Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Rankings 2021: Advice and Top Prospects, Stars to Draft

Bats are cracking, gloves are popping and balls are flying out of the yard in Arizona and Florida.

Baseball is back, folks, and with it comes the promise of a brand new fantasy baseball season.

For dynasty league managers, this is the time of year to position your roster for championship contention—now or in the future. Whether you're hot on the heels of established stars or playing the long game with top prospects, this is when you can set the direction of your team going forward.

That's a tall task, so we're here to help with dynasty rankings, league advice and snapshots of up-and-comers and elites worth your attention.

1. Ronald Acuna Jr., OF, Atlanta Braves

2. Juan Soto, OF, Washington Nationals

3. Fernando Tatis Jr., SS, San Diego Padres

4. Mookie Betts, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers

5. Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels

6. Trea Turner, SS, Washington Nationals

7. Shane Bieber, SP, Cleveland Indians

8. Trevor Story, SS, Colorado Rockies

9. Francisco Lindor, SS, New York Mets

10. Christian Yelich, OF, Milwaukee Brewers

11. Jose Ramirez, 3B, Cleveland Indians

12. Jacob deGrom, SP, New York Mets

13. Gerrit Cole, SP, New York Yankees

14. Bryce Harper, OF, Washington Nationals

15. Cody Bellinger, 1B/OF, Los Angeles Dodgers

16. Bo Bichette, SS, Toronto Blue Jays

17. Freddie Freeman, 1B, Atlanta Braves

18. Wander Franco, SS, Tampa Bay Rays

19. Luis Robert, OF, Chicago White Sox

20. Eloy Jimenez, OF, Chicago White Sox

21. Rafael Devers, 3B, Boston Red Sox

22. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B/3B, Toronto Blue Jays

23. Alex Breman, SS/3B, Houston Astros

24. Corey Seager, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers

25. Walker Buehler, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers

26. Ozzie Albies, 2B, Atlanta Braves

27. Kyle Tucker, OF, Houston Astros

28. Xander Bogaerts, SS, Boston Red Sox

29. Jack Flaherty, SP, St. Louis Cardinals

30. Lucas Giolito, SP, Chicago White Sox

The first order of business for dynasty-league managers is setting a timeline and sticking to it.

It's entirely your call if you want to chase this year's crown or would rather aim at multiple titles down the line. But if you try to tightrope between the two, you might not be positioned for either one.

Those with a future focus won't give Max Scherzer a second thought, as he's already 36 years old and has had multiple bouts with the injury bug. Conversely, those coming for this year's trophy might be all over him. His 2020 season wasn't great, but it broke a three-year streak of pairing a sub-3.00 ERA with at least 12 strikeouts per nine innings.

Having said that, even current championship chasers should be conscious of their prospect pools. You never want those to dry up. But rather than pay up for a Wander Franco, you should aim at lower cost dart throws later in the draft.

Predraft preparation is a must for any semi-serious fantasy baseball manager, but it's absolutely critical in dynasty leagues. Prospects aren't household names yet. You need to know who's out there, so you know where to invest your resources.

Finally, you must be willing to adjust, both at your draft and during the season. You might have a predraft plan to attack specific positions or stat categories, but you need to read the room. If other managers are paying a premium for your intended targets, you might be better off letting them go and seeking out market inefficiencies elsewhere.

No matter how you draft, your team won't perform exactly how you expected. So, you must be willing to explore the trade market to sell off excess and add what you're missing. This is where it helps to familiarize yourself with every team's roster, that way you know where to find what you need and should have a good idea of what that manager will want in return.

Wander Franco, SS, Tampa Bay Rays

For the second straight season, Franco sits atop the prospect rankings of Baseball America, MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus. He has as good a chance as anyone of becoming a generational talent, both in the real world and the fantasy realm.

In 2018, ESPN's Keith Law called Franco "an elite hitting prospect" with "MVP upside." Franco was 17 years old at the time. Whenever Tampa promotes him to the bigs, he could quickly establish himself as one of the game's greats.

             

Jarred Kelenic, OF, Seattle Mariners

The top-shelf fantasy players in rotisserie leagues touch all five categories in a significant way. Kelenic has the tools and the talent to do exactly that.

In 2019, he crammed 23 homers and 20 stolen bases into just 117 minor league games. He also batted .291 with a .364 on-base percentage that season—as a 19-year-old. His combination of power, speed and plate discipline could deliver big fantasy numbers at the major-league level sooner than later.

                

Alex Kirilloff, OF, Minnesota Twins

The Twins have the utmost trust in Kirilloff, and they've communicated that in two different ways. They gave him his first MLB action by starting him in last year's playoffs. Then, they created an opening for him by letting Eddie Rosario and his big bat exit in free agency.

Kirilloff could reward Minnesota's confidence in the near future.

"He earned rave reviews at the alternate training site, enough for Baseball America to assign him a 70-grade hit tool and a 60-grade power tool," CBS Sports' Scott White wrote. "That's superstar potential, the sort of grades you might have seen for a young Freddie Freeman as he was working his way up."

Ronald Acuna Jr., OF, Atlanta Braves

Might as well start with our top-ranked dynasty player, right? Save perhaps for batting average, he's about as safe as it gets in fantasy baseball, which doesn't seem like the kind of thing you'll hear about many 23-year-olds.

But he's the best power-plus-speed source in the business. In 2019, he paired 41 homers with 37 steals. Oh yeah, and he added 127 runs and 101 RBI to his stat line, too. If he bucks the trend of his declining batting average (.293 as a rookie in 2018, .250 last season), he might already be a fantasy juggernaut with zero weaknesses.

               

Juan Soto, OF, Washington Nationals

There's an argument to be made that Soto is the best hitter in baseball. He's also 22 years old. 

"Only five players through their age-21 seasons had a higher OPS+ than he has (min. 1,000 plate appearances): Mike Trout, Ted Williams, Jimmie Foxx, Rogers Hornsby and Ty Cobb," MLB.com's Sarah Langs wrote. "That's four Hall of Famers and another who will be in as soon as he's eligible. In other words, nobody's ever gotten off to a start like this and not put together a Cooperstown-worthy career."

Soto has one full season in the bigs. In it, he belted 34 homers, scored and drove in 110 runs apiece and delivered a .401 on-base percentage. He's not a complete zero in steals, either, with 23 swiped bags across his first 313 games. He's a superstar right now and should be for the next decade-plus.

             

Shane Bieber, SP, Cleveland

Pitchers are inherently more volatile than hitters, so they can be trickier to trust in dynasty leagues. Saying that, having a good one can be a gold mine.

Well, Bieber isn't good—he's great. And he's only 25 years old, which should give him the dynasty edge over 30-somethings Jacob deGrom and Gerrit Cole.

Age isn't the only thing propping up Bieber, of course. There are also the absurd 1.63 ERA, 14.2 strikeouts per nine innings and 0.87 WHIP that powered him to last year's AL Cy Young award, which he won unanimously.