Posted on by Michael Halpern

Minnesota Twins 2027 Dynasty Baseball Team Report (Top 10 Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy Talk)

The Off-Season festivities are already in full swing here on the Brick Wall and on the Patreon! I gave you A Top 17 Sneak Peek of the 2027 Top 500 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings on Monday. The Top 24 Sneak Peek of the 2027 Top 1,000 Dynasty Rankings dropped two weeks ago and the Top 36 2027 FYPD Rankings dropped last week (full Top 130+ coming later this off-season). And today we continue with the Dynasty Team Reports. Here is the Minnesota Twins 2027 Dynasty Baseball Team Report (Top 10 Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy Talk):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-A TOP 24 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2027 TOP 1,000 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS
–TOP 36 2027 FYPD RANKS (full Top 130+ coming later this off-season)
-A TOP 17 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2027 TOP 500 PROSPECTS RANKS
-DEEP POSITIONAL RANKINGS
-DYNASTY TEAM REPORTS (TOP 10 PROSPECTS/INTERESTING MLB GUYS/STRATEGY SECTION)
-POSITION BY POSITION TARGET ARTICLES
-PREDICTING FUTURE PROSPECT LISTS
-AND SO MUCH MORE

Previous Dynasty Team Reports on Patreon

Baltimore Orioles—Kansas City Royals—New York Mets (free)—Pittsburgh Pirates

Hitters

Kody Clemens – MIN, 1B/OF/2B, 30.10 – Kody Clemens is one of my favorite Target hits of all time. I ain’t out for easy kills. I went on a family vacation to a resort in Upstate New York recently where they had archery. The range had 6 targets with 5 of them being huge and one of them being super small. You damn right I lined up for the super small one. And did I still dominate everyone else? No, no I didn’t. I did much worse. But thankfully I’m much better at fantasy baseball than I am archery, so I hit a damn bullseye on Clemens. Here is what I wrote in his Target blurb last off-season: “Sleepers are dead. No such thing anymore. Sleepers were a quaint idea from the turn of the century when one guy from ESPN and 2 guys from Yahoo wrote about fantasy baseball and that was about it. And back then, things like ERA were still the driving force of value. If you were hip to K/BB, you could make a killing on “sleepers.” Those days are long over ……. But ….. just call me Marty McFly, because I found a way to go Back to the Future and bring true “Sleepers” back from the past. And the flux capacitor, the key ingredient, is to find guys who aren’t locked into full time jobs. Roster Resource currently has Victor Caritini as the starting DH. I mean, come on, that is obviously not their starting DH. Clemens broke out already last year! He put up a 12% Barrel%, 91.5 MPH EV, 48.3% Hard Hit%, 16.7 degree launch, 23.2% Air Pull%, and best of all, a 23.9% whiff%. That is an insanely exciting combination of skills and he did indeed jack out 19 homers in 119 game. The breakout happened already and the .231 BABIP is hiding it. A good defensive player who can play all over the field and hit 25+ bombs is so clearly a starter, and I think that will be obvious during the season. His current ADP across 6 platforms (NFBC, Fantrax, Yahoo, ESPN, CBS, RTSports) is 435. That is a steal, and that means he will be completely free in most leagues. That is a true blue, old school Sleeper. I love him.” … and his season played out exactly as I envisioned it. He played all over the field and did indeed jack out 25+ bombs with 27 homers. Everything I loved about him last year was fully back in 2026 with a 91.9 MPH EV, 15.4 degree launch, 46.1% Hard Hit%, and a 21.8% K%. He chipped in with 10 steals too. The .239 BA and .298 OBP weren’t great, and he’s already 30/31, so I don’t think he’s going to turn into a fantasy superstar, but from where he was being drafted, to 91st overall on the Razzball Player Rater is a massive win. I’m going back in on him for 2026, and let’s say he hits closer to his .254 xBA with 3 mores dingers … all of a sudden we are looking at a .250, 30 homer bat. I’m not predicting that, but it’s in play. – 2027 Projection: 79/26/85/.246/.317/.468/10

Royce Lewis – MIN, 1B/3B, 27.10 – Lewis was one of my top fades in 2026, writing, “I feel the legend of Royce Lewis is starting to become more myth than reality. There is a vibe that this would be a Byron Buxton level breakout superstar if he could only stay healthy, but the stats don’t really back that up.” … and those unspectacular stats were back, leading to an unspectacular season. The 40.2% Hard Hit% is about the same as 2025 and about the same for his career, and it’s just not gonna cut it. The hit tool actually took a big step back this year too with a career worst 25.5% K% and 32.8% whiff%. His bat speed was way up to an impressive 75.1 MPH, so credit to him that he tried to improve last off-season, but it just didn’t translate to results. He put up a .667 OPS with a .306 xwOBA. It’s his 2nd straight season with an 85 wRC+. He once again was only able to play in 125 games, but some of that was performance related as he got demoted to the minors for a stretch. And he’s moving down the defensive spectrum too as he’s now mostly a 1B. I was staying away last year and I’m staying away again this year, but at least now, his value is in the toilet. As a pure bottom of the roster flier he’s not the worst guy. He stole 16 bags in 17 attempts. He lifts and pulls. Seeing the uptick in bat speed is good. If he can actually start hitting the ball higher, a 20/20 season wouldn’t be crazy. So if you can grab him for almost nothing, that works. – 2027 Projection: 66/18/74/.242/.307/.410/18

Pitchers

Taj Bradley – MIN, RHP, 26.1 – Breakout waiting room guys can often be the toughest to evaluate. They have the electric stuff that you makes you want to fly them up rankings the second they string together a few good starts, but the inconsistency that put them in the breakout waiting room to begin with is always in the back of your mind. Bradley’s 2026 season was basically a microcosm of his career, with one month being an ace and then next month putting up a 1.40 WHIP. He’s honestly one of my hardest evaluations for 2027. And I think that hesitancy to really declare his 2026 season a true breakout is going to prevent me from getting him anywhere. His stuff still got hit really hard with a 90.9 MPH EV and 45.4% Hard Hit%. The fastball doesn’t miss many bats with a 17.5% whiff% and .385 xwOBA. The 27.4% whiff% overall is really good, but it’s not quite standout. And the 10.2% BB% was actually the worst of his career. I know the things to like are there. He throws fire at 97.2 MPH and his 3 secondaries are whiff machines. A guy like this can always keep taking steps forward. I wouldn’t blame you if Bradley was your guy this off-season, but I can’t quite get there. I like him, but I have a feeling there is always going to be someone in my league who likes him more. – 2027 Projection: 11/3.80/1.26/195 in 175 IP

Connor Prielipp – MIN, LHP, 26.3 – If I were to go after a young Twins pitcher, it would be Prielipp as his price is going to be much cheaper than Bradley’s, but I’m probably not going to stick my neck out too much for Prielipp either. You can’t target every potential young breakout. The reason he’s not going to be the guy I’m willing to reach those extra couple rounds for, or spend those extra few bucks for is because he too has a very hittable 4-seamer. It’s fast at 95.6 MPH from the left side, but it only put up a 15.6% whiff% with a .398 xwOBA. It wasn’t all that great at Triple-A either. The changeup also isn’t a good pitch with a 19.8% whiff% in the majors. The 23.6% whiff% overall is below average. And we can’t forget all the injury issues he’s had in his career (TJ in 2021 and internal brace in 2023). But the good news is that because he put up a 4.87 ERA, he might actually fall into your lap for very cheap. And then he becomes more enticing as the slider and curve both miss bats, the 95 MPH sinker keeps the ball on the ground, and the control is average to above average with a 8.2% BB%. The 3.95 xERA is much more representative of how he pitched, and showing he can stay healthy for 143.1 IP was a big step in his career. So how much I like Prielipp will be determined by how much my dynasty opponents like him, and that could be different in every league. – 2027 Projection: 10/3.91/1.28/168 in 160 IP

Bullpen

Jeff Hoffman – MIN, Closer, 34.3 – Hoffman got traded to Minnesota at the deadline and never quite locked in the full time closer role, but it seems highly likely he’s going to be the man in 2027. That is assuming he’s healthy as his season ended with forearm inflammation, but as of now, the expectation is that he will have a normal off-season and be good to go. He’s more volatile than optimal, which is what lost him the job in Toronto, but his stuff and upside are too good to fade too much. He put up a 34.9/10.3 K%/BB% and the 38% whiff% is very elite. The fastball sits 96.4 MPH and put up a respectable 25.3% whiff% and .338 xwOBA. The slider is his most used pitch and it’s devastating with a 51% whiff%. He also throws a good splitter. The talent is there to put up an elite closer season, and we saw that from June 4th onward where he put up a 1.79 ERA with a 33.7/11.8 K%/BB% in 40.1 IP (3.55 ERA on the season). He’s likely to be a reasonably priced closer who has the upside to finish at the top of the rankings. – 2027 Projection: 5/3.39/1.19/86/30 saves in 65 IP

Minnesota Twins 2027 Top 10 Fantasy Dynasty Baseball Prospects

1) Walker Jenkins – MIN, OF, 22.1 – A little patience goes a long way. In one of the most unsurprising turns of 2026, the big raw power came for the 6’3”, 210 pound uber sweet swinging lefty. He popped out a career high 14 homers in just 73 games at Triple-A, and he did it with a 106 90th% EV and 91 MPH average EV. It was already coming at the end of 2025, but this just solidified it. And as usual, it came with elite plate skills (15.4/13.3 K%/BB%), base stealing (17 steals) and the ability to lift it (12.5 degrees). His MLB debut wasn’t as impressive with a .686 OPS in 93 PA, but it’s no surprise to me that Jenkins didn’t try to do too much and just wanted to establish the ability to get the bat on the ball first, which he did with a strong 20.4% K%. The .310 xwOBA was not far off from average. The hard hit wasn’t there, but once he gets fully comfortable, he’s going to unleash it just like he did as he climbed the ladder in the minors. Some guys just grip and rip it and figure out the rest later. Jenkins is the opposite. He stays controlled in the pocket, and then grips it and rips it later. It’s coming … again. He’s not a burner, but the speed is at least average and he’s a good base stealer, so he should be good for 15+. I put the Kyle Tucker 2.0 comp on him in is draft year, and he sure looks like he’s about to fulfill that destiny … that is as long as he stays on the field. I’m not scared off by his injury history, but it’s not something that can be completely ignored. It’s why I have him ranked 8th and not possibly up at #3. – 2027 Projection: 81/21/76/.259/.331/.439/16 Prime Projection: 98/27/96/.276/.362/.482/18

2) Vahn Lackey – MIN, C, 21.9 – Selected 3rd overall, Lackey is my #1 pick for First Year Player Drafts, and while of course it’s not an easy choice, the man just doesn’t really have a weakness. He checks every box while the other options simply don’t check every box. He has the plate skills with a 13.4/17.7 K%/BB% and .397 BA in 61 games in the ACC. He then stepped into pro ball and put up a 19.4/22.6 K%/BB% in 25 games split between Single-A and High-A (170 wRC+ at High-A). He has power with a junior year power explosion where he both upped his exit velocity significantly and upped his launch, leading to 20 homers. And then he did it again in pro ball with 3 homers, a 31.8% GB% and 43.1% Pull%. He’s got size at 6’2”, 215 pounds. He’s young for the class and will be 21 years old for the 1st half of 2027. And the true separator is that he has legit speed and athleticism, nabbing 15 bags in college and then 13 bags in pro ball. This is a college bat that literally does it all. Cholowsky doesn’t have the stolen bases that Lackey has. Emerson doesn’t have the lift/pull and he’s not nearly as proven as Lackey. If you want to throw Burress in there, Burress doesn’t have the size. Flora is a pitcher. Lombard has hit tool risk. You get the point. When you dive into all of the ingredients, Lackey has all of them, and not only that, the potential to be impact in all of them. Taking a catcher 1st can be a bit controversial for fantasy, but if you don’t have a good catcher right now, or an old one, or you are in a deep league, or a 2 catcher league, him being a catcher is a big bump for me. And if this dude actually keeps running, which playing catcher can definitely impact that, he’s going to be difference maker from even the other top young catchers, as none of them steal bags like that. Getting steals from a position nobody else is getting steals at can be the type of x-factor that gives you that edge/angle to you need to win. Lackey is my top dog. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 87/25/81/.264/.341/.469/18

3) Emmanuel Rodriguez – MIN, OF, 24.1 – Baby Bonds turned Baby Buxton finally arrived. It was an arduous journey through a myriad of injuries (most recently a torn thumb by breaking the cardinal rule of baseball by sliding head first into first base), but he made his MLB debut in September … and struggled hard with a .178 BA in 48 PA. But that was only the surface stats, the underlying stats told a different story. The .354 xwOBA was excellent. The .251 xBA was much higher than the BA. He crushed the ball 48.3% Hard Hit%. He lift/pulled with a 27.6% Air Pull%. The bat was electric with an elite 76.1 MPH swing. And the athleticism was good with a 28 ft/sec sprint. Sure the 33.3/6.3 K%/BB% was bad and clearly highlights the risks, but the 33.3% whiff% really isn’t that bad for this type of electric bat. And we know he’s a walk machine so there are no concerns there. He destroyed Triple-A with a 140 wRC+, and he showed hit tool improvement at that level from 2025, bringing his K% down 5.2 points to 26.4%. Really my biggest concern is that he doesn’t end up running a ton of the MLB level. He stole only 7 bags in 58 games in the minors, and while a 28 ft/sec sprint is good, it’s not blazing. It’s possible he becomes a low BA slugger with only a contribution in steals rather than a 20+ guy. That still wouldn’t be a bad outcome though, and the upside is that he’s a power/speed beast. I’m buying Baby Buxton for 2027. – 2027 Projection: 73/24/79/.227/.313/.438/14 Prime Projection: 88/28/88/.248/.340/.470/16

4) Kaelen Culpepper – MIN, SS, 24.3 – The only real knock on Culpepper’s profile from 2025 was that he wasn’t a huge EV/hard hit guy, and he must have heard those critiques, because he absolutely crushed the baseball in 2026. He hit 14 homers with a 90.6 MPH EV and 47% Hard Hit% in 74 games at Triple-A. The 104.8 MPH 90th% EV isn’t quite as beastly, but that is now slightly above MLB average. If you didn’t think this guy was going to hit the ball hard enough, think again. And of course the hit tool (18.7/11.4 K%/BB% with a 22.8% whiff%) and athleticism (17 steals in 74 games at Triple-A) were back. He made his MLB debut, and like Jenkins, the focus was on establishing the hit tool first, and he did that with a .274 BA and 21.9% K%. The hard hit wasn’t there with a 31.1% Hard Hit%, but again just like Jenkins, he will start to unleash more as he gets more comfortable. And the 73.7 MPH bat speed shows you there is plenty of juice in the bat. The 27.8 ft/sec sprint was a little on the disappointing side, and he only stole 1 bag, but we need a bigger sample to say anything there. My projection of Culpepper remains the same as it was since he was a low key FYPD target for me, and that is an above average across the board contributor. He’s still likely to be underrated. – 2027 Projection: 77/17/69/.261/.320/.409/18 Prime Projection: 86/20/77/.275/.339/.442/20

5) Marek Houston – MIN, SS, 23.0 – Houston was (almost) exactly who we thought he was coming out of the draft, and that is a better real life than fantasy prospect, but I said “almost,” because he actually did show a bit more upside than expected. And he did it in all aspects of the game. We knew he had speed, but stealing 50 bags in 59 attempts is a huge boost to his potential upside. W knew there wasn’t much power, but he increased his bat speed and lowered his GB%, resulting in a respectable 7 homers in 60 games at Double-A. And we knew he can get the bat on the ball, but a .312 BA with a 19.5/11.0 K%/BB% shows another potential category for fantasy upside. There still isn’t enough power to get really excited, but at least now we can see multiple avenues to impact fantasy success. And the glove is going to get him on the field, so the dude is almost certainly going to be fantasy relevant. His value got a bump in 2026. – 2027 Projection: 29/3/21/.245/.305/.381/6 Prime Projection: 84/14/61/.268/.334/.421/27

6) Kendry Rojas – MIN, LHP, 24.5 – It seems as if Rojas is going to be stuck in a multi inning reliever/depth starter/up and down arm for the foreseeable future. Injuries happen during a season, so I’m sure he will get a shot at some point, but it’s hard to know when that shot is coming. It’s not easy to roster a guy like this in many leagues, but he has the type of stuff from the left side that I don’t want to forget about. He made his MLB debut in 2026 and his 96 MPH 4-seamer dominated with a 29.7% whiff% and .260 xwOBA in 29.2 IP. The slider missed bats with a 33.3% whiff%, the changeup was solid with a .262 xwOBA, and he has a 94.8 MPH sinker too. The 28.1% whiff% was well above average. He put up a 3.34 ERA with a 3.47 xERA. The 16.9% BB% was obviously an issue, but he’s never had walk rates like that before in his career, so I’m overly concerned about it. If he had a clear path to a rotation spot, I would be higher, but he doesn’t. And not only that, he’s constantly been banged up and hasn’t been able to rack up innings in his career. It’s definitely possible Minnesota just decides to unleash him in the bullpen and call it day, but he could be nasty in the pen too. – 2027 Projection: 4/3.92/1.34/84 in 80 IP Prime Projection: 9/3.87/1.31/160 in 150 IP

7) Eduardo Tait – MIN, C, 20.7 – Tait had a rough season at High-A where more advanced pitchers were able to take advantage of his chase tendencies. He put up a 40.9% Chase% and it led to a .221 BA and .281 OPB in 116 games. The 74 wRC+ is pretty brutal. But I don’t think we can give up on him yet. He was only 19 years old, so hopefully after this down year he really starts to focus on refining his plate approach. The .243 BABIP also points to some serious back luck. If he hit .260-.270 with neutral luck, the season would look a lot better, and it would look a lot better because the power was still fully there with 22 dingers. He hits it hard and he can lift/pull. The lefty swing is still electric. So definitely don’t give up, but his value still takes a hit. It’s also not great that Vahn Lackey is pretty much locked in as the catcher of the future, leaving Tait at the mercy of a trade or some kind of hybrid DH/C/1B role in the future. – ETA: 2029 Prime Projection: 64/22/76/.246/.307/.446/2

8) Hendry Mendez – MIN, OF, 23.5 – If you love plate skills, Mendez is your man as he’s had some of the best plate skills in the minors since stepping on a pro field at 17 years old. Unfortunately, that is just about all he has. The 16.7/12.1 K%/BB% in 102 games split between Double-A and Triple-A is excellent, but it came with only 12 homers and 5 steals. The 4.5 degree launch and 9.3% Air Pull% just kills his game power, and that too has been that way since he was 17. He’s 6’3”, 175 pounds and he can hit the ball hard, but the 88.1 MPH EV and 42.7% Hard Hit% isn’t quite standout enough for me to really go all in on him. And he’s also not a good outfielder, so the glove isn’t going to force him on the field. The X-factor is the same as it’s always been, which is what would happen if he actually tries to unlock more game power. He’s the perfect candidate to try to make that switch, and if he can do it, there is a potentially impactful hit/power combo in here, but he’s just never shown any indication of trying. At least not yet. – 2027 Projection: 19/2/14/.258/.320/.380/1 Prime Projection: 73/15/66/.273/.341/.405/5

9) Riley Quick – MIN, RHP, 22.11 – Quick got off to a fire start in the lower minors in his pro debut, but when he got to the more age appropriate Double-A, he got destroyed. He put up a 6.68 ERA with a 23.4/14.3 K%/BB% in 32.1 IP. He has the size (6’6”, 225 pounds), stuff (mid to upper 90’s fastball with two potential plus secondaries in his slider and changeup) and athleticism (he could have played college football in the SEC if he wanted too) that you want to bet on, but it’s really never come together for dominant results. Even in college he put up a 1.39 WHIP his junior year. He’s the minor league version of the breakout waiting room guy. Pitchers with this level of stuff and athleticism can often make one tweak, or improve their control/command, and hell breaks loose, but hell hasn’t broken loose yet. Maybe next year. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 8/4.09/1.35/155  in 150 IP

10) Ethan Wachsmann – MIN, RHP, 18.10 – Selected 79th overall and signed for $2.25 million, Wachsmann is a big dude at 6’5”, 225 pounds with the big velocity to match his size. Just watch him literally throw a 100 MPH fastball that the catcher couldn’t even get to in time. The secondaries aren’t as impressive with a curve and changeup, but both have potential to become good pitches with more refinement. He’s still just 18 years old and you can see that rawness in his delivery as well. This is basically just buying raw size and velocity and hoping the refinement comes later. If it does, the upside will be high for him to fly up rankings, but the risk is super high here as well. – ETA: 2030 Prime Projection: 9/4.05/1.34/155 in 150 IP

Just Missed

11) Charlee Soto – MIN, RHP, 21.8

12) Carson Tinney – MIN, C, 22.0

Dynasty Baseball Thought/Strategy of the Day (which may or may not be related to the team I’m covering that day)

Jumping off from the Vahn Lackey blurb, I think as prospect hounds we all love to bet on a guy with that one standout, jaw dropping tool/skill. You want the guy who smashes the ball. Or the guy who has insane contact rates. Or the guy who steals 50 bags with blazing speed. You want that carrying tool that you can hang your hat on, but I think what ends up getting a bit underrated for us in fantasy (maybe less so in real life) is the prospect who just does everything really well. The guy who doesn’t have a weakness. That was Eli Willits in last year’s FYPD class. It’s Vahn Lackey in this year’s FYPD class. Kaelen Culpepper fit that mold too as a 1st round pick who didn’t get much love in fantasy. The analysis of who has the fewest weaknesses can often lead to a better result than who has the strongest strengths. Don’t get me wrong, I love a jaw dropping standout tool. You know that if you’ve read my work. I’m not saying value those guys less, I’m just saying the “who checks the most boxes” method often doesn’t garner as much hype/excitement, but it can be just as effective at finding gems at both the top of the rankings and underrated guys.

Previous Dynasty Team Reports on Patreon

Baltimore Orioles—Kansas City Royals—New York Mets (free)—Pittsburgh Pirates

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-A TOP 24 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2027 TOP 1,000 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS
–TOP 36 2027 FYPD RANKS (full Top 130+ coming later this off-season)
-A TOP 17 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2027 TOP 500 PROSPECTS RANKS
-DEEP POSITIONAL RANKINGS
-DYNASTY TEAM REPORTS (TOP 10 PROSPECTS/INTERESTING MLB GUYS/STRATEGY SECTION)
-POSITION BY POSITION TARGET ARTICLES
-PREDICTING FUTURE PROSPECT LISTS
-AND SO MUCH MORE

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

A Top 17 Sneak Peek of the 2027 Top 500 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings

I gave you the first Sneak Peek of the 2027 Top 1,000 Dynasty Rankings two weeks ago. I gave you the first Sneak Peek of the 2027 Top 130 FYPD Rankings last week. And now it’s time for the Prospects Rankings. Top 5 free here on the Brick Wall. Here is A Top 17 Sneak Peek of the 2027 Top 500 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-A TOP 24 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2027 TOP 1,000 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS
–TOP 36 2027 FYPD RANKS (full Top 130+ coming later this off-season)
-A TOP 17 SNEAK PEEK OF THE TOP 500 PROSPECTS RANKS
-DEEP POSITIONAL RANKINGS
-DYNASTY TEAM REPORTS (TOP 10 PROSPECTS/INTERESTING MLB GUYS/STRATEGY SECTION)
-POSITION BY POSITION TARGET ARTICLES
-PREDICTING FUTURE PROSPECT LISTS
-AND SO MUCH MORE

Dynasty Team Reports on Patreon

Baltimore Orioles—Kansas City Royals—New York Mets (free)—Pittsburgh Pirates

1) Josue De Paula – LAD, OF, 21.10 – Here at Imaginary Brick Wall Headquarters, our company motto is “The Best Defense is a Good Offense” … so we’ll leave the quibbling over Josue De Paula’s defense to the real life list makers to hem and haw over, because for fantasy, it’s all offense all of the time. You can’t play defense on your opponents team in fantasy (although now that I think about it, that would be kinda fun if we can figure out a way to actually do that). So when it comes to the #1 Dynasty Baseball Prospect in baseball, I don’t see anyone who has a better case than Josue De Paula. You want safety? He’s got that with a truly elite 14.8/13.8 K%/BB% and 14.4% whiff% in 124 games at Double-A. He then proved it will stick in the majors with a 11.9/26.2 K%/BB% and 19% whiff% in 42 PA. You want upside? His raw power and hard hit ability has always been massive at 6’3” with one of the sweetest lefty swings in the game, and then in 2026, he had the game power breakout we were waiting for with 27 homers. That too transferred to the majors with a 34.6% Air Pull% and 46.2% Hard Hit%. And while he’s not fast, he’s a good base stealer with 31 steals. If there was going to be a case against Josue, it would be that the steals are going to dry up in the majors, but even if he doesn’t steal 30+, he’s still going to be a contributor in that category. And we’ve seen plenty of not fast guys rack up steals these days. It’s the perfect profile of safety, upside, upper minors domination, and also proving it will transfer to the majors. With a bat like this, we truly don’t have to care about defensive value. I’m giddy with excitement that he is the new top dog, because if you’ve read my work, you know this is my dude. If you would have told me back in 2022 that Pete Crow Armstrong and Josue De Paula would be the #1 dynasty player in the game and #1 dynasty prospect in the game in 2026, I would have thought I died and went to heaven … wait, I’m still alive, right? Am I like Bruce Willis from The Sixth Sense, unaware I’m already dead? Are you guys the kid? “I read dead people.” Do I have to figure out what unfinished business I need to complete? Is it victory lapping Josue? Because I can do that hah. Here is what I wrote about him when he was a near unknown, not a whisper of hype DSL bat in July 2022, “The younger the player, the more the organization matters, and LA is an elite player development organization. I would love De Paula regardless of organization though, as he checks almost every box. He’s a projectable 6’3”, 185 pounds with a powerful and smooth lefty swing, he’s athletic with 13 steals (Stephon Marbury is his cousin), and he’s advanced at the dish with a great feel to hit (13.2%/16.5% K%/BB%). He could legitimately be a stud.” … and now the rest is history. Watching your targets develop into beasts is what makes dynasty so fun. Damn I love this game. – 2027 Projection: 84/24/81/.272/.352/.462/16 Prime Projection: 110/32/105/.294/.389/.531/18

2) Sebastian Walcott – TEX, SS, 21.1 – If someone was going to take the top spot from Josue, it would be Walcott at a very close #2. I think I was the only person in the world who was actually happy about Walcott’s injury, writing in his Target blurb, “This elbow injury was the Baseball God’s way of saying slow the hell down. This is a blessing in disguise. Somebody had to stop the Rangers lunacy of promoting this kid way too fast, and the Gods took into their own hands. As we’ve learned and as I’ve written about, I’m not even sure you need elbows for hitting. I’m not concerned about this injury at all long term for his ability to hit. Now is a great time to pounce on him. ” … and that break was exactly what he needed because he came back a man possessed, slashing .322/.398/.586 with 9 homers, 11 steals, and a 22.8/9.9 K%/BB% in 37 games at Double-A. The talent has always been elite, which is why Texas pushed him so fast, but once he was able to catch his breath, the production caught up to the talent. His fantasy upside is probably even higher than Josue’s at 6’4” with elite athleticism and double plus power potential, but Josue still gets the safety edge with the truly elite plate skills and small sample MLB success. Both are favorites of mine (Walcott was a huge target for me in his international class because how can you watch video of that swing and not fall in love), both are going to be fantasy beasts, and both deserve the #1 spot, but only one can take it. #2 ain’t bad. – 2027 Projection: 68/19/68/.251/.326/.448/23 Prime Projection: 96/33/104/.272/.356/.520/32

3) Jesus Made – MIL, SS, 19.11 – It seems as if Made is still going to be the consensus #1 prospect on real life, mainstream lists, which is totally reasonable, but I think that 103 wRC+ in 122 games at Double-A leaves the door open for some other options, and when the other options are as beastly as Josue and Sebastian, I’m going to walk through that door. Don’t get it twisted though, Made is still going to be an absolute stud. Keep in mind he played the first month of 2026 as an 18 year old. And looking beyond wRC+, the offense performance was extremely impressive. He put up a 14.3/10.2 K%/BB% with a 18.3% whiff%. The bat is special. He’s 6’1”, 221 pounds with a howitzer of a lefty swing that is going to produce at least plus raw power at peak and likely more than that. He knocked out 14 homers and that was with a 52.5% GB%. He’s definitely going to have to learn how to tap into more of his game power, but I have zero doubts that is coming, and he doesn’t have to be a lift/pull guy to dominate with his contact/raw power. And the base stealing is there too with 37 steals. I know we love rankings and we love to crown #1 this and #1 that, but just look at the top of dynasty rankings over the past few years. It’s constantly getting jumbled with the elite players ranking 3rd one year, then 5th the next, then 10th, then back to 5th etc … it’s not some static thing, meaning my money is on Josue, Sebastian, and Jesus (and others) flipping back and forth and back again. The order isn’t important. The important thing is that you have one of them. – 2027 Projection: 59/14/51/.266/.332/.434/18 Prime Projection: 113/28/93/.288/.370/.502/28

4) Eli Willits – WSH, SS, 19.4 – Willits was getting lukewarm love in FYPD Rankings last year even after getting drafted 1st overall, but just like I did in this year’s FYPD Rankings, leading me to Vahn Lackey at #1 overall in early off-season FYPD Rankings, I took a “who checks the most boxes” approach, or put another way, who has the least weaknesses, and when looking at it like that it was clear Willits did indeed deserve that top spot (non Japanese vet division). And now after 2026, it’s even more clear. The man did it all, and he did as an 18 year old. He put up a 132 wRC+, with 14 homers, 62 steals, and a 21.0/17.7 K%/BB% in 114 games split between 3 levels (A, A+, AA). The hit and approach are potentially double plus. The speed is double plus. He lifts it with a 36.5% GB%. The age to level production is obviously there with him making it to Double-A to close out the season where he dominated in 3 games. And really his only semi weakness from last year, his power, has already ticked up in a big way with more coming down the line. I would say he’s the future #1 dynasty prospect in baseball, but he’s moving so damn fast he might graduate before he even gets the chance. He’s already an elite dynasty prospect, and I’m going to continue to be aggressive with his ranking under the same principle I used last year. The man just doesn’t have a weakness. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 108/26/89/.280/.368/.473/38

5) Theo Gillen – TBR, OF, 21.7 – Let me start with the one concerning thing about Gillen’s profile in 2026, and that is how little he lifted and pulled. He put up a 50.8% GB% with a 11.2% Air Pull%. He crushed the ball so hard with double plus hard hit ability that he still cranked out 22 homers in 110 games split evenly between High-A and Double-A, but when you also add in the fact we know the minor league balls were juiced to the gills this year, it does make me question a tad what the game power is really going to look like on the MLB level. It’s the most interesting part of his profile, because there is not much to argue about otherwise. He’s a big dude at 6’2”, 195 pounds, the speed is plus with 45 steals, and the plate skills are strong with a 21.8/13.9 K%/BB%. The 136 wRC+ at Double-A checks the upper minors dominance box as well. The talent is unquestioned as the 18th overall pick and everyone’s favorite FYPD Target (including mine). He’s going to be a fantasy terror, but is he going to be a fantasy terror who randomly has Vlad level homer outages with such little lift/pull? I’m obviously not too worried about it as the raw power is big and he’s likely going to lift/pull more in the future, but it is something on my mind. Either way, he’s a Top 5 dynasty prospect for me, so I’m not letting it stop me from ranking him extremely high. – 2027 Projection: 41/11/36/.259/.328/.430/16 Prime Projection: 102/26/91/.277/.360/.488/34

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-A TOP 24 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2027 TOP 1,000 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS
–TOP 36 2027 FYPD RANKS (full Top 130+ coming later this off-season)
-A TOP 17 SNEAK PEEK OF THE TOP 500 PROSPECTS RANKS
-DEEP POSITIONAL RANKINGS
-DYNASTY TEAM REPORTS (TOP 10 PROSPECTS/INTERESTING MLB GUYS/STRATEGY SECTION)
-POSITION BY POSITION TARGET ARTICLES
-PREDICTING FUTURE PROSPECT LISTS
-AND SO MUCH MORE

Dynasty Team Reports on Patreon

Baltimore Orioles—Kansas City Royals—New York Mets (free)—Pittsburgh Pirates

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Top 36 2027 First Year Player Draft Rankings (full 130+ coming later this off-season)

I do a full Top 130+ FYPD Rankings in early January but because I didn’t do my usual FYPD Rankings during the season, I wanted to get a Top 36 out there early in the off-season. Top 6 free here on the Brick Wall and the rest of these ranks you can find on my Patreon. These don’t include international prospects. International prospects start getting added to my rankings during the deep positional rankings which start in November. Teruaki Sato is the obvious omission, and if I did include him, he would have a very good case for #1 overall. We just saw what Murakami and Okamoto did, and Sato has better contact than Murakami and more power than Okamoto. He has more chase than both of them though. He might end up the best of the 3, but in general, his easy evaluation is as a low BA slugger. Having said that, would you be happy if you passed on Willits for them? Or if you passed on Kade Anderson? Or others. So I don’t think #1 is a no brainer, but the case is there. Here is the Top 36 2027 First Year Player Draft Rankings (full 130+ coming later this off-season):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF UPCOMING EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-A TOP 24 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2027 TOP 1,000 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS
–TOP 35+ 2027 FYPD RANKS (full Top 130+ coming later this off-season)
-SNEAK PEEKS OF THE 3 MAIN LISTS (TOP 1000+ DYNASTY, TOP 500+ PROSPECT, TOP 130+ FYPD)
-DEEP POSITIONAL RANKINGS
-DYNASTY TEAM REPORTS (TOP 10 PROSPECTS/INTERESTING MLB GUYS/STRATEGY SECTION)
-POSITION BY POSITION TARGET ARTICLES
-PREDICTING FUTURE PROSPECT LISTS
-AND SO MUCH MORE

Dynasty Team Reports on Patreon

Baltimore Orioles—Kansas City Royals—New York Mets (free)

1) Vahn Lackey – MIN, C, 21.9 – Selected 3rd overall, Lackey is my #1 pick for First Year Player Drafts, and while of course it’s not an easy choice, the man just doesn’t really have a weakness. He checks every box while the other options simply don’t check every box. He has the plate skills with a 13.4/17.7 K%/BB% and .397 BA in 61 games in the ACC. He then stepped into pro ball and put up a 19.4/22.6 K%/BB% in 25 games split between Single-A and High-A (170 wRC+ at High-A). He has power with a junior year power explosion where he both upped his exit velocity significantly and upped his launch, leading to 20 homers. And then he did it again in pro ball with 3 homers, a 31.8% GB% and 43.1% Pull%. He’s got size at 6’2”, 215 pounds. He’s young for the class and will be 21 years old for the 1st half of 2027. And the true separator is that he has legit speed and athleticism, nabbing 15 bags in college and then 13 bags in pro ball. This is a college bat that literally does it all. Cholowsky doesn’t have the stolen bases that Lackey has. Emerson doesn’t have the lift/pull and he’s not nearly as proven as Lackey. If you want to throw Burress in there, Burress doesn’t have the size. Flora is a pitcher. Lombard has hit tool risk. You get the point. When you dive into all of the ingredients, Lackey has all of them, and not only that, the potential to be impact in all of them. Taking a catcher 1st can be a bit controversial for fantasy, but if you don’t have a good catcher right now, or an old one, or you are in a deep league, or a 2 catcher league, him being a catcher is a big bump for me. And if this dude actually keeps running, which playing catcher can definitely impact that, he’s going to be difference maker from even the other top young catchers, as none of them steal bags like that. Getting steals from a position nobody else is getting steals at can be the type of x-factor that gives you that edge/angle to you need to win. Lackey is my top dog. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 87/25/81/.264/.341/.469/18

2) Grady Emerson – TBR, SS, 19.1 – Selected 2nd overall, Emerson has that dream floor/upside combo that makes it really hard not to give him the top spot, but sometimes you gotta do the hard things in life. I know, I’m so brave. Firefighters have nothing on me. The floor comes from him having the best hit tool in the class. He makes a ton of contact and he rips hard liners all over the field. And the upside comes from a projectable 6’3” frame, but is most notably due to how damn sweet, fast and controlled his lefty swing is. Just watch this highlight reel and tell me you don’t immediately see a future superstar. And while he’s not some off the charts elite athlete, he’s a really damn good athlete with smooth actions and plus speed. The last ingredient to the full superstar explosion is more lift and pull. I would mostly ignore his pro debut (48 wRC+ in 13 games at Single-A), but the 59.5% GB% backs up the scouting report that he needs to learn how to tap into his raw power more. Eli Willits for comparison put up a 38.9% GB% in his 15 games pro debut. So that last little ingredient is why I have him 2nd, and also for the fact he’s not as proven as Lackey is. But on pure upside, Emerson has Lackey beat. He’s a reasonable #1 pick, especially if you don’t need the catcher. – ETA: 2029 Prime Projection: 94/22/81/.283/.359/.458/26

3) Roch Cholowsky – CHW, SS, 22.0 – Selected 1st overall, Chowolsky was the no doubt, unanimous #1 FYPD pick coming into the year, but things change fast in the dynasty world. It has less to do with Chowolsky than the players around him, but at the same time, Cholowksy really didn’t do anything in 2026 to put that final stamp on him being the undisputed guy. He was a bit worse in his junior year, going from a 164 wRC+ to a 146 wRC+, and while that is still good, a 21 homer season with a .320 BA isn’t some crazy off the charts college season. He stole only one bag too. And then he came into pro ball and put up a .167 BA with a 54.2% GB% in 9 games at High-A. I would ignore that, but again, he didn’t come in and put some final stamp on his top dog status. He’s still a reasonable #1 pick and in the top tier though. He dominated the SEC for all 3 years he was on campus. The power is plus, the hit tool is above average, and while he hasn’t stole a ton of bases, he’s definitely a good athlete who stole 3 in his pro debut. It’s definitely possible he runs more in pro ball. Maybe if the power was off the charts elite, or if the contact rates were absurd, or if the speed was plus, then he would be the easy top pick, but he doesn’t quite clear that bar in any one area. I think it leaves the door open for another top pick, and I’m walking through that door, even though it is close. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 87/29/94/.270/.344/.483/10

4) Trevor Condon – STL, OF, 19.3 – Selected 13th overall, I can’t help but get those same butterflies for Condon that I did for Corbin Carroll, Pete Crow, and AJ Ewing. I watch that lefty swing and see the same things that got my so giddy for those guys, which is an explosiveness that leads me to believe there is going to be more than enough power here at peak. Just watch this absolute piss missile. And this is not a particularly small dude at 5’11”. The speed and athleticism are double plus and the hit tool is potentially plus too. He immediately stepped into pro ball and raked, slashing .321/.387/.536 with 1 homer, 2 steals, and a 19.4/9.7 K%/BB% in 9 games. The 40.9% GB% and 54.5% Pull% looks good. Condon is my top early round target in the draft. He’s the guy you hope drops to you if you pick in the back of the first round, but I would pick him much higher than that if I had the opportunity. All in. – ETA: 2029 Prime Projection: 92/20/81/.275/.345/.449/34

5) Jackson Flora – SFG, RHP, 21.10 – Selected 4th overall, Flora is the undisputed top arm in the draft class. He’s 6’5”, 205 pounds with an athletic righty delivery that he uses to fire a potentially double plus, mid to upper 90’s fastball. He’s got two potentially plus sliders with both a hard slider/cutter and a sweepier slider. And then he added a devastating kick change which dominated lefty batters in 2026. It all resulted in a 1.06 ERA and 33.3/8.0 K%/BB% in 102 IP in the Big West. The control/command isn’t pristine, but he has no issues throwing the ball over the plate and the 5.5% BB% in 75 IP his sophomore year shows the ability to put up plus walk rates too. The final cherry on top is that he got drafted into one of the most pitcher friendly parks in San Francisco. You can’t put true Misiorowski/Schlittler/Skubal ace level projection on him, but Flora easily has #2 fantasy starter potential with the talent and situation to possibly surpass even that. He’s not out of the question for #1 overall in FYPD’s if you’ve built up your offensive core and the last piece to your championship window puzzle is pitching. I love him. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 14/3.38/1.13/205 in 185 IP

6) Jacob Lombard – MIA, SS, 19.6 – Selected 14th overall, Lombard dropped in the draft due to concerns over the hit tool, and then those concerns were realized when he put up a 39.4% K% with a .220 BA in 22 games in his pro debut at Single-A. But I’m actually not overly scared off by that, because the 30.1% whiff% was sneakily not bad at all for the level of talent we are talking about here. And that level of talent is elite upside at 6’3”, 195 pounds with a potentially double plus power/speed combo. Even with the high K rate, he still jacked out 4 homers with a 90.6 MPH EV, and 15.8 degree launch. He stole 11 bags. The 98 wRC+ was nearly average. If the whiff% proves more accurate of his hit tool than his K%, which I’m betting on, especially when he’s an age appropriate 19 years old and with a full off-season to prepare, then the nuclear explosion is going to be inevitable. There will always be hit tool risk here, but the insane upside balances that out. He’s the highest upside pick in the draft, and there is a world where his value skyrockets passed everyone ranked above him by this time next year. – ETA: 2029 Prime Projection: 77/26/83/.240/.321/.465/28

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF UPCOMING EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-A TOP 24 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2027 TOP 1,000 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS
–TOP 35+ 2027 FYPD RANKS (full Top 130+ coming later this off-season)
-SNEAK PEEKS OF THE 3 MAIN LISTS (TOP 1000+ DYNASTY, TOP 500+ PROSPECT, TOP 130+ FYPD)
-DEEP POSITIONAL RANKINGS
-DYNASTY TEAM REPORTS (TOP 10 PROSPECTS/INTERESTING MLB GUYS/STRATEGY SECTION)
-POSITION BY POSITION TARGET ARTICLES
-PREDICTING FUTURE PROSPECT LISTS
-AND SO MUCH MORE

Dynasty Team Reports on Patreon

Baltimore Orioles—Kansas City Royals—New York Mets (free)

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

New York Mets 2027 Dynasty Baseball Team Report (Top 10 Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy Talk)

The off-season festivities kicked off yesterday with A top 24 Sneak Peek of the 2027 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Top 5 free on the Brick Wall), and today it’s time for the first 2027 Dynasty Team Report. Like during the regular season, I will release a freebie here on Imaginary Brick Wall a few times a month with the vast majority of the content over on the Patreon. Off-season content will include these Dynasty Team Reports, along with Deep Positional Rankings, Strategy articles, Target articles, 2027 Projections, Prime/Peak Projections, predicting future prospect lists, AFL/Winter League Updates, the Top 100+ FYPD rankings, Top 500+ Prospects Rankings, and Top 1,000+ Dynasty Rankings. Here is the New York Mets 2027 Dynasty Baseball Team Report (Top 10 Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy Talk):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF UPCOMING EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-A TOP 24 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2027 TOP 1,000 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS
-SNEAK PEEKS OF THE 3 MAIN LISTS (TOP 1000+ DYNASTY, TOP 500+ PROSPECT, TOP 100+ FYPD)
-DEEP POSITIONAL RANKINGS
-DYNASTY TEAM REPORTS (TOP 10 PROSPECTS/INTERESTING MLB GUYS/STRATEGY SECTION)
-POSITION BY POSITION TARGET ARTICLES
-PREDICTING FUTURE PROSPECT LISTS
-AND SO MUCH MORE

Hitters

AJ Ewing – NYM, OF, 22.8 – I’m a man of the people. So I’m going to kick off the first Dynasty Baseball Team Report of 2027 by giving the people what they want … Targets. AJ Ewing is possibly my biggest hitter Target of 2027. If you read my work last off-season, or even back in 2024 when he was drafted, you might already have him, because I’ve been all over Ewing, predicting his rise in the Predicting the 2027 Top 50 Dynasty Rankings last off-season, ranking him 9th overall and writing, “I dropped Corbin Carroll and Pete Crow Armstrong’s name when I called Ewing a major target in 2024 FYPD’s, and now we will see the Carroll/PCA like blow up. The massively underrated power will show up with 14 homers in 120 games in the upper minors. Combined with the speed, plate skills, and defense, everyone will realize this is an elite prospect in both fantasy and real life. I will victory lap him until I drop from exhaustion ;)” … Ewing ended up blowing up so fast that I’m technically incorrect because he’s not even a prospect anymore, but that power uptick I saw coming came with 13 homers between the minors and the majors. I predicted 14 (he hit 3 in 124 games in 2025). Not bad. And 11 of those homers came in just 120 games in the majors. The plate skills were excellent, especially for a 21 year old rookie, with an above average 24.6% whiff% and 26.7% Chase%. The speed was near elite with a 29.4 ft/sec sprint and 25 steals. And like I envisioned, the power was way underrated with a damn good 42.3% Hard Hit% and 89.6 MPH EV. And again, he did this at 21 years old. I think there is more power to come. The 10.8 degree launch is completely fine, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him unlock more game power by raising that in future years. This is an absolute future fantasy stud who I still believe is being treated like a nice speed first play. Stick your neck out. Buy high. Do whatever you have to do to get him if you don’t have him already. – 2027 Projection: 88/18/72/.265/.341/.429/33 Prime Projection: 103/24/84/.278/.362/.469/39

Carson Benge – NYM, OF, 24.2 – I fell in love hard over Benge’s swing last off-season, and I can’t help but lead his blurb off again with my jaw on the floor watching him hit. It’s just a filthy thing of beauty. And it’s why I already had him knocking on the door of the top 100 dynasty assets last year (#113), and it’s why I’m completely unsurprised he took the majors by storm in his rookie year. It was funny to see him just quietly having a strong rookie year until everyone looked up at the end of the season and was like oh shit, this guy just went 20/22 with a .282 BA. The contact was there (21.4% whiff%), the launch was there (12.1 degrees), the speed was there. The only thing even slightly “concerning” is the relatively weak 38.8% Hard Hit%, but again, just look at that swing. That Hard Hit% is going up, and when it does, there will be even more homer power in here. Benge vs. Stewart for NL Rookie of the Year is now a super fun debate, and while I do think it is close, Benge’s superior defense and baserunning take it for me. Offense is important, but in real life, there are other parts of the game, and Benge beats him in those other parts. Both of them are going to be fantasy studs for years to come, so who cares who wins it for our sake, but it’s fun to debate. This is a Top 50 dynasty player at the least. – 2027 Projection: 93/24/81/.274/.348/.452/24

Pitchers

Christian Scott – NYM, RHP, 27.9 – The Mets might have had a disaster uncapped downside season, but the future is still bright with so much young talent on the MLB level. And the one who might be sliding under the radar the most for fantasy is one of my biggest pitcher Targets of 2027, Christian Scott. He returned from a hybrid Tommy John/internal brace procedure that knocked out his entire 2025 season, and he looked nearly as good as new with a 3.85 ERA and 28.3/9.9 K%/BB% in 110 IP. The thing that gets me the most excited is that his 95.5 MPH fastball notched an excellent 27.6% whiff% with a .314 xwOBA. Having a bat missing, plus fastball is a foundation that I am a sucker for. The secondaries ain’t bad either with a sweeper (30.9% whiff% and .248 xwOBA) and cutter (+8 Run Value). Even as is, that is a damn good arm, and I see two areas of potential improvement for a next level breakout. First, Scott always had plus to double plus control before the surgery. He had a 6.1% BB% his first go around in the majors. I think we see that walk rate improve. Second, a fully healthy off-season can give him the time he needs to truly work on that splitter/changeup. Refining that pitch and making it a larger part of his arsenal can unlock a whole new dynamic. Scott is going to be a mighty reasonably priced arm for his combination of floor and upside, and he’s going to be an arm scooping in drafts everywhere. Major Target. – 2027 Projection: 11/3.47/1.19/166 in 150 IP

Nolan McLean – NYM, RHP, 24.8 – Who needs whiffs anyway? McLean’s whiff% tanked to a below average 23.6%, but it didn’t stop him from putting up a near ace season with a 3.16 ERA and 26.0/9.4 K%/BB% in 179.2 IP. He did it on the back of a 95 MPH sinker that was the most valuable sinker in baseball and the 3rd most valuable pitch in baseball with a 27 Run Value. Only Misiorowski and Schlittler’s 4-seamers were more valuable. Those pitches put up a 40.2% and 34.8% whiff%. McLean’s sinker notched a 12.1% whiff%. The lack of whiffs were why I had McLean 3rd in the 3 headed pitching prospect monster of Burns/Yesavage/McLean last year. I was right to have Burns in a tier of his own, but as of now, I was wrong to have McLean 3rd in that group (for now). The profile clearly works with a 7 pitch mix, and while it’s interesting his famed sweeper is getting rocked in the majors, the curve picked up the slack with a 37.8% whiff% and .166 xwOBA. The 4-seamer sits 96 MPH and can miss bats. I’m not gonna lie, I’m still a sucker for whiffs. It’s why I secretly think Yesavage still might end up better than McLean, but I can’t deny the results are there. The ERA estimators aren’t as convinced either with all of them sitting around 3.60. It’s why I can’t anoint him into that rarified air of true young ace territory, but he’s in the tier right below that as a Top 50-75 Dynasty Asset. He’s a young stud to build your staff around. – 2027 Projection: 13/3.33/1.15/198 in 185 IP

Bullpen

Devin Williams – NYM, Closer, 32.7 – What other choice do the Mets have than to keep trotting Williams out there in 2027. They paid him $51 million over 3 years to close out games. I guess they could go to Senga again, but I have to think as long Williams pitches halfway decently, the job is his. And halfway decently is how he pitched in 2026 if you want to be generous with a 4.43 ERA, 3.22 xERA, and a 28.3/11.4 K%/BB% in 40.2 IP. The man had a 1.57 WHIP. This was his 2nd down year in a row. The stuff was down a bit and so were the whiffs. He missed almost 2 months towards the end of the season with a shoulder strain. At 32 years old, it sure feels like Williams is on the downside of his career. The stuff, whiffs, and xERA are good enough to think he’s far from washed up, so he should be good enough to hold the job, but I’m definitely not drafting him as one of the top closers in the game anymore. – 2027 Projection: 4/3.51/1.29/77/27 saves in 58 IP

New York Mets Top 10 Fantasy Dynasty Baseball Prospects

1) Jefferson Rojas – NYM, 3B/SS, 22.11 – Stearns might have royally screwed up the off-season, but I think he did a sneakily good job at grabbing underrated prospects at the deadline. He got back to his small market roots. And Rojas is the crown jewel of that deadline sell off. He’s had a good feel to hit with strong contact rates his entire career (17.3/8.5 K%/BB% in 2026), the righty swing is pretty damn athletic, he’s got some speed (21 steals), and then the power came in 2026 with his EV and Hard Hit way up. It resulted in 27 homers in 127 games, and he went bonkers to close out the season at Triple-A with 3 homers and a 96.8 MPH EV in 6 games. I wouldn’t expect star upside, but there is potential for him to be an impact across the board contributor in fantasy. The 2B job is wide open, and while he played a lot more 3B than 2B this year, the 3B job could open up after 2028 as well, so there is a path for Rojas to earn a full time gig if he produces when he gets his shot. – 2027 Projection: 53/12/57/.253/.308/.409/7 Prime Projection: 83/21/77/.272/.331/.445/17

2) Jonah Tong – NYM, RHP, 23.9 – Let me give some credit to the scouts out there that were able to ignore Tong’s insane 40.5% K% in 2025 and still remain lukewarm on him. I definitely got drawn in more by that gaudy number, but to my credit, I did start to get cold feet after he got rocked in the majors, writing, “It’s a small sample, and I’m not saying I don’t like Tong anymore, but I’m saying there are enough red flags from the MLB debut that I’m not flying him up the rankings wild crazy anymore.” … and then in 2026 his value got a cold splash right to the face. He put up a 4.54 ERA with a 27.0/12.6 K%/BB% in 107 IP at Triple-A. But the funny thing is, things flipped in 2026 with him actually looking better in the majors. He went out with a 9 K gem in late September and finished with a 3.82 ERA, 3.13 xERA, and a 25.4/10.4 K%/BB% in 30.2 IP. The 94.9 MPH fastball put up a damn impressive 30.6% whiff%. The killer changeup dominated with a .160 xwOBA and 32.9% whiff%. I’m the only man alive that actually doesn’t hate Tong’s curve and that pitch too put in the work with a 33.3% whiff% and .167 xwOBA. I love to see the 30.2% whiff% overall. Again, he wasn’t nearly this good at Triple-A and that was the much larger sample, but showing the stuff will play against MLB hitters is still big to see. He’s a young pitcher who was tinkering and working on stuff in the minors, so we have to keep that in mind as well when looking at those numbers. With how much his value has fallen off a cliff, I think Tong has flipped from overrated to underrated. If you own him, don’t sell low, and if you don’t owe him, I would try to grab some cheap shares if you can. – 2027 Projection: 5/4.13/1.33/122 in 120 IP Prime Projection: 11/3.73/1.28/180 in 170 IP

3) Mitch Voit – NYM, 2B/SS, 22.6 – Once Voit stopped trying to pull everything for a home run, his electric skillset was unleashed, and then all hell broke loose when he got the call to Double-A, slashing .347/.430/.517 with 2 homers, 9 steals, and a 17.6/10.3 K%/BB% in 29 games. The Pull% dropped from 51.1% at High-A to 42.6% at Double-A, and it resulted in fewer groundball balls and more line drives all over the field. With his hard hit ability, speed (45 steals), and plate skills, that is exactly what he should be trying to do. I see so much Tommy Pham when I watch him, and Pham was never a lift and pull guy. The 2B job is up for grabs in New York as of now, and while he’ll have competition for it, Voit at 2B and Rojas at 3B in the long term could work assuming the Mets don’t sign anyone (not a good assumption). Plus, the guy looks like he was literally chiseled by our AI overlords themselves. I’m nicknaming him AI. Voit is going to be part of the new Mets core to get fans excited, and the fantasy friendly skillset will make his fantasy owners happy too. Considering he’s not on BA’s or Pipeline’s Top 100, he makes for a pretty damn good proximity/upside target. – 2027 Projection: 31/5/23/.248/.310/.393/9 Prime Projection: 82/18/68/.264/.331/.432/28

4) Wandy Asigen – NYM, SS, 17.7 – That jump off the screen electric lefty swing that made Asigen one of the most hyped international prospects last off-season was on full display in his pro debut in the DSL. Here is he is going 106 MPH to left center for a grown man’s homer. And then here he is going lefty on lefty with a soul destroying pull side shot. This is a 16 year old kid putting up MLB level exit velocities. His talent was not overhyped, putting up a 149 wRC+ in 23 games. What was overhyped was his feel to hit as the hit tool is a genuine concern with a 28.9% K% and 38.7% whiff%. That is not good for the DSL, but I do think the 22.9% BB% mitigates it somewhat, and keep in mind it was a small sample. In his final 6 games he put up a 12.0/28.0 K%/BB%. He got a late start to the season, so everyone else was already comfortable while he was just trying to figure it out. With more time I think those contact rates would have looked better. And now you can use that hit tool risk in your favor to still get a good price on him this off-season. If you’re looking for high upside electricity in leagues where he isn’t rostered yet or in trades, Asigen makes for a great target. – ETA: 2030 Prime Projection: 92/27/86/.258/.339/.473/21

5) Elian Pena – NYM, SS, 19.5 – I’m definitely a little scared off by the very low 23.7% Hard Hit% and 84.2 MPH EV, but I really hate to fade an 18 year old in full season ball too hard for low EV’s. That is one thing that is almost sure to improve as you go from a boy to a man. I know Pena isn’t particularly projectable, but tall skinny guys aren’t the only ones to benefit from man strength. Pena is going to keep getting stronger and stronger, and thinking he will get his EV’s to an acceptable MLB level, or maybe even higher than that isn’t that hard to believe. And if/when that comes, he’s establishing a strong foundation of complementary skills. He put up a 111 wRC+ with a .271 BA, 21.4/13.9 K%/BB%, a 35.2% GB%, and 28 steals in 96 games at Single-A. He struggled in 16 games at High-A to close out the season but I would completely ignore that. The low EV’s prevent him from being a truly hyped dynasty prospect, but I would be cautious about fading him too hard in the other direction. This still looks like a potentially impact bat at peak to me. – ETA: 2029 Prime Projection: 83/22/77/.263/.334/.442/16

6) Jonathan Santucci – NYM, LHP, 24.3 – I’ve always liked Santucci because it’s not hard to be a fan when you watch him pitch. It’s why the scouts always like him too. Dude just looks the part. He’s a 6’2” lefty with an athletic delivery, good velocity, and bat missing secondaries. Even going back to college there was hope he could develop into a top of the rotation starter, and while that hasn’t happened, the potential is there for him to end up a high K, high WHIP mid rotation starter. A heavily used slider is his best pitch which racks up whiffs. The fastball sits about 94 MPH and while it got crushed at Triple-A in 34.1 IP, that was his first taste of using the MLB ball. Give him some time to adjust. And he also mixes in a curve and change which were actually his best two pitches against Triple-A hitters. All the stuff was working at Double-A with a 3.57 ERA and 32.0/12.0 K%/BB% in 90.2 IP (5.24 ERA at Triple-A). The control is below average and the fastball is more in the good but not great category for me, so my expectations are for more of a #4 type. – 2027 Projection: 3/4.28/1.36/70 in 70 IP Prime Projection: 10/3.89/1.31/174 in 165 IP

7) Jacob Reimer – NYM, 3B, 23.1 – I’ve written about this in Strategy articles in the past, but down years happen in the minors too just like the majors. Unlike the majors, where it’s easier to identify down or career years, in the minors, a down year is always seem as regression and a career year is always seen as a true breakout. But it’s still baseball, and the ebbs and flows of a player’s career are just as relevant in the minors as it is the majors. And it sure seems like Reimer just had a down season (97 wRC+ in 80 games at Double-A). The 24.9/12.9 K%/BB% isn’t bad. The 37.4% GB% and 49.8% Pull% shows he was still lifting and pulling. He already proved he could rake and put up impressive EV’s against Double-A pitching last year when he put up a 150 wRC+. The Mets Double-A Park is also an extreme pitchers park that depresses homers, so any power slump is going to get magnified there. I’m expecting a much better 2027, and while I never expected him to be a big upside fantasy bat, the potential he flashed in 2025 is still there. He could be a rock solid fantasy player at peak. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 77/20/74/.251/.328/.438/8

8) Ryan Clifford – NYM, 1B/OF, 23.8 – I get writing Clifford off or at least tanking him down the rankings even further than this after his disastrous season. He hit .180 with a 63 wRC+ and a 37% K% at Triple-A. The hit tool was always a risk and it tanked in 2026. But I still see a guy who basically has the same profile as he’s always had. The 34.4% whiff% isn’t good, but it doesn’t look as bad as the K%. He had a 24.6% K% in 34 games at Triple-A last year, so we’ve already seen him do much better. I definitely think there was a lot of bad luck/just a down season happening here. And of course the power was still there with a 91.8 MPH EV, 49.6% Hard Hit% and 18.8 degree launch. He’s a low BA slugger. He was a low BA slugger before this year. And he’s a low BA slugger after this year. When he gets to the bigs, the guy is going to hit dingers and take his walks. Might the batting average be brutal enough to keep him as a part time player? Definitely possibly, so he’s surely moving way down the rankings. I’m just saying I’m not ready to completely forget about him. – 2027 Projection: 9/3/14/.201/.288/.411/1 Prime Projection: 61/20/66/.228/.316/.461/4

9) Sammy Stafura – NYM, SS/2B, 22.5 – If you listened to my trade deadline Podcast back in 2025, you know how much I hated that Ke’Bryan Hayes trade at the time of the trade. I went full Mike and the Mad Dog sports talk radio, losing my mind that Cincinnati was willing to take on Hayes contract even if they didn’t have to give up anything in return. But they did have to give something in return too, and that something was Sammy Stafura, who just experienced a huge power breakout to go along with his plus speed and solid SS glove. Hayes is coming off a season with a 13 wRC+ in 94 games. That is not typo. I was beside myself at the time that Cincy was willing to do that, and as hard as it is to believe, it looks even worse now. But back to Stafura who jacked out 22 homers in 81 games at mostly High-A after hitting just 6 homers in 119 games in 2025. The Hard Hit ability and EV’s took a huge jump to back up the power gains. He also nabbed 22 bags and put up a 127 wRC+. The downside to the power gains are that the contact took a step back with a 33.4% whiff% and 28.6% K%, but he wasn’t even that great of a contact hitter before, so the tradeoff was well worth it. A fantasy friendly part time player whose glove will get him on the field is still the most likely outcome, but if he can improve his hit tool, there is real upside in here. – ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 66/15/61/.238/.312/.429/22

10) Jack Wenninger – NYM, RHP, 25.1 – Wenninger had the big breakout in 2025, and there was hope he would ride that wave in 2026 for the hype to really start hitting, but he pulled back a bit at Triple-A with a 4.54 ERA and 24.1/13.3 K%/BB% in 115 IP. I talked about it a ton last year, but Triple-A is effing hard, and you often see guys actually put up better numbers in the majors than they do at Triple-A. Just look at Tong’s season. Santucci struggled a lot at Triple-A too. Point being, I don’t want to crush these guys for struggling at Triple-A when the stuff is still good, and Wenninger’s stuff is still good. The splitter is his devastating money maker and it did it’s job with a 47% whiff% and .213 xwOBA. The slider isn’t as good but it missed bats with a 35% whiff%. The fastball sat 93.8 MPH and can be a solid offering. He’ll also mix in a sinker and curve. At 6’4” with a wipeout secondary, solid fastball and diverse pitch mix, it’s not hard to see him carving out a good MLB career, although I’m not quite as excited for fantasy. – 2027 Projection: 2/4.33/1.35/45 in 50 IP Prime Projection: 10/3.98/1.30/158 in 165 IP

Just Missed

11) Aiden Robbins – NYM, OF, 22.3

12) Carson Wiggins – NYM, RHP, 21.10

13) Emelian Pitre – NYM, 2B, 24.6 

14) Bruin Agbayani – NYM, SS/2B, 20.0

15) Cleiner Ramirez – NYM, OF, 18.4

Dynasty Baseball Thought/Strategy of the Day (which may or may not be related to the team I’m covering that day)

The Lockout. It’s the huge pink elephant in the room that is going to be impossible to ignore all off-season when talking fantasy (or baseball in general). I’m not going to pretend that I have any idea how it is going to play out, but I can tell you how I’m going to strategize around it, and my answer is that I’m not going to. I’m going to operate as if there will be some sort of 2027 season happening. I predicted last off-season that the lockout will go into April, pushing the start of games into May after the players cave on a salary cap. It’s going to be a death match, and both sides are so dug in on the salary cap issue that I envision both sides willing to push things to the absolute brink. But I still find it hard to believe that the entire season is going to get wiped out, so I’m not getting cute when it comes to making moves in dynasty. If you are more scared of a totally missed season than I am, by all means plan around it, but I’m not even 100% certain what you could do to take advantage of it. Sell veterans I guess because they will be one year older when play returns? That doesn’t even really seem like a particularly great advantage. Maybe I’m missing other things you can do, but for me, I’m not even going down that route. It’s going to get messy, there will be threats, there very likely will be some kind of shortened season, but my plan is to just keep it business as usual for my dynasty teams.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF UPCOMING EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-A TOP 24 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2027 TOP 1,000 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS
-SNEAK PEEKS OF THE 3 MAIN LISTS (TOP 1000+ DYNASTY, TOP 500+ PROSPECT, TOP 100+ FYPD)
-DEEP POSITIONAL RANKINGS
-DYNASTY TEAM REPORTS (TOP 10 PROSPECTS/INTERESTING MLB GUYS/STRATEGY SECTION)
-POSITION BY POSITION TARGET ARTICLES
-PREDICTING FUTURE PROSPECT LISTS
-AND SO MUCH MORE

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

A Top 24 Sneak Peek of the 2027 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon)

I’m just so amped to be back. I can’t put into words how insanely amazing you guys are to have been understanding and stick with me here. I read every comment/message you guys left me. I won’t forget it. The hiatus did kinda mess with my usual end of season into the off-season flow though, so I might change up my usual off-season plan to build out the Sneak Peek’s of the main lists (Dynasty, Prospect, FYPD) earlier in the off-season than usual. I’m still working out my exact off-season schedule, but I’m going to do my best to figure it out. My off-season content on the Patreon is going to be jampacked with Dynasty Team Reports (Top 10 Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy section), Target Articles, Deep Positional Rankings, Sneak Peeks of the 3 main lists (Top 1,000+ Dynasty, Top 500+ Prospects, Top 100+ FYPD), and so much more. I’ll be posting some free posts here on the Brick Wall like I do during the regular season. So without further ado, I decided to kick off the off-season festivities with A Top 24 Sneak Peek of the 2027 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (and yes, it’s a Top 24 and not Top 25 because I was agonizing over who to put 25, and I want more time to think about it). The Top 5 are free here on the Brick Wall:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF UPCOMING EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:

-SNEAK PEEKS OF THE 3 MAIN LISTS (TOP 1000+ DYNASTY, TOP 500+ PROSPECT, TOP 100+ FYPD)
-DEEP POSITIONAL RANKINGS
-DYNASTY TEAM REPORTS (TOP 10 PROSPECTS/INTERESTING MLB GUYS/STRATEGY SECTION)
-POSITION BY POSITION TARGET ARTICLES
-PREDICTING FUTURE PROSPECT LISTS
-AND SO MUCH MORE

1) Pete Crow-Armstrong – CHC, OF, 25.0 – Like you didn’t already know Pete Crow was going to be my new #1 Dynasty Baseball Asset 😉 … Don’t act surprised … the Vegas odds on Halp having PCA #1 was -9000. And yes, I now refer to myself in the 3rd person after my little 2nd half of the season hiatus. The fingers are well rested, the brain is in a free flow state, and PCA’s ascension to the #1 dynasty player in game has me shot out of a cannon for the kick off to the 2027 Off-Season Content. And it’s not just me playing favorites. The cold hard analysis backs me up fully. He majorly improved his biggest weakness with his Chase% going from 41.7% to 34.2%, leading to his walk rate skyrocketing to 11.4%. His whiff% took a big step forward (28.9% to 26.3%). His raw power took a big step forward with a 48.6% Hard Hit%. He remained a lift/pull god. He remained a base stealing demon. He remained an elite CF. And it all led to the insane season I knew he had in him, going 45/41 with a .290 BA. Every other contender for this top spot is either older, and/or doesn’t run as much, and/or doesn’t lift/pull as much. I have been hyping PCA so hard as a Target since the day he was drafted and every year since then. I didn’t get scared off by his down 2025 2nd half at all, ranking him 21st overall and writing, “I’m betting on the plate approach improving as he matures. Pete Crow has already paid off majorly if you’ve taken my advice over his career, and I’ll be happy to keep buying if people are scared off by the 2nd half.” … He led my 18 team league to a championship season, along with a core of James Wood, Ben Rice, Chase Burns, Andy Pages, and Konnor Griffin (all past Targets/favorites of mine, showing I put my money where my mouth is). Damn it feels great when a rebuild pays off. So yea, PCA is a favorite of mine, as you well know, but that isn’t the reason he sits #1. It’s because he deserves it. – 2027 Projection: 111/36/106/.265/.348/.521/36

2) Elly De La Cruz – CIN, SS, 25.3 – The only place Elly really falls short of Pete Crow is in lift/pull. The 9.9 degree launch and 12.1% Air Pull% just puts some kind of cap on the homer upside. Elly’s raw power exploded to such elite levels (94.7 MPH EV with a 53.7% Hard Hit%) that he did just fine, jacking out a career high 30 homers in 143 games, but when you are picking nits amongst the most talented players in the game, it’s a factor. You just have to look at Vlad Guerrero Jr. to see that it matters, unfortunately. But comparison is the thief of joy, so Elly’s breakout/leveling up in 2026 deserves it’s time to shine. The hit tool is really completely out of the danger zone now that he lowered his whiff% to a not bad at all 28.1%. The 25.1% Chase% was a career best as well. The lift/pull may cap the homer upside a bit, but it does wonders for his BA with a .283 BA and .281 xBA. I remember when Elly was a young lad in Single-A with a 31.0/4.0 K%/BB% and people were wondering if he was ever going to hit enough. Now he’s a grown man, true talent .280 hitter. If anyone tells you you can’t do something, just look at Elly, and say, if an elite athlete with the best coaching in the world can do it, so can I 😉 … The only even small blemish is that his sprint tanked from 29.1 ft/sec to 28.4 ft/sec, and it’s in a 4 year decline. Maybe you can blame a couple leg injuries from this year, and he still stole 30 bags, so I’m not concerned, but it’s worth mentioning. If Elly actually can start lifting/pulling more, my goodness, but he doesn’t have to to have a real argument for #1 overall. – 2027 Projection: 110/30/93/.271/.354/.493/32

3) Shohei Ohtani – LAD, RHP/DH, 32.9 – I think we’ve reached the point where we have to start taking Ohtani’s age into account at least a little bit for dynasty. He’ll turn 33 during the 2027 season, and he’s coming off a season where his body prevented him from truly being unleashed as both a hitter and pitcher. He was shut down from pitching in July due to knee and arm injuries, and he had a pedestrian season by his standards on offense with 30 homers, 11 steals, and a .889 OPS in 139 games. Crazy to say a .889 OPS with a 1.79 ERA in 85.2 IP is showing signs of maybe taking his age into account more, but it gave the first glimpses into the Dodgers being willing to wrap him in bubble wrap in order to keep him healthy for the long term. They are paying this man until he’s literally 50 years old! They have to keep him healthy. He’s going to make 68 million dollars in 2043!!!! Rest that arm big man! Like I wrote last year when I ranked him #1 overall, I’m betting on him being a beast deep into his 30’s, and he’s fully expected to get back on the mound in 2027, but with the Dodgers sure to be extra careful with him as he gets deeper into his 30’s, I’m moving him out of the top spot. – 2027 Projection: 112/43/101/.281/.388/.551/14 // 10/2.90/1.03/146 in 125 IP

4) Juan Soto – NYM, OF, 28.6 – Man, Juan Soto is 28 years old already. A damn near old man in dynasty baseball years. Time flies when you’re having fun I guess, because it felt like yesterday when he was a young phenom. Now he’s an old phenom. Or more accurately, a prime age phenom who is coming off his 9th straight season of dominance. His .411 xwOBA was 2nd in all of baseball behind only Yordan Alvarez. The days of even being worried a little bit about low launches are over as his 16 degree launch was a career high by far. His 19.3% Air Pull% was a career high as well. And he did that while also putting up a career best 13.5% K%. The bat is simply on another plane, even compared to the guys ranked above him on this list. The only question is steals. The 38 steals from 2025 dropped off a cliff, but at least some of that could be blamed on two separate calf strains, the first of which was in April. We can’t expect big steal totals, especially as he gets older, but I wouldn’t rule out him pushing 20 again in a healthy season. Soto remains a Tier 1 elite dynasty asset and still has a case to be #1 overall, especially in leagues that devalue steals (points, 6+ cat leagues). – 2027 Projection: 110/39/100/.278/.397/.530/15

5) Bobby Witt Jr. – KCR, SS, 27.10 – Make that 2 years in a row with subpar homer totals, and this year it got even worse with Witt hitting only 18 homers. But this year in particular it just doesn’t add up. The 50.3% Hard Hit% was a career high. The 16.4 degree launch and 16.3% Air Pull% are both up from 2025. The .378 xwOBA was much better than the .345 wOBA. I’m just not buying at all that these depressed homer totals are now who he is. You can’t even blame the ballpark anymore as Kauffman Field is now a better than average homerun park, and he hit 13 at home vs only 5 on the road. There is no way this is anything else but an aberration, and once that aberration corrects itself, the elite speed (45 steals) and high BA (career .288 BA with a .302 xBA in 2026) are going to bring him right back up to the top of the player rater. Even with the terrible power numbers, he still finished 29th overall on the Razzball Player Rater. I’m still going to rank this man like the elite dynasty asset that he is. – 2027 Projection: 101/26/89/.288/.352/.489/40

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF UPCOMING EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:

-SNEAK PEEKS OF THE 3 MAIN LISTS (TOP 1000+ DYNASTY, TOP 500+ PROSPECT, TOP 100+ FYPD)
-DEEP POSITIONAL RANKINGS
-DYNASTY TEAM REPORTS (TOP 10 PROSPECTS/INTERESTING MLB GUYS/STRATEGY SECTION)
-POSITION BY POSITION TARGET ARTICLES
-PREDICTING FUTURE PROSPECT LISTS
-AND SO MUCH MORE

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Patreon on Hiatus

Hey guys, I thought the one month break would be enough but I’m going to need a longer hiatus. Everything is okay, but I’ve been doing this for over 10 years and the Patreon for over 5 years with no breaks and I just need a more extended period off. I will be back for the off-season content at latest and maybe before. I put the Patreon on pause this weekend already, so nobody will be charged while I’m off. Love you all. You guys are truly the best. And I hope you understand.

-Halp

Posted on by Michael Halpern

The Comeback Dynasty Baseball Rundown

*I posted this on my Patreon a few days ago, but I wanted to post it here too to let you guys know I’m back after my one month break. Much more content coming (some free here on the Brick Wall and most of it over on the Patreon). Let’s have a big 2nd half!

Pete Crow-Armstrong – CHC, OF, 24.0 – I slowly start to open my eyes. I hear a nurse yell out “he’s awake!” I look up to see my friends and family looking down on me. “You’ve been in a coma for one month, Mike.” My lips are cracking. My mouth is sand paper. I’m barely able to lift a finger to indicate for someone to come closer. “He wants to say something!” …. a coughing fit starts … “it’s not important, rest up” … but I grab my friends collar in a burst of energy, and I manage to croak out … “how is PCA doing?” … and oh man did they have news for me, because PCA turned into the best fucking player alive in my absence. When I went to sleep, he was barely scratching a .700 OPS, and after yet another dinger last night, he’s now up to a .888 OPS. He’s slashing .395/.478/.798 with 12 homers, 8 steals, and a 25.4/12.7 K%/BB% in his last 28 games. His Chase% is down to a pretty reasonable 36.6%. His walk rate is in double digits at 10.4%. He’s crushing the ball with a 50.9% Hard Hit%. It’s everything I dreamed of this off-season when I doubled down on him while everyone else was jumping ship after his 2025 2nd half. I don’t think there are doubters anymore though. But that’s okay, because there is room on this party boat for everyone. He’s arrived. This is a top 10 dynasty asset. Let’s goooo …

Ethan Conrad – CHC, OF, 22.0 – … the nurse steps in … “that’s enough, he needs his rest,” … no, I yell, as I start to regain my strength and push her out of the way ;). I need to know how Ethan Conrad is doing!!! Surely he returned from his injuries and has cracked 5 homers this month … well, not exactly, but at least he finally got back on the field to make his pro debut yesterday. And it was a good debut as he ripped a 105.1 MPH single in his first AB. He finished the day 2 for 3 in rookie ball. And while there is no video of it, there is video of him ramping up in late June, and boy oh boy does he look even more jack diesel than before. Dude is an animal, and here he is crushing a 458 foot homer in BP. Absolutely can’t wait to see what he does in the 2nd half.

Kody Clemens – MIN, 1B/OF/2B, 30.2 – … the nurse recovers from my shove, “sir, you need to lie back down right now or I’ll be forced to sedate you!” … I ignore her … Kody Clemens … you have to tell me how Kody Clemens is doing! … and the answer is damn well. After going 2 for 4 last night he now has a .852 OPS with 9 homers in his last 31 games. He was my favorite true blue sleeper this off-season. I doubled down on his Target call in my May Hitter Targets, and he now looks cemented as an impact fantasy player. All of the underlying stuff I loved about this off-season is back. I’m pumped.

AJ Ewing – NYM, OF, 21.8 – … I start to rip the IV’s out of my arm. I rip the catheter out of my peni …. OHHHHHWEEEEEEE … okay, that was a big mistake!!!! But the adrenaline is running through me now. AJ Ewing I yell out through the intense pain! … he had a .614 OPS when I went out. What happened? Good things happened. Very good things happened as he went 1 for 4 last night and is now slashing .314/.394/.500 with 3 homers, 4 steals, and a 18.2/11.1 K%/BB% in his last 26 games. The 22.2% whiff% shows the hit tool is transferring. The 88.8 MPH EV and 42% Hard Hit% is more than solid. The 12.1 degree launch looks good. He now has a .352 xwOBA with a 121 wRC+ in 46 games. The Mets might have made a huge mistake when they traded PCA, but at least they held onto PCA-lite. And now Ewing is starting to live up my PCA/Carroll ceiling comp on him way back when he was drafted 134th overall with a mere $675,000 signing bonus. He’s going to be a fantasy beast.

Griffin Jax – TBR, RHP , 31.7 – … the nurse runs out of the room in a huff … finally some peace and quiet … Griffin Jax I ask? When we left off I named him a target in May once he got into the rotation. He got the start last night and went 6 IP with 5 hits, 3 ER, and a 5/0 K/BB vs. KCR. The fastball sat 96.3 MPH and put up a 44% whiff%. The sweeper put up a 38% whiff%. He now has a 2.79 ERA with a 24.3/5.9 K%/BB% in 42 IP since being stretched out as a starter. The 30.5% whiff% looks even better than the K%. The walk rate looks great. The control looks great. He looks really good.

Jac Caglianone – KCR, 1B/OF, 23.2 – How about Jac I ask? When we left off I said in his Target blurb, “I’m starting to see people give up on Jac. I’m starting to see the mediocre start wear on people. I’m starting to see people lose patience. So now it’s time to take advantage of those impatient people. Patience is a virtue, so the unvirtuous don’t deserve him ;)” … He didn’t do anything yesterday, but he had a .685 OPS when I left. And since then he’s slashed .309/.387/.649 with 9 homers, 2 steals, and a 29.2/9.4 K%/BB% in his last 25 games. His OPS is now over .800 at .806. His launch is coming up with a 10.1 degree launch in June. He’s still utterly destroying the ball. His biggest weakness, Chase, isn’t even that bad at 35.1%. I would say the buy low window is closed.

 Sal Stewart – CIN, 1B/3B, 22.4 – Sal Stewart? Did he fall off a cliff since I ranked him 12th overall? Does everyone still hate me? He stabilized. He went 2 for 4 with a 107.3 MPH homer last night. He has 4 homers and a .832 OPS in his last 19 games. He has a .809 OPS on the season with 16 homers and 11 steals in 84 games. Is he 12th overall good? No. I definitely got too excited. But I mean, he’s still really good. And maybe more Top 30 range would have been more reasonable. Which is still awesome.

Kahlil Watson – CLE, OF, 23.2 – My friend who is in my dynasty league leans in and asks, “I need to know, did you get any visions of the next still under the radar breakout?” … Yes, I say … but why would I tell you? I need to pick him up first in my leagues where he is still available hah … just playing, the visions are of Kahlil Watson. I know, I know, the hit tool risk is very real with a 33.3% K% in his 12 game MLB debut, but the 34.3% whiff% really isn’t that bad. Especially when we are talking about the truly uncommon upside he has. This dude crushes the ball. He has a 93.3 MPH EV. He had a 91 MPH EV with a 50% Hard Hit% at Triple-A. He lifted and pulled a ton. He’s a great athlete who ran a ton. I feel he is still sliding so far under the radar compared to what his upside is. That kind of low 30’s whiff rate isn’t even that bad when we are talking about a guy this talented and who hits the ball this hard. The risk is high, yes, but I’m all over his upside right now and for a super cheap price.

Gage Wood – PHI, RHP, 22.7 – I had visions of Gage Wood making a major 2nd half impact as well. He had his longest outing of the season yesterday, going 5 IP with 3 hits, 2 ER, and a 6/2 K/BB at Double-A. They are stretching him out. He’s only thrown 52 IP so far this season, and while he hasn’t thrown many career innings, it sure seems like they are preparing for him to make an MLB impact in the 2nd half as they battle it out for the division. Maybe it will be a pen role, but they have an opening in the rotation, and I think Wood might just kick the door down and take it eventually. He has a 3.86 ERA with a 32.7/8.4 K%/BB% in 25.2 IP at Double-A. And he’s doing it in the known hitter’s bandbox of Reading. The elite fastball is slicing through upper minors hitters. You can watch the filth here. I loved him as an FYPD Target, and I love him even more now.

Jackson Chourio – MIL, OF, 22.4 – Chourio might have made the leap that we were all expecting. He went 2 for 4 with a 107.8 MPH homer last night for his 11th homer in his last 29 games since dropping into a coma (12 homers in 49 games overall). He’s hitting the ball a lot harder, which is really the main thing we needed to see for the leap with a 92.8 MPH EV and 48.1% Hard Hit%. It’s no surprise as he debuted so young. He’s lifting more too with a 12.5 degree launch. The 22.8% whiff% is a career best by far. If this is his final form, that would be awesome, but he’s still just 22 years old. This might only be leap #1. There is a reason everyone, including me, still ranked him as an elite to near elite dynasty asset, and now he’s doing it.

Santiago Solarte – MIA, SS, 17.4 – I’m now standing up on the bed! I’m dancing like I’m Grandpa Joe from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! The DSL I call out! I need to know how everyone is doing! How about my boy Santiago Solarte? Is he James Wood 2.0 yet? Well, getting there. He’s slashing .275/.390/.435 with 2 homers, 16 steals, and a 31.7/11.0 K%/BB% in 20 games. I mean, that is pretty much the James Wood starter pack. Yes, the swing and miss is still way too high, but it’s actually been coming down of late. The 45.2% GB% isn’t bad at all. He’s running a ton. I’m encouraged. I’m still all in on this.

Angeibel Gomez – KCR, OF, 17.4 – How about Aneibel Gomez who I ranked right next to the more hype Francisco Renteria and wrote, “He’s very clearly a truly elite international prospect who checks just about every box you want to see checked. You could put his profile against anyone’s from this class.” And that proved to be true as his performance is one the most impressive, if not the most impressive from the class, slashing .379/.519/.672 with 3 homers, 8 steals, and a 7.8/19.5 K%/BB% in 18 games. The 26.5% GB% and 56.6% Pull% is just disgusting, in a good way. My goodness I’m dreaming of that fantasy upside when the man muscles come in. He’s on a beeline for elite dynasty asset.

Diego Frontado – MIL, SS, 18.0 – I gave you the heads up on Frontado before I conked out in the On the House Dynasty Baseball Rundown, and since then it’s just been more destruction, slashing .298/.474/.579 with 4 homers, 11 steals, and a 13.9/21.5 K%/BB% in 17 games. And almost more important than the numbers, is that he has Milwaukee at his back for his development journey. The whiff rate is still high if you can fully believe it (which I kinda don’t believe those whiff rates as I’ve talked about before), but this is a guy and team I just want to bet on.

Cleiner Ramirez – NYM, OF, 17.4 – I gave you the heads up on Cleiner too, and he also kept on raking, slashing .316/.388/.618 with 5 homers, 6 steals, and a 11.8/5.9 K%/BB% in 20 games. This is a full on little man discount situation. I don’t think he’s going to get major hype quickly because of his size (5’9”), but this dude can pack a punch and he’s proving it. He’s making contact, he’s lifting/pulling and he’s running.

Ricki Moneys – MIL, SS, 17.9 – Ricki “he’s so money and he clearly knows it” Moneys is living up to the greatest name of all time, slashing .263/.406/.513 with 3 homers, 10 steals, and a 16.8/17.8 K%/BB% in 21 games. Yup, Milwaukee got themselves another one. Here is what I wrote about him in his Top 1,000 blurb, “He has an open righty batting stance with a quick swing that is looking to do real damage. He already did real damage in the Amateur Scouting League, putting up a 1.723 OPS and winning MVP. Good feel to hit, growing power at a projectable 6’0”, good athlete, and a history of production. Pretty Money(s).” … so he already crushed the Amateur Scouting League. And now he’s killing the DSL. Plus Milwaukee. Plus that name. He’s rising.

Shane Drohan – MIL, LHP, 27.6 – … the nurse storms back into the room and plunges the needle into my arm … I start to get woozy … “wait, Shane Drohan I barely slur out” … and as I start to doze off, I hear, “he starts tonight. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Get your rest, we got a big 2nd half to prepare for ….”

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

One Month Patreon/Content Pause

I posted this message to my Patreon and wanted to post it here on my website as well — Hey guys, I’m going to be putting the Patreon (and content here on the Brick Wall as well) on pause for one month. Everything is okay! I’m good! But I’m not going to be able to put out the amount and quality of content I hold myself to this month, and the best thing to do is just put the Patreon/content on pause for this month. For Patreon members, that means that nobody will be charged and all memberships will be frozen for this month. And then everything just picks back up from where it left off after I un pause it in July. I’m in this for the long haul. I’m in this for life. And it’s just me here. So I assumed at some point something like this would come up eventually. So instead of more sporadic content, I think this is the best way to go. I hope you guys understand and totally get if you want to cancel or whatever of course. Again, by putting it on pause, all the Patreon memberships will be frozen where they are today, so there will be no charges once I put it on pause today. And I might still pop in this month here and there if Patreon allows me to do that while on pause (especially if Drohan kills it today;). I appreciate the hell out of each and every single one of you. And I will be back in one month!!! Love you all. Catch you soon …

-Halp

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Tuesday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (5/19/26)

I usually drop these on Monday here on the Brick Wall, but I’ve been doing my Target Series the last 2 Monday’s on the Patreon, so Tuesday it is for this week. The May Mailbag Podcast is coming this week and the Updated May Dynasty Rankings are coming next week on the Patreon too. But first, here is the Tuesday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (5/19/26):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-TOP MLB HITTER TARGETS FOR MAY 2026
-TOP MLB PITCHER TARGETS FOR MAY 2026
-TOP PROSPECT TARGETS FOR MAY 2026
-TOP 417 APRIL 2026 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS (May Update coming next week)
-TOP 310 MAY 2026 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
–SPREADSHEETS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL 2026 MAILBAG! (May Mailbag coming this week)

Anthony Volpe – NYY, SS, 25.0 – Volpe’s upgraded supercharged shoulder check … 50% Hard Hit% with a 92 MPH EV … HAHA … shut the fuck up hahah … this shit is wild. Dude has a 201 wRC+ in 5 games hahah … I’m dying. I mean, I told you if Volpe came back with the supercharged shoulder that I’m going under the knife. I gotta start looking up doctors now I guess hah

Colt Emerson – SEA, SS, 20.10 – Emerson got the call to the majors and it didn’t take him long to make his mark with a his first homer that really showcased his excellent feel to hit more than his power. It was impressive bat control and contact ability. He slowed the bat down to get it with a 65.1 MPH swing and only hit it 97.2 MPH, but that is a microcosm of his hit/power combo. We know he can hit it harder than that but even if he doesn’t he has the feel to hit to do stuff like that too. He wasn’t ripping up Triple-A with a 105 wRC+, but he got red hot in the 2nd half of 2025, and maybe we see the same thing this year. Just what Seattle needs, another 2nd half player.

Steele Hall – CIN, SS, 18.9, RK – We can now officially say that Hall is annihilating rookie ball after going 4 for 4 with a homer, double and stolen base. He’s slashing .282/.451/.641 with 3 homers, 7 steals, and a 19.6/21.6 K%/BB% in 11 games. The 26.5% whiff% isn’t bad and has been getting better. He’s lifting and pulling and he’s running a ton. He’s still only 18 years old and age appropriate for the level. While he has to show it at higher levels, that explosive true top level upside is clearly shining through. I thought he was getting faded way too hard in FYPD’s, predicting he would end the year in top 20 prospect land, and while he has a long to way to go to get there, this is step one. I would imagine he gets the call to Single-A pretty soon, and then if he keeps it up, the hype is going to hit hard.

Sam Antonacci – CHW, 2B/3B, 23.3 – Antonacci continues to do nothing but hit, going 2 for 3 with 0 K. He’s now hitting .298 with a 12.5% K%. Just call him Sam McAntonacci. The guy has a .400 xwOBA. He doesn’t hit the ball weakly or anything either with a 10.1% Barrel%, 88.6 MPH EV, and 36.3% Hard Hit%. He hasn’t been a big lift and pull guy in his career, so he’s probably not going to hit a ton of homers, but he should hit enough combined with his BA and steals. He’s getting a caught stealing a ton right now, going 3 for 7 on the bases, but he was a really good base stealer in the minors, and I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt right now. He’s potentially on track to be one of the best hit/speed/enough power combos in the game.

Xavier Edwards – MIA, SS/2B, 26.9 – Dude is a power hitter now after drilling his 5th homer at 101.2 MPH. And the power is most certainly up with an 88.5 MPH and 36.2% Hard Hit%, but he’s also clearly not this good. He doesn’t lift and pull enough with those still only decent hard hit numbers. With his contact and speed though, any uptick in power is a big deal. Just call him Xavier McEdwards.

Noah Schultz – CHW, LHP, 22.9 – 5.1 IP, 5 hits, 3 ER, 6/0 K/BB vs. SEA … not a bad outing but the 20% whiff% and 92.5 MPH EV are a bit less impressive. He really hasn’t been all that impressive in his MLB debut in general with a 4.93 ERA and 21.6/14.2 K%/BB% in 34.2 IP. The 25.1% whiff% is only average. It’s not great. If we are looking for silver linings, the 95.4 MPH 4-seamer is a really good pitch with a 27.7% whiff% and .299 xwOBA. His sweeper and change are also missing plenty of bats with a 34% and 40.7% whiff% respectively. He’s got 3 fastballs with the sinker and cutter. The ingredients are so obviously in here to breakout but it’s not quite there yet. Maybe he’ll get traded to Milwaukee and make it easy on all of us ;).

Shane McClanahan – TBR, LHP, 29.0 – 5 IP, 6 hits, 4 ER, 6/2 K/BB vs. BAL … not his best outing, but even in this one we see the old Shane starting to pop up more and more with a 33% whiff% and 95.8 MPH heat. His season line looks like the old Shane too with a 2.82 ERA and 25.8/9.3 K%/BB% in 44.2 IP. The K/BB really isn’t back to prime form, and neither is the 28.1% whiff%, so he’s still not the guy who was arguably the #1 pitcher in dynasty at one point, but he’s clearly re-establishing himself as an impact fantasy pitcher. I’ll put #2/3 borderline on him right now. After all of his setbacks and long road recovery, it’s just genuinely great to see him back to where he is.

Max Meyer – MIA, RHP, 27.2 – 6 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 6/2 K/BB vs. ATL … The excellent slider led the way as usual with a 43% whiff%, leading to a 27% whiff% overall. He now has a 2.85 ERA with a 26.7/8.4 K%/BB% in 53.2 IP. The 31.9% whiff% backs up the strikeouts. But I have to say that I’m still not willing to treat him as a young ace or near ace. The 4.28 xERA isn’t buying it at all. All of his pitches have been getting lucky according to xwOBA. Even in this outing the 93.8 MPH EV against showed luck was on his side. The other ERA estimators are kinder to him, but even those mostly have him as a mid 3’s ERA guy, which is where I land on him too. So more of an impact mid rotation guy is how I would value him in trades personally.

Junior Caminero – TBR, 3B, 22.9 – 2 for 4 with a 105.8 MPH homer for his 13th homer of the season and 7th homer at home. I didn’t have much doubt to begin with, ranking Caminero 12th overall on the Top 1,000, but if you did, I think we can put the minor league ballpark thing to rest now. It don’t matter what ballpark he’s in, he’s going to be one of the premier power hitters in baseball for a long time.

Sal Stewart – CIN, 1B/3B, 22.5 – Nice to see Stewart come back alive as he went the opposite way on a 77 MPH swing that cleared the fence for his 11th homer. He also tacked on a 106 MPH single. He now has 2 homers, 3 steals, and a .820 OPS in his last 11 games. He’s starting to stabilize. He’s still running a ton which I love. The only thing I would like to see is more pulling in the air, but I know he has that skill in him, so I’m not too concerned about. He also has the power and ballpark to be just fine hitting oppo field dingers (this one was in Philly). I was buying low through the struggles and it seems he’s now come out the other end of it.

Kendry Rojas – MIN, LHP, 23.5 – Rojas slowly worked his way into the starting rotation, and now that he’s in, he’s not letting the opportunity slip through his fingers, going 4 IP with 2 hits, 0 ER, and a 3/1 K/BB vs. HOU. He’s coming at you with 96 MPH from left side and it put up a 45% whiff%. The slider notched a 50% whiff% and the changeup notched a 40% whiff%. He had a 81.2 MPH EV against. It was utter domination. He wasn’t quite this good out of the pen, but the stuff is nasty and fastball/slider/changeup combo all miss bats. There is control risk and he can still be raw, but his upside is worth the pick up if you are a pitching needy team.

Michael King – SDP, RHP, 30.11 – 7 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER, 9/2 K/BB vs. LAD … This one was against the Dodgers and he both missed bats (29% whiff%) and induced weak contact (82.7 MPH EV against). He now has a 2.31 ERA with a 25.8/10.5 K%/BB% in 58.1 IP. He looks pretty much back to where he was when he was dominating last year. The only slight concern is that the walk rate is up and the K/BB isn’t great, but he wasn’t even really a great K/BB guy last year either. At the least, he’s a fully locked in #2 and that could be light.

Walbert Urena – LAA, RHP, 22.4 – 6 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER, 4/2 K/BB vs. ATH … he’s a weak contact machine with an 85.1 MPH EV against in this one and a 86.1 MPH EV against on the season. He also missed bats in this one with the changeup (50% whiff%) and sweeper (43% whiff%). The more he keeps it up, the more you gotta believe in him, but I’m still only treating him as a guy to ride until we see more. 1.35 WHIP isn’t good. The 20.7/13.1 K%/BB% isn’t good. The stuff is big, he can miss some bats and he induces weak contact, so again, I’m down to ride it, but I’m not paying up big for him or anything.

JT Ginn – SAC, LHP, 27.0 – 8 IP, 2 hits, 2 ER, 10/1 K/BB vs. LAA … it’s Ginn’s 3rd lights out performance in a row. He has a 94.3 MPH sinker that can keep the ball the ground. The slider and change can miss some bats. The cutter and 4-seamer give him the 3 fastball combo. Like Urena, it’s hard to buy in too hard with a mediocre K/BB (21.7/8.4 K%/BB%), and his 23.2% whiff% isn’t great either, so he’s just a guy I’m happy to ride but not pay up for.

Tatsuya Imai – HOU, RHP, 27.11 – 4.2 IP, 5 hits, 3 ER, 5/0 K/BB vs. MIN … yea, this sucks, but the guys still put up a 43% whiff%. The fastball sat 95.8 MPH. The slider and change missed a ton of bats. He’s been brutal, I know, but I would stay patient here. I think he’s going to figure it out.

Nick Becker – SEA, SS, 19.5, RK –  Time for a Nick Becker check … and it’s not good. He’s a 19 year old in the rookie ball and has a 35.4% K% and a 41.8% whiff%. He’s actually hitting well with a 135 wRC+, but that swing and miss, especially at already 19 years old, just puts him in insane danger zone territory. It’s more or less exactly what we didn’t want to see. His value is on the decline.

Andrew Painter – PHI, RHP, 23.1 – 6 IP, 3 hits, 2 ER, and a 3/2 K/BB vs. CIN … solid outing but the 4-seamer put up a 0% whiff% and he had a 9% whiff% overall. He now has a 5.77 ERA with a 19.1/7.2 K%/BB% in 43.1 IP. The ship sailed on Painter being a true ace level pitching prospect last year, but nobody wanted to believe it. I get it. It’s sad when an injury diminishes such a great prospect. But if you didn’t believe then, you better believe now. He’s still talented with breakout potential down the line, but it’s just not the guy from 2022.

JR Ritchie – ATL, RHP, 22.11 – 4 IP, 6 hits, 6 ER, 4/1 K/BB vs. MIA … the 93.8 MPH 4-seamer didn’t get a single whiff and put up a 95.2 MPH EV against. He put up a 24% whiff% overall. Ritchie has just never been my guy, and that take is cementing with his MLB debut. He has a 4.91 ERA with a 18.4/14.0 K%/BB% in 25.2 IP. The 4-seamer isn’t that good and the whiffs are below average overall. I’ve never been impressed with the stuff. I do still believe he can become a solid MLB pitcher in time. I don’t hate him, but I didn’t see the big fantasy value to go after as a pitching prospect.

Nick Lodolo – CIN, LHP, 28.3 – 5.2 IP, 3 hits, 3 ER, 3/5 K/BB vs. PHI … he’s been rusty as hell since returning with a 7.20 ERA and 16.4/13.4 K%/BB% in 15 IP. Nothing to worry about though. It’s just all part of the plan. He’s not nicknamed the Eternal Target for nothing. He’ll get hot and start pitching well, but because of these early blowups and late start to the season the season line won’t look great, making him, yup, a legit Target going into 2027 for the 29th year in a row. You know something had to happen to keep him a Target. The Universe works in mysterious ways.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-TOP MLB HITTER TARGETS FOR MAY 2026
-TOP MLB PITCHER TARGETS FOR MAY 2026
-TOP PROSPECT TARGETS FOR MAY 2026
-TOP 417 APRIL 2026 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS (May Update coming next week)
-TOP 310 MAY 2026 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
–SPREADSHEETS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL 2026 MAILBAG! (May Mailbag coming this week)

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Top 310 May 2026 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings (Patreon)

This is a non debuted prospects rankings, which I love to do, because it really highlights the next wave of talent that we haven’t been ranking over and over again for years now. You can reference my Top 417 April 2026 Dynasty Rankings (Patreon) for my rankings on all the fun already debuted “prospects”. It’s still early in the season, but you know me, I lean being aggressive, for better or worse, and I was aggressive in this full shuffle up and re deal. The full Top 310 along with a spreadsheet is on the Patreon. Top 20 free on the Brick Wall down below. So without further ado, here is the Top 310 May 2026 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-TOP 417 APRIL 2026 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS
-TOP 310 MAY 2026 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
–SPREADSHEETS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL 2026 MAILBAG!
-PREDICTING THE 2027 TOP 50 PROSPECTS RANKINGS

*Off-season ranking in parenthesis but keep in mind my off-season rankings have the most lenient eligibility possible (under 130 BA or 50 IP) and these have the most strict eligibility possible (0 AB or IP in the majors)

1) (4) Jesus Made – MIL, SS, 19.0 – Made vs. Leo is the new Griffin vs. McGonigle which was the new Chourio vs. Holliday which was the new Gunnar vs. Carroll which was the new Witt vs. Julio which was the new Wander vs. Kelenic which was the new Acuna vs. Vlad which was the new … you get the point. We have an old fashioned #1 prospect standoff right now. Both are 19 years old with excellent across the board production at Double-A. Neither are showing major hit tool issues or groundball issues. Both are running. It’s dead even, but someone has to be #1 and it’s Made. The tie breaker was the better K% and more steals/better success rate.

2) (5) Leodalis De Vries – SAC, SS, 19.7 – No shame in being #2 to Made. This is a battle that could flip flop their entire careers.

3) (17) Edward Florentino – PIT, OF/1B, 19.6 – Florentino got a late start to the season but has looked like a superstar since returning, slashing .306/.469/.722 with 4 homers, 1 steal, and a 20.4/24.5 K%/BB% in 11 games split between Single-A and High-A. Maybe it’s a little risky moving him to 3rd overall above some of these upper minor bats, but he’s showing a level of potential superstar that I’m not sure those upper minors bats are showing at the moment.

4) (22) Josue De Paula – LAD, OF, 20.1 – … other than De Paula, who most certainly has that superstar potential, but I still fear he’s not a guy going to sell out for game power. That is only a quibble though, as he’s conquering Double-A with no issue, slashing .309/.442/.454 with 3 homers, 9 steals, and a 15.0/18.3 K%/BB% in 26 games. The 17% whiff% is impressive. Even without selling out for game power, he has the raw juice to hit dingers anyway. The other snafu is the Dodgers. It’s really hard to trust this team to actually roll out the red carpet for their young prospects, especially one who isn’t great on defense. But other than that, you know Josue has been my guy since he was a complete unknown in the DSL, and with him dominating the upper minors, the restrictor plates are completely off. I was debating Florentino vs. De Paula for awhile, but Florentino’s lift/pull and a clear path in Pitt in general is what swayed me.

5) (6) Walker Jenkins – MIN, OF, 21.2 – Down goes Walker again. This time with a shoulder injury after colliding with the OF wall. The Twins curse strikes again … and again and again and again. So disheartening. He was just starting to heat up at Triple-A and the underlying numbers looked good with a 92.1 MPH EV, 17.8% whiff% and 13.8 degree launch. He would have ranked 3rd, but with yet another injury, I just can’t put him there. So frustrating, and maybe this is even still too high but I don’t want to kill him yet. If you are fed up, I get it

6) (40) AJ Ewing – NYM, OF, 21.9 – Ewing is my best call on the Predicting the 2027 Top 50 Prospects Rankings this off-season, predicting he would be a Top 10 prospect by this off-season, and writing, “I dropped Corbin Carroll and Pete Crow Armstrong’s name when I called Ewing a major target in 2024 FYPD’s, and now we will see the Carroll/PCA like blow up. The massively underrated power will show up with 14 homers in 120 games in the upper minors. Combined with the speed, plate skills, and defense, everyone will realize this is an elite prospect in both fantasy and real life.” … and now I think he’s there already. He has a 92.4 MPH EV with a 50% Hard Hit% in 6 games at Triple-A. His 2 homers has already almost matched his entire homer total from 2025 (3 homers). And of course, everything else is there, slashing .388/.500/.588 with 2 homers, 16 steals, and a 16.0/18.9 K%/BB% in 24 games. He’s still not a home run hitter, but this is a fantasy beast even if he can get to 15-20, and there is clearly raw power to tap into down the line. I was all in on Ewing in his draft year, I was all in this off-season, and I’m staying all in. I know this looks high, but using Max Clark as an anchor, why does Clark deserve to be over Ewing? It’s close of course, but I think Ewing has the edge

7) (89) Franklin Arias – BOS, SS, 20.5 – I had Arias ranked 46th overall on my End of Season Prospects Rankings. I gave him a strong blurb in my Top 1,000, writing, “The hype has definitely cooled a bit from last off-season, and the funny thing is I now see I might be slightly higher on him than other places, or at least I’m fully on board with his current value.” … and then I just slowly got cold feet and slipped him to 89th overall this off-season. To be fair, 89th overall was about his value other places too, but I just can’t help myself with hit tool first types hah … I’m going to keep ranking these types high in the future though, and Arias is proving he deserved a lofty ranking, slashing .359/.433/.731 with 8 homers, 2 steals, and a 11.1/7.8 K%/BB% in 22 games. He’s lifting a lot more with a big leg kick, the raw power should only keep ticking up as he gets older, and he’s now proving the hit/plate skills against advanced competition. I’m still not sure the power/speed combo will be huge, but this is obviously a special bat, and I’m done underrating hit tool first types.

8) (9) Max Clark – DET, OF, 21.5 – Doing everything at Triple-A but showing power with only 1 homer and a mediocre 35.4% Hard Hit% in 29 games. He’s still young and the power is only going to tick up from here, but he’s a bit more contact/speed than optimal, and I think it means a few guys sneak past him right now

9) (12) Colt Emerson – SEA, SS, 20.10 – He’s only 20 at Triple-A, so we have to grade on a curve, but he hasn’t been that great with a 94 wRC+, 29.3% K%, 87.1 MPH EV and 50.8% GB%. Again, he’s only 20, and his value holds steady, but he’s not blowing up yet

10) (39) Rainiel Rodriguez – STL, C, 19.4 – Obliterating High-A like he’s obliterated every level before it, slashing .306/.433/.529 with 3 homers, 2 steals, and a 18.3/16.3 K%/BB% in 23 games. There is little doubt this is one of the most special bats in the lower minors. I predicted I was going to be too low on Rodriguez in my Predicting the 2027 Prospects Rankings, ranking him 6th overall (so why didn’t you raise him you ask, idk, I’m stubborn I guess ha)

11) (75) Seth Hernandez – PIT, RHP, 19.10 – I have zero regrets about having some caution on high school righties, but he ain’t in high school anymore with a 1.23 ERA and 50.0/7.3 K%/BB% in 22 IP. The fastball sits 97.2 MPH and the 3 secondaries (changeup, slider curve) all have about 70% whiff percentages. If you want to find a quibble, the fastball actually isn’t missing a ton of bats with a 26.6% whiff%, but that isn’t even that bad. His upside seems to be on a level all to himself. He’s the new #1 pitching prospect in baseball

12) (15) Thomas White – MIA, LHP, 21.7 – 2.13 ERA with a 39.6/8.3 K%/BB% in 12.2 IP at Triple-A. The 95.1 MPH fastball/sweeper combo has been dominant. The change has been solid. He’s done nothing to lose his hold on the #1 non debuted prospect in baseball, but Seth Hernandez just took it from him

13) (47) Kade Anderson – SEA, LHP, 21.11 – 0.37 ERA with a 43.2/4.5 K%/BB% in 24.1 IP. He still doesn’t have the overpowering fastball, so the true test will be vs. MLB hitters, but clearly he is putting the Anderson vs. Doyle to rest, and he’s now in the running for #1 pitching prospect in baseball. I just think Hernandez’ and White’s stuff are on another level, but he’s right there

14) (55) George Lombard – NYY, SS, 20.11 – Very clearly looks like the Yanks SS of the future, and that future can come in the 2nd half with across the board destruction of Double-A. He projects as an impact all category contributor. Just when the entire industry cooled on him, the explosion came

15) (37) Zyhir Hope – LAD, OF, 21.3 – Seeing the hit tool transfer was the most important thing in the upper minors, and it’s passing with flying colors with a 22.8% K% and 24.1% whiff%. Obviously the majors is the ultimate test, but this is big to see, because the power/speed combo will do the rest (5 homers and 4 steals in 26 games)

16) (41) Caleb Bonemer – CHW, SS, 20.7 – Power is exploding at High-A with 11 homers in 26 games, but the reason I was slightly cautious on Bonemer this off-season was because I thought there could be some hit tool risk against more advanced competition, and that hit tool risk is showing with a 30.3% K% and 34% whiff%. For the record, Bonemer was an FYPD Target for me and I was all over his 2025 breakout. I also love to see him smashing High-A. But I do think we can’t completely hand wave away the hit tool risk.

17) (20) Aidan Miller – PHI, SS, 21.11 – Yet to debut with a back injury. Back injuries can be recurring and a constant problem, so it’s not a great, but I don’t want to completely tank him for it. If I owned him, I would want to remain patient

18) (21) Sebastian Walcott – TEX, SS, 20.2 – Yet to debut with internal brace surgery which he’s hoping to return from in August in a best case scenario. We’ve seen hitters return from TJ/elbow injuries with no problem, so it’s really mostly a concern defensively. I’m buying low here.

19) (49) Robby Snelling – MIA, LHP, 22.4 – Just patiently waiting for the call to the majors as he beats up on Triple-A hitters

20) (70) Charlie Condon – COL, 1B, 23.1 – Hit tool concerns are stabilizing at Triple-A with a 18.5% K%, although he’s only been solid overall with a 107 wRC+. I still want to bet on this power bat in Coors, and he’s knocking on the door of the bigs

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By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
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