Fantasy Baseball 2014: Updating Top 150 Big Board with 1 Month to Go

With the 2014 baseball season nearing the end, the fantasy version of the sport still needs all kinds of attention, lest we fickle fantasy team owners get frustrated and cranky. And that just isn't good for anyone.

With that in mind, it's time for an 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, 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	LAST
150	Homer Bailey	Reds	SP	69
149	Brian McCann	Yankees	C
148	Tim Hudson	Giants	SP
147	John Lackey	Cardinals	SP
146	Manny Machado	Orioles	3B	85
145	Salvador Perez	Royals	C
144	Gerrit Cole	Pirates	SP
143	Elvis Andrus	Rangers	SS
142	Chris Carter	Astros	1B/OF	NR
141	Desmond Jennings	Rays	OF
140	Josh Harrison	Pirates	2B/3B/OF	NR
139	Josh Hamilton	Angels	OF	109
138	Mike Napoli	Red Sox	1B
137	Evan Gattis	Braves	C/OF	115
136	Pedro Alvarez	Pirates	1B	116
135	Danny Duffy	Royals	SP/RP	NR
134	Dallas Keuchel	Astros	SP	NR
133	Matt Carpenter	Cardinals	2B/3B
132	Ian Kennedy	Padres	SP
131	Javier Baez	Cubs	2B/SS
130	Marcus Stroman	Blue Jays	SP/RP
129	Yordano Ventura	Royals	SP	108
128	Jake Odorizzi	Rays	SP	NR
127	Alex Wood	Braves	SP/RP	140
126	Rick Porcello	Tigers	SP
125	Jose Quintana	White Sox	SP
124	Torii Hunter	Tigers	OF	NR
123	Aramis Ramirez	Brewers	3B	144
122	Jered Weaver	Angels	SP	136
121	Jonathan Papelbon	Phillies	RP
120	Rafael Soriano	Nationals	RP
119	Adam LaRoche	Nationals	1B	147
118	Marlon Byrd	Phillies	OF
117	J.D. Martinez	Tigers	OF
116	Kole Calhoun	Angels	OF	NR
115	Rajai Davis	Tigers	OF	135
114	Daniel Murphy	Mets	2B	129
113	Jake Arrieta	Cubs	SP
112	Khris Davis	Brewers	OF	134
111	Jimmy Rollins	Phillies	SS
110	Charlie Blackmon	Rockies	OF
109	Jason Heyward	Braves	OF
108	Matt Adams	Cardinals	1B
107	Alexei Ramirez	White Sox	SS
106	Francisco Rodriguez	Brewers	RP	120
105	David Robertson	Yankees	RP	119
104	Huston Street	Angels	RP	117
103	Corey Dickerson	Rockies	OF	127
102	Chase Utley	Phillies	2B
101	Devin Mesoraco	Reds	C	123
100	Gio Gonzalez	Nationals	SP
99	Glen Perkins	Twins	RP
98	Sean Doolittle	Athletics	RP
97	Hyun-Jin Ryu	Dodgers	SP	77
96	Alex Cobb	Rays	SP	114
95	Christian Yelich	Marlins	OF
94	Gregory Polanco	Pirates	OF
93	Zack Wheeler	Mets	SP	104
92	Tanner Roark	Nationals	SP
91	Lance Lynn	Cardinals	SP
90	Jay Bruce	Reds	OF	79
89	Chris Davis	Orioles	1B
88	David Wright	Mets	3B
87	Nolan Arenado	Rockies	3B
86	George Springer	Astros	OF
85	Carlos Santana	Indians	C/1B/3B
84	Dustin Pedroia	Red Sox	2B
83	Jason Kipnis	Indians	2B
82	Chris Archer	Rays	SP	93
81	Matt Holliday	Cardinals	OF
80	Mat Latos	Reds	SP
79	Bryce Harper	Nationals	OF
78	Tyson Ross	Padres	SP
77	Pablo Sandoval	Giants	3B	90
76	Matt Kemp	Dodgers	OF	89
75	James Shields	Royals	SP	88
74	Scott Kazmir	Athletics	SP
73	Starlin Castro	Cubs	SS
72	Justin Morneau	Rockies	1B
71	Jonathan Lucroy	Brewers	C
70	Brandon Moss	Athletics	1B/OF
69	Kenley Jansen	Dodgers	RP
68	Trevor Rosenthal	Cardinals	RP
67	Koji Uehara	Red Sox	RP
66	Jose Reyes	Blue Jays	SS
65	Buster Posey	Giants	C/1B
64	Jeff Samardzija	Athletics	SP
63	Jayson Werth	Nationals	OF
62	Greg Holland	Royals	RP
61	Aroldis Chapman	Reds	RP
60	Craig Kimbrel	Braves	RP
59	Hanley Ramirez	Dodgers	SS	46
58	Brett Gardner	Yankees	OF
57	Evan Longoria	Rays	3B
56	Yoenis Cespedes	Red Sox	OF
55	Doug Fister	Nationals	SP
54	Sonny Gray	Athletics	SP
53	Hisashi Iwakuma	Mariners	SP
52	Jordan Zimmermann	Nationals	SP
51	Justin Upton	Braves	OF
50	Ian Kinsler	Tigers	2B
49	David Ortiz	Red Sox	UTIL
48	Brian Dozier	Twins	2B
47	Ian Desmond	Nationals	SS	59
46	Yu Darvish	Rangers	SP	12
45	Ryan Braun	Brewers	OF	29
44	Jon Lester	Athletics	SP
43	Anthony Rendon	Nationals	2B/3B
42	Julio Teheran	Braves	SP
41	Madison Bumgarner	Giants	SP
40	Nelson Cruz	Orioles	OF
39	Stephen Strasburg	Nationals	SP
38	Adrian Gonzalez	Dodgers	1B
37	Albert Pujols	Angels	1B
36	Hunter Pence	Giants	OF
35	Kyle Seager	Mariners	3B
34	Melky Cabrera	Blue Jays	OF	48
33	Josh Donaldson	Athletics	3B
32	Freddie Freeman	Braves	1B
31	Cole Hamels	Phillies	SP
30	Zack Greinke	Dodgers	SP
29	Garrett Richards	Angels	SP	43
28	Todd Frazier	Reds	3B
27	Jacoby Ellsbury	Yankees	OF
26	Billy Hamilton	Reds	OF
25	Dee Gordon	Dodgers	2B/SS	55
24	Adam Wainwright	Cardinals	SP	13
23	Anthony Rizzo	Cubs	1B
22	Andrew McCutchen	Pirates	OF
21	Adrian Beltre	Rangers	3B
20	Jose Altuve	Astros	2B
19	Edwin Encarnacion	Blue Jays	1B	39
18	Victor Martinez	Tigers	1B
17	Michael Brantley	Indians	OF
16	Corey Kluber	Indians	SP
15	Max Scherzer	Tigers	SP	26
14	Chris Sale	White Sox	SP
13	Yasiel Puig	Dodgers	OF
12	Johnny Cueto	Reds	SP
11	David Price	Tigers	SP
10	Jose Bautista	Blue Jays	OF
9	Adam Jones	Orioles	OF
8	Robinson Cano	Mariners	2B
7	Carlos Gomez	Brewers	OF
6	Jose Abreu	White Sox	1B
5	Giancarlo Stanton	Marlins	OF
4	Felix Hernandez	Mariners	SP
3	Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers	SP
2	Miguel Cabrera	Tigers	1B/3B
1	Mike Trout	Angels	OF

Ins and Outs

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

• Troy Tulowitzki: Season-ending hip surgery? Off the Board.
• Carlos Gonzalez: Season-ending knee surgery? Off the Board.
• Anibal Sanchez: While Sanchez's oblique injury isn't expected to keep him out for the rest of the year, it should have him sidelined until September. That's long enough to push a borderline start-him-every-time-out arm outside the top 150.
• Justin Verlander: Everyone should officially be over the idea of Verlander coming around, especially now that he's missing a couple starts with shoulder inflammation.
• Alex Rios: He's been banged up of late and has exactly one home run since May 14. You can drop him if you haven't already.
• Mark Teixeira: If you desperately need power, Teixeira still can provide it, but he and the rest of the Yankees lineup have been in a massive slump lately.
• Shin-Soo Choo: After a season ruined by an early ankle injury combined with ailments to just about every one of his Rangers teammates, it's time to get off the Choo train.

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

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

• Kole Calhoun: Following an early August slump, Calhoun has picked it up, going 15-for-34 (.441) with two homers and seven RBI over his past seven games.
• Torii Hunter: One of these years, the 39-year-old Hunter will slow down. Just not this year.
• Jake Odorizzi: Here are Odorizzi's digits since early May: 3.00 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 120 strikeouts in 102.0 innings.
• Dallas Keuchel: The southpaw has hurled 15 quality starts in 23 outings and has never given up more runs than innings pitched, which makes him consistent and safe.
• Danny Duffy: Somehow Duffy is sporting a 2.60 ERA and 1.09 WHIP on a (surprise) first-place team—hello, Royals!—and is still only 8-10 on the year. Which goes to show: Wins are flukey.
• Josh Harrison: OK, Harrison, you've done enough to earn a spot on this Board—for now—because a .307 average along with double digits in homers (10) and steals (17) can't be overlooked forever.
• Chris Carter: The slugger is still whiffing 30.8 percent of the time on the year, but a furious August (.367 BA, 8 HR, 20 RBI) has him up to a .236 average with 29 homers and 69 RBI.

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

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:

• Henderson Alvarez, Lucas Duda, Mark Trumbo, Jake McGee, Cody Allen, Mark Melancon, Fernando Rodney, Wily Peralta, Neil Walker, Mike Morse, Ervin Santana, Wil Myers, Angel Pagan, Marcell Ozuna, Kyle Lohse, Kolten Wong, Kevin Gausman, Oscar Taveras and Jacob deGrom

Keep in mind: When a few players at the same position are bunched together—like starters Jose Quintana, Rick Porcello, Alex Wood, Jake Odorizzi and Yordano Ventura—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.

Mike Carlson/Getty Images

Risers and Fallers

The right-most column marked "LAST" on the Big Board indicates a player who rose or fell in the rankings by more than 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:

• Max Scherzer: Have you seen what Scherzer's been up to lately? Click and find out.
• Edwin Encarnacion: After missing six weeks with a quad injury, Encarnacion is back and ready to hurt baseballs again. Remember, he can do damage in a hurry. He hit about 74 homers in May. (OK, it was actually 16, but still...)
• Dee Gordon: The MLB stolen base leader—with 56!—already has eight thefts in August, his highest total since 21 in May. He needed to be higher.
• Garrett Richards: Has any pitcher had a bigger breakout 2014 than Richards? The only pitchers who have been as good or better than Richards in wins (13), ERA (2.53), WHIP (1.01) and strikeouts (164) are—get this—Johnny Cueto, Clayton Kershaw and Felix Hernandez. Seriously.
• Melky Cabrera: No, all of Cabrera's production didn't come early on. He's hitting .366 with 19 runs, four homers and 22 RBI in 22 games since the break.
• Ian Desmond: He may be batting only .248 overall, but Desmond will set a career high in RBI (72 closing in on 80) and perhaps even homers (20 closing in on 25). Oh, and with six more swipes, he'll have his third straight 20-20 campaign—all while doing as much at shortstop.
• Matt Kemp: Let's not say he's back to being the Kemp of old, but his .304 average, seven home runs, 20 RBI and three steals (and .950 OPS) in 28 second-half games is a very nice turnaround.
• Alex Cobb: In his last eight starts, Cobb owns a 1.93 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 54 strikeouts in 51.1 frames. He's also 5-0.
• Corey Dickerson: That CarGo guy we mentioned earlier? Yeah, he's out for the year, so Dickerson should be seeing regular run the rest of the way, and he does some of everything (.322 BA, 52 R, 16 HR, 52 RBI, 8 SB).

Meanwhile, the big fallers dropped because of the following:

• Adam Wainwright: While Waino is still an every-time-out kinda guy, he has been a bit shaky since the break with a 4.65 ERA and 47 baserunners in 31.0 innings.
• Ryan Braun: He did manage to homer off Kershaw Saturday, which is something not many have done this year, but since Braun's average peaked at .327 on June 1, he's hitting just .248 with six homers in 61 games.
• Yu Darvish: A disabled list stint for elbow inflammation comes at a bad time for owners of MLB's strikeouts-per-nine leader (11.4).
• Hanley Ramirez: After dealing with all sorts of injuries and ailments all year long, Ramirez finally hit the DL with an oblique strain. It's just not his year.
• Hyun-Jin Ryu: His hip/glute injury might not be serious, but it was enough to put Ryu on the shelf, which is enough to knock him down a peg on the Board.
• Evan Gattis: For a second straight year, a midseason injury killed Gattis' momentum, as he's hitting just .217 with two homers and seven RBI in 22 games since coming back. 
• Josh Hamilton: Imagine how great the Angels offense would be if Hamilton (.266 BA, 35 R, 8 HR, 35 RBI in 72 games) was, you know, good or, heck, even halfway decent.
• Manny Machado: When one's right knee collapses mid-swing, causing one to go down in a heap of pain and resulting in a sprain, one will also go down several spots on the Board.
• Homer Bailey: Just when Bailey was pitching his best (1.61 ERA, 0.82 WHIP since the break), elbow inflammation crops up and puts the rest of his campaign in jeopardy.

Wrapping Up

At this point, you're either in it or you're getting ready for fantasy football.

If you fall under the latter umbrella, well, better luck with the pigskin. But if you're still hanging around and trying to place in—or even win—your fantasy baseball league, then the advice is simple: Do. Not. Get. Distracted.

August is a brutal month to make it through. You're trying to enjoy the last part of summer, while also hoping to figure out who Drew Brees' third-favorite option behind Jimmy Graham and Marques Colston is going to be (Kenny Stills? Robert Meachem?? Brandin Cooks???) in time for your drafts.

And then September gets even crazier as football's regular season begins and baseball rosters expand from 25 to 40 players, giving owners everywhere way, way too many names to try to keep track of.

So bear down and buckle up, because if you've made it this far, what's another month? Especially if it means victory and bragging rights in the end.

Statistics are accurate through Aug. 16 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