The second month of the regular season is in the books, which means it’s time to highlight my fantasy baseball MVP at each position for the month of May. As was the case in April, I consider average draft position and resulting return on investment based on performance when making these decisions, meaning the guys who were expected to provide elite fantasy value will not appear on this list.
Without further ado, here are my picks for May’s fantasy baseball Most Valuable Players at each position.
Catcher: Francisco Alvarez, New York Mets
Among catchers, only Salvador Perez (nine) had more home runs in the month of May than Alvarez (seven) and nobody posted a higher wRC+ (180). In all, the Mets’ 21-year-old rookie backstop slashed .292/.363/.667 in May. Included in that was an eight-game hitting streak during which Alvarez homered five times, earning a promotion to second in the Mets’ batting order after hitting almost exclusively ninth to that point. I think it’s fair to say that the former No. 1 overall prospect has made his mark.
First Base: Anthony Rizzo, New York Yankees
Before you yell at me, I know Freddie Freeman had an otherworldly month of May. Pete Alonso and Matt Olsen swatted ten and nine home runs, respectively. Christian Walker had a ridiculous hot streak. They were all drafted ahead of Anthony Rizzo this fantasy season. Few have benefitted from the new shift restrictions more than Rizzo, who has improved his batting average from .224 last season to .304 so far in 2023. In May, he slashed .327/.382/.535 with six home runs, 17 runs scored and 19 driven in. He’s my choice for May first base fantasy MVP based on his ADP as the 12th first baseman off the board.
Second Base: Nolan Gorman, St. Louis Cardinals
Another youngster who has solidified himself as an MLB regular, Gorman built off a good April with an even better May, slashing .277/.365/.590. No second baseman had more than his seven home runs in the month. Gorman added 15 runs scored, 19 runs batted in and a pair of stolen bases. His batted ball metrics are exceptional and his .313 ISO not only led second basemen, but was 11th in baseball (min. 90 plate appearances). Gorman has provided an excellent return on investment as a 36th-round pick coming into the season.
Third Base: Josh Jung, Texas Rangers
Jung finished May riding a 14-game hitting streak. Half of those games have been multi-hit efforts, and has hits in 18 of his last 19 games overall. On top of that, only Nolan Arenado (seven) hit more May home runs than Jung (six) among third basemen, and nobody scored more times than Jung’s 22. Overall, he slashed .318/.357/.561 in the month with a 150 wRC+ and a .389 wOBA. The 23rd-round fantasy pick has more than exceeded expectations.
Shortstop: Ezequiel Duran, Texas Rangers
Aside from Bo Bichette and Wander Franco (and Bobby Witt Jr. if you ignore batting average and on-base percentage), shortstop was a surprisingly disappointing position in May. Enter Ezequiel Duran, a utility man turned everyday shortstop in the absence of Corey Seager. Duran filled in admirably. Unfortunately, Duran landed on the injured list during the final week of May, but his numbers to that point were excellent. He slashed .301/.346/.575 with five home runs and matched his infield mate Jung’s 150 wRC+. Duran was almost entirely off fantasy radars this year with an ADP of 598.5, so his performance has been a welcome surprise for anyone lucky enough to grab him off waivers.
Outfield: Anthony Santander, Baltimore Orioles
Santander began the month of May with six straight multi-hit games and finished the month with a trio of three-hit games in his last six. Not typically lauded for his batting average or on-base skills, his May .337 and .422 marks, respectively, are a welcome surprise. And it didn’t come at the expense of power numbers, as “Tony Taters” swatted seven home runs and 15 extra-base hits in total. His 191 wRC+ in May was fifth in baseball and fourth among outfielders, behind only Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and the next guy on this list.
Outfield: Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Arizona Diamondbacks
Gurriel reached base safely in each of his first 19 games in May and in all but two May games overall, contributing to his .419 on-base percentage in the month. He homered eight times, doubled seven times and tripled once. His absurd .714 slugging percentage trailed only Judge, all in all giving Gurriel a 1.130 OPS in May. A 25th-round fantasy pick, Gurriel has far exceeded those expectations and is a big reason why the Diamondbacks have surged into a tie for first place in the National League West.
Outfield: Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers
The Riley Greene breakout has felt inevitable for a while considering his prospect pedigree and it appears (appeared?) to have finally arrived (he will miss extended time with a stress fracture in his fibula). Among outfielders with at least 100 May plate appearances, his .435 on-base percentage trailed only Soto. Greene managed to slug .573 in May despite just three home runs, thanks to 10 other extra-base hits. He did benefit from a ridiculously high .485 BABIP, but his batted ball metrics are very good. Dynasty managers should feel comfortable waiting out his IL stint in the hopes that he’ll return to this recent form.
Utility: Owen Miller, Milwaukee Brewers
I wrote about Miller as a waiver-wire target last week thanks to his May performance. He slashed .363/.395/.600 in May with four home runs and three stolen bases while playing regularly in several spots across the diamond. I’m still not quite sure if his performance is sustainable, as his .391 May BABIP certainly helped boost his numbers and his metrics are unspectacular, but the results have been undeniable lately. He’s my May fantasy MVP among utility players.
Starting Pitcher: Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants
This was a tough call as there were several deserving starters who excelled in different aspects across the month of May. I’m giving the nod to Webb for two reasons. First, he went 5-for-5 in quality starts, which is appealing to me as a proponent of using QS instead of wins in fantasy baseball. Secondly, his 8.57 strikeouts per nine innings was the highest mark among other qualified starters who posted a May ERA under 2.00. He completed at least seven innings in four of five starts and kept his WHIP below 1.00 for the month. After a slow start to the year, Webb again looks like himself.
Relief Pitcher: Camilo Doval, San Francisco Giants
I tried to talk myself into Reds righty Alexis Díaz here, who had a great May in his own right, but Doval was simply too dominant. He began the month with 7.1 hitless innings and finished it with a 1.32 ERA and 0.80 WHIP, all the while going a league-high 11-for-11 in save opportunities. Combine that with a 23:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 13.2 May innings pitched and you have excellent value for a guy who was taken as the 10th relief pitcher in fantasy drafts coming into the season.
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