143	Carlos Santana	Indians	C/1B/3B
142	Chris Archer	Rays	SP
141	Shelby Miller	Cardinals	SP
140	Joe Mauer	Twins	C/1B	116
139	Cliff Lee	Phillies	SP	51
138	John Lackey	Red Sox	SP	NR
137	Rafael Soriano	Nationals	RP
136	David Robertson	Yankees	RP
135	Francisco Rodriguez	Brewers	RP	112
134	Matt Cain	Giants	SP	120
133	Eric Hosmer	Royals	1B	113
132	Yordano Ventura	Royals	SP
131	Gerrit Cole	Pirates	SP	61
130	Jonathan Singleton	Astros	1B	NR
129	Evan Gattis	Braves	C/OF	NR
128	Kyle Seager	Mariners	3B	148
127	Mat Latos	Reds	SP	NR
126	Tyson Ross	Padres	SP
125	Ian Kennedy	Padres	SP	144
124	Pablo Sandoval	Giants	3B	134
123	Brett Gardner	Yankees	OF
122	Desmond Jennings	Rays	OF
121	Matt Kemp	Dodgers	OF
120	Manny Machado	Orioles	3B	93
119	Nolan Arenado	Rockies	3B
118	Brandon Belt	Giants	1B
117	Jean Segura	Brewers	SS
116	Brett Lawrie	Blue Jays	2B	128
115	Angel Pagan	Giants	OF	NR
114	Tim Hudson	Giants	SP	135
113	Justin Morneau	Rockies	1B
112	Jason Heyward	Braves	OF
111	Alex Cobb	Rays	SP
110	Todd Frazier	Reds	3B	NR
109	Gregory Polanco	Pirates	OF	NR
108	Billy Hamilton	Reds	OF
107	Justin Verlander	Tigers	SP	48
106	Andrew Cashner	Padres	SP	126
105	Jonathan Lucroy	Brewers	C
104	Bryce Harper	Nationals	OF	121
103	Ryan Zimmerman	Nationals	3B/OF	117
102	Starling Marte	Pirates	OF	83
101	Allen Craig	Cardinals	1B/OF
100	Scott Kazmir	Athletics	SP	123
99	Mike Morse	Giants	OF	122
98	Trevor Rosenthal	Cardinals	RP
97	Garrett Richards	Angels	SP	111
96	Homer Bailey	Reds	SP
95	Mike Napoli	Red Sox	1B	124
94	Jose Reyes	Blue Jays	SS
93	Doug Fister	Nationals	SP
92	Charlie Blackmon	Rockies	OF
91	Pedro Alvarez	Pirates	3B
90	Matt Carpenter	Cardinals	2B/3B
89	Starlin Castro	Cubs	SS
88	Mike Minor	Braves	SP
87	Hyun-Jin Ryu	Dodgers	SP
86	Elvis Andrus	Rangers	SS
85	Glen Perkins	Twins	RP
84	Kenley Jansen	Dodgers	RP
83	Yadier Molina	Cardinals	C	55
82	Jeff Samardzija	Cubs	SP
81	Dee Gordon	Dodgers	2B/SS
80	Anthony Rendon	Nationals	2B/3B
79	Melky Cabrera	Blue Jays	OF
78	Anibal Sanchez	Tigers	SP
77	Corey Kluber	Indians	SP
76	Koji Uehara	Red Sox	RP	86
75	Aroldis Chapman	Reds	RP	97
74	Greg Holland	Royals	RP
73	Craig Kimbrel	Braves	RP
72	Gio Gonzalez	Nationals	SP	98
71	Carlos Gonzalez	Rockies	OF	17
70	Jay Bruce	Reds	OF
69	Buster Posey	Giants	C
68	Jayson Werth	Nationals	OF
67	Michael Brantley	Indians	OF	106
66	Chase Utley	Phillies	2B
65	Ian Desmond	Nationals	SS
64	Josh Hamilton	Angels	OF
63	Sonny Gray	Athletics	SP
62	Matt Holliday	Cardinals	OF
61	Yoenis Cespedes	Athletics	OF
60	Brandon Moss	Athletics	1B/OF
59	Alexei Ramirez	White Sox	SS
58	George Springer	Astros	OF
57	Cole Hamels	Phillies	SP
56	Michael Wacha	Cardinals	SP
55	Evan Longoria	Rays	3B	40
54	Joey Votto	Reds	1B	77
53	Dustin Pedroia	Red Sox	2B
52	James Shields	Royals	SP
51	Jordan Zimmermann	Nationals	SP	62
50	Jon Lester	Red Sox	SP
49	Hisashi Iwakuma	Mariners	SP
48	Alex Rios	Rangers	OF
47	Hunter Pence	Giants	OF
46	Brian Dozier	Twins	2B
45	David Ortiz	Red Sox	UTIL
44	Jason Kipnis	Indians	2B
43	Shin-Soo Choo	Rangers	OF
42	Ian Kinsler	Tigers	2B
41	Anthony Rizzo	Cubs	1B
40	Julio Teheran	Braves	SP
39	Jacoby Ellsbury	Yankees	OF
38	Jose Altuve	Astros	2B
37	David Wright	Mets	3B
36	Adrian Gonzalez	Dodgers	1B
35	Albert Pujols	Angels	1B	21
34	Justin Upton	Braves	OF
33	Adam Wainwright	Cardinals	SP	12
32	Johnny Cueto	Reds	SP
31	David Price	Rays	SP
30	Adrian Beltre	Rangers	3B
29	Chris Sale	White Sox	SP
28	Madison Bumgarner	Giants	SP
27	Zack Greinke	Dodgers	SP
26	Chris Davis	Orioles	1B
25	Ryan Braun	Brewers	OF
24	Jose Abreu	White Sox	1B
23	Stephen Strasburg	Nationals	SP
22	Hanley Ramirez	Dodgers	SS
21	Max Scherzer	Tigers	SP
20	Freddie Freeman	Braves	1B
19	Victor Martinez	Tigers	UTIL
18	Masahiro Tanaka	Yankees	SP
17	Nelson Cruz	Orioles	OF
16	Yu Darvish	Rangers	SP
15	Adam Jones	Orioles	OF
14	Robinson Cano	Mariners	2B
13	Felix Hernandez	Mariners	SP
12	Josh Donaldson	Athletics	3B
11	Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	SP
10	Edwin Encarnacion	Blue Jays	1B
9	Andrew McCutchen	Pirates	OF
8	Yasiel Puig	Dodgers	OF
7	Jose Bautista	Blue Jays	OF
6	Giancarlo Stanton	Marlins	OF
5	Carlos Gomez	Brewers	OF
4	Paul Goldschmidt	Diamondbacks	1B
3	Troy Tulowitzki	Rockies	SS
2	Miguel Cabrera	Tigers	1B/3B
1	Mike Trout	Angels	OF

Ins and Outs

This time around, nine players fell off the Big Board:

• Ben Zobrist: Zobrist went from entirely unremarkable to injured and back to entirely unremarkable.
• Jered Weaver: He's been on the fringes of the Big Board all year long, but there are other, more intriguing names that bumped him off this time. 
• Ervin Santana: So much for that hot start, eh? Over his past six turns, Santana has given up 26 earned in 36.1 frames for a 6.44 ERA.
• Michael Cuddyer: His latest injury, a fracture in his left shoulder socket, is expected to keep Cuddyer out into late July or even August.
• Joe Nathan: Had the Big Board not taken a week off, Nathan would have been cast aside sooner.
• Jhonny Peralta: His 10 homers are still third-most among all shortstops, but Peralta hasn't done much else.
• Sergio Romo: He blew his second straight save Saturday, and all of a sudden Romo's ERA is north of 5.00!
• Oscar Taveras: Unfortunately for one of baseball's best prospects, his first game was the high point of his initial taste of the majors, which came to an end when the Cardinals activated Matt Adams over the weekend.
• Wil Myers: A stress fracture in his wrist will keep Myers out through July—at the very least—and all but ends whatever little fantasy value the disappointing sophomore had left in 2014.

Danny Moloshok/Associated Press

The nine newbies replacing them, highlighted on the Big Board, are:

• Adam Lind: As long as the right-foot contusion he suffered Saturday isn't serious, Lind and his .331 average should continue to play rather well in Toronto's powerful lineup.
• Xander Bogaerts: The power is starting to show up little by little. Bogaerts has three home runs this month, doubling his season total in just 12 games.
• John Lackey: It's now been nearly a season-and-a-half of extremely consistent production from Lackey, who has eight wins to go with his 3.24 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 7.7 K/9.
• Jonathan Singleton: Since debuting June 3, Singleton has hit four homers and driven in 10 in just 46 at-bats over his first dozen games.
• Evan Gattis: Take El Oso Blanco very seriously, as his 15 home runs are six more than any other catcher. The .293 average might not last, but if he hits 25 to 30 out, who really cares?
• Mat Latos: After all sorts of fits and starts in his rehab process, Latos returned Saturday with six scoreless innings in his first outing of 2014. His owners need a big payoff after waiting oh-so-patiently.
• Angel Pagan: Pagan does a little of everything. Actually, in the case of average (.307), runs (37) and steals (11), he does quite a lot.
• Todd Frazier: His June homer binge—five in 13 games—gets Frazier a nice spot on the Board for the first time this year.
• Gregory Polanco: Having finally made his big league debut last week, let's hope Polanco is more George Springer, who's in a prime position on the Big Board, than Oscar Taveras, who just fell off.

On the Bubble

Because you're probably wondering about some players just outside the top 150, disregarding those who fell off this week, that list includes:

• Adam LaRoche, Kendrys Morales, Dallas Keuchel, Rajai Davis, Christian Yelich, Matt Adams, Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon, Joakim Soria, Jimmy Rollins, Lance Lynn, Torii Hunter and Alex Gordon

Keep in mind: When a few players at the same position are bunched together—like closers Rafael Soriano, David Robertson and Francisco Rodriguez—it means they're more or less in the same boat, with no clear favorite at the moment.

That can and will change as more information, news, injuries and performances come to light. But for now, when players are grouped, consider their value to your team based more on specific category need than overall ranking.

Risers and Fallers

The right-most column marked "LAST" on the Big Board indicates a player who rose or fell in the rankings by at least 10 spots in either direction from the previous edition. Similar to the new additions, players who saw their value improve by that margin are highlighted.

Here are the reasons for some of the biggest risers this week:

• Ian Kennedy: He's made 14 starts so far, and in eight of them, Kennedy has whiffed at least as many men as innings pitched. For the season, his 9.5 K/9 is in the top 15 among starters.
• Tim Hudson: Ladies and gents, your major league ERA leader!
• Andrew Cashner: He hasn't been dominant since coming off the disabled list, but at least Cashner is back, looking healthy and throwing well.
• Bryce Harper: With each passing week, Harper is getting closer and closer to making it back from his thumb injury, so he gets a bump here as a reminder.
• Ryan Zimmerman: Speaking of Nationals hitters who suffered thumb injuries, Zimmerman already is back—and has added outfield eligibility to give him a little more fantasy value.
• Scott Kazmir: Dude just keeps pitching like a stud, having given up all of seven earned runs over his past seven starts. Wow.
• Gio Gonzalez: The strikeout-heavy southpaw threw well in his most recent rehab outing and declared himself ready to return, per James Wagner of The Washington Post.
• Joey Votto: Just getting back on the field is enough to give Votto a Board boost—for now. He'll need to show he can stay healthy—not to mention, hit—to deserve the hike, though.
• Jordan Zimmermann: Allowing only 12 baserunners and just one run while whiffing 21 over his past three starts (25.0 innings) is plenty to bump up Zimmermann.

Meanwhile, the big fallers dropped because of the following:

• Joe Mauer: The only fantasy category where Mauer is even close to expectations—let alone league average—is runs scored with 33. Say it ain't so, Joe.
• Cliff Lee: His left elbow strain has become a very real concern given Lee's slow recovery; he only just made 40 throws off flat ground last week, according to Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly. A return before August might be unrealistic at this point.
• Gerrit Cole: On the disabled list with right-shoulder fatigue? Yep, that's worrisome enough to knock Cole back, especially when his performance in his second season was little more than decent—when he was healthy.
• Manny Machado: He hasn't been all that great after getting off to a late start in 2014 while recovering from his knee surgery, and at some point Machado will have to serve a suspension for his immature actions last weekend.
• Justin Verlander: Welp, Verlander has been downright awful of late. In his past six starts stretching across 37.2 frames, he's allowed 35 runs (31 earned). That's a 7.31 ERA, folks.
• Starling Marte: Hope you didn't jump too hard onto the Marte bandwagon prior to the season; he's been wholly underwhelming in his second full season, with only his 16 steals propping up his value.
• Yadier Molina: Since his average was last at .330 on May 24, Molina has gone 8-for-57 (.140) with only one extra-base hit (a double) and two RBI. Ooof.
• Carlos Gonzalez: After dealing with left-index finger inflammation for several weeks, Gonzalez finally hit the DL and underwent surgery to see what the problem was. Turns out, he had a tumor removed, per Nick Groke of The Denver Post, which could keep him out until late July or even August.
• Adam Wainwright: Just when it seemed like elbow injuries had taken out practically every big-name pitcher, Waino came down with a sore wing. The hope, though, is that elbow tendinitis will cost him but one start. Fingers crossed. 

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

The Wrapup

Now is about the point in the fantasy baseball season when simply paying attention can go a long way in the standings.

Between the NBA and NHL Finals (just about over) and the World Cup (just getting underway), there are all sorts of other distractions to take your focus away from MLB.

Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press

But doing the little things—like setting your lineup every day (or week), making sure you don't have any players on the disabled list "active," and monitoring the waiver wire for streaking players—can be enough to give you a leg up on other owners who may have started to lose interest if they're not in first, second or third place. Or if they've really been enjoying all the basketball, hockey and/or soccer.

So stay on top of your squad. If you do, you might wind up on top of your standings.

Statistics are accurate through Saturday, June 14, and come from MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs.com, except where otherwise noted.

To talk baseball or fantasy baseball, check in with me on Twitter: @JayCat11