Every Monday, I’ll be re-ranking my top-250 players for fantasy baseball moving forward. Use it to scout out trades and pickups or to self-scout your own roster. You can still also draft another team, so consider this a fresh sheet to work off.
Here are some of the risers and fallers from this week’s list. You’ll find my full rest-of-season fantasy baseball rankings at the end of this story.
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Risers
Oneil Cruz, OF, Pirates and Elly De La Cruz, SS, Reds
I’m going to link these guys this week because they’ve been linked most of their careers. Similar names, enormous shortstops, NL Central kids on the rise. A few years ago, it was the hot thing to pick your preference among these rising stars.
Of course, life is what happens to you while you’re making other plans. Oneil Cruz has moved off shortstop (and he’s not much of an outfielder, either) and had some speed bumps to his career. Elly’s push has been cleaner, though we were worried when his pop disappeared in the second half last year (four homers, .363 slugging).
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Both players are off to glorious starts this spring. Oneil Cruz has been the top hitter in 5×5 formats so far (.339, five homers, six steals) and his Baseball Savant hard-hit sliders are too good to be true, a wave of Hawaiian Punch red. Pittsburgh also has an improved offense, standing a respectable 11th in runs scored.
Moving slightly west, Elly’s pop has returned and he’s also running liberally (five steals); he’s also showing more potential in batting average, as he develops a more discerning eye at the plate. The Cruz/De La Cruz party we signed up for two years ago is finally here in 2026.
Michael Soroka, SP, Diamondbacks
My podcast mate Michael Salfino gave us a great rule of thumb many years ago, basically positing that anytime a pitcher struck out 10 batters in a game, it was probably worth a pickup on spec, no matter the context. I suspect that rule is even more applicable today, with starters working shorter. Soroka has a past pedigree and is finally healthy again. He’s also given us two 10-whiff games, so he checks the Salfino box twice.
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Mason Miller, RP, Padres
Normally I’m against relief pitchers winning major awards because they simply don’t work enough. Rollie Fingers and Dennis Eckersley were legitimate Hall of Famers, but when they won MVP Awards in their day, it never made sense.
Miller won’t be in the MVP chase, but maybe a Cy Young push would be justified. He’s struck out 19 of the 24 batters he has faced this season, and since he joined the Padres last year, it’s been one long game of Wiffle Ball: 0.46 ERA, 0.62 WHIP, 64 strikeouts (just 11 walks) over 30.2 innings. Unfair.
I don’t like to chase relievers early in my drafts because of their high volatility, but having the most dominant stopper in the game is also an enormous advantage. My FOMO with Miller is off the charts these days.
Jordan Walker, OF, Cardinals
Another reminder that player development is not always linear. Walker is aiming to lift the ball this year, and several of his home runs have been dented, too. He doesn’t turn 24 until the end of May. This is a plane taking off.
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Colt Keith, Utility, Tigers
In the effort to celebrate the Kevin McGonigle emergence (and I’m there for it), let’s not forget about Keith, the former key prospect who’s now setting into his age-24 season. His .340/.375/.472 start is validated by a hard-hit tag of 95% and the ability to spit on borderline pitches just outside the zone. The homers haven’t come yet, but they’re likely to arrive.
Fallers
Cal Raleigh, C, Mariners
A repeat of 2025 was never a realistic thing. Perhaps the 2023 haul (.232/.306/.456, 30 homers) should have been our target all along. One thing that keeps Raleigh’s moving-forward rank somewhat afloat, it hasn’t been a great opening month for catchers.
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Spencer Torkelson, 1B, Tigers
I didn’t move him down that much, given that the bad-luck signs are flashing (his expected average is .245, his expected slugging is .427). But the Tigers have a deeper lineup this year and Torkelson might spend the entire season in the bottom half.
Holding steady
Julio Rodríguez, OF, Mariners
I get that he’s not producing like a first-round pick, but we have to be mindful of his career track. Rodríguez generally doesn’t hit in April (.640 career OPS), but things gradually come around after that. And his second-half OPS is 140 points higher, something to be mindful of if you’re in a trading league.