Dynasty: too close to call. Redraft: Jac Caglianone. The FanRanked staff dynasty board has them nearly level, McLean #34 and Caglianone #36, and the expert consensus agrees (#64 and #42). The community rates them even, FRV 70.0 and 67.1. For 2026 redraft, the consensus has Caglianone ahead, #62 to #99.
JD on Jac Caglianone (Oct 21, 2026): Cags took a major leap forward in the second half of 2026 and may have gone under the radar because the Royals didn't have much else to watch this year. He slashed .337/.373/.549 with 8 home runs and 4 stolen bases, all while limiting his Ks to a very manageable 20.6% K rate. The underlying metrics back it up too with a 93.8(!) Average EV and xwOBA of .363, which wasn't far off from his full-season xwOBA of .359. The only thing in the profile that really screams regression is the .361 BABIP, however his expected batting average was .283 because the quality of his contact is so strong. I wouldn't expect as much batting average regression as you would typically expect to see from someone who ran a BABIP this high. The last piece of the puzzle that I'd really like to see from someone with as much power as he has is an improved launch angle. If he can get his 7.7° launch angle up to even 10° he's going to hit so many more home runs with how hard he hits the ball. From there, his only real deficit is his poor walk rate. But if it doesn't lead to an alarming amount of strikeouts, a la Joey Gallo, I'm not sure we necessarily need to concern ourselves with it from a fantasy perspective. I think he will be a very valuable dynasty asset if he makes that one tweak, and don't be afraid to make a big move early in 2027 if you see positive launch angle progress in April.
JD on Nolan McLean (Oct 20, 2026): Nolan McLean stands in a tier of his own for me, because he's in a weird spot where there feels like a big gap between him and the top 7 starters, but he's very clearly better than the next starter after him, Logan Gilbert, mainly due to his age. My favorite thing about McLean is the way he spins it. He has a 98th percentile curveball in xwOBA allowed at .163, and some of the PitchingNinja videos of his highest RPM pitches look like straight witchcraft. Despite his elite-looking curveball, it's actually his sinker that was his most valuable pitch by far, having saved an incredible 27 runs this season, leading to an ERA reduction versus the average of 1.35. That was by far the most valuable sinker in baseball this year in total run value (although Josh Hader(?)) Was better on a rate basis per 100 pitches). I would love to see a guy like McLean with an elite defense behind him, because I feel like the sinker/curveball combo would really play up with a team like the Brewers behind him. Unfortunately he will have to settle with the Mets' defense going forward, who ranked 25th last year, and I don't see a path to them getting much better.
Data as of . Consensus boards refresh daily; the staff board moves when it is republished.
| Metric | Jac Caglianone | Nolan McLean |
|---|---|---|
| Team | KC | NYM |
| Position | OF/1B | SP |
| Age | 23 | 25 |
| Staff Dynasty Rank | #36 | #34 |
| Dynasty Consensus Rank | #64 | #42 |
| Redraft Consensus Rank | #62 | #99 |
| FRV (FanRanked Value) | 70.0 | 67.1 |
| Expert Sources | 9 | 9 |
| Dynasty Rank Range | #40–#97 | #39–#168 |
| Rest-of-Season Value | $1 | - |
| $ Earned Year to Date | $16 | - |
| ROS Rank (Top 300) | #159 | - |
| 30-Day Consensus Move | Up 5 spots | Up 3 spots |
| Stat | Jac Caglianone | Nolan McLean |
|---|---|---|
| PA | 553 | - |
| HR | 23 | - |
| R | 72 | - |
| RBI | 75 | - |
| SB | 7 | - |
| AVG | .289 | - |
| OBP | .340 | - |
| SLG | .494 | - |
| OPS | .834 | - |
| wOBA | .360 | - |
| xwOBA | .357 | - |
| Stat | Jac Caglianone | Nolan McLean |
|---|---|---|
| IP | - | 179.2 |
| W | - | 12 |
| SV | - | 0 |
| ERA | - | 3.16 |
| WHIP | - | 1.17 |
| K | - | 194 |
| K/9 | - | 9.7 |
Price a Jac Caglianone-for-Nolan McLean trade in the Dynasty Trade Calculator · compare their rest-of-season dollars in the Roto & Redraft Trade Analyzer