MLB Player Rater: Week 23

September 8, 2009 3:12pm CDT

Who are the 50 most valuable fantasy players? Are saves "worth" more or less than stolen bases? How do you compare a hitter to a pitcher on an equal playing field? At Rototimes and Fanball we have a tool called the Player Rater which answers these questions by placing each players' value on one continuum regardless of the type of player under review. Here is a review of the top-50 fantasy performers of the 2009 season using the following parameters: a 12-team mixed league using standard 5x5 scoring with 14 hitters, nine pitchers and a $260 salary cap.

You can click on the following link to find the actual Player Rater Tool.


1. Albert Pujols, 1B, STL: Back to slugging again, Pujols has nine hits, including three home runs, with eight RBI in his last six games.

2. Hanley Ramirez, SS, FLA: Over his last five contests he has two homers, seven RBI and five runs scored.

3. Carl Crawford, OF, TB: Things have turned ugly of late, as he has hit just .172 the past three weeks to drop his average to .301 overall.

4. Matt Kemp, OF, LAD: Needs only two more homers to join the 25/25 club, and if he manages to go deep seven more times he would have himself a 30/30 campaign.

5. Ryan Braun, OF, MIL: Two RBI short of a third straight 97-RBI campaign, he needs two long balls for 30.

6. Joe Mauer, C, MIN: Every time he slumps just, a bit he rebounds, and hard. He has hit .375 over his last 24 at-bats.

7. Derek Jeter, SS, NYY: Thanks to 18 runs in 19 games, he is three short of the century mark.

8. Mark Reynolds, 3B, ARI: Working his way through the flu, Reynolds has struggled at the dish for a while, hitting just .172 his past 16 games.

9. Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, BOS: Run, Forrest, run! Ellsbury has six steals in his last 13 games.

10. Prince Fielder, 1B, MIL: The big fella may be hitting only .211 over the past three weeks, but he has six bombs and 16 RBI to make up for it.

11. Miguel Cabrera, 1B, DET: Third in the league in hitting (.336), Cabrera is still 16 RBI short of 100 with only two ribbies in his last 10 games.

12. Chase Utley, 2B, PHI: To say that September has been rough would be a big understatement, as he has just two hits in 21 at-bats without a single RBI.

13. Ichiro Suzuki, OF, SEA: After missing time with injury, Ichiro has returned to produce a hit in six straight games (11 total).

14. Tim Lincecum, SP, SF: In a dogfight for the NL Cy Young with #24 (see below), Lincecum has allowed two or fewer earned runs in six of his last eight starts.

15. Matt Holliday, OF, STL: Who would have thought it three months ago? Holliday is a mere three homers and seven RBI from a 25-100 season.

16. Ryan Howard, 1B, PHI: He his hit .312 since the All-Star break and a blistering .346 in September.

17. Bobby Abreu, OF, LAA: Just 10 RBI away from his seventh straight 100-RBI, 20-steal season.

18. Michael Bourn, OF, HOU: The speedster has swiped 20 bases in his last 46 games while hitting a rather impressive .320.

19. Chone Figgins, 3B, LAA: You don't want to face this guy with runners in scoring position, as he has hit .357 with a .945 OPS in 115 such at-bats.

20. Zack Greinke, SP, KC: Has only 13 victories despite a 2.22 ERA and 1.08 WHIP for the lowly Royals.

21. Justin Upton, OF, ARI: Up to seven games and counting with a run scored or an RBI.

22. Dan Haren, SP, ARI: Continues to fail to live up to his early-season work with a 4.36 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP over his last 10 starts.

23. Mark Teixeira, 1B, NYY: He has scored 12 runs in his last 10 games while hitting four big flies.

24. Chris Carpenter, SP, STL: After emerging with a victory eight times in his last nine appearances, he is now 16-3 on the year.

25. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, WAS: Has been really good for a while now, hitting .322 with 14 homers and 41 RBI in his last 48 games.

26. Jason Bartlett, SS, TB: Hitting "only" .290 with three RBI in his last 18 games played.

27. Kendry Morales, 1B, LAA: After being red-hot for so long, he has finally slowed a bit with just one RBI in seven games.

28. Robinson Cano, 2B, NYY: Finally getting his due, he is two homers and eight runs away from 25 and 100.

29. Ian Kinsler, 2B, TEX: Amazingly, despite injury, he is on the cusp of a 30/30 campaign (29 home runs, 28 steals).

30. Jonathan Broxton, RP, LAD: Though he has thrown only 66.2 innings, he has struck out 101 batters on the year (13.63 K/9).

31. Michael Young, 3B/SS, TEX: Still on the sidelines, causing his owners to have a tear come to their eyes. Young is hitting .322-22-67 with 76 runs and eight steals on the year.

32. Evan Longoria, 3B, TB: Longoria has once again caught fire, blasting five homers with 14 RBI in his last 10 games.

33. Adam Lind, OF, TOR: On the cusp of a .300-30-100 season, as he is hitting .304 with 28 bombs and 94 RBI.

34. Brian Roberts, 2B, BAL: Now hitting third in the lineup, Roberts is four runs from 100 for a third straight season.

35. Aaron Hill, 2B, TOR: Despite hitting .273 in the second half, his OBP has only been .314 in that time.

36. Kevin Youkilis, 1B/3B, BOS: Other than his RBI total, Youkilis is on the cusp of repeating last season's stellar work with his .311-23-85-85-6 line.

37. Jason Bay, OF, BOS: Looks like the making of another double-double with 100 runs (he has 87) and 100 RBI (he has 98).

38. David Wright, 3B, NYM: Ditched the bobblehead helmet. Wright has four RBI and five runs scored in his last six contests.

39. Nyjer Morgan, OF, WAS: Even though he is done for the year, Morgan is still one of just two men likely to steal 40 bases in the NL (he had 42, Bourn has 52).

40. Justin Verlander, SP, DET: He has won each of his last three starts and is two victories from tying his career-best mark of 18.

41. Johnny Damon, OF, NYY: He is one homer and one run from a .285-25-75-100-10 season.

42. Derrek Lee, 1B, CHC: Simply put, the man needs a special suit, as he is darn radioactive of late with six home runs in his last six games.

43. Jayson Werth, OF, PHI: Werth is a 30-homer man for the first time and will likely also produce 90 RBI and runs this season (he has 81 and 83, respectively, at the moment).

44. Troy Tulowitzki, SS, COL: Could miss a few days with a back injury, Tulo has only six hits in September (.231).

45. Nelson Cruz, OF, TEX: He has more than lived up to expectations with 31 home runs and 18 steals.

46. Adam Wainwright, SP, STL: He is 7-1 over his last nine starts to up his record to 17-7 on the year.

47. Felix Hernandez, SP, SEA: Fifteen strikeouts away from his first 200-strikeout season, he also has tied his career high with 14 victories.

48. Adam Dunn, OF, WAS: Only one RBI in seven games leaves him eight short of 100 on the year.

49. Pablo Sandoval, 1B/3B, SF: Though he has hit only .287 on the road, he has been amazing at home, hitting .369 with a 1.050 OPS.

50. Heath Bell, RP, SD: Thirty-five for 38 in saves, Bell has lowered his ERA down to 2.05 after allowing only one run in his last 10 appearances.