By Michael Seff and RotoRob

Our series of 2015 Fantasy baseball cheat sheets continues today. So while you wonder if Rafael Soriano has anything left to help the Cubs, let’s review the top nine designated hitters in the game.

Designated hitters may be a boring necessity to list, but that’s not to say that there aren’t some very nice players in here that simply fall through the cracks because they don’t qualify elsewhere.

Last year’s rankings are in parentheses.

1. David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox (1): Is Father Time finally catching up with Ortiz as he inches toward 500 career dingers? He definitely seems to need more rest this season — especially against tougher lefties.

2. Chris Carter, Houston Astros (NR): Carter is not hitting as well this year, but remains a great source of power (see video below) and is drawing tons of walks.

3. Kennys Vargas, Minnesota Twins (NR): A recent demotion punched a hole in Vargas’ value, but this kid has serious pop and now that he’s back after three weeks on the farm, he should be motivated to mash.

4. David DeJesus, Tampa Bay Rays (NR): DeJesus remains a solid contact hitter, is doing a great job of getting on base, and his extra-base pop has improved a tad.

5. Jimmy Paredes, Baltimore Orioles (NR): Paredes started the season like a house on fire, but has cooled. Still, his productivity has been impressive.

6. Joey Butler, Tampa Bay Rays (NR): A 15th round pick in 2006, Butler has had a long road to the majors and now that he’s finally getting a real shot, he’s been hitting up a storm, batting .330 through 30 games with nice power. He failed to stick in Texas or St. Louis, but seems to have found a home in Tampa Bay.

7. Corey Hart, Pittsburgh Pirates (NR): This former top prospect’s career has been fizzling thanks to injuries and ineffectiveness. At this point, Hart is merely a pinch hitter for the Pirates — and not a very good one at that.

8. Jesus Montero, Seattle Mariners (NR): Why the offensively struggling Mariners haven’t called up Montero is a mystery. His power is down a but, but he’s batting .315 at Triple-A.

9. Zach Walters, Cleveland Indians (NR): Walters is a .280 hitter in his minor league career, but has yet to come close to duplicating that in the majors, where his career average is over 100 points lower through 75+ games.

Now it’s your turn. Let us know in the comments below who is too high or too low or missing.

RotoRob Fantasy Baseball Weekly Podcast

Crave more in-depth Fantasy analysis? Then join us every Thursday at 9 p.m. EST for RotoRob Fantasy Baseball Weekly Podcast on Blogtalkradio as we entertain and edify you for an hour or more each week. We were off again last week, but will return live this week (June 11) featuring guest Chris Wassel, the host of Fantasy Hockey X. Tune in here.

Daily Fantasy Baseball Promo

Can’t get enough DFS action? We hear ya. Try DraftTeam with our compliments. Right now, there’s a special promo
offering 100 per cent deposit bonus!

Considered by most publications to be one of the top handful of prospects, if the not the best of the bunch, Buxton will nonetheless open the 2015 season in the minors for some seasoning (and to prevent his service-time clock from starting). He is long on talent — excellent speed, developing power, ferocious bat speed, etc. — but short on experience with just three at-bats above High-A. It’s possible the Twins could hold Buxton back until 2016, but a more likely scenario is a late-June promotion. If that happens, pounce. more

After a couple of weeks off for March Madness, RotoRob Fantasy Baseball Weekly Podcast — heard every Thursday at 9 p.m. EST on Blogtalkradio — was back in action as RotoRob was joined by Tim McLeod of Pattonandco.com. more

In fact, after catching in the low minors, Schwarber was playing left field exclusively by the time he got to High-A Daytona. Stinnett has improved since being taken in the late rounds by the Pirates last year, as the 6’4” righty has a power arm but may be more suited to be a reliever at this point because of mechanical concerns. Sands, on the other hand, is much more consistent at repeating his delivery and can reach the mid-90s with his fastball. He also features a very good 12-to-6 curve. more

Mercer is slapping the ball all over the place and is scorching hot with a .415 BA in July, following up a five-homer June. What’s not to like? If you’re looking for a middle-infield replacement for Phillips, look no further. more