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.

1. Lance Berkman, 1B/OF, HOU: Frankly, he has been a merely average player in July hitting .260 with three steals. Amazingly he has gone 22 games on the month without a single big fly.

2. Ian Kinsler, 2B, TEX: In each of the last five games he has exactly two hits which is part of the reason he is hitting .370 in July after hitting .362 in June.

3. Hanley Ramirez, SS, FLA: Since the All-Star Game he is batting just .213 with a terrible OPS of .642 over 47 AB.

4. Matt Holliday, OF, COL: Though all his numbers are strong (.343-18-62-64), it's really the 14 SB that set him apart this season.

5. Jose Reyes, SS, NYM: Over his last eight games he has produced nine runs, two home runs, six RBIs, two SBs and 13 hits.

6. Ryan Braun, 3B/OF, MIL: Braun is blazing in July with a .382 average, nine home runs and 23 RBIs in just 22 games.

7. Josh Hamilton, OF, TEX: The slugger is hitting only .205 over his last 39 AB but he still has five home runs and 18 RBIs in his last 15 games.

8. Grady Sizemore, OF, CLE: Over the past 10 games Sizemore is hitting .333 with 11 Ks, though he also has 10 BB leading to a .469 OBP.

9. Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NYY: Over his last 50 games A-Rod has scored 40 runs, knocked in 41, hit 14 home runs and stolen nine bases.

10. Albert Pujols, 1B, STL: Pujols is hitting .344 in July and overall is batting .444 against lefties, .309 against righties, .355 at home and .352 on the road.

11. Cliff Lee, SP, CLE: Rolling right along his last four starts with three wins, a 1.57 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with 21 Ks in 23 innings pitched.

12. David Wright, 3B, NYM: The ride has been a bit bumpy this season but he is flying high right now, hitting .386-3-12-13-2 the past two weeks.

13. Chipper Jones, 3B, ATL: We all knew that injuries would eventually take their toll. However, it's hard to complain when a guy is hitting .369 with a 1.062 OPS.

14. Mariano Rivera, RP, NYY: His 57 Ks and four BBs leave him with what could potentially be a historic K/BB ratio of 14.25 (it would be fourth all-time for a pitcher with over 60 IP in a season if he can maintain the pace).

15. Chase Utley, 2B, PHI: The Phillies star hasn't gone deep in 14 games and has only one RBI over his last eight contests.

16. Francisco Rodriguez, RP, LAA: Though he has saves in 9-straight games, he has also allowed five runs in his last 10 appearances (5.00 ERA).

17. Nate McLouth, OF, PIT: McLouth has turned around a terrible June (.214-2-11) by producing a terrific all-around July (.277-7-20-21-4).

18. Roy Halladay, SP, TOR: Though he has given up five earned runs twice in six starts, his ERA is still 2.82 on the year, third best in the American League.

19. Jermaine Dye, OF, CWS: Dye has three home runs in four games and 12 RBI in his last 10.

20. Dan Haren, SP, ARI: Could on the verge of signing an extension with the D'backs and why not after posting a 2.56 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and a 5.33 K/BB mark this season.

21. Jonathan Papelbon, RP, BOS: Though he is allowing his highest H/9 mark (6.90) in three years, he has offset that by walking the fewest batters of his career (1.42 BB/9).

22. Justin Morneau, 1B, MIN: This first baseman continues to blister the ball hitting .372 with a 1.190 OPS in July.

23. Carlos Quentin, OF, CWS: Quentin continues to bash with eight home runs and 17 RBIs the past three weeks.

24. Carlos Lee, OF, HOU: Over his past 15 games he is hitting .356-3-13 though he hasn't hit a double or triple in that time.

25. Ryan Ludwick, OF, STL: Ludwick has produced a major rebound the past three weeks with six home runs, 14 RBIs and 14 runs scored over 17 games.

26. Ichiro Suzuki, OF, SEA: Ichiro is hitting .309 in July after a .312 mark in June and a .319 mark in May.

27. Joakim Soria, RP, KC: He owns a 3.29 K/BB ratio against lefties and an amazing 13.0 mark against righties.

28. Matt Kemp, OF, LAD: Kemp is hitting .263 with six home runs against righties (270 AB), but he tattoos lefties to the tune of a .364 average and six home runs (110 AB).

29. Brandon Webb, SP, ARI: Over his last four starts Webb has allowed just 23 hits in 28 innings and he is sporting a 3.43 KK/B mark in that time.

30. Dustin Pedroia, 2B, BOS: His bat has finally cooled of late which can be seen in a 6-for-26 slump (.231), though he still has chipped in two steals in those six appearances.

31. Brandon Phillips, 2B, CIN: Though he is 6-for-20 (.300) the past week, a look at the past three weeks tells a different story (.197 in 66 AB).

32. Kevin Youkilis, 1B, BOS: It's been eight games since he went deep and he has only one RBI in that time though his 17 home runs are already a career-high.

33. Derrek Lee, 1B, CHC: Though he has 13 RBIs the past three weeks he has hit just .264 to drop his average to .299.

34. Conor Jackson, 1B/OF, ARI: Possibly the hottest hitter in the game the past week as he hit .560-3-8-9-1 with a 1.727 OPS over his last 25 AB.

35. Manny Ramirez, OF, BOS: If there weren't rumors swirling around him, then it just wouldn't seem normal would it? He has five RBI and five hits in his last two games to raise his average to .304.

36. Milton Bradley, OF, TEX: Though he is hitting .303 with a .452 OBP over his last 10 appearances, he has only two RBI and not a single home run.

37. Aubrey Huff, 1B/3B, BAL: The run of excellence continues as he is hitting .351 with 12 home runs and 37 RBI since June 1st (49 games).

38. Jason Bay, OF, PIT: Over his last 18 games Bay has hit five home runs with 16 RBI, but he is only hitting .246 with 15 Ks and just three BB.

39. Adrian Gonzalez, SD, 1B: Has awoken from his slumber the past two weeks with a .326-3-11 line in 12 games.

40. Tim Lincecum, SP, SF: Last season in 146.1 IP this flame thrower he had 150 Ks. This year in 142.2 IP he has 156.

41. Corey Hart, OF, MIL: Only hitting .213 with a sickly .699 OPS over his last 61 AB.

42. Carlos Beltran, OF, NYM: In a 5-for-25 slump and hasn't gone deep in 11 games.

43. Justin Duchscherer, SP, OAK: Was bombed for eight earned runs in his last outing, the same total he surrendered in his previous six starts.

44. Brian Roberts, 2B, BAL: Roberts is hitting .239 with only three RBIs in his last 17 games. Will he still be with the Orioles when the trade deadline passes?

45. Joe Nathan, SP, MIN: In three of the last four seasons his ERA has been below 2.00, and he is at it again this year with a 1.05 mark.

46. B.J. Upton, 2B/OF, TB: The slump continues as he is hitting .233 since the start of June without a single long ball in 21 games.

47. Cole Hamels, SP, PHI: Over his last 10 starts the rail thin lefty has only four wins but is sporting a 2.72 ERA and 0.96 WHIP.

48. Alex Rios, OF, TOR: Finally showing some pop with four home runs in his last nine games, though he is batting only .250 in his last 11 games.

49. Kerry Wood, RP, CHC: Still struggling with overcoming that troublesome blister, Wood has allowed only one home run in 44.2 IP.

50. Garrett Atkins, 3B, COL: He has been hot the past two weeks with 21 runs produced in just 11 games (12 RBIs, nine runs).