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. this is something I lost sight of in previous editions
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.
The baseball season has officially reached the second half as all 30 MLB teams open play on Friday night and prepare for the final push towards the playoffs. During the break, many of us writers took a few breaths. I was not one of them. Instead, I completely gutted my Top 350 and reshaped the entire process. I placed a higher emphasis on age, improving or declining skill sets, playing time, and projected future values, ultimately producing a new 350. I’ve added a player’s previous ranking into the format by reader request, so if you have a feature you want to see, let me know! You’ll see significant drops in older players (more to come), some fast-rising young stars, and a few guys in the middle who are trending in opposite directions. What you will not see is any members of the 2025 MLB Draft Class. With the Draft having just wrapped up over the last few days, I opted to hold off until the August edition before incorporating any of the newest crop of MLB assets. Without any further ado, here is the latest Dynasty Top 350.
NOTABLE RISERS
James Wood, OF, WSH
In case you’ve missed it, James Wood has become a mega star. It’s not just the towering frame he possesses or the majestic homers he mashed during Monday’s Derby. Wood has become one of the most elite hitters in baseball and is doing so as a 22-year-old in just his first full MLB season. His power breakout was delayed by an early inability to lift the ball, resulting in a near-56% groundball rate with a respectable nine homers in 295 at-bats last season. Through his first 356 at-bats in 2025, his groundball rate has dipped 5% and the power has come in the form of 24 HRs at the break. Each of his batted ball metrics is off the charts, with most data points falling in the 95th percentile or higher. The expected stats also support his performance, as the surface numbers and the projects align perfectly. Wood is also running, having posted 12 steals in 16 attempts at the break, giving fantasy owners good vibes about a floor of 30HR-20SB annually. With all that in mind, James Wood has ascended into the Top 6 overall, joining Jackson Chourio and Paul Skenes as the only players age-22 or younger in the Top 20 overall.
Agustín Ramírez, C, MIA
The initial 70-game sample in the MLB career of ‘the Goose’ Agustín Ramírez has been highly impressive. Despite a sub-.250 batting average, Ramirez has very quickly become one of the most potent bats at the catcher position, and for me, has already joined the Top 5 overall at his position. The 23-year-old first broke out in 2023, posting a 124 wRC+with 18 homers and 12 steals across three levels, ultimately reaching Double-A. 2024 was more of the same, but Ramirez’s fine season was overlooked in favor of pop-up prospect Drake Baldwin (ATL) and the emergence of Dalton Rushing (LAD). Ramirez was still one of the most complete offensive catchers in the Minors, but the fanfare had faded. When the Marlins acquired him in the Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade, the writing was on the wall that Ramirez would be on a fast track to the Show. Now a full-time Major Leaguer, Agustín Ramírez will provide the ideal profile for a middle-of-the-order catcher: power, power, and more power. Don’t be fooled by the low average at this point in his career; Ramirez will be just fine. His air rate is around 54% with a BABIP of .256, each of which is well below the league average. Instead, focus on his plate skills. As a rookie, he’s striking out at an 18.9% clip, and although he’s not walking much, his contact skills are very solid. Ramirez is running an overall rate of 78% with an in-zone just shy of 90%. Given his ability to consistently impact the ball with power, his 14 homers in just 281 at-bats are just scratching the surface of what’s to come. If there is one thing to be concerned with, it’s that Ramirez will almost certainly move off the catcher position. He’s a subpar defender, and a move to 1B makes all the sense in the world. His offensive profile will play fine at the position and would slot him inside the Top 8 at the position.
Agustín Ramírez launches a 2-run homer to extend the @Marlins lead early 💪 pic.twitter.com/Xrxp0NTzkX
— MLB (@MLB) July 3, 2025
Jacob Misiorowski, SP, MIL
Let’s address the elephant in the room. Brewers’ rookie right-hander Jacob Misiorowski is the talk of the baseball world and rightfully so. Through his first five MLB starts, Mis has already won four games (the same as Paul Skenes in ’25) while racking up 33 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings. His most impressive outing came in his most recent start, a six-inning gem in which he allowed a leadoff homer to Shohei Ohtani and then struck out 12 of the next 22 batters he faced. Misiorowski’s calling card is elite velocity (99.3 average mph FB) with elite extension (over 7.5′) and electric stuff all around. His swinging strike rate is 15.3% with a strikeout rate of 34%. If you want to dive deeper into what he’s doing, use the PLV tool and see what our model identifies as strengths and areas for improvement. Everything looks great early on for Misiorowski, and he took the single most significant leap in these rankings, climbing nearly 200 spots. Since I mentioned Skenes, the early comps are pitting one of the game’s greatest arms against a kid who has yet to log 30 innings in the Majors. For those doing so, SLOW DOWN! I’m not saying that the potential isn’t there for Misiorowski to be elite, which is why I ranked him so aggressively, but that’s a lofty comparison. Let’s not forget that Misiorowski had a 14% walk rate in his MiLB career, while Skenes walked TEN hitters. The early command and control for Misiorowski has continued to trend in the right direction, but I still have concerns over a highly volatile profile.
Ceddanne Rafaela, OF, BOS
As a Red Sox fan, I’m elated to have Rafaela as a riser on any list, let alone Dynasty. As a prospect, there was little doubt about the defensive impact he’d have in the Majors, but I had serious questions about the bat. At one point, I compared him to another defensive stalwart, Jackie Bradley Jr., essentially saying Rafaela would only have fantasy value if defensive metrics were counted. Thankfully, I was wrong. Rafaela has completely overhauled his offensive profile, adding power to his already-present speed, while improving his plate skills and finding a knack for the big moment. Consider this stat as proof of his development. On August 9th, 2024, Rafaela walked twice in a game and then did not earn a free pass again until April 2nd this season, a span of 45 games. In that same time frame, he struck out 45 times, or once per game on average. Now, look at his numbers. His walk rate is still low (4.7%), but his K-rate has dipped to 19.4%, down over seven percentage points compared to last season and 12% over his debut in 2023. That’s absolutely incredible. Each of his contact rates is up at least 5%, while he’s chasing far less and nearly doubling his barrel rate. If you buy the changes (I do), Rafaela has gone from a fringe MLB bat to a player with the skills to reach 25-25 in his career, while also playing elite defense.
The seven hitters with a barrel rate and sprint speed in the 80th percentile or higher…
Pete Crow-Armstrong, Byron Buxton, Corbin Carroll, Elly De La Cruz, Bobby Witt Jr., Oneil Cruz, and…
CEDDANNE RAFAELApic.twitter.com/hnpjsF1kIA
— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) July 17, 2025
PROSPECT RISER
Sal Stewart, 2B, CIN
Stewart doesn’t get enough credit for being an outstanding offensive player and a true impact fantasy bat in the near future. The 21-year-old continues to dominate his current level, this time at Double-A Chattanooga. Among qualified hitters, Stewart is inside the Top 10 in nearly every statistical category, while also ranking in the bottom 10 percent in strikeouts (15.5%). In 80 games, Stewart has a .306/.377/.473 slash with 29 XBH (10 HR), 13 steals, and a 146 wRC+. His offensive approach is simple: find the barrel early and often. It’s no surprise that Stewart was named to the 2025 Futures Game. If I have any concern with Stewart, it’s his ETA. The Reds are methodically climbing him one level at a time, and barring a sudden change of philosophy, Stewart would likely not debut until late 2026. Either way, Sal Stewart is easily a Top 40 prospect in my rankings and has all the skills to continue climbing by the end of the season.
NOTABLE FALLERS
Freddie Freeman, 1B, LAD
I’m fully prepared for the backlash that will undoubtedly come, but the days of Freddie Freeman as an elite option in fantasy are over. Freeman, who turns 36 in September, has two years remaining on his contract with the Dodgers, a pact that looked incredibly stable upon execution. But the ‘ageless’ profile that Freeman possessed entering 2025 is starting to erode slowly. On the surface, Freeman looks good. He’s batting .297 with ten homers and 95 combined runs and RBIs, landing him inside the Top 15 at his position. Under the hood, he’s slowing down. Freeman’s strikeout rate is the highest it’s been in over ten seasons, with a sub-10% barrel rate for the second straight year. His whiff rates against all pitch types have climbed to career-worst levels across the board, most noticeably on the fastball, which has gone from 16% last year to nearly 24% in 2025. Freddie is also not running. Some of that could be due to the ongoing ankle issue, but an added piece of his fantasy appeal was better-than-average SB production for the position. I’m not here to say that Freddie is washed because I don’t believe it to be true. What I am saying is it’s time to take a realistic look at your Dynasty rosters and find a replacement for Freeman before it’s too late.
Francisco Alvarez, C, NYM
There’s a certain level of guilt within me about continuing to beat down Alvarez at his lowest point. After struggling through a disappointing 35-game sample to start his 2025, the former #1 overall prospect in baseball has spent the last month playing at Triple-A Syracuse. The Mets are hoping that Alvarez, who is still just 23, can recapture the confidence and skills he has shown throughout his career to once again become their catcher of the future. Through 263 MLB games, Alvarez has a .223 career average with a strikeout rate of well over 25% and 40 homers. Power was the first skill that flashed for the young backstop, as he popped 25 homers in 2023 and vaulted into the upper echelon of the Dynasty rankings at his position. Numerous injuries have limited him to 135 games over the past 18 months, and Alvarez has yet to recover fully. For Dynasty purposes, it’s essential to consider what Alvarez could be, while also examining what he currently is. Consider pre-2025 Cal Raleigh. He could be a prodigious power hitter with a subpar batting average, who occasionally pops you a steal. He is currently a AAA catcher with incredible prospect pedigree, desperately in need of a professional reset. While that outcome is well within the range of possibilities, I am comfortable moving Alvarez down outside the Top 250 overall until he shows signs of life again at the MLB level.
Jonathan India, 2B/3B, KCR
I don’t know what happened to India. As a rookie, he was dynamic. India was the 2021 NL Rookie of the Year, posting 21 homers and 12 steals in a 150-game season. The future looked so bright, but India never returned to that level of production, and now, playing in Kansas City, isn’t producing at all. In his first 89 games, the 28-year-old has a .251/.332/.348 slash with 21 doubles, but just four homers and zero steals. The thing is, he’s playing nearly every day for KC, but it’s just a warm body as India is a near-zero in everything for fantasy purposes. The most logical explanation for his falloff is that he’s a product of the GABP boost and an accumulator. When examining the batted ball data and quality of contact metrics throughout his career, India has consistently operated in the margins. Beyond plate discipline, nothing jumped off the page as anything close to exciting, and now those margins are non-existent in one of the worst hitting environments in the Majors. If this trend continues, I’d be surprised to see Jonathan India inside the Top 350 by next month’s edition.
Bryan Reynolds, OF, PIT
Once a pillar of consistency, Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds has been anything but. Despite having ten first-half homers, his career-worst .225 average is reinforced by some of the worst swing-and-miss rates of his career and a .656 OPS. Like India, Reynolds is a shadow of his former self, with declining production for a player we could always count on. Could he need a change of scenery? Is he possibly injured, still recovering from the back injury he sustained in 2024, and we aren’t aware of it? Reynolds still has time to turn it around in 2025, but until he does, I have big hesitation over ranking him over guys with equivalent floors and much higher upsides.
PROSPECT FALLER
Noah Schultz, SP, CHW
I’ve heard the term’ adjustment period’ being thrown around a lot lately, particularly with Noah Schultz. You can call it that, but you can also call it a wake-up call. The 21-year-old had coasted through the lower Minors in each of his first two seasons, producing gaudy strikeout numbers and making hitters look foolish. The only concern about Schultz entering 2025 was that the White Sox were holding him back, especially after he pitched just 88 1/3 innings last season. Now, the concerns are piling up as Schultz reached Double-A to open 2024. After a walk rate of around 6% in his previous two seasons, Schultz is now walking 14.4% of the batters he’s faced and has yet to harness the elite arsenal he possesses. Then, in Saturday’s Futures Game, he looked bad. Josue de Paula hit an absolute rocket for a HR on a pitch that Schultz threw with no conviction. That’s been a knock that scouts have noted all season long. His pitch mix against same-side hitters is flawed, lacking a true putaway pitch as the slider has lacked punch. I still think Schultz can be an impactful pitcher in Dynasty, but I’m reevaluating my previous rankings, where I had him inside the Top 200 overall.
