After a wild and crazy 2020 season, the 2021 MLB season is about to begin! Our staff of 27 writers and contributors have ranked, debated, re-ranked, and written up more than 600 players! Now for the big finale, the TDG Top 500 List.

These Top 500 Dynasty rankings represent the opinions of Baseball Editor Shelly Verougstraete (@ShellyV_643), Deputy Baseball Editor Keaton O. DeRocher (@TheSpokenKeats), and Senior Writer, Jordan Rosenblum (@RosenJordanBlum). So if you’re seeing differences between these rankings and our positional rankings, that’s why. They assume a 15-team, standard 5×5, keep forever dynasty format, with daily lineup changes, 1 starting catcher position, and a separate, medium-depth MILB farm. They also use the old, easier to calculate rookie thresholds (130 AB, 50 IP). We nonetheless look forward to the first person to exclaim that Rookie of the Year Devin Williams is not a prospect. These rankings will be updated again mid-season around the All-Star break. And now, a few words from our rankers:

Shelly: This time last year, we were wrapping up our top 500 lists and gearing up for another fantasy baseball season. My, oh, my…what a difference one year makes. This Ranking SZN has been the most difficult and challenging yet. How do you handle someone who stunk but typically performs at a high level? What about that bright shiny star who put up All-Star numbers and helped you win your league? Don’t even get me started about prospects. While compiling this list, I tried to look at the entirety of a player’s career and not let small sample sizes and/or my personal biases come through. I’m glad to have two great colleagues, Keaton and Jordan, to keep me in check! Now…let’s go play some fantasy baseball.

Keaton: Creating this list is the most challenging and most entertaining thing I think we do every year. I was really excited when I was asked to participate last year, and with one list under my belt, I thought this year would be easier or smoother.  However, I was very very wrong. This is one of those massive undertakings that will never get easier, and one that I constantly tinker with.  My general biases this year were as follows: I tended to give players who had a bad 2020 a mulligan and put more weight on 2019 and prior success. I guess time will tell, but 2020 was so wacky it was hard to put a lot of weight on it. I look forward to taking a small break and then starting this all again for the mid-season cycle!

Jordan: Even though this is my second year doing this, it hasn’t gotten any easier. Ordering 500 players in a fully consistent way is a lengthy, difficult exercise. Accordingly, I am grateful to be working together with my trusty colleagues, Keaton and Shelly. As for my approach, I tend to focus primarily on statistical performance, supplementing with scouting reports from trusted sources, especially for younger players who have less of a track record. Given the shallowness of the hypothetical league we rank for, I place a premium on volatility, targeting high upside, high-risk players. If they bust, it’s not usually a huge deal as there are typically quite solid options on the waiver wire and in annual MiLB drafts. If you’re not confident in your waiver wire and/or drafting ability, it makes sense to be more risk-averse than I am.

If you would like to get all of our rankings all in one place AND easily downloadable, all it takes is a small donation below! Rankings include every TDG positional and prospect rankings and every ranking list from the football and basketball writers, not just the baseball rankings, in downloadable form.

Table note: in the ‘worst’ column, a ‘501’ value means at least one of us did not rank the player in our top 500.