Top 400 Dynasty Players for 2025: 300-201

Happy New Year, everyone. We are one day closer to the start of the baseball season, which is really all we care about.

Today I tackle the second large group of player rankings in the Top 400 Dynasty Players for 2025. This is the 300-201 player grouping. After today, the final 200 players will be broken down into groups of 25.

In case you are new to my rankings, here is a simple breakdown of how I put these together.

• I do not simply go by a player’s upside. If I did that, this would basically be a list of the best young players to the oldest, which is pretty boring. And if I did add players based only on upside, I will have a losing team year after year. I love young players with upside, but I also want proven players who will produce for at least the next three years in order for me to win now. I mix in the older known commodities with the young players with upside, trusting my gut as much as the numbers or expected numbers of a player.
• I like hitters more than pitchers. A strong lineup has always been my key to winning my leagues as hitters are in the lineup every day. When it comes to the position I rank the lowest as a whole, that group is the catchers. Only 10 catchers played in more than 130 games last season, only six catchers reached 20 homers and only four catchers had more than 80 RBI. Unless you land one of the top five or six catchers, ignore them until later in your draft or auction or however you build your teams.
• That is not to say I ignore pitchers. But pitchers, as a whole, are more inconsistent than hitters. You need good pitchers, as one or two bad outings in a week can kill you. So the top pitchers will be ranked where they deserve to be ranked. But I have always been able to find solid pitchers off the waiver wire during the season or flip a prospect or two for some top-end pitching. If your league has 40-man rosters, then having a host of young pitchers with upside is easily attainable. But in leagues with 25-man rosters, you have to balance “upside” with proven experience.
• When it comes to ranking pitchers, you are going to see only the top relievers pop up in my rankings and none of them are going to break into my Top 100. Relievers are the most inconsistent group in fantasy baseball and I have ALWAYS been able to survive by getting two top closers and then add low-level closers or solid setup men (for leagues with holds) and then whoever I snag in free agency when a closer loses his job.

Now you know my biases. I know you have yours.

And a reminder – if a top prospect hasn’t reached the majors yet, they won’t be in these rankings. Itch is doing his normal outstanding job of covering the prospects.

With that said, let’s get started.

300-276

*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
300	Edwin Uceta	TB	RP	26	NR
299	Paul Goldschmidt	NYY	1B	37	175
298	Max Muncy	LAD	3B	34	206
297	Josh Bell	WAS	1B	32	NR
296	Nick Gonzales	PIT	2B	25	NR
295	Lucas Erceg	KC	RP	29	NR
294	Jose Siri	NYM	CF	29	286
293	Sal Frelick	MIL	RF/CF/LF	24	125
292	Orlando Arcia	ATL	SS	30	290
291	Dylan Moore	SEA	3B/SS/2B/LF	32	NR
290	Zach Dezenzo	HOU	3B/1B	24	NR
289	Tyler Black	MIL	DH	24	NR
288	Kyle Manzardo	CLE	DH	24	NR
287	Ben Rice	NYY	1B	26	NR
286	Tyler Locklear	SEA	1B	24	NR
285	Hunter Gaddis	CLE	RP	26	NR
284	Garrett Mitchell	MIL	CF/RF	26	NR
283	Tanner Scott	Free Agent	RP	30	300
282	Chas McCormick	HOU	LF/RF/CF	29	112
281	Chris Bassitt	TOR	SP	35	270
280	Thairo Estrada	COL	2B	29	234
279	Michael Kopech	LAD	RP	28	NR
278	Robert Suarez	SD	RP	34	NR
277	Marco Luciano	SF	SS/2B	23	NR
276	Nick Yorke	PIT	2B	22	NR

Four Relievers To Watch

I wouldn’t be surprised if it is Edwin Uceta takes over as the Rays closer in 2025. Appearing in 30 games for the Rays this season, he threw 41.2 innings and struck out 57 hitters while posting a 1.51 ERA and 0.82 WHIP. His fastball, which he throws 40% of the time, is not overpowering, but he also has a good changeup that he throws 34% and a cutter that he features 21% of the time.

Michael Kopech, Hunter Gaddis and Lucas Erceg are three relievers to watch. For Kopech and Erceg, a change of scenery proved to be hugely beneficial for them. In his first season as a fulltime reliever, Kopech started the 2024 season with the White Sox and his performance in Chicago was not better than the rest of the team as he had a 4.74 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 43 appearances. When the Dodgers traded for him, Kopech was a new man on the mound. In 24 appearances he had 6 saves with a 1.13 ERA and 0.79 WHIP.

Like Kopech, Erceg started the season with a different team before going on to shine for a new team after the trade deadline. Erceg start the year in Oakland and was doing a solid job as he had a 3.68 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP with a 10.1 K/9 rate. After being traded to the Royals he became the team’s closer and finished the year with 11 saves in 23 appearances with a 2.88 ERA and 11.2 K/9 rate.

Gaddis is a very important member of a dominate Cleveland bullpen. Unlike many of the relievers featured in these rankings, Gaddis does not blow the ball past hitters as he had a 8.0 K/9 rate, but that is a big jump from the 5.1 K/9 rate he had in 2023 when he appeared in 11 games with seven of those being starts. Gaddis ranked fifth in the majors with 33 holds and posted a 1.57 ERA and 0.76 WHIP and I believe he should be able to duplicate those numbers over the next several seasons.

Wanting More From These Two

I like Sal Frelick. He doesn’t strike out much (15.3% career strikeout rate), has a solid career walk rate of 9% and can steal some bases as he had 18 in 2024 and 25 in 202 career games. The problem with Frelick is he doesn’t hit for power. He hit only two homers in 2024 in 524 plate appearances and has five in his 202 career games. But he can play all three outfield spots and he can provide some steals, and that is why he has some value.

In his first two seasons with the Astros, Chas McCormick averaged 114 games with 14 homers, 47 RBI and four steals with a .250/.326/.425 slash line. Then came 2023, when he hit 22 homers, drove in 70 runs, stole 19 bases and slashed .273/.353/.489. But in 2024, McCormick slashed .211/.271/.306 with only five homers, 27 RBI and eight steals in 94 games. His strikeout rate increased while his walk rate decreased to a career low 6.4%. When he finally figured things out in September (.391/.417/.435), he broke his hand seven games into the month and was done for the season. With Kyle Tucker now in Chicago, the right field job is currently McCormick’s to lose.

Unproven Potential

Kyle Manzardo will start the year only as a DH (utility) due to his lack of playing time at first base. But Manzardo’s power potential is really nice. While he only slashed .234/.282/.421, he hit five homers in his 145 at-bats and hit 20 in 292 at-bats at Triple-A Columbus and has a career SLG of .544 in the minors.

Tyler Locklear has a strong upside as he has tremendous raw power while also being able to hit to all fields. Between Double-A and Triple-A he slashed .272/.382/.468 with 16 homers and 67 RBI in 111 games. He struggled with the Mariners, but he should get a longer look at first base next season.

Tyler Black is a DH right now as he started six games at first base out of the 14 games he appeared. His introduction to the majors did not go well as he slashed .204/.316/.245. However, he entered the 2024 season as a top 100 prospect in Baseball America, MLB and Baseball Prospectus thanks to a minor league career in which he slashed .272/.402/.453 with 37 home runs and 183 RBI in 315 games.

A Pair Of Middle Infielders

Marco Luciano can play both middle infield spots and doesn’t exactly have great talent blocking his path to more playing time. But his audition with the Giants hasn’t exactly set the world on fire. In 41 career games he has a .217/.286/.304 slash line with a 35.7% strikeout rate. His career minor league numbers don’t exactly scream that he will be anything other than a backup, but he has displayed some power, so he can’t be ignored.

Nicke Yorke is a former first round draft choice of Boston in 2020 before being shipped to Pittsburgh for Quinn Priester prior to the trade deadline this season. Yorke has decent speed and power, hitting 12 homers with 21 steals in the minors this year. He will battle Nick Gonzales for the starting job at second base, but there is a clear chance for him to play.

275-251

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION	AGE	2024 Rank
275	Christopher Morel	TB	3B/2B	25	104
274	Jack Leiter	TEX	SP	24	NR
273	Ryan Walker	SF	RP	29	NR
272	Taj Bradley	TB	SP	23	284
271	Lars Nootbar	STL	RF/LF/CF	27	NR
270	Jung Hoo Lee	SF	CF	26	203
269	Jordan Lawlar	ARI	SS	22	144
268	Tobias Myers	MIL	SP	25	NR
267	Jose Miranda	MIN	3B/1B	26	NR
266	Edouard Julien	MIN	2B	25	103
265	Jacob Young	WAS	CF	25	NR
264	Andres Munoz	SEA	RP	26	207
263	David Hamilton	BOS	SS/2B	27	NR
262	Jackson Jobe	DET	SP	22	NR
261	Gavin Stone	LAD	SP	25	NR
260	Leody Taveras	TEX	CF	26	244
259	Gavin Lux	LAD	2B	27	165
258	Thomas Saggese	STL	2B	22	NR
257	Jose Caballero	TB	2B/SS/3B	28	NR
256	Austin Wells	NYY	C	25	NR
255	Michael Massey	KC	2B	27	NR
254	Seth Lugo	KC	SP	34	NR
253	Ryan McMahon	COL	3B	30	232
252	Joey Bart	PIT	C	28	NR
251	Spencer Torkelson	DET	1B	25	64

Is 2025 Their Time?

There are two players in this tier who could easily be in Tier 2 or higher by this time next year, or they could be right here or lower. Those two players are Jack Leiter and Jackson Jobe.

Leiter, who was selected second overall in the 2021 draft and is one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, has all the tools to be a great pitcher with the Rangers. But despite all those tools, his first nine major league games and six starts show he still has to work on his craft as he had an 8.83 ERA and 1.71 WHIP this past season. But his fastball velo ranked in the 86th percentile while his fastball spin was in the 75th percentile and his curveball spin was in the 64th percentile.

Jobe was selected by the Tigers with the pick right after Leiter was taken off the board. And like Leiter, Jobe raced through the Detroit system and appeared in two games for the Tigers this season in relief, throwing four shutout innings. The Tigers were so impressed with Jobe they included him on their postseason roster, where things didn’t go as well for him. Jobe will be given every chance to be in the rotation next season where he can take advantage of his 97-mph fastball.

Close To Being Top Tier

Andres Munoz could be a top 10 closer by this time next season. In three seasons with Seattle covering 199 appearances, he has a 2.65 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 271 strikeouts in 197 innings of work. While he records lots of strikeouts (95th percentile in K% and 99th percentile in Whiff%), he also induces a lot of ground balls, ranking in the 92nd percentile.

Since Munoz has the chance to be so good, you may be asking “why is he ranked 264th?” That is because I don’t value closers anywhere close to how I value any other position. I may overspend on a proven closer, but otherwise I will bide my time and take them late, especially since nearly half of them will be replaced by midseason. Closers and setup men are easy to find off the waiver wire or make trades for.

Not Giving Up On Him…Yet

Spencer Torkelson. The Detroit first baseman (and every Tigers fan) is ready to forget about his 2024 season. Simply put, it was horrible as he was demoted to the minors midway through the season. Overall, he slashed .218/.287/.376 with only 10 home runs and 36 RBI in 89 games with 103 strikeouts. Torkelson is going to strike out as he has a 25.5% career rate. But is 2024 the real Torkelson? Or can he approach the 2023 version in which he hit 31 homers and drove in 94 runs and had a .446 SLG?

I can’t give up on Torkelson just yet. If anything, he is probably a great buy low player right now as there are probably a host of dynasty league players looking to unload him.

250-226

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION	AGE	2024 Rank
250	Masataka Yoshida	BOS	DH	31	180
249	Yusei Kikuchi	LAA	SP	33	NR
248	Spencer Arrighetti	HOU	SP	24	NR
247	Clay Holmes	NYM	RP/SP	32	NR
246	Jose Berrios	TOR	SP	30	185
245	Xavier Edwards	MIA	SS	25	NR
244	Spencer Schwellenbach	ATL	SP	24	NR
243	Josh Smith	TEX	3B/SS	27	NR
242	Rhys Hoskins	MIL	1B	32	170
241	Ha-Seong Kim	Free Agent	SS	29	155
240	George Springer	TOR	RF	35	172
239	Nolan Arenado	STL	3B	33	138
238	Xander Bogaerts	SD	2B/SS	32	80
237	Jeimer Candelario	CIN	3B/1B	31	292
236	Victor Robles	SEA	CF/RF/LF	27	NR
235	Alexis Diaz	CIN	RP	28	191
234	Daulton Varsho	TOR	LF/CF	28	193
233	Nathaniel Lowe	WAS	1B	29	131
232	Trevor Larnach	MIN	LF	28	NR
231	Nolan Schanuel	LAA	1B	23	NR
230	Connor Wong	BOS	C/1B	28	NR
229	Luis Matos	SF	RF/CF	23	209
228	Kevin Gausman	TOR	SP	33	99
227	Ryan Jeffers	MIN	C	27	133
226	Nico Hoerner	CHC	2B/SS	27	68

Making A Big Jump

I did not have Xavier Edwards ranked ahead of the 2024 season, but he comes in at No. 245 this year with the chance to make a big jump for 2026. Edwards is not going to hit a lot of homers. He has never done so in the minors and I don’t see him suddenly becoming a power hitter. But what he does do well is steal bases and produce a solid slash line thanks to his contact skills and ability to draw a walk (9.3% career walk rate), and there is value in that. In 100 career games, he has 36 stolen bases and a slash line of .321/.383/.378.

Can They Repeat Their Rookie Seasons

Spencer Schwellenbach had an outstanding rookie campaign for Atlanta, posting a 3.35 ERA and 1.043 WHIP. He had a 9.2 K/9 rate and 5.5 K/BB rate while his FIP was a 3.29. Meanwhile, Spencer Arrighetti pitched a lot better over the last half of the season after having a rough breaking in period with the Astros.

Overall, he was 7-13 with a 4.53 ERA and 1.407 WHIP. But in 145 innings of work, he struck out 171 batters for a 10.6 K/9 rate. Those high numbers were due to a poor first half of the season as he had a 5.63 ERA and 1.60 WHIP thanks in large part to a 4.95 BB/9 rate though he did have a 10.5 K/9 rate. In the second half of the season, his ERA dropped to 3.18 with a 1.169 WHIP. His walk rate dropped to 2.91/9 while strikeout rate increased to 10.8/9.

Still A Solid Closer

Reds closer Alexis Diaz didn’t have his best season in 2024 as he had a 3.99 ERA and 1.30 WHIP to go with his 28 saves. But in three years in the majors he has a 2.93 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 10/8 K/9 rate. I consider this season to be more of a blip than a trend, especially since the xBA ranked in the 87th percentile.

Good, But For How Long?

Kevin Gausman is still a solid pitcher. But he will be 33 next season and I think his best days are behind him. Not too many pitchers get better as they get closer to 35 years old. Here is my concern with Gausman. His strikeout rate fell from 11.5 to 8.1 in 2024. That is a significant drop. Over the last three years his ERA has gone from 2.38 to 2.97 to 3.77. Let’s look at some more numbers.

In 2023 he ranked in the 60th percentile in fastball velo, 62nd percentile in xERA and xBA, 87th percentile in Chase%, 70th percentile in in Whiff% and 93rd percentile in K%. Those rankings this past season were 47, 19, 24, 62, 33 and 36. Across the board he saw his numbers drop, and not in a good way. I’m not looking backward when it comes to Gausman, I am looking forward, and I don’t like what I see in three years.

Dropping In The Rankings

I ranked Nico Hoerner as the 68th overall player in my Dynasty Rankings last year, and now he sits at No. 226. Why the fall when his numbers are basically the same. First, I overvalued him last year. I was hoping to see some improvement in his power and his slash numbers and took that into account when ranking him. So I guess you can say I am making a correction.

If you love stolen bases, then move Hoerner up the rankings because he does deliver steals, swiping 20, 43 and 31 the last three seasons. But that is about all he does. The power has not developed, and he has basically settled in as a player who will deliver a slash line .275/.335/.375. His 162-game average is nine homers and 64 RBI. I can find a lot of players with that kind of production and slash line.

225-201

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION	AGE	2024 Rank
225	Jarred Kelenic	ATL	LF/CF	25	151
224	Raisel Iglesias	ATL	RP	35	NR
223	Tanner Houck	BOS	SP	28	NR
222	Brandon Lowe	TB	2B	30	245
221	Ranger Suarez	PHI	SP	28	NR
220	Sonny Gray	STL	SP	34	171
219	Griffin Jax	MIN	RP	30	NR
218	Joe Adell	LAA	RF	25	NR
217	Tyler Fitzgerald	SF	SS	27	NR
216	Matt Vierling	DET	CF/RF/3B	28	NR
215	Jonathan Aranda	TB	1B	26	261
214	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	SP	27	NR
213	Andrew Vaughn	CWS	1B	26	70
212	Nestor Cortes	MIL	SP	29	221
211	Ryan Pepiot	TB	SP	26	248
210	Jesus Sanchez	MIA	RF	27	278
209	Joey Ortiz	MIL	3B	26	NR
208	Michael Conforto	SF	LF	32	192
207	Joc Pederson	TEX	DH	32	NR
206	Luisangel Acuna	NYM	SS	23	NR
205	Francisco Alvarez	NYM	C	23	77
204	Edwin Diaz	NYM	RP	31	187
203	Ryan Mountcastle	BAL	1B	28	122
202	Bryan Woo	SEA	SP	24	161
201	MacKenzie Gore	WAS	SP	25	238

Overlooked Stud

Griffin Jax has been a very good reliever since 2022, but he went to a new level this past season. In 72 appearances he recorded 24 holds and 10 saves to go with a 2.03 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and a 12.0 K/9 rate while walking only 1.9 batters per nine innings. His walk% ranked in the 89th percentile while he was in the 97th percentile or higher in xERA, xBA, Chase%, Whiff% and K%.

Stalling Out?

I have been a strong supporter of of Andrew Vaughn since his rookie season, when he hit 15 homers in 127 games. The following year he swatted 17 homers and then 21 in 2023 while also slashing .258/.314/.429. After the 2023 campaign I figured Vaughn was due for a big jump in his production. Perhaps playing for the worst team in baseball history took a toll on him, but Vaughn did not make the jump to the next level. Instead, he regressed, hitting 19 homers and slashing .246/.297/.402.

I still think Vaughn, who will only be 26 on Opening Day next year, can consistently become a 25-homer player. But I am not as bullish as I was on him at this time last year.

Baby Acuna?

Luisangel Acuña played most of his games at shortstop last season thanks to the Francisco Lindor injury. But with Lindor entrenched at short, Acuña will slide over to second base in 2025. Acuña’s main asset is his speed as he has 198 career steals in 505 minor league games. While Acuna can hit home runs as far as the next power hitter, I don’t see him becoming a power hitting second baseman or be overall player his older brother Ronald Acuna Jr. He may reach double digit homers down the road, but I see him as a 15-homer guy, not a 25+ homer stud. I like his skillset, but with so many players now offering speed as an asset, Acuna is just one of those players at this time.

The Upside Curse

I expected a big season from Francisco Alvarez in 2024. However, he disappointed by delivering a .237/.307/.403 season with 11 homers in 308 at-bats. Alvarez was just too inconsistent in 2024. He slashed .375/.456/.667 with three homers and 12 RBI in 16 June games, but in July those numbers were .200/.263/.314-1-6 and .171/.213/.237-1-4. But Alvarez, who will only be 23 next season, ended the year on a high note by smashing five homers and driving in 17 runs in September with a .254/.357/.542 slash line.

Those are numbers that can make this ranking look silly by this time next year. But as of right now, I have more trust in the catchers I have ranked ahead of him.

Healthy and Getting Better

Unlike so many pitchers in today’s game, MacKenzie Gore is NOT recovering from Tommy John surgery. Instead, he has simply improved over the last three seasons and is now entering the prime of his career. In his three years in the majors, his ERA has dropped from 4.50 to 4.42 to 3.90. His BB/9 rate has seen a similar drop (4.8 to 3.8 to 3.5) while his K/9 rate has been pretty steady (9.3, 10.0 and 9.8). He has a high floor and an even higher ceiling; one he has not come close to reaching yet.

Come Back Next Week

Thanks for reading. Make sure to return next week when the players 200-176 are ranked in the Top 400 Dynasty Players for 2025.