Nick Kurtz, in dynasty and redraft. The FanRanked staff dynasty board has Kurtz ahead, Kurtz #10 and Rice #16, and the expert consensus agrees (#27 and #10). The community agrees too, FRV 82.2 to 77.1. For 2027 redraft, the consensus has Kurtz ahead, #23 to #31, but Frank's 2027 projection has Rice ahead ($22.9 to $19.1).
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 Nick Kurtz (Sep 24, 2026): This ranking should be CJ Abrams' spot, he's done nothing but earn it this year with a 30/30 season. But as the residing president of the Nick Kurtz fan club, it would be irresponsible of me to rank him outside of the top 10 on any dynasty list. I feel like Kurtz is the first player on this list who you can't point to direct production this year to justify their placement in the top 10, which should tell you how I feel about Nick Kurtz's potential. Remember he's only 23 years old and was drafted in 2024 so he has not even entered what should be his prime yet. From this point onward in the rankings, every player is going to have their warts and there is no complete player, so you have to go by upside in a dynasty list like this. Let's talk about his potential upside, he's 98% or greater in the following categories: AVG EV (93.4) Barrel % (18.0%) Hard Hit Rate (57.3%) Bat Speed (78.2 MPH) BB % (18.2%) This profile screams when I hit the ball, I'm absolutely doing damage. I don't think there's a single player in the big leagues outside of maybe Yordan Alvarez and Aaron Judge that have this impressive batted-ball profile, but Nick Kurtz is only 23 years old. Compared to 29 for Yordan and 34 for Judge. The issue is he doesn't always "hit the ball": 32.5% K Rate 36.9% Whiff Rate And both of those stats actually trended worse in 2026 compared to his rookie year, the threat of a low batting average is very real if he doesn't improve on this. If you're at the 10th pick in your dynasty league, all of the surefire bets are gone and everyone has their warts. It's either age, sporadic performance, or some metric in an otherwise reliable skill set that gives you pause. I think Nick Kurtz's combination of youth and upside is the most attractive bet left after the first nine players are spoken for. If your league really values pitching, the Miz is a fine bet at number 10 overall. If you want to put yourself in the best chance to win next year, maybe Yordan is your guy. If you're looking for more of a 30-30 skill set, then I wouldn't fault you for taking CJ Abrams. All I'm saying is don't overlook Kurtz in 2027.
Data as of . Consensus boards refresh daily; the staff board moves when it is republished.
| Metric | Ben Rice | Nick Kurtz |
|---|---|---|
| Team | NYY | ATH |
| Position | 1B | 1B |
| Age | 27 | 23 |
| Staff Dynasty Rank | #16 | #10 |
| Dynasty Consensus Rank | #27 | #10 |
| Redraft Consensus Rank | #31 | #23 |
| FRV (FanRanked Value) | 77.1 | 82.2 |
| Expert Sources | 15 | 15 |
| Dynasty Rank Range | #19–#43 | #7–#17 |
| 2027 Projected Value | $22.9 | $19.1 |
| 2026 $ Earned | $30.0 | $13.0 |
| 2027 Projected Rank | #29 | #51 |
| 30-Day Consensus Move | Up 1 spot | Down 1 spot |
| Stat | Ben Rice | Nick Kurtz |
|---|---|---|
| PA | 667 | 434 |
| HR | 41 | 21 |
| R | 105 | 62 |
| RBI | 97 | 69 |
| SB | 3 | 7 |
| AVG | .264 | .256 |
| OBP | .363 | .396 |
| SLG | .534 | .483 |
| OPS | .897 | .879 |
| wOBA | .384 | .381 |
| xwOBA | .378 | .374 |
Price a Ben Rice-for-Nick Kurtz trade in the Dynasty Trade Calculator · compare their 2027 dollars in the Roto & Redraft Trade Analyzer