Top 200 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Rankings - Eric Cross' April 2026 Update

May 2, 2026

Eric Cross' updated top 200 dynasty fantasy baseball rankings, updated for April 2026. His top MLB players to target in dynasty leagues for 2026 and beyond.

Is it just me, or has this been one of the crazier opening months in recent memory? The newly implemented ABS system has caused some chaos (I'm for it), and we have a ton of notable names off to a slow start to the season. Fernando Tatis Jr is still searching for his first home run of the season as the calendar flips over into May.

We've already seen a bit of a shake-up in rankings as well, with several names enjoying massive breakout seasons so far. There are also plenty of other big names who are struggling right now who dropped a good bit in my rankings.

Below, you'll find my top 200 Dynasty Rankings for April 2026 (Yes, I know I'm a day late), with notes on notable risers or fallers in my April update. Check out my Patreon for my full top 500 Dynasty Rankings, plus plenty of additional content.

What Factors Into My Dynasty Rankings

Many elements go into dynasty rankings, but I primarily weigh the following:

• Current/Recent Performance
• Expected future short-term performance (Next 2-3 years)
• Expected future long-term performance
• Profile/metrics analysis
• Durability
• Team Context (it matters a little bit)

Top 200 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Rankings

Updated: April 2026. For the full Top 500, along with additional rankings, analysis, and more, check out Eric's Toolshed Fantasy Patreon.

Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Rankings Notes

Ben Rice, C/1B, New York Yankees

Some of you might think my Ben Rice ranking is aggressive and/or too high, and that's fine. I'm 100% behind it. Expectations were incredibly high for Rice entering the season, and he's not only met those expectations so far, but he's also blown right past them. In 122 plate appearances, Rice is slashing a stellar .327/.443/.714 with 26 runs, 10 home runs, 23 RBI, and 21 walks, while ranking near the top of the American League leaderboard in many categories.

Third straight game with a homer for Ben Rice!

BEAST#RepBX pic.twitter.com/kf32FUUy1Y

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) April 18, 2026

Under the hood is just as impressive, and maybe even more spectacular. Rice is pounding the ball on a regular basis this season with a 20.3% barrel rate, 95 mph AVG EV, and a 60.6% hard-hit rate. He's also registered an above-average 84.6% zone contact rate, 75.4% overall contact rate, and a 20% chase rate. And remember the "issues" against left-handed pitchers? Well, Rice is slashing .370/.452/.815 with four home runs in 31 plate appearances against them this season.

The moral of the story here is that the hype was justified, and Rice is a legit stud fantasy option. Just embrace it.

Cam Schlittler, SP, New York Yankees

Cam Schlittler is an ace, plain and simple. After posting a 2.96 ERA in 14 starts as a rookie last season, Schlittler has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season. In his first seven starts, Schlittler has recorded a 1.51 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 3.8% walk rate, and a 31.4% strikeout rate. Among qualified pitchers, Schlittler ranks 2nd in ERA, 1st in WHIP, 7th in strikeout rate, 2nd in walk rate, 2nd in K-BB rate, and 7th in BAA. Truly remarkable.

Cam Schlittler has put himself into the fantasy ace discussion.

Tuesday: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
Season: 7 GS, 41.2 IP, 1.51 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 3% BB, 30.8% K

Right in the same tier as McLean, Burns, and Misiorowski.pic.twitter.com/ojxtN2PfYU

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) April 29, 2026

Schlittler dominates hitters with velocity, velocity, and more velocity. A whopping 89.2% of his offerings are either 4-seamers (43.4%), cutters (25%), or sinkers (20.8%), with the cutter averaging 93.7 mph and both the 4-seamer and sinker averaging north of 97 mph. All three of those pitches have a BAA under .180 and a SLG under .300, with the 4-seamer also generating a 37.5% whiff rate.

Overall, Schlittler has a 30.5% whiff rate, 39.7% chase rate, and a 46.5% groundball rate. Every area of his profile is either good or elite with no notable concerns. So again, Schlittler is an ace and deserves to be ranked as a Top-10 SP for dynasty.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Chicago Cubs

Well, unfortunately, Pete Crow-Armstrong's second-half slide has carried over into 2026. In his first 128 plate appearances, Crow-Armstrong is slashing .241/.307/.362 with three home runs and six steals. That's still around a 15/30 power/speed pace, so at least he's given fantasy managers a little something in that area, but it's safe to say that the overall performance has been underwhelming so far.

There are two main issues here. On the plus side, Crow-Armstrong's AVG EV and hard-hit rate have both ticked up from last season, and he's also walking slightly more often. However, his already high 41.7% chase rate has risen to 45.8% this season. Crow-Armstrong has also seen his air rate drop from 66.5% to 54.5% and his Pull-Air rate from 30.2% to 20.3%.

While I do believe Crow-Armstrong is better than this and can provide Top-100 value moving forward, I don't think Top-50 Crow-Armstrong is going to walk back through that door. Not unless he overhauls his approach and becomes a more patient hitter.

Jose Soriano, SP, Los Angeles Angels

Welcome to the Top-150 José Soriano! If the season ended today, Soriano would likely be your American League Cy Young award winner, even over Cam Schlittler, Max Fried, and Tarik Skubal. In his first seven starts, Soriano has posted a 0.84 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 9.8% walk rate, and a 30.1% strikeout rate. That ERA easily is the lowest mark in baseball among qualified pitchers, and Soriano also ranks 12th in WHIP, 9th in strikeout rate, and 5th in BAA.

José Soriano now has a 0.24 ERA this season.

ZERO POINT TWO FOUR#RepTheHalopic.twitter.com/P2jDkg8yYf

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) April 23, 2026

While Soriano's walk rate is in line with previous seasons, his strikeout rate has jumped up 9.1% this season, with a 7% rise in whiff rate and 7.5% in chase rate. You can thank Soriano's knuckle curve and splitter for that, as both have a whiff rate above 48% right now. His sinker has also been an impactful offering, registering a .156 BAA, and helping Soriano post a 56.1% groundball rate.

So not only is Soriano missing more bats and getting hitters to chase outside the zone more frequently, but he's also still generating a ton of groundballs and keeping his walk rate in check. I'm not sure if he's going to stick as a fantasy ace, but there's plenty of legitimacy here in Soriano's breakout.

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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