Rules:
This is fantasy value over real-life value
Hitters are weighted a bit heavier than pitchers, given the added injury risk
Proximity matters, but this is a dynasty-length view
All notes current as of Sunday, August 16, 2026.
76. OF Charles Davalan (Dodgers) - A+
Previous Rank: 130 ETA: Late 2027, sooner if traded Comp: A Daulton Varsho w/ a better hit tool
Prime Skills: Davalan added real exit velocity this offseason on the back of a genuine mechanical change, ditching a leg kick for a toe tap, and the results back it up, a max exit velocity of 111 this year, well above what a 5-9 hit-first college bat usually shows even with plus bat speed. That’s exactly the kind of helium runs him drastically up my rankings. His angle profile has improved exponentially from an already-solid small-sample debut, a ground-ball rate falling from 53% to 33% this year, and he’s collected an insane 52 extra-base hits in 102 games while still drawing more walks than strikeouts, a rare combination for a hitter adding this much power this fast. Profile-wise, this is basically a better version even than what Mike Sirota did a year or so ago as he jumped up rankings as a second round Dodgers prospect (yes, I know the Reds picked Sirota).
Hitter Tool Grades:
• Hit: 55/60
• Plate Approach: 55/65
• Power: 45/55
• Speed: 60/55
Ranking Explanation: Davalan’s Top 100 placement lines up with what his fScores has shown all year, a genuine mechanical fix producing sustained gains rather than a hot month. He’ll get blocked by an absurd number of Dodgers outfield prospects, five separate names from this same system show up on this Top 150 alone, and I’d bet real money a few of them get traded before this logjam resolves organically, which is the only thing keeping his ranking from climbing further right now. I’m less of a size-ist than many in the industry (as I love Drew Burress), but there’s no arguing size can cap ultimate raw power upside.
77. OF Devin Taylor (Athletics) - AA
Previous Rank: 74 ETA: Early 2027 Comp: Luis Gonzalez mechanics in a light Riley Greene profile
Prime Skills: Taylor was an early second-rounder out of Indiana, and I thought he should have gone earlier given a plus plate approach and real tools for a strong, athletic lefty college bat. The setup itself is a crouched stance into a leg kick to access his power, and it’s not the quickest load, which produces real thump but leaves some real contactability risk on the table if the timing ever gets rushed. He’s been old-friend-of-mine level productive this year, 44 extra-base hits across 117 games between High-A and Double-A, a real power jump after the promotion specifically, 27 extra-base hits and 14 homers in just 60 Double-A games with a .325/.397/.548 line and a 142 wRC+. The swing-and-miss climbed right alongside the promotion too, a 28.2% strikeout rate at the new level, exactly the kind of real trade-off you’d expect as the pitching gets tougher, and the profile would still benefit from more in-zone aggression rather than a passive, take-heavy approach at times.
Hitter Tool Grades:
• Hit: 40/50
• Plate Approach: 50/65
• Power: 50/60
• Speed: 45/50
Ranking Explanation: Taylor was a sneaky pick for an organization I trust in player development, and the Double-A jump in power specifically is the real signal, not just more time in the box. He rates behind the more established college bats in this tier purely because the swing-and-miss rate climbed at the same time, worth seeing him hold this new level for a fuller sample before ranking him any higher.
78. OF Josiah Ragsdale (Cardinals) - AA
Previous Rank: null ETA: Mid 2027 Comp: Lefty Mookie Betts light with trouble against lefties
Prime Skills: Ragsdale’s early knock was that he lacked thump and might profile as a fourth outfielder, and that read has aged badly, he went deep 10 times in a 13-game span this summer and is now running a .316/.441/.581 line with 21 homers and 31 steals on the year. He was part of the return the Cardinals sent to Milwaukee for Dustin May and JoJo Romero at the deadline, packaged alongside Alexander Frias, real evidence of how much helium has built up on this specific power surge. The toe-tap-to-hip-load mechanism is the same trigger that lets a Betts-style hitter stay on the backside a beat longer than a rotational swing would allow, which is exactly why the sudden power hasn’t come at the cost of the plate discipline that made him a prospect in the first place, a 20% chase rate that’s stayed low through the entire helium run. The real hole in the profile, and it’s a significant one: he’s whiffing at a 36% clip against left-handed pitching with roughly a 250-point OPS gap between his numbers against lefties and righties, a genuine, specific weakness rather than a generic small-sample platoon note, and it’s exactly the kind of split that gets hunted relentlessly by advance scouts the moment a player reaches the upper levels. Right now he looks like a very good strong-side platoon centerfielder.
Hitter Tool Grades:
• Hit: 45/55
• Plate Approach: 50/60
• Power: 45/55
• Speed: 70/70
Ranking Explanation: The power breakout is exactly the kind of swing-decision-preserving surge that tends to be sustainable rather than a hot streak, and getting dealt as a headline piece in a trade for a big league starter tells you how the industry now views the ceiling here. He rates in the middle of this tier purely on being a bit further from the majors than some of the more MLB-ready names around him.
79. OF Lazaro Montes (Mariners) - AAA
Previous Rank: 51 ETA: Early 2027 Comp: Oneil Cruz without the speed
Prime Skills: Montes just forced a Triple-A promotion, and the underlying Statcast profile at the new level is exactly why: a 93.6 mph average exit velocity, a 112.1 max, a 14.0% barrel rate and a 53.8% hard-hit rate in his first look above Double-A. He’s already up to 59 extra-base hits across 114 games this year between the two levels, 37 of them at Double-A Arkansas alone where he ran a 144 wRC+, and the power output has only accelerated since the bump, 22 extra-base hits in just 35 Triple-A games with a .278/.356/.569 line. The swing-and-miss problem hasn’t gone anywhere, a 31.9% strikeout rate at the new level, real evidence the hit tool still lags badly behind the exit velocity data. He does at least know how to take a walk despite the high strikeout rate, which keeps this from being a pure all-or-nothing profile, and he’s still young for Triple-A, real time left to close the gap on plate approach before the swing-and-miss becomes a fixed limitation rather than a developing one.
Hitter Tool Grades:
• Hit: 30/40
• Plate Approach: 40/50
• Power: 65/70
• Speed: 35/30
Ranking Explanation: Montes is a genuine high-risk power profile, 40-homer upside in the majors at his peak, but also a real chance he hits .220-.240 the way Eugenio Suarez did early in his own career, since he doesn’t have Cruz’s speed to bail out the batting average the way Cruz’s legs do. The Triple-A promotion moves him up this specific tier regardless of the strikeout rate, proximity to the majors matters this deep into a season, and a lefty Suarez or a Max Muncy type in the outfield is probably the more statistically honest comp than the more explosive Baby Yordan framing some reach for. Ragsdale gets the edge as they are both righty mashers, but Ragsdale has a better hit tool and will generate steals for fantasy.