2023 FYPD Rankings for Dynasty Baseball

Chris Clegg's Top-125 FYPD Rankings

Hopefully, you checked out my FYPD Primer yesterday to show you how to navigate your draft and the traits and tendencies to look for in these players. Writing that article even helped me think about how to approach drafts. The rankings are great, but they aren’t perfect. Every pick has a strategy, depending on how your team is set up for contention or rebuilding.

If you are a contender, you may consider bumping Kodai Senga up to the number one spot. It just makes sense knowing you will get plenty of production from him in 2023. But I talked about all this in the Primer I linked above. You came here for rankings, so let’s do this!

Chris Clegg’s Top-125 FYPD Rankings

1. Druw Jones, OF, ARI

Druw Jones is the clear-cut top prospect in this year’s draft with a case to be a true five-category player. The son of former All-Star Andrew Jones has a chance to be even better than his father. He already shows strong bat-to-ball skills with elite bat speed. His frame has a ton of projection left, and even if he does not fill out his upper half, he could resemble Fernando Tatis Jr. from a body standpoint. Jones could wind up being plus across the board. If you have the first pick in an FYPD, don’t think about it; just take Jones.

2. Jackson Holliday, SS, BAL

After the first pick, there will be plenty of debate about who to take number two, so I would rather have the fourth pick and take whoever falls. Jackson Holliday made an impressive rise during his senior season when he added power to his game. Holliday, the son of Matt Holliday, is incredibly athletic with excellent bat-to-ball skills. His frame and swing suggest that he could get to above-average game power. Tack on a plus feel to hit and plus speed and you have a well rounded fantasy asset. Take Holliday if you are looking for a safer option with the second pick in an FYPD.

3. Elijah Green, OF, WSH

Elijah Green possesses the loudest tools in the 2022 MLB Draft class. Green brings massive raw power to the table and is an elite athlete shown by his blazing sprint speeds. If you like shooting for upside-only, Green is your guy. There is a legitimate 30/30 upside here, but the swing-and-miss concerns also leave plenty of downside. If you are concerned about Green losing speed as his body ages, I would not be as he is already 6’3”/225. He is a premium athlete who will likely stick in center field. Green could be the number-one prospect for fantasy baseball if it all clicks.

4. Termarr Johnson, 2B, PIT

Termarr Johnson feels like he is being a bit underrated, and if that is the case, I will be more than happy to draft him in my FYPDs. There are concerns that Johnson is already maxed out at 5’8”/175 and has minimal projection left. Some have expressed concerns about how much power he can get. But I don’t share those concerns. Johnson’s debut was impressive with the Pirates, and the second baseman possesses strong contact skills and has quick hands through the zone. He may profile as more of a 20-25 HR bat, but that will play when you factor in the kind of contact Johnson should make.

5. Kodai Senga, P, NYM

Kodai Senga is the toughest player to rank in this year’s FYPD. You get instant impact from a player who signed a 5-year/$75 million deal with the New York Mets. Senga featured a strong arsenal in the NPB but also has some issues with walks. His fastball gets in the upper 90s, and he features a nasty ghost forkball, a slider, a curve, and a cutter. There is also a question of how many innings he will throw. Since 2017, he has only pitched more than 148 innings once. The good thing is, you don’t need him to be elite if you are a contender. If Senga is a serviceable mid-rotation starter in 2023, you got your money’s worth.

Travis Eldridge @tgeldrid

#MLB fans... remember the name Kodai Senga. He may be one of the next pitchers to make the move from Japan to the US over the next couple of years. He struck out 14 today in 8 innings for @HAWKS_official. (via @ForTheFansHQ)

6. Cam Collier, 3B, CIN

Cam Collier will have the broadest range of picks of any player in the first round this year. Collier is a bit polarizing for some, but he was one of the youngest players in the draft class and has already played JuCo and was the youngest ever in the Cape Cod League. Collier reclassified and went to JuCo a year early to qualify for the 2022 draft. He had a 15% whiff rate at 17 years old, where the league average was 29%. He posted a 90% zone contact rate. He makes excellent swing decisions, shown by a 74% zone swing rate versus a 24% O-Swing. From a power standpoint, Collier topped out at a 107.2 mph exit velocity with a wood bat which would have been at the peak of the prep class. Cam Collier is legit and should be treated as such in drafts.

7. Brooks Lee, SS, MIN

It is splitting hairs when discussing Brooks Lee and Cam Collier, in my opinion. Two different profiles, but you cannot go wrong with either. Lee is a switch hitter with a smooth swing from both sides of the plate. He has elite contact skills, displayed in his debut this year as he posted an 88 percent zone-contact rate and a 79 percent overall contact rate. Lee will likely move over to third base, which may have you questioning will his power play that spot? I’m not sure we have seen the best from Lee regarding his power. He is a potential .300 hitter with 20 home run power. It does not get safer in this years FYPD than Brooks Lee.

8. Gavin Cross, OF, KC

Gavin Cross enjoyed a 2021 breakout at Virginia Tech, which landed him on many people’s radars, including the Royals, who drafted him ninth overall in 2022. Cross gets to his power by getting out in front of pitches, and there is plus power in his profile. Cross began to focus on making more contact this year at VT but did not sacrifice his power in the process. Cross hit eight home runs and stole four bags in his pro debut in 135 plate appearances. The advanced data backed up the power, and Cross posted a 104 mph 90th percentile exit velocity and a 90 mph average exit velocity. Cross is a sneaky good pick who could be above-average to plus across the board.

9. Chase DeLauter, OF, CLE

Chase DeLauter is probably the second most divisive first-rounder after Cam Collier. Some have expressed concerns about DeLauter playing at a small school like James Madison. Others had concerns about Colton Cowser and Sam Houston State, but that has worked fine. DeLauter has an impressive frame at 6’4/235 and a strong swing from the left side. He displayed good plate discipline and walked more than he struck out in his college career. DeLauter has shown the ability to get consistent power and also has good speed. Injuries limited his college career, as he only received 323 career plate appearances over three seasons. But across those 323 collegiate plate appearances, he slashed .402/.520/.715 with 15 home runs and 24 stolen bases. Writing this made me want to push DeLauter even higher in the rankings!

10. Spencer Jones, OF, NYY

Spencer Jones is a physical specimen built like Aaron Judge and Oneil Cruz. His pro debut quieted any concerns that Jones had coming into the draft. The Vanderbilt product slashed .344/.425/.538 with four home runs and 12 stolen bases. He posted an 18.8 percent strikeout rate and a 10.4 percent walk rate. Jones scorched baseballs to the tune of a 106.8 mph 90th percentile exit velocity and paired it with a respectable 81.8 percent zone-contact rate. Jones has the intangebles you want to see in a hitter of his stature, but he will need to work on lifting the ball more consistently to truly tap into his 70 grade raw power.

Thank you for reading the writeups on the top 10 in this year’s FYPD. If you want to see the rest of the list and get a Fantrax Upload sheet for your drafts, click the subscribe button below.