By Luke Sonderman
Although sports like football may capture a lot of the attention in the United States, baseball, in my mind, is the best sport by a long shot as each player plays such a unique role in a game that is very strategic. Every year I research the league leaders for my fantasy baseball team, and this year I have created a list of my favorite baseball players.
Number One
Nolan Arenado
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Nolan Arenado, of the St. Louis Cardinals, has been a star third baseman since his time on the Rockies. So far this year, Nolan has kept up a 0.330 batting average and is one of the league leaders in batting (mlb.com).
Number Two
Manny Machado
Manny Machado, also a third baseman, is the star for the San Diego Padres who is stuck in the shadow of Fernando Tatis, Jr., I think that he is incredibly underrated with a batting average of 0.385 so far this season (mlb.com). As Tatis is on the 90-day injured list for a broken wrist, Machado is finally getting the attention that he has deserved.
Number Three
Shohei Ohtani
I know, I know. Everyone won’t stop talking about Ohtani; I promise you I’m not a bandwagon. But Shohei Ohtani deserves the praise he is receiving as he is not only one of the best pitchers in the MLB, but also one of the best batters as well. It is very rare for pitchers to be strong offensively, but Ohtani is the most well-rounded baseball player in the whole league. With a batting average of .285 this season and an ERA (earned runs average per 9 innings) of 3.08, I believe that Shohei Ohtani is the #1 Fantasy Draft Pick because he is solid in all areas.
Number Four
Jazz Chisholm, Jr.
One of my first fantasy picks this year would have to be Jazz Chisholm, Jr., second baseman of the Miami Marlins. I have always loved 2nd basemen because of their crazy agility, and, usually, they are very good baserunners. Jazz Chisholm, Jr., has a batting average so far of .300 (baseball-reference.com) which has been a major boost to the Marlins’ lineup.
Number Five
Paul Goldschmidt
I didn’t want to put more than one person from a single team onto this list, but I have a special love for the St. Louis Cardinals. I have been surrounded by Cardinals fans my whole life, and I have lots of family in St. Louis. Cardinals fans are just so passionate about the sport which makes them very easy to like. Paul Goldschmidt, the Cardinals first baseman, has been one of the Cardinals’ stars this year, picking up a batting average of .283 (espn.com). Goldschmidt always comes in clutch when the team needs him to and is always scoring points in Fantasy. There are other first basemen ranked higher than him, like Freddie Freeman, but I personally like Goldschmidt as a player more than the others (maybe just because he’s a Cardinal).
So if you still want to put together a fantasy baseball team, there is plenty of time left in the season. I would definitely recommend you try to snatch these 5 players as they were on my top 5 for the Fantasy draft.
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