The Player Rater

Who is the most valuable fantasy player going? Are saves "worth" more or less than stolen bases? How do you compare a hitter to a pitcher on an equal playing field? We at Rototimes.com have a tool called the Player Rater, and each week I will discuss the top-50 fantasy baseball players based upon the rankings provided by this tool using the following parameters: a 12-team mixed league using standard 5x5 scoring with 14 hitters, nine pitchers and a $260 salary cap.

You can click here to find the actual Player Rater Tool.

1. Lance Berkman, 1B/OF, HOU: The Astros first sacker has come crashing back to earth in July hitting an anemic .192 without a single home run in 16 games.

2. Ian Kinsler, 2B, TEX: After pushing his average up to .337, Kinsler is zero for his last 15. He also hasn't gone deep in 12 games and has only one steal in 15 games.

3. Hanley Ramirez, SS, FLA: Six games and counting without an RBI, and he only has two hits in his last 17 AB (.118).

4. Josh Hamilton, OF, TEX: He is only two RBI away from his first season of 100 thanks in part to a run of 14 RBI in his last 10 games.

5. Jose Reyes, SS, NYM: Over his last 17 contests Reyes is hitting .338 with a .910 OPS not to mention that he has added five stolen bases.

6. Matt Holliday, OF, COL: May end up being traded, but wherever he ends up the bat figures to stay hot as he is hitting .364-7-19 over his last 14 contests.

7. Chase Utley, 2B, PHI: Over his last 12 games he has gone deep only once, though he is still hitting .290 in 15 July games.

8. Chipper Jones, 3B, ATL: Chipper's average is down to .372 after hitting .276 over his last 58 AB. You can still live with that can't you?

9. Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NYY: On roughly a 30/30 pace this year with 21 home runs and 14 SB in 79 games, though he likely won't get there because of injury.

10. Grady Sizemore, OF, CLE: Sizemore should join the 30/30 club as he has gone deep 23 times and swiped 23 bags.

11. Albert Pujols, 1B, STL: Pujols is 15-for-39 (.385) over his last 11 games though he hasn't gone deep in that time.

12. Cliff Lee, SP, CLE: Continues to make a push for the AL Cy Young award and fantasy MVP honors with a 13-2 record, 2.29 ERA and 1.05 WHIP.

13. David Wright, 3B, NYM: Wright has swiped three bags in his last nine games and owns an excellent 0.95 BB/K ratio for the year (64 BB, 67 K).

14. Ryan Braun, 3B/OF, MIL: He has hit .317 so far in July to help erase the memory of a .248 mark in June.

15. Mariano Rivera, RP, NYY: The all-time great has 53 K and four BB. Think about that. He has the same amount of walks this season as Sidney Ponson has in his last two starts.

16. Carlos Lee, OF, HOU: On an absolute tear with Berkman slumping as he is hitting .438 with four home runs and 18 RBI in his last 16 games.

17. Ichiro Suzuki, OF, SEA: Though he is hitting just .301 overall, if you remove a poor April (.259) Ichiro would be hitting .321.

18. Francisco Rodriguez, RP, LAA: He is on pace to shatter Bobby Thigpen's all-time record of 57 saves in a season. K-rod is working at a pace that would net him 66 in '08.

19. Roy Halladay, SP, TOR: Since the calendar flipped to May, Halladay is 9-3 with a 2.72 ERA.

20. Nate McLouth, OF, PIT: Over the last six games McLouth has no home runs and just one RBI while hitting .231.

21. Jonathan Papelbon, RP, BOS: In six July appearances Papelbon has a 4.26 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and just four strikeouts. Of course, we're only talking about 6.1 innings.

22. Carlos Quentin, OF, CWS: Admit it. Even if you thought Quentin would have a nice year, did you really expect him to have 24 home runs and 72 RBI prior to August?

23. Dan Haren, SP, ARI: People just don't seem to realize just how great a hurler this guy is. He has a 0.95 WHIP and 2.58 ERA thanks to walking only 1.63 BB/9 and allowing just 6.92 H/9.

24. Brandon Phillips, 2B, CIN: The production has been solid (five home runs, 31 RBI, 11 SB) the past 44 games, but he is hitting just .262 in that time.

25. Jermaine Dye, OF, CWS: A bruised left knee has him day-to-day, but he still has 10 hits in his last five games.

26. Ryan Ludwick, OF, STL: The bat has come alive once again with a .308 average and five home runs in his last 10 games.

27. Kevin Youkilis, 1B, BOS: Hot as hell of late with a .364-4-14 line in just nine games.

28. Dustin Pedroia, 2B, BOS: The hitting just keeps coming as Pedroia is up to .320 overall thanks to a .406 mark his last 16 games.

29. Justin Morneau, 1B, MIN: Talk about hitting for average. Morneau is up to .318 overall after hitting .336 over his last 72 games.

30. Carlos Beltran, OF, NYM: Beltran has only two home runs in 90 AB against port-siders on the year.

31. Justin Duchscherer, SP, OAK: The A's lone remaining ace has bettered his season marks (1.87 ERA, 0.89 WHIP) over his last four starts (1.76 ERA, 0.82 WHIP).

32. Brian Roberts, 2B, BAL: The past 11 games have only produced two RBI and just two SB in 10 games for this speedy second baseman.

33. Joakim Soria, RP, KC: Over his last eight innings he has allowed just four hits leading to a 0.50 WHIP helping to lower his seasonal mark to an amazing 0.70 in 44 IP.

34. Cole Hamels, SP, PHI: Hamels has been at the top of his game over his last nine starts with a sparkling 2.36 ERA and 0.89 WHIP.

35. Matt Kemp, OF, LAD: Kemp had six steals in May, six steals in June and already has six steals in 17 July games.

36. Brandon Webb, SP, ARI: Though his WHIP is 1.16, that number has grown to 1.30 over his last nine appearances.

37. Corey Hart, OF, MIL: Hart has enjoyed much better success on the road (.312 with 12 home runs) than at home (.260 with four home runs).

38. Jason Bay, OF, PIT: Bay has been rumored to be on the move at the trade deadline which might eat into his production since he is hitting .302-14-40 at home.

39. Edinson Volquez, SP, CIN: Over his last four starts the Reds ace has a 4.24 ERA and 1.59 WHIP while his BAA has risen to .292, well above his season long pace of .220.

40. Derrek Lee, 1B, CHC: Just 3-for-17 (.176) and 10-for-40 (.250) of late and he hasn't gone deep in 17 games.

41. B.J. Upton, 2B/OF, TB: After and 11-for-51 stretch at the plate Upton's average is down to .274, though his production is still high with seven steals in his last 13 games.

42. Manny Ramirez, OF, BOS: Back ripping the ball after a few adjustments. In 16 July contests he is batting .385 with a 1.150 OPS.

43. Milton Bradley, OF, TEX: Over the last four games Milton has a measly two singles, no runs and no RBI. What, you didn't think he was gonna hit .330 with 120 RBI did you?

44. Kerry Wood, RP, CHC: Still battling a blister issue which could lead to an increased role for Carlos Marmol. The 44.2 innings Wood has thrown this year is a 3-year high.

45. Tim Lincecum, SP, SF: After allowing five home runs in his first 17 appearances Lincecum has allowed four long balls in his last three starts.

46. Ervin Santana, SP, LAA: July has produced some dominating strikeout totals (31 in 28 IP) while seeing a return of his control (just six walks after 13 in June).

47. Dan Uggla, 2B, FLA: Just hasn't found his swing since returning from the ankle injury with 10 K and a .138 average in eight games.

48. Nick Markakis, OF, BAL: Though he is hitting .323 over his last 17 games his fortunes have swung drastically in the other direction of late as he has gone just 3-for-18 (.167) the past week.

49. Joe Nathan, SP, MIN: With 27 saves Nathan is just nine away from his fifth straight 36+ save season which would move him into a tie for second place all-time behind Trevor Hoffman's streak of 7-straight years (1996-2002).

50. Adrian Gonzalez, SD, 1B: This powerful hitter continues to struggle mightily at the plate hitting just .228 with one home runs and six RBI over his last 16 games.

Ray Flowers is Managing Editor for Fanball.com Owners Edge and RotoTimes.com. His work can be found weekly, exclusively at the home of fantasy baseball: Fanball.com.