Top 300 Fantasy Baseball Rankings (Week 18) - Rest-of-Season Outlooks for Francisco Lindor, Kyle Tucker, Max Meyer, Rece Hinds, Jacob deGrom

Welcome back, RotoBallers, to more fantasy baseball rankings! The first half of the 2024 MLB season is in the books, and it's time to start preparing for the second-half stretch. Who had a terrific first half, and who has disappointed so far? We break it down for you with Nick Mariano's updated 2024 fantasy baseball rankings and tiers for roto leagues (5x5 mixed leagues) as of July 17, 2024.

These rankings are released in mid-July, as Nick provides his rest-of-season fantasy baseball rankings and player values for the rest of this MLB season from this point forward. We are following many interesting storylines closely, all baked into these updated rankings, and you can see them below. Let's see where players such as Francisco Lindor, Teoscar Hernandez, James Wood, Lawrence Butler, Max Meyer, Rece Hinds, Matt McLain, Coby Mayo, Robbie Ray, and Heston Kjerstad currently rank. All of them have been performing well recently, struggling or returning from injury soon in 2024.

Some players are off to a great start in the first half so far, while some have struggled mightily. Which trends do we take seriously, and which do we put less stock into? Is it time to elevate our expectations on certain players and elevate touted prospects into a higher tier for fantasy baseball leagues? How much patience must we show for highly touted players who have struggled out of the gate, especially veterans with proven track records? Hopefully, the rankings below will give you some perspective on our thoughts on these topics and help you assess the strength of your rosters going forward.

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Rest-Of-Season Fantasy Baseball Rankings - Week 18 Notes

We recently saw top prospects, such as Rece Hinds, River Ryan, and Jorbit Vivas, recently promoted to the big leagues. Hinds ended the first half of the season on a high note and continued his meteoric rise in the majors. The 23-year-old was called up to the big leagues on July 7. Since his promotion, He became the second player in league history to homer in five of his first six games. Hinds is slashing .423/.464/.1.192 with five home runs, 11 RBI, seven runs, and two stolen bases over 28 plate big league plate appearances.

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor is having another solid season for fantasy managers. He is slashing .288/.422/.558 over 14 games in July, collecting a hit in nine of those 14 contests. Overall, Lindor is slashing .253/.329/.454 with 17 home runs, 52 RBI, 63 runs, and 18 stolen bases across 431 plate appearances in 2024. Oakland A's outfielder Lawrence Butler has come out of nowhere to mash five home runs and log 13 RBI over his last six games. He crushed three long balls and drove in six runs in the final game of the first of the season against the Philadelphia Phillies. Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez won the home run derby and has crushed 19 dingers while slashing .261/.327/.475 over 95 games in 2024.

Injuries continue to pile up. Kansas City Royals outfielder/catcher MJ Melendez was placed on the 10-day injured list, while Baltimore Orioles' top outfield prospect Heston Kjerstad landed on the 7-day concussion IL. Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa missed the MLB All-Star game due to plantar fasciitis in his right heel. San Diego Padres infielder Luis Arraez also missed the All-Star game due to a jammed left thumb.

Reinforcements are coming. Los Angeles Angels superstar outfielder Mike Trout is aiming for a return in late July. Trout is swinging a bat but will need to do some outfield work. “I’m pretty sure it’s going to be pretty soon," said Trout. The three-time MVP has been sidelined since April 30 after undergoing knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus on his left knee. Milwaukee Brewers reliever Devin Williams struck out all three batters he faced in a perfect inning in his rehab appearance with High-A Wisconsin. Williams has been sidelined this season due to two stress fractures in his back and could return from the injured list shortly after the All-Star break.

Some notable performances include Oakland A's second baseman Zack Gelof. The 24-year-old has homered three times and driven in nine runs over his last six games. Speaking of blistering recent performances, Colorado Rockies outfielder Michael Toglia is slashing .259/.355/.926 with six home runs and eight RBI over his last eight contests. Toglia is hitting a woeful .197 on the season but has legit power, evidenced by his 16 long balls over 192 plate appearances in 2024. Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot has dazzled lately, posting a 2.22 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 22:12 K: BB over his last five starts. Overall, Pepiot owns a 3.92 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and a 94:31 K: BB across 87 1/3 innings.

Top 300 Fantasy Baseball Rankings - Week 18 Updates

These rankings will be updated weekly throughout the season, so some situations are very fluid. It's not panic time yet, and we may not be ready to elevate hot-starting players into the elite yet, either, but it's certainly a good checkpoint for the long fantasy season.

As always, be sure to stay on top of all the MLB news with our running list of 24x7 fantasy baseball news and injuries. And if you don't yet have our free mobile app, be sure to download it and stay on top of all the MLB news and analysis with our free push notification alerts.

Nick Mariano's ranks are as of July 17, 2024. They are for 5x5 category mixed roto leagues and will be updated regularly on our main fantasy baseball rankings dashboard all season long. Be sure to read our daily fantasy baseball analysis articles as well.

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