Dynasty: Joshua Baez. The FanRanked staff dynasty board has Baez ahead, Baez #159 and Lackey #208, and the expert consensus agrees (#147 and #210). The community agrees too, FRV 54.8 to 47.2.
JD on Joshua Baez (Aug 20, 2026): It's pretty incredible that Baez hit 3 HR in his first game and now looks like he can't hit a baseball. He hit 34 home runs in AAA this year and looks like he will easily eclipse the 40-home run mark between the two levels this year. Pretty good for a player who wasn't really an upper-echelon prospect outside of a few sources heading into the year. Long term I think he will be a pretty productive bat for the Cardinals with plenty of power and a questionable hit tool that will probably lead to low averages and a lot of strikeouts. I think he'll definitely carve out a good role for himself but will be susceptible to peaks and valleys. The good news is that he doesn't have the Jordan Walker problem where he likes to beat balls into the ground for fun so he probably won't have the same initial issues that Walker had when he first came to the big leagues.
JD on Vahn Lackey (Jul 14, 2026): Four-category upside at catcher is rare, and Vahn Lackey has it after going from glove-first backstop to the top catcher in his class on a .397/.519/.772 spring with 20 homers and more walks than strikeouts. The hit tool was real before the power showed up, and he still runs well enough to steal bases from behind the plate. The Twins took him 3rd overall, a fair-value slot that should let him develop on his own timeline. Selfishly I would love to see them move him from out behind the plate, just because I feel like the bat will play so much better if he doesn't have to go through the rigors of catching on a day-to-day basis.
Data as of . Consensus boards refresh daily; the staff board moves when it is republished.
| Metric | Joshua Baez | Vahn Lackey |
|---|---|---|
| Team | STL | MIN |
| Position | OF | C |
| Age | 23 | 21 |
| Staff Dynasty Rank | #159 | #208 |
| Dynasty Consensus Rank | #147 | #210 |
| Redraft Consensus Rank | - | - |
| Prospect Consensus Rank | #37 | #43 |
| FRV (FanRanked Value) | 54.8 | 47.2 |
| Expert Sources | 20 | 16 |
| Dynasty Rank Range | #133–#189 | #180–#210 |
| Rest-of-Season Value | - | - |
| $ Earned Year to Date | - | - |
| ROS Rank (Top 300) | - | - |
| 30-Day Consensus Move | Down 16 spots | Down 11 spots |
| Stat | Joshua Baez | Vahn Lackey |
|---|---|---|
| PA | 108 | - |
| HR | 7 | - |
| R | 18 | - |
| RBI | 18 | - |
| SB | 2 | - |
| AVG | .230 | - |
| OBP | .278 | - |
| SLG | .510 | - |
| OPS | .788 | - |
| wOBA | .335 | - |
| xwOBA | .303 | - |
Price a Joshua Baez-for-Vahn Lackey trade in the Dynasty Trade Calculator · compare their rest-of-season dollars in the Roto & Redraft Trade Analyzer