Welcome to my first annual top 200* FYPD rankings. (* Top 106 hitters, top 96 pitchers)

Ever since I started playing dynasty leagues, I’ve tried to get better each year.  That not only includes being a better player, but now that I’m with TDG, it includes being a better writer and analyst (and podcaster). For that reason, and since I needed to prepare for the ten-round twenty-five team FYPD draft in  Chris Knock’s School of Hard Knocks league (see his article on that league and listen to Join the Ranks Episode 60 for details), I decided that this was the year to develop my own deep FYPD rankings and it’s my (nervous) pleasure to share them with you.

There are not a lot of statistics available for these players, and even for what we have, how does one compare high school to college statistics, or compare between different college conferences and divisions? As a result, I relied heavily on scouting grades and scouting reports I could find on various sites, including Fangraphs and MLB.

If comparing players from college and high school is like comparing apples to oranges, then comparing amateur hitters to amateur pitchers is like comparing apples to elephants. I am comfortable with this comparative ranking within positions, but at this point, combining the lists would have been just a guessing game after the top tiers. More on that below.

Before you jump to the rankings, I encourage you to take a couple of minutes to consider the following caveats.

Unlike most rankings on The Dynasty Guru website, these rankings are my own. Our positional rankings are presented as a compilation of all the great minds here at TDG, but for this project, I broke from the herd.

I have not included International players in this list. If I had, Roki Sasaki would definitely have been Pitcher One and should be the first pick overall if available in your leagues.

Part 1 lists my top 20 hitters and top 20 pitchers. I discourage you from combining this into a Top 40 list. I think the hitters in this draft are a much safer bet and when Part 2 is published next week, the hitters in the next tier are players I’d take before the pitchers ranked 11 – 20. In fact, I’d take any of the top 25 hitters before taking the third-ranked pitcher.

On the pitcher rankings, the DK+ score is a simple combination of scouting grades on the fastball and command. I used that as a starting point, not a final determination of rankings, but I like how it combines two of the skills I most value when ranking fantasy players.

Player Notes

Theo Gillen is my third-ranked hitter, that’s not a typo. It’s not wise to completely ignore his injury history, but I also can’t ignore his ability to hit line drives to all fields and the power that’s anticipated as he grows into his 6’2” frame.

After Gillen is a three-player tier with Charlie Condon, Jac Caglianone, and Nick Kurtz. This is the order I have them, but I wouldn’t argue with any order of these three. And if I’m picking later in the first round and end up with Cam Smith, I’m not unhappy with that.

On the pitching side, Hagen Smith and Chase Burns are a cut above the rest. I have Smith ranked higher because I consistently found higher command grades for him, but again, it’s close.  From there, it is a significant drop off to my number three, Luke Holman. Holman’s fastball is graded slightly lower than those around him on this list, but the slider and curve are above average and he represented himself very well with LSU and the US National team. In an FYPD draft, I’d look to draft Smith and Burns at the back end of the top ten, and then resist taking another pitcher until sometime after the twenty-fifth pick.

For more thoughts on these and other FYPD players, listen to Episodes 60 and 61 of Join the Ranks.  You can share your thoughts with me on Bluesky @drewgotigers or leave a comment below.

2025 FYPD Hitters 1 - 20

2025 FYPD Pitchers 1 - 20