Fantasy Baseball: Redrafting the first two rounds for the second half of 2023

Well, we're halfway home. Time to rethink everything.

And by everything, I mean everything, beginning with the very foundations of your team. You took certain players with your first two picks. Would you take those same players again? More applicably, which would you take for the rest of 2023, knowing everything you know now?

It's mostly a thought exercise, I realize -- only the weirdest leagues are actually redrafting at the midway point -- but it helps to take stock of the changing Fantasy Baseball landscape as it's happening. Plus, it's just fun. Rare is the opportunity to weigh in on the highest-end players once the drafting ends and the season begins.

Note that these rankings are for traditional Rotisserie leagues (i.e., 5x5 scoring). I address Head-to-Head points leagues further below.

Round 1

1	Ronald Acuna Atlanta Braves RF
He was already in contention for the top player in Fantasy, and then he cut his strikeout rate in half and was one of the quickest to catch on to the new base-stealing advantages.
2	Fernando Tatis San Diego Padres RF
Tatis' June saw him recapture his 2019 form, and if there's anyone who could challenge Acuna for the top spot the rest of the way, it's him.
3	Corbin Carroll Arizona Diamondbacks LF
By now, it's abundantly clear Carroll is the second coming of Mookie Betts, combining surprising power for a man his size with premium bat skills and the will to run.
4	Shohei Ohtani Los Angeles Angels DH
The ability to shift Ohtani between starting pitcher and DH has turned out to be nearly as handy in weekly leagues as in daily (where he's the obvious No. 1). His monstrous June may have put his offensive numbers a little ahead of where they should be, but only a little.
5	Freddie Freeman Los Angeles Dodgers 1B
Already as consistent of a first-rounder as they come, Freeman has added base-stealing to his game the past couple years to make him as consistent of a top-five player as they come.
6	Jose Ramirez Cleveland Guardians 3B
Ramirez remains the top third baseman in Fantasy even after a downer first half, and it's reasonable to expect some degree of normalization for a player with a track record as good as his.
7	Mookie Betts Los Angeles Dodgers RF
He's become a faded version of what he once was, but he's still one of the safest bets for early-round production batting atop a good lineup and now has the added advantage of triple eligibility (second base and shortstop in addition to outfield).
8	Juan Soto San Diego Padres LF
Soto's full-season numbers are dragged down by his miserable April, but he's mostly been who we drafted him to be since then, maybe lagging slightly behind the average first-rounder in home runs and stolen bases.
9	Corey Seager Texas Rangers SS
It's all finally coming together for Seager, who has been a top-five performer on a per-game basis and, in addition to everything else, gets a run and RBI bump batting in the Rangers lineup.
10	Bo Bichette Toronto Blue Jays SS
It's possible Bichette is the teensiest bit overrated now that he no longer appears to be even a modest source of stolen bases, but he's as good of a bet for batting average as you'll find this side of Freddie Freeman.
11	Gerrit Cole New York Yankees SP
There were some concerning signs in the underlying numbers for Cole early on that had many second-guessing if he's still as high-end as he's perceived to be, but those have mostly subsided in recent starts.
12	Spencer Strider Atlanta Braves SP
The MLB leader in strikeouts by far, Strider has begun to incorporate a changeup that will hopefully help to smooth out his rough edges. But will he hold up in the second half?

Round 2

13	Julio Rodriguez Seattle Mariners CF
After outperforming his expected stats last year, Rodriguez has underperformed them this year. Considering those expected stats were about the same each time, it still seems like we have yet to nail down exactly how good he's supposed to be.
14	Kyle Tucker Houston Astros RF
By the data, Tucker has underachieved to even more of a degree than Rodriguez but isn't thought to have as much raw upside. His plate discipline continues to improve, though, which makes him the better bet for batting average.
15	Vladimir Guerrero Toronto Blue Jays 1B
If we're making apologies for Rodriguez and Tucker, then we should probably also for Guerrero, whose Statcast page makes him out to be every bit as good as in 2021.
16	Pete Alonso New York Mets 1B
Alonso was a little banged up in June, which contributed to his sagging batting average, but the data points to him being the same player who hit .271 last year, only with a better home run pace.
17	Shane McClanahan Tampa Bay Rays SP
McClanahan has a claim to being the top pitcher in Fantasy Baseball like Cole and Strider, but he has the same durability concerns as Strider without all the strikeouts.
18	Yordan Alvarez Houston Astros DH
It's tricky ranking a player deep into a multi-week absence for an oblique injury, but Alvarez looks to have a pretty clear timetable, is trending toward a return, and was delivering top-five numbers before being sidelined.
19	Bobby Witt Kansas City Royals SS
Witt's stolen bases have become so plentiful in this steals-friendly environment that it's kind of silly to quibble over his shortcomings. The data suggests he's due for a major correction in batting average anyway.
20	Marcus Semien Texas Rangers 2B
If we regard Betts as an outfielder, Semien has been the clear No. 1 at second base all year, but his production is largely reliant on his supporting cast (i.e., runs and RBI) and a batting average that's likely higher than he can sustain. It makes him tough to rank.
21	Matt Olson Atlanta Braves 1B
What you get from Olson is a ton of home runs, a ton of RBI and a ton of runs scored, and that's apparently enough to slot him this high even if he's a liability in batting average.
22	Rafael Devers Boston Red Sox 3B
Though he's underachieved so far, Devers may exceed Olson in batting average by quite a bit (while trailing by fewer home runs than you might think). The plot twist is that third base has turned out to be more plentiful than first base.
23	Wander Franco Tampa Bay Rays SS
There are still questions as to how much power Franco can realistically provide, but he's become such a prolific base-stealer that they're of less importance now. The superlative contact skills make for a good batting average foundation.
24	Paul Goldschmidt St. Louis Cardinals 1B
There's a tendency to overreact to any blip in Goldschmidt's production because he's 35, but it's possible he finishes closer to Freeman than these 19 spots in the rankings would suggest.

Why not ____________?

Aaron Judge New York Yankees RF

He'd be top five if not for the torn ligament in his big toe and all the uncertainty surrounding his return.

Elly De La Cruz Cincinnati Reds SS

So far, so good for the preternatural talent, but presuming there will be no letup for the next two months is a bridge too far for me.

Trea Turner Philadelphia Phillies SS

So much hinges on the batting average bouncing back, especially now that stolen bases are so plentiful, and there have been few indications that it will.

Austin Riley Atlanta Braves 3B

The data suggests he's fundamentally the same player as the past two years, but the hope of him getting hot isn't worth passing up the 24 ahead of him.

Mike Trout Los Angeles Angels CF

If you think of him as sort of a Pete Alonso of the outfield, there's still a place for Trout in the first two rounds, but it's not unreasonable to think an IL stint is right around the corner.

Bryce Harper Philadelphia Phillies DH

No one should be surprised if he surges to first-round production the rest of the way, but the numbers so far haven't been there following a hurried return from Tommy John surgery.