Top 400 Dynasty Players For 2025: 50-26

Spring Training has started, which means many fantasy leagues are gearing up for the season to start. Yes, some leagues have already had their drafts, but many haven’t.

As fantasy owners prepare for their upcoming league drafts or auctions or whatever process you use to add players, this week the Top 400 Dynasty Players for 2025 features the players ranked 50th-26th. We are in the backstretch as next week we conclude the series.

When you look at the position and age breakdowns for this group, it should not be shocking to see 19 of the 25 players are under the age of 29 with five players under the age of 24. And you really shouldn’t be shocked to see so many pitchers. After the first two rounds of a draft, I will hunt for the top pitchers on the board, especially as more and more leagues adjust their categories to make starting pitching more meaningful other than collecting strikeouts or posting a 4.50 ERA yet get credited with a quality start.

Age of Players

• Age 20-24 – 5
• Age 25-29 – 14
• Age 30+ – 6

Position Breakdown

• SP – 11
• 1B – 2
• SS – 2
• 3B – 2
• OF –7
• IF/OF – 1

Anyway, enough small talk. Let’s get to the rankings.

50-46

*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
50	Zack Wheeler	PHI	SP	34	100
49	Gerrit Cole	NYY	SP	33	27
48	Willy Adames	MIL	SS	29	215
47	Parker Meadows	DET	CF	25	241
46	Riley Greene	DET	LF/CF	24	105

I’m A Believer Now

For whatever reason, I have never viewed Zach Wheeler as a top pitcher. I kept telling myself that he was just lucky that season or something. Well, he sure must be getting lucky a lot, because in his 10 seasons he has a 3.34 ERA, a 1.156 WHIP and a 9.3 K/9 ratio with a 103-70 record. Since the 2020 season, he is 59-32 with a 2.94 ERA, 1.031 WHIP, a 9.8 K/9 ratio and he has an ERA+ of 142. Something tells me that Wheeler is a pretty good pitcher. And age doesn’t seem to factor into his success as the 2020 season was his age 30 season.

A Slight Bump Down

For the first time since debuting with the Pirates in 2013, the 2024 season was the first time Gerrit Cole failed to pitch 100 innings outside of the shortened 2020 season. Otherwise, Cole has been a model of consistency, taking the ball every fifth or sixth day and throwing between 180 and 200+ innings. Since 2018, Cole has finished 5th, 2nd, 4th, 2nd, 9th and 1st in the Cy Young voting. The 2024 season was the first time he did not finish in the top 9 since 2017. But are cracks starting to appear in his game? I’m not saying to stay away from him but just know that his K/9 ratio has decreased from 12.1 in 2021 to 9.4 last year while his BB/9 ratio has increased from 2.0 to 2.7.

Powerful Shortstop

When you talk about Willy Adames, the first thing you think of is power. Thanks to his ability to slug homers, Adames has been on the radar screen of dynasty players for years as he was a former top 100 prospect when he was with Tampa Bay. In every full season since 2019, Adames has hit at least 20 homers, and in two of the past three seasons he has topped 30 homers. And this past season he added the stolen base to his game. After never having more than eight steals in a season, Adames swiped 21 bases this past season and was only caught four times.

Adames isn’t perfect. He sports a career batting average of .248 and his OBP is a pedestrian .322. He also has a career strikeout rate of 27.2%. However, he has a good understanding of the zone as he has a career walk rate of 9.6% and his walk rate has been at 10.8% or higher in three of the last four seasons.

A Pair of Tigers

Putting Riley Greene and Parker Meadows is kind of cheating since they are separate players. But I like them equally as both are great up-and-coming studs. Greene currently qualifies as a center fielder thanks to the fact Meadows missed time due to a stint in the minors and then on the IL. But a healthy Meadows pushes Greene to a corner outfield spot. But I would bet that Greene still gets time in center field in 2025 and subsequent years when Meadows is not in the lineup.

Greene finally had his breakout season in 2024 as he slashed .262/.348/.479 with 24 homers and 82 RBI in 137 games. Since debuting in 2022, Green’s OPS+ has gone from 97 to 119 to 133 this season. He may not reach 30 homers per season during his career, but he gets on base at a .350 clip and provides a solid, steady bat in your lineup.

In 119 career MLB games, Meadows has 12 homers, 58 RBI, and 17 steals. Meadows should increase his power numbers, even playing in Detroit, and the steals will continue to pile up as well to make him a 20-20 man. Some may think I may be a little aggressive with Meadows’ ranking, but I’m all aboard the Meadows train.

45-41

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION	AGE	2024 RANK
45	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD	SP	25	59
44	Spencer Strider	ATL	SP	25	12
43	Freddie Freeman	LAD	1B	35	11
42	Jazz Chisholm	NYY	3B/CF	27	53
41	Bryce Harper	PHI	1B	32	14

Only A Peak Preview

We really didn’t get to see what Yoshinobu Yamamoto can do on the mound last year as he was limited to 18 starts. But what we did see when healthy was a pitcher who can get major league hitters out. Yamamoto went 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA and 1.11 WHIP to go with a 10.5 K/9 rate. He had a 129 ERA+ and a 2.61 FIP. That adds up to a very good pitcher. The Dodgers have such a deep staff, Yamamoto will likely take the ball only once a week. But that is fine with me. The three pitches he featured the most in 2024 – a four seamer, split finger and curve – featured a batting average against of only .221

A Move For The Future

Despite missing the majority of the 2024 season, Spencer Strider comes in at No. 44. Strider will hopefully return at midseason, so going after him is a move mostly with the future in mind. When Strider is healthy he is simply one of the best pitchers out there. If you don’t grab Strider and stash him, someone else will. Everyone wants immediate returns on their investment, but sometimes the long game is the better one to take.

Age Not A Factor

We all like the young players, but one position where I don’t fret about age too much is first base. It is the position where the older players can still thrive. And Freddie Freeman is a perfect example of that as he is just a machine at the plate. An ankle injury hobbled Freeman this past season, but he still hit 22 homers, drove in 89 runs, and slashed .282/.378/.476. Freeman is good for nearly 25 homers and 100 RBI every season to go along with a career slash line of .300/.387/.512.

A Move To Second

Jazz Chisholm stepped in at third base for the Yankees and did a fine job in 2024, but Yankees manager Aaron Boone has said Chisholm is penciled in to be the second baseman this season. For fantasy owners, this is great news. For this season Chisholm is eligible at third and center field, so becoming 2B eligible makes him even more valuable. In the future, being a second baseman makes Chisholm one of the best at that position in terms of fantasy value due to his speed and power combination. He is coming off a 24 homer, 40 steal season and I see no reason for him to not match those numbers for the next several years.

Proven Producer

Bryce Harper is simply one of the best hitters in the game, no matter what position player you are comparing him to. Need power and run production? Harper has a career 162-game average of 33 homers and 96 RBI. Need a solid slash line? Harper’s career line is .281/.389/.522. Twice in his career he has topped 1.000 in OPS and his career OPS is .911. He will add a few steals as well, though he managed only seven this year, his lowest total since 2017. But you don’t want Harper because of steals. You want Harper because of everything else he does.

40-36

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION	AGE	2024 RANK
40	Manny Machado	SD	3B	32	45
39	Garrett Crochet	BOS	SP	25	105
38	George Kirby	SEA	SP	26	54
37	Logan Gilbert	SEA	SP	27	81
36	Cole Ragans	KC	SP	26	97

Still Producing

From 2021 to 2023, Manny Machado averaged 30 homers and 100 RBI in 147 games with a .278/.345/.495 and finished 18th in the MVP voting in 2022 and second in 2023. This past season he slashed .275/.325/.472 with 29 homers and 105 RBI while also swiping 11 bases. I see nothing to suggest that Machado is suddenly going to lose it at the plate, making him a great player to park at third base for several more years.

Proved Me Wrong

Garrett Crochet is a pitcher I was not sure was really good. OK, I thought he was good, but not someone to be ranked in the top 100 last year as I wasn’t sure about how he would pitch as a fulltime starter. All Crochet did in 2024 was prove that he was better than I thought he was. Used exclusively as a reliever since his debut in 2020, Crochet was inserted into the starting rotation in 2024 and flourished. On a horrid White Sox team, he had a 3.58 WRA and 1.068 WHIP while posting a 12.9 K/9 rate. He has tremendous stuff, and now that he is on a real MLB team, imagine what he can do when he has a chance to win every time he takes the mound.

A Pair of Mariners, Again

Seattle has a ridiculous number of talented pitchers. I already talked about Miller and Castillo last week. This week I am here to put the spotlight on teammates George Kirby and Logan Gilbert. Kirby finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2022 when he had a 3.39 ERA and 1.208 WHIP. In the two years since Kirby has posted ERAs of 3.35 and 3.53 and WHIPs of 1.038 and 1.068. Kirby does not rack up high strikeout totals. But he also doesn’t walk anyone (career 1.1 BB/9 rate) and allows only 8.7 H/9.

Gilbert is the better version of Kirby. Like Kirby, Gilbert doesn’t allow baserunners as he has a career WHIP of 1.063 going back to 2021. This season his WHIP was an outstanding 0.887 thanks to allowing only 1.6 BB/9 and 6.4 H/9. Gilbert, whose career ERA is 3.60 in four seasons, also racks up the strikeouts. His K/9 rate this season was 9.5 and for his career, it is 9.1. IF those are numbers you don’t like to see in a pitcher, then I don’t know what else you can want.

Future Cy Young Winner

Cole Ragans has been outstanding for the Royals since they acquired him from Texas for Aroldis Chapman on June 30, 2023. Since arriving in Kansas City, Ragans has been a mainstay in the rotation. In 12 starts for the Royals in 2023 he went 5-2 with a 2.64 ERA, 1.074 WHIP, and 11.2 K/9 rate. This season he was 11-9 with a 3.14 ERA and 1.143 WHIP while notching a 10.8 K/9 rate. Ragans can cut down on his walks, but that is quibbling when he does everything else so well. Ragans has the ability to be a Cy Young winner, and since he pitches for Kansas City, he may be overlooked by people in your league. If you need a pitcher, Ragans is a great one to go after.

35-31

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION	AGE	2024 RANK
35	Austin Riley	ATL	3B	27	17
34	Kerry Carpenter	DET	RF	27	96
33	Dylan Crews	WSH	RF	23	NR
32	Hunter Greene	CIN	SP	24	116
31	Corbin Burnes	ARI	SP	29	30

Ready To Rebound

Injuries hurt Austin Riley’s production this past season (19 homers, 56 RBI in 110 games). But from 2021 through 2023 (to compare him to Machado) Riley’s average season was 36 homers and 99 RBI with a .286/.354/.525 slash line while averaging 159 games. During those three years he finished seventh, sixth, and seventh in the MVP voting. There is no reason to think Riley is not going to return to that level of production next year and beyond.

Ready to Bust Out

Kerry Carpenter has one problem – he has not been able to stay healthy. He was limited to 87 games this past season due to a lumbar stress fracture in his back. A shoulder sprain due to running into the wall while making a catch in 2023 limited Carpenter to 118 games. But when he is healthy, he is an exciting player to watch. In his 87 games last year he slashed .284/.345/.587 with 18 homers and 57 RBI. He has struggled to hit lefties, leaving him to face mostly right-handed pitchers so far. But his 162-game average in the majors is 30 home runs and 90 RBI. If Carpenter can stay healthy, he should be able to reach those numbers in 2025 and future seasons – even if he sits more often than not against lefties.

Getting Ready for Prime Time

Guess What? Dylan Crews proved he is human after an amazing college career at LSU. During his 31 games with the Nationals this past season as he slashed .218/.288/.353. But he did show why he is considered one of the top young players in the game. He hit three homers and stole 12 bases. It is his power-speed combo that has everyone so excited about his future. Crews had a .275/.351/.455 slash line with 18 homers, 97 RBI, and 29 steals in only 135 career minor league games before being recalled by the Nationals. It would be surprising if Crews doesn’t go 20-20 this season and only get better over the years.

Overlooked Ace

Perhaps it is the market he plays in, but Hunter Greene should get more publicity about just how good he is. When it comes to Greene, I can understand why some people may be late to the game when it comes to talent. His first two seasons with the Reds produced ERAs of 4.44 and 4.82 and WHIPs of 1.210 and 1.420. Walks (career BB/9 rate of 3.5) coupled with untimely hits always haunted Greene. But he has always been able to blow the ball past hitters as shown by a K/9 rate of 11.7 and 12.2 his first two seasons.

Greene finally put everything together in 2024. He had a 2.75 ERA and 1.018 WHIP. He still walked 3.4 batters per nine innings, but he allowed only 5.37 hits per 9. Meanwhile, he still maintained an excellent K/9 rate of 10.1. Greene just turned 25 this past August, meaning he is just now reaching his prime and barely touching his ceiling.

Now In The Desert

When looking for a pitcher to lead your staff, Corbin Burnes is a great place to start. His highest ERA since becoming a full-time starter in 2020 is 3.39 in 2023 with Milwaukee. His highest WHIP during that span is 1.096 which occurred in 2024. Corbin takes the ball every five days and produces great numbers. His strikeout rate has fallen each of the last four seasons since recording a 13.3 K/9 rate in 2020, but he still had an 8.4 rate this year. I ranked Burns ahead of Greene due to the fact he has proven himself for several years. But if you grab Greene before Burns, that makes a lot of sense to me.

30-26

RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION	AGE	2024 RANK
30	Dylan Cease	SDP	SP	28	148
29	Michael Harris	ATL	CF	24	23
28	Pete Crow-Armstrong	CHC	CF	23	89
27	Colton Cowser	BAL	LF/CF/RF	25	88
26	Francisco Lindor	NYM	SS	31	31

A Padre For Now

Dylan Cease of the Padres has not been as consistent as Burnes, but he is an outstanding pitcher who, like Burnes, takes the ball every five days and produces. He has a career K/9 rate of 10.8 with a career ERA of 3.75 and ERA+ of 114. He can get hurt by issuing too many walks, and it seems he balances an outstanding season with an average season the following year, and that is a big reason why I ranked him 148th last year. But when judging Cease on pure talent, he is one of the best out there.

Harris and Crow-Armstrong

Michael Harris has been unable to stay on the field for a complete season, appearing in 114, 138, and 110 games in each of the last three seasons. But when he is healthy, he has the ability to hit for power, steal bases, and help your slash line. For his career, he is a .285/.325/.469 hitter with a 162-game average of 24 homers, 76 RBI, and 22 steals. Despite a somewhat down year at the plate in 2024, his xBA ranked in the 94th percentile and his Hard Hit% ranked in the 82nd percentile.

It is only a matter of time before Pete Crow-Armstrong is one of the top players in the game. As a rookie with the Cubs he slashed .237/.286/.384 with 10 homers, 47 RBI, and 27 steals in 123 games. His power-speed combo is too good to pass up. As a 21-year-old in 2023 playing at the Double-A and Triple-A levels, Crow-Armstrong had 20 homers, 82 RBI, and 37 steals in 107 games while slashing .283/.365/.511. He may not have as much power as some other outfielders, but the steals he will provide will make up for the fewer homers.

Multi-Positional Talent

Colton Cowser finished second in the AL ROY voting this season after hitting 24 homers and driving in 69 runs while stealing nine bases and slashing .242/.321/.447. His power is real and his slash line should creep toward his minor league career numbers of .298/.420/.489. I think what he did this past season is his floor and the power should increase over the next few years. And I love the fact I can plug him into a slot in the outfield, which is a huge bonus in leagues that break out the outfield positions.

The Old Man

Like you, me, and the rest of the people in the world who are still alive, Francisco Lindor is getting older every day. But that is about the only bad thing you can say about the Mets shortstop. I just don’t see him slowing down anytime soon on the field. He hit 33 homers last season with 91 RBI and 29 steals while slashing .273/.344/.500. Those numbers are in line with his career 162-game average of 29 homers, 91 RBI, and 22 steals to go with a .274/.342/.476 slash line.

Come Back Next Week

Once again, thanks for reading. Make sure to return next week when the final group of players as those ranked 25-1 are unveiled in the final 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
Top 400 Dynasty Players for 2025: 125-101
Top 400 Dynasty Players for 2025: 100-76
Top 400 Dynasty Players for 2025: 75-51