Top 200 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Rankings - Eric Cross' January 2026 Update

January 30, 2026

Eric Cross' updated top 200 dynasty fantasy baseball rankings, updated for January 2026. His top MLB players to target in dynasty leagues for 2026 and beyond.

Baseball season is nearly here. Pitchers and catchers report in under two weeks, fantasy baseball drafts are ramping up, and baseball excitement is buzzing.

But for those of us who play in dynasty leagues, the baseball season never fully ends, as there are always trades to be made and offseason drafts to complete.

Below, you'll find my top 200 Dynasty Rankings for January 2026, with notes on notable risers or fallers in my January update. Check out my Patreon for my full top 500 Dynasty Rankings, plus plenty of additional content.

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What Factors Into My Dynasty Rankings

Many elements go into dynasty rankings, but I primarily weigh the following:

• Current/Recent Performance
• Expected future short-term performance (Next 2-3 years)
• Expected future long-term performance
• Profile/metrics analysis
• Durability
• Team Context (it matters a little bit)

Top 200 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Rankings

Updated: January 2026. For the full Top 500, along with additional rankings, analysis, and more, check out Eric's Toolshed Fantasy Patreon.

Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Rankings Notes

Maikel Garcia (3B - KCR)

I wanted to start the notes section of this article by discussing Maikel Garcia, whom I just traded for in one of my dynasty leagues. Needless to say, I'm a firm believer in his 2025 breakout and think he could be even better in 2026.

In 160 games for the Royals last season, Garcia slashed .286/.351/.449 with 39 doubles, 16 home runs, 23 steals, 74 RBI, and 81 runs scored. He set new career-best marks in several areas, with the 16 home runs being the most notable after combining for 11 home runs in 280 games in 2023 and 2024.

Garcia's quality of contact metrics was already good entering 2025, but he increased his AVG EV and hard-hit rate to 91.3 mph and 45.1%, respectively, while also having a career-best 5.6% barrel rate. Sure, that barrel rate still isn't great, but Garcia's batted ball angles taking a step forward in 2025 were crucial to his breakout. He improved his air rate by 4.6%, his pull rate by 5.6%, and his pull air rate by 5.4%.

Garcia was able to make these improvements while maintaining his elite contact rates and even improving his approach. The walk and strikeout rates improved to career-best 9.3% and 12.6% marks, and Garcia recorded an elite 90.6% zone contact rate, 85% overall contact rate, and 20.8% chase rate. Oh yeah, Kansas City is moving the fences in, too. Don't be shocked if Garcia joins the 20/30 club in 2026.

Ben Rice (C/1B - NYY)

Getting tired of the Ben Rice hype train yet? Well, too damn bad! I'm going to keep the pedal to the metal on this until Rice either proves me right or makes me look like a fool.

In 2026, Rice is slated to take over as the Yankees' everyday first baseman. While he might lose that glorious catcher eligibility, this is a good move for his long-term value in my eyes, as he should receive more playing time and won't have to deal with the stress of catching much throughout the season.

By now, most of you reading this have seen or heard the reasoning behind the Rice hype either in social media posts, articles, podcasts, or videos. To put it simply, the metrics are good to elite basically across the board offensively. Rice finished in the top 10% of hitters in xBA, xSLG, xwOBA, AVG EV, barrel rate, hard-hit rate, sweet-spot rate, and chase rate last season while also having better than league average marks in contact, zone contact, walk, and strikeout rates.

As a left-handed hitter in Yankee Stadium with this level of contact, approach, and power, Rice could truly put himself in elite rankings territory by the end of 2026.

Michael Busch (1B - CHC)

Seeing how his ADP is still outside the top 100 overall for 2026 redraft leagues, it appears that Michael Busch is still undervalued, even after a breakout 2025 season. In 592 plate appearances, Busch racked up a career-best 78 runs, 34 home runs, and 90 RBI with a .261/.343/.523 slash line. The AVG, OBP, and SLG were also career-best marks for the 28-year-old Busch.

The breakout happened due to solid improvements in many offensive metrics last season. Busch pushed his quality of contact metrics to new heights with a 17.1% barrel rate, 92.2 mph AVG EV, and 47.3% hard-hit rate, along with a .548 xSLG and .461 xwOBACON. But it was even more impressive to see Busch making these power gains while also trimming his strikeout rate from 28.6% to 23.5% and improving his zone and overall contact rates by 4.2% and 3.3%, respectively.

If all the improvements stick in 2026 and beyond, Busch should also stick as a top-10 option at this first base position. I've always been a Busch believer, and that's certainly still the case now.

Brett Baty (2B/3B - NYM)

With the Mets continuing to add hitters left and right, I'm not entirely sure what Brett Baty's role will be in 2026. But it does sound like he's still going to play regularly or close to it between second base, third base, designated hitter, and maybe even some outfield.

Baty finally started showing some consistent production last season after the All-Star break, slashing .291/.353/.477 in 190 plate appearances with nine home runs and four steals. For the season, he finished just two home runs and two stolen bases shy of a 20/10 season while increasing his quality of contact metrics exponentially across the board.

The QoC boost was a massive boost for Baty last season. After having a 5.4% barrel rate, 86.6 mph AVG EV, and 33% hard-hit rate in 2024, he pushed those up to 12.8%, 90.7 mph, and 46.9%, respectively. He also dropped his chase rate by 7% from 31.8% to 24.8%. Sure, there are still some concerns here and below-average contact rates, but the upside for a .250/25/10 season is there for Baty in 2026 if he receives enough playing time.

If you enjoyed these rankings and want to see the full Top 500, along with additional rankings, analysis, and more, check out Eric's Toolshed Fantasy Patreon.

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