We've still got a few days of break left, but we're already turning our attention to the second half of the season. After going through the Fantasy All-Star rosters yesterday, it's time to look ahead to the rest of the season by doing a little re-draft of the first two rounds.
Note the way I rephrased that: "The rest of the season." This isn't looking ahead to 2027 just yet; this is an attempt to figure out who the top 24 players will be for the rest of the season. Which means you won't see Aaron Judge here – he might still be my choice for the No. 1 pick in 2027 drafts, but he's still recovering from his rib injury and isn't likely to be cleared to play for at least another few weeks. With just over two months left to play, even missing three or four more weeks would make Judge a reach with a second-round pick.
There have been plenty of other changes from our preseason picks for the first two rounds, too. I wouldn't have gone with James Wood, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Jacob Misiorowski as even top-25 picks before the season, but you'll find all three inside the top-10 for the rest of the season – Yordan Alvarez has worked his way into the first round, too, though I did have him as a second-rounder before the season, even if most would have been scared off at that price. If they hold serve the rest of the way, each of those players will be first-rounders next season, while names like Ronald Acuna, Fernando Tatis, Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Tucker and others will have to fight to get back into consideration by the end of the season.
There will be plenty of changes between now and when we start looking ahead to 2027 drafts. Crow-Armstrong and Wood, in particular, looked like potential first-rounders at this time last year before falling apart in the second half, and that could happen to any of these other new faces. But for now, here's what it would look like for the rest of the season:
Re-drafting the first two rounds
1. Bobby Witt, SS, Royals
For the second season in a row, it looks like Witt is only going to end up with around 20-25 homers, and the Royals lackluster offense is holding his overall counting stats back a bit. On the other hand, he's on pace for close to 50 steals, will hit near .300, and is very much capable of getting back to a 30-steal pace with a few tweaks. He provides a bit less absolute ceiling than some recent No. 1 overalls, but his safety and all-around excellence still allow him to dominate.
2. Shohei Ohtani, DH, Dodgers
In any league where you get Ohtani's pitching stats in addition to his offense, he remains the obvious top player. Otherwise, he's taken just enough of a step back as a hitter that I think he would fall to third if Aaron Judge were healthy. He's great, but it's only a 35-homer, 10-steal pace, and while I would bet he ends up ahead of those totals in both, he's clearly no longer an outlier when it comes to speed. Ohtani's all-around brilliance is still remarkable, but he just doesn't run enough while pitching to be a slam dunk 1.1 anymore.
3. Juan Soto, OF, Mets
The steals have predictably returned to their normal levels, but Soto is as good a hitter as ever and is on pace for his third 40-homer season while hitting .290. The counting stats are underwhelming because the Mets offense is underwhelming, but there are no real weaknesses in his game anymore.
4. James Wood, OF, Nationals
This one gets a little scary because of how much Wood struggled after last year's All-Star break, but I just can't really justify ranking him any lower than this after a first half where he had 28 homers, 89 runs, 64 RBI, and 15 steals. That's a pretty good season, and he did it in less than 100 games. I'm definitely still worried about what the floor outcomes here can look like, but Wood's .437 expected wOBA is one of the best marks in baseball and suggests the breakout here is as real as can be.
5. Yordan Alvarez, OF, Astros
I suppose you can still argue Alvarez's injury risk is higher than most players', but after watching him stay healthy for 100 games, I think you have to be a real coward not to take him this high. He's arguably the best hitter in baseball, and if he isn't, he's no worse than third or fourth, and he's healthy right now. Let's not overthink it – that's what everyone did when they let him slip to the fourth round in drafts this spring.
6. Elly De La Cruz, SS, Reds
De La Cruz struggled a bit in his initial return from a hamstring injury, but he has more or less looked like himself in July, including with four steals in 11 games. He's no longer the outlier in steals he once was, but he's also on a near-30-30 pace with 100 runs and 100 RBI while hitting .274, so this might end up underrating him a bit.
7. Junior Caminero, 3B, Rays
I guess he wasn't just a product of Steinbrenner Field, huh? Caminero has built on last year's breakout by more than doubling his walk rate without losing anything on the power side. He's nearing a 50-homer pace, which helps make up for him contributing basically nothing as a base-stealer. And the added OBP helps make up for Caminero's relative deficiency in a points league.
8. Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Cubs
If you want to have Crow-Armstrong as high as fourth, I wouldn't really argue with you. But it would make me a bit queasy. His plate discipline is a lot better this season, but there are still pretty scary swing-decision issues here, and his slow start shows that it's probably still a pretty high-variance skill set. Crow-Armstrong might just end up going 40-40 by the end of the season, but I'm still just a tiny bit worried he's playing over his head. But I still think the floor after the past season and a half is no lower than the second round.
9. Jacob Misiorowski, SP, Brewers
The arm fatigue Misiorowski dealt with at the end of the first half is a minor red flag, and if you wanted to rank him lower than this as a result, I wouldn't really argue with you. But health is the only mark against Misiorowski, who is on nearly a 300-strikeout pace. He won't end up getting close to that, I bet, but his ERA estimators are all huddled around 2.00, and he's the best pitcher in baseball if his first half is at all sustainable.
10. Julio Rodriguez, OF, Mariners
Rodriguez's current production doesn't justify a pick this high, but we know how this goes. He's a notoriously slow starter, putting up a .739 OPS in the first half of his career compared to a .902 mark after. I'm always a bit wary of counting on that kind of split to continue, but it's been consistent enough for Rodriguesz that I'm willing to buy into it and expect him to pick up the pace moving forward. As it stands, there's nothing wrong with a 25-25 player hitting .260 in the back half of the first round, even if you're hoping for more from Rodriguez.
11. Corbin Carroll, OF, Diamondbacks
If the first half ended closer to the actual mid-way point of the season at the end of June, Carroll would look even better, as he had an .881 OPS when play opened on July 1. But he's well short of last year's 31-homer, 32-steal pace and he remains a relative drag on your batting average, something that I think is just here to stay with Carroll. He's an excellent power/speed threat, but his underlying metrics are worse than last season's pretty much across the board and it's enough to push him to the end of the first round.
12. Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics
Kurtz would probably be even higher if he hadn't gone on the IL with a thumb sprain just before the break. I'm hoping it's not a serious injury, but in truth, we just don't have a timetable right now. If Kurtz were healthy, he'd be a few spots higher, but there's only so high he can go while being a relatively limited contributor in steals and batting average, especially if it's more a high-30s homer total than the mid-40s (or better) pace we hoped for. There's nothing wrong with Kurtz as a hitter, but these are relatively slim margins at this level.
13. Kyle Schwarber, DH, Phillies
Schwarber is probably going to hit 50 homers for the second season in a row, and nothing else really matters, does it? His batting average peaks at "not actively hurting you"; he doesn't steal many bases, and he's locked into a DH spot – he needs three more appearances either at first base or in the outfield to get eligibility elsewhere – but 50 homers and the huge counting stats that come along with it render any complaints moot. I hate locking up a DH-only player early in a draft, but if you're going to do it, make sure it's with a 50-homer guy.
14. Ronald Acuna Jr., OF, Braves
Acuna should be back from his latest hamstring injury right around the start of the second half, but availability isn't the only question here. With two leg injuries added to the long list of issues he has dealt with over the past five seasons, we have to wonder whether Acuna is likely to remain a high-volume base-stealer moving forward.
15. Jackson Chourio, OF, Brewers
Chourio has added 2.9 mph to his average exit velocity without sacrificing much in terms of plate discipline, which has taken his game to another level. He's on close to a 35-homer, 20-steal pace since returning from his wrist injury, and if this proves sustainable, he's going to be in the first-round discussion next season. For now, we'll be a little bit more conservative given the small-ish sample. He had 15 steals (on 22 attempts!) in just 53 games in the first half, but it might be more reasonable to expect something like a 10-15 steal pace moving forward. He has hit .276/.401/.482 with 28 homers, 105 runs, and 64 RBI in 148 games since the start of 2025, which would be worth a mid-second round pick with 10-15 steals, but it might not be enough to push him back into first-round consideration unless the bat picks up.
16. Cristopher Sanchez, SP, Phillies
The combination of rare volume, elite run prevention, and excellent strikeout totals helps overcome Sanchez's one weakness, which is a middling WHIP for a pitcher of his caliber. The three pitchers in the second tier of the position are mostly interchangeable, but Sanchez enters the second half with the fewest weaknesses (if also the lowest ceiling).
17. Paul Skenes, SP, Pirates
There has been an awful lot of hand-wringing about Skenes this season, which is mostly a testament to 1) the power and importance of ERA, but also 2) the volatility of ERA. His underlying skill set looks as strong as ever, with his 2.72 xERA right in line with last season's 2.65 mark. There have been some notable declines in fastball velocity and other metrics that could indicate Skenes' stuff is fading a bit, but unless there's an unacknowledged injury, my expectations for Skenes haven't really changed much.
18. Tarik Skubal, SP, Tigers
There have been some red flags since his return from elbow surgery, as Skubal has allowed eight homers in six starts, leading to a 4.34 FIP and 3.62 ERA. But he has still put up an elite 29.8% K-BB% rate and his 2.97 xERA suggests there might have been some bad luck involved with the homers. I can't quite rank Skubal like I was before the injury, especially when he has finished six innings just twice in those six starts, but I don't see much reason to think the skill set has collapsed, either.
19. Fernando Tatis Jr., OF, Padres
Yeah, yeah, this is too early for a guy with five homers at the All-Star break, I get it. But Tatis didn't homer until May 30, and since then has hit .287/.333/.455 with a 20-homer, 35-steal pace. It's still not the elite production we hope for and it may never be again, but a 20-40 pace with a good batting average is an excellent second-round pick.
20. Ben Rice, C, Yankees
The really interesting thing to consider will be how high to draft Rice in 2027, when he presumably only has first base eligibility. He's probably played a bit over his head so far, but Rice has also established himself as a legitimately great hitter with no real limitations, and he might finish the season with 45 homers, elite counting stats, and a very helpful batting average. That might still be worth a second-round pick when he is only eligible at first base, but this ranking might be underrating him with catcher eligibility.
21. C.J. Abrams, SS, Nationals
We've seen hot starts from Abrams fizzle out in the past, so you want to guard against that possibility a bit. But his game also looks like it has taken a legit step forward this season, and if he finishes the season with his near-30-30 pace intact, this might be underrated Abrams.
22. Zack Wheeler, SP, Phillies
Before last season's Thoracic Outlet syndrome, Wheeler was right there with Skenes and Skubal at the top of the position, and he looks just about as good as ever since coming back from offseason surgery, putting up the second-best strikeout rate of his career and a 2.63 xERA to go along with his 2.13 ERA. If there wasn't the lingering concern about his health issues cropping up, Wheeler would be right there with that second tier of starters. As it is, he's not far off.
23. Ketel Marte, 2B, Diamondbacks
Marte has been a disappointment this season, but that mostly comes down to a .261 BABIP, 30 points lower than he has been in any season since 2022. The underlying metrics look about as good as they ever have, and Marte has looked more like himself since the start of May, albeit with a slump heading into the break, dragging the numbers down a bit. At 32, he might be slowing down, but I don't see much to be panicked about here.
24. Cam Schlittler, SP, Yankees
Schlittler has very recently shown some susceptibility to the long ball, but that's about the only flaw we've seen from him this season. The triple-fastball approach continues to work brilliantly, and as long as he can sustain elite velocity, I don't see any reason to think it won't, moving forward. He threw nearly 150 innings last season, so I don't have much concern about any limitations down the stretch, and the skillset looks incredible. In 34 starts since his debut around this time last season, Schlittler has a 2.39 ERA and 221 strikeouts in 191.2 innings, so what is there to doubt?
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