Dynasty: Jackson Merrill. Redraft: Cam Schlittler. The FanRanked staff dynasty board has Merrill ahead, Merrill #15 and Schlittler #19, but the expert consensus has Schlittler ahead (#21 to #52). The community disagrees, leaning Schlittler, FRV 74.6 to 70.1. For 2026 redraft, the consensus has Schlittler ahead, #16 to #55.
JD on Cam Schlittler (Oct 2, 2026): I racked my brain trying to come up with a way to rank Schlittler over Misiorowski and have the contrarian take, but it's clear that Schlitter is a very strong #2 to Mis. There is so much to like about Schlittler, but I think my favorite part about him is that he is going to win the AL Cy Young Award without a true wipeout breaking ball or elite changeup. He effectively dominated the AL all year with three variations of a fastball and only needed to feature his CB 10% of the time. This gives me hope that he can age more gracefully than a pitcher who doesn't have anywhere to go with their arsenal as their velocity declines. Just imagine 29 year old Schlittler with a wipeout split. If you wanted to find some cons in his game, his 1.95 ERA had nearly a one-run gap between his 2.85 xERA, which is the 10th-biggest gap for pitchers with a full season workload. He also didn't do a great job the third time through the order (.315 wOBA allowed), where he looked more like a league-average pitcher compared to an elite arm. I heard this argument from Blue Jays fans arguing Dylan Cease should win the Cy Young, treating Schlit as a stats merchant rather than a true horse. I looked into it and Cease was actually worse the third time through the order and through 24 fewer innings so I'm not sure where that came from. Schlittler will be entering his age-26 season in 2027 and should be a betting favorite to win a back-to-back Cy Young. If you can get your hands on him, I have no doubt he will treat you well over the next couple of years.
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 | Cam Schlittler | Jackson Merrill |
|---|---|---|
| Team | NYY | SD |
| Position | SP | OF |
| Age | 25 | 23 |
| Staff Dynasty Rank | #19 | #15 |
| Dynasty Consensus Rank | #21 | #52 |
| Redraft Consensus Rank | #16 | #55 |
| FRV (FanRanked Value) | 74.6 | 70.1 |
| Expert Sources | 11 | 11 |
| Dynasty Rank Range | #14–#33 | #15–#87 |
| Rest-of-Season Value | — | $1 |
| $ Earned Year to Date | — | $25 |
| ROS Rank (Top 300) | — | #203 |
| 30-Day Consensus Move | Up 5 spots | Up 10 spots |
| Stat | Cam Schlittler | Jackson Merrill |
|---|---|---|
| PA | — | 664 |
| HR | — | 26 |
| R | — | 86 |
| RBI | — | 87 |
| SB | — | 27 |
| AVG | — | .254 |
| OBP | — | .303 |
| SLG | — | .440 |
| OPS | — | .743 |
| wOBA | — | .320 |
| xwOBA | — | .347 |
| Stat | Cam Schlittler | Jackson Merrill |
|---|---|---|
| IP | 193.2 | — |
| W | 14 | — |
| SV | 0 | — |
| ERA | 1.95 | — |
| WHIP | 0.92 | — |
| K | 239 | — |
| K/9 | 11.1 | — |
Price a Cam Schlittler-for-Jackson Merrill trade in the Dynasty Trade Calculator · compare their rest-of-season dollars in the Roto & Redraft Trade Analyzer