The calendar has moved to May, which means it\u2019s time to get some positional Shuffle Ups your way. We have enough data to form some actionable opinions (in some cases), or at least educated guesses (in some other cases).<\/p>\n
The players below are salaried and ranked as if I were entering a fresh draft tonight. What\u2019s happened to this point is an audition, nothing more. Don\u2019t get hung up on the salaries in a vacuum, which are just comparison tools. Players at the same salary are considered even.<\/p>\n
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Most of the players who have 1B or 3B eligibility in Yahoo leagues are on this list. I excluded anyone currently on the IL (Eugenio Su\u00e1rez<\/a>, for example) and anyone with catcher eligibility (we\u2019ll rank those guys with the catchers). I also ignored anyone in the minors, with one late exception.<\/p>\n Have some respectful disagreement? That\u2019s good, that\u2019s why we have a game. Share your thoughts anytime on social media: catch me on\u00a0Twitter\/X<\/a>\u00a0or on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>.<\/p>\n And away we go.<\/p>\n The Big Tickets<\/p>\n $36 Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez<\/a><\/p>\n $30 Sal Stewart<\/a><\/p>\n $29 Matt Olson<\/a><\/p>\n $28 Nick Kurtz<\/a><\/p>\n I was concerned about the Cleveland<\/a> offense to begin the year and that\u2019s been valid, as the Guardians stand 24th in runs. But Ram\u00edrez has more walks than strikeouts and is still swiping bases aggressively, even in his age-33 season. He\u2019s already a walk-in Hall of Famer.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Maybe this salary looks high for Stewart, but I was tempted to go even higher. He\u2019s a five-category contributor and he\u2019s controlling his at-bats, with a decent walk rate and an acceptable strikeout rate. All of his hard-hit sliders are\u00a0Kool-Aid red<\/a>. I wonder if the Reds regret not fast-tracking him last year, but Stewart is here to stay now.<\/p>\n Some Confusing Veteran Stars<\/p>\n $27 Vladimir Guerrero<\/p>\n $26 Manny Machado<\/a><\/p>\n $25 Junior Caminero<\/a><\/p>\n $24 Bryce Harper<\/a><\/p>\n $22 Jazz Chisholm Jr<\/a>.<\/p>\n $22 Freddie Freeman<\/a><\/p>\n Guerrero is paid like a superstar and there\u2019s plenty to like on his profile. The .354 average speaks for itself and it\u2019s mostly supported through his hard-hit rate. He\u2019s almost impossible to strike out and he\u2019s also carrying a plus walk rate. But Guerrero\u2019s bat tricks don\u2019t include a power profile \u2014 he\u2019s still carrying a major ground-ball bias, and\u00a0his pull rate is under the league average<\/a>, too. It\u2019s hard to remember a world where Kid Guerrero led the majors in home runs (five years ago, with 48); at this point, it will feel fortunate if he makes it back to last year\u2019s 23.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Chisholm still carries a strikeout problem\u00a0despite acceptable walk and chase rates<\/a>. There\u2019s two ways to slice that \u2014 you appreciate his respectable zone judgment, but it also means he\u2019s getting beat inside the strike zone more than you\u2019d like. Normally, when you see a .202 average and a .334 slugging tied to a presumable star, you assume the bad-luck signs must be flashing, but Chisholm\u2019s hard-hit metrics support those puny stats. Alas, we can\u2019t go too low on Chisholm, as he\u2019s on pace for about 15 homers and 50 steals.<\/p>\n Harper is a better real-life player than fantasy option these days, not that 2026 Harper is a treat in either column. His running game might be shut down for good and his slugging percentage has snuck below .500 the last two years. The disappointing Philly lineup (he\u2019s part of it, obviously) hasn\u2019t helped his run production. And Harper will likely need maintenance at some point; he hasn\u2019t made it to 150 games since 2019.<\/p>\n The Kids Are Alright<\/p>\n $20 JJ Wetherholt<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n $20 Austin Riley<\/a><\/p>\n $19 Kevin McGonigle<\/p>\n $19 Peter Alonso<\/p>\n $18 Christian Walker<\/a><\/p>\n $18 Alec Burleson<\/a><\/p>\n $18 Munetaka Murakami<\/a><\/p>\n $18 Josh Naylor<\/a><\/p>\n $17 Yandy Diaz<\/a><\/p>\n $17 Maikel Garc\u00eda<\/a><\/p>\n $17 Alex Bregman<\/a><\/p>\n $15 Liam Hicks<\/a><\/p>\n $15 Ryan O’Hearn<\/a><\/p>\n $15 Jos\u00e9 Caballero<\/p>\n $15 Jonathan Aranda<\/a><\/p>\n $14 Willson Contreras<\/a><\/p>\n $14 Max Muncy<\/a><\/p>\n $14 Bo Bichette<\/a><\/p>\n I\u2019m over the moon for both Wetherholt and McGonigle, but Wetherholt gets a slightly better rank because he\u2019s offering immediate category juice. Both players have been tabbed as future batting champions, and McGonigle might have the chops to do it as a rookie. We also love that both kids are carrying multiple positions in Yahoo leagues.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n I enjoy\u00a0a good Murakami novel<\/a>\u00a0and I\u2019ve enjoyed the first chapter of Chicago<\/a>\u2019s Murakami \u2014 12 homers, 25 walks. He\u2019s losing 78 batting-average points to left-handed pitching but his power has played against all handedness. The strikeout rate is a mess, of course, but at least he\u2019s swinging at strikes and making loud contact when he does connect.\u00a0Adam Dunn<\/a>\u00a0was a fun player for several seasons<\/a>, a man defined by the\u00a0Three True Outcomes<\/a>. Maybe that\u2019s in Murakami\u2019s range.<\/p>\n I was hoping Alonso had a history of poor starts, but his\u00a0month-by-month profile is rather balanced<\/a>. Last year, he pushed off to a .343 open, with seven homers and 28 RBI. This lousy start is new territory, so perhaps it\u2019s just another case of a big-name player changing teams and struggling to immediately justify a meaty contract. The\u00a0expected stats<\/a>\u00a0won\u2019t comfort you much with Alonso, but he\u2019s still just 31, he deserves some patience.<\/p>\n The Two Vargases<\/p>\n $13 Rafael Devers<\/a><\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n $13 Vinnie Pasquantino<\/a><\/p>\n $12 Josh Jung<\/a><\/p>\n $12 Matt Chapman<\/a><\/p>\n $11 Miguel Vargas<\/a><\/p>\n $11 Colson Montgomery<\/a><\/p>\n $11 Brendan Donovan<\/a><\/p>\n $10 Jac Caglianone<\/a><\/p>\n $8 Ildemaro Vargas<\/a><\/p>\n $8 Carlos Correa<\/a><\/p>\n $7 Jake Bauers<\/a><\/p>\n $7 Jeremiah Jackson<\/a><\/p>\n $7 Nolan Arenado<\/a><\/p>\n $7 Daniel Schneemann<\/a><\/p>\n $7 Dominic Smith<\/a><\/p>\n $7 Casey Schmitt<\/a><\/p>\n $7 Tyler Soderstrom<\/a><\/p>\n $7 Ernie Clement<\/a><\/p>\n Devers has now played around five months of baseball with the Giants and the returns are in: .228\/.323\/.414, with 22 homers. He\u2019s obviously a zero on the bases. His roomy home park doesn\u2019t do him any favors, where the slash is .221\/.316\/.430. It\u2019s fair to criticize the Red Sox for the timing of the Devers trade, and the meager return. But it\u2019s also possible Boston<\/a> was shrewd to get out from a Devers contract that\u2019s likely to become an albatross soon. Keep in mind, Devers offers no defensive value.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n A lot of fantasy managers will see Chicago\u2019s Vargas hitting .215 and automatically discount him, which is a mistake. The category juice is here \u2014 six homers, five steals. And he\u2019s been\u00a0mildly unlucky with his outcomes<\/a>; his batted-ball profile suggests a .240 average and .467 slugging, roto-worthy stats. All of his plate-discipline metrics are above code, and he\u2019s still just 26. This is a hitter on the rise.<\/p>\n Arizona<\/a>\u2019s Vargas is a much trickier mystery to solve. Everything he\u2019s done this year has been wonderful and metric-supported; his expected batting average is .351, his expected slugging .520. But we\u2019re talking about\u00a0a 34-year-old journeyman who\u2019s been a below-average offensive player<\/a>\u00a0almost every step of the way (a mediocre 86 OPS+). I\u2019m rooting for Vargas because I love players who swing at anything but make contact anyway, not to mention he covers multiple positions and he\u2019s become a recent pickup of mine. But this is the type of player you extend a tiny leash towards; be ready to bail at the first sign of extended trouble. Root with your heart, but make decisions with your head.<\/p>\n Bargain Bin<\/p>\n $6 Troy Johnston<\/a><\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n $6 Luis Arr\u00e1ez<\/a><\/p>\n $6 Isaac Paredes<\/a><\/p>\n $6 Spencer Torkelson<\/a><\/p>\n $6 T.J. Rumfield<\/p>\n $5 Jos\u00e9 Fernandez<\/p>\n $5 Oswald Peraza<\/a><\/p>\n $5 Mauricio Dubon<\/a><\/p>\n $5 Luis Garc\u00eda Jr.<\/p>\n $5 Matt Shaw<\/a><\/p>\n $5 Jake Burger<\/a><\/p>\n $5 Spencer Steer<\/a><\/p>\n $5 Nathaniel Lowe<\/a><\/p>\n $5 Kazuma Okamoto<\/a><\/p>\n $5 Colt Keith<\/a><\/p>\n $4 Brooks Lee<\/a><\/p>\n $4 Josh Bell<\/a><\/p>\n $4 Nolan Gorman<\/a><\/p>\n $4 Brady House<\/a><\/p>\n $4 Luke Raley<\/a><\/p>\n $4 Nolan Schanuel<\/a><\/p>\n $4 Royce Lewis<\/a><\/p>\n $3 Nick Gonzales<\/a><\/p>\n $3 Willi Castro<\/a><\/p>\n $3 Chase Meidroth<\/a><\/p>\n $3 Alec Bohm<\/a><\/p>\n $3 Noelvi Marte<\/a><\/p>\n $2 Edouard Julien<\/a><\/p>\n $2 Gavin Sheets<\/a><\/p>\n $2 David Hamilton<\/a><\/p>\n $2 Amed Rosario<\/a><\/p>\n $2 Brett Baty<\/a><\/p>\n $2 Caleb Durbin<\/a><\/p>\n $2 Marcelo Mayer<\/a><\/p>\n $1 Curtis Mead<\/a><\/p>\n $1 Kyle Karros<\/a><\/p>\n $1 Mark Vientos<\/a><\/p>\n $1 Yoan Moncada<\/a><\/p>\n $1 Jake Cronenworth<\/a><\/p>\n $1 Kyle Manzardo<\/a><\/p>\n Torkelson\u2019s start felt worse to me than it actually is \u2014 he has the same OPS+ as last year, with some extra walks mitigating the drop in power. He\u2019s still on pace to flirt with 30 homers, too. But the Tigers have justly moved him down in the lineup, and it\u2019s likely Torkelson will never truly live up to being a No. 1 overall pick. Sometimes you have the top pick in the wrong year \u2014\u00a0the top three offensive players from that first round so far<\/a>\u00a0are Pete Crow-Armstrong<\/a> (a legit star, largely due to his defense), Jordan Westburg<\/a> (held back by injuries) and Garrett Mitchell<\/a> (useful player). Timing can be cruel sometimes.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n