Some keeper leagues are as straightforward as it gets. All you have to do is keep your best players. You don't have to weigh the draft picks or dollars you'd be forfeiting by keeping one player vs. another. There are simply a certain number of keeper slots, and you simply fill them with whatever players you don't want to lose someone else.
These rankings aren't intended for those leagues.
If you play in such a league, I can direct you to another list: the redraft rankings. Sure, you might give some deference to youth or upside, but that's more of a dynasty approach. If you're turning over more than half your roster and retaining only a handful -- say, 4-5 players -- then as a general rule, the players you're keeping are the players who'll do you the most good right now. And if you're keeping them all at the same cost, then yeah, the redraft rankings should work fine.
But these rankings are for those other keeper leagues, the ones that do require you to forfeit picks or dollars in relation to where you drafted the player. There may be some sort of markup -- let's say a player you drafted in Round 14 can be kept in Round 11 -- but there may not. Unfortunately, I can't tailor these rankings to every variation of this keeper format, so here are my general priorities, beginning with the highest:
- Potential for impact. Studs are what set you apart in Fantasy, particularly in leagues as small as 12 teams, so the most surefire studs -- the first-round types, basically -- don't require any sort of discount to keep. Granted, this line of thinking depends somewhat on what the rest of your league decides to do, but presuming everyone subscribes to it, then what good is retaining your first-round pick? The players you'd be looking to use it on are themselves being kept. Forfeit a generational talent, and you may not get a chance at another one.
- Extent of the discount. This one is the most obvious of the priorities. Would you rather use your 10th-round pick to keep Teoscar Hernandez or your third-round pick to keep Aaron Judge? Straight up, you might prefer Judge, but if keeping Hernandez also allows you to draft someone else at Judge's level, then it's obviously what you should do.
- Degree of assurance. Discounts are great, but how confident are you in the player you'll actually be keeping? It goes without saying that Mookie Betts is a more trustworthy pick than Cedric Mullins, but the former might cost you your first-round pick while the latter might cost you your last-round pick. How you weigh one vs. the other depends on the precise setup of your league, but these rankings presume you have only a handful of keeper slots, which means you need to make them all count.
- Youth and longevity. Sure, age matters. It doesn't matter as much as it would in a dynasty format, but it matters particularly n conjunction with the extent of the discount. You could lock in an up-and-comer at a low rate for years to come. Even with a markup of three rounds every year, you'll be looking at a whole decade of Wander Franco discounts if the starting point is Round 24. The specific setup of your league also makes a difference here, but keep in mind there are precious few low-cost keepers for whom you can project so far ahead.
Again I can't tailor these rankings for every variation of this specific keeper format, and for every league that's existed more than a year, you'll also have to consider players locked in at lower costs from previous drafts. I can't account for any of those. Here, the presumptive starting point for keeper cost is 2021 ADP, using FantasyPros data for Roto and CBS Sports data for H2H (points). The depicted round number presumes a 12-team league.
It's an attempt to jam a highly individualized scenario into a one-size-fits-all box, which makes it quirky and imperfect. I acknowledge this. Better, then, to treat it as more of a rough guide than gospel truth.
But enough throat clearing ...
Top 50 keepers for 2022
Entering his age-23 season, he's looking at many years of studliness still and is the only candidate for the top overall pick who you might be able to keep at a discount.
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Offering the optimal blend of power, speed, youth and versatility, he'd surely claim the top spot, even at a first-round cost, if not for his troublesome shoulder.
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He won't come at a discount like Guerrero or with speed like Tatis, but here we have another early-20-something on a Hall of Fame trajectory who you wouldn't even dream of throwing back.
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His breakout season relied on an unprecedented workload that may not be sustainable as a two-way player, but the sizable discount makes up for the volatility for this obvious first-round talent.
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Those focused on the near-term will be frustrated if his torn ACL isn't full-go for the start of 2022, but if your league allows for any sort of long-term vision, there's no giving up a player whose five-category potential is rivaled only by Tatis.
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If it's the sort of league where every team keeps only 4-5 players, it's plausible Franco could have lasted beyond Round 20, if he was drafted at all, and early returns suggest you'd be crazy not to lock him in at that price for the long haul.
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Still only 29 and perhaps not fully appreciated for his power/speed prowess, Ramirez also has third base going for him, which is a nightmare position this year.
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Any sort of markup from last year's ADP and suddenly a borderline first-round pick like Bichette has a first-round keeper cost, but his youth and across-the-board production make him the sort of building block that deserves it.
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The same for Bichette applies for Tucker, though he's a year older and may not be as reliable for stolen bases. Slightly better chance here for a keeper discount, though.
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Pitchers make for risky long-term investments, but even if you're narrowly focused on 2022, this is a worthwhile discount for what was (other than Jacob deGrom) the best pitcher inning for inning in 2021. And sure, it doesn't hurt that he's young.
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The discount is nothing, and the player is approaching middle age, at least from a baseball standpoint. Still, he's a reliable source of batting average and stolen bases, and anyone with a higher ceiling is almost certain to be kept.
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Middle age (again, in a baseball sense) has suited Harper, who has shed the injury-prone label and gotten his strikeouts in order. He's the best on-base threat this side of Juan Soto and a relevant source of steals.
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Mike Trout fatigue has begun to set in after he failed to make it back from last May's calf injury, but it wouldn't be enough for me to break off my marriage to this generation's best player.
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This might be the highest-ranked player from which I'm tempted to move on seeing as he isn't exactly young and may no longer be enough of a standout to merit a first-round pick. But true aces are becoming rare enough for me to concede to the track record.
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The presumption here is that his 2021, while not quite up to his usual first-round standard, was less a product of decline than a bone spur in his hip. And frankly, his numbers weren't that far off.
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Nobody saw Mullins coming, at least to the extent of him being the game's only 30/30 man, which is generally how you happen into a low-cost keeper. Even as the batting average slipped in the second half, the power and speed held steady.
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Some of the Statcast data suggests he overperformed slightly in 2021, but third basemen get every benefit of the doubt right now, particularly when the discount is so great.
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The breakthrough five years in the making finally happened, positioning Urias as another ace for a team that's always in the hunt. I'd like a few more strikeouts, but given the cost, I can't complain.
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A workhorse who began to find his groove as a bat-misser in the second half, Alcantara outshines Urias on a pure skills level, but the supporting cast, at least for now, drops him behind.
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Keeping the reigning AL Cy Young with a late-round pick is generally a no-brainer, except in the case of that pitcher having a track record as spotty as Ray's. Still, let's not overthink it.
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There isn't much value to be found in keeping Buehler, who may also be older than you realize, but he's settling in as a perennial Cy Young contender. Those don't grow on trees.
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Every word I said about Buehler could also apply to Woodruff, except that he may come at a small discount depending on the keeper markup in your league. Buehler, however, feels a bit sturdier to me.
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Doubts began to creep in regarding Bieber during the several months he missed with a strained shoulder, and some might say the keeper cost is prohibitive. But he's still young, a veritable workhorse, and has a three-year stat line as good as any.
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For the little bit he played, the strikeout rate was so improved that it's easy to envision a first-round outcome. Bottom line, though, is that the discount isn't that much, particularly in the format where he's most valuable.
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Even with a minimal keeper markup, you're getting him at a value of only a round or two, but for a 25-year-old with a stable profile at the weakest position in Fantasy right now, you have to do it.
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Though he's coming off an outlier season on the wrong side of 30, you shouldn't have any reservations about keeping Wheeler. Even if he regresses to his usual numbers (which I wouldn't go so far as to predict), he'll probably live up to the cost.
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These days, you can't trust a pitcher to take on a full workload until you actually see him do it, but given the strides he made in 2021, another 40 innings would make Peralta and out-and-out stud. Clearly, the price is right.
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I've long sensed some reluctance to buy into Olson as a long-term asset, perhaps because he seems older than he is. But after drastically reducing his strikeout rate while still living up to his power projection, he's clearly a stud.
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His rookie season may ultimately go down as the high point in his career, but the 24-year-old bounced back nicely enough from his 2020 knee scare, presenting us with this second opportunity to keep him at a discount.
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This is exactly where I had Wander Franco in last year's top 50 keepers, so it seems fitting to devote it to this year's stud-in-waiting. Witt isn't quite as can't-miss as Franco but could make a more immediate impact in home runs and stolen bases.
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Another 30-something who recently took an ace turn, Gausman seems riskier than Wheeler given that he struggled down the stretch and has since moved to a less favorable venue. Still, the discount is probably too great to pass up.
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Sale wasn't completely back to form in his immediate return from Tommy John surgery, but he was as consistent of an ace as you could find before the procedure and should still have a few years to make good on this discount.
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He was already one of the biggest overachievers, according to Statcast, and is now moving from the best division for hitters to the worst division for hitters, which doesn't even account for the change in supporting cast. Still, if you're giving up less than a fourth-round pick for him, there's no need to nitpick.
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I was chief among skeptics regarding his breakthrough 2020, but now that he's brought the strikeouts down to size, it's easier to see him maintaining the sort of across-the-board production that will get him drafted in the first five rounds.
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So it turns out his pandemic-shortened 2020 was the fluke and Reynolds is indeed that special sort of line-drive hitter who should consistently post high batting averages. There isn't huge power, but there's enough to make him a coup at this cost.
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The ground-ball generator with the improving swing-and-miss arsenal and optimal surrounding factors is looking like everybody's favorite discount ace this year, but the discount is greatest of all when last year's cost is applied.
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All that hype you've been hearing about Byron Buxton over the years finally came to fruition in 2021, but not without the usual bumps and bruises. Still, particularly at this cost, the headache now seems worth it.
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Yet another instance of a player whose wacky 2020 threw us off the scent, Montas continued his 2019 breakthrough with a mesmerizing final three months in which he trusted his splitter more than ever. This ranking might show too much restraint.
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It's a stretch to think Polanco will be a 30-homer guy year after year, but the bigger fakeout was his disastrous, injury-afflicted 2020 that so many took at face value, making him the bargain keeper he is now.
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Normally when a guy strikes out more than 30 percent of the time, I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop, but O'Neill, a freak athlete with incredible strength, impacts the ball so hard that you could see his 2021 stat line becoming the norm.
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He's been getting drafted in this same range for several years now, and I'm not sure he's worth a second-round pick if that's what the markup ends up being in your league. But the temptation is real given that he's not yet 25 and already so bankable.
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Though he upped his stock with his healthiest season in five years, it takes a lot to stand out at the star-studded shortstop position. The keeper discount may not be as much as you think, but seeing as he's still only 27, it could apply for several years.
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Sure, he's turning 39, but in leagues that allow for only 4-5 keepers, you don't have to plan years and years ahead. His recovery from Tommy John surgery last year has makes him essentially free to keep, and he could perform like a true No. 1.
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If he hadn't missed the final quarter of the season with an intercostal strain, Winker might rank about 10 spots higher, but you always have to worry about injuries with him, not to mention the possibility of a platoon.
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A 30,000-foot view will place Musgrove's 2021 breakthrough alongside, say, that of Frankie Montas, but the game log paints a more frustrating picture. The discount is nice and all, but you could forgo it if you're feeling the pinch.
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The reigning NL Rookie of the Year was an afterthought on Draft Day, so of course he's cheap to keep. His peak is probably that of a mid-round bat, though -- a serviceable starter, not a stud -- so he may not make the cut for some.
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Adames' career numbers away from Tropicana Field, where he wasn't a fan of the batter's eye, look a lot like what he did after joining the Brewers last season, batting .285 with an .886 OPS. At 26, he still has his whole career ahead of him.
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Power/speed threats, particularly on the infield, are sure to attract interest, and Chisholm is just getting started. His poor approach brings a lot of downside, though, to a point he wouldn't crack this list if it was strictly for points leagues.
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Part of me hates the thought of devoting a precious keeper slot to a catcher who's still in development, but Varsho has a chance to be a unicorn at the position, splitting his time in the outfield and stealing a bunch of bases. Locking him in now could pay big dividends.
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This spot could just as easily go to Shane McClanahan, Dylan Cease or even Shane Baz, but Manoah would seem to have the most projectable path of the up-and-coming hurlers, making him the most worthy of locking in at a late-round cost.
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