Here is the May edition of my rest-of-season position rankings and overall top 300 for 5x5 leagues. As you might have noticed, the weekly Strike Zone is off the menu for load management reasons this year. However, I plan to continue to present monthly rankings updates in this spot.
As always, players are ranked by position and then combined into an overall top 300 list.
Click to see other May rankings:
Top 300 | SP | RP | OF | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | C
Relief pitcher rankings
| May | Relievers | Team | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Hader | Padres | 2 |
| 2 | Emmanuel Clase | Guardians | 1 |
| 3 | Camilo Doval | Giants | 3 |
| 4 | Devin Williams | Brewers | 4 |
| 5 | Kenley Jansen | Red Sox | 6 |
| 6 | Jordan Romano | Blue Jays | 7 |
| 7 | David Bednar | Pirates | 13 |
| 8 | Ryan Helsley | Cardinals | 5 |
| 9 | Jhoan Duran | Twins | 15 |
| 10 | Raisel Iglesias | Braves | 9 |
| 11 | Clay Holmes | Yankees | 8 |
| 12 | Felix Bautista | Orioles | 11 |
| 13 | Ryan Pressly | Astros | 12 |
| 14 | David Robertson | Mets | 16 |
| 15 | Alexis Diaz | Reds | 19 |
| 16 | Liam Hendriks | White Sox | 30 |
| 17 | Pete Fairbanks | Rays | 14 |
| 18 | Evan Phillips | Dodgers | 18 |
| 19 | Alex Lange | Tigers | 20 |
| 20 | Paul Sewald | Mariners | 26 |
| 21 | José Alvarado | Phillies | 81 |
| 22 | A.J. Puk | Marlins | 64 |
| 23 | Jason Adam | Rays | 23 |
| 24 | Andrés Muñoz | Mariners | 10 |
| 25 | Carlos Estevez | Angels | 42 |
| 26 | Andrew Chafin | Diamondbacks | NR |
| 27 | Will Smith | Rangers | 75 |
| 28 | Craig Kimbrel | Phillies | 22 |
| 29 | Scott Barlow | Royals | 21 |
| 30 | Jorge Lopez | Twins | 24 |
| 31 | Aroldis Chapman | Royals | 38 |
| 32 | Bryan Abreu | Astros | 43 |
| 33 | Kyle Finnegan | Nationals | 27 |
| 34 | Brusdar Graterol | Dodgers | 36 |
| 35 | José Leclerc | Rangers | 17 |
| 36 | Brad Boxberger | Cubs | 67 |
| 37 | Dylan Floro | Marlins | 32 |
| 38 | A.J. Minter | Braves | 29 |
| 39 | Adbert Alzolay | Cubs | 41 |
| 40 | Giovanny Gallegos | Cardinals | 40 |
| 41 | Pierce Johnson | Rockies | NR |
| 42 | Adam Ottavino | Mets | 55 |
| 43 | Daniel Bard | Rockies | 25 |
| 44 | Reynaldo Lopez | White Sox | 35 |
| 45 | Daniel Hudson | Dodgers | 34 |
| 46 | Erik Swanson | Blue Jays | 51 |
| 47 | Griffin Jax | Twins | 45 |
| 48 | Trevor Stephan | Guardians | 46 |
| 49 | Michael King | Yankees | 44 |
| 50 | Yennier Cano | Orioles | NR |
| 51 | Zach Jackson | Athletics | NR |
| 52 | Keegan Thompson | Cubs | 90 |
| 53 | Matt Brash | Mariners | 83 |
| 54 | Seranthony Domínguez | Phillies | 37 |
| 55 | Rafael Montero | Astros | 50 |
| 56 | James Karinchak | Guardians | 49 |
| 57 | Collin McHugh | Braves | 47 |
| 58 | Colin Poche | Rays | 88 |
| 59 | Lucas Sims | Reds | 93 |
| 60 | Hector Neris | Astros | 60 |
| 61 | Hunter Harvey | Nationals | 95 |
| 62 | Scott McGough | Diamondbacks | 33 |
| 63 | Michael Fulmer | Cubs | 31 |
| 64 | Eli Morgan | Guardians | 73 |
| 65 | Jason Foley | Tigers | 97 |
| 66 | John Brebbia | Giants | 63 |
| 67 | Gregory Soto | Phillies | NR |
| 68 | Huascar Brazoban | Marlins | 76 |
| 69 | Garrett Cleavinger | Rays | 82 |
| 70 | Yimi García | Blue Jays | 74 |
| 71 | Matt Moore | Angels | 92 |
| 72 | Domingo Acevedo | Athletics | 52 |
| 73 | Dylan Lee | Braves | 84 |
| 74 | Miguel Castro | Diamondbacks | 102 |
| 75 | Tyler Rogers | Giants | NR |
| 76 | Andrew Wantz | Angels | 119 |
| 77 | Jonathan Hernández | Rangers | 96 |
| 78 | Mason Thompson | Nationals | NR |
| 79 | Colin Holderman | Pirates | NR |
| 80 | Ron Marinaccio | Yankees | 91 |
Dropping off: Trevor May (28th), Jimmy Herget (39th), Kendall Graveman (48th), Taylor Rogers (53rd), Matt Barnes (54th), Yency Almonte (56th), Diego Castillo (58th), Keegan Akin (59th)
- One of the biggest RP surprises, at least in my eyes, in the first month was how the Twins treated Jhoan Duran like a true closer. I figured he’d be used more like last year, with Jorge Lopez getting a lot of the save chances, but he’s been employed exclusively in the ninth. He has a decent chance of winding up as a top-five RP if that continues. The only thing that gives me pause about ranking him that highly is that Lopez has been outstanding thus far.
- I’d say the Marlins should be employing A.J. Puk in more of a 2022-Duran fashion, but he’s quickly turned into their sole closer. I wonder if that might not lead to another trade for Puk at this year’s deadline. It would be some nice maneuvering by the Marlins if they were able to turn him into a much better prospect than J.J. Bleday in July. I don’t think Puk is an elite reliever, but he should remain pretty good and he has three years of control left after this one.
