Dynasty: Elly De La Cruz. Redraft: too close to call. The FanRanked staff dynasty board has Cruz ahead, Cruz #5 and Tatis #9, and the expert consensus agrees (#8 and #16). The community rates them even, FRV 81.6 and 80.3. For 2026 redraft, the consensus has them close, Cruz #4 and Tatis #6.
JD on Elly De La Cruz (Sep 24, 2026): Elly has come on like a bat out of hell in the last month, and gone from my 10th-ranked dynasty asset to the 5th-ranked in the process. He is one of the bonafide faces of the MLB at this point, despite being only 24 years old, because he's been around since he 2023 and has performed at an elite level every year. This year he has taken another step forward and improved in basically every measurable category but the two that I find the most compelling are the nearly 3 mph jump in avg exit velocity and the 11% walk rate, despite keeping his swing and miss largely the same compared to 2025. We are one launch angle adjustment away from him being a perennial 40-plus home run threat, but I do love that in general his game seems to be shifting from more of a speed-based profile to a power profile. Another a unique aspect of Elly's profile is that he suddenly became a lefty masher in 2026 after being clearly deficient against lefties for his career. Prior to this year I would have argued that Elly should only hit from the left side but this year he slashed over 1,000 OPS against lefties, with 10 home runs in only 181 PA (vs 18 HR in 428 PA vs righties). I'll be curious to see if this is just an aberration or something that persists on a yearly basis going forward. I don't really have any complaints with Elly. The only reason he's not the top tier for me is the same reason James Wood's isn't: the inflated K rate is going to lead to streakiness and that's not something I can overlook. I can see an argument for taking Elly over James Wood but I don't have him over my top three guys right now.
JD on Fernando Tatis Jr. (Sep 24, 2026): My gut wants me to rank FTJ much lower than 9th, but as I dove into the data, my brain told me I couldn't rank him lower than this. Outside of PCA he has been the second most valuable player in the second half of 2026. In some ways he's been even more valuable than PCA, with a higher xwOBA and a K% of only 15%. He also has everything you'd expect to see from a player who would be in the top 10 dynasty assets from an underlying metrics perspective. The Savant page is glowing red and things have generally improved, most notably, for me, the K rate, which has come down from nearly 30% in his rookie year to 18.6% this year and 18.7% in 2025, while still maintaining elite exit velocity numbers. So why is my gut telling me not to rank him 9th? I feel like he is one of the most volatile players inter-season in the top 10 and is not as young as some of the guys above him on this list. I was fully ready to bury him in my rankings and more or less did back in June when I had him ranked 50th overall and thought he was a shell of his former self. I'm also concerned his launch angle issues could reemerge and take his 25-homer seasons below 20 as his speed starts to decline and he becomes more like Xander Bogaerts' profile. In an ideal world, he begins selling out for more power and starts hitting 30+ home runs a year, a la Manny Machado, and holds his value into at least his mid-30s. If he takes that path expect him to be valuable for the full 7-year period this analysis covers.
Data as of . Consensus boards refresh daily; the staff board moves when it is republished.
| Metric | Elly De La Cruz | Fernando Tatis Jr. |
|---|---|---|
| Team | CIN | SD |
| Position | SS | OF/2B |
| Age | 24 | 27 |
| Staff Dynasty Rank | #5 | #9 |
| Dynasty Consensus Rank | #8 | #16 |
| Redraft Consensus Rank | #4 | #6 |
| FRV (FanRanked Value) | 81.6 | 80.3 |
| Expert Sources | 11 | 11 |
| Dynasty Rank Range | #5–#20 | #7–#33 |
| Rest-of-Season Value | $1 | $1 |
| $ Earned Year to Date | $33 | $36 |
| ROS Rank (Top 300) | #137 | #87 |
| 30-Day Consensus Move | Down 1 spot | Up 8 spots |
| Stat | Elly De La Cruz | Fernando Tatis Jr. |
|---|---|---|
| PA | 636 | 704 |
| HR | 30 | 25 |
| R | 99 | 96 |
| RBI | 79 | 83 |
| SB | 30 | 38 |
| AVG | .283 | .289 |
| OBP | .365 | .358 |
| SLG | .515 | .470 |
| OPS | .880 | .828 |
| wOBA | .380 | .358 |
| xwOBA | .376 | .379 |
Price a Elly De La Cruz-for-Fernando Tatis Jr. trade in the Dynasty Trade Calculator · compare their rest-of-season dollars in the Roto & Redraft Trade Analyzer