Fantasy baseball top 200 for 2021: Ronald Acuña Jr. earns No. 1 spot
USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale breaks down the MLB’s new health and safety protocols. USA TODAY
Unlike previous seasons, there’s no consensus on who the No. 1 player in fantasy baseball is in 2021. While we’re not going out on a limb very far, we’re in the camp that has Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. on top of a tightly packed group that includes five elite hitters — and a pair of dominant starting pitchers.
Those player rankings are just one of the many interesting and informative things you’ll find in USA TODAY Sports’ annual fantasy baseball preview issue, on newsstands now. You’ll get nearly 400 player capsules, complete with three-year stats and 2021 projections. There are depth charts for every MLB team, along with their top prospects and projected impact this season. Plus, analysis on this season’s fantasy trends, sleepers and top rookies.
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Updated March 3
Rank Player Pos
1 Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves OF
2. Mookie Betts, Dodgers OF
3. Juan Soto, Nationals OF
4. Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres SS
5. Mike Trout, Angels OF
6. Jacob deGrom, Mets SP
7. Trea Turner, Nationals SS
8. Gerrit Cole, Yankees SP
9. Christian Yelich, Brewers OF
10. Jose Ramirez, Cleveland 3B
11. Trevor Story, Rockies SS
12. Freddie Freeman, Braves 1B
13. Shane Bieber, Cleveland SP
14. Cody Bellinger, Dodgers 1B/OF
15. Trevor Bauer, Dodgers SP
16. Bryce Harper, Phillies OF
17. Yu Darvish, Padres SP
18. Lucas Giolito, White Sox SP
19. Francisco Lindor, Mets SS
20. Walker Buehler, Dodgers SP
21. Manny Machado, Padres 3B
22. Ozzie Albies, Braves 2B
23. Luis Castillo, Reds SP
24. Aaron Nola, Phillies SP
25. Adalberto Mondesi, Royals SS
26. Anthony Rendon, Angels 3B
27. Whit Merrifield, Royals 2B/OF
28. DJ LeMahieu, Yankees 1B/2B/3B
29. Alex Bregman, Astros 3B
30. Max Scherzer, Nationals SP
31. Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers SP
32. Bo Bichette, Blue Jays SS
33. Brandon Woodruff, Brewers SP
34. Kyle Tucker, Astros OF
35. Rafael Devers, Red Sox 3B
36. Jack Flaherty, Cardinals SP
37. Zac Gallen, Diamondbacks SP
38. Jose Abreu, White Sox 1B
39. Corey Seager, Dodgers SS
40. Nolan Arenado, Cardinals 3B
41. Marcell Ozuna, Braves OF
42. George Springer, Blue Jays OF
43. Luis Robert, White Sox OF
44. Starling Marte, Marlins OF
45. Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox SS
46. Lance Lynn, White Sox SP
47. Aaron Judge, Yankees OF
48. Tim Anderson, White Sox SS
49. Eloy Jimenez, White Sox OF
50. Sonny Gray, Reds SP
51. Luke Voit, Yankees 1B
52. Max Fried, Braves SP
53. Tyler Glasnow, Rays SP
54. Stephen Strasburg, Nationals SP
55. Liam Hendriks, White Sox RP
56. Brandon Lowe, Rays 2B
57. Randy Arozarena, Rays OF
58. Josh Hader, Brewers RP
59. Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks 2B
60. Pete Alonso, Mets 1B
61. Nelson Cruz, Twins DH
62. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays 1B
63. Kenta Maeda, Twins SP
64. Cavan Biggio, Blue Jays 2B
65. Michael Conforto, Mets OF
66. Kyle Hendricks, Cubs SP
67. Keston Hiura, Brewers 2B
68. Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals 1B
69. Hyun-Jin Ryu, Blue Jays SP
70. Yordan Alvarez, Astros DH
71. Corbin Burnes, Brewers SP
72. Carlos Carrasco, Mets SP
73. Blake Snell, Padres SP
74. Jose Altuve, Astros 2B
75. Zach Plesac, Cleveland SP
76. Teoscar Hernandez, Blue Jays OF
77. Austin Meadows, Rays OF
78. Aroldis Chapman, Yankees RP
79. Jose Berrios, Twins SP
80. Jeff McNeil, Mets 2B/3B/OF
81. J.T. Realmuto, Phillies C
82. Byron Buxton, Twins OF
83. Zack Wheeler, Phillies SP
84. Gleyber Torrres, Yankees SS
85. Trent Grisham, Padres OF
86. Yoan Moncada, White Sox 3B
87. Julio Urias, Dodgers SP
88. Eugenio Suarez, Reds 3B
89. Dylan Bundy, Angels SP
90. Alec Bohm, Phillies 3B
91. J.D. Martinez, Red Sox DH
92. Kris Bryant, Cubs 3B
93. Carlos Correa, Astros SS
94. Matt Olson, A’s 1B
95. Anthony Rizzo, Cubs 1B
96. Nick Castellanos, Reds OF
97. Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Blue Jays OF
98. Charlie Blackmon, Rockies OF
99. Zack Greinke, Astros SP
100. Mike Yastrzemski, Giants OF
101. Jesus Luzardo, A’s SP
102. Will Smith, Dodgers C
103. Michael Brantley, Astros OF
104. Raisel Iglesias, Angels RP
105. Javier Baez, Cubs SS
106. Dylan Moore, Mariners 2B/OF
107. Charlie Morton, Braves SP
108. Max Muncy, Dodgers 1B/2B/3B
109. Dominic Smith, Mets 1B/OF
110. Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees DH
111. Joe Musgrove, Padres SP
112. Patrick Corbin, Nationals SP
113. Dansby Swanson, Braves SS
114. Matt Chapman, A’s 3B
115. Mike Moustakas, Reds 2B/3B
116. Salvador Perez, Royals C
117. James Karinchak, Cleveland RP
118. Ian Anderson, Braves SP
119. Sixto Sanchez, Marlins SP
120. Lance McCullers Jr., Astros SP
121. Chris Paddack, Padres SP
122. Wil Myers, Padres OF
123. Sandy Alcantara, Marlins SP
124. Ramon Laureano, A’s OF
125. Edwin Diaz, Mets RP
126. Kyle Lewis, Mariners OF
127. Travis d’Arnaud, Braves C
128. Victor Robles, Nationals OF
129. Kenley Jansen, Dodgers RP
130. Tommy Pham, Padres OF
131. Pablo Lopez, Marlins SP
132. Ryan Pressly, Astros RP
133. Marco Gonzales, Mariners SP
134. Trevor Rosenthal, A’s RP
135. Josh Bell, Nationals 1B
136. Kirby Yates, Blue Jays RP
137. Triston McKenzie, Cleveland SP
138. Willson Contreras, Cubs C
139. Justin Turner, Dodgers 3B
140. Eric Hosmer, Padres 1B
141. Dylan Carlson, Cardinals OF
142. Tommy Edman, Cardinals 2B/3B
143. Aaron Civale, Cleveland SP
144. Alex Verdugo, Red Sox OF
145. David Price, Dodgers SP
146. Kevin Gausman, Giants SP
147. Sean Manaea, A’s SP
148. Ian Happ, Cubs OF
149. Brad Hand, Nationals RP
150. Marcus Stroman, Mets SP
151. Rhys Hoskins, Phillies 1B
152. Marcus Semien, Blue Jays SS
153. Dinelson Lamet, Padres SP
154. Jameson Taillon, Yankees SP
155. Ke’Bryan Hayes, Pirates 3B
156. Ryan Mountcastle, Orioles OF
157. Joey Gallo, Rangers OF
158. Nick Solak, Rangers 2B/OF
159. Jean Segura, Phillies 2B/3B
160. Clint Frazier, Yankees OF
161. Chris Bassitt, A’s SP
162. Eddie Rosario, Cleveland OF
163. Jose Urquidy, Astros SP
164. Nick Anderson, Rays RP
165. Christian Vazquez, Red Sox C
166. Josh Donaldson, Twins 3B
167. Craig Kimbrel, Cubs RP
168. Didi Gregorius, Phillies SS
169. Anthony Santander, Orioles OF
170. Nathan Eovaldi, Red Sox SP
171. Yasmani Grandal, White Sox C
172. Tyler Mahle, Reds SP
173. Giovany Urshela, Yankees 3B
174. Victor Reyes, Tigers OF
175. Austin Nola, Padres C
176. Frankie Montas, A’s SP
177. Andrew McCutchen, Phillies OF
178. Corey Kluber, Yankees SP
179. Will Smith, Braves RP
180. A.J. Pollock, Dodgers OF
181. Mitch Garver, Twins C
182. Mike Soroka, Braves SP
183. Trey Mancini, Orioles 1B/OF
184. Zach Eflin, Phillies SP
185. Archie Bradley, Phillies RP
186. Ryan McMahon, Rockies 1B/2B/3B
187. Jorge Polanco, Twins SS
188. Austin Hays, Orioles OF
189. Elieser Hernandez, Marlins SP
190. Sean Murphy, A’s C
191. Daulton Varsho, Diamondbacks C/OF
192. Tony Gonsolin, Dodgers SP
193. Dustin May, Dodgers SP
194. Paul DeJong, Cardinals SS
195. Gary Sanchez, Yankees C
196. Franmil Reyes, Cleveland DH
197. German Marquez, Rockies SP
198. Devin Williams, Brewers RP
199. Jared Walsh, Angels 1B
200. Shohei Ohtani, Angels SP/DH
