…picture a man, 32, hunched over a laptop, tired fingers flying as he ranks an abnormally long list of other grown baseball persons, pitting them against each other with make-believe furor…he takes a deep breath and…

Hey everybody, your friendly neighborhood dynasty dad here. I’m glad you’re back for some more Top-500 OBP action!

And I’m especially stoked you still like Major League Baseball! Because let’s face it, I wouldn’t blame you if you’d given up the league at this point. If you do indeed find a way to give it up, will you let me know?

Ahh yes, America’s pastime. Good times.

In any case, while I’m definitely one of the more negative nelly’s here at the TDG office when it comes to the season starting on time (or at all), there’s never a bad time to brush up on your rankings. My reasons for this are three-fold, and I quote:

1. It’s fun! In the same way chasing a toddler around the house when you’re 30 minutes late is fun
2. You’ll almost never be worse off for continued, extensive research into the player pool.
3. Keaton gets really angry when I don’t hit my deadlines, so I tinker all year round now, as I long for his undying approval.

…the man exhales slowly but with unforeseen ease, knowing that only two of those things are true, and elated he finally got that off his chest…

All kidding aside, rankings season was…well it was a f*&%ing grind this year. Not only did we, as an esteemed organization of highly qualified dynasty individuals, each rank around 650 players at their respective positions, but then a select few went back and created more Top-500 lists on top of that to help the masses with their dynasty decisions.

We…we are helping, right? RIGHT!?

…the man realizes he’s pulling on his hair. He craves an answer to this ultimately meaningless question, as there must be meaning somewhere here if he looks hard enough…but…halfway through texting his editor a letter of resignation, a lightbulb goes off as he writes down “Dynasty Decisions” as a future podcast segment, quickly forgetting everything from the previous 30 seconds…

Now, I went about this Top-500 a bit differently for the preseason (as opposed to our version from last July). This one is still based on a 15-team, standard 5×5 Roto league (subbing OBP for AVG) with a keep-forever format and daily lineup changes. The rankings also assume a 1-catcher league with a medium-depth minor league system. For consistency’s sake with Keaton’s, Shelly’s, and Jordan’s list, rookie thresholds are calculated using the 130 at-bats and 50 innings pitched limits. However, this version, at least for me, has more of a “who would I rather draft on draft day” spin to it. Trade value comes into play, but is a fickle beast, and no one values the same 10 players the same way, much less 500.

A few more things to keep in mind as well as you peruse:

1. This is a true consensus ranking, meaning we took the average of our two-player rankings and that is where said player landed. There was very little tinkering after completion.
2. If a player has a 501 max ranking, they likely were only included by one of us. Do with that what you will.
3. There are a billion different ways to spin where any given player should land on this list, so don’t panic when these rankings don’t fit a specific narrative. Each league is different, and each manager’s place in that league can change on a dime.
4. These lists should never be taken as gospel. That’s not a cop-out, but more of a cautionary tale to not blindly follow someone’s research when it comes to your dynasty baseball teams. We, personally, think this is a solid evaluation of where players rank in leagues that follow the rules above. However, you (yes, YOU) know your team better than anyone else. Trust your gut.

Here’s the deal: it’s not perfect. How could it be? Instead, it’s simply a snapshot of how we’re currently valuing an obnoxiously huge group of grown baseball people. Real, talented, grown people with their own lives and their own problems, presumably mostly dealing with a lot of the same shit we deal with. Just with more high-profile jobs and probably more irritating bosses.

All said and done, I think it’s a damn fine piece of work. I truly hope it helps you make even a single dynasty decision on your way to victory. Please feel free to reach out to me (@TCasesLoaded) or Joe (@joegarino) on Twitter to discuss our process or if you have specific questions on any players.

Good luck this season!

WRITERS’ PLUGS!

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The Dynasty Guru: @DynastyGuru

Taylor Case: @TCasesLoaded

Joseph Garino: @joegarino

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