Top 400 Dynasty Players For 2025: 125-101

Another week has come and gone, but back again this week is the Top 400 Dynasty Players for 2025.

This week I highlight the players I have ranked between 125 and 101.

As provided before, here is a quick breakdown of the 25 players in the rankings this week:

Let’s provide a quick breakdown of the 25 players in the rankings this week before diving into the rankings:

• Age 20-24 – 4
• Age 25-29 – 16
• Age 30-34 – 5

Position Breakdown

• SP – 5
• 1B – 3 | 2B – 6 | SS – 1
• OF – 7
• IF – 2
• C – 1

The age range makes sense as anyone should start going for the younger players at this point outside of the top players who are older than 30. So seeing 16 players listed who are between the ages of 25-29 is not a surprise.

When it comes to the position breakdown, you see a lot of second basemen – six in fact – in this grouping. While there are some differences in the second basemen you will read about, these six players will basically provide the same production – though some of it is coming in homers, some in steals, or a combination. But overall, they are very similar to each other. Losing out on one of them shouldn’t be horrible if there are three more on the board waiting for you.

Now on to the rankings.

125-121

*Age as of April 1, 2025

**Minimum 10 games played at each position listed. If less than 10, then position most played

***Until the Athletics are actually in Las Vegas, players on the team will be listed as OAK

****2024 Rank is where I ranked players ahead of the 2024 season.

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION	AGE	2024 RANK
125	Mike Trout	LAA	CF	33	40
124	Gleyber Torres	DET	2B	28	56
123	Christian Encarnacion-Strand	CIN	1B	25	78
122	Jake Cronenworth	SD	2B/1B	31	NR
121	Nolan Gorman	STL	2B	24	86

Perhaps Left Field Is The Key

A player who I love to watch play but is seemingly never actually playing is Mike Trout. When healthy he is one of the best players in the game. But since playing in 134 games in 2019 and then in 53 of the 60 games played in 2020, Trout has appeared in 53, 36, 119, 82, and 29 games. You know his numbers when he plays are more than good enough to make him a Tier 1 player, even at the age of 33 next season. But do you trust him to actually play in 130 games or more? I don’t. And that is why I ranked him 15th.

No Home Advantage In Motown

When Gleyber Torres was traded to Detroit, one of the first things I looked at was how would it hurt his possible home run production. Torres is going from a park that greatly favored his home run production to one that will greatly limit his home run production. According to Statcast Park Factor data, his adjusted home runs by park would be 143 at Yankees Stadium for his career to 104 in Detroit. That is the second lowest output of any stadium. Torres’ best fantasy stat was his possible home runs as he hit 24 in 2002 and 25 in 2023 before slipping to 15 last year.

Three Rebound Players

Fantasy players had high hopes for Christian Encarnacion-Strand entering the 2024 season after he hit 13 homers and drove in 37 runs in 63 games in 2023 while slashing .270/.328/.477. But in 2024, his stats were pretty ugly – .190/.220/.293 slash line with two homers and 16 RBI. Encarnacion-Strand was limited to only 29 games due to a fractured right hand, and I fully expect him to return to his 2023 form and be a big bat for the Reds in 2025 and beyond.

After a down year in 2023, Jake Cronenworth rebounded in 2024 with 17 homers and 72 RBI while slashing .241/.324/.390. Those numbers are more in line with what he did in 2021 and 2022 and I expect they should be close to that this season. That is pretty solid production for a player who can slot at second base in addition to playing first base.

Nolan Gorman let me down last season. After hitting 27 homers and driving in 76 runs in 2023, I was fully ready for him to at least repeat if not increase that output. Instead, he struggled to the tune of a .226/.300/.420 slash line with 14 homers and 35 RBI and a return trip back to the minors to end the season (and he hit seven homers and slugged .489 in 23 games). The Cardinals have said they will give Gorman every chance to succeed this year. There is no reason to believe he can’t rebound and at least match what he did in 2023.

120-116

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION	AGE	2024 RANK
120	Masyn Winn	STL	SS	23	259
119	Jordan Walker	STL	RF	22	42
118	Ian Happ	CHC	LF	30	123
117	Jonathan India	KC	2B	28	164
116	Tyler Soderstrom	OAK	1B	23	NR

Not Perfect, But Pretty Good

After struggling in his 37-game debut in 2023, Masyn Winn provided a glimpse of what he can do by hitting 15 homers, driving in 57 runs and stealing 11 bases while slashing .267/.314/.416. What hurts Winn is an OBP that could be a lot better. Winn had a 6.4% walk rate, which helped ding his OBP. If he can increase that walk rate and add a few more hits to up that OBP, it will him to take more advantage of his speed and increase his value.

Better Than His 2024 Showing

It was only one season ago when Jordan Walker, who turns 23 in May and was a top five prospect entering the 2023 season, hit 16 homers, drove in 51 runs and slashed .276/.342/.445 in 117 games. Yes, 2024 was a disaster for Walker as he slashed .201/.253/.366 with five homers and 20 RBI in 51 games as he was demoted to Triple-A after April and didn’t return to St. Louis until August. But in September, Walker looked more like the 2023 version we saw as he slashed .253/.286/.494 with five homers and 16 RBI. For a full six months that is 30 homers and 96 RBI. I think he is primed to rebound in 2025.

Solid Numbers Every Year

Ian Happ of the Cubs doesn’t come up in a lot of discussions when talking about the best left fielders. However, the veteran is consistent every year. In three of the last four seasons, he has hit 21 or more homers. His RBI output has increased in each of the last four years and over the last two seasons he has swiped 14 and 13 bases. He won’t deliver a great batting average as he has a career .248 average. But he has a solid career OBP of .343 to go with a .451 SLG. The only drawback is he is 30 years old this season, but that is really the only knock against him if you are looking for a long-term solution in left field.

Falling A Little Short

For years I have given Jonathan India the benefit of the doubt for not repeating what he did in 2021 when he was the NL Rookie of the Year. That season he slashed .269/.376/.459 with 21 homers, 69 RBI, and 12 steals. Playing in a hitter’s paradise, I fully expected India to at least match if not surpass those numbers each and every year of his career. But he hasn’t, thanks to injuries and just not living up to my expectations.

It appears India is now a 15 to 17 homer player who will steal about 15 bases and slash .250/.345/.410. Those aren’t horrible numbers and make him a starter in many leagues at second base. He just isn’t going to be the player we saw in 2021.

Moved Him Up

When I did my position rankings, I ranked Tyler Soderstrom 44th as I dinged him pretty hard for his career slash line of .204/.282/.354 and even for last season’s slash line of .233/.315/.429. Let’s just say some of the people who left comments told me I was crazy. I have gone back and looked at Soderstom more, and while I am not projecting him to be a superstar, I have moved him up in my rankings. There is no denying his power potential and his upside, and he’s worth going after in a dynasty league.

115-111

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION	AGE	2024 RANK
115	Jake Burger	TEX	1B/3B	28	139
114	Nick Castellanos	PHI	RF	33	157
113	Bryson Stott	PHI	2B	27	84
112	Matt Wallner	MIN	LF/RF	27	231
111	Zack Gelof	OAK	2B	25	91

Flipping That Burger

For some reason, Jake Burger keeps getting traded. I view it as a sign of a good player with a solid skill set that teams want. After seeing sporadic playing time to start his career with the White Sox, Burger established himself as a power hitter in 2023 when he split the season between the White Sox and Marlins. In 141 games combined, he hit 34 homers, drove in 80 runs, and slashed .250/.309/.518. He followed that up with a 29 homer, 76 RBI campaign in 2024 with a slash line of .250/.301/.460. There is no reason to think he won’t produce those same numbers with the Rangers this season.

Philly Combo

Nick Castellanos is getting a little long in the tooth, I understand that. But as I have said before, every team needs players you can count on, and Castellanos is one of those players. He is going to hit 25 homers and drive in 90 runs, give or take a few homers and a few RBI. He is not going steal bases for you, but he will not hurt you when it comes to the slash line as he is a career .274/.323/.470 hitter. And as a bonus, he will be in the lineup every day as he played in all 162 games last season and in 157 games in 2023.

While Castellanos is slowly closing in on the end of this career, Bryson Stott is just now entering the prime of his career. In three seasons with the Phillies, Stott has been remarkably consistent. He has hit 10, 15, and 11 homers each season with 49, 6,2 and 57 RBI. Where he has really become an asset is his stolen base production. After stealing 12 bases as a rookie, he stole 31 bags in 2023 and 32 last season. I would like for him to hit some more home runs, but if he goes 14-64 in the home run and RBI department with 30-plus steals, then that is a good year for a second baseman.

Hoping for a Full Season

Matt Wallner has never played in more than 76 games in a season. In 76 games in 2023, Wallner hit 14 homers, drove in 41 runs, and slashed .249/.370/.507. This past season in 75 games he went 13 and 37 with a .259/.372/.523 slash line. In 169 career game,s he has hit 29 home runs and driven in 88 while sporting a .251/.366/.500 slash line. I believe (hope) Wallner can get into at least 130 games and provide 25 homers and 75 RBI.

Nice Power-Speed Combo

Zack Gelof is similar to Gorman in that he can hit for power and struggles in the average and OBP departments. He has hit 31 homers in 207 career games but has a .231/.294/.412 slash line. Where Gelof is different from Gorman is that Gelof can also steal bases. He swiped 25 in 138 games this year and has 39 for his career (162-game average of 31 steals). The power/speed combo in a 25-year-old player is nice.

110-106

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION	AGE	2024 RANK
110	Bailey Ober	MIN	SP	28	127
109	Tyler O’Neill	BAL	LF/RF	29	298
108	Heliot Ramos	SF	LF/CF	25	NR
107	Brice Turang	MIL	2B	25	NR
106	Chris Sale	ATL	SP	36	NR

Consistency Is Good

Bailey Ober is the type of pitcher who you want on your staff but who you don’t go out of your way to draft him or trade for him. He has won four more games than he has lost during his career (25-21), which is why wins are becoming an extinct category in many leagues. For his career, he has a 3.76 ERA and a 1.067 WHIP. That is pretty solid right there. He also strikes out just over a batter per inning (9.2 K/9 career rate). His ERA jumped to 3.98 in 2024, but his WHIP was a great 1.002 and his FIP was 3.82. He is a good pitcher and one to target once the top hurlers are not available.

Outfielders Who Made A Jump

I was not betting on Tyler O’Neill to be very productive in 2024. He showed me wrong. Now with the Orioles, O’Neill had a great season after basically being MIA in 2022 and 2023. In 113 games last year, he hit 31 homers and slugged .511. With the left field fence in Baltimore no longer 5,000 feet away from home plate, O’Neill should produce solid power numbers once again this year.

While O’Neill was barely ranked in my 2024 preseason rankings, Ramos was not ranked at all after not really showing anything during his two cups of tea with the Giants in 2022 and 2023. In those two seasons combined, he appeared in 34 games and had only 12 hits in 76 at-bats for a .158/.220/.250 slash line. But given a chance to play every day in 2024, Ramos came up big as he hit 22 homers and drove in 72 runs with a .269/.322/.469 slash line. I think that production is near his ceiling, but that would be a solid ceiling to have.

Pure Speed

Brice Turang is not going to deliver a lot of home runs. But that is not why you want a player like him. You want Turang because he is going to steal a lot of bases. Turang stole 50 bases for the Brewers this past season after swiping 26 in 2023. Sometimes a one-dimensional player is good to have, and while there are more and more steals in the majors now, having a player who can reach 50 or more steals is a valuable player to have.

Back On The Bandwagon

I was completely off the Chris Sale bandwagon entering the 2024 season. As you could see, I didn’t even rank him in my Top 300 (not a top 400) rankings last year. Well, Sale made me look a little silly after claiming the NL Triple Crown in pitching. The lefty led the league in wins (18), ERA (2.38) and strikeouts (225). But who here really believed he had that season in him?

He didn’t play at all in 2020 and made only nine starts in 2021 and two in 2022. When healthy in 2023 with Boston, he had a 4.30 ERA. So what Sale did this past season is somewhat surprising considering his recent history. He will be 36 next season, and perhaps I am overreacting to what he did last season in where I am ranking him now. If you are taking a longer view with your starters, Sale does not belong to be ranked here. But I tend to go with a shorter view when it comes to pitchers, mixing in youth with experience. The Braves know how to get the most out of their pitchers, and assuming Sale stays healthy, he should be a solid pitcher for at least two more years.

105-101

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION	AGE	2024 RANK
105	Michael King	SDP	SP	29	228
104	Tanner Bibee	CLE	SP	25	117
103	Jack Flaherty	Free Agent	SP	28	NR
102	Michael Busch	CHC	1B	27	NR
101	Adley Rutschman	BAL	C	27	49

Filling A Pitching Need

As a New York Yankee, Michael King was mostly used as a spot starter or long reliever, and he did the job well. During his time in New York, he posted a 3.14 ERA and 1.193 WHIP in 245.2 innings of work. But King really became valuable last year after joining the Padres and being inserted into the starting rotation. In 2024 he went 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA and 1.192 WHIP to go along with a 10.4 K/9 rate. He turns 30 in May, but I am not concerned about that as I like more experienced pitchers.

After finishing second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2023 (10-4, 2.98 ERA, 1.176 WHIP), Tanner Bibee posted another excellent season in 2024. His ERA was a little higher at 3.47, but he improved his WHIP at 1.117 as his walk rate decreased this season while increasing his strikeout rate from 8.9 to 9.7 K/9 this year. After back-to-back solid seasons to start his career, Bibee has the ability to easily move up these rankings in the future.

Jack Flaherty has always been a talented pitcher. The problem is he always seems to miss time with a minor injury or sometimes a major injury. Flaherty had a solid season with the Tigers and Dodgers in 2024, going a combined 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA, 1.068 WHIP, and a 10.8 K/9 rate. For his career,r he has a 10.2 K/9 rate and 1.182 ERA. The 162 innings pitched were the most since he threw 196.1 in 2019. He appears to be over the injury bug and should be a very good pitcher to have on your staff.

Living Up to Expectations

Michael Busch was a top 100 prospect rankings for multiple seasons before finally being given a chance to play every day with the Cubs last year. Drafted by the Dodgers with the 31st overall pick in 2019, the Cubs acquired Busch in January of this year and watched him hit 21 home runs and drive in 65 runs in 152 games while slashing .248/.335/.440. Busch did struggle in the second half of the season, slashing .216/.303/.402 compared to .271/.357/.466 before the All-Star break, but he hit 11 of his 21 homers from July through the end of the year with 35 RBI in 73 games, so the power production remained steady. There is no reason to expect the power to go away and I expect the slash line will improve in 2025.

NOT Living Up to Expectations

Adley Rutschman didn’t have a bad season, but he hasn’t really lived up to expectations yet – expectations that may have been impossible to reach. Don’t get me wrong, I will gladly take a catcher with a .261/.321/.421 career slash line and 52 homers in 415 career games (and a 162-game average of 20 homers and 78 RBI). But there are several catchers and obviously position players I have ranked ahead of him because I like what they will do overall compared to Rutschman. But he is one of the top catchers in the game, and if he is there for you to grab and fills a hole a catcher for you, then take him and be happy.

Come Back Next Week

Thanks for reading. Make sure to return next week when the players 100-75 are ranked in the Top 400 Dynasty Players for 2025.

Previous Top 400 Dynasty Players for 2025 Rankings:

Top 400 Dynasty Players for 2025: 400-301
Top 400 Dynasty Players for 2025: 300-201
Top 400 Dynasty Players for 2025: 200-176
Top 400 Dynasty Players for 2025: 175-151
Top 400 Dynasty Players for 2025: 150-126