Elly De La Cruz, in dynasty and redraft. The FanRanked staff dynasty board has Cruz ahead, Cruz #5 and Soto #8, but the expert consensus has Soto ahead (#2 to #8). The community disagrees, leaning Soto, FRV 93.1 to 80.5. For 2026 redraft, the consensus has Cruz ahead, #4 to #76, and the rest-of-season engine agrees ($50 and $42).
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 Juan Soto (Sep 24, 2026): Juan Soto is a generational talent and while I don't want to say he has been underestimated when it comes to how valuable he has been, I think it's worth just putting some of his performance into context through his age-27 season. Some of my favorite stats: -.945 career OPS His lowest season in wRC+ was 143, meaning in his worst season he has 43% better than league average. Among hitters with 7+ full seasons through age 27, Soto's worst is .389 (2026), which ranks 4th all-time. Only Joe Kelley (.398), Pujols (.394) and Mantle (.390) had a higher floor. -9th all time in HR's through age 27 (270) He has never had a BB% below 15.9% in the big leagues for a full season. He has never had a K% greater than 20% in the big leagues. He has walked more than he has struck out in his career. He has never had a month in his career where his xwOBA was lower than .350 (I didn't believe this one either you have to check this out). Soto is clearly a generational talent and his ranking here reflects more his position on the aging curve rather than his talent. If he was 24 or 25 years old, he would be in consideration for number 1 for me. Unfortunately, I don't think he will age that gracefully, as he's starting to get a little thick and I don't think he can stay this elite forever. I still think there will be a very great 3- to 4-year period where you can ride his generational talent until it becomes clear he is not the same player he once was. In OBP leagues he's still a top-five asset for me.
Data as of . Consensus boards refresh daily; the staff board moves when it is republished.
| Metric | Elly De La Cruz | Juan Soto |
|---|---|---|
| Team | CIN | NYM |
| Position | SS | OF |
| Age | 24 | 27 |
| Staff Dynasty Rank | #5 | #8 |
| Dynasty Consensus Rank | #8 | #2 |
| Redraft Consensus Rank | #4 | #76 |
| FRV (FanRanked Value) | 80.5 | 93.1 |
| Expert Sources | 11 | 11 |
| Dynasty Rank Range | #5–#20 | #1–#7 |
| Rest-of-Season Value | $50 | $42 |
| $ Earned Year to Date | $34 | $17 |
| ROS Rank (Top 300) | #5 | #12 |
| 30-Day Consensus Move | Up 2 spots | Up 1 spot |
| Stat | Elly De La Cruz | Juan Soto |
|---|---|---|
| PA | 614 | 458 |
| HR | 29 | 26 |
| R | 97 | 59 |
| RBI | 76 | 66 |
| SB | 29 | 9 |
| AVG | .288 | .275 |
| OBP | .370 | .389 |
| SLG | .521 | .518 |
| OPS | .891 | .908 |
| wOBA | .384 | .387 |
| xwOBA | .378 | .411 |
Price a Elly De La Cruz-for-Juan Soto trade in the Dynasty Trade Calculator · compare their rest-of-season dollars in the Roto & Redraft Trade Analyzer