Things have changed since I wrote my 2017 Top 40 Dynasty Baseball First-Year Player Draft Rankings back in mid-October … I’m about five pounds heavier. The first-year player draft rankings changed too though. This update is a tiered ranking with just a few thoughts on each tier. For a more detailed look at most of these players, you can check out my 2017 Top 200 Dynasty/Fantasy Baseball Prospect Rankings and my above linked Top 40. Here is the Updated 2017 Top 50 Dynasty Baseball First-Year Player Draft Rankings:

Top College Bats

1) Nick Senzel CIN, 3B
2) Zack Collins CHW, C
3) Kyle Lewis SEA, OF
4) Corey Ray MIL, OF

The very top college bats usually have the best combination of safety, proximity, and upside, and this year’s class is no different. I wouldn’t argue too hard against ranking these guys in any order.

The #1 Overall Draft Pick and the #1 International Signing

5) Mickey Moniak PHI, OF
6) Kevin Maitan ATL, SS

The risk is inherently higher with teenagers, mostly because they have a long way to go, but I’ll take the top “high school” bats after the best college players are off the board. Maitan has that mysterious, limitless upside, so if you like to live on the edge, I wouldn’t blame you if you took him #1 overall.

Top 100 Worthy

7) Will Craig PIT, 3B
8) A.J. Puk OAK, LHP
9) Ian Anderson ATL, RHP
10) Jason Groome BOS, LHP
11) Matt Thaiss LAA, 1B/C
12) Cal Quantrill SD, RHP
13) Heath Quinn SF, OF
14) Bobby Dalbec BOS, 3B
15) Bryan Reynolds SF, OF
16) Taylor Trammell CIN, OF
17) Blake Rutherford NYY, OF
18) Alex Kirilloff MIN, OF
19) Braxton Garrett MIA, LHP
20) Adrian Morejon SD, LHP
21) Lucas Erceg MIL, 3B

Alex Reyes’ injury is just another reminder of how risky pitching prospects can be. I do like to keep a relatively balanced farm system, though, so I would start to consider the top pitchers in this group of lower upside college bats and far off high school hitters.

Boom or Bust

22) Jorge Ona SD, OF
23) Matt Manning DET, RHP
24) Delvin Perez STL, SS

Tons of unrefined raw talent. Perez actually didn’t look all that raw at the plate in his pro debut, so this ranking admittedly might be too reliant on pre-draft reports.

Close Proximity and Sneaky Upside

25) Eric Lauer SD, LHP
26) Dakota Hudson STL, RHP
27) Lourdes Gourriel Jr. TOR, 2B
28) Peter Alonso NYM, 1B
29) Justin Dunn NYM, RHP
30) Norge Ruiz OAK, RHP
31) Randy Arozarena STL, INF

Gourriel and Dunn’s upside might be less sneaky than the others, but you get the point.

Pu Pu Platter

32) Anfernee Grier ARI, OF
33) Will Benson CLE, OF
34) Joey Wentz ATL, LHP
35) Forrest Whitley HOU, RHP
36) Vladimir Gutierrez CIN, RHP
37) Jordan Sheffield LAD, RHP
38) Luis Almanzar SD, SS
39) Lazaro Armenteros OAK, OF
40) Freudis Nova HOU, SS
41) Chris Okey CIN, C
42) Josh Lowe TB, 3B
43) Nolan Jones CLE, 3B
44) Cionel Perez HOU, LHP
45) Victor Garcia STL, OF
46) Bo Bichette TOR, SS
47) Yasel Antuna WASH, SS
48) Ronnie Dawson HOU, OF
49) D.J. Peters LAD, OF
50) Dane Dunning CHW, RHP
* Riley Pint COL, RHP

At this point in the player pool, it should be more about picking your favorites and/or team needs (position, speed/power, upside/proximity, etc …), rather than a rigid ranking. There is still a ton of talent in this group, and it wouldn’t be all that surprising if the best player from this entire class ended up being one of these players. Pint gets singled out because he was my top pitcher before Colorado drafted him, but I avoid Coors pitchers like Major League Baseball avoids free market principles.

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