Dynasty: too close to call. Redraft: Tarik Skubal. The FanRanked staff dynasty board has them nearly level, Cruz #21 and Skubal #23, but the expert consensus has Skubal ahead (#14 to #48). The community leans Skubal, FRV 83.5 to 66.6. For 2027 redraft, the consensus has Skubal ahead, #13 to #32, and Frank's 2027 projection agrees ($20.0 and $25.9).
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 Tarik Skubal (Oct 2, 2026): I love writing these blurbs about hitters, because I feel like you can judge dynasty value based on potential performance without having to make an injury caveat in every paragraph. When it comes to pitchers, it's just so hard for me to separate out the injury risk from the performance and I have to have to balance the weights of these risks in my head when ranking pitchers. I think this is why I'm lower on pitchers on an absolute basis compared to a lot of other ranking sources, so keep that in mind when comparing lists. Skubal is very clearly a high-end arm that really only entered his peak in 2024 (from a usage perspective, he was dominate in 2023 in a limited sample size), which means he hasn't incurred as much mileage as you'd expect for someone his age. However, he's been ridden hard since 2024, accruing the fourth-most innings of anyone in baseball, only behind Cris Sanchez, Logan Webb, and Kevin Gausman. He's also managed to do that without throwing over 200 innings, which would have been unheard of 10 years ago. There's so much to like about his profile, but one of my favorite parts about him is that he just doesn't walk guys, averaging only a 4.4% walk rate over the last four years while striking out over 30% of the hitters faced in every year. That's led to WHIPs under 1.00 since 2023, and should result in one of the largest contracts ever signed by a pitcher this offseason (if not the largest). I guess if a major league team is willing to throw $200+ million at him, you should be willing to ride him in your dynasty league and throw caution to the wind with injuries.
Data as of . Consensus boards refresh daily; the staff board moves when it is republished.
| Metric | Oneil Cruz | Tarik Skubal |
|---|---|---|
| Team | PIT | LAD |
| Position | OF | SP |
| Age | 27 | 29 |
| Staff Dynasty Rank | #21 | #23 |
| Dynasty Consensus Rank | #48 | #14 |
| Redraft Consensus Rank | #32 | #13 |
| FRV (FanRanked Value) | 66.6 | 83.5 |
| Expert Sources | 15 | 15 |
| Dynasty Rank Range | #29–#117 | #6–#22 |
| 2027 Projected Value | $20.0 | $25.9 |
| 2026 $ Earned | $25.0 | $22.0 |
| 2027 Projected Rank | #43 | #20 |
| 30-Day Consensus Move | Up 3 spots | No move |
| Stat | Oneil Cruz | Tarik Skubal |
|---|---|---|
| PA | 419 | - |
| HR | 20 | - |
| R | 65 | - |
| RBI | 67 | - |
| SB | 30 | - |
| AVG | .280 | - |
| OBP | .368 | - |
| SLG | .486 | - |
| OPS | .854 | - |
| wOBA | .371 | - |
| xwOBA | .352 | - |
| Stat | Oneil Cruz | Tarik Skubal |
|---|---|---|
| IP | - | 158.2 |
| W | - | 12 |
| SV | - | 0 |
| ERA | - | 2.72 |
| WHIP | - | 0.96 |
| K | - | 186 |
| K/9 | - | 10.6 |
Price a Oneil Cruz-for-Tarik Skubal trade in the Dynasty Trade Calculator · compare their 2027 dollars in the Roto & Redraft Trade Analyzer