I was going to do Prospects Rankings Week next week, but I’m too excited to get the FYPD guys in the Rankings and also see where some of the biggest movers will slot in like Florentino and Baez. So this week it is. As usual, I’m going over 300 deep with blurbs for every player on the Patreon. Top 20-ish gets posted for free here on the Brick Wall. First post will drop tom. Catch you then …

-Halp

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–MID-SEASON 2025 TOP 437 DYNASTY RANKS
–JULY 2025 TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS (coming this week)
-TOP 60 2026 FYPD RANKS w/ Analysis & Prime Projections for every player
-TOP 9 MID-SEASON 2025 DYNASTY BASEBALL TARGETS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: JUNE MAILBAG! (July Mailbag coming next week)
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
–SPREADSHEETS

We are at the midway point of the season, and that means it’s time for the Mid-Season Dynasty Baseball Rankings! As usual, I’m going over 400 deep with blurbs for every player. Top 24 free here on the Brick Wall. Previous rankings (May, April, and Off-season) are in parenthesis. Here is the Mid-Season 2025 Top 437 Dynasty Baseball Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–JUNE 2025 TOP 302 PROSPECTS RANKS
–MID-SEASON 2025 TOP 400+ DYNASTY RANKS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: JUNE MAILBAG! (dropped last week)
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-TOP 50 2026 FYPD RANKS COMING SOON
–SPREADSHEETS

1) (1) (1) (1) Shohei Ohtani – LAD, RHP/DH, 31.0 – Finally made his triumphant return to the mound and I would say throwing a career high 98.7 MPH says he’s pretty healthy. He hasn’t given up a single barrel in 4 IP. The Dodgers are majorly slow playing him with super short outings, and I’m sure there is going to be some rust that pops up (the 22.2% whiff%), but it sure looks like he is going to be get back to being an ace. He also has career highs in Barrel% and Hard Hit%, which is just insane. Nobody is taking this top spot from him

2) (2) (2) (2) Bobby Witt Jr. – KCR, SS, 25.1 – Here is what I wrote for Witt in the last update, “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” … and the homer binge came with 6 homers in his last 27 games.

3) (3) (3) (3) Elly De La Cruz – CIN, SS, 23.5 – Here is what I wrote for Elly in the last update, “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” … and then he got hot, slashing .345/.422/.689 with 10 homers, 6 steals, and a 19.3/11.9 K%/BB% in his last 32 games. Elly with an under 20% K rate is downright scary, and it’s down to 25.2% on the season. He’s 5th on that player rater now

4) (10) (11) (10) Ronald Acuna Jr. – ATL, OF, 27.6 – Two torn up knees? No problem. Acuna is back to being straight elite with 9 homers and a .426 xwOBA in 34 games. He’s also started running again with 4 steals in his last 16 games. He’s fully back. Just stop tearing your knees, please

5) (11) (9) (5) Juan Soto – NYM, OF, 26.8 – Soto went from a .745 OPS on May 28th to a .900 OPS today. That was quick, and the underlying numbers never doubted him for a second. The only one even close to Judge’s league leading .462 xwOBA is Juan Soto at .458. Maybe it was me reminding him to get back to pulling the ball in the air like he did in 2024, because his Air Pull% rose from 11.6% at the time of the last update to 14.6% right now. And he’s going shatter his career high in steals as the cherry on top with 9 already (12 is his career high)

Shadow5) (5) (6) (5) Shohei Ohtani – LAD, DH only/Weekly Leagues, 31.0 – This is where I would rank Ohtani in weekly lineup leagues or as a hitter only

6) (4) (5) (6) Corbin Carroll – ARI, OF, 24.10 – Out since June 18th with a chip fracture in his left wrist, but it doesn’t seem very serious and he’s hoping to return in mid July. He was in the midst of a power explosion with career highs by far in bat speed, EV, Max EV and Hard Hit%, leading to a 40+ homer pace. I’m not docking him at all because of the injury

7) (12) (13) (12) James Wood – WAS, OF, 22.10 – I already had Wood as an elite dynasty asset this off-season at 12th overall, and the nuclear explosion I saw coming is here in all it’s glory with a 40/20 pace. His bat speed, EV and Hard Hit are up even more from last year into the true elite range, and he’s been much better on the bases too. I remember when this dude was dropping in FYPD rankings for supposed work ethic concerns, which I ignored and named him a major target. I’ve been naming him a major target every year since, and it’s awesome to see him fully blossom

8) (6) (8) (7) Kyle Tucker – CHC, OF, 28.6 – Epic contract year performance and you know he has it on the mind when he’s racking up steals more than he ever has with 20 steals in 83 games. He’s also on pace to shatter his career high in homers with 17. This is how you do a contract year

9) (5) (4) (4) Gunnar Henderson – BAL, SS, 24.0 – I’m seeing people getting frustrated with Gunnar, but there is no way I’m budging off him very far. The 93.2 MPH EV is a career high and so is the 17.2% Air Pull%. He’s just playing to the low end of his ability right now, and the low end of his ability is still a 125 wRC+ with a 20/20 pace

10) (7) (10) (8) Aaron Judge – NYY, OF, 33.2 – 35.7% K% in June and the man (if we can even call him a mere man) has a .975 OPS anyway. The only reason I have Judge 10th is because of age, because if you are win now mode, you clearly aren’t trading this man

11) (8) (6) (9) Fernando Tatis Jr. – SDP, OF, 26.6 – It’s his 2nd mediocre month in a row, and while the .384 xwOBA is much higher than the .347 wOBA, he has a history of underperforming his underlying numbers. He’s still on a nearly 30/30 pace and he’s crushing the ball with a 93.1 MPH EV, so I still love him, but you gotta nitpick a bit at the top of these rankings

12) (13) (17) (25) CJ Abrams – WAS, SS, 24.9 – Just continues to lock himself into elite to near elite dynasty asset territory, slashing .354/.424/.598 with 4 homers, 6 steals, and a 14.1/8.7 K%/BB% in his last 19 games. The power is leveling up, but it’s been the hit tool taking the biggest jump. And while he’s still not a good SS, he’s been better there than last year too. This is just a young kid improving in every aspect of the game. He took his punishment at the end of last year like a man and came back better than ever, like I thought he would.

13) (15) (33) (64) Pete Crow-Armstrong – CHC, OF, 23.4 – I’ve victory lapped Pete Crow so hard and so often I’m passed out from exhaustion on the side of the road. Are victory laps only supposed to be metaphorical? Am I the only one actually doing them for real? Is the 44.4% Chase% still a tad concerning? Sure. So there is still real regression risk here, but even with regression, the power/speed combo isn’t going anywhere

14) (19) (18) (19) Paul Skenes – PIT, RHP, 23.1 – 2.12 ERA with a 26.9/7.2 K%/BB% in 106 IP. The only nitpick is that the K% is on the low side, but his 29.6% whiff% is actually higher than last year. There is an argument for Skubal to take the top spot, but Skenes hasn’t done anything to lose his #1 spot, and while I’m not as concerned with age for pitchers as I am hitters, he has 5 years on Skubal too. It’s scary for me to rank any pitcher this high, but the young bats after this are showing enough risk themselves to push Skenes over them

15) (24) (24) (28) Tarik Skubal – DET, LHP, 28.7 – He’s better than Skenes. His 33.4/3.4 K%/BB% in 109 IP blow Skenes out of the water. But Skenes has 5 years on him, and that has to count for something on a dynasty list. Skenes is also the reigning champ, and he’s done nothing to get knocked off that top spot. It’s a coin slip, but that’s why I’m sticking with Skenes at #1

16) (9) (7) (24) Oneil Cruz – PIT, OF/SS, 26.9 – The hit tool got him. He has a .167 BA with a 36.5% K% over his last 27 games. But he still has 4 homers and 9 steals over that time. He’s still on pace for like 30/50. And his .238 xBA and career .241 BA in 1,330 PA still gives me the confidence to stay patient through the struggles. His 22.8% Barrel% is 2nd to only Aaron Judge. His 96.3 MPH EV leads all of baseball. I ain’t running scurred after a slump.

17) (14) (14) (14) Wyatt Langford – TEX, OF, 23.8 – The May slump has extended into June and then he hit the IL with an oblique strain. The underlying numbers aren’t saying he’s going full explosion or anything, but they aren’t showing anything wrong either. The hit tool and plate approach haven’t been quite as good as last year, but not in a range to be concerned. I just think this is a young kid going through the ups and downs of a career. Maybe some growing pains. Overall, I still see an across the board beast at peak, so don’t get discouraged here. Stay patient.

18) (18) (15) (13) Jackson Chourio – MIL, OF, 21.4 – Here is what I wrote for Chourio in the last update, “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” … and while he wasn’t exploded yet, we are seeing signs of the come up. He has a .805 OPS over his last 30 games and that xwOBA has risen to a better .301. Even with him not really getting hot yet, he still has 13 homers, 15 steals, and a .254 BA in 83 games. And he’s still just 21 years old It’s a long season, and I’m still betting on the 2nd half heater

19) (16) (12) (11) Julio Rodriguez – SEA, OF, 24.6 – 2022 – .814 OPS pre break vs. .937 OPS post break. 2023 – .721 OPS pre break vs. 941 OPS post. 2024 – .690 OPS pre vs. .818 OPS post. 2025 – .726 OPS pre vs. ??? post … call me crazy, but I’ll keep betting on the post break explosion until it doesn’t happen.

20) (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.

21) (26) (26) (29) Garrett Crochet – BOS, LHP, 26.0 – I wasn’t budging off Crochet even there were some slight signs of regression, and then he went out and put up a 2.68 ERA with a 35.7/5.4 K%/BB% in his last 47 IP. I was going on and on about Skenes vs. Skubal, but Crochet has a case for #1 overall himself

22) (41) (60) (108) Hunter Brown – HOU, RHP, 26.10 – Here is what I wrote about Brown in the Rundowns after his latest start, “7 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 9/0 K/BB vs. PHI. All 6 of his pitches were working, leading to a 79.5 MPH EV against with a 39% whiff%. He now has a 1.74 ERA with a 32.1/7.6 K%/BB% in 98 IP. I ranked Brown 41st overall in the latest update and closed out his blurb by writing, “He’s a no doubt ace, just not ready to put him into that Skenes, Skubal, Gilbert, Crochet, Yamamoto tier … yet” … and I think “yet,” has quite clearly come. At the time of that update, the whiff% was sitting at 26.6%, and now it raised to 28.8%. Brown is in the elite of the elite tier.”

23) (46) (93) (135) Cal Raleigh – SEA, C, 28.7 – Dude is putting up double digit homers every damn month with 10 in April, 12 in May and now 11 in June. He’s not slowing down

24) (58) (39) (46) Junior Caminero – TBR, 3B, 22.0 – Here is what I wrote about Caminero in the Rundowns after he hit his 20th bomb, and he just hit his 21st last night, “ Make it #20 for Caminero with a 106 MPH bomb on a 85.1 MPH swing. That puts him on pace for over 40 dingers. The 8.9 degree launch is low, but when he does lift it, he makes it count with a 21.7% Air Pull% and a 96.4 MPH FB/LD EV. The 20.2% whiff% is down 11.5 percentage points from last year. He might just be ascending to the #1 hit/power combo dynasty asset in the game. Bye bye, Vlad. Bye, bye Rafael. Where have you been, Yordan? There is a new Sheriff in town, and his name is Junior Alberto Caminero.”

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–JUNE 2025 TOP 302 PROSPECTS RANKS
–MID-SEASON 2025 TOP 400+ DYNASTY RANKS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: JUNE MAILBAG! (dropped last week)
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-TOP 50 2026 FYPD RANKS COMING SOON
–SPREADSHEETS

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

 

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:
–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! 

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