This article is part of our Collette Calls series.
It is not an exact science, but where a prospect ranks should be lowest on your list as you are preparing your dynasty lists because skills and opportunity are the name of the game when it comes to prospects in fantasy baseball. Rankings are cute when it comes to trade talks or chatter, but
It is not an exact science, but where a prospect ranks should be lowest on your list as you are preparing your dynasty lists because skills and opportunity are the name of the game when it comes to prospects in fantasy baseball. Rankings are cute when it comes to trade talks or chatter, but results and opportunity are the name of the game in fantasy baseball. Having multiple highly-ranked prospects are great, but having prospects that produce within a season is free money because you have them on your reserves before your leaguemates get a chance to FAAB them to add to their own roster.
149 different prospects appeared in the four rankings during the 2011 season. By position, the breakdown was:
1B: 11
2B: 7
SS: 15
3B: 12
OF: 30
C: 11
P: 63
The lack of infield prospects, particularly up the middle, should make you pause when considering giving up prospects in a trade this offseason. In keeper leagues, having these prospects as free keepers is what allows you to take a $1 risk on a guy because you know that your rookie keeper is likely coming up in June. This is no different than what the Indians did this season when they signed Orlando Cabrera as a stopgap until Jason Kipnis was ready.
60 different prospects appeared on each of the four updates to John Sickels' original 2011 list while 89 players either came off the Top-100 list due to in-season promotions to the major leagues, major injuries, or severe production degradation. Injuries or ineffectiveness led to 84 different players moving out of the rankings and receiving a not-ranked (NR) status in either June, July, or August.
The overall Top 100 Rankings Matrix for the season is below:
POS | PLAYER | ORG | Average | May | June | July | August |
OF | Bryce Harper | WAS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
OF | Mike Trout | LAA | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | MLB |
P | Matt Moore | TB | 4 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
3B | Mike Moustakas | KC | 4 | 4 | MLB | MLB | MLB |
P | Shelby Miller | STL | 5 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
1B | Eric Hosmer | KC | 5 | 5 | MLB | MLB | MLB |
P | Julio Teheran | ATL | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
SS | Manny Machado | BAL | 6 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
C | Jesus Montero | NYY | 7 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 6 |
OF | Desmond Jennings | TB | 9 | 11 | 8 | 8 | MLB |
2B | Brett Lawrie | TOR | 10 | 18 | 7 | 4 | MLB |
2B | Dustin Ackley | SEA | 11 | 12 | 9 | MLB | MLB |
P | Manny Banuelos | NYY | 12 | 15 | 10 | 14 | 9 |
OF | Wil Myers | KC | 13 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 16 |
3B | Lonnie Chisenhall | CLE | 14 | 13 | 14 | MLB | MLB |
2B | Jason Kipnis | CLE | 14 | 16 | 16 | 10 | MLB |
P | Drew Pomeranz | CLE | 15 | 21 | 11 | 9 | 18 |
C | Devin Mesoraco | CIN | 15 | 28 | 15 | 11 | 7 |
P | Jacob Turner | DET | 16 | 14 | 18 | 16 | MLB |
P | Jameson Taillon | PIT | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 13 |
P | Martin Perez | TEX | 19 | 26 | 19 | 13 | 17 |
P | John Lamb | KC | 19 | 19 | NR | NR | NR |
OF | Brett Jackson | CHC | 20 | 27 | 22 | 21 | 10 |
P | Jake Odorizzi | KC | 20 | 44 | 17 | 12 | 8 |
P | Delin Betances | NYY | 22 | 30 | 23 | 22 | 14 |
P | Danny Duffy | KC | 24 | 24 | MLB | MLB | MLB |
P | Tyler Matzek | COL | 25 | 25 | NR | NR | NR |
P | Casey Kelly | SD | 26 | 37 | 23 | 23 | 22 |
P | Zach Wheeler | SF | 26 | 38 | 24 | 24 | 19 |
P | James Paxton | SEA | 27 | NR | NR | 39 | 15 |
P | Randall Delgado | ATL | 29 | 40 | 27 | 27 | 20 |
P | Arodys Vizcaino | ATL | 31 | 57 | 34 | 19 | 12 |
SS | Jurickson Profar | TEX | 33 | 64 | 38 | 17 | 11 |
P | Mike Montgomery | KC | 35 | 17 | 30 | 51 | 41 |
P | Robbie Erlin | TEX | 36 | 55 | 33 | 31 | 25 |
P | Zach Lee | LAD | 36 | 51 | 35 | 32 | 26 |
1B | Yonder Alonso | CIN | 37 | 49 | 32 | 29 | MLB |
P | Jarrod Parker | ARI | 38 | 23 | 47 | 45 | 37 |
1B | Paul Goldschmidt | ARI | 39 | NR | 52 | 26 | MLB |
P | Deck McGuire | TOR | 39 | 61 | 36 | 33 | 27 |
P | Jarred Cosart | PHI | 41 | 78 | 44 | 18 | 23 |
3B | Jed Gyorko | SD | 41 | NR | 57 | 37 | 29 |
P | Carlos Martinez | STL | 41 | NR | NR | 49 | 33 |
OF | Aaron Hicks | MIN | 42 | 39 | 26 | 47 | 55 |
P | Alex Colome | TB | 42 | 62 | 37 | 34 | 35 |
P | Jordan Lyles | HOU | 42 | 42 | MLB | MLB | MLB |
2B | Billy Hamilton | CIN | 43 | 36 | 28 | 57 | 51 |
OF | Ben Revere | MIN | 43 | 43 | MLB | MLB | MLB |
OF | Tim Wheeler | COL | 44 | NR | 55 | 43 | 34 |
P | Neil Ramirez | TEX | 45 | NR | 54 | 44 | 36 |
1B | Anthony Rizzo | SD | 45 | 45 | MLB | MLB | MLB |
C | Wilin Rosario | COL | 45 | 22 | 61 | 55 | 43 |
P | Matt Harvey | NYM | 46 | 73 | 41 | 38 | 30 |
SS | Hak-Ju Lee | TB | 46 | 86 | 49 | 28 | 21 |
SS | Nick Franklin | SEA | 47 | 29 | 31 | 68 | 60 |
P | Kyle Gibson | MIN | 47 | 41 | 25 | 25 | 98 |
2B | Jose Altuve | HOU | 48 | NR | 53 | 42 | MLB |
C | Derek Norris | WAS | 48 | 32 | 29 | 58 | 71 |
P | Wily Peralta | MIL | 48 | NR | NR | NR | 48 |
P | Anthony Ranaudo | BOS | 48 | 69 | 39 | 35 | 50 |
P | Tyler Skaggs | ARI | 49 | 79 | 45 | 40 | 31 |
OF | Trayvon Robinson | LAD | 49 | 71 | 40 | 36 | MLB |
3B | James Darnell | SD | 51 | 97 | 51 | 30 | 24 |
OF | Rey Fuentes | SD | 51 | 84 | 46 | 41 | 32 |
P | Brody Colvin | PHI | 52 | 50 | 59 | 53 | 45 |
3B | Nick Castellanos | DET | 53 | 67 | 56 | 48 | 39 |
P | Trevor May | PHI | 53 | NR | 67 | 65 | 28 |
SS | Jose Iglesias | BOS | 54 | 54 | NR | NR | NR |
P | Liam Hendriks | MIN | 54 | 85 | 48 | 46 | 38 |
C | Yasmani Grandal | CIN | 54 | 52 | 63 | 56 | 46 |
1B | Chris Carter | OAK | 55 | 31 | 66 | 64 | 57 |
3B | Zack Cox | STL | 58 | 74 | 42 | 62 | 52 |
P | Erik Surkamp | SF | 59 | NR | 60 | 54 | 63 |
OF | Jaff Decker | SD | 59 | 76 | 43 | 63 | 54 |
P | Joe Wieland | SD | 59 | NR | NR | 71 | 47 |
OF | Engel Beltre | TEX | 59 | 59 | NR | NR | NR |
SS | Jonathan Villar | HOU | 60 | 94 | 50 | 52 | 44 |
P | Stetson Allie | PIT | 60 | 58 | 64 | 59 | NR |
P | Brad Peacock | WAS | 61 | NR | 94 | 50 | 40 |
P | Trey McNutt | CHC | 64 | 63 | 58 | 70 | NR |
OF | Joe Benson | MIN | 64 | NR | 69 | 66 | 58 |
C | Travis D'Arnaud | TOR | 65 | NR | 76 | 76 | 42 |
C | Gary Sanchez | NYY | 65 | 65 | NR | NR | NR |
P | Simon Castro | SD | 66 | 66 | NR | NR | NR |
OF | Michael Choice | OAK | 66 | 46 | 81 | 74 | 64 |
C | Tony Sanchez | PIT | 67 | 70 | 70 | 67 | 59 |
P | Tyler Thornburg | MIL | 68 | NR | NR | 73 | 62 |
P | Jason Knapp | CLE | 68 | 87 | 49 | NR | NR |
P | Taijuan Walker | SEA | 69 | NR | NR | NR | 69 |
SS | Grant Green | OAK | 70 | 34 | 84 | 85 | 77 |
3B | Matt Dominguez | FLA | 70 | 80 | 71 | 69 | 61 |
OF | Brandon Guyer | TB | 71 | 99 | 73 | 61 | 49 |
1B | Jonathan Singleton | PHI | 71 | 35 | 80 | 97 | 70 |
2B | Jean Segura | LAA | 71 | 33 | 65 | 100 | 84 |
OF | Oswaldo Arcia | MIN | 71 | 91 | 78 | 60 | 56 |
P | Alex Torres | TB | 71 | 48 | 82 | 80 | 75 |
SS | Dee Gordon | LAD | 72 | 72 | NR | NR | NR |
OF | Leonys Martin | TEX | 73 | NR | NR | 78 | 67 |
OF | Dayan Viciedo | CHW | 73 | NR | 79 | 75 | 65 |
1B | Matt Adams | STL | 73 | NR | 95 | 72 | 53 |
3B | Miguel Sano | MIN | 74 | 53 | 72 | 93 | 79 |
SS | Zach Cozart | CIN | 76 | 90 | 62 | MLB | MLB |
3B | Nolan Arenado | COL | 77 | 88 | 77 | 77 | 66 |
P | Chris Dwyer | KC | 77 | 47 | 85 | 99 | NR |
2B | Delino DeShields | HOU | 77 | 77 | NR | NR | NR |
SS | Jonathan Schoop | BAL | 78 | NR | NR | 82 | 73 |
P | Chris Archer | TB | 78 | 60 | 68 | 92 | 92 |
P | Alex White | COL | 79 | NR | NR | 83 | 74 |
SS | Tim Beckham | TB | 79 | NR | 83 | 81 | 72 |
P | Tanner Scheppers | TEX | 79 | 56 | 90 | 91 | NR |
SS | Christian Colon | KC | 80 | 68 | 86 | 88 | 78 |
P | Christian Friedrich | COL | 81 | 89 | 74 | 79 | NR |
OF | Colin Cowgill | ARI | 81 | NR | 75 | 87 | MLB |
OF | Cesar Puello | NYM | 81 | 81 | NR | NR | NR |
P | Andy Oliver | DET | 82 | 82 | MLB | MLB | MLB |
C | Ryan Lavarnway | BOS | 82 | NR | 93 | 86 | 68 |
OF | Charlie Blackmon | COL | 83 | 83 | MLB | MLB | MLB |
OF | Gary Brown | SF | 83 | NR | NR | NR | 83 |
P | Edwar Cabrera | COL | 84 | NR | 92 | 84 | 76 |
SS | Wilmer Flores | NYM | 84 | 75 | 88 | 89 | NR |
OF | Starling Marte | PIT | 85 | NR | NR | NR | 85 |
3B | Vince Catricala | SEA | 86 | NR | NR | NR | 86 |
C | Sebastian Valle | PHI | 87 | NR | NR | 94 | 80 |
SS | Chase D'Arnaud | PIT | 87 | NR | 87 | NR | MLB |
P | Addison Reed | CHA | 87 | NR | NR | NR | 87 |
OF | Anthony Gose | TOR | 88 | NR | NR | 95 | 81 |
OF | Corey Dickerson | COL | 88 | NR | NR | NR | 88 |
OF | Matt Szczur | CHC | 89 | NR | NR | 96 | 82 |
OF | Bryce Brentz | BOS | 89 | NR | NR | NR | 89 |
P | Nathan Eovaldi | LAD | 90 | NR | NR | 90 | MLB |
3B | Will Middlebrooks | BOS | 90 | NR | NR | NR | 90 |
P | David Phelps | NYY | 91 | NR | 91 | NR | NR |
P | Allen Webster | LAD | 91 | NR | NR | NR | 91 |
P | Rubby De La Rosa | LAD | 92 | 92 | MLB | MLB | MLB |
P | Chad James | FLA | 92 | 95 | 89 | NR | NR |
C | Wilson Ramos | WAS | 93 | 93 | MLB | MLB | MLB |
OF | L.J. Hoes | BAL | 93 | NR | NR | NR | 93 |
1B | C.J. Cron | LAA | 94 | NR | NR | NR | 94 |
1B | Neftali Soto | CIN | 95 | NR | NR | NR | 95 |
OF | Chih-Hsien Chiang | SEA | 96 | NR | NR | NR | 96 |
P | Mauricio Robles | SEA | 96 | 96 | NR | NR | NR |
3B | Taylor Green | MIL | 97 | NR | NR | NR | 97 |
1B | Tyler Moore | WAS | 98 | NR | 97 | 98 | NR |
SS | Matt Lipka | ATL | 98 | 100 | 96 | NR | NR |
P | Kyle McPherson | PIT | 98 | NR | 98 | NR | NR |
P | Andrew Brackman | NYY | 98 | 98 | NR | NR | NR |
OF | Robbie Grossman | PIT | 99 | NR | NR | NR | 99 |
1B | Clint Robinson | KC | 100 | NR | 99 | NR | 100 |
P | Jose Ceda | FLA | 100 | NR | 100 | NR | NR |