Midseason dynasty-league update: Top 500 players

By Tom Trudeau | July 5, 2016

1. Carlos Correa: Offers tantalizing combination of youth, proven production and upside with eligibility at premium position.
2. Mike Trout: Splitting hairs on the top 3, in my opinion.
3. Bryce Harper

4. Manny Machado   5. Xander Bogaerts:  Perhaps a lesson in why we should remain patient with Addison Russell? 6. Mookie Betts   7. Corey Seager:  Lack of wheels caps his (very high) fantasy ceiling. 8. Kris Bryant:  Has cut down on his K's significantly. 9. Anthony Rizzo 10. Francisco Lindor    11. Nolan Arenado    12. Jose Altuve 13. Paul Goldschmidt    14. Clayton Kershaw:  There's no such thing as a bankable ace of any age, but he's as close as anyone will ever get. I'd sell.

15. George Springer
16. Gregory Polanco
17. Giancarlo Stanton: Good time to buy low.
18. Nomar Mazara: Lack of wheels caps his (very high) fantasy ceiling.
19. Rougned Odor

20. Andrew McCutchen 21. Josh Donaldson 22. Starling Marte 23. Miguel Sano:  His batting average won't be an asset, but won't significantly hinder you either. 24. Noah Syndergaard:  Talent so absurd that I'll put the blinders on for some red flags. 25. Jose Fernandez 26. Madison Bumgarner 27. Chris Sale 28. Jake Arrieta 29. Yoan Moncada: Basically untouchable in dynasty leagues I'm in. 30. Brendan Rodgers: Basically untouchable in dynasty leagues I'm in. 31. Miguel Cabrera 32. Christian Yelich:  Elite fantasy role player held back by back issues and modest power and speed upside. 33. J.D. Martinez 34. Buster Posey 35. Robinson Cano 36. Eric Hosmer 37. Kyle Schwarber:  Will move him up in the spring when he's healthy again. 38. Byron Buxton:  Patience… 39. Addison Russell:  Steady, incremental progress. 40. Jose Abreu 41. Stephen Strasburg 42. Jacob deGrom 43. Justin Upton:  Painfully streaky, but numbers tend to get there in the end. 44. Max Scherzer 45. Dee Gordon:  A tough rank for me; high variance. 46. A.J. Pollock:  Another tough rank due to health questions. 47. Chris Davis 48. Charlie Blackmon:  Unlike Arenado, I'm less confident that he lasts in Coors. 49. Alex Bregman: Tough to match his combination of pedigree, fantasy skill set and age-adjusted production. 50. Marcell Ozuna:  Hit the ball hard in '15, too, but with worse luck and a short leash.

51. Trevor Story: Based on trades I've seen, other dynasty owners are still more skeptical than this ranking.
52. Ryan Braun: Decent time to sell to those who forgot about the back and thumb issues.
53. Brandon Belt
54. Wil Myers: Look what he can do when healthy.
55. Anthony Rendon

56. Matt Carpenter 57. Tim Anderson: Fade in OBP leagues. 58. Yoenis Cespedes 59. Joc Pederson: Can be higher for OBP leagues. 60. Freddie Freeman 61. Carlos Gonzalez 62. Kyle Seager 63. David Price 64. Gerrit Cole: Still like the talent and love the park, but where did the whiffs go?  65. Carlos Carrasco 66. Danny Salazar 67. J.P. Crawford 68. Trea Turner 69. Javier Baez: K's are at a very manageable place right now. 70. Maikel Franco 71. Todd Frazier 72. Zack Greinke 73. Yu Darvish 74. Craig Kimbrel 75. Kenley Jansen 76. Aroldis Chapman 77. Matt Harvey 78. Corey Kluber: "Bad fastball" guy may not be as good as peripherals suggest. 79. Julio Urias: I'd look to sell for a stud bat to anyone that thinks Urias equals two decades of ace. 80. Joey Votto 81. Adam Jones 82. Adam Eaton 83. Lucas Giolito: I'd look to sell if I owned him; part of this ranking is his perceived trade value more than how I feel about him. 84. Chris Archer 85. Jackie Bradley Jr. 86. Jon Lester 87. Felix Hernandez: I say he overcomes velocity dip. 88. Jung Ho Kang 89. Evan Longoria 90. Johnny Cueto 91. Zach Britton 92. Jeurys Familia 93. Masahiro Tanaka 94. Ozhaino Albies: Handling Triple-A at just 19 years old. 95. Joey Gallo: I probably over-ranked him this spring, but he's made significant strides to address his weaknesses this year. 96. Jorge Mateo 97. Victor Robles 98. David Dahl 99. Jonathan Lucroy 100. Tyler Glasnow 101. Stephen Piscotty: Was very wrong about his power. 102. Billy Hamilton 103. Jurickson Profar: Would like to see him run more. 104. Clint Frazier 105. Jonathan Schoop 106. Marcus Semien 107. Troy Tulowitzki 108. Andrew Miller: High floor even if he's never a closer (I think he will be). 109. Dellin Betances: High floor even if he's never a closer (I think he will be). 110. Jorge Soler: I'm buying low. 111. Jason Heyward: I'm buying low. 112. Michael Brantley: I'm buying low. 113. Jose Bautista: Still an OBP stud. 114. Lewis Brinson 115. Jason Kipnis 116. Taijuan Walker 117. Cole Hamels 118. Lance McCullers 119. Edwin Encarnacion 120. Jean Segura: What a turnaround. 121. Jacoby Ellsbury 122. Max Kepler 123. Michael Conforto: Worried about platoon splits. 124. A.J. Reed: Worried about platoon splits. 125. Roberto Osuna 126. Franklin Barreto: Patience. Very young for his level. 127. Nick Castellanos: Finally showing that sweet hit tool we heard about from the Minors. 128. Austin Meadows: Reached Triple-A at just 21, but currently blocked in Pittsburgh. 129. Andrew Benintendi: Hype may have gotten a little out of hand. 130. Aaron Judge: His time is nearing. 131. Blake Snell 132. Steven Matz: Young and talented, but checkered health history prevents a higher ranking. 133. Odubel Herrera 134. Yasiel Puig: I'm buying low… just kidding, I'm out. 135. Nelson Cruz 136. Ian Desmond 137. Brian Dozier 138. Rafael Devers: What did you expect from a teenager at Class A Advanced? He's fine. 139. David Robertson 140. Khris Davis: Consider him a discount Giancarlo Stanton. 141. Aaron Nola 142. Vince Velasquez 143. Jose Quintana 144. Josh Bell: So what if he can't ever hit 25 homers? 145. Dallas Keuchel 146. Jake Lamb 147. Wade Davis: As of this writing he has a "strained right forearm," so consider this a "placeholder" ranking until more info. 148. Willy Adames: Particularly exciting prospect for OBP leagues. 149. Ian Happ 150. Orlando Arcia: Discount J.P. Crawford? 151. Nick Williams: Perfectly acceptable season for a 22-year-old at Triple-A. 152. Dansby Swanson 153. Bradley Zimmer: I try not to pretend I can identify bust risks better than the next guy, but I'm skeptical of him. Sneaky old; lots of K's. 154. Manuel Margot: Handling Triple-A well at just 21 years old; may be more valuable in reality than fantasy, but glove should help him stay in lineup every day. 155. Daniel Murphy 156. Raimel Tapia: Coors Field, fantasy skills, etc. 157. Josh Reddick 158. Dexter Fowler 159. Dustin Pedroia 160. Mark Trumbo 161. Brett Gardner 162. Ian Kinsler 163. Hunter Pence 164. Jay Bruce 165. DJ LeMahieu: I'd sell, but as long as he remains in Coors it's hard to deny his fantasy chops. 166. Ketel Marte 167. Brian McCann 168. Salvador Perez 169. Lorenzo Cain: I doubt his fantasy game ages well. 170. Carlos Martinez 171. Tyson Ross 172. Drew Pomeranz: Will he be traded? Whiffs for days! 173. Cody Allen 174. Willson Contreras 175. Sonny Gray 176. Jameson Taillon: Shoulders and elbows and bears, oh my! (In other words, he's talented but risky.) 177. Carlos Santana: Bump him up in OBP leagues. 178. Jonathan Villar: I'm still skeptical, but can't knock the fantasy skills if he continues to earn starting roles. 179. Michael Wacha 180. Michael Fulmer 181. Danny Duffy: At this ranking, I'm a believer. 182. Marcus Stroman 183. Devon Travis 184. Carlos Rodon 185. Blake Swihart 186. Amed Rosario 187. Michael Pineda: I'll stubbornly stick with him because of the strong K/BB ratio. 188. Rich Hill: "I've always said Rich Hill had ace upside," said no one. 189. Brandon Crawford 190. Neil Walker 191. Mallex Smith 192. Jake Odorizzi: Cross your fingers that if he's traded, he goes to another spacious park. 193. Travis d'Arnaud 194. Ronald Acuna: Discount Victor Robles. 195. James Paxton: Holy velocity uptick! 196. Drew Smyly: Troubling that he's having homer problems at the Trop... but strikeouts! 197. Trayce Thompson: Fade in standard leagues; fantasy-friendly power-speed game. 198. Mark Melancon: Bad fastball closer keeps getting it done. 199. Matt Kemp 200. Danny Valencia 201. Prince Fielder: I've seen him go for dirt cheap packages. 202. Kole Calhoun 203. Corey Dickerson 204. Shin-Soo Choo: Cherish and never go to bed angry at each other in OBP leagues. 205. Alex Reyes 206. Ben Zobrist 207. Julio Teheran: Anti-peripheral wizard keeps his ERA in check, but I'm wary of such players long-term. 208. David Peralta 209. Wilson Ramos: I'm buying the narrative that he had vision issues. 210. Greg Bird 211. Mike Moustakas 212. Starlin Castro 213. Victor Martinez 214. Adam Duvall 215. Carlos Gomez: I assume he was hurt this year, but can't assume he'll bounce back either. 216. Adrian Beltre 217. Alex Gordon 218. Matt Holliday 219. David Ortiz: I've yet to see him get traded, but this is where I'd buy as a contender. 220. Hector Rondon: He's been dynamite, but I worry about Cubs trading for an even flashier closer. 221. Joe Ross: Shoulder stuff is the worst stuff. 222. Kenta Maeda 223. Logan Forsythe 224. Jesse Winker: Power is lacking, but impressive BB/K guy and opportunity is there in Cincy. 225. Gary Sanchez: Sanchez's baserunning is a stealth fantasy skill; wouldn't be surprised if he swipes a half dozen bases per season. 226. Gleyber Torres: Another positive season for Torres, who has handled Class A Advanced at age 19. 227. Hunter Renfroe 228. Tyler O'Neill 229. Dan Vogelbach: OK, he can hit. See if low prospect rankings make him cheap to acquire. 230. Kevin Gausman 231. Justin Bour: Bouring (see what I did there?), but productive. 232. Jose Berrios 233. Aaron Sanchez 234. John Lackey 235. Jeff Samardzija 236. Raisel Iglesias: Reds bullpen is… shaky, which makes Iglesias a high-end closer spec. 237. Anderson Espinoza: Have to take his stats in context of his age. 238. Luis Severino 239. Leonys Martin 240. Yasmany Tomas 241. Raul Mondesi 242. Ben Revere: Platoon risk, and speed ages poorly. 243. Garrett Richards 244. Sean Manaea: 11 percent whiff rate bodes well for future strikeout upside, but he's a bust risk. 245. Adrian Gonzalez: Missed the window to sell for meaningful return. 246. Albert Pujols: Missed the window to sell for meaningful return. 247. Elvis Andrus 248. Brett Lawrie 249. Jordan Zimmermann 250. Brett Phillips 251. J.T. Realmuto: All-around contributor brings unique skills to catcher position. 252. Matt Duffy: All-around contributor brings unique skills to third-base position. 253. Steven Souza Jr. 254. Hanley Ramirez 255. Evan Gattis 256. Gio Gonzalez 257. Aledmys Diaz 258. Chris Carter 259. Joe Panik 260. Travis Shaw: League average bat in a great park and a great lineup. 261. A.J. Ramos 262. Jose De Leon 263. Trevor Bauer 264. Lucas Duda 265. Jose Reyes 266. Kyle Hendricks 267. Steven Wright: I don't have the guts to pay for him yet. Haven't seen evidence that the knuckleball consistently yields a low BABIP. 268. Matt Wieters 269. Alex Cobb 270. Hyun Soo Kim: I think he'll be a big second half riser. 271. Jonathan Papelbon: I say he gets another contract to be a closer somewhere next year. 272. Bobby Bradley: Bump him up in OBP. 273. Nick Gordon 274. Kevin Newman: Injury slows what could have been a very brief Minor League career. Dude can hit. 275. Derek Fisher 276. Sam Dyson 277. Alex Colome 278. Michael Saunders: A sell high. 279. Yasmani Grandal: Bump him up in OBP. 280. Jose Ramirez 281. Melvin Upton Jr. 282. Eduardo Nunez 283. Harrison Bader 284. Kyle Tucker 285. Trent Clark 286. Cody Reed 287. Randal Grichuk: Rough year for Grichuk, no denying that. 288. Matt Moore: Has his best swinging-strike rate since 2012. 289. Jaime Garcia 290. Adam Conley 291. Yordano Ventura: Exhibit 10,000 in why I avoid holding young SP when not in contention. 292. Eduardo Rodriguez: Exhibit 10,001 in why I avoid holding young SP when not in contention. 293. Eugenio Suarez 294. Ryan McMahon 295. Alex Wood 296. Forrest Wall 297. Anthony DeSclafani 298. Zack Wheeler 299. Shelby Miller 300. Jerad Eickhoff 301. Hyun-Jin Ryu 302. Wei-Yin Chen 303. Adam Wainwright 304. Rick Porcello 305. Ryan Zimmerman 306. Curtis Granderson 307. Brad Miller 308. Justin Turner 309. Jhonny Peralta 310. Roman Quinn: Discount Mallex Smith. 311. Dalton Pompey 312. Josh Harrison 313. Denard Span 314. Justin Verlander 315. Chris Tillman 316. Patrick Corbin 317. Archie Bradley 318. Arodys Vizcaino: If the deadline passes and he's still on the Braves, move him up 100 spots. 319. Francisco Liriano: We've seen him look awful and bounce back to pitch like an SP2, but whiffs are way down (though still good). 320. Didi Gregorius: Emerging as a viable, cheap SS option; won't hurt you in any category in any format. 321. Kolten Wong: Platoon risk is there, but power-speed combo upside remains. 322. Daniel Norris 323. Josh Hader 324. Tyler Skaggs 325. Mike Clevinger 326. Dylan Cozens 327. Carlos Beltran: Little reason to think he can't be productive as DH for another year or two. 328. Rowdy Tellez 329. Trey Mancini 330. Billy Burns: If the playing time isn't there, his wheels don't matter. 331. Kendrys Morales 332. Santiago Casilla 333. Jacob Nottingham: Like many catching prospects, patience will be required. 334. Ken Giles: My second favorite closer spec. 335. Willie Calhoun 336. Cody Bellinger 337. Martin Prado 338. Junior Guerra: Lack of track record stops me from ranking him even higher. 339. Daniel Mengden: Elite in leagues that count mustaches. 340. Brandon McCarthy: Elite in leagues that count Twitter prowess. 341. Kevin Kiermaier 342. Kevin Pillar 343. Melky Cabrera 344. Brandon Moss 345. Jon Gray: Swinging strike rate of 11.8 percent is very impressive… unfortunately, there's Coors Field. 346. Chad Green: This is an awfully hot-takey ranking but he's had a dominant year at Triple-A. 347. Jason Hammel 348. Asdrubal Cabrera 349. Mike Napoli 350. Brandon Drury 351. Adam Lind 352. Alex Verdugo 353. Dominic Smith: Production looks meh, but it's all about context, folks. He just turned 21 and is doing fine at Double-A. 354. Brandon Finnegan 355. Seung Hwan Oh: "Final Boss" could be off this list in a year or up 200 spots. 356. Scott Kazmir 357. Jordan Patterson: Is he not better than Parra already? 358. Jorge Alfaro 359. Alcides Escobar: Wheels are slowing down along with his overall production. 360. Welington Castillo 361. Scooter Gennett 362. Derek Norris 363. Brent Honeywell 364. Harold Ramirez 365. Nick Tropeano 366. Hunter Strickland: Hasn't exactly locked down the "heir apparent" tag as I thought he would, but still should be considered the favorite to succeed Santiago Casilla. 367. Trevor Rosenthal: We haven't seen the last of Rosenthal the closer, in my opinion. 368. Will Harris: Will Astros stick with him when they have a flame-thrower that misses more bats behind him? 369. Steve Cishek: Another "bad fastball" closer that I'm skeptical of long term. 370. Jake McGee: Whiffs are way down, but track record is too good to count him out. 371. Jeremy Jeffress: Another trade candidate; could become just a guy as a contender's setup man. 372. Kelvin Herrera: Because Wade Davis has a strained right forearm. 373. Rajai Davis: Screams "sell high," but has there been a more underrated dynasty asset in the last decade? 374. Francisco Rodriguez 375. Marco Estrada 376. Aaron Blair 377. Russell Martin: I assume he was hurt this year. Fade in standard (batting average) leagues. 378. Zack Cozart 379. Alen Hanson 380. Nathan Eovaldi: May need a new park; homer problems are new to 2016. 381. Ian Kennedy 382. Michael Gettys 383. Dilson Herrera 384. Stephen Vogt 385. Joe Musgrove 386. Matt Wisler 387. Andrew Heaney 388. Renato Nunez 389. Byung Ho Park 390. Eloy Jimenez 391. Ryan Mountcastle: When a former first-round pick hits and plays short, you should take notice. 392. Brady Aiken: Finally made his debut, now we play the waiting game. 393. Jose Peraza 394. Howie Kendrick 395. Joe Mauer 396. Albert Almora 397. Luis Ortiz 398. Chase Headley 399. Jed Lowrie 400. Amir Garrett 401. Hisashi Iwakuma 402. Braden Shipley 403. Chris Owings 404. Mauricio Cabrera: Because he throws baseballs really hard, and Arodys Vizcaino is a giant trade risk. 405. Reynaldo Lopez 406. Colby Rasmus 407. Domingo Santana 408. Chris Paddack: Video game numbers with Marlins organization. 409. Jake Bauers 410. Francisco Mejia: Catcher, patience, etc. You get it. 411. Nathan Karns 412. Josh Naylor 413. Mike Leake 414. Yohander Mendez: That changeup, though. 415. Yadier Alvarez 416. Francis Martes 417. Ryan Madson: Enjoy the ride while it lasts; not getting enough whiffs to stick around, in my opinion. 418. Alex Jackson: Can be had for nothing; people act like he already is a 100 percent bust. 419. Daniel Robertson: Boring profile, but he could be a regular in short order. 420. Brad Boxberger: Could quickly become relevant again with an Alex Colome trade. 421. Danny Espinosa 422. Yan Gomes 423. Collin McHugh 424. Grant Holmes 425. Jeff Hoffman 426. Jeimer Candelario 427. Huston Street 428. Jake Thompson 429. Sean Newcomb 430. Oswaldo Arcia 431. Gavin Cecchini 432. J.A. Happ 433. Mark Zagunis 434. Jeanmar Gomez: Relievers with his profile do not remain closers. 435. Aaron Hill 436. Chad Kuhl: I'm a sucker for anyone that might get to make home starts in PNC Park. 437. Trevor Plouffe 438. Daz Cameron 439. Mike Fiers 440. Josh Tomlin 441. Zach Davies 442. Dillon Tate 443. Rymer Liriano 444. Andrew Cashner 445. Arismendy Alcantara 446. Mitch Moreland 447. Kyle Gibson 448. Lonnie Chisenhall 449. Jayson Werth 450. Carter Capps 451. Francisco Cervelli 452. Adam Ottavino: The reason Jake McGee isn't ranked more highly. 453. Greg Holland: Former closers tend to get future save opportunities. 454. Lance Lynn 455. Miguel Andujar: Breakout prospect has not earned much fanfare, but he looks to be Yanks' third baseman of the future. 456. Lucius Fox 457. Hunter Harvey 458. Nick Plummer 459. Cornelius Randolph 460. Anthony Alford 461. Luis Urias: Younger than Robles; elite bat-to-ball skills. Keep an eye on him. 462. Austin Riley: Again, numbers looked only so-so, but context is key. 463. Sean Reid-Foley 464. Jorge Polanco 465. Ender Inciarte 466. Nick Markakis 467. Kolby Allard 468. Brandon Guyer 469. Ke'Bryan Hayes: Gets a bump due to Ke'wl first name and because I saw his dad catch the last out of '96 World Series. 470. Tyler Naquin 471. Jacoby Jones: Power and speed, but can he hit? 472. Yusniel Diaz 473. Jamie Westbrook: League average hitter so far, but did so as a not-yet-21-year-old. 474. Matt Andriese 475. Pablo Sandoval 476. Gerardo Parra 477. John Lamb 478. Pedro Alvarez 479. Jimmy Nelson 480. Josh Ockimey 481. David Freese 482. Brandon Phillips 483.Yunel Escobar 484. Andre Ethier 485. Delino DeShields 486. Jose Iglesias 487. Dae-Ho Lee 488. Tony Zych: Another closer spec. 489. Chase Vallot 490. Seth Smith 491. Robbie Grossman: Not buying it, but let's keep watching. 492. Luis Valbuena 493. Hector Neris 494. Desmond Jennings 495. Shawn Kelley: If Nats don't swing a trade, he's been good and Papelbon is a free agent. 496. Kyle Barraclough: I've only seen him referred to as BearClaw in trade talks. 497. Brandon Nimmo 498. Javier Guerra 499. Domingo Acevedo: Gas! Future closer? 500. Steven Brault: I'm a sucker for anyone that might get to make home starts in PNC Park.