Can you smell what’s floating in the air? That’s right, it is the smell of baseball.
We are only days away from the official start of spring training, and with Opening Day getting closer and closer, so too is my countdown of the 2026 Dynasty Baseball Rankings toward the top player. After starting at No. 400, the countdown is finally turning inside the top 100 as I feature players ranked 100 to 76.
Here is a quick breakdown of the positions and ages of the players:
- SP: 8
- C: 3 | 1B: 3 | 2B: 2 | 3B: 2 | SS: 2 | IF: 1
- CF: 1 | RF: 1 | OF: 2
- IF/OF: 1
- Ages 20-24: 2
- Ages 25-29: 15
- Ages 30-34: 8
- Ages 35+: 0
The first thing you notice with the positional breakdown is the fact that there are a lot of positions represented in this group. The only position group not showing up is a left fielder and a relief pitcher. And I can let you know now there will be no more relievers showing up in my rankings.
A lot of starting pitchers show up, and there is a simple reason for that – I avoid the very young ones unless they are obvious studs, and I avoid the older ones. That leaves a lot of good pitchers who are entering their prime years – and those are the pitchers I like to target. This also explains why there are so many players here who are between 25 and 29 years old.
And I know this drives some of you nuts, but I refuse to avoid older players. I know going in, they have a shorter “life span” than the younger players, but just because a player is young doesn’t mean he is better than a veteran. I have not, will not, and do not rank players with age being the top factor.
With that out of the way, let’s get started.
100-76
Notes:
*Age as if April 1, 2026
**Position = at least 10 games played at that position
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | AGE | POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | Ranger Suarez | BOS | 30 | SP |
| 99 | Ceddanne Rafaela | BOS | 25 | CF|2B |
| 98 | Drake Baldwin | ATL | 25 | C |
| 97 | Ben Rice | NYY | 27 | 1B|C |
| 96 | Hunter Goodman | COL | 26 | C |
Better Than People Think
Ranger Suarez may be a bit of a surprise for some of you, but there is something to be said about knowing what you are going to get. You are going to get just over eight strikeouts per nine from Suarez with a 3.20-3.35 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. He has a career ERA+ of 125, and it has been at 109, 103, 121, 137 the past four years, with an upward trend. He’s not fancy, but he is consistent and dependable.
Will He Remain A Second Baseman?
Ceddanne Rafaela has 20-20 upside and can play multiple positions, and was pretty consistent during the season. From the start of the season through June, Rafaela slashed .254/.301/.420 with nine homers, 33 RBI, and 11 steals. From July 1 through the end of the season, his slash line dipped to .244/.288/.407 with seven homers, 30 RBI, and nine steals. The one area where Rafaela really needs to improve is his inability to not swing at everything, as his 42.2% chase rate ranked in the 2nd percentile.
He’s only 25, I see him improving, and the fact that he plays two positions short of top talent makes him a top 10 second baseman as long as he continues to get enough starts at the position. After 2026, he may only qualify as a center fielder, and if you need a second baseman for four to five years, then that obviously hurts his value for you.
Jumping the Gun?
I thought long and hard about where to rank Drake Baldwin. He had a great rookie year, slashing .274/.341/.469 with 19 homers and 80 RBI. He had a great K% (15.2, way below the MLB average of 22.2%), had an Average EV of 91.7 MPH, and a 49.6 Hard Hit%. But after only one year, should he be ranked as a top 5 catcher? When you look at what he did in college and the minors, the answer to that is yes.
He had a career slash line of .317/.426/.549 at Missouri State and carried that over into the minors, where in 257 games he slashed .272/.379/.428 with 32 home runs and 158 RBI. His Statcast numbers place him in the 80th percentile or higher in a host of categories, and he never really hit the rookie wall this year. In the first half of the season, he slashed .285/.345/.478 with nine homers and 46 RBI, and in the second half, those numbers were .263/.336/.460 10-34.
Catcher Or First Baseman? Who Cares!
Ben Rice, who is also a first baseman, slugged .499 this year enroute to hitting 26 home runs and driving in 65 while finishing with an OPS+ of 131. Rice’s future may be at first base, but for now, he qualifies as a catcher and thus is one of the best hitting catchers to go after. And his hitting should remain a strength. He had an 18.9 strikeout percentage in 2025, and he has a good eye at the plate, as he had a 9.4% walk percentage.
When it comes to his Statcast numbers, Rice is a beast! He ranked in the 89th percentile in Sqaured-Up% and then in the 90th percentile or higher in xwOBA, xBA, xSLG, Avg. EV, Barrel%, Hard Hit%, LA Sweet Spot% and Chase%. That is pretty strong.
Goodman
Hunter Goodman was one of the few bright spots for the Colorado Rockies this season. Goodman gave fans a taste of what was to come this year after hitting 13 homers and driving in 36 runs over 70 games in 2024. This season, he slashed .278/.323/.520 with 31 home runs and 91 RBI. He chases pitches too often, and he has a career K% of 27.3%, but if he keeps producing 30 homers and 90 RBI, then I am more than willing to live with the strikeouts and the high chase percentage.
95-91
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | AGE | POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95 | Jonathan Aranda | TB | 27 | 1B |
| 94 | Josh Naylor | SEA | 28 | 1B |
| 93 | Eury Perez | CHC | 22 | SP |
| 92 | Jacob Misiorowski | MIL | 23 | SP |
| 91 | Kyle Bradish | BAL | 29 | SP |
Finally Broke Through
For three years, Jonathan Aranda would get some playing time with the Rays, but he never appeared in more than 44 games. Then came 2025. Given a chance to play every day, Aranda ran with it and produced a .316/.393/.489 slash line with 14 homers and 59 RBI in 106 games. The limited number of games was due to a broken left wrist he suffered in a collision with Giancarlo Stanton on July 31.
Aranda missed all of August and most of September, playing in the final three games of the season. In those three games, he hit two homers and drove in five runs, showing his wrist was fully healed. Aranda does not have massive power, but he should be able to reach the 20 homer mark with 80 RBI with a solid slash line.
Underrated First Baseman
I have been a Josh Naylor fan for years, but it seems I am one of the few. Last year was an outstanding season for Naylor as he slashed .295/.353/.462 with 20 home runs, 92 RBI, and 30, yes 30, steals. In 2024, Naylor slugged 31 homers and drove in 108 with a .243/.320/.456 slash line. He does not put up eye-popping numbers, but his career 162-game average is 23 home runs and 95 RBI with a .269/.329/.447 slash line. Those are solid numbers.
I doubt Naylor steals 30 bags again this season, as teams are going to realize that if they ignore him, he will run. But if he does, then consider that a bonus. I will be more than happy with 23 homers and 93 RBI.
The Enigma
Eury Perez should be better than what his numbers show. His xERA this year was 3.27 (compared to actual ERA of 4.25), and his xBA was .211, ranking in the 81st and 88th percentile. Meanwhile, his fastball velo ranks in the 94th percentile, and his K% is in the 91st percentile. Yet his Barrel% ranked in the 39th percentile, and his Hard Hit% ranked in the 8th percentile. Perez has all the tools, but he doesn’t know how to use them.
If building a team from scratch and willing to risk a few swings and misses, Perez is a player to go after. But his inconsistency prevents me from making a leap of faith with him and has him landing in this tier.
Props To The Young Stud
If you have been reading my columns over the past two years, then you know I am not one to jump onto the young pitcher who is the flavor of the month. But when it comes to Jacob Misiorowski, I am fully on the bandwagon.
Like most young pitchers, Misiorowski had his ups and downs as a rookie this year with the Brewers, as he finished with a 4.36 ERA and 1.242 WHIP thanks in large part to a 4.2 BB/9 rate. But he also had an 11.9 K/9 rate and 7.0 H/9 rate, and a 3.62 FIP. His xERA ranked in the 79th percentile, his xBA the 91st percentile, and his fastball velo ranked in the 99th percentile. He produced a Whiff% of 29.7, ranking in the 80th percentile, and his 32.0 K% ranked in the 93rd percentile.
Once Misiorowski learns to command all of his pitches, he is going to be a nightmare for opposing hitters.
A Personal Favorite
Any time you are doing rankings, your bias will come into play somewhere. There are certain players you just don’t like, and there are certain players you likely value more than others. Kyle Bradish is the player I know I value more than others.
Injuries have curtailed his last two seasons, and that likely knocks his value in the eyes of others. But since I think every single pitcher will get hurt at some point, I look at just his results. And those results are really good. Bradish finished fourth in the Cy Young voting in 2023 and, after missing April with arm issues, was off to a great start in 2024 as he had a 2.75 ERA and 12.1 K/9 rate in eight starts before getting sidelined again from mid-June through the rest of the season.
He was unable to pitch for most of this past year, as well, but was able to return in September. In his six starts, he put up career-best numbers in ERA (2.53), WHIP (1.031), and K/9 (13.2). Will he duplicate those numbers in 2026? Maybe not quite as good, but I certainly expect him to match what he did in 2023.
90-86
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | AGE | POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | Luis Garcia Jr. | WAS | 25 | 2B |
| 89 | Corey Seager | TEX | 31 | SS |
| 88 | Brandon Lowe | PIT | 31 | 2B |
| 87 | Michael Harris II | ATL | 25 | CF |
| 86 | Austin Riley | ATL | 28 | 3B |
Will A Breakout Season Come?
I don’t know if it is just me or if others feel the same way, but Luis Garcia Jr. should just be a little better than he has been. Over the last two seasons, he is averaging 17 homers, 68 RBI, and 18 steals while slashing .267/.304/.428. This year he slashed .249/.295/.414, but he was a bit unlucky in that his Statcast xBA is .252 and xSLG is .426. But let’s say what we are seeing from Garcia is what we are going to get from this point forward. Then we get a second baseman who will hit around 17 homers, drive in 65 runs, and steal 20 bases.
Being a second baseman, that is solid production and moves him up in the rankings over similar players who play a position that has more talent, such as shortstop or right field.
Still Productive
Corey Seager is no longer a spring chicken, but the shortstop can still hit. He has reached at least 20 homers in the last four seasons, and in three of the last four years, he has driven in 70 or more runs. His numbers would be a lot better, however, if he was able to remain on the field. Since 2023, he has played in 119, 123, and 102 games. His average season during those three years is 115 games, 28 home runs, 73 RBI, and a .294/.372/.544 slash line.
Because of the last three years, I am not going to assume he is going to bounce back and play in 150 games. But if he comes close to that figure, he is going to hit 25 homers and drive in 80-plus runs with a solid slash line. I’ll take those numbers any day.
A New Home
Brandon Lowe is not going to wow you with a high batting average or OBP or steal a lot of bags for you. What Lowe is going to do is hit home runs and drive in runs. This past season, he hit 31 home runs and drove in 83. The 31 dingers tied with Jazz Chisholm Jr. for the most among second baseman while he topped all second basemen in RBI. The only knock against Lowe is the fact he has never played in more than 149 games (2021), and over the last three seasons, he has averaged 117 games played. But his 162-game average is 34 homers and 97 RBI.
It will be interesting to see how he hits at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. He has played only two games there, so his .167/.286/.167 slash line doesn’t indicate anything. But as a park, PNC tends to lower home run totals, and adjusted home run numbers for Lowe show his home run output may be lower this season, but not by a huge margin.
Finally, A Full Season
I have been waiting to see what Michael Harris II could do over a full season, and we finally got that in 2025. Prior to this season, Harris’ career high in games played was 138 in 2023. That season, he hit 18 homers with 57 RBI and 20 steals. This past season, he played in 160 games and swatted 20 homers, drove in 86, and stole 20 bases. The downside was a career-low slash line of .249/.268/.409.
A lot of that damage to the slash line occurred from March through June. In 82 games, he slashed .212/.238/.320 with six homers, 43 RBI, and 11 steals. From July 1 through the rest of the season, he slashed .285/.299/.498 with 14 bombs, 43 RBI, and nine steals in 78 games. That is the player I expect Harris to be going forward.
Return to Glory?
From 2021 to 2023, Austin Riley was one of the top hitting third basemen in baseball. During those three seasons, he averaged 159 games played, 36 homers, and 99 RBI with a .286/.354/.525 slash line and finished 7th, 6th and 7th in the MVP voting. The past two seasons, however, have been slowed by injuries. Riley appeared in only 110 games in 2024 and only 102 last year. The injuries have led to shrinking production at the plate as he has hit 19 and 16 homers and driven in 56 and 54 runs the last two years.
Assuming Riley returns to health, he should resume hitting home runs and driving in runs once again and become one of the top third basemen at the plate once again.
85-81
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | AGE | POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | Pablo Lopez | MIN | 30 | SP |
| 84 | Max Fried | NYY | 32 | SP |
| 83 | George Kirby | SEA | 28 | SP |
| 82 | Spencer Torkelson | DET | 26 | 1B |
| 81 | Cody Bellinger | NYY | 30 | LF|CF|RF |
Looking Healthy
Pablo Lopez was having the best season of his career last year through the first two months of the season (plus one start in March and one in June) as he was 7-4 with 2.82 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP, and a 9.05 K/9 rate. Lopez was then sidelined with a right shoulder strain and basically missed all of June, July, and August before returning to the mound in September. In his three September starts, he posted a 2.40 ERA and 1.26 WHIP while posting a 7.2 K/9 rate.
The command was obviously off, as was his strikeout rate, but Lopez still avoided trouble and showed he was basically back from the injury. He should be 100 percent to start this season and be a pitcher to target if he is available.
A Bumpy Ride
When it comes to Max Fried, at the end of the season, he will likely put up good numbers. But the ride along the way is going to be very bumpy. This past year, he had ERAs of 1.19, 2.65, and 1.91 in the months of April, May, and June. Then he posted ERAs of 5.54 and 5.14 in June and July, only to rebound with a 1.89 ERA in September. So overall, he had a 2.86 ERA and 1.101 WHIP while going 19-5 for the Yankees.
His career ERA is 3.03 with a 1.152 WHIP. He strike outs just under a batter per inning, but when all is said and done, he is a top pitcher and one anyone would like to have on their team.
The Third Ace
Every manager in baseball would love to have the Seattle Mariners pitching staff. Why? Because a pitcher like George Kirby is ranked in the top 100 overall, yet still has two teammates ranked ahead of him. Kirby did not have his best season this year when it came to his 4.21 ERA, which is much higher than his career ERA of 3.58. And his 2.1 BB/9 rate, which is outstanding for most starting pitchers, was also a career high. But he also posted a career best 9.8 K/9 rate, and his 3.37 FIP is in line with his career average. I only see him improving, and he can easily be a No. 2 starter, or ace, on many other staffs.
A Wild Ride
Spencer Torkelson has been either really good or really bad during his brief career. In 110 games as a rookie in 2022, he slashed .203/.285/.319 with eight homers and 28 RBI. That was fine as he was getting his feet wet. He showed what he could do in 2023 with a 31 homer, 94 RBI season, and everyone thought he was on his way to stardom. Then came 2024.
In what can only be described as a horrendous season, Torkelson slashed .219/.295/.374 and hit 10 homers with 37 RBI in 92 games, thanks to a demotion to the minors for a while. But the Tigers’ first baseman turned things back around last year as he hit 31 bombs and drove in 78. What he did in 2025 should be what we see from him going forward. He is never going to have a high batting average, but he should be good for an OBP in the .330 range and SLG around .450 with 30 homers and 80 RBI.
Staying In The Big Apple
When I was doing my positional rankings, Cody Bellinger appeared as a top left fielder, a top center fielder, and a top right fielder. Basically, he is just a really good player who can play anywhere in the outfield or first base when needed.
Over the last three years, he is averaging 85 runs scored, 24 home runs, 91 RBI, and 14 steals with a .281/.338/.477 slash line and 125 OPS+. Bellinger is a perfect fit for Yankee Stadium as he is coming off a 29 homer, 98 RBI season in his first year in pinstripes, and he should continue to put up those kind of numbers for several more years, especially if he stays in New York.
80-76
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | AGE | POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | Isaac Paredes | HOU | 27 | 3B |
| 79 | Brent Rooker | ATH | 31 | RF |
| 78 | Kyle Stowers | MIA | 28 | RF|CF|LF |
| 77 | Shea Langeliers | ATH | 28 | C |
| 76 | Mookie Betts | LAD | 33 | SS |
Better Than You Think
Some may be surprised to see Isaac Paredes here. Only twice in his career has he played in more than 140 games or hit more than 30 homers in a season. But Paredes was having a great season with the Astros last year before a hamstring injury in mid-July basically ended his season. Before suffering the injury, he was slashing .259/.359/.470 with 19 homers and 50 RBI in 94 games. That was a 162-game pace of 33 homers and 86 RBI.
Paredes is a dead pull hitter, hitting all of his home runs to left field. But in Daikin Park, that works out great thanks to the Crawford Boxes in left field. He has been rumored to be on the trading block, but even if he is traded, his power will play well in any park. If he remains with the Astros his value will go up as he will likely see time at second base and first base in addition to third base.
Silent But Deadly
Probably the only people who know who Brent Rooker is outside of his family and friends are fans of the Athletics and fantasy baseball players. Since joining the A’s in 2023, all Rooker has done is hit 30, 39, and 30 homers and driven in 69, 112, and 89 runs. His OPS+ the last three years have been 127, 165, and 123.
Rooker tends to strike out a lot, but last season he lowered his strikeout percentage to 22.2%, a career low and way below his career average of 28%. If you like power hitters, then you should like Rooker.
Coming Into His Own
Given a chance to play every day in Miami before an injury sidelined him for half of September, Kyle Stowers hit 25 homers and drove in 73 runs in 117 games while slashing .288/.368/.544. This past season, his Statcast numbers were:
- xwOBA: 94th Percentile
- xSLG: 95th Percentile
- Barrel%: 98th Percentile
- Hard Hit%: 94th Percentile
- LA Sweet Spot%: 83rd Percentile
- Bat Speed: 88th Percentile
His career Average EV is 90.8 mph, and his career Hard-Hit% is 50.6%. When he hits the ball, he hits it hard, and he is just now entering his prime.
The Best Of The Rest
Over the last three seasons, Shea Langeliers has hit 22, 29, and 31 homers while seeing his slash line increase each season, going from .205/.268/.413 in 2023 to .224/.288/.450 in 2024 to .277/.325/.536 last season. If Cal Raleigh wasn’t a catcher, everyone would be talking about Langeliers.
He is just now entering his prime, and while the batting average, OBP, and SLG have only improved, his K% has decreased from 29.2% in 2023 to 19.7% this past season. He should be a top hitting catcher for a long time.
Still Good, Just Not Great
Mookie Betts is not the player he once was, but a lot of players who are 33 can have that said about them. But Betts is still a productive player, coming off a 20 homer, 82 RBI season with a .258/.326/.406 slash line. Battling an illness last season, Betts has looked more like the outstanding player he has been during his career over the final two months of the season. In August, he slashed .288/.358/.404 with three homers and 13 RBI. In September, he was fantastic as he hit six homers and drove in 23 while slashing .299/.343/.557.
He is no longer the base stealer he once was, and in that Dodgers lineup, there is no need for him to steal a lot of bases. But I expect him to be closer to the player he was in August in September throughout the 2026 season and still be a solid player on offense in 2027 and 2028. After that, age will likely catch up.
Thank You
Thanks for taking the time to get through this first installment of 2026 Dynasty Rankings. Come back next week for the players ranked from 75-51.
If you missed previous rankings, just click below.
2026 Dynasty Baseball Rankings: 400-301
2026 Dynasty Baseball Rankings: 300-201
2026 Dynasty Baseball Rankings: 200-176
2026 Dynasty Baseball Rankings: 175-151
2026 Dynasty Baseball Rankings: 150-126
2026 Dynasty Baseball Rankings: 125-101
2026 Dynasty Baseball Rankings: 124-100
