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One thing that seems different this year is the amount of multi-position-eligible players. It’s not unusual for a chunk of 1Bs to also be eligible in the OF or even at 3B, but this year five of our top 15 are eligible at 2B. If you draft these players, it seems more likely you’ll wind up playing them at second base, but that extra versatility gives them more overall value. For these rankings, we’re acting as if each player is only eligible at 1B, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect the overall rankings. For instance J.T. Realmuto, who’s our No. 1 catcher is only our No. 26, ranked behind many 1Bs he’ll go ahead of in drafts. However, if he was only eligible at 1B, his .277-21-77 line from last season wouldn’t be that much better than, say, Ryon Healy’s .235-24-73 mark. 

2019 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers:Catcher | First | Second | Third | Short | Outfield | Starter | Each team

The biggest change this season at the top of the rankings is Paul Goldschmidt’s move from hitter-friendly Arizona to hitter-neutral St. Louis. The good news is he was significantly better on the road last year (.339/.415/.638 compared to .238/.363/.420), and for his career he actually has a better average (.304) and SLG (.535) away from home. The main thing to note with Goldschmidt is that he only attempted 11 steals last year, his lowest total since his 48-game rookie campaign. Don’t expect a ton of SBs from the 31-year-old free-agent-to-be.

2019 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Tiers, Draft StrategyCatcher | First | Second | Third | Short | Outfield | Starter | Closer

Still, we like Goldschmidt’s all-around game and upside the most, but it’s tough to nitpick between the very top options. The middle-tier is even more muddled. Health and playing time are a concern for many – and will ultimately decide what the final rankings look like. Someone like Ronald Guzman could easily finish ahead of Edwin Encarnacion at the end of the year, but it would be silly to draft them that way, even if you were really high on Guzman. If you really like him, just wait several rounds. If gets snagged in front of you, adjust your target because he’s far from the only player who could break out.

2019 Fantasy Baseball Rankings:Catcher | Second | Third | Short | Outfield | Starter | Reliever | Top 300

The bottom line is that there are still plenty of options at 1B, both early and late. Certain players might go earlier than expected because of their versatility, but you shouldn’t have a problem acquiring depth at this position as long as you focus on the numbers (including age and games played) and not just the names.

DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT: Ultimate 2019 cheat sheet

Fantasy Baseball Rankings: 1B and UTIL

These rankings are for standard 5x5, non-keeper leagues. Eligibility based on Yahoo default settings.

  • = Player not eligible at that position on draft day but expected to play there during the season ** = UTIL-only eligible