Juan Soto, in dynasty and redraft. The FanRanked staff dynasty board has Soto ahead, Soto #8 and Merrill #15, and the expert consensus agrees (#52 and #2). The community agrees too, FRV 93.1 to 70.1. For 2026 redraft, the consensus has Soto ahead, #5 to #55.
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.
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 | Jackson Merrill | Juan Soto |
|---|---|---|
| Team | SD | NYM |
| Position | OF | OF |
| Age | 23 | 27 |
| Staff Dynasty Rank | #15 | #8 |
| Dynasty Consensus Rank | #52 | #2 |
| Redraft Consensus Rank | #55 | #5 |
| FRV (FanRanked Value) | 70.1 | 93.1 |
| Expert Sources | 11 | 11 |
| Dynasty Rank Range | #15–#87 | #1–#7 |
| Rest-of-Season Value | $1 | — |
| $ Earned Year to Date | $25 | — |
| ROS Rank (Top 300) | #203 | — |
| 30-Day Consensus Move | Up 10 spots | Up 1 spot |
| Stat | Jackson Merrill | Juan Soto |
|---|---|---|
| PA | 664 | 482 |
| HR | 26 | 27 |
| R | 86 | 63 |
| RBI | 87 | 68 |
| SB | 27 | 9 |
| AVG | .254 | .275 |
| OBP | .303 | .393 |
| SLG | .440 | .515 |
| OPS | .743 | .908 |
| wOBA | .320 | .385 |
| xwOBA | .347 | .411 |
Price a Jackson Merrill-for-Juan Soto trade in the Dynasty Trade Calculator · compare their rest-of-season dollars in the Roto & Redraft Trade Analyzer