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Welcome back to the third installment of the Fantasy Baseball Dynasty rankings. As we count down toward the top group, this week we cover players ranked 200-176.

Whether you are building your dynasty team from scratch this year or you are in year 10 with a team, there is always going to be a mix of young and old players. The players in this grouping are more on the older side and the catcher position is starting to come into play. Here is the breakdown of this week’s group:

1 player over 35 years old
9 players between the ages of 30-34
13 players between the ages of 25-29
2 players between the ages of 20-24
9 infielders
7 starting pitchers
5 outfielders
4 catchers

The older players in this group should be able to produce solid numbers for at least another three years, that is why I have them ranked this high. And the reason for the 10 players in their 30s makes sense to me since the deeper we go into the rankings, the more the dominant the young players are going to be.

And now my weekly reminder: if a top prospect hasn’t reached the majors yet, they won’t be in these rankings. Itch has been running down the top prospects per team and will continue his great work. No need for me to repeat what he says.

Now on to the Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Rankings: 175-151…

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Welcome back to the second installment of the Fantasy Baseball Dynasty rankings. This week we cover players ranked 200-176.

A quick overview of the group produces these stats:

6 players are 30- or 31-years-old, but no one is older than 31
3 players are 24 or younger
3 players are infielders
10 players are outfielders
12 players are pitchers – five starters and seven relievers

The number of pitchers should not be surprising. I don’t have any relievers ranked in any future groupings because I can get closers and setup men pretty easily throughout the season. As for the starting pitchers, there is always the need for depth to cover for injuries or ineffective starts throughout the week.

And a reminder – if a top prospect hasn’t reached the majors yet, they won’t be in these rankings. Itch has been running down the top prospects per team and will continue his great work. No need for me to repeat what he says.

Now on to the Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Rankings: 200-176…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

installment of the 2024 Dynasty Rankings, with players No. 300 to 201 being unveiled.

When it comes to putting your dynasty team together, you want to build and then maintain a squad that can contend for years. The formula to do this, however, varies from person to person.

For me, when evaluating players for dynasty leagues, the formula for success is a dash of gut instinct mixed in with past experience and a whole lot of what the eye sees. You know a good player when you see him. But a good 34-year-old player is not the same as a good 24-year-old player. Thus, for my dynasty teams I try to follow these simple guidelines:

Youth over Age
You will need veteran players, but you don’t want a whole team of veteran players. If there is a “tie” between a young player and the player four or five years older, I’ll take the younger player.

Hitters over Pitchers
As a whole, young hitters perform better than young pitchers, and veteran hitters are more consistent than veteran pitchers. Basically, I trust my gut when it comes to hitters versus pitchers. Unless a starting pitcher is superior to a solid hitter in the round I am drafting, I will wait on the starting pitcher and go with the hitter.

Starting Pitchers over Relievers
This is pretty easy to understand why. As a group, relievers are so up-and-down it is maddening. Without fail, there will be five or six closers you can pick up in the middle of the season. DO NOT DRAFT A CLOSER EARLY. I will fill out 90 percent of my starting staff before I add my closers/relievers. In my rankings, you won’t see a reliever ranked in the top 150.

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This is it – the final installment of the Top 2024 Keepers. We started with relief pitchers back in the beginning of October and today we wrap things up with the right fielders.

If you have missed an article or want to refresh yourself on the previous rankings, you can click on the links below:

Keeper Relief Pitchers
Keeper Starting Pitchers
Keeper Catchers
Keeper First Basemen
Keeper Second Basemen
Keeper Shortstops
Keeper Third Basemen
Keeper Left Fielders
Keeper Center Fielders

The top players in this position group are some of the top players in all of baseball. I would be more than happy to build my team around the players I ranked in Tier 1. And the depth of this position is pretty strong. I have no qualms having any of the players in Tiers 2 and 3 on my team while players in the lower tiers still can offer value to a fantasy team.

So let’s get to the rankings.

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Welcome back to another week of the 2024 Top Keepers series. We’ve completed our journey around the infield, so now we head to the outfield.

This week the spotlight is on left fielders. It would be simpler to just rank all the outfielders in one big group. However, I am not a fan of leagues that just start outfielders. While there is not a big difference between left field and right field, there is a difference. And playing center field is a very different skillset compared to the corner outfield spots.

With that in mind and knowing there are plenty of leagues that start a left fielder, center fielder and right fielder, I have broken up the positions into three different rankings. But before we get to the top left field keepers, below are the positions that have been discussed previously:

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The journey through the 2024 Top Keepers continues this week with a look at the top shortstops. Compared to some of the other positions we’ve covered, shortstop is actually a pretty deep position. If you get stuck with a Tier 4 player, like a Jeremy Pena or Tommy Edman, you still have a decent shortstop on your hands.

Even in Tier 5 (players ranked 31-40), you still can get a decent utility player or fulltime shortstop with some solid upside. Meanwhile, the top shortstops are players who are not just the best at this position, but are some of the best players in the game. Overall, this is a strong group of players.

Now, on to the rankings!

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After going over keeper relievers, keeper starters and keeper catchers in October, we turned our attention to the top infield keepers last week with a look at the keeper first basemen.

This week we continue the trip around the infield by looking at the second basemen.

I’m pretty sure I said this last year, but I will say it again: second base is the scrapheap of major league baseball. It seems every manager believes anyone can play second base – and they may be right. You have players getting starts at the spot that you would think would never play there – like a Brandon Drury. Right fielders, center fielders, third basemen, first basemen – they are all getting time at second base.

With so many fantasy leagues requiring middle infielders, the list of keepers is long and the bar to be on the list consists of players who had to have at least 10 starts at second base.

Enough with the chit chat, on to the 2024 Top Keepers – Second Basemen

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After going over the pitchers and catchers the past month, it is time to turn our attention to the top infield keepers. the trip around the infield will start with the first basemen.

I really thought it was going to be easy to find 30 first basemen and another 10 who can play the position well. But what I thought and what I learned were two different things.

The top half of this group solid, especially the top 10 players with the next 10 being very safe keepers. If you have anyone in Tier 3 or better, be happy. But the bottom tier players are just that – bottom tier players. Some may surprise and have a good season in 2024, but others will likely do exactly what you and I expect from them.

With that said, it’s on to the 2024 Top Keepers – First Basemen

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Catchers – you can’t live with them, and in fantasy baseball, we can’t live without them.

This is a position that is not deep and not that talented after the top tier of backstops. You may get a catcher who has power but kills your average and on-base percentage. Or you may get a catcher who hits well and gets on base, but has no power at all.

There are very few perfect catchers in baseball, and the few that are close are going to be tough to get or trade for due to the scarcity of those players. But you almost feel compelled to try to go after them or hang onto them a year or two too long because for every Adley Rutschmans, there are two Martin Maldonados who just kill your team.

I came up with forty catchers to rank, but that is mostly to help fantasy owners who play in 20-team (or more) leagues or the leagues that require two catchers. If you are in a 12- to 16-team league, the Tier 4 and perhaps Tier 3 players will likely mean nothing to you.

Anyway, let’s get to the 2024 Top Keepers – Catchers.

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Wow, has it already been a week since the first installment of the 2024 Top Keepers was unveiled? Time flies when the baseball playoffs are in full swing.

Last week I looked at the top relievers to keep (2024 Top Keepers – Relievers). This week the focus is on starting pitchers.

Like relievers, starting pitchers can be a little inconsistent from year to year, making it tough to nail down the top keepers. I went pretty deep this year with a list of 85, allowing for a nice mix of veteran pitchers and young up-and-comers.

That said, I’m sure I missed some pitchers you probably like more and listed players higher than you think they deserve to be.

However, I like the list I have put together and I hope you find it useful as you build your fantasy staff.

Now let’s get on with the rankings!

Please, blog, may I have some more?