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Dynasty leagues can be tricky.
Especially if you're just starting one. Balancing the present with the future is less than straightforward and not simply a matter of preference. The goal, after all, is a "dynasty," meaning sustained greatness. And you can't sustain greatness without juggling today and tomorrow.
But how to reconcile the two? With rankings, of course -- ones that take into account every aspect of a player's value instead of simply what he is or what he will be. Whether you're drafting from scratch, weighing your keepers or mulling a trade, I believe these rankings meet that need.
It's a different need than the one filled by my Top 50 Keepers, which took into account what an owner might have to forfeit (specifically in terms of draft picks or auction dollars) to keep a player. The point of that column was to find a bargain. The point of this one is to assign worth.
Using a 1-to-5 scale, with one being the worst and five the best, I've denoted the following for each player:
- Immediate value: What he's expected to be in 2018.
- Long-term value: What his peak looks like and how much of that peak he has left.
- Confidence rating: How confident I am in him meeting his immediate and long-term value.
The final ranking is mostly a matter of adding the three, but I also factor in age and position, as well as some personal preference. The distinctions become less obvious in the 75-to-150 range, so at some point, subjectivity has to reign.
In those instances, I tend to favor the players with the higher ceiling, willing to wait a little longer for the bigger impact. Dynasty leagues afford you the luxury of time, after all.
Rank | Player | Age (as of opening day) | Immediate value | Long-term value | Confidence rating |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Mike Trout
LAA CF
| 26 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
2 |
Bryce Harper
WAS RF
| 25 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
3 |
Nolan Arenado
COL 3B
| 26 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
4 |
Carlos Correa
HOU SS
| 23 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
5 |
Jose Altuve
HOU 2B
| 27 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
6 |
Mookie Betts
BOS RF
| 25 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
7 |
Kris Bryant
CHC 3B
| 26 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
8 |
Manny Machado
BAL 3B
| 25 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
9 |
Trea Turner
WAS SS
| 24 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
10 |
Francisco Lindor
CLE SS
| 24 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
11 |
Corey Seager
LAD SS
| 23 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
12 |
Cody Bellinger
LAD 1B
| 22 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
13 |
Chris Sale
BOS SP
| 28 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
14 |
Paul Goldschmidt
ARI 1B
| 30 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
15 |
Clayton Kershaw
LAD SP
| 30 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
16 |
Giancarlo Stanton
NYY RF
| 28 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
17 |
Freddie Freeman
ATL 1B
| 28 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
18 |
Anthony Rizzo
CHC 1B
| 28 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
19 |
Jose Ramirez
CLE 3B
| 25 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
20 |
Gary Sanchez
NYY C
| 25 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
21 |
Aaron Judge
NYY RF
| 25 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
22 |
Alex Bregman
HOU 3B
| 23 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
23 |
George Springer
HOU CF
| 28 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
24 |
Anthony Rendon
WAS 3B
| 27 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
25 |
Madison Bumgarner
SF SP
| 28 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
26 |
Luis Severino
NYY SP
| 24 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
27 |
Noah Syndergaard
NYM SP
| 25 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
28 |
Andrew Benintendi
BOS LF
| 23 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
29 |
Charlie Blackmon
COL CF
| 31 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
30 |
Corey Kluber
CLE SP
| 31 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
31 |
Max Scherzer
WAS SP
| 33 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
32 |
Stephen Strasburg
WAS SP
| 29 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
33 |
Jacob deGrom
NYM SP
| 29 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
34 |
Shohei Ohtani
LAA SP
| 23 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
35 |
Christian Yelich
MIL CF
| 26 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
36 |
Robbie Ray
ARI SP
| 26 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
37 |
Carlos Martinez
STL SP
| 26 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
38 |
Rafael Devers
BOS 3B
| 21 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
39 |
J.D. Martinez
ARI RF
| 30 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
40 |
Rhys Hoskins
PHI LF
| 25 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
41 |
Chris Archer
TB SP
| 29 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
42 |
Ronald Acuna
ATL CF
| 20 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
43 |
Joey Votto
CIN 1B
| 34 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
44 |
Xander Bogaerts
BOS SS
| 25 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
45 |
Willson Contreras
CHC C
| 25 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
46 |
Marcell Ozuna
STL LF
| 27 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
47 |
Josh Donaldson
TOR 3B
| 32 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
48 |
Buster Posey
SF C
| 31 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
49 |
Jose Abreu
CHW 1B
| 31 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
50 |
Brian Dozier
MIN 2B
| 30 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
51 |
Carlos Carrasco
CLE SP
| 31 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
52 |
Yu Darvish
LAD SP
| 31 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
53 |
Wil Myers
SD 1B
| 27 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
54 |
Jonathan Schoop
BAL 2B
| 26 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
55 |
Elvis Andrus
TEX SS
| 29 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
56 |
Zack Greinke
ARI SP
| 34 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
57 |
Justin Verlander
HOU SP
| 35 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
58 |
Jose Quintana
CHC SP
| 29 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
59 |
Tommy Pham
STL LF
| 30 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
60 |
A.J. Pollock
ARI CF
| 30 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
61 |
James Paxton
SEA SP
| 29 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
62 |
Eric Hosmer
KC 1B
| 28 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
63 |
Dee Gordon
SEA 2B
| 29 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
64 |
Kenley Jansen
LAD RP
| 30 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
65 |
Craig Kimbrel
BOS RP
| 29 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
66 |
Aaron Nola
PHI SP
| 24 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
67 |
Luis Castillo
CIN SP
| 25 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
68 |
Khris Davis
OAK LF
| 30 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
69 |
Daniel Murphy
WAS 2B
| 32 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
70 |
Justin Upton
LAA LF
| 30 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
71 |
Starling Marte
PIT LF
| 29 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
72 |
Justin Turner
LAD 3B
| 33 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
73 |
Dallas Keuchel
HOU SP
| 30 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
74 |
Byron Buxton
MIN CF
| 24 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
75 |
Miguel Sano
MIN 3B
| 24 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
76 |
Yoan Moncada
CHW 2B
| 22 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
77 |
Ozzie Albies
ATL 2B
| 21 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
78 |
Aroldis Chapman
NYY RP
| 30 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
79 |
Zack Godley
ARI SP
| 27 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
80 |
Sonny Gray
NYY SP
| 28 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
81 |
Gerrit Cole
HOU SP
| 27 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
82 |
Lance McCullers
HOU SP
| 24 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
83 |
Matt Olson
OAK 1B
| 24 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
84 |
Domingo Santana
MIL RF
| 25 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
85 |
Gleyber Torres
NYY SS
| 21 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
86 |
Eloy Jimenez
CHW RF
| 21 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
87 |
Nick Senzel
CIN 3B
| 22 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
88 |
Marcus Stroman
TOR SP
| 26 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
89 |
Masahiro Tanaka
NYY SP
| 29 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
90 |
Edwin Encarnacion
CLE DH
| 35 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
91 |
Nelson Cruz
SEA DH
| 37 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
92 |
Andrew McCutchen
SF CF
| 31 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
93 |
Corey Knebel
MIL RP
| 26 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
94 |
Roberto Osuna
TOR RP
| 23 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
95 |
Rougned Odor
TEX 2B
| 24 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
96 |
Joey Gallo
TEX 3B
| 24 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
97 |
Travis Shaw
MIL 3B
| 27 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
98 |
Josh Bell
PIT 1B
| 25 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
99 |
Francisco Mejia
CLE C
| 22 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
100 |
Alex Reyes
STL RP
| 23 | 1 | 5 | 2 |