This weekend, we will be publishing an updated version of the RotoWire Roundtable Rankings (Top 350 Overall) on the site.
Our first installment for 2015 was published on Valentine's Day, just over one month ago, and there have been several significant developments during that time.
Here's a quick preview of some of the changes I accounted for this spring.
Miguel Cabrera is up from 11th overall to seventh. Everything has progressed reasonably well with his foot to this point, although it still isn't necessarily a lock that he'll be ready for Opening Day. A closer look at his numbers while playing hurt down the stretch last season also helped give him the bump ahead of Jose Abreu, Anthony Rizzo, Jose Bautista, and Edwin Encarnacion on my list.
Anthony Rendon fell 15 spots from 11th to 26th overall. A Grade 1 MCL sprain is the least severe variety, but I am scaling back my expectations for him in steals, as well as his overall volume of playing time. Remember, Rendon had a few injuries at Rice that prevented him from being the first overall pick in his draft class.
Prince Fielder and Carlos Gonzalez get a bump. I wrote a post about Fielder a few weeks back after seeing video of him in the batting cage. He's already logged seven spring training games, with more than two weeks of the Cactus League schedule on tap. The gap between Cargo and Tulo should not be as wide as it is in ADP right now. Both players carry significant risk -- perhaps equal amounts of it -- and yet Cargo is reliably available 30 picks later. As far as preferred players of ownership go, the more shallow the league, the more likely I am to target both Prince and Cargo.
Matt Harvey is now ranked 61st overall, just behind Jon Lester. I may still miss out on him, but his 190-200 innings could be as good as anybody's outside of Kershaw.
Nolan Arenado received a bump for two reasons. 1. The Rockies have seemingly healthy versions of Tulo and Cargo right now. 2. His second-half numbers from 2014 are very impressive. The former was previously preventing the latter from getting me on board with him. He's a borderline top-50 overall player thanks to his combination of skills, home park, and lineup.
Kris Bryant has laid waste to Cactus League pitching this spring, even with a sore shoulder. The Cubs will likely give him the call after ensuring that he won't accrue a full year of service time in 2015. The Cubs could prevent him from reaching a full year of service time with an April 17th callup. The total cost? Just nine games played without Bryant on the roster. If he's on the roster for 153 games, it's reasonable to think that he may play 135-140. Is .265-25-80-70-8 out of the question for him in Year 1? I don't think so.
I dropped Glen Perkins slightly. Fortunately, his spring injury has been an oblique issue, rather than the elbow, but I'm becoming a little bit bearish with him compared to other mid-tier closers.
Perhaps it's an overreaction, but Drew Smyly's case of shoulder tendinitis has probably put him low enough on my rankings where I won't end up with him anywhere.
Leonys Martin getting the opportunity lead off against right-handed pitching should give him a significant bump up most boards. He ended up at 98th overall on my new rankings, one spot ahead of Gregory Polanco
I don't know how much playing time Wilin Rosario will lose with Nick Hundley and Mike McKenry in the mix, but I finally had to drop him (approximately 40 spots on the overall list) to the bottom of the Wieters, Ramos, d'Arnaud block. (There are plenty of useful catchers if you don't get a premium one this year.)
Michael Wacha was one of the biggest risers in this round of adjustments. He appears to be completely healthy this spring, and is making a push toward the top-100 overall again.
Aaron Sanchez fell on the list, even though he's increasingly likely to have a prolonged opportunity in the Toronto rotation. There is no denying the talent, but I have concerns about the command woes that plagued him prior to the move to the Toronto bullpen last summer.
Rajai Davis' value is gradually taking a hit, with the increasing possibility of Anthony Gose (new mechanics and all) locking down the larger side of the platoon in center field.
There were a number of other changes, including the removal of several players that have suffered season-ending injuries. Be sure to check out the updated rankings once they become available Friday, and let me know @DerekVanRiper which players have moved the needle the most for you this spring.