Eric Cross' Top 100 Dynasty Rankings for Fantasy Baseball (October 2024)

October 14, 2024

Eric Cross' updated top 100 dynasty rankings for fantasy baseball (October 2024 update). These are the top MLB players to target in fantasy dynasty leagues for 2024 and beyond.

Another fantasy baseball season has come and gone, but in dynasty, when one season ends the next one begins. Rankings don't reset, they simply continue on.

We saw plenty of notable performances down the stretch in 2024, both good and bad which created plenty of movement in my final Top 500 dynasty rankings update of the season. Even within the Top-100, we saw several newcomers in my final 2024 update.

Below, you'll find my Top 100 Dynasty Rankings from my end-of-season update, with notes on some key movers over the final several weeks of the season. Check out my Patreon for my full Top 500 Dynasty Rankings.

What Factors Into My Rankings

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

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

Dynasty Rankings Notes

Michael Harris II (OF - ATL)

Overall, it was a down season for Michael Harris. After two straight seasons hitting above .290 and coming so close to joining the 20/20 club, Harris slashed .264/.304/.418 with 16 home runs and 10 steals while being limited to 110 games due to a hamstring injury. F

Fortunately for anyone rostering Harris, he finished the season on a high note, slashing .304/.329/.548 over his last 31 games with 14 extra-base hits, nine home runs, and 23 runs scored. Harris is one of my favorite dynasty buys this offseason as the overall line doesn't reflect how good he actually was.

Once again Harris posted above-average quality of contact metrics with a 10% barrel rate, 90.5 mph AVG EV, and 47% hard-hit rate. On top of that, Harris' zone and overall contact metrics were nearly identical to 2023. I'm expecting a nice bounce-back season from Harris in 2025 and a return to universal Top-25 status in dynasty leagues.

Lawrence Butler (OF - ATH)

If I were to hand out an award for the biggest dynasty riser of the 2024 season, Lawrence Butler would likely be wearing that crown. From a talented but unproven prospect to flirting with the Top-50 overall in my rankings, it was one heck of a season. Actually, it was more like half a season as Butler didn't hit the NOS button until July.

After slashing .179/.260/.279 in 150 plate appearances through the end of June, Butler slashed .302/.346/.597 with 18 doubles, 20 home runs,  and 14 steals in his final 73 games of the season. As you can see by my ranking of him at #54, I'm a believer in Butler's breakout.

Butler had impressive quality of contact metrics with an 11% barrel rate, 91.1 mph AVG EV, and 47.4% hard-hit rate while also posting zone and overall contact rates close to league average and improving his walk and strikeout rates. Butler will also be playing his "home" games in a more hitter-friendly environment in Sacramento next season which adds excitement to this already exciting profile.

As long as he doesn't have any major regression, a 30/20 season is definitely in play for Butler for next season. If that happens, welcome to the top 50 overall Mr. Butler.

Logan Gilbert (SP - SEA)

When it came to Logan Gilbert, I always had a hard time pushing him too highly in my rankings as his strikeout rate was lower than you'd like to see from an elite fantasy arm. That changed in the second half of the season though and is the main reason why he's now my SP4 and inside my Top 40 overall.

After having a solid but not elite 24.1% strikeout rate through his first 19 starts of the season, Gilbert recorded an exceptional 32.2% strikeout rate over his final 14 starts of the season while also improving his SwStr rate by 2%.

In his final 14 starts, 71% of those outings ended with at least seven strikeouts while only 41% of his first 19 starts finished that way. Gilbert threw more curveballs as the season progressed which was a driving force behind the uptick in strikeouts.

If Gilbert can maintain the higher strikeout rate along with good ratios and the higher volume he's been consistently providing, there should be no reason why he can't be a Top-5 starting pitcher moving forward or at least close to it.

Spencer Schwellenbach (SP - ATL)

Originally when looking at this most recent rankings update, I didn't think Spencer Schwellenbach would crack my Top-100. But after looking at just starting pitchers, he kept creeping higher and higher.

In 21 starts with the Braves this season, Schwellenbach had an impressive 3.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 4.6% walk rate, and a 25.4% strikeout rate. Among rookies, Schwellenbach finished 6th in ERA, 4th in WHIP, 2nd in walk rate, 7th in strikeout rate, and 4th in K-BB rate.

Schwellenbach was even better over his final 15 starts of the season with a 2.54 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 22.4% K-BB rate. Overall, there's a lot to like in the profile with a lower walk rate, deep arsenal, and better than league-average marks in strikeout rate, SwStr rate, whiff rate, and chase rate. Maybe this is pushing him a bit too high, but this is a profile I want to invest in moving forward in dynasty leagues.

Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell (BOS)

You'll see two new prospect additions to the Top-100 dynasty rankings this month with Boston's Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell. In my end-of-season prospect rankings, both were inside my Top-5 overall and both are loudly knocking on the door to the major leagues. Given their top prospect status, offensive upside, and proximity to the majors, both of them needed to be included in this month's Top-100.

Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Rankings

Updated: October 2024 | The full Top 500, along with additional rankings, analysis, and more, check out Eric's Toolshed Fantasy Patreon.

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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