Fantasy Baseball Rankings Movers: Munetaka Murakami climbing while Josh Naylor recedes ... but only a little

Most every week, Scott White will highlight some of the more notable changes to his rest-of-season rankings. You'll find said rankings here and are urged to bookmark them if you haven't already. There's no better resource for gauging player value throughout the long season.

"Can I drop Josh Naylor?"

Believe it or not, that's the question I've heard the most since this season started. I say "believe it or not" because seasoned Fantasy Baseballers will know the answer is an obvious "no." Naylor has been a must-start first baseman each of the past three years, is still in his prime at age 28, and just signed a long-term contract with the Mariners this offseason, having earned the trust of much smarter baseball people than you or me. There's also the more general reason that abandoning your high draft picks after a few weeks of poor performance is a suicidal approach to a game that's more of a marathon than a sprint.

Having said that, I've moved Naylor down a couple spots in the latest update to my rankings, from eighth to 10th at first base. It's due less to concerns over him (he's 9 for 17 in his past five games, after all) and more to Sal Stewart and Ben Rice simply being that good. Placing Naylor 10th keeps him in the must-start (and certainly must-roster) range of the rankings, but even if his bat bounces back fully (which I'm expecting), he'll have trouble measuring up to his 2025 production because of how unlikely his 30 steals were. This downgrade is less an overreaction to his cold start than an acknowledgment that his place in the rankings is more malleable than, say, Rafael Devers.

The 10 biggest rankings moves for this week

1. I mentioned Sal Stewart as one of the two players I've moved ahead of Josh Naylor at first base, and it's a major credit to the 22-year-old that he could so quickly rank so high at a position with so many early-round fixtures. Week after week, there's simply no letup, and he's showing no signs of weakness either. His exit velocities are strong. His plate discipline is excellent. Somehow, he's already 6 for 6 in stolen bases, which wouldn't have seemed possible in even a best-case scenario. If that isn't enough, he's also on the path to gaining third and second base eligibility, which would make him an almost mythical figure in Fantasy. You never want to go too big with a rankings adjustment in April, but I'm all-in on Stewart at this point.