2019 Fantasy Baseball Draft Prep: Dynasty league rankings, a top 100

When you think of dynasty leagues, you think of prospects. That's pretty much why they exist, right? I like to think some prospect hound somewhere realized it was a quick way to gain an advantage over his less studied opponents, and voila, the dynasty league was born.

Safe to say his advantage has narrowed in recent years. Prospect evaluation is now standard practice among Fantasy analysts. Why, I've spent the better part of the offseason breaking down the best at each position for SportsLine.com - check the related links box to the right for more. 

But to build an actual dynasty, which is the stated goal in a dynasty league, you have to win, like, all the time. And the only way to do that is to balance your present with your future.

Which is a less-than-straightforward task, to say the least. It's something even real-world GMs struggle with, if the prevalence of full-scale strip-down rebuilds is any indication. Prospect rankings leave out half the equation. Traditional redraft rankings leave out half the equation. You want the full equation, darn it.

So here it is, my top 100 players for dynasty leagues based on three factors: 

1. Immediate value: What a player is expected to be in 2019
   
2. Long-term value: What his peak looks like and how much peak he has left
   
3. Confidence rating: How confident I am in him meeting his immediate and long-term value
   

Each factor is measured by a 1-to-5 score, with five being the best. These rankings are primarily the result of adding those three scores. Ties typically go to the younger player, but personal preference plays a role as well. The distinctions become less evident further down the list, so at some point subjectivity has to reign.

As a general rule, though, I'm shooting for upside and longevity. You can't expect to win all the time unless you have the best players for a long time, so yes, these rankings reflect my willingness to wait a little for the bigger impact.

So in the end, it is all about the prospects. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Top 100 for dynasty leagues

Rank	Player	Age (as of opening day)	Immediate value	Long-term value	Confidence rating
1	Mike Trout LAA CF	27	5	5	5
2	Mookie Betts BOS RF	26	5	5	5
3	Jose Ramirez CLE 3B	26	5	5	5
4	Francisco Lindor CLE SS	25	5	5	5
5	Nolan Arenado COL 3B	27	5	5	5
6	Alex Bregman HOU 3B	24	5	5	5
7	Bryce Harper WAS RF	26	5	5	5
8	Manny Machado LAD SS	26	5	5	5
9	Trea Turner WAS SS	25	5	5	4
10	Jose Altuve HOU 2B	28	5	4	5
11	Chris Sale BOS SP	29	5	4	5
12	Ronald Acuna ATL OF	21	4	5	4
13	Juan Soto WAS LF	20	4	5	4
14	Aaron Judge NYY RF	26	5	5	3
15	Christian Yelich MIL LF	27	5	5	3
16	Blake Snell TB SP	26	5	5	3
17	Aaron Nola PHI SP	25	5	5	3
18	Vladimir Guerrero TOR 3B	20	4	5	4
19	Carlos Correa HOU SS	24	4	5	4
20	Jacob deGrom NYM SP	30	5	4	4
21	J.D. Martinez BOS RF	31	5	3	5
22	Paul Goldschmidt STL 1B	31	5	3	5
23	Andrew Benintendi BOS CF	24	4	4	5
24	Freddie Freeman ATL 1B	29	4	4	5
25	Giancarlo Stanton NYY RF	29	4	4	5
26	Anthony Rizzo CHC 1B	29	4	4	5
27	Anthony Rendon WAS 3B	28	4	4	5
28	Trevor Story COL SS	26	5	5	2
29	Noah Syndergaard NYM SP	26	4	5	3
30	Luis Severino NYY SP	25	4	5	3
31	Gerrit Cole HOU SP	28	5	4	3
32	Trevor Bauer CLE SP	28	5	4	3
33	Kris Bryant CHC 3B	27	5	4	3
34	Corey Seager LAD SS	24	4	4	4
35	Rhys Hoskins PHI 1B	26	4	4	4
36	Walker Buehler LAD SP	24	4	5	3
37	Cody Bellinger LAD 1B	23	4	5	3
38	Shohei Ohtani LAA SP	24	3	5	4
39	Eloy Jimenez CHW RF	22	3	5	4
40	Javier Baez CHC 2B	26	4	4	3
41	Xander Bogaerts BOS SS	26	4	4	3
42	Max Scherzer WAS SP	34	5	1	5
43	Corey Kluber CLE SP	32	5	2	4
44	Charlie Blackmon COL LF	32	5	2	4
45	Clayton Kershaw LAD SP	31	4	3	4
46	George Springer HOU RF	29	4	3	4
47	J.T. Realmuto MIA C	28	4	3	4
48	Gary Sanchez NYY C	26	4	4	3
49	Edwin Diaz NYM RP	25	4	4	3
50	Ozzie Albies ATL 2B	22	4	4	3
51	Gleyber Torres NYY SS	22	3	5	3
52	Patrick Corbin WAS SP	29	4	3	3
53	Victor Robles WAS CF	21	2	5	3
54	Fernando Tatis SD SS	20	1	5	4
55	Jack Flaherty STL RP	23	3	4	3
56	Carlos Carrasco CLE SP	32	4	2	4
57	Justin Verlander HOU SP	36	5	1	4
58	James Paxton NYY SP	30	4	3	3
59	Stephen Strasburg WAS SP	30	4	3	3
60	Khris Davis OAK LF	31	4	2	4
61	Whit Merrifield KC LF	30	4	3	3
62	Starling Marte PIT CF	30	4	2	4
63	Carlos Martinez STL SP	27	4	4	2
64	Willson Contreras CHC C	26	3	4	3
65	Adalberto Mondesi KC SS	23	4	5	1
66	German Marquez COL SP	24	4	5	1
67	Zack Greinke ARI SP	35	4	1	5
68	Madison Bumgarner SF SP	29	4	3	3
69	Eugenio Suarez CIN 3B	27	4	4	2
70	Scooter Gennett CIN 2B	28	4	3	3
71	Rafael Devers BOS 3B	22	2	5	3
72	Jose Berrios MIN SP	24	3	4	3
73	Jameson Taillon PIT SP	27	3	4	3
74	Jurickson Profar TEX SS	26	3	4	3
75	Gregory Polanco PIT RF	27	3	4	3
76	Matt Chapman OAK 3B	25	3	4	3
77	Nick Senzel CIN 2B	23	1	5	4
78	Kyle Tucker HOU RF	22	2	5	3
79	Craig Kimbrel BOS RP	30	4	3	3
80	Chris Archer PIT SP	30	4	3	3
81	Michael Conforto NYM LF	26	3	4	3
82	Mitch Haniger SEA CF	28	3	3	4
83	Wil Myers SD RF	28	3	4	3
84	Jose Abreu CHW 1B	32	4	2	4
85	Mike Clevinger CLE SP	28	4	3	2
86	Forrest Whitley HOU SP	21	1	5	3
87	Alex Reyes STL SP	24	2	5	2
88	Joey Gallo TEX 3B	25	3	4	2
89	Nicholas Castellanos DET RF	27	3	3	3
90	Eddie Rosario MIN LF	27	3	3	3
91	Miguel Andujar NYY 3B	24	3	3	3
92	David Dahl COL CF	24	2	4	3
93	Luis Castillo CIN SP	26	3	4	2
94	Matt Carpenter STL 3B	33	4	2	3
95	Joey Votto CIN 1B	35	4	1	4
96	Jean Segura PHI SS	29	3	3	3
97	Aroldis Chapman NYY RP	31	4	2	3
98	Blake Treinen OAK RP	30	4	3	2
99	Roberto Osuna HOU RP	24	3	4	2
100	Miles Mikolas STL SP	30	3	3	3