Dynasty: too close to call. Redraft: Ben Rice. The FanRanked staff dynasty board has them nearly level, Merrill #15 and Rice #16, but the expert consensus has Rice ahead (#27 to #52). The community leans Rice, FRV 77.1 to 70.1. For 2026 redraft, the consensus has Rice ahead, #15 to #55.
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 Jackson Merrill (Oct 2, 2026): This might be an ultra aggressive ranking that blows up in my face, or I could be a pioneer who sees reality before everyone else. Here is what I see in Merrill: He is 23 years old He just finished his 3rd year in the major leagues (at 23 years old) He has put up above average offensive stats every season (130 wRC+ in 2024, 115 in 2025, 105 in 2026). He absolutely exploded in the 2nd half and was the 5th best player on our player values (only behind PCA, Elly, FTJ, and Jackson Chourio). HE WILL BE 24 YEARS OLD IN 2027! He is similar in age to prospects like Sorota, Baez, Condon, and Tibbs while having 3 seasons in the big leagues under his belt. Ask yourself this question, if Konnor Griffin put up these 3 seasons of performance from 2026 to 2028, would you consider it a success? How excited would you be by Griffin heading into his age 23 season with this performance to start his career? Because I see no reason to rank a player who is still effectively a "prospect" above someone like Merrill who just put up a near 30/30 season at 23 years old. (For reference, Griffin is 16 in the expert consensus while Merrill is 52(!)) Is Merrill a perfect player? Not at all, he is far from it. He doesn't take enough walks and strikes out more than I would like for someone with his exit velocities. But he barrels the ball a ton, has an ideal launch angle, and is just now starting to enter the age where most players hit their prime. Merrill could be a sneaky 40 HR candidate next year, and if he continues to run like he did this year (27 SB) and manages his K rate, you have all of the makings of a top 5 player for 2027. But sure, continue taking the 20 year old prospect because he might turn into Merrill one day in this spot instead.
Data as of . Consensus boards refresh daily; the staff board moves when it is republished.
| Metric | Ben Rice | Jackson Merrill |
|---|---|---|
| Team | NYY | SD |
| Position | 1B/C | OF |
| Age | 27 | 23 |
| Staff Dynasty Rank | #16 | #15 |
| Dynasty Consensus Rank | #27 | #52 |
| Redraft Consensus Rank | #15 | #55 |
| FRV (FanRanked Value) | 77.1 | 70.1 |
| Expert Sources | 11 | 11 |
| Dynasty Rank Range | #19–#43 | #15–#87 |
| Rest-of-Season Value | — | $1 |
| $ Earned Year to Date | — | $25 |
| ROS Rank (Top 300) | — | #203 |
| 30-Day Consensus Move | Down 3 spots | Up 10 spots |
| Stat | Ben Rice | Jackson Merrill |
|---|---|---|
| PA | 667 | 664 |
| HR | 41 | 26 |
| R | 105 | 86 |
| RBI | 97 | 87 |
| SB | 3 | 27 |
| AVG | .264 | .254 |
| OBP | .363 | .303 |
| SLG | .534 | .440 |
| OPS | .897 | .743 |
| wOBA | .384 | .320 |
| xwOBA | .378 | .347 |
Price a Ben Rice-for-Jackson Merrill trade in the Dynasty Trade Calculator · compare their rest-of-season dollars in the Roto & Redraft Trade Analyzer