Yordan Alvarez, in dynasty and redraft. The FanRanked staff dynasty board has Alvarez ahead, Alvarez #11 and Merrill #15, and the expert consensus agrees (#52 and #13). The community agrees too, FRV 81.8 to 70.1. For 2026 redraft, the consensus has Alvarez ahead, #2 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 Yordan Alvarez (Oct 2, 2026): Air Yordan feels like the closest thing we have to Barry Bonds. If you polled every pitcher in the big leagues on the hitter they least want to face, I have to imagine he tops the list. He just put together one of the most impressive offensive seasons of the last handful of years. He led the league in average, on-base, slugging, OPS and wRC+, drew more walks than anyone, and he did it while staying on the field for more games than he ever has in his career. I also love that he manages to do all of this with such a low K% (17.3% this year). There is really nothing to knock from a dynasty perspective except two things. He's older than most of the players ranked above him, and the injuries that seem to pop up every year and eat into his playing time are still part of the package. We probably just watched his career year, but that doesn't mean he has to repeat it to be very valuable in 2027 and beyond. If you can get Yordan with the last pick of the first round, I'm all over it.
Data as of . Consensus boards refresh daily; the staff board moves when it is republished.
| Metric | Jackson Merrill | Yordan Alvarez |
|---|---|---|
| Team | SD | HOU |
| Position | OF | OF |
| Age | 23 | 29 |
| Staff Dynasty Rank | #15 | #11 |
| Dynasty Consensus Rank | #52 | #13 |
| Redraft Consensus Rank | #55 | #2 |
| FRV (FanRanked Value) | 70.1 | 81.8 |
| Expert Sources | 11 | 11 |
| Dynasty Rank Range | #15–#87 | #8–#40 |
| Rest-of-Season Value | $1 | $1 |
| $ Earned Year to Date | $25 | $40 |
| ROS Rank (Top 300) | #203 | #196 |
| 30-Day Consensus Move | Up 10 spots | Down 1 spot |
| Stat | Jackson Merrill | Yordan Alvarez |
|---|---|---|
| PA | 664 | 692 |
| HR | 26 | 42 |
| R | 86 | 105 |
| RBI | 87 | 106 |
| SB | 27 | 1 |
| AVG | .254 | .316 |
| OBP | .303 | .432 |
| SLG | .440 | .601 |
| OPS | .743 | 1.033 |
| wOBA | .320 | .429 |
| xwOBA | .347 | .442 |
Price a Jackson Merrill-for-Yordan Alvarez trade in the Dynasty Trade Calculator · compare their rest-of-season dollars in the Roto & Redraft Trade Analyzer