Welcome back to the 2026 Dynasty Rankings as I count down to the top players in my rankings.
Before we get to the top player, however, the tour continues through the rest of the rankings and today that tour covers players ranked from 175 to 151.
Here is a quick breakdown of the positions and ages of the players:
- SP: 3
- 1B: 4 | 3B: 2 | SS: 1 | IF: 5
- CF: 1 | LF: 1 | OF: 4
- IF/OF: 3
- DH: 1
- Ages 20-24: 6
- Ages 25-29: 14
- Ages 30-34: 4
- Ages 35+: 1
As you can see above, there are a host of players in this grouping who can play multiple positions. I love those players as they allow me to cover injuries more easily. No searching the waiver wire for someone who may be able to match the production of the injured player. Instead, I can just slide a few people around, and the hole is covered.
The ages of the players are also moving away from those 30 and older to those 29 and younger. Of the 25 players listed below, only five of them are in their 30s. This should not be a surprise when it comes to building a dynasty team that you want to win for years. You pick and choose which older players to target while trying to hoard the best young talent out there.
With that out of the way, let’s get started.
175-171
Notes:
*Age as if April 1, 2026
**Position = at least 10 games played at that position
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | AGE | POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 175 | Yandy Diaz | TB | 34 | 1B |
| 174 | Triston Casas | BOS | 26 | 1B |
| 173 | Carson Williams | TB | 22 | SS |
| 172 | Brandon Marsh | PHI | 28 | CF|LF |
| 171 | Ryan Mountcastle | BAL | 29 | 1B |
This Vet Still Hits
Yandy Diaz is not a long-term solution at first base, but he is a great short-term solution. He is coming off a 2025 season in which he slashed .300/.366/.482 with 25 homers and 83 RBI. For his career, he is a .290/.372/.442 hitter. And his Statcast metrics back up his numbers as he ranked in the 94th percentile in Average EV and Hard Hit%. He may not reach 25 homers again, as only twice in his career has he topped 20 dingers in a season, but he is going to get on base and drive in runs, making him a solid and safe choice.
Unknown Role
As a rookie in 2023, Tristan Casas put down a claim to be Boston’s first baseman for years to come as he slashed .263/.367/.490 with 24 homers and 65 RBI in 132 games. But injuries have not been kind to Casas since, and he has played in only 92 games combined in 2024 and 2025, slashing .222/.318/.412 with 16 home runs and 43 RBI. The slash line is not great, but over 162 games, those power numbers would equate to 28 dingers and 76 RBI.
The problem for Casas is the arrival of Willson Contreras, who is expected to hold down first base for the Red Sox. Casas can slot into the DH role and play first when Contreras is at DH, but the Sox have a host of outfielders who they can also rotate through at DH, so Casas’ playing time is a question. He could start the year in the minors, but he has proven that when healthy, he brings a lot of power from the left side of the plate.
Tough Debut
Tampa Bay’s Carson Williams did not set the world on fire during his 32-game stint with the Rays. He posted a .172/.219/.354 slash line with five homers, 12 RBI, and two steals. But his minor league history suggests this was just a young player being thrown into the deep end of the pool. At Class A ball in 2022, he hit 10 home runs, drove in 70, and stole 28 bases. His 2023 numbers at A+-AA-AAA were 23-81-20. In 2024 at Double-A, he went 20-69-33, and this past season at Triple-A, his numbers were 23-55-22.
He has never had a great batting average in the minors (career .247), but his career OBP and SLG are .345 and .471. Williams will hit for power and give you steals. If he increases his batting average over time, then that is a bonus.
Just A Solid Player
Brandon Marsh is just one of those players who you just plug into the lineup and can expect 12-15 homers and 55-60 RBI with maybe 10 steals. And there is nothing wrong at all with a player like that. His slash line won’t kill you either.
In really deep leagues, Marsh is a player to have as he can slot in at center field or left field. In shallower leagues, he is a great depth player.
One Year Wonder?
Ryan Mountcastle has never duplicated his 33 homer, 89 RBI season of 2021. Since then, he has averaged 18 homers and 72 RBI. When healthy, you can probably count on him reaching his season averages from 2022-2024. But staying healthy is easier said than done when it comes to Mountcastle. A second concern is: where will he play? The Orioles brought in Pete Alonso, so first base is blocked. Mountcastle can play in left field, but hasn’t done so since 2021, and the Orioles have plenty of outfielders. I like his bat, but he is in a similar position as Casas – how many at-bats will he get?
170-166
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | AGE | POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 170 | Brooks Lee | MIN | 25 | SS|3B|2B |
| 169 | Xavier Edwards | MIA | 26 | 2B|SS |
| 168 | Colton Cowser | BAL | 26 | CF|LF |
| 167 | Alec Burleson | STL | 27 | 1B|LF|RF |
| 166 | Luis Matos | SF | 24 | RF|LF |
Will He Finally Break Out?
Brooks Lee is able to play shortstop and second base as well as third base. Where he winds up in 2026 is still unknown, but the fact that he can play nearly anywhere in the infield is a great plus. When it comes to his bat, he has the ability to hit for power, hitting 16 homers and driving in 64 runs this past season. He doesn’t have the best slash line in his career, and his Statcast numbers don’t jump off the page. Despite that, I really like him a lot and expect him to finally break out in 2026.
Where Are The Steals?
I’m ranking Xavier Edwards here because I think his drop in steals, or maybe hope his drop in steals, is a blip in his career and not what the future holds. That is because Edwards’ true value comes in the form of stolen bases. In 2024, he swiped 31 bags in 70 games with a .328/.397/.423 slash line. If he can steal 31 bases in 70 games, he can easily steal 60 over a full season, right?. At least that was the smart bet in 2025. Instead, Edwards “only” stole 27 bases in 2025 in 139 games while his slash line fell to .283/.343/.343. He is never going to hit for power, but he should steal more bases, and I think he will.
Falling Down The Rankings
I was all aboard the Colton Cowser train entering the 2025 season, as I had him ranked 27th in my Top 400 rankings. Needless to say, he didn’t reach No. 27 this year. But I am not ready to write Cowser off. His 2025 season was a bust as a broken thumb sidelined him for most of April and May. Overall, he played in 92 games and hit 16 homers and drove in 40 while stealing 14 bases. He has the ability to hit 25 to 30 homers and add 20 steals. The problem is getting on base, as he has a career OBP of .300 and a batting average of .216. If, and that is a big word, if Cowser can increase his batting average and OBP, he is ranked too low here.
Versatility Very Helpful
As a first baseman or a corner outfielder, Alex Burleson is just one of many players who can produce at this level. But the fact that he can slot in as a first baseman, left fielder, or right fielder adds a lot of value to him. At the plate, Burleson is a solid player. Over the last two years, he has averaged 19.5 homers and 73.5 RBI in 145.5 games with a .279/.328/.439 slash line. His career 162-game average is .268/.319/.422 with 19 homers and 73 RBI. So when you run with Burleson, you should expect 20 homers, 73 RBI, and a decent slash line from a player who can play multiple positions.
His Last Chance
The San Francisco Giants have had high hopes for Luis Matos for years. But all of those high hopes have been shattered by now. In parts of three seasons covering 178 games, Matos has a .231/.281/.369 slash line with 15 homers, 61 RBI, and seven steals. That is the bad news.
The good news is Matos has shown stretches of being an outstanding player – but only stretches. He is also only 24 years old, and in six minor league seasons, he has a career slash line .291/.352/.476 with 67 dingers, 302 RBI, and 82 steals in 443 games. Hard to toss aside a player with his talent. But at this point, he is a fourth outfielder in fantasy and a true buy-low player.
165-161
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | AGE | POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 165 | Dylan Beavers | BAL | 24 | LF|RF |
| 164 | Jasson Dominguez | NYY | 23 | LF |
| 163 | Coby Mayo | BAL | 24 | 1B |
| 162 | Mark Vientos | NYM | 26 | 3B |
| 161 | Shane McClanahan | TB | 28 | SP |
A Beaver With Skills
I am a big fan of Dylan Beavers. I know his average (.227) wasn’t great during his 35 game stint with the Orioles, but he had a 19% walk rate to give him a .375 OBP while also coming in with a .400 SLG. I expect his 27% strikeout rate to drop a bit, which will help that slash line, and he has shown good power and speed in the minors. At Triple-A Norfolk, he had 18 homers and 23 RBI in 94 games. He can easily be a 20-20 player or better.
Am I Missing Something?
Since 2020, Jasson Dominguez has been a favorite of the gurus who rank prospects. He first appeared in the top 100 rankings of Baseball America, MLB, and Baseball Prospectus (among the many rankings services) in 2020 and remained a top 100 prospect through 2024. But I have yet to really see all of the hype around him carry onto the field on the major league level. In 123 games, he slashed .257/.331/.388 with 10 bombs and 47 RBI, though he did steal 23 bases. He had a 26.8% strikeout rate, which is fine if that also came with 25 homers. He is still young and can easily hit his stride and live up to the hype. But right now, I cannot fully buy into Dominguez.
Love The Potential, But…
Coby Mayo has been a top 50 prospect the last two years, but when given a shot with the Orioles, he has struggled at the plate. In 102 games and 304 career at-bats he has a .201/.285/.349 slash line with 11 homers, 28 RBI, and a 31.2% strikeout rate. There is no questioning Mayo’s power as he has a career .531 SLG in 435 minor league games. But if he can’t hit the ball, his power doesn’t mean anything.
Mayo saw most of his action at first base in 2025, but with Pete Alonso at first, along with Ryan Mountcastle, Mayo will likely shift to third, a position he has played with the Orioles and in the minors. With his power potential, he can be undervalued here if he makes some adjustments at the plate to at least become a .250/.350/.450 hitter.
Can He Rebound?
Mark Vientos had a breakout season in 2024, as he slugged 27 homers and drove in 71 runs with a .266/.322/.516 slash line. Fantasy owners had high hopes when 2025 began, thinking Vientos would build on his 2024 season. That never really happened. In 121 games (10 more than 2024), he hit 17 bombs and drove in 61 while slashing .233/.289/.413. Vientos is not a good fielder, and a move to first base is likely now that Pete Alonso is in Baltimore. But whether he moves to first or stays at third doesn’t matter if he doesn’t return to his 2024 form – or at least somewhere in between 2024 and 2025.
Talent Isn’t The Issue
When it comes to evaluating Shane McClanahan, there is no questioning his talent. McClanahan has the stuff to be a Cy Young Award winner. In 74 career starts, he is 33-16 with a 3.02 ERA and 1.105 WHIP with a 10.9 K/9 rate and 2.6 BB/9 ratio.
The problem when it comes to McClanahan is that he last threw a pitch in an MLB game on August 2, 2023. All we have gotten from him over the last two seasons is injury updates. IF you believe McClanahan is 100 percent healthy and will give you at least 25 starts, then bump him up in the rankings – certainly inside the top 100. He’s that good when he pitches. IF you think he will get hurt once again, then leave him ranked in this range.
160-156
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | AGE | POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 160 | Chase Burns | CIN | 23 | SP |
| 159 | Jack Leiter | TEX | 25 | SP |
| 158 | Matt Chapman | SF | 32 | 3B |
| 157 | Marcell Ozuna | FA | 35 | DH |
| 156 | Gavin Sheets | SD | 29 | LF|1B |
Picks to Click
I know what I say about young pitchers – I’m more often than not a little weary of them. But two pitchers I really like are Chase Burns and Jack Leiter, and I expect them to have breakout seasons in 2026.
Burns appeared in 13 games, making eight starts, for the Reds and had a 4.57 ERA and 1.315 WHIP. But he also struck out 13.9 batters per nine, notching 67 strikeouts in 43.1 innings. Burns has always been able to strike out hitters. His K/9 rate in the minors is 12.1 during his career, and in college, his rate was 14.6. The second overall pick in the 2024 draft and a Top 30 prospect entering 2025, Burns has nothing to prove in the minors.
Like Burns, Leiter is also a former No. 2 overall pick, selected there by the Rangers in 2021. Leiter does not have the electric arm that Burns has, but he is coming off a solid year in which he had a 3.86 ERA. Over his final 13 starts, Leiter had a 3.28 ERA and 1.192 WHIP after posting an ERA and WHIP of 4.37 and 1.357 in his first 16 starts. Even more impressive was the K/9 rate increasing from 7.7 to 10.0 while his BB/9 rate fell from 4.3 to 3.6.
Consistent At The Plate
When putting a fantasy team together, it is exciting to hit on all the young players and make yourself think you are awesome at spotting the up-and-coming talent. But that rarely happens. I like to balance my reads with players who I pretty much know what they will do. Matt Chapman is one of those players who I can count on to deliver at least 20 homers and 65 RBI.
Since 2021, Chapman has averaged 24 homers and 68 RBI with a .231/.327/.431 slash line. At third base, those are solid numbers.
One Trick Pony
What I don’t like about Marcel Ozuna is the fact that he is strictly a DH. That is all he is, so you have to use your utility slot on Ozuna. He is also coming off a somewhat down year as he slashed .232/.355/.400 with 21 homers and 68 RBI in 145 games. Those aren’t horrible stats, but they are a far cry from what he did in 2023 and 2024 when he averaged 40 homers and 102 RBI. But right now, I believe that 2025 was a blip for Ozuna and expect him to return to his production from the previous two years. If he doesn’t, then ranking him here will prove to be silly.
Ranked Too High?
I had Gavin Sheets ranked lower in my initial rankings, but I moved him up to this spot after watching him finish with a really nice 2025 campaign. In 145 games with the Padres, he hit 19 homers and drove in 71 runs (both career highs) with a .252/.317/.429 slash line. He will be 29 on Opening Day, but with an April birthday, he will basically be 30 years old all season, so he is not a young player finding his stride.
Sheets made some adjustments in his swing last year, leading him to rank in the 87th percentile in LA Sweet Spot and in the 86th percentile in Bat Speed. He doesn’t strike out much or chase bad pitches, leading me to believe that he can at least duplicate his 2025 season again for the next few years.
155-151
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | AGE | POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 155 | Harrison Bader | FA | 31 | CF|LF |
| 154 | Carlos Correa | HOU | 31 | 3B|SS |
| 153 | Otto Lopez | MIA | 27 | SS|2B |
| 152 | Jung Hoo Lee | SF | 27 | CF |
| 151 | Miguel Vargas | CHW | 26 | 3B|1B |
Solid, But That Is It
Harrison Bader is still searching for a team, but once he signs, that team (and fantasy owners) will get a player who will steal 10 to 15 bases, slug 12 or so home runs, and drive in 55 runs. Those aren’t great numbers, but they aren’t bad numbers. They are the numbers of a solid depth outfielder who can slot in as a center fielder or left fielder. Injuries happen to every team, and having a player like Bader offers great depth and solid numbers off the bench.
Hanging In There
Carlos Correa is not the player he once was – a shortstop who hit for power and drove in runs. Now he is a third baseman (who still has shortstop eligibility this year) who will likely hit around 15 homers and drive in 65 runs with a solid slash line. Third base is not an overly deep position, so Correa still has a lot of value. And with his return to Houston for a full year, he may be able to take advantage of the Crawford Boxes in left and reach 20 homers.
Trending Upward
Jung Hoo Lee had his American debut in 2024 cut short thanks to an injury. In his 37 games for the Giants, he slashed .262/.310/.331 with two homers, eight RBI, and two steals. Fully healthy in 2025, Lee slashed .266/.327/.407 with eight dingers, 55 RBI, and 10 steals. I expect pretty much the same from Lee this season, and with center field not being the deepest of positions, he is a solid one to have on your roster.
Some people look at Otto Lopez and see the glass half empty, as he is 27 and just now experiencing success on the baseball field. I look at Lopez and see the glass as being half full. He hit 15 homers and stole 15 bases while driving in 77 runs to pair with a .246/.305/.368 slash line. But his xBA was .279, and his xSLG was .447, according to Statcast. His home run rate increased from 1.4% to 2.5% this season while increasing his walk rate (5.8% to 7.4%) and lowering his strikeout rate (17.3% to 13.8%). Those numbers show Lopez is trending up.
Hitting His Stride
If you wonder why I seldom jump on the top prospect train, Miguel Vargas is an example of why that is the case for me. Depending on what prospect rankings you go by, he was a top 100 prospect from 2020 through 2023, reaching as high as No. 30 in Baseball America in 2023. So, how awesome was Vargas in 2023 for the Dodgers? He slashed 195/.305/.367 with seven homers and 32 RBI in 81 games. In 2024, playing for the Dodgers and White Sox, Vargas went .150/.249/.257-5-16 in 72 games.
It wasn’t until last year that Vargas finally started to show his talent. Playing in 138 games, he hit 16 homers and drove in 60 runs with a .234/.316/.401 slash line. Not mind-numbing numbers, but I think it was the start of things to come for Vargas, as I expect him to build on 2025 and be even better this season.
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 200-176.
If you missed previous rankings, just click below.
2026 Dynasty Rankings: 400-301
2026 Dynasty Rankings: 300-201
2026 Dynasty Rankings: 200-176
