Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Scott Pianowski's rest-of-season risers and fallers as of April 20

Every Monday, I audit my rest-of-season fantasy baseball rankings. Use the top 250 however you like: to evaluate your own roster, monitor pickups, consider trades. Below is a list of players moving up and down the rankings, with reasoning attached.

Have a difference of opinion? That’s good. Catch me on social media with your respectful disagreement: X/Twitter and Bluesky.

Upgrades

Yordan Alvarez, OF, Astros: He leads the majors in home runs and BB/K rate, reminding us that there’s no good way to pitch the Houston slugger. If he makes it through even 130 games, he likely smashes his March ADP (low 40s).

Mason Miller, SP, Padres: I can’t remember a closer ever being must-see TV quite like Miller is right now. He’s allowed just two hits and he’s struck out 27 of the 38 batters he’s faced. He’s currently on pace to strike out 199 men, for crying out loud.

I think relief pitchers rarely deserve Cy Young consideration, but Miller — who was also unhittable after joining the Padres last summer — could be a rare exception.

Kevin McGonigle, SS/3B, Tigers: Maybe the category juice will take a while, but a .312/.411/.481 start has quickly pushed McGonigle to the top of Detroit’s batting order. He has more walks than strikeouts and doesn’t seem bothered by left-handed pitching, either. Note that he quickly picked up third-base eligibility for Yahoo leagues as well. The big extension was a win-win for both player and organization.

Nolan McLean, SP, Mets: New York is in a tailspin but McLean isn’t at fault, with a tidy 2.28 ERA and a league-best 0.761 WHIP. McLean sits in the mid-90s and is getting positive results with four different pitches; good luck against this guy.

Dillon Dingler, C, Tigers: His contact profile is excellent and his hard-hit sliders are gloriously pinned to the right, the good side. Dingler also marks his territory with Gold Glove defense. He’ll stay in the middle of Detroit’s lineup all year, and probably make his All-Star debut in July.

Dalton Rushing, C, Dodgers: He’s the Isaiah Likely of MLB, a ready-to-explode talent who’s blocked by other stars: in this case, catcher Will Smith and the incomparable Shohei Ohtani. I’ve seen some shrewd managers stash Rushing in deeper leagues, noting his five homers and absurd .455/.478/1.227 slash in 22 at-bats. It’s also possible Rushing could be a trade candidate if the Dodgers come into other needs. I’m curious to see more.

Downgrades

Garrett Crochet, SP, Red Sox: He’s had one great start, one good one and three bad ones. It doesn’t have to mean the sky is falling, but Crochet deserves a ding from his lofty spring draft slot. We need to remember he only has one elite season in the bank, and Fenway Park is never an easy place to pitch.

Aaron Nola, SP, Phillies: Since the beginning of the 2023 season, he’s carried a 4.38 ERA and a 1.213 WHIP. Never forget our game is about numbers, not names. Nola’s Cy Young contention days are likely done for good.

Roki Sasaki, SP, Dodgers: I’m not sure how much longer the Dodgers can roll out Sasaki, who’s been roughed up by the Rockies, Rangers and Nationals in his last three turns. I suspect we’ll see him in a non-leverage relief role soon enough, which will make him irrelevant for fantasy leagues. Perhaps all of this feels obvious, but he’s still somehow rostered in about a third of Yahoo leagues.

Holding Steady

Spencer Arrighetti, SP, Astros: He dominated the visiting Rockies as expected, and the 10-strikeout rule made him a mandatory add in several leagues. We’ll learn a lot more this week, up against the Guardians and Yankees. Boston comes calling after that. Plausible upside is at play here, but Arrighetti doesn’t offer any floor yet.

Ceddanne Rafaela, 2B/OF, Red Sox: The steals haven’t popped, though he has been caught twice. But it’s encouraging that he’s chasing less and walking a little more — still below code in both of those columns, but on the improve. I still see a player who could be at least neutral in batting average while flirting with 15-20 homers and 15-20 steals.