Fantasy Baseball Re-Draft: Second-Half Projections

We’ve still got a few days of break left, but we’re already turning our attention to the second half of the season. After going through the Fantasy All-Star rosters, it’s time to look ahead to the rest of the season by doing a little re-draft of the first two rounds. This isn’t looking ahead to 2027 just yet; this is an attempt to figure out who the top 24 players will be for the rest of the season.

Note the way we rephrased that: ‘The rest of the season.’ This isn’t about 2027 drafts; this is about the players who will dominate the second half. Which means you won’t see Aaron Judge here – he might still be my choice for the No. 1 pick in 2027 drafts, but he’s still recovering from his rib injury and isn’t likely to be cleared to play for at least another few weeks. With just over two months left to play, even missing three or four more weeks would make Judge a reach with a second-round pick.

Changes from Our Preseason Picks

There have been plenty of other changes from our preseason picks for the first two rounds, too. I wouldn’t have gone with James Wood, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Jacob Misiorowski as even top-25 picks before the season, but you’ll find all three inside the top-10 for the rest of the season. Yordan Alvarez has worked his way into the first round, too, though I did have him as a second-rounder before the season, even if most would have been scared off at that price.

If they hold serve the rest of the way, each of those players will be first-rounders next season, while names like Ronald Acuna, Fernando Tatis, Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Tucker, and others will have to fight to get back into consideration by the end of the season.

Re-Drafting the First Two Rounds

The Top 10

Here’s what it would look like for the rest of the season:

• 1. Bobby Witt, SS, Royals: For the second season in a row, it looks like Witt is only going to end up with around 20-25 homers, and the Royals lackluster offense is holding his overall counting stats back a bit. On the other hand, he’s on pace for close to 50 steals, will hit near .300, and is very much capable of getting back to a 30-steal pace with a few tweaks.
• 2. Shohei Ohtani, DH, Dodgers: In any league where you get Ohtani’s pitching stats in addition to his offense, he remains the obvious top player. Otherwise, he’s taken just enough of a step back as a hitter that I think he would fall to third if Aaron Judge were healthy.
• 3. Juan Soto, OF, Mets: The steals have predictably returned to their normal levels, but Soto is as good a hitter as ever and is on pace for his third 40-homer season while hitting .290.
• 4. James Wood, OF, Nationals: This one gets a little scary because of how much Wood struggled after last year’s All-Star break, but I just can’t really justify ranking him any lower than this after a first half where he had 28 homers, 89 runs, 64 RBI, and 15 steals.
• 5. Yordan Alvarez, OF, Astros: I suppose you can still argue Alvarez’s injury risk is higher than most players’, but after watching him stay healthy for 100 games, I think you have to be a real coward not to take him this high.
• 6. Elly De La Cruz, SS, Reds: De La Cruz struggled a bit in his initial return from a hamstring injury, but he has more or less looked like himself in July, including with four steals in 11 games.
• 7. Junior Caminero, 3B, Rays: I guess he wasn’t just a product of Steinbrenner Field, huh? Caminero has built on last year’s breakout by more than doubling his walk rate without losing anything on the power side.
• 8. Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Cubs: If you want to have Crow-Armstrong as high as fourth, I wouldn’t really argue with you.
• 9. Jacob Misiorowski, SP, Brewers: The arm fatigue Misiorowski dealt with at the end of the first half is a minor red flag, and if you wanted to rank him lower than this as a result, I wouldn’t really argue with you.
• 10. Julio Rodriguez, OF, Mariners: Rodriguez’s current production doesn’t justify a pick this high, but we know how this goes.

He’s a notoriously slow starter, putting up a .739 OPS in the first half of his career compared to a .902 mark after.

And the rest of the top 24:

• 11. Corbin Carroll, OF, Diamondbacks: If the first half ended closer to the actual mid-way point of the season at the end of June, Carroll would look even better, as he had an .881 OPS when play opened on July 1.
• 12. Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics: Kurtz would probably be even higher if he hadn’t gone on the IL with a thumb sprain just before the break.
• 13. Kyle Schwarber, DH, Phillies: We’ve seen it before: Schwarber starts off hot, then cools down.
• 14. Spencer Torkelson, 1B, Tigers: Torkelson’s numbers have been decent, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that he’s still struggling to find his power stroke.
• 15. Adolis Garcia, OF, Cardinals: Garcia’s stolen base totals are up significantly, but his power numbers are down.
• 16. Andrew Vaughn, 1B, White Sox: Vaughn’s hitting has been excellent, but his power numbers are still a concern.
• 17. Triston Casas, 1B, Red Sox: Casas’s power numbers are up, but his batting average is still a concern.
• 18. Matt Olson, 1B, Braves: Olson’s power numbers are up, but his batting average is still a concern.
• 19. Austin Riley, 3B, Braves: Riley’s numbers have been decent, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that he’s still struggling to find his power stroke.
• 20. Nolan Jones, 3B, Guardians: Jones’s numbers have been excellent, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that he’s still struggling to find his power stroke.
• 21. MJ Melendez, C, Royals: Melendez’s numbers have been decent, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that he’s still struggling to find his power stroke.
• 22. Shea Langeliers, C, Athletics: Langeliers’s numbers have been excellent, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that he’s still struggling to find his power stroke.
• 23. Riley Greene, OF, Tigers: Greene’s numbers have been decent, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that he’s still struggling to find his power stroke.
• 24. Jordan Walker, 3B, Cardinals: Walker’s numbers have been excellent, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that he’s still struggling to find his power stroke.