Things move fast in the Dynasty Baseball world, and that means there was tons of movement since the last update, even amongst the elite. Hello Pete Crow Armstrong and Zach Neto. Top 27 free here on the Brick Wall. Blurbs for every player. Previous rankings (April and Off-season) are in parenthesis. Here is the Updated May 2025 Top 443 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–MAY 2025 TOP 443 DYNASTY RANKS (5/30/25)
–MAY 2025 TOP 323 PROSPECTS RANKS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: MAY MAILBAG!
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS

1) (1) (1) Shohei Ohtani – LAD, RHP/DH, 30.11 – Over the off-season, Bobby Witt was kinda tempting to put over Ohtani after the shoulder surgery, but that temptation has been completely squashed. There is nobody that can touch Ohtani for this top spot, and it’s not even close

2) (2) (2) Bobby Witt Jr. – KCR, SS, 25.0 – Only 5 homers in 54 games, but poor HR/FB luck is the only problem. He’ll go on a homer binge shortly for sure

3) (3) (3) Elly De La Cruz – CIN, SS, 23.5 – He’s 12th on the Razzball Player Rater and it doesn’t even feel like he’s been playing that well. K% and Whiff% are both down a hair, which locks in that the hit tool isn’t all of a sudden going to tank him. I’m scared to see where he ends up when he actually gets hot

4) (5) (6) Corbin Carroll – ARI, OF, 24.8 – Carroll done messed around and turned into one of the premier power hitters in our game. His power metrics are up everywhere. Bat speed (75 MPH), EV (93.6 MPH), launch (16.1 degrees) … all of them are up considerably and into the elite range. He needed to give up some contact and speed to do it, but we’ll take that trade off all day. I could honestly pick 2 through 5 out of hat be happy with any order

5) (4) (4) Gunnar Henderson – BAL, SS, 23.11 – .902 OPS in his last 27 games. 94.6 MPH EV is a career high. It took him a second to shake the rust off from his delayed start to the season, but he’s clearly just fine

Shadow5) (6) (5) Shohei Ohtani – LAD, DH only/Weekly Leagues, 30.11 – This is where I would rank Ohtani in weekly lineup leagues or as a hitter only, and I honestly wouldn’t argue with you if you wanted to put him at Shadow 1.

6) (8) (7) Kyle Tucker – CHC, OF, 28.5 – .416 xwOBA is a career high and 8th best in baseball. He’s on a career high pace for both homers and steals. The Quiet Killer ain’t going to be so quiet when we see how much he gets paid this off-season

7) (10) (8) Aaron Judge – NYY, OF, 33.1 – Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani are just playing a different game than everyone else. Judge has a .477 xwOBA and Ohtani has a .474 xwOBA. Judge doesn’t run as much, he doesn’t pitch, and he’s 2+ years older, so I can’t place him over Ohtani for dynasty, but if you are going for the title in 2025, Ohtani is the only person I would trade him for.

8) (6) (9) Fernando Tatis Jr. – SDP, OF, 26.5 – He’s cooled off in May but he’s still been crushing the ball so it just looks like an aberration

9) (7) (24) Oneil Cruz – PIT, OF/SS, 26.8 – 25.5% Barrel% leads all of baseball. 78.9 MPH swing leads all of baseball. 18 stolen bases is 3rd best behind only Luis Robert and Bobby Witt. Sure he strikes out too much, but when you are insanely elite everywhere else, I don’t care. The .256 xBA is also better than the .238 BA even with all the swing and miss

10) (11) (10) Ronald Acuna Jr. – ATL, OF, 27.5 – I did not budge very much off Acuna this off-season, and I’m happy I didn’t. It was clear that he was completely healthy as he was destroying the minors, and now he’s destroying the majors with 2 homers in 3 games. The only question is how much he’s going to run

11) (9) (5) Juan Soto – NYM, OF, 26.7 – Soto will be fine. His .428 xwOBA is 4th best in baseball. But I’m scratching my head on why he decided to stop lifting and pulling. His 19.1% Air Pull% in 2024 was well above average and a career high by far, and it resulted in the best season of his career. I assumed it was a conscious decision to aim for that short porch, but he hit more homers on the road than at home, so there was no reason to change anything going into 2025. But now it’s all the way down to 11.6% again. Is it intentional? Was 2024 just an aberration? I talked about it on the May Mailbag Podcast, but I’m scratching my head on why he decided to go back. On the plus side his 7 steals in 52 games is a career high pace

12) (13) (12) James Wood – WAS, OF, 22.9 – I’m fairly certain I was the only person with the guts, the cojones, to rank James Wood over Jackson Chourio this off-season, and while I still love Chourio, it’s really more about how good Wood is. He’s a special talent with a 75.7 MPH swing, 93.7 MPH EV, and 28 fts/sec sprint. Even with a 4 degree launch, he’s the midst of a special season with a .920 OPS and .395 xwOBA. He’s an elite dynasty asset. Simple as that. Also please know when I talk some shit like this, it is done with a smile on my face and in the vein of ball busting with friends. I love the dynasty/fantasy community.

13) (17) (25) CJ Abrams – WAS, SS, 24.8 – I was the high guy on Abrams this off-season. I was buying low based off his little suspension or whatever, and now it’s paying off in a major way. He’s hit the ball harder every year of his career with a 30.7% Hard Hit% in 2022, a 35.9% Hard Hit% in 2023, a 40.7% Hard Hit% in 2024 and now a 44.2% Hard Hit% in 2025. The contact, launch, and speed were already there. He’s a perennial 30/30 guy waiting to happen

14) (14) (14) Wyatt Langford – TEX, OF, 23.7 – He’s been slumping in May but all of the underlying numbers are where we want them to be. 14.5Barrel%, 91.6 MPH EV, 15.3 degree launch, 28.9 ft/sec sprint, 23.8% whiff%, 24.3% chase% … He’s going to be special

15) (33) (64) Pete Crow-Armstrong – CHC, OF, 23.2 – . I ranked Pete Crow all the way up at 64th overall in the off-season Top 1,000 Rankings, starting off his blurb by writing, “Pete Crow Armstrong’s power has been underrated from the time he was drafted,” and ending with “Put some respect on this man’s name. His name is Pete Crow Armstrong, not Pete Crow Armweak.” If you’ve read my work at any point over the last 5 years, you know I have been shouting from the mountain tops to buy PCA. And I can’t even put into words how good it feels to watch this explosion. He’s 3rd overall on the Razzball Player Rater 14 homers, 14 steeals, and a .280 BA. He has a 14.0% Barrel%, 89.6 MPH EV, 23.8 degree launch and 40.9% Hard Hit%, backing up the power gains. His 26.7% whiff% is a career high. The only quibble is a 42.8% Chase%, which yea, that is bad, but I’m not going to harp on it. Mostly because I don’t know how to play the Harp 😉 … but also because everything else looks so great. This dude is made for fantasy. Sure he might regress some, which is why I have him ranked here, and not 3rd overall.

16) (12) (11) Julio Rodriguez – SEA, OF, 24.5 – Only 6 steals in 51 games and he only stole 24 bags in 143 games last year. The ballpark (6 homers on the road vs. 3 homers at home) and launch (7.6 degrees) are preventing a true game power explosion. We know Julio is a slow starter and Julio is still a fantasy beast, but beyond the slow start stuff, there are a couple things here to nitpick

17) (16) (15) Jackson Merrill – SDP, OF, 22.1 – Don’t kill me. Just reporting the facts, ma’am, but that .390 BABIP is doing a lot of the heavy lifting right now. The .394 xwOBA is elite too, but he only has 1 steal in 27 games (maybe you can blame the hamstring injury), the EV, K%, launch, whiff% and chase% are all actually down a hair. I love him and that xwOBA doesn’t lie. The surface stats are great. But just thought I would point some things out I’m seeing while also keeping in mind his sample is smaller because of the injury

18) (15) (13) Jackson Chourio – MIL, OF, 21.3 – Julio Rodriguez is the slow starter King, but Chourio may be coming for that crown with a slow start for his 3rd year in row (2023 came in the minors). I’m not gonna lie, the underlying numbers don’t look pretty either with a .289 xwOBA, 87.2 MPH EV, and 40.5% Chase%, but the bottom line is that you can’t sell low. You can’t panic. My bet is still being placed on a monster 2nd half

19) (18) (19) Paul Skenes – PIT, RHP, 23.0 – He’s not striking out as many guys as we would hope with a 26.2% K%, but you don’t want to slice and dice the numbers too much on a so clearly elite stud. You don’t slice and dice Skenes … Skenes slices and dices you

20) (37) (43) Zach Neto – LAA, SS, 24.4 – Nobody can make me happier than Pete Crow Armstrong, but Zach Neto is a close 2nd. I was the high guy on him from the get go just like PCA, ignored the shoulder surgery this off-season and didn’t budge off him, and now he’s going next level breakout with a 17.5% Barrel%, 93.7 MPH EV, 19.6 degree launch and .399 xwOBA. The 28.4/4.7 K%/BB% doesn’t look great, but the 26.7% whiff% and 25% Chase% both look much better, so I’m not concerned there at all. Neto is blossoming into an elite dynasty asset right before our eyes

21) (19) (18) Jose Ramirez – CLE, 3B, 32.8 – In the midst of another elite season. My rule for elite studs like Ramirez is that you ride them until their age 33 year old season. Only then do you start to consider selling, but even that is based on your team.

22) (20) (20) Bryce Harper – PHI, 1B, 32.7 – .392 xwOBA is in the top 10% of baseball. And he’s on a career high stolen base pace with 8 steals. Still elite even if the surface stats don’t quite show it right now

23) (21) (22) Francisco Lindor – NYM, SS, 31.6 – Will once again be knocking on the door of 30/30 for his 3rd season in a row

24) (24) (28) Tarik Skubal – DET, LHP, 28.6 – 2.7% BB% leads all qualified starters. 35.0% K% is 2nd amongst all starters, trailing only MacKenzie Gore. Velocity is up even more from his career high marks last year at 97.7 MPH. 35.8% whiff% is silly elite. Hard to say that he’s not the best starter in baseball, but Skenes still has the age edge, and pitchers are still just so much more risky than hitters

25) (41) (31) Rafael Devers – BOS, 3B, 28.7 – Career high 17.2% Barrel% and 94.8 MPH EV, to go along with a .945 OPS can basically put an end to the shoulder worries. On the other hand, he’s going to lose 3B eligibility and he refuses to play 1B (for now), so being DH only will definitely be annoying for fantasy roster construction

26) (26) (29) Garrett Crochet – BOS, LHP, 25.11 – He’s not as dominant as 2024, but I’m not going to argue with a 2.04 ERA and 29.8/8.0 K%/BB% in 75 IP too much. The stuff is down a tick, the whiffs are down a tick and the walks are up a tick, but this is still a young ace

27) (27) (37) Yoshinobu Yamamoto – LAD, RHP, 26.10 – He was great in year 1 and he’s even better in year 2 with a 1.97 ERA and 30.5/8.1 K%/BB% in 64 IP. His splitter is the most valuable splitter in baseball by a decent margin

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–MAY 2025 TOP 443 DYNASTY RANKS (5/30/25) 
–MAY 2025 TOP 323 PROSPECTS RANKS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: MAY MAILBAG!
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

It’s time for the Dynasty Rankings to get the ole’ refresher. Enjoy your Memorial Day, and then bright and early on Tuesday you will get hit with the first part of the Updated Rankings on the Patreon. I’m going over 400 deep with blurbs for every player. Top 20-ish gets posted for free here on the Brick Wall. Enjoy the day. Catch you tom …

-Halp

It’s the first Prospects Rankings Week of the 2025 season, and as usual, I’m going over 300 deep with quick blurbs for every player. I wanted to focus on prospects still in the minors, so if you are in the majors, you are ineligible. Top 15 free here on the Brick Wall. Here is the Top 323 May 2025 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–APRIL 2025 TOP 437 DYNASTY RANKS (4/25/25)
–MAY 2025 TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL MAILBAG! 

1) (5) Roman Anthony – BOS, OF, 21.0 – His weaknesses are still present with a 30.9% whiff%, 47.5% GB%, and poor base stealing skills (3 for 5), but a 96.5 MPH EV cures a lot of ills. Like all of the ills. He’s going to be a beast, although one other thought, Nick Kurtz actually had a very similar profile to Anthony at Triple-A, and we are seeing an adjustment period for Kurtz, so I wouldn’t be shocked to see one for Anthony. Either way, Anthony is the top dog still in the minor leagues, and with Casas’ injury, he feels closer than ever to getting the call

2) (12) Jordan Lawlar – ARI, SS, 22.10 – Lawlar has a real case to be the #1 prospect still in the minor leagues. He’s a great base stealer (12 for 13), he makes more contact than Anthony (25.7% Whiff%), and he lifts it more (36.2% GB%). He doesn’t hit it nearly as hard, but a 89.1 MPH EV and 44.7% Hard Hit% ain’t bad at all. When he’s healthy, like he is now, he’s a stud. He’ll probably have to wait for 2026 to get a true full time role though, taking over for Eugenio Suarez at 3B.

3) (8) Leodalis De Vries – SDP, SS, 18.7 – De Vries took the top spot in my Predicting the 2026 Top 50 Prospects Rankings (Patreon) this off-season, and he’s right on schedule, slashing .309/.400/.593 with 4 homers, 3 steals, and a 15.6/13.5 K%/BB% in 22 games at High-A as an 18 year old. The reason he took that top spot over other worthy prospects is that he has no issues lifting the ball with a 28.8% GB%, so there will be no awkward swing changes, or “he needs to lift more” conversations down the line like we are now dealing with Jordan Walker.

4) (15) Sebastian Walcott – TEX, SS, 19.2 – Walcott makes for an interesting discussion. Would you rather someone be a destroyer of worlds at age appropriate levels, or be extremely young for the level while merely holding their own. Walcott is once again holding his own being extremely young for Double-A, but 2 homers with a .245/.363/.372 triple-slash in 25 games doesn’t exactly blow you away. On the plus side, he lowered his groundball rate to 30%, which is big to see, and the 21.2/14.2 K%/BB% is impressive considering the age. He’s an elite prospect, but I do think it brings up an interesting discussion of how to evaluate these guys

5) (9) Walker Jenkins – MIN, OF, 20.2 – With literally all of the super fun lower minors prospects blowing up and living up to the hype, it’s so sad to see Jenkins have to watch from the sidelines. He’s been limited to just 2 games with an ankle sprain that recently required a cortisone shot and is expected to keep him out until June. You can’t sell low on a talent like this, but he definitely seems to get injured a lot.

6) (20) Bubba Chandler – PIT, RHP, 22.8 – I don’t see how you can go with anybody but Chandler for the top pitching prospect in the game. He has a 1.42 ERA with a 39.6/7.7 K%/BB% in 25.1 IP at the highest level of the minors. The fastball sits 98.2 MPH, he induces weak contact, he has a diverse pitch mix, and he’s a whiff machine. Painter has looked a tad rusty at Single-A. Bubba is running away with the top spot

7) (18) Josue De Paula – LAD, OF, 19.11 – The game power is ticking up with 4 homers in 26 games at High-A, the plate approach remains elite with a 13.2/19.3 K%/BB%, he’s still running with 5 steals, and he crushes the ball. Can’t wait for him to be tested at Double-A, because he’s doing everything we asked of him at High-A right now

8) (32) Jesus Made – MIL, SS, 18.0 – Treating Single-A like it’s the DSL, slashing .305/.400/.476 with 3 homers, 8 steals, and a 21.1/11.6 K%/BB% in 20 games. He was worth every last bit of the hype. We’re gunning for the elite studs in dynasty, and now that he’s doing it in full season ball, there are not many players I would want to trade Made for.

9) (34) Felnin Celesten – SEA, SS, 19.8 – Slashing .333/.394/.462 with 2 homers, 6 steals, and a 16.3/9.6 K%/BB% in 22 games at Single-A. The GB% is down from 64.9% in 2024 to 46.1% in 2025, which is huge to see, although he’s still not lifting and pulling a ton. Regardless, he’s in the next wave of elite prospect, and quite frankly, he’s nearly there already

10) (23) Chase Burns – CIN, RHP, 22.4 – I was pretty much all in on Burns already this off-season, ranking him in a group of ace pitching prospects and ranking him high on FYPD Rankings, and now he went out and proved he deserved that lofty status, destroying High-A and Double-A with a 2.61 ERA and 41.3/7.5 K%/BB% in 20.2 IP. Upper 90’s gas with a devastating slider is his game, while also mixing in a curve and change. He doesn’t have the track record of Bubba, he hasn’t done it at Triple-A, and Cincy is a terrible place to pitch, but the stuff and early results are his equal.

11) (10) Andrew Painter – PHI, RHP, 22.1 – Here is what I wrote about Painter in the latest Dynasty Baseball Rundown: “4 IP, 3 hits, 3 ER, 2/0 K/BB at Single-A. Am I the only one who is a tad underwhelmed by what Painter is doing at Single-A? He hasn’t been bad. He has a 3.97 ERA with a 26.7/2.2 K%/BB% in 11.1 IP, but where is the 30%+ K rate? Where is the under 3 ERA? Maybe I’m being too harsh as he’s still shaking the rust off from Tommy John, but even in this last outing, the fastball wasn’t that impressive, sitting 95.4 MPH and putting up a 5% whiff%. The cutter and slider were whiff machines, and his control is obviously on point this year, but I feel like he should be blowing Single-A hitters away. I’m probably being too harsh, but that’s just what I’m thinking right now.” … he just got the call to Triple-A, so hopefully he comes out guns blazing, rather than talking about him needing to shake off more Tommy John rust

12) (25) Marcelo Mayer – BOS, SS, 22.4 – 7 homers with a 21% K% and 91.3 MPH EV in 28 games at Triple-A. He’s handling his business, and with Casas out for the season, another spot in Boston just opened up. Maybe it goes to Anthony though, or maybe they still call up neither.

13) (13) Samuel Basallo – BAL, C/1B, 20.8 – .200 BABIP is the only issue. He’s crushing the ball and the 19.6/12.5 K%/BB% looks excellent. Baltimore is crowded, but a guy like Basallo, who has a shot to be one of the top hit/power prospects in the league has a way of forcing the issue. He’s only 20, so there really isn’t a rush right now

14) (37) Jac Caglianone – KCR, 1B, 22.3 – Cementing his status as one of the top power hitters in the minors with 6 homers, a 23.4/12.1 K%/BB% and 156 wRC+ in 27 games at Double-A. He’s a 6’5”, 250 pound defensive end. His homers just hit different … literally

15) (6) Matt Shaw – CHC, 3B/2B/SS, 23.5 – A poor MLB debut just puts such a damper on an exciting prospect, but so many players struggle in their first taste or two or the bigs, that you have to stay patient with prospects you believe in, and I believe in Shaw, weird batting stance and all

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–APRIL 2025 TOP 437 DYNASTY RANKS (4/25/25)
–MAY 2025 TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL MAILBAG! 

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

The Updated Top 437 Dynasty Baseball Rankings dropped on the Patreon 2 weeks ago, and now it’s time to turn out attention to the diaper dandies. That’s right, it’s the first Prospects Rankings Week of the 2025 season! I’m going over 300 deep with quick blurbs for every player. Full Rankings will be on the Patreon with about a Top 20-ish free here on the Brick Wall. First post drops tomorrow. Catch you then …

-Halp

*PSA — I have been doing these monthly updates for a long time now, and April is always the month that I look back on and regret the most. I lean more towards being aggressive and reactive in fantasy, so I want my rankings to reflect my strategy, but inevitably, I look back on the April Rankings and there are always a few rankings that look way out of place where guys don’t maintain the breakout. Did I learn from my mistakes? No. Hah, but I’m also not sure it is a mistake. Being aggressive and owning the next young breakouts are where you make your bones in dynasty, so I think it’s worth taking the extra risk. Either way, please use these rankings responsibly, and understand you may want to be a bit more conservative with your strategy. The Top 27 is free here on the Brick Wall. Blurbs for everyone. Here is the Updated Top 437 2025 Dynasty Baseball Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–APRIL 2025 TOP 400+ DYNASTY RANKS
–UPDATED TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS COMING SOON
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS
–TOP 10 2026 FYPD RANKINGS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL MAILBAG! 

1) (1) Shohei Ohtani – LAD, RHP/DH, 30.11 – Did you think shoulder surgery was going to slow this man down? Remember when at the least he wasn’t supposed to run as much? He’s got 6 homers, 5 steals and a 150 wRC+. And he’s going to get back on the mound at some point mid-season. Do you really want to bet against him there either?

2) (2) Bobby Witt Jr. – KCR, SS, 24.11 – Locking in the 2024 leveling up with an almost identical .402 xwOBA

3) (3) Elly De La Cruz – CIN, SS, 23.4 – The whiff rates and chase rates both continue to trend in the right direction, which is what we needed to see to feel comfortable that the swing and miss isn’t going to come back to bite him

4) (4) Gunnar Henderson – BAL, SS, 23.10 – Just starting to shake the rust off from his delayed start to the season. I think the 97.6 MPH EV says he’ll be fine

5) (6) Corbin Carroll – ARI, OF, 24.7 – Carroll vs. Gunnar has been a debate since they were ranked either #1 or #2 by just about every prospect outlet in 2023. And since then they have been swapping places every year. Will it happen again this year with Carroll blowing up to start the season with his bat speed up to elite ranges (75 MPH) and the EV up with it to 93.1 MPH? The whiffs (30% whiff%) and Chase (36.6%) are way up too, so I want to see a bit more before jumping him back over Gunnar. But it could be coming, and maybe not just over Gunnar.

6) (9) Fernando Tatis Jr. – SDP, OF, 26.4 – I’ve been unwilling to fade Tatis even when so many started to get lukewarm on him, and he’s showing why with an insane start to the season backed up by the underlying numbers. And the best part is he’s running like wild with 7 steals in 21 games (11 steals in 102 games in 2024)

Shadow6) (5) Shohei Ohtani – LAD, DH only/Weekly Leagues, 30.11 – This is where I would rank Ohtani in weekly lineup leagues or as a hitter only

7) (24) Oneil Cruz – PIT, OF/SS, 26.7 – Welcome to true elite dynasty asset territory Oneil Cruz!!! Cruz has been a target for me for a few years now, and I named him a buy high Target this off-season. He’s going full blow up in 2025. He’s on pace to go like 40/80 right now. hah … insane. And he’s actually been unlucky with a .393 xwOBA vs. .356 wOBA. Even the plate skills are improving with a 26.8/15.9 K%/BB%, and we know about the beastly power (19.6% Barrel%, 93.5 MPH EV, 78.1 MPH swing). This dude is in rarified air.

8) (7) Kyle Tucker – CHC, OF, 28.4 – The Quiet Killer has a 176 wRC+ with 6 homers and 4 steals in 24 games … shhhhhhhh

9) (5) Juan Soto – NYM, OF, 26.6 – Soto got paid and now he’s just chillin, content with a 6.2% Barrel%, rather than the 19.7% he put up in his contract year … nah, I’m just playing. He’s never had a wRC+ under 143 in his career. He’ll be fine. He just doesn’t run as much as the guys ranked ahead of him

10) (8) Aaron Judge – NYY, OF, 33.0 – .499 xwOBA leads all of baseball amongst qualified hitters, and while I thought he would be far and away ahead of the pack, there are actually a few guys pretty close (Alonso, Tatis, Aranda!, Rice!). He’s already 33 years old, so that has to ding him in a general dynasty ranking

11) (10) Ronald Acuna Jr. – ATL, OF, 27.4 – Everything seems to be going well in his rehab and he’s expected return at some point in May

12) (11) Julio Rodriguez – SEA, OF, 24.4 – Of course he’s off to a slow start again with a .188 BA. Cleary hold. We know the drill. But honestly, it’s almost not even worth the aggravation. He has to be the most annoying elite dynasty asset to own ever.

13) (12) James Wood – WAS, OF, 22.8 – I’ve been the high guy on Wood since he was born, and I didn’t blink this off-season ranking him 12th overall. He’s fully backing up his elite dynasty asset status with an elite 75.4 MPH swing, 19.3% Barrel%, .398 xwOBA and a 26.3/12.8 K%/BB%. The launch has been coming up of late too. The only quibble is that he hasn’t been a great base stealer (3 for 5 this year), which keeps him out of truly exploding into the Top 10

14) (14) Wyatt Langford – TEX, OF, 23.6 – Carrying over the big 2nd half of the season right into 2025 with a 11.1% Barrel%, .376 xwOBA and 17.3/11.5 K%/BB% in 13 games. He’s firmly establishing his elite status

15) (13) Jackson Chourio – MIL, OF, 21.2 – Not having the next level blow up quite yet, but I’m getting the sense he’s really more of a 2nd half player anyway. He got off to a slow start in 2024 and even in 2023 in the minors too. And even his “slow start” is damn good with a 12.3% Barrel%

16) (15) Jackson Merrill – SDP, OF, 22.0 – He was locking in his elite dynasty asset status before the hamstring injury with a 22.6% Barrel% and .497 xwOBA in 10 games

17) (25) CJ Abrams – WAS, SS, 24.7 – I knew not to buy into that late season suspension as anything other than a blip on the radar. He came into 2025 with added muscle and was in the midst of a power explosion (4 homers with a 16.1% Barrel% and 92.8 MPH EV) before going down with a hip injury. He’s got more than a few 30/30 seasons in his future

18) (19) Paul Skenes – PIT, RHP, 22.11 – His whiff rates really aren’t in that wild crazy elite ace range with a 25.5% whiff% (28.7% in 2024), but that is definitely nitpicking with a 2.87 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, and 25.4/3.4 K%/BB% in 31.1 IP. Without the crazy whiff and K rates though, it’s really not such a no brainer to have him as the top dynasty pitcher in the game. There are other really, really good candidates

19) (18) Jose Ramirez – CLE, 3B, 32.7 – He’s not on pace to go 40/40 again, but that is an unreasonable expectation. He more or less looks like himself. No signs of decline yet

20) (20) Bryce Harper – PHI, 1B, 32.6 – Still elite with a .910 OPS and .409 xwOBA. And he’s running a ton with 5 steals in 22 games

21) (22) Francisco Lindor – NYM, SS, 31.5 – Blasted 2 homers yesterday and is having his normal excellent season

22) (16) Yordan Alvarez – HOU, OF, 27.10 – .280 wOBA vs. .376 xwOBA. He has a 94.1 MPH EV. He’ll be fine

23) (17) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – TOR, 1B, 25.7 – Not gonna lie, I wish he hit more homers with only 1 homer in 23 games, but the .422 xwOBA is elite. Considering he doesn’t steal many bases, the 30-ish homers he’s hit the past 3 seasons feels a tad light. Just nitpicking, I know

24) (28) Tarik Skubal – DET, LHP, 28.5 – Skenes, Skubal, Crochet, Gilbert and Yamamoto are in the top tier of dynasty aces right now, and they are quite hard to separate. There are good arguments for all 5 of them. I’ll keep Skenes in the top spot for age, but honestly, I could pick the order of these 5 out of a hat and be fine with it

25) (32) Logan Gilbert – SEA, RHP, 27.10 – He had the ace breakout in 2024, and now he’s somehow leveling up even more with a 2.63 ERA and 38/5.6 K%/BB% in 27.1 IP. The 38.1% whiff% backs up the K rate. I don’t think he’s going to keep this up obviously, but if there were any doubts about him being a true ace, there aren’t anymore

26) (29) Garrett Crochet – BOS, LHP, 25.10 – Locking in the 2024 breakout with a 1.13 ERA and 28.5/8.1 K%/BB% in 32 IP. The reason he stays in 4th behind Skenes, Gilbert, and Skubal is that the walk rate is up a tad, and the fastball velocity is down 1.5 MPH to 95.7 MPH

27) (37) Yoshinobu Yamamoto – LAD, RHP, 26.9 – Yoshi is taking it up a notch in year 2 with a 0.93 ERA and 35.2/6.5 K%/BB% in 29 IP. He’s firmly in the conversation for top dynasty pitcher in the game

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
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By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

The first Updated Dynasty Baseball Rankings Week is always the toughest because we are still working with small samples, but the wheeling and dealing, and decision making, never stops in dynasty, so we gotta make decisions based on something. I’m going over 400 deep with quick blurbs for every player. Full Rankings will be on the Patreon with about a Top 20-ish free here on the Brick Wall. First post drops tomorrow. Catch you then …

-Halp

I’m on hour 10 of “Awaken Your Psychic Abilities” YouTube music and tones video, and the visions of the future have now been revealed to me. I swat away the next big stock risers. Winning Lotto numbers? Who cares. How to avoid WWIII? I’ll figure that out later. I only have future third eyes for what the 2026 Top 50 Dynasty Baseball Prospect Rankings will look like … and it’s beautiful. My regular rankings are where you should look to make your real team decisions, as this list has nothing to do with me. I am just a mere vessel for the baseball gods 😉 Top 8 free here on the Brick Wall. Here is the Predicting the Top 50 2026 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings which doubles as a Bold Predictions article:

1) Leodalis De Vries – SDP, SS, 19.6 – It’s going to be the Chourio, Holliday, Langford conundrum all over again with three legit #1 overall worthy prospects sitting atop the rankings. They will be ordered in every which way possible on all of the different rankings sites out there, and who should be #1 overall will be the dominant off-season debate going into the 2026 season. I will be extremely high on all 3 in my 2026 Top 1,000 Dynasty Rankings, ranking them 23rd, 24th and 25th overall, and will sweat out all off-season if I made the right decision with going De Vries first. I was so far correct about having Chourio first overall out of that above group, so I will stick to my guns with Leo as the top dog, even though most places will have Jenkins or Walcott first. De Vries ability to lift the ball will be the difference maker for me.

2) Walker Jenkins – MIN, OF, 21.1 – Jenkins will continue to be in absolute lock step with Kyle Tucker’s career arc. He actually recently talked about how he viewed 2024 as a down year for him. The only thing he didn’t do in 2024 was hit homers. He will be a man on a mission to hit dingers, and like Tucker, he will hit 20+ homers split between High-A and Double-A. He will rank 1st overall on most mainstream prospect lists.

3) Sebastian Walcott – TEX, SS, 20.1 – I will fight every urge in my body to once again say that I was the first guy on Walcott, and will just bury those feelings deep down as he gets ranked 1st on other lists, while everyone asks me why I hate Walcott so much for only having him 3rd. Such is the life of a prospector. You either die a hero, or live long enough to be the low man on the guy you were actually the high guy on when it mattered. Walcott will continue to show off the charts tools that lap even De Vries and Jenkins, but his game will still be slightly raw compared to theirs, having me leaning him as the 3rd head of the 3 headed monster.

4) Konnor Griffin – PIT, OF, 19.11 – Griffin will have the explosion that everyone who passed on him in first year player drafts feared he would have. The hit tool concerns will be overblown as he maintains an under 25% K% at Single-A, and the power/speed combo will shine with 16 homers and 48 steals in 102 games. He’ll basically be the 2026 version of the 2025 version of Sebastian Walcott. Off the charts tools and a better than expected hit tool.

5) Justin Crawford – PHI, OF, 22.3 – Crawford’s GB% will improve for the 2nd year in a row, coming much closer to the semi reasonable 50% mark, and that will be all he needs for his speed, contact, and raw power to do the rest. He will get a small taste of the majors to close out the season where his groundball rate will spike again, but the raw power, speed, and contact rates will lock in his special talent. It will be Carl Crawford 2.0.

6) Felnin Celesten – SEA, SS, 20.7 – Celesten will finally stay healthy for long enough to establish himself as the truly elite prospect. His explosive athleticism and raw power will dominate the lower minors, which he will combine with a strong plate approach, leading to a 141 wRC+ at Single-A before closing out the season at High-A with a 123 wRC+. The groundball rates will still be high, but they will be closer to the 50% mark than the 60%+ he put in 2024. He’s going to be a hype beast.

7) Roki Sasaki – LAD, RHP, 24.5 – I don’t want to believe it either, but Sasaki will feel elbow soreness in May, hit the IL, and then succumb to Tommy John surgery with an internal brace procedure after throwing 33.2 IP in the majors. He’ll be under the 50 IP threshold, so he’ll be back on prospects lists, even though he shouldn’t have even been on them in the first place. That is just the life of a flamethrowing pitcher. Don’t kill the messenger.

8) Braylon Payne – MIL, OF, 19.7 – Payne will prove his small sample pro debut, and now small sample Spring debut too (140 wRC+ with a 33.3% GB%, 66.7% Pull% and 20%/20% K%/BB% in 5 PA) were not a mirage, and it will become obvious that this is a special talent. The K% and GB% won’t be nearly as bad as feared pre draft, the power will continue to tick up, and the speed will be elite. This will be an unassailable elite prospect.

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By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

It’s time to turn our attention to the other side of the equation, run prevention. They are a fickle, volatile, injury prone bunch, but those are also the attributes that make it so fun (and easy-ish) to find underrated breakouts all over the place. Top 5 free on the Brick Wall. The Top 500 Prospects Rankings are dropping next week and the full Top 1,000 Dynasty Rankings will drop the week after that. But first, here is the Top 305 2025 Starting Pitcher Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
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Dynasty Team Reports on Patreon (free ones listed in parenthesis)

Atlanta Braves—Baltimore Orioles—Boston Red Sox (free)—Cincinnati Reds–Chicago Cubs (free)—Chicago White Sox—Cleveland Guardians—Detroit Tigers—Kansas City Royals—Los Angeles Angels—Los Angeles Dodgers (free)—Miami Marlins—Milwaukee Brewers (free)—Minnesota Twins—New York Mets (free)—New York Yankees (free)—Oakland Athletics—Philadelphia Phillies—Pittsburgh Pirates—San Diego Padres—Tampa Bay Rays—Texas Rangers—Toronto Blue Jays—Washington Nationals (free)

1) Paul Skenes – PIT, RHP, 22.10 – While this is far from the most impressive part of Skenes game, I’ve just been having a lot of fun diving into the new bat tracking data, and of course Skenes ranks towards the top of those leaderboards as well. The disparity amongst pitcher’s induced swing speed is obviously much less than the disparity between hitters, but I still find it interesting. Skenes had the 8th best swing speed against amongst qualified pitchers at 70.9 MPH. The only qualified starter to induce slower swings was Chris Sale, and Will Vest led of all baseball amongst qualified pitchers. That’s just the cherry on top of his elite profile. He throws a 6 pitch mix, and all of them range from above average to elite. His 94 MPH sinker was the most valuable sinker in baseball with a +18 run value. His 98.8 MPH 4-seamer notched a +6 run value, the curveball notched a +2, the sweeper was at +5, the changeup at +2, and while the slider was his only negative value pitch at -2, that was only because he got unlucky on the pitch with a .229 xwOBA. He combined that filth with plus command which led to a 1.96 ERA and 33.1/6.2 K%/BB% in 133 IP. He’s the easiest #1 dynasty pitcher in the game ranking I’ve ever made since  … 2024. Spencer Strider was a damn easy call last off-season, and he’s a perfect example of the only thing that can go wrong, injuries. Pitchers break, and pitchers who throw upper 90’s seem to break even more. You can’t play scared, and you need good pitchers to win, but it’s why I can’t rank any pitcher higher than around Top 20-ish overall on the Dynasty Rankings. They are just inherently too risky. – 2025 Projection: 15/2.77/0.98/227 in 185 IP

2) Tarik Skubal – DET, LHP, 28.4 – I was all in on Skubal’s 80.1 IP explosion in 2023, ranking him 59th overall on the 2024 Top 1,000, and placing a futures bet on him to lead the league in strikeouts ($10 to win $800). He not only led all of baseball with 228 strikeouts, but he was also the #1 fantasy pitcher in the game with a 2.39 ERA and 30.3/4.6 K%/BB% in 192 IP. His 96.8 MPH fastball was up another tick from last year and was the 4th most valuable 4-seamer in the game. His changeup is elite with a 46.1% whiff%. His 96.6 MPH sinker was the 24th most valuable sinker in baseball. And his slider was above average. Tack on elite control and you have one of the very best pitchers in baseball. It really wouldn’t be crazy at all to have him above Skenes as the top dog. – 2025 Projection: 16/2.82/0.96/220 in 185 IP

3) Garrett Crochet – BOS, LHP, 25.9 – Paul Skenes is the no doubt #1 dynasty pitcher in the game. I’m not arguing that … buuuuuuuuuuuut … what if Crochet is actually better than him? He put up a better K% (35.1% vs. 33.1%), BB% (5.5% vs. 6.2%), Chase% (33.5% vs. 30.9%), and a much better whiff% (33.0% vs. 28.7%). His 97.2 MPH 4-seamer put up a 31.4% whiff% while Skenes’ 98.8 MPH 4-seamer put up a 24.2% whiff%. Crochet’s cutter put up a 32.7% whiff% while Skenes’ sinker notched a 29.3% whiff%. Crochet’s sweeper notched a 42.7% whiff% while Skenes’ sweeper notched a 22.6% whiff% and his curve notched a 33.7% whiff%. They are both beastly athletes. I described the 6’6”, 245 pound Crochet as a WWE Ballerina in my March Mailbag Podcast. With Chicago, he couldn’t touch Skenes in wins, but he’s in Boston now, and just judging who is the better pitcher, I wouldn’t be so sure the answer is Skenes. Now, Skenes dusted him on ERA (3.58 vs. 1.96), and even though their xERA’s were much much closer (2.83 vs. 2.50), I do think that matters. Crochet also has more of a track record of control problems than Skenes does. Like I said, Skenes is the undeniable #1 dynasty pitcher in the game … but maybe … he won’t be at the end of 2025. Crochet ranked 29th overall on the Top 200 Sneak Peek of the 2025 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings. – 2025 Projection: 15/3.03/1.03/230 in 170 IP

4) Logan Gilbert – SEA, RHP, 27.9 – While everyone was focused on George Kirby, waiting for Kirby to turn into a true ace, Gilbert was putting in the work in the shadows, and he emerged as the one to enter true ace territory in 2024. He put up a 3.23 ERA with a 27.4/4.6 K%/BB% in 208.2 IP. He led all of baseball in IP. His 31.7% whiff% is in elite territory for a starter, and his walk rate was in the top 5% of baseball. Elite control, swing and miss, and durability is a Teflon combination. And that isn’t even it. He throws gas with a 96.6 MPH fastball. His splitter is insanely elite with a 50.6% whiff% and .137 xwOBA. His most used pitch is a plus to double plus slider with a 36.8% whiff% and .264 xwOBA. And he has yet another plus secondary in his curve with a 35.4% whiff% and .210 xwOBA. He also throws a useful cutter, giving him a very diverse pitch mix. He straight up doesn’t have a flaw. He has a very very real case to be the top fantasy pitcher and the game, and also possibly the top dynasty pitcher in the game. – 2025 Projection: 15/3.18/0.98/209 in 200 IP

5) Roki Sasaki LAD, RHP, 23.5 – Sasaki and his people pulled whatever back room deals that needed to be pulled and got him coming stateside this season, which is insanely exciting, because there is little doubt that he will be a true ace right from the get go, and possibly the best pitcher in all the land. He’s better than Yamamoto, and you saw Yamamoto’s seamless transition, other than the shoulder injury. But that injury might have pushed LA to a six man rotation, which works just fine for Sasaki. His fastball sits in the upper 90’s and regularly hits over 100 MPH. The splitter is truly elite and the slider is plus. He has prototypical size at a projectable and athletic 6’2”, 187 pounds, and he has plus control/command of his stuff. He’s been so insanely dominant in Japan that he has basically already hit legend status with so many crazy feats, and he’s only 23 years old. He put up a 2.35 ERA with a 28.7/7.1 K%/BB% in 111 IP this year. He was even better in 2023 with a 1.78 ERA and 39.1%/4.9% K%/BB% in 91 IP. As you can see, the biggest and only red flag is injuries, as he has a career high of 129.1 IP. He battled an oblique injury in 2023 and right arm discomfort in 2024. The right arm discomfort is particularly concerning because his stuff was actually down a tick or two this year. It was still beastly, but would any of us be surprised if Tommy John/internal brace surgery was right around the corner? You can’t be too scared off by that, because even if he needs it, he should still return as an ace. He’s so easily the top pick in First Year Player Drafts, and he has a very real argument to be the top dynasty pitcher in the game. – 2025 Projection: 12/3.06/1.04/175 in 150 IP Prime Projection: 16/2.72/0.92/240 in 185 IP

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-A TOP 200 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2025 TOP 1,000 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS (full Top 1,000 coming soon)
-2025 DEEP DYNASTY POSITIONAL RANKS: Top 78 C–Top 83 1B–Top 98 2B–Top 109 3B–Top 154 SS–Top 260 OF–Top 305 SP
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Dynasty Team Reports on Patreon (free ones listed in parenthesis)

Atlanta Braves—Baltimore Orioles—Boston Red Sox (free)—Cincinnati Reds–Chicago Cubs (free)—Chicago White Sox—Cleveland Guardians—Detroit Tigers—Kansas City Royals—Los Angeles Angels—Los Angeles Dodgers (free)—Miami Marlins—Milwaukee Brewers (free)—Minnesota Twins—New York Mets (free)—New York Yankees (free)—Oakland Athletics—Philadelphia Phillies—Pittsburgh Pirates—San Diego Padres—Tampa Bay Rays—Texas Rangers—Toronto Blue Jays—Washington Nationals (free)

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

This post is a collection of strategies and thoughts from my 2025 Dynasty Baseball Team Reports. Some were free and most were on the Patreon. I wanted to collect them in one easy to read post. Also make sure to check out my previous strategy articles if you haven’t read those already, linked to below. Here are my 19 Dynasty Baseball Strategies/Thoughts for 2025 (A Collection from the 2025 Dynasty Baseball Team Reports):

Strategy Articles from Previous Years
11 Dynasty Baseball Rules to Live By from 2019
10 (More) Dynasty Baseball Rules to Live By from 2021
Top 10 Trade Negotiation Techniques (Patreon only)
16 Dynasty Baseball Strategies/Thoughts for 2023 (A Collection from the 2023 Dynasty Baseball Team Reports)
20 Dynasty Baseball Strategies/Thoughts for 2024 (A Collection from the 2024 Dynasty Baseball Team Reports)

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
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-TOP 146 2025 FYPD RANKS (+FYPD Target & Strategy Guide)
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-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: END OF SEASON MAILBAG!
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1) The little man discount has been one of the most profitable discounts over the years in Dynasty Baseball. I get it, because when you are watching a prospect, the ones who are massive human beings with insane tools are so very easy to identify and drool over. And I sure as hell love those unicorns as well (see my Kevin Alcantara blurb), but that doesn’t mean you should discount the truly electric little guys. Sure, if the EV data doesn’t back them up, discount away, but when the EV data does back them up, there is no reason to be so skeptical. Little man Corbin Carroll (5’10”) was my 3rd ranked FYPD prospect in his draft year because his EV data was impressive, and he still dropped to 16th overall in the draft. I remember when Carson Cistulli, formerly of Fangraphs, was extolling the virtues of the 5’9” Mookie Betts from before I was writing when nobody else was. The 5’9” Jose Ramirez was a target of mine when I was just playing the game of dynasty, not writing yet, and sure I didn’t keep him after his lackluster 2015 season, missing out on the beginning of his breakout in 2016, but clearly I was onto something. And no, throwing Ramirez back into the player pool before his breakout definitely doesn’t still eat at me almost 10 years later. Definitely not ;). Back to current day, just like Carroll, Matt Shaw fell to a way too low 13th overall in his draft year, and he’s still a bit underrated. Jett Williams is another worthy little man discount pick, as is Slade Caldwell in this year’s first year player draft. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, and until the right little men start getting valued correctly, I’ll keep on scooping those little cuties up at that discounted price.

2) I thought it would be fun to dive into some of the new bat speed data Statcast hooked us up with this season. The first and most obvious thing to jump out is that the top of the rankings are littered with the top power hitters and hard hitting players in baseball, often coming with lots of strikeouts. And the bottom of the rankings are littered with the best contact hitters in baseball, often coming with little to no power. But the real question is if a slow bat automatically eliminates you from hitting for power, and the answer to that is no, there are more than a few exceptions to the rule like Mookie Betts, Isaac Paredes, Marcus Semien, Will Smith, Jose Altuve, Jeimer Candelario, Cody Bellinger, Adley Rutschman, and Ozzie Albies. But as you can see, even with those guys, their power can be kinda variable from year to year. And there are not many of them on the bottom third of that leaderboard. And in fantasy especially where power rules the day, it’s clear that there is a definite advantage to going after guys who swing a fast bat. Some fun names at the top of those rankings to possibly target this season are Oneil Cruz, Garrett Mitchell, Jordan Walker, Jhonkensey Noel, Matt Wallner, Junior Caminero, Jo Adell, Jasson Dominguez, Zack Dezenzo, Tyler Soderstom, Trey Sweeney, Heliot Ramos, Triston Casas, Wilyer Abreu, Lawrence Butler, Hunter Goodman and Addison Barger. And here are some less fun names at the bottom of the rankings where it would seem to indicate a real power breakout might not be so easy: Nolan Schanuel, Jacob Wilson, Brooks Lee, Anthony Volpe (hmmm, uh oh, you better get back to lifting and pulling), Keibert Ruiz, Andrew Benintendi (I only include Benintendi because of course Benintendi is on this list, and of course Bo Bichette has below average bat speed too, who I started to comp to Benintendi’s career arc unfortunately), Bryson Stott, Brice Turang, Jake McCarthy and Andres Gimenez. Of course some of this is a choice. Guys who “swing for the fences” are going to swing faster, hit for more power, and strikeout more. Guys who swing slower are going to make more contact, but not hit for as much power. So I don’t think bat speed is necessarily a completely sticky thing if a player decides to change his approach to hit for more power or contact. We’ll have to keep an eye on this in future years as we continue to build on this data to see how often that happens exactly, and how often it’s successful. Really cool to have this data at our fingertips now.

3) There is no doubt that the renewed efforts of MLB trying to crack down on players lying about their age is very interesting as a baseball fan, and just interesting in general. And there is also no doubt that age is a major factor when evaluating young players, and you see that with teams pulling their offers to some of the players who got caught. But at the end of the day (and the beginning of the day), it’s just not an area that I am looking to dive into and try to parse through. If your gut is telling you a player is older than they claim, feel free to make that gut call and move that player down your rankings, but even if my gut was telling me a player was older, I just couldn’t trust it enough to really act on it. I have to evaluate the player as their official age, and I have to rank them based on their official age as well. That’s just how I’m choosing to play it, and as I wrote in the Eduardo Tait blurb, this isn’t a new thing (remember Danny Almonte?). It’s how I’ve always been playing it, and I don’t think I’ve been burned by it too bad, although I guess I wouldn’t even know if I did. Ignorance is bliss 😉

4) For even the most iron willed dynasty owner, it is a major gut punch when a prospect you love gets the call to the majors, struggles hard, and then gets sent back down to the minors. When it happens to an elite or near elite universally hyped prospect, it’s much easier to stay level headed and hold strong, but when it happens to a good, but not necessarily great prospect it can be much tougher to hold on. Trade value plummets for the non elite guys, and you start to question if their team truly believes in them, thinking they might not get another chance so soon. But let us use Lawrence Butler (and Parker Meadows too) as a lesson to not let a demotion rattle us if we still believe in a player’s skillset. Even elite prospects can struggle in their first taste or two of the majors, so certainly we need to give some grace for non elite ones as well. How to apply that for this season? Well, Ben Rice is staring us right in the face. Rice is not an elite prospect, but he is a relatively well liked one, and he took almost the exact same Butler path in the majors with great underlying numbers (15.6% Barrel%) and poor surface stats (.613 OPS in 173 PA). Admit it, you are questioning how much the Yanks really believe in him and if he will get another chance. I get it, because I am too, but I’m going to use Butler and Meadows as my pillars of strength to not be so quick to give up on Rice. I still like him long term, even with the Goldy signing.

5) While others may shy away or not trust the small sample MLB debut, I love going after it, because it creates a perfect combination of being proven on the MLB level and still being very underrated. Of course we all love the safety of a larger sample, but the larger the sample, the more everyone trusts it, and the more everyone trusts it, the less value there is. Pitchers in particular are great small sample targets. The list of pitchers to get called up, look extremely good in a few starts, and still take months to get the respect they deserve is extremely long. You just have to look at the value you could have gotten on Spencer Schwellenbach earlier in the season when I called him a major target extremely fast. Sean Burke is the target this applies to this off-season. Burke ain’t Schwellenbach, but you get my point. It’s worth it to stick your neck out just a bit to acquire these guys, because the payoff can be huge.

6) It’s no secret that I enjoy a good victory lap like Wade Boggs on horseback taking a victory lap around Yankee Stadium after beating the Braves in the 1996 World Series. Like Boggs, I also eat chicken before I write every article, and I also drink 107 beers on a flight before going 2 for 3 with 2 doubles just hours later. Come to think of it, maybe that was CJ Abrams problem. Not that he partied until 8 am, but that he went 0 for 3 right after that. Dude, we all know that if you are going to be a rebel, you better produce. Maybe he did deserve that punishment after all ;). Now where was I? Oh yea, victory lapping. While I do believe in celebrating your hits, I also believe in taking the walk of shame for your misses, so after horseback victory lapping James Wood and half ass victory lapping DJ Herz in the Washington Nationals Team Report, let’s kick off the first Dynasty Thoughts/Strategy section of the off-season by finding lessons in who I consider to be my biggest miss, Shota Imanaga. I had Imanaga pegged as a good, but not great MLB pitcher, giving him a projection of 11/3.91/1.22/175 in 160 IP. He ended up going 15/2.91/1.02/174 in 173.1 IP. I believe where I went wrong was that I overrated fastball velocity, and while to my credit, the 91.7 MPH fastball actually didn’t miss that many bats (17.5% whiff%) or induce weak contact (91.2 MPH EV with .327 xwOBA), it was still a positive value pitch with a 52% usage rate, and it came with elite control, an elite secondary (splitter), a diverse pitch mix, and a history of ace production in the 2nd toughest league in the world. I shouldn’t have let a low 90’s fastball blind me to how good and established the rest of the profile was, and also to the fact that the fastball was still pretty good despite the low velocity. This wasn’t my only miss, but I believe that every other miss I had, my process was good and I don’t regret my take on them. Imanaga is the only one where I’m disappointed in my evaluation, and I will be taking those lessons with me headed into 2025.

7) I didn’t plan on releasing my Angels team list on the same day that Fangraphs released their Angels list, but that is just how it fell. I actually love comparing and contrasting all of the different team lists that come out all around the same time. It’s interesting to see how value can change drastically based on a real life list vs. fantasy list. And it’s most interesting to see how each evaluator has their own biases, their own way of evaluating what a player will look like a few years down the line, and their own tools/skills/production which they weigh more or less heavily. In order to get the most value out of an evaluator’s list, it’s important to have some insight into their individual style. I definitely try to make it a point to let you in on that style. And you only have to have been reading me for like 5 minutes (see the Nolan Schanuel blurb) to know my biases, which is power/speed upside for days, hit tool risk be damned. I could give the scouting report on other evaluators and list their biases, but I don’t think that is my place. I will leave that up for you to decipher, and many of those other sources will also be clear about how they value certain things. So when you are looking at different lists, the ordinal number is only one part of the evaluation. Knowing why an evaluator may be higher or lower on a player due to how they lean in their evaluations can give better context into that ranking. I hope I convey that in my write-ups and projections, so regardless of where a player ranks, if you are looking for a certain profile (safety, hit tool, plate approach etc …), you don’t necessarily have to get caught up in a low ranking.

8) I find there is a constant push and pull between do I bet on the prospect who has an excellent hit tool, and needs to add power, or the guy who has monster power, but needs to improve the hit tool. Obviously it’s a case by case basis, but I do find prospectors generally end up in one camp or the other. Historically, on real life lists, plate skills used to rule the day, and guys with risky hit tools would get pummeled in the rankings. But even on real life lists, that has started to change over the years, and fantasy lists aren’t the same as real life lists anyway. Upside rules the day in the vast majority of fantasy leagues, whereas safety is much more valuable for a major league team. That is why I always leaned towards the power first, hit tool later profiles, rather than the other way around. But it’s completely reasonable to lean the other way too, and when looking at the top dynasty assets, it’s actually pretty even on where the top breakouts came from. Judge, Ohtani, Witt, Tatis, Elly, Gunnar, Carroll, Yordan are all players who had elevated strikeout rates in the minors to varying degrees and are now elite dynasty assets. Mookie, Jose Ramirez, Lindor, Tucker, Vlad, Soto, Turner, Devers all took the other path of hit tool first. You can argue how cleanly those players fit into those categories, but my point is, there are multiple ways to skin a cat, and there are multiple ways to build a successful dynasty team. My advise is that you can have a lean to one side or the other (like I mentioned, and like you know, I lean power first), but you should still mix and match with different profiles in your minor league system. For one, you never know who a potential trade partner is going to prefer, and it’s also nice to diversify the system a bit with different player types.

9) Does any sport tinker with the ball, the rules, the uniforms, the size of the equipment (bases), etc … more than baseball? I’m not even saying that I hate it. It’s kinda fun honestly that they are willing to try new things out for the betterment of the game, and overall, I think the changes they have made have been a net positive. So while I’m down for it, it makes preparing for every new season a whole lot more complicated. In last year’s Chicago Cubs Team Report Strategy Section, I wrote in part, “Jumping off from the Bellinger blurb, MLB changes the baseball every damn year, and I’m not even 100% sure they are truly in complete control of every change, as my understanding is that they manufacture new balls for every season. The juicier 2023 ball allowed mediocre exit velocity bats to come alive and be impact MLB hitters, but those type of hitters hold more risk coming into 2024 because we can’t be sure how the ball will play until we actually see it.” And right on cure, the ball was less juicy, and Bellinger went from 26 homers in 130 games in 2023 to 18 homers in 130 games in 2024. How will the ball play in 2025? Who the hell knows. I don’t even think MLB knows. Enter Brandon Sproat and Quinn Mathews, who were two big breakouts who saw their numbers drop off a cliff with the MLB ball at Triple-A. Triple-A is the only minor league level to use the MLB ball. The ball isn’t the only change for these young pitchers, so it’s hard to just isolate that one factor. Joining a new team, new league, new city, new home ballpark, and it being the very end of a long season are also complicating factors. My instinct is to not ignore the drop off in production, but also not to put too much weight on it. Sproat and Mathews are still extremely exciting pitching prospects, but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t in the back of my mind. Keeping up with all of the different balls and rule changes is just part of the game now.

10) Not so much a strategy or thought here, but the more I think about it, the more I’m kinda digging Sawyer Gipson Long. He very well might be freely available in many leagues, and you might be able to use an IL spot on him too depending on your league setup. Or just as a free stash in your minors. His MLB debut was no joke. That type of swing and miss is quite rare, even in 20 IP. His 28.5/6.1 K%/BB% in 341 minor league IP is really damn impressive too. He never got the respect he deserved, even from me, and even after that strong debut. I think a lot of people have more or less moved on from him, making it a perfect time to acquire him for nothing or probably almost nothing. If fully healthy, which is obviously a risk, it could be an extremely small gamble for a pretty big payoff.

11) I’ve already patted myself on the back for my futures bet of Tarik Skubal leading the league in strikeouts, and I nailed my Pittsburgh Pirates Wins Over bet, but my Cincinnati Reds Wins Over bet was a disaster the second their entire team started dropping like flies in March, and now is the time for me to take my Walk of Shame on that. Those were literally the only 3 future bets I made (with some Pirates and Reds WS bets sprinkled in just for long shot funsies), so overall it was a good showing, but the plan was to go perfect (at least on the Pirates and Reds wins bet), so I do have a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. If you would have told me that Hunter Greene and Elly would have the years they just had, I would have assumed the Reds were maybe one of the best teams in baseball, but baseball is a team game, and it didn’t play out like that. I could bemoan the injuries/suspensions and make excuses, but that is part of gambling, and a loss is a loss. I was absolutely perfect on these team O/U bets going on 3 years now, but this is a reminder that no matter how much it looks like a lock, anything can happen. Only bet what you can afford to lose. It is for entertainment only.

12) It’s extremely easy to get tunnel vision with pure player evaluation when making decisions in dynasty, but supply and demand should often be the driver of your decisions instead. How I rank players in my FYPD rankings, is the same order you will find them on my overall Top 500+ Prospects Rankings, which is the same order you will find them on my Top 1,000+ Dynasty Baseball Rankings. I try my darndest to give truly actionable rankings/content that fully incorporates how dynasty leagues operate in practice, rather than just in theory, and I know that when that point comes in a dynasty draft (usually around Top 400-ish area) where the supply of MLB starters dries up, especially MLB starters with some upside, it’s a feeding frenzy to grab them before they are gone. That is why Hye-seong Kim slots in high on my FYPD Rankings. Players like Kim who have a path to a full time job, and have some upside, are much more valuable to grab than one of the many, many, many high upside lotto ticket prospects you can grab later on. It’s just simple supply and demand. Kim doesn’t have the upside of many of the bats I have ranked after him on the FYPD rankings, and he definitely may come in and be underwhelming, but I still believe he’s worth taking the shot on at that point in the rankings. And I do personally like his profile too as a hit/speed/defense play. You have to take into account the environment of your league, and what is a bucket of player where the supply is limited (guys with jobs) vs. what is the bucket of player where there is plenty of supply (high upside prospects). This will change league to league though. In shallow leagues, low end MLB starters might be very easy to pick up all season, whereas high upside prospects are only available in a FYPD and they can’t be picked up during the season. That will change the equation for sure. Even in a shallow league though, I still think Kim has the skillset to make an impact. Regardless, you get the point. Make sure you understand what is hard to acquire in your league, and what is easy, and then slant your decision making process to best take advantage of that.

13) Evaluating Angel Genoa reminded me of a question I got asked on my August Top 327 Prospects Rankings Update from Zach Alexander. He asked, “Do you ever feel pressure to rank guys highly that are rising on everyone else’s rankings?” And I thought my answer could give at least some insight into my thinking on a guy like Genoa, who I don’t particularly love, but is also getting a lot of real life list love: “The short answer is yes, partially because trade value is a huge factor in dynasty when it comes to prospects especially, and arguably is more important than holding prospects, or at least equally important. So if someone is getting tons of hype that isn’t my favorite type of profile to go after, I might not rank him as the high guy, but they still deserve a solid ranking. And also partially because I’m human and if a ton of sources I respect love a guy, there might be something there that I’m undervaluing. But overall, I 100% make an effort to rank with a mind of my own and that is something I’ve done from my very first ranking. And something I constantly preach which is to have a mind of your own and value prospects with a mind of your own especially. I have no issue being low on guys (like Gabriel Moreno when he was getting elite mainstream love), and especially love being high on underrated, underhyped guys. Hitting on underrated, under ranked studs is definitely my favorite part of the game (like Mark Vientos).” … and beyond just ranking, this is also how I play the game. I won’t reach for a guy getting lots of real life love, but if they drop far enough, I know that I should be able to get solid trade return on them down the line. So even if I like another prospect more than them, I still might pull the trigger for trade value alone.

14) Low upside college bats are by far the least interesting bucket of player in first year player drafts for me. College bats are old enough where you can’t project very much upside on a player who has yet to show it. Even with hit tool first, lower upside high school bats you can dream of a possible power breakout in their age 19/20/21 year old season. With college bats, those seasons are already behind them, and the big power breakout didn’t come. Not to say it’s impossible to find untapped upside in your mid to late 20’s, we certainly see it often, but it’s not something to bet on when you are trying to strike gold. I always pack the back third of my FYPD Rankings with the mystery that is high priced international signings, and if your minor league system is deep enough, which it likely is if you are wading deep into the FYPD waters, why not take a shot on pure upside. Go for the high school bat or international prospect, even in deep leagues. You don’t need nine million prospects. It’s okay for a bunch of them to bust to clear out your system and then restock with the next group of lotto tickets. Because hitting on one of those lotto tickets, like Jesus Made, can be a franchise changer. Hitting on Griff O’Ferrall might not even leave a dent on your team.

15) After what Garrett Crochet and Reynaldo Lopez did this year (and Michael King too really), I foresee a feeding frenzy on relief to starter transitions during draft season in March. And since we live in a copy cat world, MLB teams might be more apt to make that transition with some of their leading candidates in the bullpen. Even with the increased attention that is likely coming their way, it will almost certainly still be an excellent category to find value in. Crochet and Lopez paid off humongously this year. Jose Soriano is still sliding under the radar as a very successful transition. Jordan Hicks and AJ Puk were two other popular transition picks who didn’t pay off, although Hicks still put together a solid year, and Puk just went back to being an elite high leverage reliever. Not the worst outcomes. Even with a pushed up price, it is worth going after these guys. I already named Aaron Ashby a major target in the Milwaukee Team Report, and a recent Jeff Zimmerman article just quoted Milwaukee brass as saying they still view him as a possible starter. That is huge. Adrian Morejon is another great candidate, and unlike Ashby, he has a path to a rotation spot out of Spring. It was already announced that Clay Holmes will make the transition, and I’m in for it. I will keep an eye out for more of these targets, but the best candidates become obvious pretty early on in Spring Training. Don’t underrate these guys when we find out who they are even if they feel pricier than last year’s candidates. There is enough value on that bone.

16) One of my main goals when naming targets is to find potentially core dynasty baseball assets at reasonable or cheap prices. I lumped Henry Davis in a “target tier” with Jordan Westburg and Parker Meadows last off-season. Westburg was the big hit there, Davis was the big miss, and Meadows landed somewhere in between. All of them should have come relatively cheap or at a reasonable price in your dynasty league. The goal isn’t for 100% of them to hit. That would be unrealistic. The goal is to hit on enough of them, and then the ones that don’t hit, you move on from and take a stab at another potential breakout. Now I know a lot of this is in theory. In practice, every league is different. I managed to scoop Westburg for free in my 12 teamer, and now he’s a core piece. In my 18 teamer, I had to trade 3 years of Bryan Woo for 7 years of Henry Davis where I desperately needed a catcher, and well, I’m kicking myself for that deal. Giving up Woo wasn’t “cheap,” and I still desperately need a catcher. As I mentioned in the Davis blurb, I don’t regret my process or take on Davis, but the lesson I’m taking away from his miss, is to make sure you really are acquiring these “underrated” young targets at the right price. If you start to reach too high, it eliminates a lot of the value you are hoping to get from them in the first place, and if they do bust, it hurts more than it should have.

17) I find that rostering steals only types creates more problems than they solve. For one, you only need to win the category by one steal, so blowing other teams out in steals doesn’t help you at all. And because you don’t want to overdo it with steals, it forces you into player acquisition choices (draft and trades) that might not really be optimal long term decisions. I already target balanced power/speed combos first and foremost, so I’m generally building a team that will compete in steals without rostering a steals only guy. They would really be overkill, so it’s not someone I would want to start often anyway. And in points leagues and leagues that have 6+ hitting categories, these types of players have even less value. So it’s not that I don’t think a prospect like Chandler Simpson or Enrique Bradfield can be valuable if they get playing time, it’s that I don’t think their value fits into my team building strategy. If you build differently, or you inadvertently ended up with a team that is extremely power heavy, then they might make more sense for your squad.

18) Man, I wish I had the Marlins in my dynasty leagues, giving up nearly elite upside starters (Jesus Luzardo) for light hitting speedsters (Caba and Body). I thought Caba was getting a bit overrated (certainly for fantasy), and obviously Philly didn’t view him as untouchable either. If you can pull the same sell high move for Caba that Philly just did, I would jump on it. As all dynasty owners know too well, I bet you there is another team out there going, “they sold Luzardo for that? My offer was 3 times better than that!!” hah. Also, hasn’t Miami acquired enough of these guys with Xavier Edwards, Otto Lopez, Jared Serna, Max Acosta, Javier Sanoja, Vidal Brujan, and more. I mean, how many of them do you need? How about targeting some impact. I get they have more value in real life, but still. I’m probably being overly harsh as it’s not like Caba and Boyd are devoid of upside,  but they have 6 total homers in 314 career games between the two of them. As for Luzardo, he was already one of my favorite bounce back targets in 2025, and I like him even more now that a good team was willing to trade for him.

19) I find it fitting to close this 2025 Collection out with what I wrote the day after Thanksgiving in the Kansas City Royals Team Report: “Considering it’s Thanksgiving break, I thought it would be fitting to use this section to give a MONSTER thank you to each and every one of you. When I started Imaginary Brick Wall back in December 2015, I had absolutely zero expectations, other than I wanted to write about what I loved, and hoped that I would attract readers that had those same passions. I wrote (and podcasted) for free for 5 years, and while I only got a few hundred views when I first started, even that was insanely cool to me. In my book, that meant I could officially call myself a writer! I again had zero expectations when I started the Patreon in 2021, and I can’t put my gratitude into words to see how many people wanted to support my work. It truly means so much to me, and I never take it for granted. I pour my passion and heart into every single piece of content I put out, and I will continue to do that until the day I hang up the keyboard, which will hopefully be never. I want to write until the day I leave this Earth, and thank you so much for allowing me to do that.”

Strategy Articles from Previous Years
11 Dynasty Baseball Rules to Live By from 2019
10 (More) Dynasty Baseball Rules to Live By from 2021
Top 10 Trade Negotiation Techniques (Patreon only)
16 Dynasty Baseball Strategies/Thoughts for 2023 (A Collection from the 2023 Dynasty Baseball Team Reports)
20 Dynasty Baseball Strategies/Thoughts for 2024 (A Collection from the 2024 Dynasty Baseball Team Reports)

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By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)