2022 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 50 infielders
Draft Carlos Correa higher than his ranking
Major League Baseball’s Opening Day is set for Thursday, and Fantasy Baseball Leagues are ramping up. Today, we rank the top 50 infielders to help you navigate your drafts.
Don’t forget that these rankings are for head-to-head (H2H) leagues. Determinations were made by aggregating projection stats from three major locations: Steamer, ZiPS, and THE BAT.
Before we begin, let’s talk about the No. 1 ranked player on the list, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. If not for the once-in-a-century performance of Shohei Ohtani, Vladdy would have won the 2021 American League Most Valuable Player Award.
Many attribute this to the fact that he came into the 2021 season in the best shape of his life. Well, for those who don’t know, this season, he’s in even better shape. He is tearing the cover off the ball in Spring Training to boot. In 10 games this Spring, the 23-year-old is batting .321 with a .938 OPS.
What’s more, last season, El Dominicano hit 48 home runs, more than any player age-22 or younger in MLB history. He intends to better those numbers that this season.
Top 50 Infielders
RANK |
PLAYER | POSITION |
---|---|---|
1 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | 1B, 3B |
2 | José Ramírez | 3B |
3 | Freddie Freeman | 1B |
4 | Matt Olson | 1B |
5 | Trea Turner | SS |
6 | Rafael Devers | 3B |
7 | Manny Machado | 3B |
8 | Pete Alonso | 1B |
9 | Ozzie Albies | 2B |
10 | Bo Bichette | SS |
11 | Alex Bregman | 3B |
12 | Nolan Arenado | 3B |
13 | Marcus Semien | 2B, SS |
14 | Jose Altuve | 2B |
15 | Xander Bogaerts | SS |
16 | Wander Franco | SS |
17 | Kris Bryant | 3B |
18 | Jorge Polanco | 2B, SS |
19 | Corey Seager | SS |
20 | Francisco Lindor | SS |
21 | Josh Bell | 1B |
22 | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B |
23 | Ketel Marte | 2B, SS |
24 | Carlos Correa | SS |
25 | Max Muncy | 1B, 2B |
26 | Anthony Rizzo | 1B |
27 | Whit Merrifield | 2B |
28 | José Abreu | 1B |
29 | Jonathan India | 2B |
30 | Trevor Story | SS |
31 | Austin Riley | 3B |
32 | Jake Cronenworth | 2B |
33 | Rhys Hoskins | 1B |
34 | Anthony Rendon | 3B |
35 | Ty France | 1B |
36 | Brandon Lowe | 2B |
37 | Salvador Perez | C |
38 | C.J. Cron | 1B |
39 | Justin Turner | 3B |
40 | Tim Anderson | SS |
41 | Joey Votto | 1B |
42 | Jared Walsh | 1B |
43 | Tommy Edman | 2B |
44 | Enrique Hernández | 2B |
45 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | SS |
46 | Yuli Gurriel | 1B |
47 | Trey Mancini | 1B |
48 | Will Smith | C |
49 | Josh Donaldson | 3B |
50 | Ryan Mountcastle | 1B |
Player to start the season on IL
Fantasy Baseball Notes
After leading the Atlanta Braves to their first World Series since 1995, Freddie Freeman took his talents to Los Angeles. Now wearing Dodger Blue, Freeman will see protection up and down the lineup. This will bolster his already elite numbers, which explains why he is ranked third among the 50 infielders on this list.
Replacing Freeman at first base in Atlanta will be Matt Olson, who was acquired from the Oakland Athletics. The 28-year-old Atlanta native is coming off his best full season. He was rewarded by the Braves to the tune of 8-years, $168 million.
Olson is projected to match Freeman offensively.
Marcus Semien traded in his Toronto Blue Jays uniform for Texas Rangers gear this offseason. When the 2022 MLB season starts, the Rangers will be the third team he has played for in three years and the projections are all for it.
According to our aggregated data, Semien ranks ahead of every other major middle-infielder not named Trea Turner and Bo Bichette. This includes Corey Seager, Carlos Correa, and Trevor Story.
More Notes
Seager, Correa, and Story were three of the most highly sought shortstops this offseason. Combined, they took home more than $500 million in free-agent contracts, as they project to be at the top of their position.
ZiPS | Steamer | THE BAT | |
Corey Seager | 5.2 | 4.9 | 4.5 |
Carlos Correa | 5.1 | 5.3 | 4.5 |
Trevor Story | 4.7 | 3.8 | 4.2 |
Of the three players, Correa can opt out of his deal with the Minnesota Twins at the end of this season. This serves as an incentive for him to work for an even larger deal next offseason. Pair this with his career splits in Target Field (.413 batting average and a 1.205 OPS), and you’re looking at a monster season for the Ponce, Puerto Rico, native.
As it stands, the 28-year-old received the second-largest contract by Average Annual Value ($35.1 million) this offseason, but his deal is only for three years. Draft Correa higher than he is ranked with confidence. He might be the most underrated player on this list.
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