Dynasty: Jackson Merrill. Redraft: Ronald Acuna Jr. The FanRanked staff dynasty board has Merrill ahead, Merrill #15 and Acuna #27, but the expert consensus has Acuna ahead (#24 to #52). The community disagrees, leaning Acuna, FRV 87.3 to 70.1. For 2026 redraft, the consensus has Acuna ahead, #13 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 Ronald Acuna Jr. (May 27, 2026): I'm not sure what to think of Acuna. We know that there's a 40-70 season potential in there but I think those days are past him with his knee injuries. The weirdest thing about that season was the insane batted ball profile and K-rate he was able to maintain that's seemingly anomalous at this point. I think there are people out here who will treat him like a top 10 player and if you happen to have him and there's someone out here willing to make a trade for him like he's a top 10 player, then I would be willing to move on from him. I think those days are behind him and can't bank on him in the future for anything other than solid contributions across the board and topping at maaaaaybe 30 home runs a year.
Data as of . Consensus boards refresh daily; the staff board moves when it is republished.
| Metric | Jackson Merrill | Ronald Acuna Jr. |
|---|---|---|
| Team | SD | ATL |
| Position | OF | OF |
| Age | 23 | 28 |
| Staff Dynasty Rank | #15 | #27 |
| Dynasty Consensus Rank | #52 | #24 |
| Redraft Consensus Rank | #55 | #13 |
| FRV (FanRanked Value) | 70.1 | 87.3 |
| Expert Sources | 11 | 11 |
| Dynasty Rank Range | #15–#87 | #12–#59 |
| Rest-of-Season Value | $1 | $1 |
| $ Earned Year to Date | $25 | $13 |
| ROS Rank (Top 300) | #203 | #140 |
| 30-Day Consensus Move | Up 10 spots | Down 7 spots |
| Stat | Jackson Merrill | Ronald Acuna Jr. |
|---|---|---|
| PA | 664 | 469 |
| HR | 26 | 20 |
| R | 86 | 61 |
| RBI | 87 | 55 |
| SB | 27 | 21 |
| AVG | .254 | .255 |
| OBP | .303 | .345 |
| SLG | .440 | .451 |
| OPS | .743 | .796 |
| wOBA | .320 | .348 |
| xwOBA | .347 | .366 |
Price a Jackson Merrill-for-Ronald Acuna Jr. trade in the Dynasty Trade Calculator · compare their rest-of-season dollars in the Roto & Redraft Trade Analyzer