Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' into the future, doesn't it? It seems like just yesterday we were arguing about which of Charlie Condon and Jac Caglianone would make it to the major leagues fastest...

...turns out Cam Smith was the right answer. Who knew!

Either way, our Dynasty Team is well represented in its first edition (v1.0) of the 2025 First-Year Player Draft Rankings; while Drew Wheeler typically leads the charge early in (before?) the draft season, eventually he is joined by a host of other teammates to compile the master list later in the season. For the 2025 campaign, Drew's got help lifting the beast from the onset, as both Dynasty Lead Greg Hoogkamp and the Prospect Professor Lucas Morel join him in compiling this list.

As with any list, we aren't barbarians - it's compiled by aggregating each of our lists into a single entity, with ties broken along the way. Easy peasy. Beyond the ranks themselves, we'll also share our individual rankings of each of the Top 10, then will also give brief rundowns of some of the players we most appreciate on the list. Shall we get on to our rankings?

(1) Kade Anderson, LHP LSU

(Drew 2, Greg 4, Lucas 2)

(2) Jojo Parker, SS Purvis HS (MS)

(Drew 9, Greg 5, Lucas 1)

(3) Ethan Holliday, SS/3B Stillwater HS (OK)

(Drew 5, Greg 1, Lucas 9)

(4) Eli Willits, SS Fort Cobb-Broxton (OK)

(Drew 7, Greg 6, Lucas 3)

(5) Liam Doyle, LHP Tennessee

(Drew 1, Greg 3, Lucas 14)

(6) Seth Hernandez, RHP Corona HS (CA)

(Drew 4, Greg 7, Lucas 7)

(7) Aiva Arquette, SS Oregon State

(Drew 16, Greg 2, Lucas 4)

(8) Gavin Fien, SS/3B Great Oak HS (CA)

(Drew 13, Lucas 5)

(9) Jamie Arnold, LHP Florida State

(Drew 6, Greg 18, Lucas 6)

(10) Ike Irish, OF Auburn

(Drew 11, Greg 8, Lucas 12)

(11) Billy Carlson, SS Corona HS (CA)
(12) Steele Hall, SS Hewitt-Trussville HS (AL)
(13) Wehiwa Aloy, 3B Arkansas
(14) Andrew Fischer, 1B Tennessee
(15) Kyson Witherspoon, RHP Oklahoma
(16) Gage Wood, RHP Arkansas
(17) Jace LaViolette, OF Texas A&M
(18) Tyler Bremner, RHP UC Santa Barbara
(19) Xavier Neyens, 3B Mount Vernon HS (WA)
(20) Charles Davalan, OF Arkansas
(21) Kayson Cunningham, SS Johnson HS (TX)
(22) Gavin Kilen, 2B Tennessee
(23) Devin Taylor, OF Indiana
(24) Brendan Summerhill, OF Arizona
(25) Caden Bodine, C Coastal Carolina
(26) Patrick Forbes, RHP Louisville
(27) Zach Root, LHP Arkansas
(28) Mason Neville, OF Oregon
(29) Daniel Pierce, OF Mill Creek HS (GA)
(30) Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP Sunset HS (OR)
(31) Max Belyeu, OF Texas
(32) Marek Houston, SS Wake Forest
(33) Josh Hammond, SS Wesleyan Christian HS (NC)
(34) Sean Gamble, OF IMG Academy (FL)
(35) Luke Stevenson, C North Carolina
(36) Ethan Conrad, OF Wake Forest
(37) Anthony Eyanson, RHP LSU
(38) Slater de Brun, OF Summit HS (OR)
(39) Jack Bauer, LHP Lincoln-Way East HS (IL)
(40) Alex Lodise, 2B Florida State
(41) Chase Shores, RHP LSU
(42) Brandon Compton, OF Arizona State
(43) Cam Cannarella, OF Clemson
(44) Quentin Young, 3B Oaks Christian HS (CA)
(45) Dean Curley, SS Tennessee
(46) Cade Obermuller, LHP Iowa
(47) Matthew Fisher, RHP Evansville Memorial HS (IN)
(48) Riley Quick, RHP Alabama
(49) Taitn Gray, OF Dallas Center-Grimes HS (IO)
(50) Landon Harmon, RHP East Union HS (MS)

Bonus 'Drew' Guys:
Cameron Appenzeller, LHP IL-Glenwood
Michael Oliveto, C NY-Hauppauge HS
Ryan Mitchell, SS TN-Houston HS
J.D. Thompson, LHP Vanderbilt
Miguel Sime Jr., RHP NY-Poly Prep Country
Cooper Underwood, LHP GA-Allatoona HS
Joseph Dzierwa, LHP Michigan State
Murf Gray, 3B Fresno State
Daniel Dickinson, 2B LSU
Henry Ford, 1B Virginia/Tennessee

Bonus 'Lucas' Guys:
Dax Kilby, SS GA-Newnan HS
Korbyn Dickerson, OF Indiana
A.J. Russell, RHP Tennessee
Brady Ebel, 3B CA-Corona
J.B. Middleton, RHP Southern Mississippi

What Lucas loves about Jojo Parker:

"In a draft class that will be likely defined in the years to come by the performance of its prep position players, one name stands out above the rest. Like a fine vintage that he is not yet old enough to drink, JoJo Parker possesses the most balanced blend of athleticism, present feel to hit, and potential game power among the top tier of high school hitters. To begin with, his bat is truly special. Parker’s hit tool grades out as plus at a minimum by all industry reports, an assessment backed up by consistently elite contact rates and swing decisions across last summer’s showcases and through his senior spring. His left-handed mechanics impress with cohesive and efficient motions from setup to point of contact. Parker’s stance and swing together resemble that of J.J. Wetherholt, albeit quieter in the pre-swing and with a slightly flatter bat path. In my eyes, Parker’s power potential gives the Mississippian the edge over peers such as Eli Willits and Billy Carlson, especially when considering these players through the lens of future fantasy relevance. The Purvis High School star hit .465 in his senior season, with 13 home runs (four more than Willits, and seven ahead of Carlson). High school stat-lines hardly serve as reliable projection material, but at 6’ 2”, 200, Parker’s frame and physicality point to the legitimate possibility of him becoming a 20+ home run threat as a pro. During batting practice at the recent MLB Draft Combine, he posted 100+ mph exit velocities with a wood bat routinely. Worth noting, he will be turning 19 years old in August, making him one of the older prep stars in the top tier of draft-eligible talent.

Though opinions vary on Parker’s ability to stick at shortstop long-term, our evaluators highlight his “internal clock and instincts” at the position, and his case is bolstered by his fringe-plus arm. Even if he makes the move to second on his way to the majors, he brings about as safe and well-rounded an offensive floor as one can ask for from a high school prospect, and he could end up a top-ten fantasy producer at the position. One could make a compelling case for a number of prep position players as best in class, but Parker checks all the boxes for me. Every other candidate has a more substantial question mark in their profile for fantasy purposes, and not many have him beat in terms of their ceiling either. Organizational fit always matters, but Parker looks like the cream of the crop among a highly talented assortment of high school hitters in this draft."

What Lucas loves about Charles Davalan:

"For as deep as this draft is in high school hitting talent, it seems to lack the kind of big-league-ready college bats that the 2024 draft surprised everyone by producing. Both the real draft and your fantasy FYPD’s seem set to be among the most open and unpredictable in recent memory. In this sea of uncertainty, let me offer you a life raft: Charles Davalan. A draft-eligible sophomore, the Arkansas Razorback outfielder hails from Ontario, Canada, and began his career playing both second base and right field for Florida Gulf Coast in 2024. Davalan hit .288/.413/.514 with ten home runs and 13 steals in his one season with the Eagles before transferring to Fayetteville, where his game took a big step forward. As the Arkansas leadoff hitter, he tormented pitchers in and out of the SEC, making himself arguably one of the hardest outs in collegiate baseball. Davalan slashed .346/.433/.561, with 14 home runs, ten stolen bases, and more walks (35) than strikeouts (27). Not to mention, he posted elite, elite contact rates while doing it. Both Davalan’s Z-Contact% (94.1%) and O-Contact% (78.4%) were in the top four percent of hitters nationally, and his O-Swing-rate of 19.6% shows how rarely he chased.

The hit tool here is comfortably plus, and while Davalan’s steal totals might not jump off the page, he should be at least fringe-plus runner at the next level given his natural quickness and keen instincts. Skeptics may suggest that his power will not translate from Arkansas’ hitter-friendly confines at Baum-Walker Stadium to professional play with a wood bat, given that he only slugged .371 in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2024. That said, the 21-year-old posted slightly above-average exit velocities this season with the Razorbacks, and our scouts believe he has double-digit home run juice in the bat as a big leaguer. Defensively, while a return to the dirt seems possible, he projects to stay in left field most likely given his limited arm. Davalan is a lab-designed leadoff hitter who could be setting the table for a major league lineup as soon as 2026. A line of .290/.350/.410 with 12-15 home runs and 18-20 steals annually seems like as safe a bet as any projection in this draft class. He is one of “my guys” I will be targeting in all of my FYPD’s, especially given the likelihood of him falling into the mid-rounds while others chase glimmers of upside in a high-variance player pool."

What Greg loves about Seth Hernandez:

"Hernandez is far and away the most talented high school arm in the 2025 draft class and might be the most talented Prep pitcher we've seen in a decade. His mid-to-high 90s heater leads his arsenal and gave opposing hitters fits all season long. He blends his fastball with a pair of high-spin breaking balls: a spike curveball that grades as plus, and a harder, gyro slider, his newest offering. Where he sets himself apart is with his changeup; it's potentially a double-plus pitch, and he has the confidence to throw it in any count and any situation. Its tumble and fade make it nearly unhittable (65% whiff rate!), and he can manipulate it slightly to increase/decrease the horizontal movement. All told, Hernandez has one of the highest ceilings in the class and has front-line starter potential. High school arms are generally risky propositions in FYPDs, but Hernandez's reward might be too much to pass up with your first-round pick."

What Greg loves about Ike Irish:

"While he may not be a catcher long-term, Irish provides a tremendous floor as a hitter. His approach and blend of contact/power point toward him being an offensive force at the highest level. His landing spot is not as crucial as other hitters because Irish can seemingly roll out of bed and punish velocity and spin alike with the best from this class. The transition to wood might mute his power slightly, but he's shown in his time at the Cape that he can handle the change without issue. Because he is so athletic, Irish may even provide some chip-in speed early in his career. Irish should be among the top ten taken in your FYPDs and should be considered among the top college bats in the class."

What Drew loves about Liam Doyle:

"First of all, save your 'bias' comments for someone who wants to hear 'em. Second of all, I am in a slowly growing group who believes the University of Tennessee left-hander is the player with the highest ceiling in this class. Doyle caught fire early in the NCAA season, bullying mid-week competition with savagery, posting double-digit strikeouts at nearly every stop. Doyle rides and dies on the success of his scintillating fastball, a high velocity, high ride heater with more than 20" IVB; oh, and the pitches touches the high-90s. Sick. Doyle lives in the zone – some may say too much so – and really challenges hitters to fight back against his overpowering stuff. Speaking of, Doyle pairs his fastball with a low-80s sweeper, his key secondary which earned near a 70 percent whiff rate this season. I also love Doyle's splitter, which sits high-70s and has earned Stuff+ scores in the 120s, and gave him a credible third option against talented hitters, keeping them on their toes for the high heat or the nasty breakers.

Yes, yes - there is absolutely reliever risk with Doyle. Maybe more pertinently, depending on the team which selects him, there may be a little more than 'risk' to it, as many teams could slot the electric lefty into their major league bullpen as soon as...well, how's next weekend sound? In fact, you may recall I suggested as much earlier this season. It's a first-round FYPD choice with little rival in this class, and you're dreaming on a fantasy #2 but would gladly settle for one of the most electric closers in the game.

I could (should?) go on, but honestly, why bother - you may be a fellow Doyle fan like myself, or you may see a one-pitch relief option. I highly recommend watching this incredible piece of video made by my pal Nate Rasmussen and giving it some thought, because I feel Doyle has the most electrifying and thrilling ceiling in all the draft."

What Drew loves about Billy Carlson:

"If you've listened to my opinions for any period of time, you have heard me say 'defense does not matter for fantasy.' I still believe this has elements of truth to it, as many leagues will not bother rewarding players for their defensive prowess, and yet, a player with sub-par or even non-existent defense will never grace the lineup enough to make his place in your fantasy lineup worth keeping. Therein lies the beauty with Billy Carlson, a player who I am actively forcing myself to stop short of calling the very best in the 2025 MLB Draft Class. I am hardly a scout (though I hesitantly say I am learning), and yet I do not think I would hear much pushback on giving Carlson's shortstop defense a 70 grade. The range is vast, the motions are clean, and the hands are calm and sure - this is absolutely a major league shortstop, no questions asked. Carlson's arm is not quite as strong, but is clearly plus, and he also possesses a capable run tool, sprinting easily and quickly down the base line and nimbly at the 6.

Many detractors will say Carlson's hit tool and power are questionable, and while I disagree, I can certainly respect their opinions and viewpoints. The clearest indicator Carlson will develop more power is his frame - the Californian's high waist and present strength (enough to crank high school home runs and also spray doubles to the deepest parts of the field) are enough to indicate muscle mass and professional nutrition should give him even more pop as a professional. The hit tool is smooth and balanced, with his lower half coiling and rotating outward to barrel the ball. Carlson's final landing spot could greatly impact my ranking, depending on which team selects him and my confidence in them to finish polishing the hit and power tools, but as an unfinished product, Carlson is one I am dreaming big on, and cannot wait to see selected.

If you need something to hold you or encourage you still, consider this - Carlson's floor is elevated, polished marble – absolutely stunning and elite. The ceiling might be full of holes and six inches above the floor, or it could be a majestic, vaulted masterpiece, perfectly befitting the rock-solid, sky-high floor beneath it. Pick with confidence in your FYPDs."