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Baltimore Orioles—Kansas City Royals—New York Mets (free)

1) Vahn Lackey – MIN, C, 21.9 – Selected 3rd overall, Lackey is my #1 pick for First Year Player Drafts, and while of course it’s not an easy choice, the man just doesn’t really have a weakness. He checks every box while the other options simply don’t check every box. He has the plate skills with a 13.4/17.7 K%/BB% and .397 BA in 61 games in the ACC. He then stepped into pro ball and put up a 19.4/22.6 K%/BB% in 25 games split between Single-A and High-A (170 wRC+ at High-A). He has power with a junior year power explosion where he both upped his exit velocity significantly and upped his launch, leading to 20 homers. And then he did it again in pro ball with 3 homers, a 31.8% GB% and 43.1% Pull%. He’s got size at 6’2”, 215 pounds. He’s young for the class and will be 21 years old for the 1st half of 2027. And the true separator is that he has legit speed and athleticism, nabbing 15 bags in college and then 13 bags in pro ball. This is a college bat that literally does it all. Cholowsky doesn’t have the stolen bases that Lackey has. Emerson doesn’t have the lift/pull and he’s not nearly as proven as Lackey. If you want to throw Burress in there, Burress doesn’t have the size. Flora is a pitcher. Lombard has hit tool risk. You get the point. When you dive into all of the ingredients, Lackey has all of them, and not only that, the potential to be impact in all of them. Taking a catcher 1st can be a bit controversial for fantasy, but if you don’t have a good catcher right now, or an old one, or you are in a deep league, or a 2 catcher league, him being a catcher is a big bump for me. And if this dude actually keeps running, which playing catcher can definitely impact that, he’s going to be difference maker from even the other top young catchers, as none of them steal bags like that. Getting steals from a position nobody else is getting steals at can be the type of x-factor that gives you that edge/angle to you need to win. Lackey is my top dog. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 87/25/81/.264/.341/.469/18

2) Grady Emerson – TBR, SS, 19.1 – Selected 2nd overall, Emerson has that dream floor/upside combo that makes it really hard not to give him the top spot, but sometimes you gotta do the hard things in life. I know, I’m so brave. Firefighters have nothing on me. The floor comes from him having the best hit tool in the class. He makes a ton of contact and he rips hard liners all over the field. And the upside comes from a projectable 6’3” frame, but is most notably due to how damn sweet, fast and controlled his lefty swing is. Just watch this highlight reel and tell me you don’t immediately see a future superstar. And while he’s not some off the charts elite athlete, he’s a really damn good athlete with smooth actions and plus speed. The last ingredient to the full superstar explosion is more lift and pull. I would mostly ignore his pro debut (48 wRC+ in 13 games at Single-A), but the 59.5% GB% backs up the scouting report that he needs to learn how to tap into his raw power more. Eli Willits for comparison put up a 38.9% GB% in his 15 games pro debut. So that last little ingredient is why I have him 2nd, and also for the fact he’s not as proven as Lackey is. But on pure upside, Emerson has Lackey beat. He’s a reasonable #1 pick, especially if you don’t need the catcher. – ETA: 2029 Prime Projection: 94/22/81/.283/.359/.458/26

3) Roch Cholowsky – CHW, SS, 22.0 – Selected 1st overall, Chowolsky was the no doubt, unanimous #1 FYPD pick coming into the year, but things change fast in the dynasty world. It has less to do with Chowolsky than the players around him, but at the same time, Cholowksy really didn’t do anything in 2026 to put that final stamp on him being the undisputed guy. He was a bit worse in his junior year, going from a 164 wRC+ to a 146 wRC+, and while that is still good, a 21 homer season with a .320 BA isn’t some crazy off the charts college season. He stole only one bag too. And then he came into pro ball and put up a .167 BA with a 54.2% GB% in 9 games at High-A. I would ignore that, but again, he didn’t come in and put some final stamp on his top dog status. He’s still a reasonable #1 pick and in the top tier though. He dominated the SEC for all 3 years he was on campus. The power is plus, the hit tool is above average, and while he hasn’t stole a ton of bases, he’s definitely a good athlete who stole 3 in his pro debut. It’s definitely possible he runs more in pro ball. Maybe if the power was off the charts elite, or if the contact rates were absurd, or if the speed was plus, then he would be the easy top pick, but he doesn’t quite clear that bar in any one area. I think it leaves the door open for another top pick, and I’m walking through that door, even though it is close. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 87/29/94/.270/.344/.483/10

4) Trevor Condon – STL, OF, 19.3 – Selected 13th overall, I can’t help but get those same butterflies for Condon that I did for Corbin Carroll, Pete Crow, and AJ Ewing. I watch that lefty swing and see the same things that got my so giddy for those guys, which is an explosiveness that leads me to believe there is going to be more than enough power here at peak. Just watch this absolute piss missile. And this is not a particularly small dude at 5’11”. The speed and athleticism are double plus and the hit tool is potentially plus too. He immediately stepped into pro ball and raked, slashing .321/.387/.536 with 1 homer, 2 steals, and a 19.4/9.7 K%/BB% in 9 games. The 40.9% GB% and 54.5% Pull% looks good. Condon is my top early round target in the draft. He’s the guy you hope drops to you if you pick in the back of the first round, but I would pick him much higher than that if I had the opportunity. All in. – ETA: 2029 Prime Projection: 92/20/81/.275/.345/.449/34

5) Jackson Flora – SFG, RHP, 21.10 – Selected 4th overall, Flora is the undisputed top arm in the draft class. He’s 6’5”, 205 pounds with an athletic righty delivery that he uses to fire a potentially double plus, mid to upper 90’s fastball. He’s got two potentially plus sliders with both a hard slider/cutter and a sweepier slider. And then he added a devastating kick change which dominated lefty batters in 2026. It all resulted in a 1.06 ERA and 33.3/8.0 K%/BB% in 102 IP in the Big West. The control/command isn’t pristine, but he has no issues throwing the ball over the plate and the 5.5% BB% in 75 IP his sophomore year shows the ability to put up plus walk rates too. The final cherry on top is that he got drafted into one of the most pitcher friendly parks in San Francisco. You can’t put true Misiorowski/Schlittler/Skubal ace level projection on him, but Flora easily has #2 fantasy starter potential with the talent and situation to possibly surpass even that. He’s not out of the question for #1 overall in FYPD’s if you’ve built up your offensive core and the last piece to your championship window puzzle is pitching. I love him. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 14/3.38/1.13/205 in 185 IP

6) Jacob Lombard – MIA, SS, 19.6 – Selected 14th overall, Lombard dropped in the draft due to concerns over the hit tool, and then those concerns were realized when he put up a 39.4% K% with a .220 BA in 22 games in his pro debut at Single-A. But I’m actually not overly scared off by that, because the 30.1% whiff% was sneakily not bad at all for the level of talent we are talking about here. And that level of talent is elite upside at 6’3”, 195 pounds with a potentially double plus power/speed combo. Even with the high K rate, he still jacked out 4 homers with a 90.6 MPH EV, and 15.8 degree launch. He stole 11 bags. The 98 wRC+ was nearly average. If the whiff% proves more accurate of his hit tool than his K%, which I’m betting on, especially when he’s an age appropriate 19 years old and with a full off-season to prepare, then the nuclear explosion is going to be inevitable. There will always be hit tool risk here, but the insane upside balances that out. He’s the highest upside pick in the draft, and there is a world where his value skyrockets passed everyone ranked above him by this time next year. – ETA: 2029 Prime Projection: 77/26/83/.240/.321/.465/28

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF UPCOMING EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-A TOP 24 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2027 TOP 1,000 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS
–TOP 35+ 2027 FYPD RANKS (full Top 130+ coming later this off-season)
-SNEAK PEEKS OF THE 3 MAIN LISTS (TOP 1000+ DYNASTY, TOP 500+ PROSPECT, TOP 130+ FYPD)
-DEEP POSITIONAL RANKINGS
-DYNASTY TEAM REPORTS (TOP 10 PROSPECTS/INTERESTING MLB GUYS/STRATEGY SECTION)
-POSITION BY POSITION TARGET ARTICLES
-PREDICTING FUTURE PROSPECT LISTS
-AND SO MUCH MORE

Dynasty Team Reports on Patreon

Baltimore Orioles—Kansas City Royals—New York Mets (free)

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