Dynasty: too close to call. Redraft: Juan Soto. The FanRanked staff dynasty board has them nearly level, Soto #8 and Kurtz #10, and the expert consensus agrees (#2 and #9). The community leans Soto, FRV 93.1 to 82.2. For 2026 redraft, the consensus has Soto ahead, #76 to #216.
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.
JD on Nick Kurtz (Sep 24, 2026): This ranking should be CJ Abrams' spot, he's done nothing but earn it this year with a 30/30 season. But as the residing president of the Nick Kurtz fan club, it would be irresponsible of me to rank him outside of the top 10 on any dynasty list. I feel like Kurtz is the first player on this list who you can't point to direct production this year to justify their placement in the top 10, which should tell you how I feel about Nick Kurtz's potential. Remember he's only 23 years old and was drafted in 2024 so he has not even entered what should be his prime yet. From this point onward in the rankings, every player is going to have their warts and there is no complete player, so you have to go by upside in a dynasty list like this. Let's talk about his potential upside, he's 98% or greater in the following categories: AVG EV (93.4) Barrel % (18.0%) Hard Hit Rate (57.3%) Bat Speed (78.2 MPH) BB % (18.2%) This profile screams when I hit the ball, I'm absolutely doing damage. I don't think there's a single player in the big leagues outside of maybe Yordan Alvarez and Aaron Judge that have this impressive batted-ball profile, but Nick Kurtz is only 23 years old. Compared to 29 for Yordan and 34 for Judge. The issue is he doesn't always "hit the ball": 32.5% K Rate 36.9% Whiff Rate And both of those stats actually trended worse in 2026 compared to his rookie year, the threat of a low batting average is very real if he doesn't improve on this. If you're at the 10th pick in your dynasty league, all of the surefire bets are gone and everyone has their warts. It's either age, sporadic performance, or some metric in an otherwise reliable skill set that gives you pause. I think Nick Kurtz's combination of youth and upside is the most attractive bet left after the first nine players are spoken for. If your league really values pitching, the Miz is a fine bet at number 10 overall. If you want to put yourself in the best chance to win next year, maybe Yordan is your guy. If you're looking for more of a 30-30 skill set, then I wouldn't fault you for taking CJ Abrams. All I'm saying is don't overlook Kurtz in 2027.
Data as of . Consensus boards refresh daily; the staff board moves when it is republished.
| Metric | Juan Soto | Nick Kurtz |
|---|---|---|
| Team | NYM | ATH |
| Position | OF | 1B |
| Age | 27 | 23 |
| Staff Dynasty Rank | #8 | #10 |
| Dynasty Consensus Rank | #2 | #9 |
| Redraft Consensus Rank | #76 | #216 |
| FRV (FanRanked Value) | 93.1 | 82.2 |
| Expert Sources | 11 | 10 |
| Dynasty Rank Range | #1–#7 | #7–#17 |
| Rest-of-Season Value | $42 | — |
| $ Earned Year to Date | $17 | — |
| ROS Rank (Top 300) | #12 | — |
| 30-Day Consensus Move | Up 1 spot | Down 1 spot |
| Stat | Juan Soto | Nick Kurtz |
|---|---|---|
| PA | 458 | 434 |
| HR | 26 | 21 |
| R | 59 | 62 |
| RBI | 66 | 69 |
| SB | 9 | 7 |
| AVG | .275 | .256 |
| OBP | .389 | .396 |
| SLG | .518 | .483 |
| OPS | .908 | .879 |
| wOBA | .387 | .381 |
| xwOBA | .411 | .374 |
Price a Juan Soto-for-Nick Kurtz trade in the Dynasty Trade Calculator · compare their rest-of-season dollars in the Roto & Redraft Trade Analyzer