Dynasty: too close to call. Redraft: CJ Abrams. The FanRanked staff dynasty board has them nearly level, Abrams #14 and Rice #16, and the expert consensus agrees (#27 and #19). The community leans Rice, FRV 77.1 to 74.0. For 2027 redraft, the consensus has Abrams ahead, #17 to #31, and Frank's 2027 projection agrees ($22.9 and $33.6).
JD on Ben Rice (Oct 2, 2026): Ben Rice had the season I expected him to have after the 2025 season, but not in the way I expected him to do it. He went from a statcast monster last year to just a statcast enjoyer, with a notable decrease in his bat speed and exit velocity: 2025: 73.4 mph / 93.3 Avg EV 2026: 72.6 mph / 91.9 Avg EV He had the 34th-largest bat speed decline of any player from last year to this year and I think there are basically two ways to interpret it. Either you think that he is starting to regress and this is a trend that you will continue to see until he no longer is the monster that he is today, or you think that he found his comfort zone and took a bit off to prioritize the right kind of contact instead of bat speed being the priority at the expense of the ideal outcome. As a Ben Rice truther, I actually think it's the latter. One of the frustrations with Rice last year was that the numbers didn't match the expected stats, and I think slightly changing his approach this year really helped him put up a career year. At the end of the day he's a left-handed hitter in Yankee Stadium in his prime, hitting directly in front of Aaron Judge a majority of the time. He's going to be incredibly valuable for the next couple of years and I wouldn't rule out him continuing to perform at a high level into his mid-30s.
JD on CJ Abrams (Oct 2, 2026): In full transparency, I originally wrote this blurb thinking I was going to rank him 11th overall. As I thought more and more about it, I just got less comfortable with his 2026 stats and how unreliable they are based on his underlying metrics CJ Abrams might be heading down a path where he is more value in fantasy than in real life, but we are totally OK with that as fantasy diehards right? As of September 25, he has piled up 33 home runs in 34 stolen bases this year, making him on of the 3 players hit 30/30, along with PCA and Elly. (There was actually 7 last year, which was a record I didn’t realize was broken until I was doing research). He’s done that despite a relatively pedestrian underlying Statcast profile and horrible defense (1st percentile in both fielding run value and outs above average). When I see a profile like this, it makes me wonder how long he can perform at the elite level. It was also concerning that the Nationals were shopping him around at the trade deadline, which seems to suggest that maybe teams don't see as much real-life value as his fantasy profile would suggest. I can see an argument for selling high on him right now and maybe trading for a Kevin McGonigle or Sal Stewart type, based on their youth and well-rounded profiles.
Data as of . Consensus boards refresh daily; the staff board moves when it is republished.
| Metric | Ben Rice | CJ Abrams |
|---|---|---|
| Team | NYY | WAS |
| Position | 1B | SS |
| Age | 27 | 25 |
| Staff Dynasty Rank | #16 | #14 |
| Dynasty Consensus Rank | #27 | #19 |
| Redraft Consensus Rank | #31 | #17 |
| FRV (FanRanked Value) | 77.1 | 74.0 |
| Expert Sources | 15 | 15 |
| Dynasty Rank Range | #19–#43 | #12–#55 |
| 2027 Projected Value | $22.9 | $33.6 |
| 2026 $ Earned | $30.0 | $37.0 |
| 2027 Projected Rank | #29 | #9 |
| 30-Day Consensus Move | Up 1 spot | Up 1 spot |
| Stat | Ben Rice | CJ Abrams |
|---|---|---|
| PA | 667 | 654 |
| HR | 41 | 33 |
| R | 105 | 93 |
| RBI | 97 | 106 |
| SB | 3 | 34 |
| AVG | .264 | .261 |
| OBP | .363 | .336 |
| SLG | .534 | .497 |
| OPS | .897 | .834 |
| wOBA | .384 | .358 |
| xwOBA | .378 | .333 |
Price a Ben Rice-for-CJ Abrams trade in the Dynasty Trade Calculator · compare their 2027 dollars in the Roto & Redraft Trade Analyzer