Fantasy Baseball 2018 Rankings for Each Position and Latest Mock Draft

It takes a special skill to build a fantasy baseball roster with a unique blend of talents that will fill out every key stat to keep you in contention for a championship. 

The best fantasy players can often do everything and will come off the board in the first three rounds.

Position players who can hit .300 with 30-plus home runs, drive in 100 runs, score 100 runs and steal 20 bases don't really exist, outside of Mike Trout, but there are a handful of stars who can do at least four of those five things. 

Starting pitchers who strike out at least one hitter per inning with an ERA in the 2.50 range and a WHIP under 1.00 and throw at least 225 innings are out there. 

Looking at the depth across fantasy baseball, it's not impossible to complete a roster with players who fill out all of the major categories, but it will take some keen drafting to make it a reality. 

10-Team First-Round Fantasy Mock Draft

1. Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels

2. Jose Altuve, 2B, Houston Astros

3. Bryce Harper, OF, Washington Nationals

4. Nolan Arenado, 3B, Colorado Rockies

5. Carlos Correa, SS, Houston Astros

6. Charlie Blackmon, OF, Colorado Rockies

7. Mookie Betts, OF, Boston Red Sox

8. Trea Turner, SS, Washington Nationals

9. Kris Bryant, 3B, Chicago Cubs

10. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks

First Baseman Rankings

1. Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks

2. Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

3. Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs

4. Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves

5. Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers

6. Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox

7. Edwin Encarnacion, Cleveland Indians

8. Matt Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals

9. Wil Myers, San Diego Padres

10. Carlos Santana, Philadelphia Phillies

The only first baseman in the top 10 with any potential concern for 2018 is Edwin Encarnacion. He's 35 years old, and age has started to catch up to him. The Cleveland Indians star has seen his strikeout rate increase in each of the past four seasons from 15.1 percent in 2014 to 19.9 percent last season. 

As Encarnacion's strikeout rates have gone up, his slugging percentage has gone from .557 in 2015 to .504 last season. He still hit 38 homers, drove in 107 runs and scored 96 runs in 2017, so it doesn't appear a full collapse is imminent. 

The rest of the first-base stable in fantasy baseball is solid for this season. One potential bounce-back candidate is Detroit Tigers star Miguel Cabrera, who appeared to be in great physical condition at the start of spring training:

Cabrera is only year removed from hitting 38 homers and driving in 108. He's not going to be the hitter he was when he won back-to-back AL MVP awards in 2012-13 because it's virtually impossible to do that at 34 years old, but 25 homers and 90 RBI seem well within reach.

Second Baseman Rankings

1. Jose Altuve, Houston Astros

2. Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians

3. Brian Dozier, Minnesota Twins

4. Daniel Murphy, Washington Nationals

5. Jonathan Schoop, Baltimore Orioles

6. Dee Gordon, Seattle Mariners

7. Robinson Cano, Seattle Mariners

8. DJ LeMahieu, Colorado Rockies

9. Javier Baez, Chicago Cubs

10. Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves

Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy remains high in the rankings among fantasy second baseman, though owners should tread carefully.

The 32-year-old Murphy had knee surgery last October and didn't commit to being ready for opening day early in spring training, via ESPN's Eddie Matz: 

"You see these guys bouncing around and playing, you want to participate and be playing with your teammates. But I think it's the understanding of when they loose me, when the training staff lets me go and it's time to play, you only want to come off the DL once. I don't want to start playing games and then have to stop. So that's kind of the mindset we're taking right now."

With a two year track record in Washington hitting .334/.387/.569 with 146 extra-base hits in 286 games, Murphy has earned trust in fantasy owners that he will produce whenever his body is ready to go full bore. 

Ozzie Albies gets an optimistic bump after an excellent .286/.354/.456 slash line and 20 extra-base hits in 57 games with the Atlanta Braves. The 21-year-old has done nothing but hit throughout his professional career, with a .304 average in the minors, and his power is starting to come along after hitting just 16 homers in 390 games before getting called up.

Shortstop Rankings

1. Trea Turner, Washington Nationals

2. Carlos Correa, Houston Astros

3. Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles

4. Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians

5. Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers

6. Jean Segura, Seattle Mariners

7. Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers

8. Didi Gregorius, New York Yankees

9. Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox

10. Trevor Story, Colorado Rockies

In a loaded shortstop field, Nationals star Trea Turner has the potential to be one of the most valuable fantasy assets in 2018. He hit .284 with 11 homers, 75 runs and 46 stolen bases in just 98 games last season. 

A broken right wrist suffered in a June 29 game against the Chicago Cubs cost Turner two months, robbing him of the full-scale breakout he was on pace for prior to getting hurt. 

Xander Bogaerts could end up putting himself among the top five shortstops by midseason. The 2016 All-Star hit a respectable .273 with 62 RBI and 94 runs scored last season, but his power (10 homers) was likely impacted by a hand injury he suffered after being hit by a pitch in July.  

For perspective, Bogaerts was hitting .308/.363/.455 with 30 extra-base hits in 80 games from Apr. 3 through July 6. He hit .232/.321/.340 with 18 extra-base hits in 68 games after being hit in the hand. 

Third Baseman Rankings

1. Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies

2. Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs

3. Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians

4. Josh Donaldson, Toronto Blue Jays

5. Alex Bregman, Houston Astros

6. Anthony Rendon, Washington Nationals

7. Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox

8. Travis Shaw, Milwaukee Brewers

9. Joey Gallo, Texas Rangers

10. Kyle Seager, Seattle Mariners

Not that the Houston Astros are lacking for young impact hitters, but Alex Bregman could take another step forward after a solid .827 OPS and 63 extra-base hits in 155 games last season. 

Turning 24 on March 30, Bregman looked much more comfortable at the plate after the All-Star break. His OPS was nearly 150 points higher in the second half (.903) compared to the first half (.757). Houston's middle of the order with Bregman, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa is going to post huge fantasy numbers. 

If you're looking for power in the later rounds, Oakland Athletics slugger Matt Chapman is a hitter to keep an eye on. He hit 14 homers in 84 games last season, despite playing most of his games in the cavernous Oakland Alameda Coliseum. 

Per Yahoo Sports, Chapman has an average draft position of 256.6 and is only owned in 23.7 percent of leagues. It won't be hard to add him if you want a slugger on your bench. 

Depth at third base took a hit Monday when Los Angeles Dodgers star Justin Turner suffered a fractured left wrist after being hit by a pitch against the Oakland Athletics. He would have ranked No. 7 at the hot corner if healthy, but being out indefinitely drops him just outside the top 10. 

Kyle Seager of the Seattle Mariners gets bumped into the top 10 with Turner out. He's been steady since 2012 with at least 20 homers in each of the past six seasons and has had at least 86 RBI four times during that span. 

Catcher Rankings

1. Gary Sanchez, New York Yankees

2. Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants

3. Willson Contreras, Chicago Cubs

4. Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals

5. J.T. Realmuto, Miami Marlins

6. Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals

7. Mike Zunino, Seattle Mariners

8. Evan Gattis, Houston Astros

9. Wilson Ramos, Tampa Bay Rays

10. Welington Castillo, Chicago White Sox

After the top three catchers, there's a jumble of options who each have a case to be made for the No. 4 spot.

Wilson Ramos of the Tampa Bay Rays is the player most likely to emerge from that scrum as the best option if you miss out on Gary Sanchez, Buster Posey or Willson Contreras. After returning from a torn ACL last June, he looked mostly comfortable with a .260 average and 11 homers in 64 games. 

While Ramos is unlikely to get back to the .307/.354/.496 slash line he had for the Nationals in 2016, he's hit at least 11 homers in six of the past seven seasons. The power is going to carry him a long way on your fantasy team. 

Outfielder Rankings

1. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

2. Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

3. Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies

4. Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox

5. Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees

6. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

7. J.D. Martinez, Boston Red Sox

8. George Springer, Houston Astros

9. Marcell Ozuna, St. Louis Cardinals

10. Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers

Rubbing salt in the gaping wounds of Miami Marlins' fans, the team's entire 2017 outfield is among the top 10 fantasy outfielders this season for different teams. 

After winning NL MVP last season, Giancarlo Stanton's expectations are sky high in 2018 as a member of the New York Yankees.  He hit a career-high 59 homers last season, with some projections expecting similar things as he moves to a smaller ball park. 

Per FanGraphs Depth Chart, Stanton projects to hit .280/.373/.656 with 58 homers and 140 RBI in 150 games. If he stays healthy, that doesn't seem like an unrealistic expectation. Keep in mind, though, that last year was the first time he reached the 150-game barrier since 2011. 

Going off the board for value, Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton could become Mike Trout lite in 2018. The former No. 1 overall pick shook off a slow start last season and hit .300/.347/.546 with 11 of his 16 homers in 57 games after the All-Star break. He also had 29 stolen bases and was only caught once all season. 

Starting Pitcher Rankings

1. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

2. Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox

3. Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians

4. Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals

5. Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants

6. Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks

7. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals

8. Carlos Carrasco, Cleveland Indians

9. Jacob deGrom, New York Mets

10. Justin Verlander, Houston Astros

Clayton Kershaw's dominance throughout his 10-year MLB career has earned him enough trust to be the top-ranked starting pitcher, though don't feel compelled to reach for the Los Angeles Dodgers' southpaw. 

For starters, Kershaw has had ongoing back problems that have landed him on the disabled list in three of the past four seasons. He's been limited to 48 starts over the past two seasons. The three-time NL Cy Young winner has made those appearances count with 30 wins, a 2.03 ERA and 374 strikeouts in 324 innings. 

But does that really make him substantially better than Chris Sale? The Red Sox ace has made at least 31 starts in each of the past three seasons and led the AL in strikeouts two of the past three seasons, including 308 in 2017. 

Corey Kluber, who had his own back problem in 2017 that caused him to miss one month, has averaged at least 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings over the four seasons. Max Scherzer has struck out at least 240 hitters in each of the past five seasons and had a career-low 2.51 ERA last season. 

There are no shortage of top-tier starters available in fantasy baseball right now that there is no pressure to reach for Kershaw like there might have been two years ago. 

Relief Pitcher Rankings

1. Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers

2. Felipe Rivero, Pittsburgh Pirates

3. Craig Kimbrel, Boston Red Sox

4. Corey Knebel, Milwaukee Brewers

5. Brad Hand, San Diego Padres

6. Roberto Osuna, Toronto Blue Jays

7. Aroldis Chapman, New York Yankees

8. Raisel Iglesias, Cincinnati Reds

9. Cody Allen, Cleveland Indians

10. Sean Doolittle, Washington Nationals

As the Pittsburgh Pirates prepare for another rebuild, closer Felipe Rivero is their most valuable fantasy asset in 2018. The left-hander made a successful transition from dominant setup man to lights-out closer last season with a 1.67 ERA, 21 saves and 88 strikeouts in 75.1 innings. 

Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel has a longer track record of success in the ninth inning than Rivero and might deserve to be the No. 2 fantasy closer behind Kenley Jansen, and there really is no strong argument against it. 

Rivero's edge is due mainly to being three years younger than Kimbrel, leaving him with a little more upside to reach after a breakout 2017. 

One high-profile closer to avoid is Wade Davis, who signed a three-year deal with the Rockies. He had a career-high 4.30 walk rate per nine innings with the Chicago Cubs in 2017, and his groundball rate went from 48.6 percent two years ago to 40.5 percent. 

Putting more runners on base and giving up more fly balls is a bad combination for any pitcher, but especially for Davis as he starts playing his home games at Coors Field.

Stats via Baseball-Reference.com.