Fantasy Baseball Draft Prep: Dynasty league top 150 rankings for 2020

Dynasty leagues are growing in popularity, but weighing present needs against future hopes can certainly present a challenge. Scott White attempts to simplify it via his top 150.

The emphasis in dynasty leagues tends to be on prospects, but it should actually be on winning, right? That's what makes a dynasty, after all. It's not a team that goes all-in for one big win after years of losing, but one that sustains success year after year after year.

More than prospects (which, technically speaking, aren't winning anyone anything), the key to sustaining success is a young core. Now, maybe that young core begins with prospects, but fashioning a young core from scratch is a higher-risk, lower-fulfillment approach. Sometimes it's made necessary by untenable circumstances, but ideally, prospects exist more to supplement and sustain an existing core.

What I'm saying is you shouldn't underestimate the value of proven-ness when putting together your dynasty league team. True, other factors like keeper cost may come into play, but all things being equal, a minor-leaguer isn't inherently more valuable than a major-leaguer, especially a young one who himself has upside.

But I acknowledge it can be tricky weighing present needs against future hopes and certainty against upside, and it's never one-size-fits-all. Still, I've attempted to simplify it, at least for the top 150, by considering these three factors:

1. Present value: What a player is expected to be in 2020
   
2. Future value: What his peak looks like and how much peak he has left
   
3. Confidence rating: How confident I am in him meeting his immediate and long-term value
   

Each factor is measured on a 1-to-5 score, with five being the best, and a player's ranking is primarily determined by adding the scores. Ties typically go to the younger player, but personal preference plays a role as well. The distinctions become less evident further down the list, so at some point subjectivity has to reign.

Top 150 for dynasty leagues

Rank	Player	Age (on 7/1)	Present	Future	Confidence
1	Ronald Acuna ATL CF	22	5	5	5
2	Juan Soto WAS LF	21	5	5	5
3	Cody Bellinger LAD RF	24	5	5	5
4	Mike Trout LAA CF	28	5	5	5
5	Christian Yelich MIL RF	28	5	5	5
6	Mookie Betts BOS RF	27	5	5	5
7	Alex Bregman HOU 3B	26	5	5	5
8	Francisco Lindor CLE SS	26	5	5	5
9	Fernando Tatis SD SS	21	5	5	4
10	Yordan Alvarez HOU DH	23	5	5	4
11	Gerrit Cole NYY SP	29	5	4	5
12	Trea Turner WAS SS	27	5	5	4
13	Trevor Story COL SS	27	5	5	4
14	Walker Buehler LAD SP	25	5	5	4
15	Rafael Devers BOS 3B	23	4	5	4
16	Jose Ramirez CLE 3B	27	5	5	3
17	Nolan Arenado COL 3B	29	5	4	4
18	Shane Bieber CLE SP	25	5	5	3
19	Jack Flaherty STL SP	24	4	5	4
20	Gleyber Torres NYY SS	23	4	5	4
21	Jacob deGrom NYM SP	32	5	3	5
22	Freddie Freeman ATL 1B	30	5	3	5
23	Anthony Rendon LAA 3B	30	5	3	4
24	Vladimir Guerrero TOR 3B	21	3	5	4
25	Pete Alonso NYM 1B	25	4	4	4
26	Ozzie Albies ATL 2B	23	4	4	4
27	Keston Hiura MIL 2B	23	4	5	3
28	Bo Bichette TOR SS	22	4	5	3
29	Xander Bogaerts BOS SS	27	4	4	4
30	Ketel Marte ARI CF	26	4	5	3
31	Mike Clevinger CLE SP	29	5	3	4
32	Aaron Judge NYY RF	28	4	5	3
33	Bryce Harper PHI RF	27	4	4	4
34	Lucas Giolito CHW SP	25	4	5	3
35	Luis Castillo CIN SP	27	4	5	3
36	Aaron Nola PHI SP	27	4	5	3
37	Austin Meadows TB RF	25	4	5	3
38	Chris Paddack SD SP	24	4	5	3
39	Blake Snell TB SP	27	4	5	3
40	Wander Franco TB SS	19	1	5	5
41	Carlos Correa HOU SS	25	3	5	3
42	Eloy Jimenez CHW LF	23	3	5	3
43	Luis Robert CHW CF	22	3	5	3
44	Jose Altuve HOU 2B	30	4	3	4
45	Stephen Strasburg WAS SP	31	4	3	4
46	George Springer HOU CF	30	4	3	4
47	Patrick Corbin WAS SP	30	4	3	4
48	Kris Bryant CHC 3B	28	4	4	3
49	Joey Gallo TEX CF	26	4	4	3
50	Tyler Glasnow TB SP	26	4	5	2
51	J.T. Realmuto PHI C	29	4	3	4
52	Gary Sanchez NYY C	27	4	4	3
53	Anthony Rizzo CHC 1B	30	4	3	4
54	Josh Bell PIT 1B	27	4	4	3
55	Javier Baez CHC SS	27	4	4	3
56	Matt Olson OAK 1B	26	4	4	3
57	Manny Machado SD 3B	27	4	4	3
58	Yoan Moncada CHW 3B	24	4	5	2
59	Jesus Luzardo OAK RP	22	3	5	3
60	Matt Chapman OAK 3B	26	4	4	3
61	Mike Soroka ATL SP	22	4	4	3
62	Jose Berrios MIN SP	26	4	4	3
63	Shohei Ohtani LAA DH	25	3	5	3
64	J.D. Martinez BOS DH	32	5	2	4
65	Eugenio Suarez CIN 3B	28	4	4	3
66	Willson Contreras CHC C	28	4	4	3
67	MacKenzie Gore SD SP	21	1	5	4
68	Corey Seager LAD SS	26	3	4	3
69	Gavin Lux LAD 2B	22	3	5	2
70	Jo Adell LAA CF	21	1	5	4
71	Victor Robles WAS CF	23	3	4	3
72	Zac Gallen ARI SP	24	3	4	3
73	Kyle Tucker HOU LF	23	2	5	3
74	Justin Verlander HOU SP	37	5	1	4
75	Max Scherzer WAS SP	35	5	1	4
76	Jorge Soler KC DH	28	4	4	2
77	Nicholas Castellanos CHC RF	28	4	4	2
78	Julio Urias LAD RP	23	3	4	3
79	Brandon Woodruff MIL SP	27	4	4	2
80	Frankie Montas OAK SP	27	4	4	2
81	Charlie Blackmon COL RF	33	5	2	3
82	Max Muncy LAD 2B	29	4	3	3
83	Jeff McNeil NYM 2B	28	4	4	2
84	Josh Hader MIL RP	26	4	4	2
85	Clayton Kershaw LAD SP	32	4	2	4
86	Max Kepler MIN RF	27	4	4	2
87	Eddie Rosario MIN LF	28	3	3	4
88	Rhys Hoskins PHI 1B	27	3	4	3
89	Adalberto Mondesi KC SS	24	3	4	2
90	Marcus Semien OAK SS	29	4	3	2
91	DJ LeMahieu NYY 2B	31	4	3	2
92	Roberto Osuna HOU RP	25	3	4	2
93	Dylan Carlson STL RF	21	2	5	2
94	Jarred Kelenic SEA CF	20	1	5	3
95	Nate Pearson TOR P	23	2	5	2
96	Luis Severino NYY SP	26	1	5	3
97	Trevor Bauer CIN SP	29	3	4	2
98	Sonny Gray CIN SP	30	4	3	2
99	James Paxton NYY SP	31	4	3	2
100	Starling Marte PIT CF	31	4	2	3
101	Cavan Biggio TOR 2B	25	3	4	2
102	Miguel Sano MIN 3B	27	4	4	1
103	Max Fried ATL SP	26	3	4	2
104	Lance McCullers HOU SP	26	3	4	2
105	Casey Mize DET SP	23	1	5	3
106	Andrew Vaughn CHW 1B	22	1	5	3
107	Michael Conforto NYM RF	27	3	3	3
108	David Dahl COL CF	26	3	4	2
109	Willie Calhoun TEX LF	25	3	4	2
110	Jorge Polanco MIN SS	26	3	3	3
111	Alec Bohm PHI 3B	23	1	5	3
112	Adley Rutschman BAL C	22	1	5	3
113	Michael Kopech CHW SP	24	2	5	2
114	Zack Greinke HOU SP	36	4	1	4
115	Charlie Morton TB SP	36	4	1	4
116	Yu Darvish CHC SP	33	4	2	3
117	Tim Anderson CHW SS	27	3	3	3
118	Carter Kieboom WAS SS	22	2	4	3
119	Julio Rodriguez SEA RF	19	1	5	3
120	Whit Merrifield KC 2B	31	4	2	3
121	Mike Moustakas CIN 3B	31	3	2	4
122	Mitch Garver MIN C	29	4	3	2
123	Ramon Laureano OAK CF	25	3	4	2
124	Andrew Benintendi BOS LF	25	3	4	2
125	Zack Wheeler PHI SP	30	3	3	3
126	Matthew Boyd DET SP	29	3	4	2
127	Marcell Ozuna STL LF	29	3	3	3
128	Giancarlo Stanton NYY LF	30	4	3	2
129	Eduardo Rodriguez BOS SP	27	3	3	3
130	Carlos Martinez STL RP	28	3	4	2
131	Michael Brantley HOU LF	33	4	2	3
132	Kyle Hendricks CHC SP	30	3	3	3
133	J.D. Davis NYM LF	27	3	4	2
134	Franmil Reyes CLE RF	25	3	4	2
135	Bryan Reynolds PIT LF	25	3	3	3
136	Lourdes Gurriel TOR LF	26	3	4	2
137	Nick Senzel CIN CF	25	3	4	2
138	Alex Verdugo BOS CF	24	3	4	2
139	Will Smith LAD C	25	3	4	2
140	Yasmani Grandal CHW C	31	4	2	3
141	Noah Syndergaard NYM SP	27	1	4	3
142	Chris Sale BOS SP	31	1	4	3
143	Alex Kirilloff MIN RF	22	1	4	3
144	Forrest Whitley HOU SP	22	1	5	2
145	Brendan Rodgers COL 2B	23	1	5	2
146	Joey Bart SF C	23	1	4	3
147	Brendan McKay TB SP	24	2	4	2
148	A.J. Puk OAK RP	25	2	5	1
149	Mitch Keller PIT SP	24	2	4	2
150	Dustin May LAD RP	22	2	4	2