Another month has come and gone, meaning even bigger sample sizes, changes in playing time, new and old injuries, prospect promotions, surprising MLB demotions, and so many more factors that play into a player’s dynasty value. There has been a decent amount shifting and shafting inside the Top 400 with a few significant movers. Some of those are adjustments to players who were previously ranked a little too low or too high, plus, obviously, some performance-based risers and fallers. Overall, the composition of the Top 400 remains largely unchanged as only a dozen or so players either dropped off or came into the list. Here is the May update for the Dynasty Top 400!
Stats as of 5/20
NOTABLE RISERS
Oneil Cruz, OF, PIT (+14)
Significant movement within the Top 50 isn’t very common, especially for players with multiple years of MLB experience. But what Oneil Cruz is doing is worthy of huge respect and a nice bump in the rankings. The 27-year-old is absolutely crushing this season, already posting 10 homers and 16 steals in just 193 at-bats. That puts him on pace to flirt with 40-60, a territory that only Ronald Acuna Jr in 2023 has gone before. There are many hurdles to reach that point, but the skills are capable. In the worst-case scenario, he’s going to shatter his career bests in nearly every offensive category, but that also includes strikeout rate. As it stands, Cruz has a 34.9% K rate, a mirror image of his career worst in his rookie season of 2022. The most obvious gain that’s fueled his second breakout is his success against left-handed pitching, something he worked really hard to improve on this offseason. To date, Cruz is batting .302 against LHP in his first 63 at-bats, up from his career-long average of just .191. Even with the swing-and-miss and a groundball rate of 52.1%, Cruz still offers elite power and speed and is certainly deserving of moving off the bubble to now firmly inside the Top 50.
Seth Hernandez, SP, PIT (+100)
Yes, Seth Hernandez is a prospect. It’s also true that he’s thrown just fewer than 50 innings at the Minor League level, or any level beyond high school. So it’s highly aggressive to rank Hernandez inside the Top 100, but this isn’t just another pitching prospect. Through his first seven starts, he’s got a minuscule 0.82 ERA and a WHIP of 0.73. Hernandez already earned a promotion to High-A and probably won’t be there very long before ultimately reaching Double-A Altoona before the year is over. His stuff is otherworldly. Of his four pitches, three are either at or approaching 70-grade out with his lone outlier, the curve, which is easily a 60, but could be higher. So far in his pro debut, he’s got a whiff rate of 52.1%. That’s not for one pitch, that’s across the arsenal. At this rate, Hernandez should debut in the Majors early in 2027, less than two years after being a Top 10 draft pick out of high school. Very impressive.
Munetaka Murakami, 1B, CHW (+131)
I’ve been very vocal about Murakami since he arrived in the US. The profile coming over gave me great hesitation, especially considering he was a below-average contact hitter who struggled mightily against higher velocities and spin, something nearly every MLB pitcher has in their arsenal. Those reports, coupled with the team’s context of joining the White Sox, made Murakami less desirable ahead of his debut. In large part, the profile wasn’t wrong. Against velocity that is 94mph or higher, Murakami is batting .237 with four HRs and a 35.7% whiff rate. He’s got a 52.4% whiff rate against breaking pitches and is slugging just .305 against them in 2026, but has managed three home runs. That said, his walk rate is still hovering around 18%, which has pushed his OBP to over .380 on the season. He’s also got 65 combined runs and RBI, which ranks in the Top 20 among qualified hitters. Given the lack of depth at the third base position, plus the clear offensive impact even with the built-in flaws, it’s hard to keep Murakami outside the Top 150, which could be too low still.
Payton Tolle, SP, BOS (+82)
Tolle has been a big surprise early on, not because he’s been good, but in the manner in which he’s doing it. Nick LOVES when Tolle throws strikes; who wouldn’t? He’s done a really good job with that in 2026, posting a strike rate of 69.3% and a zone rate of 49.8%, each of which is well above the MLB average. His curve has been a pleasant surprise, generating a swinging strike rate of 26.1% with a CSW north of 47%. PLV (rated 4.71 on the curve) doesn’t actually like the pitch, but you can’t argue with the results. The downside is that his cutter is still not great, but it’s still really hard to handle a lefty throwing 96 mph with elite extension and a highly successful putaway pitch.
Emerson Hancock, SP, SEA (+65)
After a somewhat lengthy wait, the Mariners are finally recouping some of their value from drafting Emerson Hancock with the sixth overall pick in the 2020 Draft. The 27-year-old, who entered this season with a career ERA of 4.81 over his first 37 MLB appearances, is amidst a breakout 2026. Through nine starts, he has a career-best 3.02 ERA with a 22.2% K-BB rate, more than doubling his career high in that stat. Earlier this month, Hancock had his first gem, throwing seven innings of one-run ball, striking out 14 with zero walks against the Royals. The most noticeable difference for him this season is his pitch mix. In 2026, he’s added a cutter and is throwing his four-seam more often with great success. Hancock has generated a 19.2% swinging strike rate on the four-seamer, among the best in the Majors. It also helps when you throw strikes, lowering the walk rate to below 5%. I’m still a little gun-shy about moving him too high, but if the skills stick, Hancock could push inside the Top 250 by year’s end.
NOTABLE FALLERS
Fernando Tatis Jr, OF, SDP (-6)
First things first; lowering Tatis has absolutely NOTHING to do with the home run drought. For me, he’s always been on the outside looking in at the Soto/Acuna/Carroll/JRod group and barely ahead of Chourio for long-term value. Tatis is a very good player, but I don’t think he’s always been elite, and he hasn’t been outside of 2021. That season was an outlier in his career, but it should be; he was juicing. Since then, he has yet to eclipse 25 homers, and he has reached 90+ runs or RBI only twice. The 20+ steals-per-season average is certainly nice and part of the package, but getting 20 steals isn’t as valuable as it used to be. I guess what I’m saying is that Tatis is never elite at anything, so why rank him among them? He’s still Top 20, but I can’t see a scenario where he gets back near the Top 10.
Bryce Rainer, SS, DET (-112)
Rainer is about as tooled out as they come for prospects, but how did I not notice how ridiculously high I had him in these rankings? The first rounder from 2024 missed nearly all of last season with a shoulder injury, playing in just 35 games. Early this season, he’s got a 43.7% strikeout rate across two levels. Rainer has struggled with spin dating back to his HS days, and the issue has only gotten worse. The potential for stardom is there, but he’s done nothing as a pro. His ranking was a big oops, so that’s on me.
Ezequiel Tovar, SS, COL (-52)
Tovar was such an enticing prospect when he came up, flexing power and speed with the added bonus of playing his home games at Coors Field. His first two seasons were solid, hitting for a respectable average with double-digit homers, good counting stats, and a little bit of speed. The production allowed us to overlook some serious profile flaws, namely, plate discipline. Tovar missed parts of 2025 due to hip and oblique injuries, but when he did play, his production dipped a bit. This season has been brutal. The 24-year-old is hitting just .204 with a homer and three steals. His plate skills remain poor, as his strikeout rate is flirting with 30% again. Tovar genuinely looks lost at the dish, swinging more than 60% of the time with a 45% chase rate. To make things worse, his already marginal batted-ball data is the worst of his career.
Royce Lewis, 3B, MIN (-129)
It’s really hard to watch what Royce Lewis has become. After flashing so much potential as a prospect and during his rookie season of 2023, a combination of injuries and poor performance has put Lewis’s dynasty value in the tank. So far in 2026, Lewis owns a .163/.261/.279 slash line with three homers and three steals. He’s striking out at a career-worst rate with below-average quality of contact metrics and has generated a putrid 55 wRC+. Now, he’s in Triple-A, having been demoted on May 19th. This could be the last time we see Lewis inside the Top 400 if things continue at this rate.
