Dynasty: Sal Stewart. Redraft: Oneil Cruz. The FanRanked staff dynasty board has Stewart ahead, Stewart #17 and Cruz #21, and the expert consensus agrees (#42 and #26). The community rates them even, FRV 67.3 and 66.6. For 2026 redraft, the consensus has Cruz ahead, #26 to #33.
JD on Oneil Cruz (Oct 2, 2026): This is my favorite ranking in all the top 25 and I'm fully ready for it to blow up in my face. In terms of raw talent, there may not be a player in baseball outside of Elly who has as loud of tools as Oneil Cruz. He absolutely demolishes the ball (94.1 average EV last year), has hit the hardest recorded ball in MLB history (122.9 mph) in 2025, and the second-hardest-hit ball in MLB history (122.4 mph). Why is everyone not salivating over him? Is it maybe that he struck out checks notes 33.2% of the time last year? But the exit velos! Being realistic, Oneil Cruz is a high-risk asset and there's going to be a lot of pain associated with holding him. I do think that a lot of his performance has to do with his team dynamic, as the Pirates were garbage last year and you could tell he wasn't in it mentally. 2026 was a lot different as the Pirates put a fun competitive team on the field and he was dominant and healthy, putting up a 20/30 season in only 368 at-bats. If you had to pick one player outside of the top 20 to bet on being the number one fantasy player next year, I think Oneil Cruz is your best bet. He's also a good bet to hit below .200 and start getting benched halfway through the season. Cruz is your guy if you're a risk-taker, if you like a more predictable player, he's not for you.
JD on Sal Stewart (Oct 2, 2026): I'm really trying to hold my nose and ignore the weak September that Sal Stewart put up to end the season. He only had one home run while slashing .247/.287/.280, and I'm willing to chalk that up to him being beaten down by a full season of games, as well as a team that wasn't really competing for the playoffs at the end of the year. When he's on, you have a middle-of-the-order threat with a lot of power, manageable K rates, and no noticeable platoon deficiencies. The fact that he was doing this all as a 22-year-old makes it even more impressive. This ranking may be a tad aggressive, but I think September was an aberration for him and he is going to be a high-performing dynasty asset for a long time and he should only continue to improve as he starts to enter his prime.
Data as of . Consensus boards refresh daily; the staff board moves when it is republished.
| Metric | Oneil Cruz | Sal Stewart |
|---|---|---|
| Team | PIT | CIN |
| Position | OF | 1B/3B |
| Age | 27 | 22 |
| Staff Dynasty Rank | #21 | #17 |
| Dynasty Consensus Rank | #42 | #26 |
| Redraft Consensus Rank | #26 | #33 |
| FRV (FanRanked Value) | 67.3 | 66.6 |
| Expert Sources | 11 | 11 |
| Dynasty Rank Range | #30–#117 | #5–#50 |
| Rest-of-Season Value | — | — |
| $ Earned Year to Date | — | — |
| ROS Rank (Top 300) | — | — |
| 30-Day Consensus Move | Down 1 spot | Up 6 spots |
| Stat | Oneil Cruz | Sal Stewart |
|---|---|---|
| PA | 419 | 700 |
| HR | 20 | 32 |
| R | 65 | 87 |
| RBI | 67 | 111 |
| SB | 30 | 15 |
| AVG | .280 | .263 |
| OBP | .368 | .330 |
| SLG | .486 | .457 |
| OPS | .854 | .787 |
| wOBA | .371 | .339 |
| xwOBA | .352 | .343 |
Price a Oneil Cruz-for-Sal Stewart trade in the Dynasty Trade Calculator · compare their rest-of-season dollars in the Roto & Redraft Trade Analyzer