Top 718 Dynasty Baseball Rankings 2026

1. Pete Crow-Armstrong (OF, CHC)

I agonized over who to rank #1 in this dynasty refresh, and it basically came down to three players for me: PCA, Witt, and Caminero. I think they are in a league of their own and clearly tier 1 players above everyone else.

PCA has clearly been the most valuable player for 2027 and anyone holding him on their team had a good shot to win the championship this year. The reason I debated whether this made him the #1 dynasty asset is the fact that he hasn't done it all year. He was objectively terrible to start the season, and he has come on so hot in the second half that it's hard to remember how tough that first stretch was. At one point I had him as low as 35th overall and the consensus dynasty rankings that I track had him as low as 52 overall.

He also doesn't have as compelling of a sabermetric profile as Witt or Caminero, as his exit velocities are a touch lower and his strikeout rate is a touch higher than both of them. However, he has an ideal launch angle and is willing to run rampant in every situation and pile up stolen bases. If I had to guess, I don't think PCA finishes as the number one player next year (woah hot take I know, way to call your shot) but on a risk-adjusted basis I think you're more or less guaranteed to get a ton of contribution from him in four of the five categories (ex: AVG) and that plays really well in a 5x5 dynasty format. There's also a certain intangible factor to him that I can't really quantify that makes me think that he really prides himself on being the face of the Cubs, and the potential face of baseball, and I feel like he will want to accumulate counting stats to justify his status.

If I have the number one pick in a dynasty league next year, I think I have to go PCA. I wouldn't fault anyone for taking one of the top 3 guys, but PCA is my pick (kicking and screaming).

Note updated Sep 24, 2026.

2. Bobby Witt Jr. (SS, KC)

If Bobby Witt Jr. was PCA's age, I think he'd be the #1 player for me. It's really that 2-year age gap (26 vs 24) that makes the 5th, 6th, and 7th years of this analysis lean in favor of PCA because he will still be in his prime while BWJ will be on his way out. It's hard to truly have a 7-year mindset when it comes to dynasty leagues, but that is the lens that I'm viewing these rankings through. I want to make sure that I start out these rankings as faithful to the rules as possible.

As for BWJ's actual performance this year, he largely underwhelmed. Right? Or did he actually put together a pretty strong season all things considered?

In a season, I think we'd all agree was the down season for him, he still had an OPS hovering around .800, stole 43 bases, and hit 18 home runs while only striking out 17% of the time (as of this writing on September 21st, would love to see him get to 20/40). Runs and RBIs are more of a function of the team rather than him, but he wasn't a negative in that department and was among the league leaders in runs at 87.

The underlying savant metrics still back up his abilities at the plate, with a higher max EV than Junior Caminero and an average EV eclipsing mashers like J-Rod and Ben Rice. If this is what a down season looks like for BWJ, then you're establishing an incredibly high floor and should be able to rely on him for stats at least this good, with a ton of upside in 2027. He may not have as high a ceiling as PCA, but the floor is among the highest of anyone in baseball and I'm happy taking this profile with my second pick.

Note updated Sep 24, 2026.

3. Junior Caminero (3B, TB)

I had to fight myself putting Junior Caminero first overall, but you can't put a guy who doesn't contribute in stolen bases first overall unfortunately. He is far and away my favorite bat in baseball and at only 23 years old I think he still has room for growth here. Something that doesn't necessarily concern me but that I wasn't really aware of is that his launch angle was only 9.9 for 2026. I feel like this means that there is, incredibly, actually more upside in the homerun department if he learns to lift some of these balls he's mashing into the ground or hitting for 115 mph singles.

If I had to pick one player in the major leagues next year to bet on hitting 50 home runs, Junior Caminero is the easiest call out there. If he continues hitting the ball this hard, maintains a sub-20% K rate, and finds a little bit of a greater launch angle, stolen bases be damned it's going to be hard to not make him the #1 overall player in dynasty leagues when he's knocking on the door of 60 HRs.

Note updated Sep 24, 2026.

4. James Wood (OF, WAS)

James Wood just missed being in the top tier of dynasty assets for me, because his injury in the second half derailed what otherwise would have been a monumental season for him.

At the ASB, he was on a 162 game pace of 47 HR / 25 SB with a .279/.410/.575 slash, which would have made him far and away the most valuable player outside of PCA this year. He also hits the ball much harder than any of the guys in the top 3 (95.3 avg EV), although that comes with a higher K rate at 28.6%.

Unfortunately, that oblique strain really torpedoed his second half and clearly has been affecting him since he came back from the injured list. Interestingly enough, it hasn't necessarily tanked his exit velocities as he's actually at 96.4 avg EV in the last 30 days, but instead caused a dramatic reduction in his barrel rate to 7.7%. I think this is the risk with James Wood and why he is not in the top tier for me. When you run K rates close to 30%, you're prone to some intense streakiness that you don't necessarily want to see from your #1 overall player.

James Wood is still an elite asset to own and if I had the fourth pick, I would be very happy taking him here but his warts and second-half 2026 performance keep me from really putting him in the top tier of dynasty assets.

Note updated Sep 24, 2026.

5. Elly De La Cruz (SS, CIN)

Elly has come on like a bat out of hell in the last month, and gone from my 10th-ranked dynasty asset to the 5th-ranked in the process. He is one of the bonafide faces of the MLB at this point, despite being only 24 years old, because he's been around since he 2023 and has performed at an elite level every year.

This year he has taken another step forward and improved in basically every measurable category but the two that I find the most compelling are the nearly 3 mph jump in avg exit velocity and the 11% walk rate, despite keeping his swing and miss largely the same compared to 2025. We are one launch angle adjustment away from him being a perennial 40-plus home run threat, but I do love that in general his game seems to be shifting from more of a speed-based profile to a power profile.

Another a unique aspect of Elly's profile is that he suddenly became a lefty masher in 2026 after being clearly deficient against lefties for his career. Prior to this year I would have argued that Elly should only hit from the left side but this year he slashed over 1,000 OPS against lefties, with 10 home runs in only 181 PA (vs 18 HR in 428 PA vs righties). I'll be curious to see if this is just an aberration or something that persists on a yearly basis going forward.

I don't really have any complaints with Elly. The only reason he's not the top tier for me is the same reason James Wood's isn't: the inflated K rate is going to lead to streakiness and that's not something I can overlook. I can see an argument for taking Elly over James Wood but I don't have him over my top three guys right now.

Note updated Sep 24, 2026.

6. Jackson Chourio (OF, MIL)

I think my first five players are more or less run of the mill, in line with what you'd expect to see from any dynasty list. Jackson Chourio might be my first bold take at number 6, but I couldn't justify putting him any lower than this.

Chourio debuted at 20 years old and has done nothing but succeed at the major league level. I think the issue is that he hasn't thrived, just merely succeeded, and that's why people overlook him when it comes to the elite players in the league. Everything is trending in the right direction for him: His 2026 xwOBA was the highest of his career. His exit velocity has jumped 2 mph while his launch angle is continuing to improve, and he's hitting .285 while putting up his third straight 20/20 season.

My bet isn't that this is Jackson Chourio's final form, but that what we are seeing is just Chourio maturing at the big league level rather than getting his seasoning in the minor leagues. Sometime in the next 3 years, he is going to establish himself as one of the most valuable players in fantasy baseball and put up a 30/30 or knock down the door of a 40/40 season and blow everyone away. Everything I'm seeing tells me that he is trending in the right direction, and if a manager in your league is suffering from Chourio fatigue I think this is the year to jump in and scoop him up. The 2026 offseason might be the last time before he truly establishes himself as a bonafide star in both fantasy baseball and the MLB.

Note updated Sep 24, 2026.

7. Shohei Ohtani DH (DH, LAD)

Ohtani is going to start my 3rd tier of dynasty players, and I think we are in for a wake-up call when it comes to how we can expect to see Ohtani used going forward. I think Ohtani's days of playing 150+ games every season are gone. The most responsible thing for the Dodgers to do would be to throttle his usage and make sure that he is healthy for the full season, including the playoffs, and not risk an overuse injury in July.

Can he still be an elite player at 140 games per season? Absolutely. Is he also 32 years old and subjecting himself to a completely novel workload that we don't know how it will affect him in the future? Also yes.

To be fair I think this workload effect manifests itself more with his pitching exposure rather than him being able to DH but I think you'll see a little bit of an effect on his offensive statistics regardless. Part of me wants to move him down even more (because this is supposed to be a 7-year dynasty projection) but I also think Ohtani can continue to be an absolute force at the plate into his late 30s. No projection methodology can account for the unique athlete that Ohtani is, so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and not trust the aging curves here.

To be clear this ranking is just the hitter version of him. I'm not going to try to rank the hitter/pitcher version of him because I think it's too difficult to compare him to everyone else in the league when you have the whole package working for you.

Note updated Sep 24, 2026.

8. Juan Soto (OF, NYM)

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.

Note updated Sep 24, 2026.

9. Fernando Tatis Jr. (OF/2B, SD)

My gut wants me to rank FTJ much lower than 9th, but as I dove into the data, my brain told me I couldn't rank him lower than this.

Outside of PCA he has been the second most valuable player in the second half of 2026. In some ways he's been even more valuable than PCA, with a higher xwOBA and a K% of only 15%.

He also has everything you'd expect to see from a player who would be in the top 10 dynasty assets from an underlying metrics perspective. The Savant page is glowing red and things have generally improved, most notably, for me, the K rate, which has come down from nearly 30% in his rookie year to 18.6% this year and 18.7% in 2025, while still maintaining elite exit velocity numbers.

So why is my gut telling me not to rank him 9th? I feel like he is one of the most volatile players inter-season in the top 10 and is not as young as some of the guys above him on this list. I was fully ready to bury him in my rankings and more or less did back in June when I had him ranked 50th overall and thought he was a shell of his former self. I'm also concerned his launch angle issues could reemerge and take his 25-homer seasons below 20 as his speed starts to decline and he becomes more like Xander Bogaerts' profile.

In an ideal world, he begins selling out for more power and starts hitting 30+ home runs a year, a la Manny Machado, and holds his value into at least his mid-30s. If he takes that path expect him to be valuable for the full 7-year period this analysis covers.

Note updated Sep 24, 2026.

10. Nick Kurtz (1B, ATH)

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.

Note updated Sep 24, 2026.

11. Yordan Alvarez (OF, HOU)

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.

Note updated Oct 2, 2026.

12. Kevin McGonigle (SS/3B, DET)

There's a lot to like about Kevin McGonigle after his first season in the big leagues.

I wish he could've ended the season with more walks than strikeouts, as that would've been an incredible achievement for a rookie in today's game. As it stood he still walked 95 times while only striking out 100 times.

He also really found his power stroke in the second half, hitting 10 home runs across 255 AB (which equates to about a 25 HR pace over a full season) while taking a step back in OBP and walk rate compared to the first half (14.5% vs. 11.9%). That profile plays better in fantasy for sure, and I think the Tigers would like McGonigle to tap into his power stroke more often rather than being passive at the plate.

So, what is the risk here? In my opinion there are two paths he can go down.

Option A: He is one of the most valuable players in baseball, but the fantasy pedigree never really catches up and his actual 5x5 performance trail his real life value. High OBP, but only 15-20 HR a year with limited SB as he matures. Option B: He continues to improve offensively, keeps turning the gap power into HR power, and maintains a high average while getting to 30 HRs regularly. This is easily a top 5 player imo.

If I had to be, I would think he turns into option B, and I'm willing to put all my chips in to acquire McGonigle wherever he is available.

Note updated Oct 4, 2026.

13. Jacob Misiorowski (SP, MIL)

Miz is very clearly the best pitcher available in dynasty leagues. He led baseball in ERA, WHIP, strikeouts, and WAR, and he led in FIP, xFIP, and SIERA behind them, so there is no "wait for the regression" argument here. He is the only starter in the game averaging over 100 on the fastball. He struck out 38 percent of the hitters he faced, three points clear of anyone else, and he did it while cutting his walk rate in half from 2025. Schlittler had a great year and still trails him in every rate stat. So the question to me isn't where he ranks among pitchers. It's whether you take him in the first round of a dynasty league at all, and what a pitcher is worth compared to a hitter.

A couple of thoughts. Pitchers are far more volatile year to year than hitters, not so much from performance as from injury. With the velocity in the league now, every pitcher is one pitch away from a 12 to 18 month shutdown for major surgery. That threat just doesn't hang over hitters the same way. It makes me wonder what the number one pitcher is really worth next to the number one hitter. In this case there are 12 to 14 bats I'd take before pitching needs to come off the board. In a 12-team dynasty league, I think every first-round pick should be a hitter, and I think that's true no matter who the top pitcher is in a given year. A guy like Miz returns insane value while he's healthy. The second he gets hurt, all the capital you tied up in one player evaporates. A hitter is much less likely to get hurt, and when one does, the value doesn't erode the same way.

As for Miz himself, he has clearly separated from everyone else. Schlittler is the only arm who compares on value, but Miz is younger, has better stuff, and doesn't drift into stretches of mediocrity the way Schlittler does when his mechanics get out of sync.

If you have Miz, congratulations. Ride him while you can. Just be careful with pitching in general when it comes to dynasty leagues.

Note updated Oct 2, 2026.

14. CJ Abrams (SS, WAS)

In full transparency, I originally wrote this blurb thinking I was going to rank him 11th overall. As I thought more and more about it, I just got less comfortable with his 2026 stats and how unreliable they are based on his underlying metrics

CJ Abrams might be heading down a path where he is more value in fantasy than in real life, but we are totally OK with that as fantasy diehards right?

As of September 25, he has piled up 33 home runs in 34 stolen bases this year, making him on of the 3 players hit 30/30, along with PCA and Elly. (There was actually 7 last year, which was a record I didn’t realize was broken until I was doing research). He’s done that despite a relatively pedestrian underlying Statcast profile and horrible defense (1st percentile in both fielding run value and outs above average).

When I see a profile like this, it makes me wonder how long he can perform at the elite level. It was also concerning that the Nationals were shopping him around at the trade deadline, which seems to suggest that maybe teams don't see as much real-life value as his fantasy profile would suggest. I can see an argument for selling high on him right now and maybe trading for a Kevin McGonigle or Sal Stewart type, based on their youth and well-rounded profiles.

Note updated Oct 2, 2026.

15. Jackson Merrill (OF, SD)

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.

Note updated Oct 2, 2026.

16. Ben Rice (1B, NYY)

Ben Rice had the season I expected him to have after the 2025 season, but not in the way I expected him to do it.

He went from a statcast monster last year to just a statcast enjoyer, with a notable decrease in his bat speed and exit velocity:

2025: 73.4 mph / 93.3 Avg EV 2026: 72.6 mph / 91.9 Avg EV

He had the 34th-largest bat speed decline of any player from last year to this year and I think there are basically two ways to interpret it. Either you think that he is starting to regress and this is a trend that you will continue to see until he no longer is the monster that he is today, or you think that he found his comfort zone and took a bit off to prioritize the right kind of contact instead of bat speed being the priority at the expense of the ideal outcome.

As a Ben Rice truther, I actually think it's the latter. One of the frustrations with Rice last year was that the numbers didn't match the expected stats, and I think slightly changing his approach this year really helped him put up a career year.

At the end of the day he's a left-handed hitter in Yankee Stadium in his prime, hitting directly in front of Aaron Judge a majority of the time. He's going to be incredibly valuable for the next couple of years and I wouldn't rule out him continuing to perform at a high level into his mid-30s.

Note updated Oct 2, 2026.

17. Sal Stewart (1B/3B, CIN)

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.

Note updated Oct 2, 2026.

18. Corbin Carroll (OF, ARI)

As I said earlier this year, I am and always will be a Corbin Carroll denier so take my analysis with a grain of salt.

It's surprising to me that someone with his profile maintains such a low batting average from year to year. When someone's game is so speed-driven while still hitting the ball hard, you would think they'd be able to hit for a decent average but he hasn't eclipsed .259 since 2023.

Additionally, he seems to be stealing fewer bases despite still clocking a 97th percentile sprint speed. So what does that leave you with? Well if you're in a triples league, he's definitely getting moved up because he has been top 5 in triples every year for the past 5 years. But if you're in a standard 5x5 league, you're getting a 20/20 floor with lots of runs but no batting average assistance and a meager RBI totals. He feels like a solid player on your team but I think he's a borderline top-20 guy at best. If he shows that he wants to run more often next year and he gets closer to 40 stolen bases, then a borderline top 10 ranking makes sense.

Note updated Oct 2, 2026.

19. Cam Schlittler (SP, NYY)

I racked my brain trying to come up with a way to rank Schlittler over Misiorowski and have the contrarian take, but it's clear that Schlitter is a very strong #2 to Mis.

There is so much to like about Schlittler, but I think my favorite part about him is that he is going to win the AL Cy Young Award without a true wipeout breaking ball or elite changeup. He effectively dominated the AL all year with three variations of a fastball and only needed to feature his CB 10% of the time. This gives me hope that he can age more gracefully than a pitcher who doesn't have anywhere to go with their arsenal as their velocity declines. Just imagine 29 year old Schlittler with a wipeout split.

If you wanted to find some cons in his game, his 1.95 ERA had nearly a one-run gap between his 2.85 xERA, which is the 10th-biggest gap for pitchers with a full season workload. He also didn't do a great job the third time through the order (.315 wOBA allowed), where he looked more like a league-average pitcher compared to an elite arm. I heard this argument from Blue Jays fans arguing Dylan Cease should win the Cy Young, treating Schlit as a stats merchant rather than a true horse. I looked into it and Cease was actually worse the third time through the order and through 24 fewer innings so I'm not sure where that came from.

Schlittler will be entering his age-26 season in 2027 and should be a betting favorite to win a back-to-back Cy Young. If you can get your hands on him, I have no doubt he will treat you well over the next couple of years.

Note updated Oct 2, 2026.

20. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (SP, LAD)

I will always have the utmost respect for Yamamoto for coming in on zero days' rest in Game 7 last year and throwing 2 2/3 scoreless innings to get the save and lock down the World Series. It's the same respect I have for Nathan Eovaldi covering 6 innings in extras out of the bullpen in the 2018 WS for the Red Sox after throwing an inning in relief in the previous two games. Seriously, take a moment to watch this highlight video (and especially key in on the dugout after he gave up the walkoff HR in the 18th): https://www.mlb.com/news/nathan-eovaldi-a-red-sox-hero-in-game-3-c299755566

But I digress; Yamamoto is one of the most bankable guys in the big leagues right now and I think he is the safest ace you could have on your team right now. There's really no weak part in his game except the team he is on, as the Dodgers frequently use a 6-man rotation and will never need to push at the end of the regular season with how dominant their roster is, and that makes Yamamoto not as reliable in the fantasy playoffs. If you're in a roto format as opposed to a head-to-head, he's probably more valuable to you because you can bank his stats early.

Don't be afraid to sell Yoshi at your league's trade deadline next year if the Dodgers doing their thing - you will probably get a haul back and you won't risk his potential rest interfering with your fantasy championship.

Note updated Oct 2, 2026.

21. Oneil Cruz (OF, PIT)

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.

Note updated Oct 2, 2026.

22. Brice Turang (2B, MIL)

If O'Neil Cruz is the most volatile player in the top 25, Brice Turang might just be the safest.

He's gone from a glove and speed archetype when he came up in 2023 to a 20/20 threat in 2026 while generally improving every year that he has been in the big leagues.

I still think there's another gear in there and can turn some of these doubles into more home runs. There is a very real chance Turang will continue to mature and his prime will look more like a 30 HR middle-of-the-order type player. He also gets the benefit of playing one of the best teams in baseball and should benefit his counting stats greatly regardless of whether the power manifests or not.

I'm excited for the Brewers to make a deep run this year and potentially put a guy like Turang onto the national stage and give him a chance to show how good of a player he really is. Even if the Brewers disappoint and they get bounced in the division series, I'm still bullish on his prospects long term in dynasty leagues. I think the days of him being overlooked from a fantasy perspective are over.

Note updated Oct 2, 2026.

23. Tarik Skubal (SP, LAD)

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.

Note updated Oct 2, 2026.

24. Miguel Vargas (3B/1B, CWS)

I think Miguel Vargas is the first entry on this list of someone who is a post-hype breakout player. He absolutely put it all together this year with an .837 OPS, .378 xwOBA, in a 14.3% BB rate versus only a 17.9% K rate. There's also no reason to think this isn't sustainable as the underlying metrics on his Savant are glowing red and his expected stats say he is actually marginally unlucky this year.

I definitely think this breakout is sustainable because he's always shown flashes of this exact profile in limited sample sizes; however he's never put it together for a full season like this. After the All-Star break in 2025 he had a very similar profile slashing .267/.354/.436 with comparable plate discipline data. He more or less has put up this type of performance for 1.5 years now, and really tapped into his power in 2026 without sacrificing his contact rates.

With the White Sox looking to make a run in the playoffs and all around putting a great team on the field, Vargas could be a sneaky top-10 candidate next year if he builds on his strong 2026.

Note updated Oct 2, 2026.

25. Riley Greene (OF, DET)

There are a couple of notable guys that you may notice are missing from the top 25 and I'll get to them in the next article. But for me, Riley Greene is more attractive than them because he's actually performing and seemingly has been doing it under the radar.

Nothing about his profile screams elite (89.9 Avg EV, 26.5% K Rate) but when you put it all together he puts up elite performance (.369 xwOBA). He has arguably done this for three straight years now, but I think this year was his strongest showing despite the step back in home runs from 2025 (36 HR vs. 21 HR in 2026).

He also took a major step forward against lefties this year with an OPS of .806 in 156 at-bats versus .620 in 2025. This is a major single for me that everything is coming together as he enters his prime.

Don't be surprised when Riley Greene puts together a career year next year. I would not be shocked if he combined his power from 2025 and his batted ball profile from 2026 to put together a . 900 OPS season with 35+ home runs. My only nitpick is that he should be able to steal more than a couple of bases a year with his above-average sprint speed; but I'd rather he focus on being healthy and performing with his bat than chipping in a couple of extra stolen bases.

Note updated Oct 2, 2026.

26. Julio Rodriguez (OF, SEA)

To be clear, Julio is great for the game of baseball. I also think he's great for the Mariners, but somehow he has managed to disappoint me as a fantasy asset.

Historically, he was always a slow starter that ended the season red hot, but second half Julio decided to take an early vacation this year as he was arguably worse post ASB break than he was before. I think T-Mobile park has historically been a big factor as well, as the run environment seems to really hurt him, but the splits were reversed this year as well.

Just look at the splits from 2022 - 2025:

1st Half: .260/.319/.418 wRC+ 114 2nd Half: .297/.351/.552 wRC+ 154

Home: .256/.315/.431 wRC+ 120 Away: .291/.346/.504 wRC+ 137

And here is 2026:

1st Half: .259/.323/.424 2nd Half: .230/.286/.369

Home: .258/.315/.453 Away: .236/.300/.353

I still think that he can have a season where he puts it all together (hence my aggressive ranking of him relative to the value he's put up over the last three years). I wouldn't fault you for not being a believer anymore and seeing Julio for the player he is, not the player he might become.

Note updated Oct 2, 2026.

27. Michael Harris II (OF, ATL)

I had all but written off Michael Harris after his 2025 season. He looked like a guy who the league had adjusted to and was going to continue to deteriorate until he was fantasy irrelevant. 2026 turned that narrative around, and now I see a guy who is a true four-category contributor entering the prime of his career (excluding stolen bases).

His profile reminds me a lot of Jackson Merrill (free swinger, low walk rate) with a little more batting average and fewer steals. I think the stolen bases are gone for good, as his sprint speed has effectively gone in a straight line down and now is roughly league average.

The path to Harris become a 30 HR bat seems inevitable, and I am fully confident that Harris will return steady, unspectacular value for at least the next couple of years. If you are looking to compete in 2027, he is one of the highest floor options in the MLB and great to build a team around.

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

28. Chase Burns (SP, CIN)

It was a shame to see Chase Burns be such a league winner right up until the fantasy playoffs started for most people, at which point he got shut down and lost all of his value. When you're in a dynasty league and young guys click like this, it's a shame that you are punished in the playoffs when players on non-contending teams don't finish the end of the season.

Chase Burns himself is very elite and you should be happy with him leading your rotation if you roster him. It's also really impressive that he has managed to do this with effectively two pitches, since he features his changeup only 5% of the time (with a -9 run value). He's got the classic heat maps that you'd want to see from a pitcher with his velocity: fastballs at the top of the zone and sliders down and away to righties. The slider alone accumulated +18 runs and contributed to a -1.05 reduction in ERA vs. the league average, making it one of the best in baseball. With a slider that good he can afford to be a two-pitch pitcher for a long time.

I would like to see him develop a third pitch eventually to take him to the next level but he's so good that he doesn't have to. Let's just hope next season he doesn't get shut down in September and he gives everyone 30+ elite starts.

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

29. Zach Neto (SS, LAA)

It's a shame that Zach Neto gets overlooked as one of the truly elite players in the game. For all the hate that the Angels get about their player development skills and rushing prospects, Neto seems to be one of the players who has thrived despite the accelerated timelines.

He has put up three straight years of 20/20 seasons and been an overall net positive contributor in both runs and RBIs. This was really the first year where his batting average was a liability, but at .239 you can stomach it when the other four categories are great, if not elite.

Sure, he's not putting up these numbers with amazing peripherals and he does strike out a lot, but you don't have to pay a top-25 price to get him and his contributions. In a lot of dynasty rankings he sits outside of the top 40, which is insane to me for a guy entering his age 26 season coming off of arguably his best season as a major leaguer. I would be taking the discount here if it's available in your league all day.

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

30. Cristopher Sanchez (SP, PHI)

Oh boy here we go, I really have to fight my personal infatuation with Chris Sanchez and the reality of this season.

He very clearly peaked at the beginning of the season when he threw 50+ scoreless innings in a row, setting the MLB record for a left-handed pitcher. If you exclude that incredible all-time run, he was...very average. Post-All-Star break he put up a 3.39 ERA with a 1.23 WHIP. Definitely not bad statistics by any means but he feels like an imposter compared to the rest of the starters around him when you have guys like Skubal putting up sub-1 whips and Schlitter striking out 11+ guys per 9 innings. He is also the oldest starter on this list so far and has the most mediocre fastball, so if there is a guy who has the chance to take the biggest dip from his current ranking heading into the 2027 season, it's probably Sanchez.

At the same time he also has the profile that I love for dynasty pitchers: very durable, doesn't rely on a high-spin high-velocity elite fastball, and consistently works deep into games, maximizing his wins and quality starts (if your league counts those). So this is the first pitcher I'm genuinely torn on - I wouldn't blame you for being uninterested in him in a dynasty startup, but if you're in a position where your team is built to win now, he could be one of the best arms you can find.

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

31. Payton Tolle (SP, BOS)

I was overall really impressed with Payton Tolle this year and I think he has the potential to stick around for a very long time. I made this comment in an earlier blurb a while ago but he kind of reminds me of Schlitter from the left side because he does a lot of his work with the fastball and doesn't need too much else.

Between his four-seam, sinker, and cutter he effectively throws a variation of the fastball 88% of the time and both the four-seam and cutter have positive run values, with the sinker being just about break-even, just slightly negative. When you're able to do that from the left side, I really think that you have a long career ahead of you, especially with his 6'6" frame. He also arguably put up his best stats in September, meaning he finished stronger than a lot of pitchers with a full season under their belt would do as they start to hit a wall.

The 7th overall SP might be a little aggressive, but his combination of youth and stuff makes him the most attractive starter left on the board after the first six are gone. I feel like you can rely on Tolle to put up great numbers as he enters his prime.

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

32. Carson Benge (OF, NYM)

Benge really snuck up on me in the second half of the year and he looks like he's going to be a DUDE. He really flourished after the All-Star break, slashing .311/.375/.475 and crushing 9 HR across 242 at-bats. It seemed like he only got more comfortable as the season went on, and I'm sure he was as bummed as anyone to see the season end as he was picking up steam.

There's a little bit of concern for some batting average regression as his BABIP was pretty high at .341, but I think he is finding his power swing and any batting average dip in 2027 should coincide with a power increase. Look for an opportunity to buy low on him at the end April next year, as he started off the season cold in 2026 and sophomore slump whispers might open the buy window.

I think Benge is going to be a fixture in the Mets lineup for a long time to come, and this is a shame: the team around him doesn't inspire a lot of hope for the next couple of years.

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

33. Andy Pages (OF, LAD)

I stumbled into Andy Pages as a throw-in in one of my dynasty leagues last year and I've always been a pessimist when it comes to his value. I know all leagues are different, but I couldn't get anyone to be interested in Pages after his hot start this year. Now that he has a full year in the books, I feel like it's hard to deny that he is clearly an upper-echelon dynasty asset going forward.

Everything about his underlying profile is average to above average, he doesn't strike out a ton yet still makes a lot of good-quality contact, and he's in a top-tier lineup where he will get tons of runs and RBIs for the foreseeable future. He had an outside chance of hitting 30 home runs and stealing 15 bags if he didn't break his hand at the end of the season, and you pair that with a .274 batting average and you have a 5 category contributor entering the prime of his career in 2027. As of writing his consensus ranking is 54, but I feel like you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone ranking him lower than 50th overall once updated dynasty rankings come out for 2027.

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

34. Nolan McLean (SP, NYM)

Nolan McLean stands in a tier of his own for me, because he's in a weird spot where there feels like a big gap between him and the top 7 starters, but he's very clearly better than the next starter after him, Logan Gilbert, mainly due to his age.

My favorite thing about McLean is the way he spins it. He has a 98th percentile curveball in xwOBA allowed at .163, and some of the PitchingNinja videos of his highest RPM pitches look like straight witchcraft.

Despite his elite-looking curveball, it's actually his sinker that was his most valuable pitch by far, having saved an incredible 27 runs this season, leading to an ERA reduction versus the average of 1.35. That was by far the most valuable sinker in baseball this year in total run value (although Josh Hader(?)) Was better on a rate basis per 100 pitches).

I would love to see a guy like McLean with an elite defense behind him, because I feel like the sinker/curveball combo would really play up with a team like the Brewers behind him. Unfortunately he will have to settle with the Mets' defense going forward, who ranked 25th last year, and I don't see a path to them getting much better.

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

35. Konnor Griffin (SS, PIT)

Based on this ranking, I will never own Konnor Griffin in any dynasty leagues for the foreseeable future, and I think I am okay with that. Based on what I have seen, I think we should rank him like he is a premier prospect a la Jesus Made or Leo DeVries, rather than a high-end prospect who has already debuted and had success at the major league level, a la Kevin McGonigle.

The average exit velocity is probably the most concerning piece for me, although a better September (88.8 mph) really gave me hope that he was just getting his feet under him before his injury (rather than actually being a sub-87 mph EV player). For reference some other players in the 87 mph EV range for 2026 are Xavier Edwards, David Hamilton, and Jackson Holliday (ouch), Jake Cronenworth and Ozzie Albies. I bring this up not to try to pile on too hard on Konnor Griffin, but more so that he is far from the sure thing that people are treating him as. I really would like to see more production at the big league level before I really move him up my rankings.

At the end of the day, if I was ranking him as a prospect, he would still be the number one overall prospect on this list. I think that is more than fair for the type of performance he has put up so far.

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

36. Jac Caglianone (OF/1B, KC)

Cags took a major leap forward in the second half of 2026 and may have gone under the radar because the Royals didn't have much else to watch this year.

He slashed .337/.373/.549 with 8 home runs and 4 stolen bases, all while limiting his Ks to a very manageable 20.6% K rate. The underlying metrics back it up too with a 93.8(!) Average EV and xwOBA of .363, which wasn't far off from his full-season xwOBA of .359. The only thing in the profile that really screams regression is the .361 BABIP, however his expected batting average was .283 because the quality of his contact is so strong. I wouldn't expect as much batting average regression as you would typically expect to see from someone who ran a BABIP this high.

The last piece of the puzzle that I'd really like to see from someone with as much power as he has is an improved launch angle. If he can get his 7.7° launch angle up to even 10° he's going to hit so many more home runs with how hard he hits the ball. From there, his only real deficit is his poor walk rate. But if it doesn't lead to an alarming amount of strikeouts, a la Joey Gallo, I'm not sure we necessarily need to concern ourselves with it from a fantasy perspective.

I think he will be a very valuable dynasty asset if he makes that one tweak, and don't be afraid to make a big move early in 2027 if you see positive launch angle progress in April.

Note updated Oct 21, 2026.

37. Jordan Walker (OF, STL)

Jordan Walker's season stats really overshadowed a concerning trend that we saw post All Star Break and especially September, the batted ball quality really regressed overall to look more in line with his pre-2026 breakout.

Here are his Pre-ASB / Post-ASB splits: xwOBA: .373 / .292 Avg EV: 94.2 / 90.4 Barrel %: 14.1% / 11.9%

I'm willing to chalk part of this up to my unscientific data point of the post-Home Run Derby championship blues that sometimes effect winners, but I do believe there is a concern trend her that you don't notice if you are looking at the season numbers.

At the end of the day he's a 24-year-old with a lot of experience under his belt and the ability to ride the ups and downs of a full season. I still think if you can get him in the third round of a dynasty startup, then you're probably looking at a pretty good asset, but I would stay away from getting him in the second round due to some of the warts in his profile that I don't think he has fully resolved yet.

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

38. Ronald Acuna Jr. (OF, ATL)

No one has drawn more consternation from his lack of ranking in the top 25 than Ronald Acuna Jr., and I think I understand why: it's hard to separate out the incredibly high highs from the current player that he is now. I left this comment on a Reddit question regarding Acuna:

"Acuna just missed the top 25, so they aren’t as far off as they seem (Greene vs. Acuna). But it’s a fair question, for me it comes down to where I think they are on the aging curve. Acuna (29 in 2027) might be start to lose a step with the injuries catching up with him. Bat speed is the biggest indicator for me, it’s dropped steadily since 2023 and it resulted in his lowest exit velo of his career last year. "

This was before I really got into my top 50, and as I worked on my rankings I kept finding situations where I would rather have a younger player with his prime ahead of him. I think of these rankings as tier based, so if you want to argue Acuna over Walker I won't fault you, but I think guys like Greene, Julio, and Harris are in a league of their own, if for no reason other than the age difference.

This is a different story in redraft leagues. If you have a team ready to go for it next year, I could see paying a top 25 price for Acuna because of the value he can provide in 2027 and 2028. But I think over a 7-year period, he is a safe bet to decline pretty severely towards the tail end of that window.

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

39. JJ Wetherholt (2B, STL)

This might be one of the first rankings where I'm using the eye test rather than the player's actual statistics to make this call. On the surface a slash line of .242/.339/.365 really doesn't scream top 50 dynasty asset. He also really struggled in the second half of the season with an anemic .608 OPS.

However, I think that JJ may have run out of steam playing his first full season in the big leagues and there are bigger things ahead of him entering his age-24 season. For one, an 89.7 EV from someone with this profile should have resulted in more power than 17 home runs. He also pretty significantly underperformed his xwOBA of .347 at a .318 wOBA and I think he is bound to improve on that in 2027. There's also something to be said about playing for a team that really isn't competitive in the second half of the year, and I think this may have plagued both Walker and Wetherholt a bit.

As I'm writing this, I feel like I'm just coping with some flawed underlying metrics and wouldn't blame you for having JJ lower than this, but I'm a believer in the skill set and think that he will improve on his 2026 season next year.

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

40. Jesus Made (SS, MIL)

WE DID IT! We made it to the first prospect on this dynasty list. I know a lot of you guys scrolled past 26 through 38 to figure out when the first prospect would hit, so congrats to everyone who made it this far.

Now let's get serious about what Made actually will turn into as a big leaguer. I have a tool that comps prospects to players of similar skill sets and stat lines at similar points in their career and here are Made's closest comps after his 2026 season.

Excluding Franco, you effectively have a 5 out of 9 hit rate of becoming a star at the big league level, which is about as good as you are going to get from a prospect IMO.

As a physically mature 19-year old prospect with loud batted ball data and the ideal fantasy profile, he has earned himself the #1 prospect in baseball title. He is an incredible blend of a high-ceiling (although not the highest in the minors I would argue) and the highest floor that should make you comfortable taking him as the first prospect in any dynasty draft.

The quickest path to the big leagues for Made would be to sign a long term deal in the offseason and give the Brewers no reason to continue to hold him down. I don't think Made is as far along developmentally though, as someone like Chourio was when he signed a long-term deal, so I don't know if it's in either party's best interest to be in the big leagues next year. But the numbers that could get thrown around to lock Made down would be insane. Look at Cooper Pratt, he got an 8-year, $50 million deal without stepping foot in the big leagues. Heck, even Luis Lara got a 7 year, $31mm deal and he barely registered on the hype meter for prospects. I think Chourio's 8 year / $82M contract is a pretty good comp, but that was signed three years ago at this point, which makes me think Made could push for $100M BEFORE STEPPING FOOT ABOVE AA.

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

41. Gavin Williams (SP, CLE)

Every start for Gavin feels like a ride on Mr. Bones' Wild Ride. If you don't know that incredibly niche piece of internet culture, here you go.

It's incredible how dominant he can look and how hard it can be for him to find the zone sometimes. In his Game 5 start against the White Sox in the Division Series, he goes out there and absolutely mows down guys for five innings and 12 Ks and then loses the strike zone and can't make it out of the sixth. The crazy part is it's not like his walk rate was obscenely high like it was in previous seasons at an 8.2% BB rate, but it's the fact that he can still get all these Ks while making so many uncompetitive pitches when his command disappears.

I think Gavin is one of the highest-upside arms in baseball right now and if anyone outside of the top five was going to challenge for the #1 ranked SP next year I think he is the safest bet. However, it's a pretty high-variance play because he also is the most likely to regress with his command and post a mid-4 ERA with bad walk rates. His floor will always be somewhat stable because of the absurd Ks that he will give you, but be prepared to take the good with the bad.

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

42. Pete Alonso (1B, BAL)

Old, steady, reliable Pete probably has a good 3 or 4 years left in him of elite fantasy production. Right-handed bat-first first 1B with his "build" typically don't age gracefully, but his all-around stellar performance this year makes me think there's more in the tank than I would have thought at the beginning of 2026.

Alonso edges out other bat-first mashers like Schwarber and Judge for me because he's got a couple of years of youth on his side. Just don't run too fast to pick him up in dynasty drafts this offseason or you might end up looking like this:

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

43. Logan Gilbert (SP, SEA)

Logan Gilbert is a borderline case for me, because despite the fact that he will be 30 in 2027, I think he's got a lot of life left in his arm. I think he's very likely to take the Kevin Gausman-type path where he is very valuable accumulating innings with great ratios and good K rates. I also love pitchers who minimize walks and keep their WHIP down and Logan Gilbert is the poster child for minimizing free passes without the expense of making himself much more hittable.

I do think his value takes a significant hit if he isn't able to come to a long-term deal with the Mariners and ends up signing elsewhere, as some of those home run issues (that I think T-Mobile Park covers for him) could rear their heads in a worse pitcher's environment. It's impossible for me to speculate where he ends up going after 2027 so it's a fool's errand to try to knock his value down because of it, but it is a real threat facing him if he signs with a team like the Yankees or Phillies. Just something to keep in mind if you are making a roster decision regarding Gilbert in 2027.

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

44. Paul Skenes (SP, PIT)

What do you do with Paul Skenes? I really don't think I'm overreacting to his second-half performance, because he very clearly lost a tick or two on all of his stuff. Unfortunately, that made him much more hittable and he limped to a post-All-Star break stat line of 4.23/1.27 across 66 innings. His value seems to be carried more so by velocity that any other pitcher ranked this high, as every minor step back seems that much more hittable.

If you remember back to his draft year, one of the main concerns was that his fastball shape was not elite and people were worried that would make him very hittable in the big leagues. When he was averaging 98+ MPH, those concerns seemed to go away, but as soon as that velo started to drop you saw the issues rear up again. What does Skenes look like at a 95 mph average fastball? What about 94? I'm worried about what kind of pitcher he becomes if this trend continues into 2027.

I'm not sure if he's hiding an injury or he lost something mechanically over the course of the season that caused this regression in stuff. If it's just a mechanical issue, that makes me optimistic that he can bounce back to his dominate self in 2027. However, I think it is far more likely that something is breaking down and he will either need to get something fixed or his stuff will never be the same. The other option is that Livvy Dunne is slowly draining his life force away and within 2 years he will be a shell of himself as she makes her MLB debut for the Pirates. If I am being realistic, all 3 of these are equally likely options.

If you are in a dynasty league holding Skenes, I'd love to know what you're thinking and what your plan is heading into 2027. Are you a believer that the stuff will return, or are you starting to hit the panic button?

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

45. Aaron Judge (OF, NYY)

If you could guarantee 150+ games for Aaron Judge for the next 5 years, would he be a top 10 dynasty player despite the back half of that coming in his late 30s?

I think he is a generational talent that the aging curves and rules don't necessarily apply to, but the injury concern is very real and can't be overlooked. I don't think we are getting any more seasons like 2024 and 2025, but even 75% of his peak is still an incredibly valuable asset in fantasy baseball. Unfortunately he is going to suffer from "hot potato syndrome", which I will begin using more frequently as we work through these rankings.

Hot Potato Syndrome- When holding an aging veteran who is still performing at a high level, you run the risk of something happening where their value can evaporate in the blink of an eye and you won't be able to trade them for any sort of value. See 2023 Paul Goldschmidt, Max Scherzer, and Nolan Arenado.

Judge probably has a couple more years in him where he will continue to be valuable, but the ever present Hot Potato is always going to be lingering in the background, making him one of the highest variance players you can have on your team heading into 2027. Make sure you know the risks before deciding what you want to do with him heading into next year.

Note updated Oct 20, 2026.

46. Franklin Arias (SS, BOS)

I didn't just want to assume that I should be ranking prospects by their industry average slots, so I've been taking deep dives on every prospect that was in consideration for the top 50. I came away from that ULTRA-hyped on Franklin Arias, and I would hear arguments to have him number 1 overall. I'm not surprised the Red Sox were willing to get rid of Marcelo Mayer knowing they had this demon waiting in the wings.

Arias tore up two levels of the minors this year, slashing .323/.406/.557 and hitting 25 homeruns across 520 PA. Potentially even more impressive were his swing decisions, with only a 14.2% K rate vs a 10.2% BB rate. For someone who put up this kind of power in the upper minors, its a rare skill set to have this combination of power, patience, and contact quality.

I'll be honest, the swing is the one thing the concerns me. This is 100% an eye test take (so take it with a grain of salt) but the swing looks like it can get too long and loopy, and I'm not sure how it holds up at the big league level. It's one thing to rely on your raw athleticism when you are in the minors and velos and breaking balls aren't as good, but at the big league level if you have to cheat to catch up to velocity you are going to get exposed. I am really splitting hairs here, so don't let it dissuade you from treating Arias like the high quality asset that he is. Just don't be surprised when these elite K rates regress at the big league level and the average drops with it.

One final note for what it is worth: Arias has the best 7 year projection of any prospect we track. A 2027 debut would be electric, and would expect him to see him after the ASB if things go right.

Note updated Oct 21, 2026.

47. Dylan Cease (SP, TOR)

Cease figuring out how to harness the slider that he lost in 2025 seems to be the reason he was able to put up the best year of his career since 2022. He also is an absolute workhorse, making 32 or 33 starts every year from 2021 to 2025 and still making 29 in 2026.

Part of me wishes he could just find a middle ground between his great seasons and his bad seasons rather than being such a peak-and-valley pitcher. He kind of has that Manny Machado vibe to him where every other year he used to go off.

While he's not the sexiest pitcher on this list anymore, he's going to pile up strikeouts and should be relied on to give you significant innings every year, even if the WHIP varies as his feel comes and goes. Just remember that he's 31 years old next season and just because he's been a workhorse for his career doesn't exempt him from an injury flaring up out of nowhere.

Note updated Oct 21, 2026.

48. Sebastian Walcott (DH, TEX)

I am so bullish on Walcott that it hurts sometimes. The only reason he isn't number one is because I see him as a higher-variance prospect than Made or Arias.

He did not skip a beat when he came back from TJ, slashing .325/.401/.590 across 187 PA, mainly in AA. He did experience a bit of regression with his K rate, going from a 19.6% K rate in 2025 to a 24.1% K rate in 2026. I think that is to be expected because of all of the time off rehabbing and because he tapped into more power than he did in '25, averaging a home run every 18 plate appearances as opposed to every 40 plate appearances the year prior.

He is also holding is own in the AFL, with a .777 OPS and a 4/7 BB/K rate across 27 at-bats so far, including this grand slam hit on 10/16. (side note, is it too much to ask to put on a professional looking broadcast for AFL games? Why are are we getting the high school baseball behind home plate camera view in 2026?)

https://www.mlb.com/rangers/video/sebastian-walcott-s-fall-league-grand-slam?partnerId=webvideo-playback-pagevideo-share

Don't be afraid to pay up for Sebastian Walcott in dynasty drafts heading into 2027. If he finishes his AFL season strong, I think he will have a ton of helium heading into 2027 with people clamoring for him to make his debut. With his frame and power potential, him exploding onto the scene and making a name for himself right out of the gate isn't out of the question.

Note updated Oct 21, 2026.

49. Gunnar Henderson (SS, BAL)

Gunner Henderson is still so young and had so much potential that it's hard for me to write him off completely. However I can't figure out what kind of player he really is. Is he going to be a guy who steals 30 bases like he did in 2025? Is he going to try to tap into more power like he seemingly did in 2026 at the expense of his batting average? Or will he be able to put it all together like he did in 2023 and 2024 and return to being a top 10-type player when everything is going right?

I'm betting that his 2026 is what we should expect to see from him going forward although I think his batting average is a little suppressed due to a lower BABIP that probably has some reversion to the mean in 2027. He still has so much time to right the ship and "righting the ship" is probably not the right term for it because he didn't put together a bad season by any means in 2026. It's just not up to the standard that he set when he first came on the scene as a 22- and 23-year-old.

I wouldn't blame you for still believing in Gunnar but I would prefer to look elsewhere when getting to this point of the rankings (because I don't think he is going to return to his old form that made him so valuable).

Note updated Oct 21, 2026.

50. Josue De Paula (OF, LAD)

I know some people are hyping up the Paula to be as high as their No. 1 overall prospect, and I want to pump the brakes just a tiny bit while still being reasonably optimistic. I think he is a very high-end prospect and anyone who is currently rostering should be thrilled with how much he has developed in 2026 alone.

However I still think what I said earlier this year is true: that there is a chance the game power doesn't catch up to the raw power and he has trouble lifting the ball. I can't help but see Jason Heyward when I look at De Paula, I remember how hyped everyone was on Jason Hayward when he first came up. I also remember how he eventually lost the ability to lift the ball and his fantasy value went with it.

That's really the only flaw and hesitation I see with this game because otherwise he has some of the best power in the minors, with incredible plate discipline and tools that should all add up to be a premium player for years to come. Even if the launch angle issues manifest, he's still going to be a very valuable player for a long time and I don't think I'm insulting him by ranking him as my fourth overall prospect. Congratulations if you found him early and held on to him, he should be a treat for many years to come.

Note updated Oct 21, 2026.

51. Otto Lopez (SS, MIA)

Otto Lopez has been ice-cold the last 30 days, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that this is just a temporary blip rather than a true reflection of his real skill set. I'm holding steady on his ranking right now but if he continues to limp to the end of the season I'll probably have to adjust him downwards towards the lower end of the top 100 heading into 2027.

Note updated Aug 14, 2026.

52. Drew Rasmussen (SP, TB)

What a start by Rasmussen against the Red Sox, 13ks over 7 innings with less than 100 pitches. I feel like it's a true sign of a player's talent when you see them with huge K numbers with a relatively low pitch count.

The pitch count issue is the thing that's holding me back with Rasmussen right now. It feels like the Rays don't want to let him off of the leash (for better or worse) and that is what's keeping him from putting up top-tier caliber pitching numbers. Also, he is already almost 31 years old so I don't know how long the good times roll. For now, I would treat him like Brandon Woodruff circa 2017 through 2019 without the innings and counting stats upside.

Note updated Jun 11, 2026.

53. Roman Anthony (OF, BOS)

Not to be a gray cloud that rains on everyone's parade, but I think this is a lost season for Roman Anthony, and I'm worried about what this means for his future development.

The Red Sox honestly feel like a ship without a sail right now and I think some of that young talent that exists in that organization might get wasted while they try to figure things out. Roman Anthony might be a good enough talent to overcome this chaos but I have to handicap the odds that he flounders in this environment by moving him down in the rankings.

It's a shame that team dynamics can have a large effect on a player's career outcome and they can't just realize their potential upside in a vacuum.

Note updated Jun 29, 2026.

55. Chase DeLauter (OF, CLE)

The only the thing standing in the way of this ranking being not aggressive enough for Chase DeLauter is his injury concerns. Just in the last month alone he has had a hamstring issue and a wrist issue pop up that caused him to miss multiple games (but not go on the IL). Both seem like anomalies but this was the concern with him coming up through the minors as he never had a full season due to various injuries.

DeLauter is one of the handful of guys that I think realistically can hit 300 in a given year in a very sustainable way while not sacrificing his power potential. A full season for him looks like a .300 / 25HR / 15 SB in a premium lineup position, which is easily a top 25 player.

I imagine I will be even higher on him heading into 2027 when I do my offseason deep dive. Buy wherever you can.

Note updated Sep 11, 2026.

58. Shea Langeliers (C, ATH)

I think I am most impressed by Shea Langeliers expected batting average of .292. I always expected him to be a high-power, low-average guy but when he's able to also hit at a close to a .300 level, he becomes so much more valuable to me.

Ben Rice is still my number one overall catcher but may not have eligibility next year. I think Langeliers is easily Cq over Cal Raleigh, because I think we saw a 99.9 percentile outcome from him. I wouldn't expect anything close to his peak for the rest of his career, while Langeliers production feels sustainable (at least while they are in Sacramento).

Note updated May 27, 2026.

59. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B, TOR)

This is the first player where I really had to think hard about what his value was going forward.

On one hand you have a guy who is still hitting the ball pretty hard, granted not as hard as he used to but with a sub-optimal launch angle, resulting in no real power to speak of.

On the other hand we've seen him do this before and come out of the launch angle woes to be incredibly productive. You know you're going to get a great average and you know that you can rely on him to continue hitting the ball incredibly hard. He is not a top 5 dynasty asset like he was 2-4 years ago, but I think he is safely a top 25 asset and will be for multiple years to come.

Note updated Jun 10, 2026.

60. Jose Ramirez (3B, CLE)

It's a bummer that he went on the IL and will be out for 4-6 weeks but I'm looking on the bright side, he should be refreshed for a second half push rather than getting worn down like he did last year. I have a feeling he's going to have a very strong post-All-Star break performance and is someone who will be a borderline top-20 player headed into next season. Grab him now if he is available in dynasty and redraft.

Note updated Jun 22, 2026.

61. Eli Willits (SS, WAS)

I feel pretty silly being so low on him, but I'm also not willing to fully change my initial read on him.

Guys can dominate the lower levels of the minors and see their skill set hit a wall at the upper levels despite I'm seeming like I can't miss prospect. I think I'll be the one to sit out the Eli Willits hype train but I can see myself being very wrong on it in a couple of years.

Note updated Jun 22, 2026.

62. Kyle Tucker (OF, LAD)

Kyle Tucker is about to be on the wrong side of 30, and nothing about his profile screams to me that he's been getting unlucky in any way. He also kind of seems unmotivated but he's always had that demeanor about him. He strikes me as a guy who could just get his money and start to phone it in rather than really be motivated to live up to his contract. I think if you're a dynasty owner I'd be looking to sell him to someone who thinks that they're going to be able to reap the benefits of a slow start to his Dodgers tenure. I'm not a believer and I don't think a prolonged hot spell is coming any time soon.

Note updated Aug 11, 2026.

63. Bryce Harper (1B/OF, PHI)

I have a hot take, I think Bryce Harper is criminally underrated. He had all the expectations in the world levied on him as a sixteen-year-old in a sport where star players cannot make the same impact as they can in a sport like basketball.

Lebron James lived up to the expectations because he was able to single-handedly carry his teams and win championships. Baseball is not a sport where you can be dependent on a single player's performance so long-term exceptional performance can be overlooked if it doesn't result in accolades every year.

All this is to say is that Brice Harper has had an incredible career and really shows no signs of slowing down into his mid-30s. He still has a > .400 xwOBA and a WRC+ of 144. I have him at 60 here just because of how old he is but he is a pretty good player to have for the next three to five years because I don't see performance dropping off too much.

Note updated Jun 17, 2026.

66. Leodalis De Vries (SS, ATH)

Really brutal news for Leo that he will be out for 8 months with shoulder surgery. Luckily it's during the offseason and he's so young and it's not crucial that he gets a ton of reps right now. It would be nice to see him knocking on the door of the big leagues next year with a really strong spring and start to the 2027 season.

I imagine this takes any hope of a 2027 debut as a 20-year-old out of the picture but still leaves the chance that he makes his 2028 debut as a 21 year old in play. I like what Sebastian Walcott has been able to do coming back from injury so I'm hopeful that Leo will take the time to develop, get stronger, and come out of this better off in the long run. Not selling if I own him here.

Note updated Sep 11, 2026.

68. Wyatt Langford (OF, TEX)

I may have been too harsh on Wyatt Langford and rumors of his demise may have been exaggerated. I originally had him ranked outside of the top 100 because I didn't see him really contributing any meaningful value as a dynasty player since he came up in 2024. He's shown it in bits and pieces but he hasn't really put together a full season that jumped off the page and said, "Wow this guy is a top 50 asset."

I think it might be coming together for him. I have watched him over the last couple of weeks and things seem to really be turning the corner. His xwOBA is over .400 for July and his hard hit % has jumped to over 41%. I think there is an interesting buy low opportunity here because his Statcast page doesn't necessarily reflect the improvement yet because his April was so poor this year. If he's still available as a buy low in your league, I would be making the move now and trying to ride a strong second half to Wyatt Langford being a top 50 asset heading into 2027.

Note updated Jul 23, 2026.

69. Eury Perez (SP, MIA)

Eury has looked really bad over his last month or so, and I'm not really sure what to think of his expectations for next year. On one hand, the stuff is electric and we've seen how good he can be when he was on (7 perfect innings in Sutter Health Park this summer), and I like to think that he's still getting his feet under him at the big league level.

I'm tempted to write off his weak end to the season to focus on his potential and make him a top-10 starting pitcher heading into the 2027 season. When I do my full rankings refresh this offseason, I will definitely be moving him up aggressively.

Note updated Sep 11, 2026.

71. Seiya Suzuki (OF, CHC)

Seiya has been white hot over the last 30 days and somehow has not been the best offensive performer on his team (thanks PCA). Between PCA, Suzuki, and Dansby, Chicago have three of the top five offensive players over the last month and still only are only 18-12 in their last 30? Help that make sense for me.

Back to Seiya, I exercised a little bit of caution with his ranking after his injury to start the year but he clearly has righted the ship. Even with a little bit of regression, he's still going to be a terrific dynasty asset for the remainder of the year. He's a great target for a win-now team if he is available.

Note updated Jul 3, 2026.

73. Bryan Woo (SP, SEA)

I'm a sucker for guys with excellent command (part of the reason why I like Cristopher Sanchez so much) and Woo feels like a guy who could be the number one overall pitcher if his K-rate was just a little stronger. I think you can bank on Wu to be an elite top fifteen arm for the next four or five years and he has modest injury concerns but I don't think they are as significant as some of the others on the list.

Note updated May 27, 2026.

74. Hunter Brown (SP, HOU)

What is scarier, shoulder injuries or elbow injuries?

When I was growing up I was always told that elbow injuries are always more dangerous and shoulder injuries usually resulted from throwing the ball correctly but just being overworked (just some of the bs that floated around baseball until the data driven paradigm we are in now).

I would say that a shoulder injury is the most scary because there are so many moving pieces whereas an elbow is a pretty straightforward injury to repair (most of the time). I'm willing to make an exception with Brown though because he's looked so good in rehab and was so dominant in two starts this season. If he comes back healthy, he'll be a top ten starter for me. Just have to put the injury tag on him for the time being.

Note updated Jun 3, 2026.

75. Chris Sale (SP, ATL)

I'm glad Chris Sale had one more career renaissance in him after he left the Red Sox. I remember buying low on him after the trade was completed and I rode him all the way to his Cy Young that year. It's crazy to see him still performing at that high level. and I don't see why he can't do it into his early 40's. He's one of the safer late-30s pitchers that I can imagine.

Note updated Jun 11, 2026.

76. Mason Miller (RP, SD)

I wish we could see an alternate reality where Mason Miller was used as a starter rather than a high-leverage reliever.

His fastball may take two steps back but I think he would have the potential to be a top 10 starting pitcher in the game and relatively durable because of how consistent he has been since he's gotten to the big leagues with his health.

In terms of his dynasty league value, it's going to be so context-dependent but I tend to favor having incredibly strong relievers on my roster as set-it-and-forget-it because of their benefit to ratios and knowing that position is handled.

Note updated May 27, 2026.

77. Ketel Marte (2B, ARI)

I'm not gonna pretend to have any idea what's going on with Ketel Marte right now but clearly something is not right with him mentally. You see this happening occasionally with guys and I can't think of a time where the resolution of it was positive and an aberration looking back (except maybe CJ Abrams and his casino visit at the end of last season).

I was admittedly probably too high on Ketel as it was as he's about to be 33 years old, but he's hitting just as well as ever and has great peripheral metrics. I'm not worried that he will continue to produce if he decides he wants to rejoin the team, I'm more worried that this is not a short-term issue for him and his team. I'm moving him down the rankings to hedge his behavior, and I wouldn't be looking to buy low on him until you have more clarity on his situation.

Note updated Aug 25, 2026.

80. Bryce Eldridge (1B, SF)

I am very bullish on Bryce Eldridge and glad to see that he is getting the run that he deserves. I think it's a disservice when a team brings up a prospect and then sits him against lefties rather than letting him take his lumps. A guy like Eldridge is an elite talent any way you look at it and deserves to get regular playing time to prove his skillset.

I am staying somewhat cautious on him just because I know swing and miss is part of his game but if he continues to be as hot as he has been over the last two weeks, he is going to fly up his rankings for me

Note updated Jun 11, 2026.

83. Rainiel Rodriguez (C/1B, STL)

Rainiel may have put up one of the best full season stat lines for a teenager in AA this year - .328/.408/.591 - and I still don't think he is getting enough credit for hit. He potentially the best hit tools in the minors, and I think he has a real chance to be a contributor at the big league level as a 20 year old in 2027.

I would buy him wherever you can, and there is only a handful of rookie eligible guys I wouldn't trade straight up for him. (Made, Leo, Jenkins)

Note updated Sep 17, 2026.

85. Travis Bazzana (2B, CLE)

I have been so impressed with Bazzana in his debut and I think we are seeing the onset of the next Chase Utley caliber second baseman in the major leagues. The upsides are obvious so let's focus on the potential downsides that would make it so Bazzana isn't a top 50 dynasty asset going forward.

Middling average exit velocity (89.9) Average hard hit rate (38.6%) Low barrel rate (3.8%) XWOBA - .336

However, that has translated into a WRC+ of 148 with an WOBA of .386, and I think that shows how Savant doesn't ALWAYS necessarily incorporate everything that goes into making a good real-life and dynasty fantasy baseball asset (This is a good proxy a majority of the time, but every evaluation metric has it's gaps).

If you're striking out 16.8% of the time and walking 13.3% of the time, you have such a high floor that you can negate a lot of the bad luck that a higher or more free-swinging player would tend to experience over the course of the season.

We didn't have the benefit of seeing a guy like Chase's at least Statcast metrics but I have to imagine he wasn't off the charts in all of those categories because he wasn't trying to maximize each category. Instead he was opting for the minimum viable swing to be an exceptional offensive player. This is the same playbook I am seeing with Bazzana and why I am willing to go so high on him so early.

One other note on Bazzana: as I was going through the second base rankings, I couldn't believe how thin it is. Just one more check box for going all in on him.

Note updated Jun 3, 2026.

86. Jazz Chisholm Jr. (2B, NYY)

Something weird is happening where I'm not high on Jazz Chisholm but how our player model is and expects him to be one of the most valuable players down the stretch at $26 of value. He really does contribute everything that you would want to see except for batting average and hitting inside of the Yankees' lineup, which makes him a true four-category elite player. I think I'm just always going to be the low man on Jazz Chisholm but I'll make my peace with it.

Note updated Jul 23, 2026.

88. Logan Henderson (SP, MIL)

I recently took a really hard look at what Logan Henderson had to offer, and was surprised to see that I have been sleeping on him way too hard.

I don't want to be dramatic here but the comp I have for Henderson is....Greg Maddux (I can hear your eyes rolling through the screen, but hear me out).

Henderson is relatively undersized at 6'0" (5'11" without shoes) and features an average fastball velocity of 93 mph (28th percentile) with an average spin rate. Nothing about his profile screams 30% K rate, and if you watched him in the bullpen you would think he was a Quad-A swingman.

Instead, Henderson is rocking a 30% K-rate, 1.5 BB/9, and a microscopic 0.78 WHIP across 93 1/3 innings this year and has some of the loudest peripherals of any starter in baseball. He gets a ton of armside run on both his fastball and changeup and hasn't needed much of a third pitch yet, mixing a cutter in only 16% of the time and a sweeper 3% of the time, so the fact that he has perform this well on the back of a FB/CH dominated mix is a strong sign that there is room for him to grow.

Henderson also has the type of profile that I love to bet on in dynasty leagues. Since he doesn't rely on a triple digit fastball or a sharp breaking ball, my eye test tells me he will be one of the most durable, reliable top tier starters for the next several years. He is a major buy in all formats for me but especially if your league structure rewards accumulating pitching stats or innings, Henderson should be one of your top targets.

Note updated Sep 17, 2026.

89. George Kirby (SP, SEA)

I am underwhelmed by his K rate right now but I feel like it is an anomaly rather than a trend that we should be worried about. He has such good command (LOC+ 113) and is so around the zone that I like his ability to age very gracefully even if the stuff takes a step back.

He may not have the stuff of some of the guys around him but I will take the reliability in a low end #1 / high end #2.

Note updated Jun 17, 2026.

90. Zack Wheeler (SP, PHI)

I'm very tempted to knock Zack Wheeler further down in the rankings due to his age, but he continues to perform at an insanely elite level and maintain premium velocity despite an injury that would be the death knell for most pitchers. You don't want to be left holding the bag when something goes sideways, and no player loses their value faster than a 35+ year old SP who goes down with an injury.

Obviously no rule should be applied uniformly and you know the idiosyncrasies of your own league, but just know if you are riding the hot hand in Wheeler just know you are playing with fire.

Note updated Aug 3, 2026.

91. Joe Ryan (SP, MIN)

Something looks off with Joe Ryan, and I know he goes through ups and downs with his stuff and his results but it seems like this time might be different. It's easier to overlook when you're on the right side of 20 but now that he's over 30 he feels more like a ticking time bomb than most guys in the top 20 starting pitchers.

This is coming off of a trade that I made in my home league where I'm absolutely going for it - Will Smith, Jordan Lawlar, Bryce Rainer, and Geraldo Perdomo - that already looks really bad with how Joe Ryan struggles in the second half.

I still think he'll be relatively fine for the rest of the year and probably will bounce back around fantasy playoff time but I'm not 100% confident that he will be an upper-echelon starter after 2027.

Note updated Aug 5, 2026.

93. Kyle Harrison (SP, MIL)

Don't let that Mickey Mouse start in Vegas take you off your bullishness on Kyle Harrison, and if this opens up any sort of buying opportunity, jump all over it.

Note updated Jun 11, 2026.

95. Taj Bradley (SP, MIN)

I'm sort of a buyer here, I loved the profile with the Rays but for some reason he couldn't put it together.

Same thing happened to Baz and I wouldn't say Baz is killing it in Baltimore but he does seem to look slightly better and he is finding his groove over the last month.

For some guys the Rays system works and for some it doesn't. There's a lesson there going forward that some talented pitchers may not thrive with the Rays but they are worth following to their next teams.

Note updated Jun 3, 2026.

100. Cade Cavalli (SP, WAS)

Feel like Cade Cavalli is a right-handed Mackenzie Gore, so why am I so much lower on him than I am on Gore? I don't really have a good reason although for both of them I feel like eventually something is going to click and they're going to go from a low 4 ERA to a low 3 ERA in the blink of an eye.

Caballero is striking out more than a guy per inning and he's entrenched in the Nationals rotation, so he's a good piece to have in deeper leagues. Unfortunately, there's just not a spot for him in shallower lakes because he is so hit or miss on a game-to-game basis.

Note updated Jun 29, 2026.

102. Garrett Crochet (SP, BOS)

Something was very clearly wrong earlier this season and I would not attempt to buy low if I were you. I also don't think you have the ability to sell him at this point because there's probably too much concern over his health. Unfortunately this is one of the situations where you just have to hold steady and hope he rebounds if you have Crochet shares.

Note updated Jun 3, 2026.

103. Walker Jenkins (OF, MIN)

Not a great start from Jenkins in his big league debut, but I'm giving him a lot of grace.

Why are the Twins hitting him 9th? You don't take a Ferrari out of the garage to drive it 25 mph on surface streets. You push it to see what you can get out of it.

I would like to see the Twins put Jenkins in the two spot and see if he can get comfortable at the big league level, but for the time being I guess every day at-bats out of the nine hole is not the worst-case scenario for a September callup.

Note updated Sep 11, 2026.

104. Kyle Stowers (1B/OF, MIA)

Stowers has taken a step back from his white hot 2025 season that got cut short in August, but the flashes are still there that makes me confident that he is still very valuable in dynasty leagues.

He has premium exit velocity (92.1 Avg EV), elite barrel and hard hit rates (86th and 97th) but too much swing and miss in his game to really contribute in the batting average department (31.6% K-rate). If you are in an OBP league then he is a touch more valuable that a standard 5x5, but I wouldn't be surprised if he finds a way to hit at a .260 clip for the rest of the year.

Note updated Aug 3, 2026.

107. Kade Anderson (SP, SEA)

Kade Anderson gets the call! He is universally considered a top 10 prospect and he is number 1 in a couple of different places. He has absolutely dominated AA this year with a 1.06 ERA over 93 innings and a 40% K rate.

What should we expect from him for the rest of the year? I don't think he has any innings concerns so I would expect him to be able to make 6-8 starts through the end of the season and be a big contributor in the fantasy playoffs. One of those starts might come at Coors so we may want to bench him there but everywhere else he should be a bona fide, no question, plug-and-play SP. It's pretty incredible that he is able to do this without really premium velocity. It's a fast ball that really only touches 97 on the highest end but has incredible shape due to the carry he is able to generate. It's very similar to how Bryan Woo was able to succeed with an elite fastball due to his elite shape but Kade Anderson is doing it from the left side with just as good (if not better) command.

I'm typically conservative when it comes to minor league pitching so I'm probably lower on him than most but a couple of really solid starts will catapult him higher in my rankings. He could easily be a top 50 dynasty asset heading into 2026 if he excels in his first taste of big league action. Saturday's start will be must watch TV!

Note updated Aug 20, 2026.

109. Cal Raleigh (C, SEA)

We can confirm that Cal Raleigh is still capable of being a functional baseball player, as he trails only Carter Jensen and William Contreras in value over the last 30 days.

He has slashed .258/.377/.658 since August 18th, and Savant largely backs up the performance with a 93.2 Avg EV and .390 xwOBA. If you bought low, congratulations! I hope you didn't have to weather too much of the pain before he season finally turned around.

On an unrelated note: If you are Cal Raleigh, would you rather have one historically good season followed by one historically bad season, or just spread that performance out across 2 strong but unexceptional seasons? I think I'm taking option 2, but I'm curious what others think.

Note updated Sep 17, 2026.

111. Ceddanne Rafaela (OF, BOS)

Rafaela is the polar opposite of Lars Nootbar, who is a Savant darling but questionable from a fantasy value perspective. Refaela has HORRIBLE Statcast metrics and has never demonstrated that he should be having success at the Major League level. However he is consistently a very valuable player in fantasy baseball.

.281 wxOBA 86.5 Avg EV .242 xBA

He moved up pretty considerably in my list because he's pacing for close to a 20/20 season and kept that pace last year as well. You can overcome a lot of words when you're in a good lineup with a premium spot in the lineup and are hitting home runs and stealing bases. Score one for the eye test.

Note updated Jul 28, 2026.

112. Troy Melton (SP, DET)

Yeah I'm gonna move him up again. I'm gonna keep moving up until he proves to me that he shouldn't be this caliber of starting pitcher. I love that he is the kind of guy that can go deep into games because he’s not trying to strike out the world. He still gets his Ks, maybe not 11+ per 9 like some guys but he is still incredibly valuable to dynasty owners with his minuscule WHIP. All aboard the Melton train!

Note updated Aug 11, 2026.

115. Reid Detmers (SP, LAA)

The Angels fired Mike Maddux on August 11th. Since that day, Reid Detmers has logged a 1.15 ERA with 10 K/9 and a miniscule 0.7/9 BB rate.

Word is that Mike Maddux was very anti-sabermetrics and letting pitchers gather data to improve their game. It reminds me of when the Nationals posted a sign in the bullpen last year that read "I don't care how hard you throw ball 4" and it led to one of the worst staffs in the league.

Its also a really bad look when you coach arguably the worst staff in a league, and as soon as you leave they become a borderline top 10 staff. It's amazing what an impact a rotten organizational structure can do to a players development, and I don't think this is the last example of incompetence that is uncovered now that Arte Moreno is out of the picture.

For Detmers specifically, I'm hoping that the breakout we've been waiting on for years is finally here and be builds off of a strong 2026 to be a Cy Young candidate in 2027.

Note updated Sep 17, 2026.

119. Dillon Dingler (C, DET)

I keep wanting to fade Dillon Dingler but I have to give it to him, he has looked incredibly strong this year.

I also love that the Tigers are getting him in on off days at DH rather than just benching him because it's so much more valuable to have a catcher who plays 140 games plus than a catcher who is taking a break every third day but not getting in the lineup.

Note updated Jul 3, 2026.

120. Manny Machado (3B, SD)

I'm less concerned with Manny Machado for this year than Fernando Tatis Jr. but we have to face the reality that he's about to be 34 years old, playing in his 15th season, and is bound to run into Father Time at some point.

I bet he goes on a heater or two at some point during the year and brings his average up to the .240-.250 range. If you were to trade for him now, that means you are getting the benefit of pretty good offensive production for the remainder of the year since he seems to have front-loaded all of his poor performance.

If you're in win-now mode, he's actually a pretty good piece to go out and trade for, betting on mean reversion. I don't want you to get stuck holding the bag in the offseason so I would look at him as a rental and try to move him once the season is over.

Note updated May 27, 2026.

121. Seth Hernandez (SP, PIT)

I have a rule, and you're going to see it proliferate across these rankings:

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A PITCHING PROSPECT

I don't literally mean that pitching prospects don't exist but I do mean that for dynasty fantasy baseball purposes you can never rely on a pitching prospect to replicate their success like they did at the minor league level.

Guys like Konnor Griffin and Kevin McGonigle will come to the big leagues and you can usually rely on them to provide some level of performance even if they don't hit the ground running. This means that their value is going to hold up for a long time while they get their feet under them. You'll still be able to find willing trade partners who believe in their breakout even if they spin their wheels for 100+ games.

I don't find this to be the case with pitching prospects. People are quick to devalue them considerably as soon as you see any hiccup or injury or step back at the big league level. Two prime examples that come to mind are Forrest Whitley and Andrew Painter. Both of those guys were can't-miss pitching prospects that got caught up with injuries and lost all of their prospect shine even before they reached the big leagues (in Painter's case). Painter has gotten absolutely shelled at the big league level this year and I wasn't able to find any trade partners for him in my home league a month ago.

My point being is that you should not commit all of your prospect capital to a pitcher regardless of how good he looks. Pitching, in my opinion, is for cheap upside plays that can get helium as they put together strong minor league performances. There's really only one way to go if they are top-pitching prospects and that's down. You are better off waiting for the post-type breakout with pitchers. Maybe you don't get a Paul Skenes with this method, but you can easily get a Tarik Skubal, Cristopher Sanchez-type asset without needing to invest in them in the minor leagues.

What does all this mean for Seth Hernandez? He is exciting as hell and I can't wait to see him rocket through the minor leagues and get to the big league level to be a one-two punch with Skenes. He clearly has the best stuff in the minors right now and has separated himself from the rest of the pack.

I have no shares of him and that is okay. For everyone who does have shares in him, I hope you get to enjoy him for many years at the big league level. That's just not a risk I'm willing to take.

Note updated Jun 22, 2026.

122. Cody Bellinger (OF, NYY)

Did anyone else feel like Cody Bellinger's stat line stuck out like a sore thumb during the ASG? You have Yordan with 31 HR and a .300+ AVG and Caminero with 28 HR, then Belli coming up hitting a whopping .254 with 11 HRs in the 6 hole. Maybe I'm just a hater, but there's no reason he should have been in the starting lineup this year. But it's what the fans wanted and he delivered in the 1st inning, plating 2 runs for the AL and going on to win ASG MVP.

Maybe I'm just a hater (read definitely a hater) but I had to call it out.

Note updated Jul 15, 2026.

124. Bryan Reynolds (OF, PIT)

Brian Reynolds is quietly putting together a tremendous season and I think it would be silly to sleep on him going forward. Yeah he's 31 years old and yeah he's never really had a standout tool but he's rocking an OBP of 400 right now and he is in the top percentile across the league in pretty much every counting stat that's relevant.

Reynolds is a great win now target for teams looking to compete for a championship this year and I think he probably still has a couple more years of juice left in him after this season.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

126. Luke Keaschall (OF/2B, MIN)

I was really bullish on Keaschall heading into the year, but I feel like I have to call a spade a spade here. He has just not been very good. It's not that he's a bad player, and he's got some very interesting pitch selection Statcast data, but when he does decide to swing at the ball, he is not doing enough damage to really make it worth anyone's while.

His exit velo is only in the 2nd percentile (84.6 MPH) and I don't care how good of plate discipline you have, pitchers will eventually figure out that won't be punished for throwing pitches in the zone to you and the plate discipline won't be the strength it once was.

If you were in a deep league, I could see buying low on him and waiting for him to turn it around (he is only 23 years old). However I think he is more of a long-term project and not someone you should be looking to go out and acquire right now if you are in a window of contention this year or next year.

Note updated Jul 28, 2026.

127. Theo Gillen (OF, TB)

Theo Gillen really snuck up on me this year - I had never really given him much love because there is no power in his profile yet. Now that he has tapped into that potential, the ceiling is all of a sudden a lot higher.

He has clubbed 16 home runs across two levels this year and has held his own with a 130 WRC+ in AA across 101 plate appearances. He may not have as high an end-of-ceiling as some of the top prospects but his floor is as high as anyone in the minor leagues. I think he will be a very exciting prospect when he debuts in late 2027 or early 2028.

I probably won't be as high on him as some others are (our aggregated expert rankings have some analysts putting him in their top 10) but he is solid, the top 20 prospect for me.

Note updated Jul 28, 2026.

128. Louis Varland (RP, TOR)

This might be an aggressive ranking but there hasn't really been a reliever better than Varland this year outside of Mason Miller.

I expect him to lock down the closer role for the remainder of the year and stick around for a while after Jeff Hoffman opened the door for him.

Note updated Jun 3, 2026.

129. Ryan Weathers (SP, NYY)

I'm higher on Ryan Weathers than most but I am going to have to move him down in the rankings because he has not looked great in his last 3 starts (and 4 of his last 5).

I love his stuff and I think he is going to be a great arm as he continues to settle into a rotation spot, but I think I was a little too aggressive ranking him at #36SP initially.

Note updated Jun 17, 2026.

133. Mookie Betts (SS, LAD)

I think I'm ready to stick the fork in Mookie as a top dynasty asset. I'm sad to see him go because he was always one of the most consistent players in the league and someone you could bank on but I just don't think he has the power to maintain elite levels of production on offense.

I think he will still continue to be valuable for the Dodgers and that contract won't turn into an albatross by any means but we are playing fantasy baseball not real life baseball. I think the only benefit he has is that he should get decent run and RBI totals being in the Dodgers lineup.

Note updated May 27, 2026.

135. Freddy Peralta (SP, TB)

Five nights at Freddy's just got absolutely decimated in a start against the Phillies this weekend, and it made me take notice of his overall average performance and stuff this year.

The FB velo has dropped 1MPH, the whiff rate has dropped by 3.5 percentage points, and the K-BB% has drop 6 percentage points. With him now on the wrong side of thirty I don't know if you can bet on him to be dominate like he was with the Brewers going forward.

If I had shares of Freddy, I would be actively shopping him right now to see if I can find someone who hasn't caught on to his profile change with the Mets.

Note updated Jun 22, 2026.

136. Jordan Lawlar (OF, ARI)

It's been a small sample size this season but I've been impressed with his season debut and a couple of games since he's returned from injury.

Lawlar has been a prospect for so long that I think some of the shine has worn off on him but you're seeing an underlying skill set that will play very well in the big leagues if he can get his strikeout rate under control. I'm aggressive with my ranking here but I do think he can turn into a very valuable player. His market value will rise considerably if he has a good showing for the rest of the year.

Note updated Jun 17, 2026.

143. Braxton Ashcraft (SP, PIT)

How the heck did Ashcraft slip under the radar for me? I watched a couple of the starts this year in man was he impressive April / May of this year.

It does look like the wheels are coming off a bit in July with a 7.78 ERA across four starts but I'm willing to chalk that up to him just being a bit tired and not used to a full big league season under his belt.

I still think long term he will be a pretty valuable starting pitcher (think top 50 SP) but don't expect a ton from him the rest of the way, especially if the underlying velo deteriorates and Pirates elect to shut him down to not risk him for future years.

Note updated Jul 28, 2026.

144. Henry Bolte (OF, ATH)

There's a lot to like about Henry Bolte and he could be super valuable in 2027 for a couple of reasons: The A's seems committed to hitting him out of the lead-off spot and he has the speed and plate discipline to back it up. He just turned 22 years old and the underlying metrics point to some real solid attributes (95th percentile bat speed, 90.8mph exit velo). He just had a pretty spectacular game in Texas with a 2HR / 1SB performance, with a really nice stretch over the last 30 days of slashing .297/.350/.405 (not including today).

What does this mean for 2027? Well there are still some big flaws in his game and I don't think his average is ever going to be super elite. But he's fast enough and has enough power to be a real threat in a very favorable home stadium at least through next year. He's a tentative buy for me but I would sell the farm to acquire him.

Note updated Sep 3, 2026.

152. Tyler Glasnow (SP, LAD)

Remember everyone, this is who Misiorowski could end up like. Someone who has incredible stuff when he's on the mound but just not a player you can rely on to give you consistent innings on a year-to-year basis.

Glasnow still has an incredible profile and I think his stuff plays much better than his Stuff+ (104) shows due to his unique look he gives hitters. But how many innings do you expect to get from him in any given year? 100? 110? It's not really that valuable unless those innings come in the playoffs for you.

Note updated May 27, 2026.

153. Luis Pena (SS, MIL)

I think I am the high source on Pena compared to the industry (we track nearly 2o sources, check it out!) and here’s why:

Peña without Made overshadowing him would be getting much more love than he gets right now. I’m a big believer that he’s going to get into his power

Note updated Aug 11, 2026.

158. Emmanuel Rodriguez (OF, MIN)

Word is out that he is on a rehab assignment right now and I can't wait to see him back in action. I would love for him to get a cup of coffee at the end of the year and begin to build hype around a strong September that gives him and Walker Jenkins a starting role in the 2027 OF.

Note updated Jul 30, 2026.

159. Max Meyer (SP, MIA)

I think he's pitching a bit over his head right now but he can still regress some and be very solid. 27.2% K rate is going to get the job done even if the walks are slightly high at 3.3 BB/9. I might be a bit low on him and if he does it for a bit longer, I think he's a top 50 starter for me.

Note updated Jun 3, 2026.

163. Colson Montgomery (SS/3B, CWS)

He's going to be a low-average home run guy and he's going to go through very significant colds spells. You see in my blurb from Cags that he seems to be a discount version of him, but I think he can close that gap with time. 40 home runs at shortstop though is incredibly valuable and he has an outside chance of hitting that this year. I still think he's a very valuable guy to roster in dynasty leagues.

Note updated Jul 23, 2026.

164. Joshua Baez (OF, STL)

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.

Note updated Aug 20, 2026.

165. Zyhir Hope (OF, DET)

I love the landing spot for Hope with the Tigers, but I think every Dodgers prospect is better off getting out of LA and not having to compete with each other for playing time.

Hope slots in immediately as the #2 prospect in the #1 prosect in the Tigers org for me (most people would have him #2 behind Max Clark, but I am not as high on him as most).

With a .293 BA and 23 homeruns in AA this year, Hope has the kind of power that should allow him to reach 30 HR's a season easily, but still has enough of a hit tool that he should be able to hit for a relatively high average at the big league level. The tigers now look like a very exciting team with their pipeline of talent and Hope is another notch in the belt for a deep farm system.

Note updated Aug 3, 2026.

172. Shohei Ohtani SP (SP, LAD)

From Bleacher Report:

"The four-time MVP hasn't pitched since July 3 due to irritation in his left knee, but has remained part of the Dodgers' lineup in the meantime.

Ohtani's knee troubles forced him to miss the 2026 All-Star Game. He also had a lubricant injected into his left knee to prepare for the second half of the year.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed that Ohtani would miss time before making his return to the mound.

"Where we're at right now, how we're proceeding, I would say that it's going to be some time," Roberts said Sunday, per MLB.com's Sonja Chen. "I'd say that it's not going to be a day-to-day thing.""

This is what I was worried about when it came to Ohtani and his value as a dynasty pitching asset. While he might be one of the best rate pitchers in the league. It's very unclear to me why the Dodgers would continue to trot him out every fifth or sixth day when he is so much more valuable as a hitter. They don't really have anything that significant to play for in the regular season that requires him to pitch on a regular basis.

If I am in a league where Ohtani is split as a DH and SP, I think I am looking to move off of him as a pitcher because I have a hard time seeing a path to him accumulating more than 120 innings in a given season. It is likely that he won't pitch for you in the fantasy playoffs while they get him ready for the MLB playoffs.

Note updated Jul 22, 2026.

175. Sam Antonacci (OF/2B, CWS)

I have been incredibly impressed with Antonacci this year and I think he is going to be very valuable for the White Sox going forward. It's very impressive that he has such a good xwOBA (.373) even though he really doesn't hit the ball hard (87.8 EV).

Also this is embarrassing for me but I didn't even realize the White Sox were in first place at the end of the season. I typically don't even start checking the standings until after the All-Star break because it's such a long season but I had been thinking this was the 2025 White Sox rather than the 2026 White Sox. Shame on me I guess, because they Sox have sneakily put together a good roster.

Note updated Jun 29, 2026.

176. Ryan Sloan (SP, SEA)

For Sloan, his ranking has less to do with his skill set and more to do with how I value pitching prospects in dynasty leagues. My motto is “there is no such thing as a pitching prospect”, which is an exaggerated way to say that I would rather invest my prospect capital in a hitter because pitchers are so susceptible to injuries and their value evaporating before they have a chance to hit the big league level.

Sloan is the #4 non-debuted SP (behind Hernandez, Anderson, and White) on my list, I would look at them that way rather than his ranking compared to all of the hitters and debuted pitchers overall. I’m very bullish on him long-term, but from a dynasty prospect perspective, pictures are hard to rank incredibly high.

Note updated Jul 3, 2026.

177. Bryce Rainer (SS, DET)

I am a big fan of Rainer and am very bullish on him long term. Here is the 11th overall pick out of Harvard Westlake in 2024 and has battled the injury bug until this year. He has put together an up-and-down performance this year with some really weird stats.

The good: 15.4% BB rate 122 wRC+ .383 wOBA

The bad: .408 BABIP .306 xwOBA (.77 off his actual wOBA)

The ugly: 35.2% K rate

So I'm not really sure what to think from here. On one hand I think he's got a pretty incredible hit tool but on the other hand it doesn't seem to be playing at the High-A level (or at least he's gotten incredibly lucky to have decent surface stats while having poor underlying numbers).

I don't want to move off my aggressive ranking of him just yet but if the underlying numbers don't improve, I don't think he will be the premium prospect I once thought he was.

Note updated Jul 3, 2026.

179. Jackson Flora (SP, SF)

The Giants took Jackson Flora 4th overall, a straight value pick that lines up with where every major board had the best arm in this draft class rated. His fastball touches 100 and his changeup already grades as a 70 for scouts. Command is the swing skill to track, but the strikeout equity and ratio upside make him a top-two 2026 FYPD selection regardless of role. He slots in number three immediately for me, just behind Seth Hernandez and Kate Anderson.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

180. Drew Burress (OF, ATH)

Drew Burress has really caught my eye and has exploded onto the scene since signing for $7.5mm. He's got very loud tools (5 HR / 4 SB in 77 AB) and exceptional plate discipline (19.5% BB rate) in A ball leading to a 159 wRC+. Of course the same caveats as usual, where it's a small sample size and it's at a very low level of the minors, but these tools look fantastic and seeing them in Sutter Park would be very exciting. He's a big mover for me up my prospect rankings based on this initial performance.

Note updated Aug 25, 2026.

182. Brent Rooker (DH, ATH)

I almost bought low on Rooker in a couple of leagues and I'm really glad I couldn't make the trade happen now that it was just announced that he's out for the year with knee surgery.

I'm a big fan of Rooker and I think he has the opportunity to age somewhat gracefully but he was not great this year in the 32% K rate was pretty alarming.

He will probably be a preseason top 100 player again next year but I'm dropping him pretty low just because there are better options this year and I don't want to tie up too much value in a 32 year old who is out with knee surgery for the rest of 2026.

Note updated Jul 3, 2026.

184. Adley Rutschman (C, BOS)

I've never been a big Adley guy, but sometimes a change of scenery can do wonders for a guy who feels like they're stuck in a rut. His 2026 will probably be a lost because his type of injury tends to sap power but I kind of think 2027 might be a career year for him.

If your contention window is next year and you have the opportunity to trade for Adley this year and stash him on your bench while he recovers and does whatever he's going to do for 2026, I actually don't think it's the worst idea. And this is coming from someone who only knows him as Badley.

Note updated Aug 5, 2026.

185. Jake McCarthy (OF, COL)

Jake McCarthy is one of the most flawed but valuable players in fantasy baseball right now. If you have him on your team, you are amazed by the performance he has put together this year and if you don't you have been waiting for the other shoe to drop for two months now. He feels like a league winner this year.

What does that mean for his dynasty value? Well we all know the Coors Effect is having maximum effect here for McCarthy, but it doesn't make him inherently unvaluable. We also know how Nolan Jones and Brenton Doyle's value has evaporated. If I have McCarthy, I'm riding him to a championship this year and then looking to move him for anything in the offseason. But enjoy the ride while it lasts!

Note updated Aug 10, 2026.

188. JoJo Parker (SS, TOR)

I know I said that JoJo is one of my favorite prospects in an earlier take this year, but there are just too many guys that are looking really strong right now to continue to rank JoJo Parker as a near top ten prospect.

I still love Parker's plate discipline and it's still on display with his 35/28 strikeout-to-walk ratio since June 1st, but I'd really like to see some more pop in the back with only 9 HR across 362 PA this year.

Guys like Mike Sirota, Josue De Paula, and Zyhir Hope have all looked too good to keep Jojo over them. Oh what's that you say? You just listed 3 Dodgers outfield prospects don't you know there are 29 other teams in the MLB? You wouldn't know it by the way the Dodgers get covered across the MLB. Everywhere I look I'm seeing an article about how great the Dodgers farm system is and how deep and talented of a roster they're going to have and how they are going to cause the 2027 season to be completely wiped out because they're just too good and it's going to force the salary cap issue one way or another.

My proposal is we move the Dodgers to Japan and let them play out of Tokyo and then maybe we can even the playing field with the jet lag and difficult travel schedule. It should be a win-win right?

Note updated Jul 28, 2026.

191. Spencer Jones (OF, NYY)

Well that was a disaster of a debut. I'm probably higher on Spencer Jones than most because of the 80-grade power but it's hard to deny that he got exposed to the big league level in his first go-around.

Let's look at the positives: 97 mph EV on balls in play

That's about all I have in terms of reasons to be excited about him right now, but he has such a high ceiling I think he warrants this ranking.

I am hopeful that he finds some regular playing time at some point and is able to get into a groove and that strikeout rate comes down to a manageable level but he has a high risk of becoming the next Joey Gallo (during his bad years).

Note updated Jun 5, 2026.

192. Roch Cholowsky (SS, CWS)

Roch has stumbled over himself in his first taste of professional baseball, slashing .167/.326/.333, 46 plate appearances in high A. The aggressive assignment isn't helping the optics either, as he was touted as a very advanced bat who should have no problem in the lower levels of the minor leagues. Largely I'm holding firm on him although I am hedging his ranking a little bit because there are just prospects who are more exciting to me that I'd probably rather pick in a first-year player draft right now (Burress).

Note updated Aug 25, 2026.

194. Vinnie Pasquantino (1B, KC)

I originally had Vinny a lot higher but I kept digging in and realized he just hasn't turned out to be the player that I thought he was going to be.

With an avg hovering around .200 without exceptional power, his time has run out for me. If you're a buyer here he pays off by finally making it all click then more power to you, but I am out for now.

Note updated Jun 3, 2026.

195. Eric Hartman (OF, ATL)

It is so frustrating that Yahoo doesn’t have Hartman in their player pool yet, it’s ridiculous that Yahoo doesn’t have any rhyme or reason to the players in their system besides “vibes”.

Hartman is a 20th round pick in 2024 that wasn’t on anyone’s radar until this year, where he has exploded for 19 HRs in just over 300 PA. I will be watching closely to see if this type of production persist as he climbs above High A. I’m a buyer here.

Note updated Jun 29, 2026.

201. Edward Florentino (OF, PIT)

I wouldn't call A+ a struggle for Florentino this year, but he definitely has not taken the step that we would have expected at this level.

Florentino is universally acclaimed as a top 30 prospect so his value is pretty high across the board. I just wonder if he may be getting more praise than he ultimately has earned at this level. He's got a beautiful swing out, one of those tool sets that you can dream on but this kind of feels like it could be Gregory Polanco 2.0. Tread lightly.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

204. Ace Reese (3B, SEA)

Ace Reese has had probably the most impressive debut from anyone in this class with a .439/.519/.683 slash line across 54 plate appearances in A ball for the Mariners with more walks than strikeouts. At 6'4", 220, his left-handed bat looks like a middle-of-the-order presence for many years to come for the Mariners. I can see him being one of the faster movers from his class in the minors and locking down first base for the Mariners in 2028. They're currently giving him some run at 3B but I'm not sure if he actually sticks there long term. One of my biggest buys in the FYPD.

Note updated Aug 25, 2026.

205. Josuar Gonzalez (SS, SF)

Josuar is getting a lot of recognition right now in the industry, but for me it just comes down to proximity to the major leagues. No doubt that he's tearing it up but he's still only at the complex level. He will definitely move up my rankings considerably as he continues to produce at higher levels but for me I'm comfortable having him in the mid 30s while there's still so many unknowns.

It might mean my conservativism will cause me to miss out, but I still have him at #207 overall so I don't think I'm too low on him relative to the market.

Note updated Jul 3, 2026.

206. Grady Emerson (SS, TB)

I've seen a lot of people rank Grady as the number one prospect coming out of this draft and I think it's a relatively fair take, especially given the Rays track record.

He still hasn't gotten his first hit yet, going 0-10 with 4 walks in 14 plate appearances, but that's largely meaningless with such a tiny sample size. I'm not willing to pay the price of him being the most valuable first-year player coming out of the 2026 draft, but he still looks like a top 5 guy in this class for the time being.

Note updated Aug 25, 2026.

210. Josh Adamczewski (OF, MIL)

You might not know Josh Adamczewski because he gets overshadowed by all of the talent in the Brewers farm system, but I think you are going to start hearing a lot about him very soon.

All Adamczewski does at every stop is hit, with averages of .322, .320, and .321 from 2024 to 2026 with very strong walk and strikeout rates. In 24 and 25 the averages didn't come with a ton of power, but this year he is up to 15 HR and a .442 wOBA and it makes me think the power might be more legit than everyone originally thought.

If you are looking for the next Kevin McGonigle-esque player in the minors, I don't think there is anyone who comps closer to Mcgonigle than Adamczewski and I hopr you are able to get exposure to him before he really hits the mainstream.

Note updated Aug 3, 2026.

211. Cam Smith (OF, HOU)

There is so much talent here and it's hard for me to overlook it despite his very poor stats for close to 200 games now.

We were all pushing for him to get to the big leagues last year but I think Smith is a perfect example of someone who could have benefited from another half year in the minor leagues to ride that momentum into the second half. Jeremy Pena took a couple of years to figure it out and now he's a pretty solid regular and a good dynasty asset. I think Cam Smith's potential is higher than Pena's but I think there's more variance in the outcomes so I wouldn't bank on that necessarily being a set-in-stone result for him.

Note updated May 27, 2026.

214. Vahn Lackey (C, MIN)

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.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

215. Francisco Alvarez (C, NYM)

I feel like everyone had bigger dreams for Francisco Alvarez than what he ultimately turned out to be. He seems like a fine major leaguer and he's a fringe starter in 16-team leagues and greater but he'll never enter that top tier of player. You're never going to want to roster a backup catcher on your team. He just doesn't feel like someone who will amount to very much value outside of two-catcher leagues.

Note updated Jul 13, 2026.

217. Hunter Greene (SP, CIN)

I hate that my previous take ended up coming true:

"There has to be a discount on players that are coming back from injury. I don't care how good Hunter Green looked last year or in spring training but I'm always concerned with young flame throwers and their elbow injuries. Let's see if he proves me wrong in the second half of the season."

I'm not sure if we can bank on him being the same pitcher he was before the injury, especially because this is his second Tommy John surgery. This is the reality of today's game, premium velocity comes with exceptional injury risk. Proceed with caution.

Note updated Aug 7, 2026.

218. Dominic Canzone (OF, SEA)

It just got announced that Canzone is going to be a full-time player for the remainder of the season and I'm very excited to see what he's able to do with regular playing time.

His Statcast profile demonstrates one of the standout skill sets in the league with a 93.0 average EV, 15.7% barrel rate, and xwOBA of .383, the only hurdle to him being a valuable asset is that he hasn't had consistent playing time.

I might be giving him too aggressive of a rank by moving him close to the top 200 but I really do think that he can be a high-average 30-home-run guy in a standout season for him. Even in a worst-case scenario he should still have the power to put up 20+ home runs in a full game sample. I am a big buyer here and he will have a lot of helium in my rankings if he hits the ground running.

Note updated Jul 10, 2026.

220. Juneiker Caceres (OF, CLE)

Drop everything you're doing and go pick up Juneiker before you read the rest of this blurb. Got him? Ok great, I think I just found you one of the best risk-reward prospects in all of baseball right now.

He's not currently on the MLB Pipeline Top 100, which I find so hard to believe because he has put up an incredible season in A ball at 18 years old. He is currently slashing .320/.418/.538 within WRC+ of 153. AT 18 YEARS OLD.

He's still a high variance prospect and he's definitely going to take his lumps over the next couple of years as he develops but he's already got great bat speed and fantastic bat to ball skills. Look at this clip and tell me who he reminds you of (ahem CarGo anyone?).

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zubiyW1WZm4

I think I'm going to be banging a table a lot on Juneiker for the next couple of months before the rest of the industry really picks up on him I hope you are able to pick him up on the cheap today.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

221. Sean Burke (SP, CWS)

Was everyone else aware that Sean Burke was having an absolute breakout campaign? He went into the All-Star break with a 3.41 ERA across 15 starts and has only gotten better over his post-All-Star break starts, with 29 K's in 23 innings to go along with a 1.57 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP.

How is he doing it? One answer might be the he seemingly has one of the most elite fastballs in the game (119 stuff+) that has average velocity but very above-average spin, allowing him to induce more vertical break than average. But he had that same fastball in 2025 when he put up a pretty bad stat line so I don't think it's just that. I think it's the introduction of the cutter (thrown 8% of the time) that is keeping people off balance and giving him a different look off his fastball that's making it play up (are you listening Shane Baz?) along with a half a tick of velocity up to 94.9.

Whatever he is doing, I'm fully bought in on it. He is a fun guy to watch and I expect him to continue to be more valuable as people start to realize that there's a 6'6", 240 lb unit with a monster fastball heading the White Sox rotation.

Note updated Aug 12, 2026.

222. Freddie Freeman (1B, LAD)

Freddie Freeman has one HR since the ASB. With a 37 year old 1B, you have to start to panic at the first sign of a decline as a dynasty owner, and that window may have already passed. The saving grace is at the end of the season his final slash will be respectable (should finish around an .800 OPS) and you may be able to convince another owner there is a little more juice left to squeeze.

Just point another manager in your league to his Savant page covered in red and headshot with his perfect veneers and any trade partner will be putty in your hands.

Note updated Sep 17, 2026.

223. Curtis Mead (3B/1B, BOS)

I really like this landing spot for Curtis Mead and I think he is going to have a very strong second half of the year in Boston.

My real concern with him is his streakiness. He really has put together one fantastic month (July), one solid if not unspectacular month (May), and two pretty poor months (April and June). Part of me wonders if the Nationals really did top tick Meade's value and got the Red Sox to overpay but at the end of the day Curtis Mead is a former top prospect who may have just needed a couple of years to get his feet under him at the big league level. Obviously I don't think this trade happens if Connelly Early is healthy but maybe the Red Sox know something we don't.

It's a great win now move for the Boston team who looks very exciting and is ready to think of an AL wild card race that should be great television down the stretch.

Note updated Jul 27, 2026.

225. Shane Baz (SP, BAL)

Don't look now but Shane Baz has actually pitched really well over the last month. I think he has the raw stuff to be an elite starting pitcher at the big league level and he is getting nothing but opportunities with the Orioles. I think people are overlooking him because he has inflated statistics (1.32 WHIP) for the full season due to a couple of blowups, but he could be a sneaky buy heading into his age 28 season in 2027.

Remember he averages 96 with his fastball and has decent fastball shape, so if he can develop a pitch like his cutter into an a plus pitch then I think it could be very useful next year. He's not gonna strike out the world but if he bumps that K rate up a tick and continues to manage his walks, I think he'll be primed for a breakout that's marginally happening already under the surface.

Note updated Aug 12, 2026.

226. Coby Mayo (3B, BAL)

What, are you going to quit on Coby Mayo now?

I still think that the talent is there. He just needs to stop putting so many uncompetitive balls in play. I'm only ranking this high because I think in two to three years he could end up being somewhat valuable but right now he is effectively useless. Consider him a stash.

Note updated Jun 3, 2026.

228. Justin Crawford (OF, PHI)

Justin Crawford or Chandler Simpson? Chandler Simpson seems to have the overall better statistics but you are probably going to get zero home runs from him on a year-to-year basis. With Crawford I can dream on him getting to the 10 home run mark while still having a similar level of stolen base prowess.

Right now I've got Simpson right ahead of Crawford but if Crawford has a strong second half I can definitely see him moving him up.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

240. Jose Soriano (SP, TOR)

Jose Soriano has come back to Earth in a major way and even though he has a 3.03 ERA, he did the heavy lifting the first month of the year.

He has pretty decent stuff, with a 97 mph average fastball velocity. He will get his swings and misses but he also has a tendency to go for home runs. He strikes me as a better fantasy 3 or 4 than a number 2. If you can find a buyer still anchored to his price after the first month, I would be selling here.

Note updated Jun 29, 2026.

247. Andrew Painter (SP, PHI)

Andrew Painter is the perfect example of why I hate pitching prospects for dynasty leagues. Here’s a guy who looked lost in the first half of the season and getting sent back down to the minors to throwing 7 incredible innings and touching 99 on his last pitch of the day in his last start. If you’re in a 12 team dynasty league, how would you ever hold onto him in the first half of the season after that abysmal performance unless you were in the midst of a deep rebuild? It’s basically impossible to hold onto pictures when they struggle in the big leagues, whereas hitters, you can give them a little bit of breathing room because you can pick attractive matchups and still get some useful stats out of them.

I’m just venting my frustrations right now because honestly Andrew Painter does look really good right now and the bullishness I had when he was a 19-year-old before he got Tommy Jones is coming back again. Just a shame I won’t be the one to experience the upside because I had paper hands and dropped him.

Note updated Aug 23, 2026.

249. Addison Barger (OF, TOR)

I'm getting frustrated with him consistently getting injured, not to be the boomer in the room but sometimes you gotta just play through injuries. Moving him down until he can prove his bones aren't made of glass.

Note updated Jun 29, 2026.

250. Connelly Early (SP, WAS)

Washington trading for Early was actually a very strong signal to me that his elbow issue is not serious and he should come back as strong as ever once he is fully healthy. I don't think there's any way that Washington would trade for him unless they were 100% confident in his medicals and that the opioid rule is no concern.

I love this move for Washington and while I think it is a great win now move for the Red Sox, Early could be a significant piece for the Nationals over the next five years of team control, especially for a team that is looking really strong already with their young core of Wood and Abrams.

I think this is an example of a trade that teams are afraid to actually make because it is so easy to directly compare the results of these two players because they are in similar places in their career trajectory. It's so common for teams to trade a guy who has one year of free agency remaining for a bunch of young prospects and chalk it up to, "Well I guess they didn't work out oh well" if inevitably no one hits, but the package of players is so far removed from the value of that specific player that it's kind of like comparing apples to oranges. You can't get too mad at a fun office for dropping the ball. When a team trades for a guy who is in a very similar career position as the guy they just traded, they know those two players will always be compared and it can either look like a genius move or an embarrassing blunder for the front office.

All this to say I wish there were more trades like this in the MLB and I wish front offices would take more risks to improve their rosters.

Note updated Jul 27, 2026.

253. Justin Lebron (SS, CIN)

I was not that high on Justin Lebron coming out of the draft because I was worried about his large range of potential outcomes. He's hit the ground running in high A, although he hasn't shown great plate discipline with a 24.5% K rate and only an 8.2% walk rate. When you put up a 171 WRC+, you can overlook a lot of bad plate discipline but he has a long road ahead of him. I'm moving him up marginally in my rankings but I still need to see a lot from him before I'm fully bought in.

Note updated Aug 25, 2026.

255. Gage Jump (SP, ATH)

Shout out to reddit user rabidmongoose555 for pointing out the glaring omission from these rankings with Gage Jump. He wasn't top of mind for me because I tend to shy away from pitchers with the athletics in their ballpark right now, but he was definitely worth a second look.

Call me crazy but I feel like I see a little bit of Barry Zito in him, although the curveball is definitely a lot harder than Zito's used to be. The Savant members look very strong as a 23-year-old getting his first taste of Major League action in one of the toughest ballparks in baseball, but I'm staying cautious because it's going to be harder to pitch in that ballpark as the summer goes on. Definitely a good guy to hold on to long term.

Note updated Jun 29, 2026.

257. Spencer Torkelson (1B, DET)

At what point do you throw in the towel? There is some value there but he has not lived up to the hype he has as the number 1 overall pick.

Part of me thinks he might benefit from a change of scenery so if he ever does get traded, I'd be very curious to see how he does initially but until then I just don't think I'm buying into his profile.

Note updated Jun 17, 2026.

260. Didier Fuentes (RP, ATL)

Looked great in spring training and then hit or miss during the regular season, he's someone I'll be closely monitoring but for the time being he probably won't provide much value. Great stash if you have the roster space.

Note updated Jun 3, 2026.

263. Cameron Flukey (SP, DET)

Three pitches already grade as tools most arms never touch for Cameron Flukey: a fastball up to 98, a hammer curveball and a plus slider. The rib injury cost him nearly all of 2026, but it wasn't an arm injury, so I don't think we have to give him any sort of injury discount. The Tigers get one of the best pure arms in the class at 22 overall, a fair discount for the missed development time.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

266. James Tibbs III (OF/1B, LAD)

If James Tibbs wasn't in the Dodgers organization, he would already be up by now. It's a shame because I feel like there are 15 or 20 teams in the major leagues right now that would benefit from having him in their outfield but for the Dodgers he would be a bench bat at best.

Putting up a 143 wRC+ in AAA doesn't automatically mean you're going to have immediate success in the big leagues but I feel like he is deserving of a long leash in 2027. Don't forget he has a 1st round pedigree and the Giants sunk nearly $4.5 million into him in the 2024 draft. I would love to see him get traded and be inserted right into a big league roster in 2027 and have a breakout a la Chase DeLauter, but odds are he will remain in the Dodgers org as a depth piece. If you do see that he gets traded in the off-season, be very aggressive with the offers you make to acquire him.

Note updated Aug 12, 2026.

267. Dalton Rushing (C, LAD)

Sometimes I feel like Dalton Rushing is living in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, where he gets himself into these situations where he comes off like an absolute asshole and it's so obvious to everyone from the outside looking at him except him. But its a fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me situation because I feel like he's done it half a dozen times now and I think he just might be that guy.

From a baseball perspective he's getting an extended run right now with Will Smith being out but I haven't been that impressed by him outside of the torrid start that he had to the season, so when Will Smith comes back, his fantasy value will essentially evaporate. I don't think Will Smith is going anywhere anytime soon either so I don't know what it means for his long-term dynasty value. If he had some runway, I might have him in the top 10 catchers just because I think there is opportunity for improvement. With such an unclear path to playing time, he's not someone I would actively target to build my team around.

Note updated Jul 13, 2026.

269. Spencer Schwellenbach (SP, ATL)

Yikes, Schwellenbach is now undergoing another elbow surgery for he same injury that originally landed him on the IL before the season started. I'm not sure what this means for his value except that there should be a heavy discount on human dynasty leagues heading into the 2027 season. Maybe this is a function of the Braves figuring they can take care of this injury once and for all by undergoing surgery and allowing him to have a whole off-season to heal, but I am not going to be the one holding the bag if this inevitably blows up again.

I'm sorry to all Schwellenbach holders who thought they would get him at the end of the 2026 season. Looks like you're in for a longer road than we initially thought.

Note updated Aug 28, 2026.

276. Eric Booth Jr. (OF, BAL)

I'm inclined to keep the faith on Eric Booth Jr. However I think my initial ranking of him was very aggressive as there are guys who are developing in the higher levels of the minors who look a lot better and I'd be much more willing to trade for Booth.

I am impressed by his plate discipline as he's still rocking a .387 on-base percentage despite a .217 average but with no extra-base hits. I'm worried that it will take longer for the bat to develop than we initially thought.

It's also an important caveat that it's really hard to evaluate guys based on small sample sizes in the minor leagues. Some of these takes are going to look ludicrous in hindsight but I figure it's worth getting this initial read out there and letting people make their own decisions. Don't rub this in my face if Booth all of a sudden becomes a top-end prospect in a couple of years.

Note updated Aug 25, 2026.

278. Jake Bennett (SP, BOS)

Jake Bennett completely flew under the radar for me and I actually had a friend bring him to my attention. Now that Connelly Early is out, I think he could be a very solid rotation piece for the long term.

MLB.com did a cool article on him that is worth taking a look at: https://www.mlb.com/news/jake-bennett-off-to-strong-start-for-red-sox-in-rookie-season

If you guys remember Jay Groome, who was drafted by the Red Sox and the intention for the number one overall pick his draft year, I think Bennett fits the archetype that Groome was always supposed to be. Big, physical, in the zone, great stuff without premium velocity.

Guys like this are great when they're left-handers because they can soak up a ton of high quality innings and never really get figured out the same way that right-handers of similar caliber seem to. I don't think he's going to be like Peyton Tolle with the premium stuff but he's going to be the "soft tossing" version of him (93 MPH AVG FB).

He has a start tonight against the Angels that I'm very excited to watch and see how he performs. It's kind of a soft matchup so I'm hoping he's able to dominate. I'm a buyer here and think he could continue to march up the rankings through the rest of the season.

Note updated Jul 3, 2026.

279. Bryce Miller (SP, SEA)

I'm still relatively bullish on his stuff long term, but he is probably the odd man out with Sloan and Anderson probably in the 2027 rotation (assuming the Mariners pick up his option).

His regression after the all-star break has been significant (7.18 ERA, 6.68 K/9) as he seems to be dealing with a bout of fatigue. I don't see how he's useful in redraft league for the rest of the year, so he is a safe drop in those formats.

So to be honest I am not sure where he fits in next year and how he returns significant value. If you're in a dynasty league and you can afford to stash him, there's probably a world where the Mariners pick up his option and then trade him and he gets an extended run with a new team. I don't know if that's the most likely outcome but it is a pretty good result for his value long term.

Most likely the Mariners pick up his option and stash him in the bullpen or keep him around for the inevitable injury in the rotation where he is the first man up.

Note updated Aug 25, 2026.

284. Daniel Jackson (DH, COL)

Daniel Jackson is kind of doing what I expected him to do in his first taste of minor league ball, with a WRC+ of 203 across 50 plate appearances. His long-term value value for me really is going to come down to whether he sticks behind the plate or not. He's already split his games 50-50 between catcher and DH in A-ball, which I take more as them getting him off his feet after a college season rather than them not believing in his catching ability long-term. The only problem is that he rates as having a pretty good glove so I can them keeping him behind the plate and prioritizing his defensive development over trying to unlock his bat in a corner outfield spot. Teams that do this really are short-sighted because I think the ABS strike zone is only going to become a bigger piece of the game and make catchers skillsets less and less relevant, so a glove-first catcher is not necessarily the most important person to develop.

I think Jackson's gonna be better off moving out from behind the dish but I'm just writing about it, I'm not the one actually developing him in the minors.

Note updated Aug 25, 2026.

287. Michael Soroka (SP, ARI)

Soroka is one of my favorite pitchers that has "broken out" this year (he really broke out a long time ago but those Achilles injuries took a long time to recover from, understandably).

Unfortunately he's on the IL with a glute injury but is expected to be back in the next couple of weeks. A strong finish to this year would make me confident in ranking him inside the top 50 or 60ish starting pitchers heading into 2027.

Note updated Jul 23, 2026.

289. Gage Wood (SP, PHI)

I was really excited to see Gage Woods start the Futures game this year and boy he did not disappoint. Ignoring any sort of stat line, his stuff really jumped off the page for me. With nearly a 13 K/9 across 2 levels in 2026, I think he's got this stuff to compete at the big league level already. I would just like to see him start to get some extended looks out of the rotation so we can see if the stuff holds up outside of short bursts. (Only 55 innings across 16 starts this year). He's definitely one of my favorite pitching prospects in the minors right now.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

292. Bryson Stott (2B/3B, PHI)

I saw this stat about Bryson Stott that is too unbelievable for me to comprehend. That's pretty good company to keep and I thought I would share.

From a dynasty perspective Bryson Stott is what he is. He gets in a pretty good lineup and a pretty good ballpark but he's not going to be excessively valuable. If you're in a true 5x5 league, the stolen bases really help, but I don't think there's much upside from here and this is probably his peak. Enjoy the hot streak while it lasts!

Note updated Aug 12, 2026.

293. Grant Taylor (RP, CWS)

I can't wait to see Taylor get some run in the rotation (if we are lucky enough to see it happen).

Until then, he is a great stash while he waits for the clock to strike midnight on Seranthony Dominguez. He might find himself in the closer role at the end of the year if he doesn't get a chance in the rotation before then.

Note updated Jun 5, 2026.

294. Liam Peterson (SP, CLE)

A slider that touched a 63% whiff rate this spring shows exactly why Liam Peterson can miss bats at an elite rate, and his fastball will run into triple digits. The swing skill is strike-throwing, and until that's fixed his ERA and WHIP will bounce around more than his strikeout totals suggest. Landing with Cleveland at 19 is a solid outcome; if their pitching development group unlocks the command, this is a future dynasty SP1.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

300. Logan Hughes (1B, HOU)

One of my favorite targets from the draft has exploded onto the scene after signing for $3.4 million with the Astros. He has over a 1.000 OPS and a .300 ISO, good for a 198 WRC+. The biggest surprise has been that he's stolen seven bases across 61 plate appearances after stealing six across two years at Texas Tech. I had him profiled as a bat-first prospect that was a liability on the bases and in the field, but clearly that was a bad scouting report as he has some speed to show off.

If that speed holds, I think he becomes a much more visible prospect in the industry and could rocket up leaderboards. I'm moving him up marginally because I was already high on him out of the draft but he's only going to keep getting more valuable as he continues to produce like I expect.

Note updated Aug 25, 2026.

304. Caleb Durbin (3B, BOS)

We need to come up with a name for when a player has all of the crucial elements of their Baseball Savant page being dark, dark blue (except the K and whiff rates) but still manage to be productive contributors both in real life and in fantasy baseball.

Guys who fit into this category are Nico Hoerner, Caleb Durbin, Ceddanne Rafaela, Luis Arraez, etc. and they end up being weirdly valuable as long as your league doesn't over-index on base percentage or slugging categories.

For me when I look at Durbin, I come to one of two conclusions, either I'm way too high on Nico Hoerner or way too low on Caleb Durbin. I think it's definitely the latter because he has been very valuable, is in the prime of his career, and he's overcome a very slow start to be pretty useful in fantasy this year. I like him as a deep league reliable bat that should accumulate a decent amount of counting stats for the remainder of the year.

Note updated Aug 5, 2026.

309. Ralphy Velazquez (1B/OF, CLE)

I'll admit it. I think I was sleeping on Ralphy Velazquez just because I didn't know too much about him but seeing him in the Futures game piqued my interest. I came away very impressed by his bat-to-ball skills and his overall approach at the plate.

He doesn't strike me as someone who will hit for too much power but he could be a high-200s hitter with 15 to 20 home runs. Maybe he ends up slotting it at a corner outfield spot. Not a super high-end prospect but he will play in deeper leagues for sure.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

311. Aroldis Chapman (RP, BOS)

There is a concept in finance called a terminal value, where you assume a company will only be relevant for a couple more years and you have to measure what the potential financial gain can be for the remaining life of the asset.

When it comes to a role in this, the terminal value might be two years; it might be five years. I'd bet on it being closer to two than five but I wouldn't be surprised if he pitches into his early 40s at a super high level.

Note updated Jun 3, 2026.

314. Zion Rose (OF, KC)

The Royals' underslot move to take Zion Rose 6th overall raised eyebrows against his consensus rank in the 20s-30s, but he brings one of the safer hit tools in this class paired with legitimate plus speed, a combo that plays well in AVG and steals categories even if the power stays modest. The bat-to-ball skills and wheels give him a real path to a top-of-the-order fantasy regular by 2029.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

330. Coleman Borthwick (SP, SD)

A mid-90s heater that's touched 98 paired with a wipeout slider is rare enough for a 6'6" prep arm, and Coleman Borthwick already commands both pitches at an advanced level, unlike most prep arms his size. The pitching foundation alone justifies a first-round dynasty look with a long runway to 2030-31, with significant risk baked into being a prep arm that needs a lot of seasoning down in the minors.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

333. Jacob Lombard (SS, MIA)

A 25/25 dynasty ceiling at shortstop is rare, and Jacob Lombard pairs plus-plus speed with real over-the-fence power to get there. The swing-and-miss rate from his showcase summers is the swing skill on the profile, though, and it's steep enough that his hit tool needs real refinement before that ceiling shows up in games. Miami got a top-five talent at pick 14, which only sweetens an already high-variance dynasty stash. However I need to emphasize the high variance that Lombard represents and there's a great chance you're left with nothing. Proceed accordingly.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

337. Noah Schultz (SP, CWS)

I think Schultz is going to get there and I think he's going to be a pretty solid big leaguer but the early starts have been tough to watch.

I think sometimes when you have a guy like this who has been able to get away with such premium stuff in the minors, they get a rude awakening in the big leagues facing big league talent. I am surprised to see that his stuff has not been as premium as we would have expected it. Although I'm willing to write that off to temporary mechanical issues due to his 6'10 frame.

He's not someone I'm pounding the buy button on but I'll be closely monitoring him. If he strings together a couple of starts where you see some real progress, then I'd be willing to re-evaluate.

Note updated May 27, 2026.

342. Luke Adams (1B/3B, MIL)

Luke Adams is one of my favorite fantasy prospects and the value on his fantasy abilities and his real-life abilities is one of the largest that I've ever seen. FanGraphs has him as the 29th (!!!) ranked prospect in the Brewers organization alone. This is for a guy who has a 153 wRC+ and a .394 OBP in AAA this year (136 PA) while hitting a home run every 13 plate appearances.

This might be a very aggressive ranking but we are low enough in the rankings right now to where you don't have to give up a ton to get him on your team and he can be a huge outlier in performance, especially in OBP leagues.

Note updated Jun 29, 2026.

356. Royce Lewis (1B/3B, MIN)

I held on to Royce Lewis so long and finally admitted defeat when he got sent down to Triple A. I deservedly am getting the ultimate payback as he tears up the league since being called back up and looks like the player that made him the number 1 pick and top 25 overall prospect.

Will it last? The underlying metrics don't necessarily think so and I'm inclined to agree that this could be a mirage but if you held this whole time and are finally reaping the rewards, enjoy it while it lasts.

Note updated Jun 17, 2026.

362. Ryder Helfrick (C, ARI)

A rare college catcher with a real carrying tool in game power, Ryder Helfrick backs it up with a Statcast profile that graded in the 90s for exit velocity and barrel rate this spring. The swing-and-miss against spin keeps his average outlook modest, he could carve out a nice role for himself in Arizona. That can be attractive in two-catcher leagues.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

365. Lars Nootbaar (OF, ARI)

The Statcast bandit is back at it again, and this time he seems to be better than ever. Nootbaar is one of those guys who always looks like he should be incredibly valuable but you look at his statistics and you don't understand why Statcast is so high on him.

Unfortunately I'm one of those suckers that's going to continue to fall for it so I would be looking to get shares of NootBar where I can because the 93.7 EV (96th%) and .397 xwOBA (97th%) is just too good to pass up.

Note updated Jun 29, 2026.

366. Ernie Clement (2B/SS, TOR)

I loved Ernie's comment in the World Series last year but really didn't think he had anything to offer from a fantasy perspective so I had written him off this year.

I think there may be some value here, although the surface stats are way out of line with the underlying metrics (.293 avg. vs .255 xBA, .327 wOBA vs .272 xwOBA). I wouldn't go out of my way to get him on your team, but if you were in a really deep league, I think there can be some value here especially with his multi-position eligibility.

Note updated Jun 29, 2026.

369. Dylan Beavers (OF, BAL)

Dylan Beavers has been one of my biggest busts of 2026, because I really thought he was going to come in and be Kyle Tucker light with a full season with bats under his belt. Well he kind of has been Kyle Tucker-lite, However its 2026 Kyle Tucker not the 2019-2024 version of him I envisioned.

It seems like he's just allergic to hitting the ball hard, which is crazy because he came out in 2025 and had pretty strong peripherals. He wasn't crushing the ball by any means in 2025 but he barreled a good amount of balls in play and had a premium launch angle. In 2026 the launch angle has stuck around but the barrel rate has plummeted and he isn't hitting the ball any harder, which is a recipe for 91 WRC+.

I think I'm out on him for a while. I would like to see him improve because I do like his archetype as a player but I just don't think there's enough there to chase right now.

Note updated Aug 12, 2026.

374. Derek Curiel (OF, PIT)

One of the safest hit tools in the 2026 class belongs to Derek Curiel, an 87th-percentile-contact bat who has hit at every stop at LSU, though the power projection tops out modestly and caps his fantasy ceiling. Pittsburgh's pick 5 selection was a mild reach on pure draft capital, and dynasty managers should treat him as a batting-average-and-runs contributor, not a five-category building block. Worth a stash in deep dynasty formats, not a priority grab in shallower ones.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

377. Tegan Kuhns (SP, STL)

A walk rate that got cut in half from year one to year two is the real signal on Tegan Kuhns, who backs a mid-90s fastball with one of the best curveballs in this draft class. He is a strikeout-first dynasty target with WHIP upside if the changeup and slider catch up; if they don't, he still profiles as a high-strikeout reliever. Fair-value pick for St. Louis at 32, ETA 2029.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

380. Tyler Bell (SS, COL)

A torn labrum that will require surgery clouds the early outlook for Tyler Bell, even though the switch-hitting infielder carries real on-base skills and legitimate power. He played through it all season, and the Rockies still took him 10th overall, which I attribute more to the Rockies'lack of direction rather than any clear signal that the labrum was nothing to worry about. He would really fly up the rankings for me when he eventually debuts and gets off to a hot start.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

381. Devin Williams (RP, NYM)

It kind of snuck past me how poorly Devon Williams is pitching this year. Realistically, he is still a decent arm, but compared to his previous standards he has been pretty poor.

He’s about to be 32 years old and pitching for a team that doesn’t have very many wins in the future. In terms of a Dynasty I think there’s a lot of relievers I would want more than him right now.

Note updated Jul 29, 2026.

382. Aaron Ashby (RP, MIL)

Here's a fun trivia question, who leads the league in wins?

If you guessed middle reliever Aaron Ashby of the Brewers, you would be correct!

We all know wins are a meaningless stat but the under-the-hood numbers are what make me really bullish on him. He has a STUFF+ of 121 and a 33.3 K%, with great all around peripherals. I would love to see him get into a high-leverage role or even get back into the starting mix but his value will be unfortunately artificially suppressed until he carves out a more meaningful role for fantasy baseball.

Note updated Jun 17, 2026.

388. Ronny Cruz (SS/3B/2B, WAS)

Ronny Cruz came out of the gates absolutely scorching hot and had more helium than anyone expect for potentially Eric Hartman at the beginning of the year.

Well, good things don't always last forever, because he struggled massively since being called up to High A back in late April and hasn't really gotten his feet under him with just a .172 Avg since July 1st.

I still like the talent and think he has one of the higher ceilings of anyone in the minor leagues, however he is light years away from that potential right now. I'm no longer willing to be the high man on him and driving him down in the rankings considerably.

Note updated Jul 28, 2026.

391. Jacob Wilson (SS, ATH)

In the spirit of "What have you done for me lately" all of a sudden that first percentile exit velocity and bottom 10% barrel rate doesn't look as attractive to me. I'd much rather have someone like Sam Antonacci who achieves a similar result with a more sustainable profile.

The the fact that he's hit seven home runs this year is somewhat compelling, putting him on about a 15 to 18 home run pace for a full season, but I think that is largely supported by the A's home ballpark. I'm not fully out on Jacob Wilson but taking a step back from where I see his value

Note updated Jul 23, 2026.

395. Seaver King (SS, WAS)

Seaver King is a perfect example of the prospect industry's nature to say "What have you done for me lately?" and not giving players a chance to take their lumps in the minors. FanGraphs ranks Seaver King at 30th, not overall but in the Nationals organization.

This is for a guy who was a first-round pick in 2024 and has put up a 138 WRC+ across the two highest levels of the minors this year. Something is not adding up there and I think he will be a pretty valuable asset to the Nationals as early as next year. If people in your league are still sleeping on him, don't be afraid to hit the buy button.

Note updated Aug 12, 2026.

400. Kodai Senga (RP/SP, NYM)

Is Senga going to find new life in the bullpen? Baseball Savant released an interesting article on this and they make a good point, a triple-digit fastball and his forkball are all he needs to succeed out of the bullpen and he can be incredibly dominant. All of this other pitches this year were getting crushed, this is directly from the article:

"In at-bats ending against Senga's sweeper, slider, sinker and cutter, the opposition is hitting .364 with a .742 slugging percentage. For comparison, Barry Bonds slugged .749 while clobbering 45 home runs in his age-38 season in 2003."

So maybe this move is the best for his career. Does it give him a ton of dynasty value? No, not really, because he is still 33 years old and you can't put a ton of faith in closers in general, let alone ones new to the bullpen with a spotty track record and injury history. But I could see Senga being a pretty dominant reliever over the next couple of years and he could probably be picked up effectively for free in the offseason. If you are in a deep enough league, he is a sneaky good add for 2027.

Note updated Aug 25, 2026.

402. Brody Bumila (SP, TEX)

This is a hot take and a very bold ranking but hear me out: Texas drafted Brody Bumila 89th overall despite a top-of-the-class fastball that sits 96-98 and touches 101, plus a changeup that already flashes plus.

A UCL injury revealed right before the draft likely means a second elbow surgery before he throws a pro pitch, making him the highest-variance arm in the class: true SP1 upside if the elbow and slider both come together, replacement-level bust risk if they don't. Stash him in dynasty formats with IL flexibility and be patient. This is a 2031-or-later payoff, but if you're in a league that rewards that kind of commitment, you could be striking gold here.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

405. Taylor Rabe (SP, KC)

It's disgusting that every single guy in this draft seems to flash a fastball at 99 or 100 mph. What happened to the day when there were pitchability lefties who got drafted in the first round?

Rabe could be fine but I don't think he has a crazy ceiling or anything so he's more of a mid-rotation stash for me.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

413. Josh Lowe (OF, LAA)

I've always loved Josh Lowe's skill set and I think he was in his own head in the beginning of the year. I think the demotion was a good opportunity for a mental reset, and he seems to have hit the ground running since returning from AAA. He's hitting over.400 and popped his first home run on Sunday with the big league club so I'm hopeful that he has turned a corner.

His season stats are going to look atrocious but if you look under the hood I think there is still a very talented player there who can be valuable in dynasty leagues. I'm buying here.

Note updated Jun 29, 2026.

416. Ben Brown (RP/SP, CHC)

It's a bummer to see Ben Brown go down with the same neck injury he was suffering from in 2024. I was very pleasantly surprised with his stuff this year and thought there was some helium with his dynasty value until he got hurt.

If you were in a deep dynasty league and rebuilding, I could see taking a flyer on him this year and hoping that he picked up where he left off in 2027 but outside of that I'm not sure how much value he'll provide this year.

Note updated Jul 3, 2026.

420. AJ Gracia (OF, ATL)

The safest bat in this draft class is AJ Gracia, a three-year .350-plus hitter with elite plate discipline and modest, complementary power. He profiles as a high-average dynasty OF instead of a difference-maker, so treat him as a floor pick in FYPDs rather than a ceiling swing. Landing with Atlanta's aggressive player-development system is a mild tailwind for his timeline.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

431. Cole Ragans (SP, KC)

Cole Reigns did not look right to start the year and I was able to trade him for Bryce Eldridge and Cade Smith before the rest of the world caught on. Now it looks like he's going to need elbow surgery and that is going to be a huge hit to his value in the long run. Even if he comes back healthy and dominant, he'll still be on the wrong side of 30 so he will never be as valuable as he was in 2025. Bummer too, because he was one of my favorite guys to watch pitch.

Note updated Jun 29, 2026.

433. Ryan Johnson (SP, LAA)

Here is another example of someone clearly held back by the Angels mismanagement and failure to embrace modern day tools. He doesn't have the same upside as someone like Detmers, but he can be a very useful pitcher in deeper leagues and his strong finish to 2026 will be largely overlooked due to the mediocre stats overall.

He has logged a 1.80 ERA / 0.93 WHIP and averaged 6 innings across his last 5 starts. If he can find a couple more K's and shave a couple of points off his walk rate, he could be a sneaky play for 2027 dynasty drafts. Remember, Johnson is still only 24 years old.

Note updated Sep 17, 2026.

440. Riley Quick (SP, MIN)

River Quick is one of my favorite pitching prospects in the minor leagues. He doesn't have a ton of notoriety so he is probably available in most dynasty leagues right now.

Ross Jensen from Prospects Live is the high man on him, ranking at 64 in his most recent top 100 prospect list and it's easy to see why. At 6'6" and 255 lbs, he's exactly the frame you would want from a front line starter. He's racked up nearly 14 K/9 across three levels this year (51 1/3 innings across 15 starts) with a FB that touches 99. The craziest part to me is that he gets those K's as a sinker baller, which tells me that it's not your traditional ground ball mid-rotation profile and instead can become a legitimate ace if the K's hold.

His profile is not without risk: he walks a ton of guys still (5.26 BB/9 this year), and has not completed more than four innings in a start in the minor leagues. It's possible the stuff progresses as they start to stretch him out and that K-rate goes from a juicy 14 per 9 to a more reasonable 8-9. But in terms of pure upside there are very few pitchers in the minors with his ceiling and these are they type of guys\ you are looking for in these type of prospect lists.

Quick is a huge buy for me.

Note updated Jul 28, 2026.

441. Nasim Nunez (2B/SS, WAS)

Look I'm quicker to discount stolen bases than anyone I know but 34 stolen bases across 265 bats is pretty ludicrous. Unfortunately it's Billy Hamilton-esque because it's one of the emptier stolen bases totals that I've seen. If you're in a deep league, he seems like he's a perfectly fine rosterable guy but I don't think he goes anywhere from here because of his wet newspaper bat.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

447. Evan Carter (OF, TEX)

Talk about a guy who I thought was going to be tearing the cover off the ball at this point in his career and is completely falling flat. In 2023 I would have been paying a premium price to have a guy like Evan Carter in dynasty leagues; however his skill set has evaporated over the last three years.

I'm not sure what to think of him now. He has a 16% walk rate, which is a positive, but I'm not sure why pitchers aren't just going right after him because he hasn't proven anything at the plate in any meaningful way. I'll be monitoring for improvement but he's not someone I'm rostering right now.

Note updated Jun 29, 2026.

448. Trevor Condon (OF, STL)

A 70-grade run tool and a genuinely advanced hit tool make Trevor Condon exactly the kind of outfield talent the Cardinals system needed. The swing produces loud exit velocities but not much air-pulled contact yet, so the power projection is the swing skill for his fantasy ceiling. He's not going to be someone I'm targeting, but if you feel differently I wouldn't blame you.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

470. Bryce Elder (SP, ATL)

I loved the story about Greg Maddox getting involved and helping him with his repertoire but the stuff is so underwhelming that I think this is his absolute peak. He's literally 1st percentile in Stuff+ (85) I can't get on board with that regardless of how well he's able to locate.

Side note: I'm sure people know this but it's worth clarifying, Greg Maddux was not a "soft tosser." He had average to above-average velocity for his era when he first came up. He just had outstanding command and that was always what people focused on. You can't get away with having below-average stuff at any high level when you are multiple standard deviations of stuff below the average.

Note updated Jun 29, 2026.

472. Zac Veen (OF, COL)

I fully bought into the Veen hype train when he showed up 20-something pounds heavier at spring training this year.

He is currently slashing .325/408/.577 at AAA (good for only a 134 wRC+ lol) and popped 12 home runs so I'm not sure why the Rockies aren't giving him a shot right now. I would love for the Rockies to give him an extended run because I think he could be a sneaky 20/30 candidate at the big league level, but I am starting to feel like I did buy into a little too much hype and not enough substance with his spring training story this year. Tentatively holding and would look to buy in the right spots.

Note updated Jun 29, 2026.

478. Daniel Palencia (RP, CHC)

If I was a betting man, I would wager the season is over for Palencia with this elbow injury that just popped up. It's a shame too because he was having a pretty decent season and showing off some pretty good stuff out of the Cubs bullpen this year. 99.8 Avg FB velo will play no matter what other stuff goes with it, but he wasn't a truly elite guy either.

I'll hold just outside the top 300 until we get more news on his elbow injury but if he's out for the year, he's probably moving further down this list for me. Avoid for the time being.

Note updated Jun 17, 2026.

481. Ty Head (OF, BAL)

A 21% walk rate against just a 10.2% strikeout rate at NC State puts Ty Head among the best plate-discipline and center-field-defense profiles in this draft class. The power is fringe and he's never hit .300 in college, but the OBP skill and 26-steal speed give him a real table-setter fantasy path if the glove keeps him in the lineup while the bat develops.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

491. Carson Williams (SS, TB)

I'm really worried about this swing and miss and how it is going to always rear its ugly head at the big league level. His first taste of big league action across 2025 and 2026 has resulted in K rates in the high 30%. That's just not going to cut it unless you have Joey Gallo 80-grade power (and didn't really cut it for him either). He's not someone I would be targeting, especially with him only being a league-average hitter in AAA this year. I would like to see him get some confidence back before I get interested again.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

501. Ben Blair (SP, TB)

Walk rates that belong to a much more experienced pitcher back up Ben Blair's low-slot fastball and legitimate plus sweeper. The profile reads like a fantasy-relevant back-end starter if the delivery holds up to a starter's workload, with the Rays about as good a bet as any org to get him there. He doesn't fit the prototypical Rays mold so I'm surprised by this pick, however the Rays have shown that they're not someone we should doubt.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

518. Gavin Grahovac (1B, LAA)

Contact was the swing question for Gavin Grahovac, and a strikeout rate that nearly halved on return from a shoulder injury is why Razzball flagged him as the class's biggest performance riser. The Angels bought in at pick 81 in Round 3. Fantasy appeal is corner power with modest average upside and zero speed, a fine day-two FYPD target rather than a reach above his No. 53 consensus rank. I wish the Angels didn't take him because I'm so pessimistic on the Angels farm system but he is one of my favorite targets outside of the consensus guys in this draft.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

519. Brandon Woodruff (SP, MIL)

Unfortunately I think Brandon Woodruff's career might be over at this point at least from a dynasty perspective. It looks like he has another injury to his shoulder capsule and you could see it in his last start. He was absolutely laboring into the fourth inning, barely registering in the mid 80s with his fastball. The craziest part is he honestly didn't even look that bad, which is the worst part because you want nothing but success for a guy like him who's gone through so many injuries. To see him continually get set back is just heartbreaking.

Woodruff is the perfect example of a guy who will seemingly compete no matter what his stuff looks like that day. It feels like it's a lost archetype of a pitcher in the modern game. I hope his career is not over and I hope he's able to find some success in his late thirties but at this point the deck is stacked against him. It's not someone we can rely on in Dynasty Fantasy Leagues.

Note updated Jul 10, 2026.

528. Kristian Campbell (OF, BOS)

Unfortunately I think I'm done with Kristian Campbell. This might be held up as the example as why teams shouldn't sign guys to long-term contracts before they debut. I bought low on him last year when I thought his slow start was just a blip and am kicking myself because it's clear there are more significant underlying issues. He only has 3 home runs and 325 plate appearances this year with a 29% K rate. He's just not going to get the job done if he can't figure out how to lift the ball and he's still swinging and missing this much.

Note updated Jul 23, 2026.

531. Caden Sorrell (OF, CHC)

Exit velocities that support a 25-30 homer forecast put Caden Sorrell among the loudest raw power in this draft class, if everything clicks. A strikeout rate in the high-20s against SEC pitching is the real swing factor for his dynasty value, so treat him as a power-and-speed lottery ticket rather than a safe corner outfield asset.

Note updated Jul 14, 2026.

536. Hurston Waldrep (SP, ATL)

Something is in the water in Atlanta because Waldrep and Schwellenbach are both going in for elbow surgeries at the same time, with Waldrep's being TJ. He is expected to miss the full 2027 season and I am not sure how you can put any value on him at all outside of the deepest of dynasty leagues.

I wonder if the Braves got a 2-1 special and that's why they synced up these guys' elbow surgery to happen at the same time. They are the only publicly traded baseball team after all and you got to make sure you're always delivering shareholder value, right?

Note updated Aug 28, 2026.