Note: These rankings have been updated as of March 25 to reflect Eloy Jiménez likely being out for the season. 

December 1, 2020 was a big day for Patrick Corbin.

He was avoiding the snow in West Palm Beach, Fla., and with the warm weather, he began to prepare.

It’s something that Corbin didn’t have the benefit of doing last year, as MLB started Spring Training, then stopped, then started again, before transitioning into a 60-game season.

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“I don’t know if I really felt great at all last year,” Corbin said to reporters during his first media session of Spring Training. “Hopefully having this normal offseason and normal Spring Training things will come around. I feel pretty good where I’m at right now. I’m excited for that. Last year I think was just a tough year for myself, and just trying to move past that and get ready for a normal year.”

In 2020, Corbin’s velocity was down across the board on all of his pitches, and he allowed a higher batting average against every pitch except his changeup (including opponents hitting .415 with an xBA of .320 on his 4-seamer).

The same is true with his slugging against. And wOBA. And Hard-hit rate. And, well, it was a bad year.

But the short ramping up process might explain it, right?

Just like it could explain Keston Hiura’s struggles at the plate with a 34.6 strikeout rate. Or even Anthony Rizzo’s .222 average. It might even explain why players like Carlos Correa and José Altuve got hot in the postseason after so-so regular season performances.

Then again, maybe it doesn’t.

This is tough.

Honestly, it’s tough every year, but coming off a year when teams played 60 regular-season games, it’s even harder to rank players.

What should we care about from last year? What should we ignore? Is it fair to ignore everything? How can we be sure we aren’t just falling victim to confirmation bias?

It comes down to trust. Trusting the data and projections. Trusting your evaluation skills after looking under the hood at each player. Trying to get a feel for what did matter from 2020 and what didn’t.

One thing that I did was look at my rankings from the beginning of last year and compared them with the ADP for this year. I looked at those who shot down far, and those who had a quick rise, to look at the why.

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Some things that I looked for:

• New pitches
• Velocity differential
• Change in approach at the plate
• BB and K rate changes

For points leagues, we have another hurdle to get past for the rankings, too, as the scoring varies from league to league. So, before you dive into these rankings, make sure you make the necessary tweaks to weigh your scoring system.

For the below rankings, we used CBS Sports scoring.

Their scoring is as follows:

Hitters:

• 1B: 1 point
• 2B: 2 points
• 3B: 3 points
• HR: 4 points
• R: 1 point
• RBI: 1 point
• BB: 1 point
• HBP: 1 point
• SB: 2 points
• CS: -1 point
• K: -.5 points

Pitchers:

• W: 7
• L: -5
• QS: 3
• S: 7
• IP: 3
• BB: -1
• H: -1
• ER: -1
• HBP: -1
• K: .5

A couple of notes about the points-based rankings:

• Steals are devalued, so you’ll see it reflected as such throughout the overall rankings. Players like Adalberto Mondesí and Starling Marte take a big hit.
• Pitchers are king in points leagues. You’ll see them get pushed up more than usual in the format, which is saying something since pitchers are already elevated in category-based leagues.
• Rosters are traditionally smaller with three outfielders, one catcher and no middle or corner infielders. We decided to go 400 deep here to help those in points leagues of all sizes, but hitting typically isn’t hard to find.
• Relievers also get pushed down more in this format, whereas starting pitchers with relief eligibility (known as SPARPs) get pushed up. There aren’t many standout SPARPs this year with the truncated 2020 season. A.J. Puk is my favorite target there. Relievers are fine to get, but they are all clumped together in the middle of my rankings.
• Don’t draft based off of these or other rankings. This is a guide to help you understand value and where players should go. But more than anything, you need to look at roster construction.
• Position scarcity is practically out the door with points leagues, as the goal is to get the most total points as you can each week. But you do have to look at the players you have on your team when you approach your next pick. If you take a Tyler Glasnow-type, who comes with some general risk, you should opt for a safer pitcher to balance him out, such as a Kyle Hendricks.
• Fill your bench out with pitchers. Like we mentioned above, the rosters are smaller, and everyone in points leagues wants — and needs — arms to compete; two-start weeks mean a lot of points for even mediocre pitchers. No more than one bench spot, maximum, should be filled by a hitter. Stream away, and leave one or two rotation bench spots for two-start pitchers to maximize your week-to-week output.
• If you have any specific questions about a player or anyone who didn’t make the cut, ask away in the comments section!

[Want more preseason fantasy baseball coverage — award-winning rankings, draft prep, and more? Check out our draft kit, which is included in your subscription to The Athletic]

Let’s get to it:

Michael Waterloo’s Top 400 Points Ranks

(Top photo: Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)