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Fantasy baseball dynasty rankings: Top 300 players for 2023 and beyond

The 2023 fantasy baseball season is rapidly approaching, and if you're looking for a particularly enticing challenge in the new year, consider a dynasty league! This format more closely mirrors the on-field game, with long-term roster building, future projecting and management of player contracts. Dynasty leagues come in all shapes and sizes, but they can be a lot of fun for die-hard fantasy baseball players.

How, though, does a fantasy manager begin, or if in one already, sustain success, in a dynasty league?

That's where this annual staple among my columns comes into play. In this space, I rank players for the next five-plus seasons, serving as an effective price guide for those seeking to improve rosters during the offseason or planning to start a dynasty league from scratch beginning in 2023.

The rankings formula

The Dynasty 300 uses the following player valuation formula:

  • 2023 performance: 20%.

  • 2024 performance: 20%.

  • 2025 performance: 20%.

  • 2026 performance: 20%.

  • 2027 performance and beyond: 20%.

The rationale behind these weights is to provide a long-term projection of player values, in order to help fantasy managers in dynasty/keeper leagues who are drafting fresh, weighing trades or making keeper decisions. For those in re-draft/single-year leagues, my points-league rankings for 2023 alone can be found here. This page, however, is for fantasy managers who need to forecast deep into the future.

Several factors can influence these values. Here are some of the other things to consider:

  • Your league's format itself: Is your dynasty league a traditional roto or points-based league? Does it use ESPN's standard settings, or more traditional or even deeper roster settings? These rankings take a more points-based lean, to mirror our standard game, but since they project over a long range, they do bring into consideration player values over a broader set of formats.

  • Number of keepers: How many players can you keep each year, and must every team keep the same number?

  • Player pricing: Is your league a draft or salary-cap format, and do you price players by draft round or for a dollar amount -- or is price not part of the keeper equation?

  • Contract factors: Are there limits on the number of years you can keep a player and/or are there guaranteed contracts, and is there price inflation?

  • Farm teams: Does your league include minor league/farm-team slots and how are these players factored into the keeper system?

  • Team competitiveness: Are you a contender, rebuilder or something in between?

Dynasty 300