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We're now past the 1/4 mark of the Major League season and plenty of changes have occurred. We've seen countless injuries, especially to pitchers, along with plenty of high-profile prospects debuting, most of whom have struggled.
This first in-season rankings update is always an exciting one. We now have 6-7 weeks of data to dig into, which is more than just a small sample size at this point. We're now beginning to worry more about big-name players off to cold starts and might be buying into early-season breakouts a little more.
Below you'll find my Top 100 dynasty rankings from my May update with notes on some key movers this month. Check out my Patreon for my full Top 500 Dynasty Rankings.
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What Factors Into My Rankings
Many elements go into dynasty rankings, but I primarily weigh the following...
- Current/Recent Performance
- Expected future short-term performance
- Expected future long-term performance
- Profile/metrics analysis
- Durability
- Team Context (It matters a little bit)
Dynasty Rankings Notes
Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds
With one of the most exciting six-week stretches in recent memory, Elly De La Cruz vaults all the way up to #6 in my dynasty rankings this month, and honestly, I wouldn't fault anyone for putting him higher than that. Through his first 45 games, De La Cruz is slashing .270/.370/.503 with nine home runs and 35 runs scored. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention his THIRTY steals so far as well.
Four stolen bases tonight. 30 on the season.
Elly De La Cruz is on a historic pace. ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/kePlqSihyd
— MLB (@MLB) May 17, 2024
De La Cruz is on a full-season pace of 126 runs, 32 home runs, 79 RBI, and 108 steals. We haven't seen anyone even hit 80 steals in a season since 1988 and Vince Coleman was the last to reach 100 steals back in 1987. Yes, Dem La Cruz is still going to have his peaks and valleys at the plate given his higher strikeout rate and lower contact rates, but you can live with the ups and downs when the player is on the pace I mentioned above.
Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers
With the injury to Spencer Strider, Tarik Skubal is firmly in the overall Dynasty SP1 discussion right now. In nine starts this season, Skubal had posted a stellar 1.80 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 4.2% walk rate, 31.6% strikeout rate, and .175 BAA. All of his ERA indicators are elite as well and he's currently running a 2.12 xERA, 1.93 FIP, 2.52 xFIP, and 2.50 SIERA. Skubal has also given up less hard contact this season with an AVG EV allowed 2.1 mph lower and a hard-hit rate 8.1% lower than 2023. There's a good chance he's pushed ahead of Burnes and into that top spot by my June update.
Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers
There hasn't been much to speak about on the hitting side in Detroit this season, but that's not Riley Greene's fault. While the AVG is only .245, you need to look a bit further to see that Greene is truly breaking out this season. Greene has cranked nine home runs so far with a 16.8% barrel rate, 92.3 mph AVG EV, and 48.6% hard-hit rate. He's also improved his walk rate from 8.4% to 14.7% and improved his zone contact, chase, and strikeout rates a bit as well. Now if anyone else in Detroit could get on base for him...
C.J. Abrams, Washington Nationals
While C.J. Abrams has been slumping of late, I still need to admit I was wrong about his power taking a step forward this season. Abrams has increased his barrel rate from 6.9% to 7.9%, his AVG EV from 87.4 mph to 89 mph, and his hard-hit rate from 35.9% to 40.2%. All while seeing moderate improvements in his walk, strikeout, and zone contact rates as well.
I'm still not projecting him to be a 30-homer bat, but if Abrams can settle into the 22-27 homer range while adding more than 30 steals annually, he's going to be a Top-40 fantasy asset for years to come. Plus, he'll have James Wood and Dylan Crews hitting behind him eventually.
Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
Paul Skenes is another example of why excelling as a hitter is the hardest thing to do in professional sports in my eyes. Good luck stepping into the box and trying to square up triple-digit fastballs, low to mid-90s splitters, and upper-80s sliders. In his second start of his Major League career, Skenes fired six no-hit innings against the Chicago Cubs with one walk and 11 strikeouts.
Paul Skenes, 11th K.
100mph on his 100th Pitch. pic.twitter.com/84tpA5huyV
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 17, 2024
It's incredibly rare for a pitching prospect with two whole Major League starts to rank this highly in dynasty rankings, but it's warranted given Skenes' blend of talent, performance, and future projection. We could be looking at the best pitcher in baseball sooner rather than later.
Dylan Cease, San Diego Padres
After the 2022 season, Dylan Cease was considered a Top 10 pitcher for dynasty nearly universally, and even Top 5 by some. But a 4.58 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in 2023 let all the air out of that hype balloon, especially for people like me who were more skeptical of Cease maintaining that level of production. However, apparently, all Cease needed was to get out of Chicago because he's back to his dominant ways this season, recording a 2.45 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 32.7% strikeout rate, and a career-best 8.2% walk rate through nine starts with San Diego this season.
Cease is allowing less contact this season, both in zone (5.1% drop) and overall (3% drop), and has been commanding his 4-seamer and slider better this season, a duo he combines to throw 84.4% of the time. Even if he regresses a bit, Cease is back in the fantasy ace discussion given the current state of the pitching landscape with injuries as far as the eye can see.
Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Rankings
Updated: May 2024 | The full Top 500 along with additional rankings, analysis, and more, check out Eric's Toolshed Fantasy Patreon.
| Rank | Player | Pos. | Team | Age |
| 1 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | OF | ATL | 26.40 |
| 2 | Bobby Witt Jr. | SS | KCR | 23.91 |
| 3 | Shohei Ohtani | UT,SP | LAA | 29.86 |
| 4 | Juan Soto | OF | NYY | 25.55 |
| 5 | Kyle Tucker | OF | HOU | 27.32 |
| 6 | Elly De La Cruz | SS | CIN | 22.33 |
| 7 | Julio Rodriguez | OF | SEA | 23.37 |
| 8 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | OF | SDP | 25.36 |
| 9 | Gunnar Henderson | SS | BAL | 22.87 |
| 10 | Mookie Betts | 2B,SS,OF | LAD | 31.60 |
| 11 | Corbin Carroll | OF | ARI | 23.72 |
| 12 | Yordan Alvarez | OF | HOU | 26.88 |
| 13 | Aaron Judge | OF | NYY | 32.05 |
| 14 | Bryce Harper | 1B | PHI | 31.57 |
| 15 | Michael Harris II | OF | ATL | 23.18 |
| 16 | Wyatt Langford | OF | TEX | 22.49 |
| 17 | Trea Turner | SS | PHI | 30.87 |
| 18 | Rafael Devers | 3B | BOS | 27.55 |
| 19 | Austin Riley | 3B | ATL | 27.11 |
| 20 | Corey Seager | SS | TEX | 30.05 |
| 21 | Jose Ramirez | 3B | CLE | 31.65 |
| 22 | Matt Olson | 1B | ATL | 30.13 |
| 23 | Tarik Skubal | SP | DET | 27.48 |
| 24 | Corbin Burnes | SP | BAL | 29.56 |
| 25 | Luis Robert Jr. | OF | CHW | 26.77 |
| 26 | Freddie Freeman | 1B | LAD | 34.67 |
| 27 | Ozzie Albies | 2B | ATL | 27.34 |
| 28 | Francisco Lindor | SS | NYM | 30.50 |
| 29 | Jackson Holliday | 2B,SS | BAL | 20.44 |
| 30 | Riley Greene | OF | DET | 23.62 |
| 31 | Grayson Rodriguez | SP | BAL | 24.49 |
| 32 | C.J. Abrams | SS | WAS | 23.60 |
| 33 | Tyler Glasnow | SP | LAD | 30.72 |
| 34 | Jackson Chourio | OF | MIL | 20.17 |
| 35 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | 1B | TOR | 25.16 |
| 36 | Junior Caminero | 3B,SS | TBR | 20.85 |
| 37 | Gerrit Cole | SP | NYY | 33.68 |
| 38 | Marcus Semien | 2B,SS | TEX | 33.66 |
| 39 | Evan Carter | OF | TEX | 21.70 |
| 40 | George Kirby | SP | SEA | 26.27 |
| 41 | Royce Lewis | 3B | MIN | 24.94 |
| 42 | Jose Altuve | 2B | HOU | 34.02 |
| 43 | Pete Alonso | 1B | NYM | 29.43 |
| 44 | Spencer Strider | SP | ATL | 25.54 |
| 45 | Bo Bichette | SS | TOR | 26.19 |
| 46 | Paul Skenes | SP | PIT | 21.95 |
| 47 | Randy Arozarena | OF | TBR | 29.20 |
| 48 | Zack Wheeler | SP | PHI | 33.96 |
| 49 | Zac Gallen | SP | ARI | 28.78 |
| 50 | Triston Casas | 1B | BOS | 24.32 |
| 51 | Eury Perez | SP | MIA | 21.07 |
| 52 | Adolis Garcia | OF | TEX | 31.20 |
| 53 | Jared Jones | SP | PIT | 22.77 |
| 54 | Luis Castillo | SP | SEA | 31.45 |
| 55 | Manny Machado | 3B | SDP | 31.85 |
| 56 | Pablo Lopez | SP | MIN | 28.18 |
| 57 | William Contreras | C | MIL | 26.38 |
| 58 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto | SP | LAD | 25.73 |
| 59 | Christian Yelich | OF | MIL | 32.44 |
| 60 | Jordan Walker | OF | STL | 21.97 |
| 61 | Freddy Peralta | SP | MIL | 27.94 |
| 62 | Adley Rutschman | C | BAL | 26.26 |
| 63 | Logan Gilbert | SP | SEA | 27.02 |
| 64 | Anthony Volpe | SS | NYY | 23.04 |
| 65 | Cole Ragans | SP | KCR | 26.42 |
| 66 | Will Smith | C | LAD | 29.13 |
| 67 | Matt McLain | 2B,SS | CIN | 24.77 |
| 68 | Bobby Miller | SP | LAD | 25.10 |
| 69 | Mike Trout | OF | LAA | 32.77 |
| 70 | Jordan Westburg | 2B,3B,SS | BAL | 25.23 |
| 71 | Josh Naylor | 1B | CLE | 26.89 |
| 72 | Aaron Nola | SP | PHI | 30.94 |
| 73 | Cody Bellinger | OF,1B | CHC | 28.84 |
| 74 | James Wood | OF | WAS | 21.65 |
| 75 | Max Fried | SP | ATL | 30.32 |
| 76 | Spencer Steer | 1B,3B,OF | CIN | 26.43 |
| 77 | Oneil Cruz | SS | PIT | 25.60 |
| 78 | Ketel Marte | 2B | ARI | 30.59 |
| 79 | Vinnie Pasquantino | 1B | KCR | 26.59 |
| 80 | Jazz Chisholm Jr. | OF | MIA | 26.28 |
| 81 | Kevin Gausman | SP | TOR | 33.35 |
| 82 | Seiya Suzuki | OF | CHC | 29.74 |
| 83 | Jordan Lawlar | SS | ARI | 21.82 |
| 84 | Logan Webb | SP | SFG | 27.48 |
| 85 | Josh Lowe | OF | TBR | 26.27 |
| 86 | Coby Mayo | 3B | BAL | 22.42 |
| 87 | Nolan Jones | OF | COL | 26.02 |
| 88 | Dylan Cease | SP | SDP | 28.37 |
| 89 | Jarren Duran | OF | BOS | 27.68 |
| 90 | Blake Snell | SP | SFG | 31.44 |
| 91 | Noelvi Marte | 3B | CIN | 22.57 |
| 92 | Bryan Reynolds | OF | PIT | 29.29 |
| 93 | Shane McClanahan | SP | TBR | 27.04 |
| 94 | Jasson Dominguez | OF | NYY | 21.26 |
| 95 | Framber Valdez | SP | HOU | 30.48 |
| 96 | Justin Steele | SP | CHC | 28.84 |
| 97 | Tyler O'Neill | OF | BOS | 28.89 |
| 98 | Kodai Senga | SP | NYM | 31.28 |
| 99 | Colton Cowser | OF | BAL | 24.14 |
| 100 | Gleyber Torres | 2B | NYY | 27.41 |
If you enjoyed these rankings and want to see the full Top 500, along with additional rankings, analysis, and more, check out Eric's Toolshed Fantasy Patreon.
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