FANTASY PLAYOFFS
Week 15 fantasy football rankings: In it to win it
Dec 12, 2019, 10:40 am
FANTASY PLAYOFFS
These are my very early ranks, so keep in mind I post these on Thursday. Make sure you check the injury report on Sunday for players that have missed practice. If it doesn't look like a player will play this week, I typically won't rank him. Keep in mind, these are PPR rankings, and don't forget to set your lineup for Thursday Night Football.
If you have any questions, feel free to hit me up on Twitter. Be sure to check out my show MoneyLine with Jerry Bo on ESPN 97.5 FM. We're on every Sunday morning from 10-noon, and we'll talk a lot of fantasy football and NFL gambling getting you ready for kickoff every Sunday.
Photo by:Brett Carlsen/Getty Images
1 Lamar Jackson
2 Drew Brees
3 Patrick Mahomes
4 Deshaun Watson
5 Ryan Tannehill
6 Jimmy Garoppolo
7 Russell Wilson
8 Jared Goff
9 Dak Prescott
10 Aaron Rodgers
11 Jameis Winston
12 Derek Carr
13 Kyler Murray
14 Kirk Cousins
15 Matt Ryan
1 Christian McCaffrey
2 Chris Carson
3 Ezekiel Elliott
4 Dalvin Cook
5 Derrick Henry
6 Leonard Fournette
7 Saquon Barkley
8 Alvin Kamara
9 Austin Ekeler
10 DeAndre Washington *This will change if Jacobs plays.
11 Nick Chubb
12 Melvin Gordon
13 Aaron Jones
14 Todd Gurley
15 Mark Ingram
16 James White
17 Phillip Lindsay
18 Miles Sanders
19 Joe Mixon
20 Raheem Mostert
21 Devin Singletary
22 Kareem Hunt
23 David Montgomery
24 Le'Veon Bell
25 Devonta Freeman
26 Marlon Mack
27 Kenyan Drake
28 Patrick Laird
29 Adrian Peterson
30 Duke Johnson
1 Michael Thomas
2 DeAndre Hopkins
3 Julian Edelman
4 Julio Jones
5 Tyreek Hill
6 Robert Woods
7 Chris Godwin
8 D.J. Moore
9 Davante Adams
10 Keenan Allen
11 Allen Robinson
12 Kenny Golladay
13 Stefon Diggs
14 Cooper Kupp
15 Jarvis Landry
16 Amari Cooper
17 Courtland Sutton
18 Michael Gallup
19 Emmanuel Sanders
20 A.J. Brown
21 Dede Westbrook
22 Odell Beckham
23 Deebo Samuel
24 Darius Slayton
25 Christian Kirk
26 D.K. Metcalf
27 Tyler Lockett
28 Mike Williams
29 John Brown
30 Zach Pascal
31 Tyler Boyd
32 Sterling Shepard
33 Terry McLaurin
34 Marquise Brown
35 Cole Beasley
36 Curtis Samuel
1 Travis Kelce
2 Zach Ertz
3 George Kittle
4 Darren Waller
5 Hunter Henry
6 Austin Hooper
7 OJ Howard
8 Tyler Higbee
9 Ian Thomas
10 Jack Doyle
11 Mike Gesicki
12 Jacob Hollister
1 Ravens
2 Patriots
3 Steelers
4 49ers
5 Bills
6 Chiefs
7 Packers
8 Seahawks
9 Saints
10 Vikings
11 Chargers
12 Bears
1 Justin Tucker
2 Wil Lutz
3 Greg Zuerlein
4 Harrison Butker
5 Robbie Gould
6 Mason Crosby
7 Matt Gay
8 Jake Elliott
9 Jason Myers
10 Ka'imi Fairbairn
11 Younghoe Koo
12 Michael Badgley
That will do it. Good luck this week and when in doubt, start your studs.
Pharrell Williams is ringing in my ears. Why? Because I’m happy of course (2013 music reference)! Less than one week to spring training opening for the Astros in West Palm Beach. The pitchers and catchers are required to report a few days before the rest. A number of guys among the rest will arrive early, but let’s focus on some pitcher/catcher issues. Catchers first.
We know Yainer Diaz is the primary starter, with Victor Caratini a solid complement in the final year of his two-year contract. Diaz had a fine season overall in his first as the primary backstop, but he has a couple of clear areas that need improvement if stardom is to be on his horizon. His pitch-framing metrics were poor. Maybe it’s as simple as more experience under the belt improving them. At the plate, Yainer brings major value for what he does when doing it as a catcher. Still, to be a bonafide great offensive catcher, Diaz needs to rediscover more of the home run power he displayed as a rookie. In 2023 Diaz smashed 23 home runs in 355 at bats. In 2024 he had 230 more at bats, and hit seven fewer home runs. He had a 30-game midseason homer drought (immediately after going deep in four consecutive games), and then went the final 31 games of the season (29 plus the two playoff losses) without clearing a fence. Diaz did bat .309 over those 61 games so it’s not as if he turned into Martin Maldonado, but you want more sock from a guy batting fourth or fifth in the lineup. Diaz’s slugging percentage tumbled from .531 to .448. Among catchers overall, 16 homers and the .766 OPS he posted in 2024 is fine, but that is not a great offensive player overall. The other area where Yainer needs a step up is plate discipline. With his 585 at bats last year he walked only a pitiful 24 times. As a result, despite his excellent .299 batting average Diaz’s on-base percentage was just .325. Jon Singleton posted a .321 OBP while batting .234.
Caratini is a solid pro whose switch-hitting adds flexibility. He was sensational as a pinch-hitter albeit in just 19 at bats (8-19, .421). Manager Joe Espada has some playing time juggling to do. Free agent signee Christian Walker will play almost every day at first base when healthy. Diaz or Caratini getting starts there will be very limited. Yordan Alvarez targeted for fewer starts in left field gobbles up more designated hitter games. However Jose Altuve winds up splitting his defensive time between second base and left field, closing in on his 35th birthday in May, using him at DH about once per week would make sense.
On the mound, barring injury the starting rotation is set. Off of their 2024 performances Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, and Ronel Blanco are as solid a one-two-three punch as there is in the American League. Only unanimously-voted American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal posted a better qualifying earned run average (2.39) than Blanco’s 2.80 and Valdez’s 2.91. After tweaking his arsenal following an atrocious opening seven-start stretch to his season, Brown posted a 2.46 ERA the rest of the way. Framber may have a couple hundred million dollars riding on his 2025 performance as barring an extension he heads toward free agency. Will Brown and Blanco’s performance hold up after each set professional career highs in innings pitched? The fourth rotation spot initially goes to Spencer Arrighetti, who showed much promise pitching to a 3.18 ERA after the All-Star break. Kyle Tucker trade acquisition Hayden Wesneski has first dibs on the fifth spot. The Cy-Fair high school grad and Sam Houston State product flashes some solid stuff, but absolutely must do a better job keeping his pitches in the ballpark. In 190 big league innings pitched Wesneski has been hammered for 35 home runs. In 2024 he showed so improvement in that area yielding 12 dingers in 67 2/3 innings.
The two sure things so far as bullpen roles are concerned are Josh Hader and Bryan Abreu. Hader’s seasons in one word from 2020-2024: Meh, stupendous, atrocious, phenomenal, mediocre. The odd years have been the fabulous ones. Abreu moves up the totem pole with the salary dump (eight and a half of 14 million anyway) trade of Ryan Pressly. After Hader and Abreu most tickets are punched. Tayler Scott, Kaleb Ort, Forrest Whitley, and Bryan King all figure to have spots. The 32-year-old Scott faded over the last two months after having blown away anything he’d done previously in MLB. The 33-year-old Ort also way outpitched his prior big league resume. Former mega-prospect Whitley is out of minor league options, and opportunity knocks. King appears the only definitely makes the club lefty reliever.
Spring training doors open next week. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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