How Preseason Fantasy Baseball Rankings for SP, RP, DH and OF are Holding Up

Today, I decided to revisit my preseason fantasy baseball rankings and then check in on how players have fared so far.

We looked at infielders in the first story, and now will check in on starting pitchers, relief pitchers, outfielders and designated hitters.

I'll link to my preseason redraft rankings at each position, and then compare things against the top-scoring fantasy players at ESPN.

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Outfielders

Aaron Judge was my top-ranked fantasy outfielder for 2025, and he's lived up to the preseason hype. He's the top fantasy player overall as well. Judge should be in the mix for the top fantasy outfield spot by the end of the season, if he's not overwhelming the top guy.

Juan Soto was ranked second for me. He ranks ninth, so while he's underwhelmed a touch, he's still right in the mix with the top-end fantasy outfielders. Soto is just a few points out of the third spot at the position too, so I feel good about my ranking so far.

Kyle Tucker was ranked third for me, and he sits second behind only Judge. Tucker has been fantastic in his first season with the Cubs, and he's likely to be in the mix for the top spot at the position by the end of the season too.

Yordan Alvarez ranked fourth in my eyes. He's not in the top 50 at the position right now, and is now on the injured list. Alvarez is starting to look like a fantasy bust.

Fernando Tatis Jr. was my No. 5 fantasy outfielder and he checks in sixth right now. I had Corbin Carroll sixth, and he's been better than that, checking in fourth.

Julio Rodriguez was ranked seventh for me. He ranks outside the top 20 right now, so while he hasn't been quite as good as I expected, he hasn't been too big of a bust either.

Jarren Duran checked in eighth on my list - he's just a couple spots ahead of Rodriguez. I expect him and Rodriguez to improve their standing as the season rolls along.

Jackson Chourio and Jackson Merrill ranked ninth and 10th for me. Chourio is around 20th right now, and I expect him to improve as the season moves along. Merrill is outside the top 50 after missing a good portion of the season - I could still see him as a top-10 fantasy outfielder if he stays healthy the rest of the season.

Starting Pitchers

With only seven or so starts for most pitchers, a lot of my top 10 isn't going to look great. It's still fun to look back on my preseason predictions though.

Tarik Skubal was my top starting pitcher for 2025. He currently sits 15th, but is rising quickly after a bit of a slow start.

Paul Skenes was my No. 2 starting pitcher, and he's a spot above Skubal overall so far. I also expect Skenes to see his standing improve as the season moves along.

Zack Wheeler was ranked third in my eyes - he's second overall so far. Wheeler has been one of the more steady fantasy pitchers over the past couple seasons, and he's right up near the top of things again. Wheeler should stay in the top five most of the season too.

Gerrit Cole was my No. 4 starting pitcher for 2025. Of course, he needed Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire season.

Logan Gilbert ranked fifth for me. He's on the injured list now but is just outside the top 20 among SPs. As long as he is healthy the rest of the season, Gilbert should be a top-10 fantasy SP.

Chris Sale was sixth for me. He's ranked in the 40s so far, so it's been a slow start for Sale. A couple big starts could get him right back in the top 10, so I'm not all that worried about the veteran starter.

Corbin Burnes ranked seventh for me, which was pretty low. I apparently wasn't low enough on him, as he's not a top-50 fantasy SP right now. I'd be a bit worried about Burnes moving forward.

Dylan Cease ranked eighth for me, and he's currently outside the top 100. He's been one of the bigger busts among the healthy pitchers, and it's definitely time to worry about him.

Cole Ragans checked in ninth on my list. He's just a spot behind Gilbert, and has missed time with an injury this season, so I'm still positive about my preseason ranking for him.

George Kirby was my No. 10 fantasy starting pitcher for 2025. He hasn't thrown a pitch in a MLB regular season game yet, so he'd have to have a couple monster months to finish as a top-10 option by the end of the year.

Designated Hitters

ESPN doesn't have a specific DH position to sort things by, so I'm just going to judge things by the order I had them.

Shohei Ohtani was my top fantasy DH, and he's easily been the best fantasy scorer of the top-10 list I put together.

He's one of the top fantasy hitters/players in the game, and really hasn't been ultra hot at any point this season. If Ohtani can ever get on the mound too, he'll likely score the most fantasy points of anybody by the end of the season.

I had Marcell Ozuna second, but Seiya Suzuki (No. 3 DH) and Kerry Carpenter (No. 4 DH) have outscored him so far. 

Ozuna has definitely underwhelmed so far this season, but he's still produced enough to not be a complete fantasy draft bust. A big week could get him right up there where his preseason projections were for so many people.

Suzuki has been really good to start the season, and with his injury-riddled past, it's made him a popular sell-high trade candidate. Carpenter has been a bit better than I expected, but it shouldn't come as a big surprise, as he's been a good fantasy asset when healthy in the past.

I had Alec Burleson ranked fifth and Jorge Soler sixth, and they currently occupy those spots among the 10 hitters I listed. Josh Bell ranked 10th for me as a DH, but he's scored just a couple points less than Soler and Burleson.

Joc Pederson was ranked eighth for me, but he has scored just seven fantasy points this season (yes, seven). He's been extremely underwhelming, but with lower preseason expectations, it shouldn't have hurt fantasy teams too much.

Giancarlo Stanton ranked seventh, while Masataka Yoshida was ninth for me. Neither has played yet this season. Stanton's return is more murky than Yoshida's, but both are trending toward being fantasy busts in 2025.

Relief Pitchers

Emmanuel Clase was my top-ranked fantasy reliever for 2025. He's just outside the top-50 fantasy relievers right now, so he's been a major draft bust so far. There's time for Clase to settle in, but it'll be an uphill climb to get to the top spot, let alone the top 10.

Devin Williams was second for me - he's struggled mightily and has just 19 fantasy points on the season. For reference, the top-10 relievers have over 85 fantasy points. Williams lost the closer role and is looking like one of the bigger draft busts of the 2025 season.

Josh Hader was my No. 3 fantasy reliever. He's seventh among listed relievers, and fifth among primary relievers, so I'm happy with that ranking so far.

Mason Miller ranked fourth for me. He's a top-10 reliever overall and eighth among primary relievers, so again, I'm happy with my preseason mark for him.

Ryan Helsley checked in fifth for me, but is well outside the top 50 right now. He's been another early-season draft bust, but there's time for him to right the ship and still be a good fantasy asset by the time the season winds down.

Edwin Diaz was my No. 6 fantasy reliever and he currently ranks 16th among the primary relievers. He's not been quite as good as expected yet, but he's close enough to that spot to not call him a bust either.

Raisel Iglesias was my No. 7 fantasy reliever and he's barely inside the top 50 right now. He's underwhelmed a good amount, and has been a bust so far.

Robert Suarez checked in eighth for me before the season. He's the top guy so far. While he could drop as the season rolls along, I feel great about my preseason mark for him.

The No. 2 fantasy reliever right now is Andres Munoz, and I had him ninth overall going into the season. I expect regression from him as the season goes along, but feel great about him finishing in the top 10.

Jhoan Duran ranked 10th for me and is in the 40s right now. He's underwhelmed a bit, but I also wouldn't be surprised if he improved his standing a good bit by the end of the season.