Dynasty: Jackson Merrill. Redraft: too close to call. The FanRanked staff dynasty board has Merrill ahead, Merrill #43 and Rasmussen #46, and the expert consensus agrees (#93 and #52). The community agrees too, FRV 70.1 to 57.3. For 2026 redraft, the consensus has them close, Rasmussen #55 and Merrill #53, and the rest-of-season engine agrees ($13 and $25).
JD on Drew Rasmussen (Jun 11, 2026): What a start by Rasmussen against the Red Sox, 13ks over 7 innings with less than 100 pitches. I feel like it's a true sign of a player's talent when you see them with huge K numbers with a relatively low pitch count. The pitch count issue is the thing that's holding me back with Rasmussen right now. It feels like the Rays don't want to let him off of the leash (for better or worse) and that is what's keeping him from putting up top-tier caliber pitching numbers. Also, he is already almost 31 years old so I don't know how long the good times roll. For now, I would treat him like Brandon Woodruff circa 2017 through 2019 without the innings and counting stats upside.
JD on Jackson Merrill (Aug 3, 2026): Seems like Merrill might be back and I'm fully ready to buy in again. It's important to remember that he's still only 24 years old and most players still don't even hit their peak until 27-28 years old, so he theoretically still should be improving and getting stronger over the next couple of years. As for today, he's hitting over .300 over the last 30 days and contributing in all 5 categories. If you are in an OBP league then he probably gets knocked down a peg due to his poor walk rate (6.4%), but even in his breakout 2024 he had an abysmal walk rate (4.9%). If Merrill gets to 25/30 this year and pushes his average up around .250-.260 I think he enters next year as a top 50 dynasty asset universally, and the path to get there for him is pretty straight forward.
Data as of . Consensus boards refresh daily; the staff board moves when it is republished.
| Metric | Drew Rasmussen | Jackson Merrill |
|---|---|---|
| Team | TB | SD |
| Position | SP | OF |
| Age | 31 | 23 |
| Staff Dynasty Rank | #46 | #43 |
| Dynasty Consensus Rank | #93 | #52 |
| Redraft Consensus Rank | #55 | #53 |
| FRV (FanRanked Value) | 57.3 | 70.1 |
| Expert Sources | 11 | 11 |
| Dynasty Rank Range | #33–#285 | #15–#87 |
| Rest-of-Season Value | $13 | $25 |
| $ Earned Year to Date | $29 | $25 |
| ROS Rank (Top 300) | #80 | #41 |
| 30-Day Consensus Move | Up 37 spots | Up 17 spots |
| Stat | Drew Rasmussen | Jackson Merrill |
|---|---|---|
| PA | — | 649 |
| HR | — | 26 |
| R | — | 82 |
| RBI | — | 86 |
| SB | — | 26 |
| AVG | — | .254 |
| OBP | — | .302 |
| SLG | — | .442 |
| OPS | — | .745 |
| wOBA | — | .321 |
| xwOBA | — | .347 |
| Stat | Drew Rasmussen | Jackson Merrill |
|---|---|---|
| IP | 172.0 | — |
| W | 16 | — |
| SV | 0 | — |
| ERA | 2.67 | — |
| WHIP | 0.91 | — |
| K | 174 | — |
| K/9 | 9.1 | — |
Price a Drew Rasmussen-for-Jackson Merrill trade in the Dynasty Trade Calculator · compare their rest-of-season dollars in the Roto & Redraft Trade Analyzer