Welcome back to another exciting season of baseball! Our Dynasty team has been killing it all offseason by providing high-quality content about prospects, Dynasty, and more! For me personally, nothing signals the start of another season quite like the Dynasty 350. There has been incredible player movement this offseason, and this edition is likely to look significantly different from the final edition last September. Here is a reminder about the process and how you can utilize these rankings in your own way.
1) Rankings are based on fantasy value only, and several factors go into them. Some of those factors include current and future value, age, team context, injury risk, playing time, skill regression (positive or negative), and prospect proximity.
2) When reviewing these, remember that tiers exist within the rankings. A 30-spot gap between two players is relatively insignificant and could be a matter of personal preference or proximity for prospects. At the same time, all the possible factors should be considered when assessing those two players.
3) My rankings should serve as a baseline for your own. Everyone has their process of player evaluation and value assessment while also working on configuring their rankings toward league settings.
It’s been a wild and crazy first month of the 2025 season, but I can speak for everyone here at PL when I say that BASEBALL IS BACK! Making rash decisions based on a sub-100 PA sample is hard for dynasty purposes. However, noticing trends in skills, opportunity/playing time, and injuries highly impacts rankings. While the movement has been relatively minimal, some players have boosted their stock, while others have seen their value dip early. Here is the latest Dynasty Top 350!
RISERS
Kristian Campbell, 2B/OF, BOS
If you thought Campbell’s rise to top prospect status last season was a fluke, you’re feeling pretty silly right now. Campbell, the Minor League Player of the Year in 2024, is off to a very strong start in 2025 after receiving a sizable contract extension from the Red Sox. In his first 17 MLB games, Campbell is hitting .317 with four homers and doubles and is walking at a 15.2% clip. He’s been the most consistent performer in the Red Sox offense and has played stellar defense at second base and the outfield. Beyond the plate discipline, nothing stands out in the metrics. But when you watch Campbell play, he looks like a seasoned veteran, putting together quality at-bats nearly every time at the dish. For me, Campbell has climbed inside the Top 5 at his position and is sure to continue his meteoric ascent.
Jesús Luzardo, SP, PHI
In the off season, the Phillies took a gamble in acquiring Jesús Luzardo from the Marlins. After all, Luzardo logged just 66 2/3 innings in 2024 due to a lumbar stress reaction in his back that kept him on the IL from June 16th on. Back injuries are tricky, especially for pitchers, but Luzardo shows no ill effects. The 27-year-old is throwing the ball as well as he ever has early in 2025, and the metrics support it. Four of his five offerings have a PLV over 5.00, helping Luzardo to a 1.50 ERA in three starts. He has 25 strikeouts in 18 innings, and his 36.2% strikeout rate is the highest in his career. There is a lot of season left to go, but Luzardo looks healthy and is rising in Dynasty rankings.
Jung Hoo Lee, OF, SFG
I beat the Jung Hoo Lee drum hard this off-season despite having a 158 at-bat sample in his abbreviated MLB debut. Lee has paid dividends for Dynasty owners who were patient through his injury as he’s off to a hot start in 2025. The Korean-born outfielder is batting .322 with three homers, nine extra-base hits, and three steals through his first 15 games. The contact skills have always been strong with Lee, a .340 career hitter in seven seasons in Korea. Lee’s power output is the biggest surprise early on, with his three homers and a .704 SLG powering the Giants to a 12-4 start. The combination of elite hit tool, plus speed, budding power, and elite defense, has Lee on the rise in Dynasty.
Iván Herrera, C, STL
The only thing that could slow down Iván Herrera was a bone bruise in his knee, which currently has him on the IL. Herrera was red-hot before the injury, hitting .381 with four homers and 11 RBIs in seven games. Every batted-ball metric is off the charts, including a 91.9 mph average EV, an unsustainable 31.3% barrel rate, and a 50% hard-hit rate. There was always a belief that Herrera could become an above-average offensive catcher, but he never had the opportunity until Willson Contreras moved to 1B. Herrera has the skills to reach Top 10 catcher status in Dynasty as his career continues.
PROSPECT RISER
Nick Kurtz, 1B, ATH
Nobody felt safer in the 2024 Draft Class than Nick Kurtz, and so far, that’s proven true. Kurtz is putting up video game numbers while annihilating Triple-A pitching over his first 14 games. The 22-year-old slugger has seven homers, six doubles, 22 RBI, and a 1.226 OPS in 60 at-bats. Fans are already clamoring for Kurtz to join the A’s; at this rate, his debut is imminent. Kurtz is a no-doubt Top 100 asset and Top 10 first baseman in Dynasty.
FALLERS
Evan Carter, OF, TEX
After missing out on the Rangers’ Opening Day roster, Carter was assigned to Triple-A Round Rock, where he’s been abysmal. He’s batting just .138 in nine games with two extra-base hits, three steals, and a 74 wRC+. His back issue from 2024 may still be lingering, but Carter should be performing at a higher level, given his prospect pedigree. It is encouraging to see Carter running early this season, and it’s worth noting that he’s had just nine strikeouts against eight walks. I expect Carter to regress a bit, but his postseason run in 2023 may be the best we see from him for the foreseeable future.
David Bednar, RP, PIT
There’s falling out of favor, and then there’s David Bednar. Just when we thought Bednar hit rock bottom last season, he was quickly dispatched to Triple-A after just three games in 2025. In 2024, the 30-year-old had a 5.77 ERA and 1.42 WHIP and lost his job as closer to veteran Aroldis Chapman. With Chapman gone in free agency, Bednar was again the projected closer to opening the season. Three games and a 27.00 ERA later, he’s back in the International League. Looking at Bednar and his underlying metrics, two things are clear: He’s lost his command, and he’s lost his confidence. His walk rate in 2024 was a career-worst 10.7%, and he allowed the most hard contact of his career. Missing locations will do that for you, and now Bednar will have to fight his way back to the Majors.
Jake McCarthy, OF, ARI
McCarthy was one of the more obvious regression candidates entering 2025. Despite hitting .285 with eight homers and 25 steals last season, the metrics didn’t support his performance. McCarthy’s batted-ball data was well below average, including a 1st percentile average EV (84.5mph), sub-25% hard-hit rate, sub-3% barrel rate, and bat speed below 68mph. How McCarthy lucked into eight homers last season is beyond me. I will give credit where it’s due; the 27-year-old makes above-average contact and has near-elite speed. He may sustain a higher batting average with the steals, but given his skill set, the power is not coming.
Tanner Houck, SP, BOS
It’s painful to write this, but Tanner Houck is not good. Houck had a ‘breakout’ season in 2024, pitching to a 3.12 ERA and his first All-Star game appearance. But his 4.23 second-half ERA and middling strikeout rates were proof that Houck was pitching above his means in early 2024. When you look at Houck’s profile, you see a world where he COULD succeed, but not as a starter. His sweeper/slider and sinker are serviceable offerings as a big leaguer, but his splitter is mediocre, and he has no true fastball. His style is pitching to contact and getting chases with his secondaries, neither of which has gone well for him. After allowing 11 ER on Monday night, Houck’s days in the Sox rotation are numbered.
PROSPECT FALLER
Walker Jenkins, OF, MIN
I hate everything about this, but Jenkins is trending down in a big way. His talent and performance are near-elite, but his durability has serious doubts after another injury to start 2025. In two seasons as a Minor Leaguer, Jenkins has played in just 108 games and will miss at least four to six weeks with a left ankle sprain this season. I had Jenkins on track to be a late-season call-up for the Twins at the end of 2025 and an Opening Day starter in 2026. At this point, he’d be lucky to make it to Triple-A this year.
