With the baseball season just around the corner, it’s time to look at the field of top first-year fantasy baseball players for dynasty players to get familiar with. Below is a ranking of the top 10 First-Year Player Draft Rankings.
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Fantasy Baseball First-Year Player Draft Rankings
1. Tatsuya Imai (RP – HOU)
For dynasty players, Tatsuya Imai is going to be the first player to target. He should be in the starting rotation right from the start of the season and will deliver immediate upside. Imai heads to Major League Baseball after going 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA and 178 strikeouts across 163.2 innings pitched in the Nippon Professional Baseball league last year.
2. Kade Anderson (SP – SEA)
Going No. 3 overall in the 2025 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, Kade Anderson heads into the Mariners’ system with quality production at LSU last season, going 12-1 with a 3.18 ERA and 180 strikeouts across 119 innings. He’s got a solid fastball that reaches 97 miles per hour (MPH) as well as an arsenal that features a slider, curveball and change-up.
While he had Tommy John his senior year of high school, Anderson has the Mariners’ system behind him.
3. Liam Doyle (SP – STL)
Just a couple of picks after Kade Anderson, Liam Doyle went No. 5 overall to the St. Louis Cardinals. He’s another lefty with SEC experience, with a lively fastball that can reach 100 MPH. He struck out 164 batters in just 95.2 innings in his final season with Tennessee.
My only moderate concern is that since Doyle tends to rely on his fastball, I wonder if he’ll ever be a starter at the Major League level long-term.
4. Munetaka Murakami (1B, 3B – CWS)
Munetaka Murakami has excellent power coming over from Japan. In 69 games last year, he hit 24 home runs. In 2022, he hit 56.
There’s a real possibility he could be a 30-home run hitter, but his average might be sacrificed a bit.
5. Kazuma Okamoto (1B, 3B – TOR)
Another player eligible at first and third base, Kazuma Okamoto doesn’t have the power Munetaka Murakami does, but he might be more consistent at getting on base. He has a lifetime batting average of .274 across 5,010 at-bats in Japan. He hit .322 last season in 77 games.
6. Dax Kilby (SS – NYY)
While he’s listed as a shortstop, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dax Kilby end up at second base due to his shoulder issues. Still, Kilby said no to Clemson and came to the Majors. In 18 games for the Yankees’ Single-A squad, he hit .353 with zero home runs, nine RBI and 16 stolen bases.
Kilby is still young, so I’d expect the power to progress, but those are some great numbers to start with.
7. JoJo Parker (SS – TOR)
Another player listed as a shortstop who could change positions, JoJo Parker hit .465/.665/1.010 with 13 home runs and 30 stolen bases across 37 games in his final high school season. His more immediate power numbers may make him more desirable than Dax Kilby.
8. Eli Willits (SS – WSH)
ELi Willits, out of Fort Cobb-Broxton High School in Oklahoma, went No. 1 overall in the 2025 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.
Baseball America put it best with their scouting report, which read, “While there are players in the 2025 class with louder individual tools or bigger power upside than Willits, it’s difficult to point to another player who has a game as well-rounded.”
Willits will be a steady presence when he finally arrives in the Majors.
9. Ethan Holliday (SS – COL)
Going to the team that his dad played for for many years, Ethan Holliday has some concerns after hitting .239 across 18 games at Single-A. Still, standing 6-foot-4, Holliday has the bloodline and lineage to potentially grow into the type of power his dad displayed, if not more.
10. Luis Hernandez (SS – SF)
I considered Johenssy Colome or even Steele Hall, but what Luis Hernandez has accomplished, including professional baseball in Venezuela at 15, is remarkable. He hit .346 against that competition, and he already has a lot of power in a developing frame.
Hernandez could be a 30-30 player in the making should he develop properly.
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