Sports

Fantasy Baseball Power Rankings

Published

9 months ago

March 26, 2025

I’m giving most of this roster an injury pass after a season from hell last year. But I wasn’t keen on drafting Ronald Acuña Jr. after he openly admitted that he’s going to run less often. This won’t be the dream offense of 2023, but it’s still likely to be top five when all the runs are counted.They’ll be a little better just because you can’t be historically terrible for two straight years. That’s the plexiglass principle, right? I was open to drafting Andrew Benintendi (look at his final two months) and possible closer Mike Clevinger with late picks. That’s it for now.Kyle Tucker is in the prime of his career — and in a prove-it year for free agency — but how much is the park going to hurt him? Wrigley suffocates left-handed power. Pete Crow-Armstrong offers category juice and he’s a wonder in center field.Even if you’re an ardent fantasy player, I dare you to name their entire starting lineup without help. Bo Bichette was affordably priced all spring but I found it hard to make the click. José Berríos might never be truly great but he’s always playable.

30. Chicago White Sox

Is the timing right for a Kyle Manzardo breakout? He might bat third, the catbird seat behind Steven Kwan and the forever-underrated José Ramírez. One key is staying out of a platoon.

29. Miami Marlins

They’ll score a zillion runs and Zack Wheeler is the perfect No. 1 horse up front. They better hope the Cristopher Sánchez buzz is real because Aaron Nola dealt with lagging velocity all spring.

28. Colorado Rockies

Every so often I like to rank the MLB teams by order of how fun and fantasy-friendly they are. So here are your initial power rankings. I suppose they would probably line up mostly with power rankings that are solely based on the real-life strength of a team, but we like to throw in some special sauce when we can.

27. Los Angeles Angels

I have no idea why they didn’t make a more aggressive move for pitching — and that was doubly true late last summer. Runs will flow easier with the left-field wall coming back in.

26. St. Louis Cardinals

Oneil Cruz has dreamy hard-hit metrics and don’t miss that he was 15-for-15 on steals in the second half. I’ll sign off on a proactive Cruz pick. Joey Bart looked legit in the second half last year, too, and should finally get that coveted full season.

25. The Athletics

This team deserves the rep that the Rays carried for so long — they’re smart, and they do so many little things well. It’s probably the best defensive team in the NL, so you can talk me into almost any of their pitchers. Please, fantasy gods, let Christian Yelich have a healthy six months. He’s good at everything.

24. Washington Nationals

It’s a top-heavy lineup, and I’ve been afraid to draft Fernando Tatís Jr. for a few years. Mike King looks the part at the top of the rotation, a Cy Young semi-sleeper.

23. San Francisco Giants

Willy Adames is a fine player but an obvious fade, with a big contract and a big park. The Brewers love to run; the Giants always have a red light flashing. Hayden Birdsong’s electric spring didn’t get him in the rotation, but he’s the first man up and eventually, someone will get hurt. I’m in on Logan Webb.

22. Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB’s real Opening Day is just a couple of sleeps away and I couldn’t be more pumped. Bring on the baseball. Bring on the fantasy baseball, too.

21. Tampa Bay Rays

[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2025 MLB season]

20. Seattle Mariners

The rotation is filled with a lot of throw-and-hope, but Juan Soto was the biggest catch of the free-agent season and I loved that the team brought Pete Alonso back. This is a destination offense, top to bottom, for fantasy managers.

19. Milwaukee Brewers

Good to see Terry Francona back in the dugout. A healthy Matt McLain could be a second-round fantasy pick by next year. I have no idea how they’re going to handle the closer spot. Whatever gets you through the ninth, it’s alright.

18. Kansas City Royals

The lineup reminds me of the pricy headphones I used to regularly buy. They look good, they sound good, and they always break. Still, I’m fine to pass on Mike Trout because Byron Buxton is a similar fantasy commodity, about 100 picks later. Bailey Ober is popular in the fantasy industry, but may be more reasonably priced in your pool.

17. Detroit Tigers

It’s sad to see such a mediocre offense living in this park. Michael Toglia will strike out 200 times but the category juice will play. Ryan McMahon should at least return his ADP. I will not be talked into any Colorado pitcher.

16. Toronto Blue Jays

This lineup led the majors in runs scored last year, by a fairly healthy margin. Trot that question out to an East Coast bar — you’ll drink for free all night. The Corbin Burnes strikeout rate has dropped four straight seasons, enough for me to fade him all spring.

15. Texas Rangers

I haven’t been reaching on high-end pitching for the most part but Cole Ragans was one of my rule-breakers. Seth Lugo was a steal all month — he’s always been good, just under-appreciated. I’m worried about Vinnie Pasquantino’s lower-body injury — he’s one of the league’s smartest hitters and a favorite of mine. Salvador Pérez is building a Hall of Fame case.

14. Cincinnati Reds

The second half of the lineup is depressing but the rotation is divine, no matter what George Kirby’s timetable winds up being. All of these pitchers pound the zone and obviously they work in a big park, which makes them easy on the eyes.

13. Minnesota Twins

It was refreshing to see them ditch the bargain-hunter mindset and actually pay up for Alex Bregman, a signature free agent. How healthy is Rafael Devers, dealing with two bad shoulders? Will he accept DH life if it comes to it? Justin Slaten is the saves sleeper in this bullpen. I still can’t believe Boston somehow acquired Garrett Crochet without having to touch its best rising prospects. Maybe it’s the Chris Sale story all over again.

12. Houston Astros

I will revisit and edit these ranks a few times during the season. Let’s go.

11. Cleveland Guardians

Given the horrible spring they’ve had, I think it’s comical the Yankees are still the A.L. East favorite in the markets. Of course, I said similar things last year and all they did was make the World Series. I’m excited to see if Austin Wells can stick as a leadoff man (at least against right-handed pitching). He’s my most rostered catcher.

10. Chicago Cubs

Isaac Paredes has been a steal all spring and it looks like he’ll open the year hitting second. The Rays didn’t always leave him alone in the lineup, but Houston will. Framber Valdez is Mr. Floor at the top of the rotation, but I’m also excited to see if Hunter Brown’s final four months were the beginning of sustainable stardom.

9. San Diego Padres

There are four ascending talents locked into the top five lineup spots, so that’s a reason to tune in. MacKenzie Gore already gets enough strikeouts to be mixed-league viable, and he has another level to potentially climb. Kyle Finnegan is the cheapest 20 saves on the board.

8. Arizona Diamondbacks

I still feel like they’re one hitter short. A long Alex Bregman contract probably wouldn’t have made sense, but a short-term deal would have fit perfectly. Hey, they tried. I’m curious if Casey Mise can reinvent himself after a winter of tinkering. I don’t think Jason Foley will stick as the closer; remember, he hardly pitched in the playoffs. I’m always in on Riley Greene.

7. New York Yankees

They’re the nomads of baseball, forced out of their park and perhaps moving to a new city altogether in an upcoming season. The midsummer schedule also has an odd shape to it, because outdoor baseball in Florida is hard to handle during the rainy season. For years, I always assumed Tampa Bay would figure things out, even if I didn’t see the genius of the plan. I’m no longer giving this organization the benefit of the doubt.

6. Baltimore Orioles

Is this the Jurickson Profar-breakout year for Jo Adell? The Anaheim center fielder just turned 26 and I think they’ll leave him alone. Mike Trout really should be a DH by now, but the Angels signed Jorge Soler for that gig. Ron Washington wants his team to run.

5. Boston Red Sox

Xavier Edwards makes contact, works the count, wants to run like crazy. Count me in. Max Meyer is an interesting rotation sleeper. But good luck reciting this team’s 1-to-9 lineup.

4. Philadelphia Phillies

You can’t spell Load Management without LAD. Last year, just two pitchers on this club made it past 90 innings, and nobody came close to qualifying for the ERA title. This year, it’s possible Dave Roberts will also be more proactive with resting his position guys. They’re a traveling circus, but be careful with your expectations.

3. New York Mets

Although the Oakland ballpark was a dump, it was sad to see the city lose its team. That doesn’t mean this can’t be a fun club. Every fantasy manager needs to know that Brent Rooker, Kyle Schwarber and Marcell Ozuna are all outfield-eligible in Yahoo leagues.

2. Atlanta Braves

The Wyatt Langford rocket ship looks ready to take off. I have no idea how many innings Jacob deGrom will throw — knowing I had him as a cheap keeper in one league, I decided to sit him out through draft season. My heart was already invested, I didn’t want to take it further than that. I was surprised Evan Carter didn’t make the team but after a washout spring, the move makes sense.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

Whatever their special sauce was all these years, it’s apparently gone stale. At least the lineup is young and brimming with upside, but you need to be able to develop your talent, too. I liked the boring-veteran discount on Sonny Gray all spring, but he’s another pitcher dealing with a nervous velocity dip.

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Haugen Sets Norwegian National Record at Youree Spence Garcia Invitational

Published

8 minutes ago

December 7, 2025

Your Sports Nation

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John’s track and field team opened its indoor campaign by hosting the Youree Spence Garcia Invitational on Saturday afternoon at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island. Senior Nora Haugen started her indoor campaign by setting a program, national and facility record in the 600m. Her time of 1:26.91 is the fastest time in the NCAA as of Saturday evening. Haugen was named the Most Outstanding Track Performer of the Meet for her results.

The Red Storm collected six event wins and 10 top-three finishes. In addition, five Johnnies etched their names on indoor top-10 all-time lists.

On the track, Haugen’s program record is the first to fall at Ocean Breeze this season. Chinenye Josephine Onourah won the 400m in a time of 53.13, which sits number two on the indoor all-time list. St. John’s took first through fifth place in the 400m. Freshman Nia-Ruby Forbes-Agyepong kicked off her Red Storm career with a top five finish in the 60m hurdles, stopping the clock in 8.90.

Both the 4x400m relay and the 4x800m relay quartets crossed the line first. The 4x400m squad finished 10 seconds ahead of second place, while the 4x800m group cruised to a 17 second margin of victory.

In the field, senior Jamora Alves started her indoor campaign with a second place showing in the women’s shot put. Her toss of 14.30m (46ft 11in.) is her second-best season opening mark of her career and gives her another top-10 performance in program history. Linn Hertz Saebbo won the long jump on her final attempt, leaping 6.05m (19ft 10.25in). The mark sits third all-time on the indoor list. Freshman Tatiana Camilo also made the long jump final, with a jump of 5.45m (17ft 10.50in) and Nyla Branche placed second in the high jump with a 1.62m (5ft 3.75in) clearance.

Youree Spence is regarded as one of the greatest track and field athletes in St. John’s history. She is an 11-time BIG EAST Champion and holds three top-10 performances across three disciples. The track and field legend and the meet’s namesake was in attendance, along with several other alumni.

A portion of the team is set to compete next Friday, Dec. 12, back at Ocean Breeze in the Wagner Seahawk Shootout.

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Sports

NCAA Tournament: Nebraska vs. Kansas State Volleyball Watch Thread

Published

9 minutes ago

December 7, 2025

Your Sports Nation

#1 Nebraska vs. Kansas State

When: Saturday, December 6th, 7:00pm CST

Where: Bob Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln, NE

Both Kansas State and Nebraska won their 1st round matches to create an old Big 12 matchup for Round 2 in Lincoln, NE on Saturday night. Though the Huskers played a little later, they probably have the upper hand tomorrow since they only had to play 3 sets while Kansas State had to battle through 5 tough sets against San Diego earlier on Friday afternoon.

Since the match is less than 24 hours away, you’re only going to get the spark notes version for this Kansas State team and a quick recap of their match against San Diego. Kansas State could be bringing a good amount of fans tomorrow as they are only roughly 2 and half hours from Lincoln.

Kansas State finished the 2025 season going 18-9, 10-8 in conference play, in the Big 12 conference and getting ranked wins against North Carolina, Kansas, Colorado, Baylor, and Iowa State. The Big 12 was one of the most, if not the most, competitive conferences this year putting the most teams in the tournament in 2o25.

The stats get a little rough for K-State if you just look at the record between them and Nebraska. These two teams played their first match against each other in 1975 and the most recent one was in 2023 in the non-conference portion of the season. K-State is 4-81 against the Huskers, all time, with their last win coming in 2011 in the tournament. Nebraska hosted this match.

K-State’s top player, in their match against San Diego, was SR OH Shaylee Myers, who is a Lincoln Southwest graduate. She had 26 kills on 58 swings and hit .328%. She only recorded 7 errors.

RS-JR OH Aniya Clinton was another top Wildcat on Friday night, recording 19 kills in the 5 set match, hitting .304%. She also added 13 digs as well.

MB Jordyn Williams and Setter Ava LeGrand were the top blockers for K-State with Williams blocking 7 balls and LeGrand blocking 6. Brenna Schmidt is the Wildcats’ other middle blocker and she had a pretty good night defensively, but struggled offensively ending in the negatives with 2 kills and 3 errors. Schmidt had 4 assisted blocks and also had 1 of 2 solo blocks. Clinton had the other solo block.

Nebraska will look to continue their hunt for a national championship Saturday night against a Kansas State team that will be hungry to take out the only undefeated team left in D1 volleyball, and the predicted national champion. The match will begin at 7:00pm CST on ESPN+.

#1 Nebraska Cornhuskers (31-0, 20-0 B1G)

Kansas State Wildcats (18-9, 10-8 Big 12)

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Sports

Indoor Track and Field’s Mia Hoskins Breaks Weight Throw Record on Opening Weekend

Published

25 minutes ago

December 7, 2025

Your Sports Nation

NEW YORK — The Columbia track & field team began its 2025-26 season this weekend, competing in three meets in the New York City Area. The Lions had a successful start to the year, with many successful performances, which included a new program record.

The weekend began at the Armory Collegiate Distance Carnival, where Columbia dominated in the field events. Tyler Yen and Madison Williams won the long jump events, posting 6.85m and 5.63m, respectively, to lead the pack.

Viktoria Mihaylova picked up a win in the triple jump, posting a 11.97m jump. Rocco Carpinello took second in the men’s triple jump with a mark of 14.58m.

In the distance events, Elia Ton-That had the top finish for the Lions, placing second in the 3000m with a time of 9:42.63.

On Saturday evening, the Lions continued to compete at the Armory in the TCNJ Indoor Open. The highlight of the meet came in the mile run, where Jacob Van Orden (4:08.14) and Maggie Boler (5:02.17) both finished in first place.

Moriah Luetjen took first in the 400m with a time of 57.09. In addition, Collin Moore (1.93m) and Norina Khanzada (1.68m) won the high jump events, Mignonne de Beer (5.72m) won the long jump, and Liam Wright (4.60m) and Lucy Markow (3.62m) won the pole vault.

Elsewhere, Columbia sent its throwers to compete at the Army Crowell Open, where history was made.

Mia Hoskins took second in the weight throw, setting a new program record with a mark of 17.94m.

Marcus Blasucci also placed second in the shot put, with the second best mark in program history at 17.59m.

Parker Kim won the weight throw with a throw of 19.70m.

Full results from the Armory Collegiate Distance Carnival, including all of Columbia’s other top finishers, can be found HERE.

Full results from the TCNJ Indoor Open, including all of Columbia’s other top finishers, can be found HERE.

Full results from the Army Crowell Open, including all of Columbia’s other top finishers, can be found HERE.

ON DECK:

The Lions will be off the rest of December for the holidays, before returning to action in the new year on January 9 in the TCNJ Lions Invite at the Armory.

Stay up to date on all things Columbia track & field by following the Lions on Twitter (@CULionsXCTF), Instagram (@culionsxctf) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).

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Sports

Nebraska advances to Sweet 16 after sweeping Kansas State

Published

28 minutes ago

December 7, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Nebraska hosted Kansas State in the second round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament on Saturday.The Huskers got on the board first thanks to Harper Murray.Virginia Adriano forced a Wildcat timeout after a solo block and a kill. Nebraska led 13-7.Check out this incredible play.Nebraska won set 1, 25-17.Kansas State got on the board first, but the Huskers bounced back quickly.The Huskers won set 2, 25-21.The Wildcats got out ahead of the Huskers, but Andi Jackson was able to tie things up at five apiece.Adriano with a kill made it 18-12 Nebraska.With a 25-16 set 3 win, the Husker swept Kansas State to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 41st time in program history.Nebraska will play Kansas in the next round of the tournament. The time and date have yet to be announced.Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |

LINCOLN, Neb. —

Nebraska hosted Kansas State in the second round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament on Saturday.