Fantasy Baseball 2025 Redraft Top 500 Rankings & Trade Value Version 2.14
This week: Two veteran infielders, including one new to the top 100, plus a fantasy closer looks to be returning to form.
We have significant movement in this week’s rankings, particularly in the top 100.
The most notable new addition to the top 100 is an established veteran infielder in the midst of arguably his best season ever in the Majors. He’s been that good.
Elsewhere, another veteran infielder is worth a look for fantasy managers in deeper leagues, particularly those who are in search of short-term, streaming additions.
Also, a closer who has struggled lately but may well be rounding back into form on the mound.
All that and more after this week’s top 500 update.
(A quick note, if you’re having trouble reading the table in full in the Substack app, it can be viewed in full either in the email or in a web browser.)
If you have any questions about trade offers, the waiver wire, last minute start/sit options, roster construction strategies, or anything specific to your fantasy team, becoming a paid subscriber grants you access to my daily fantasy help chat where I’ll be answering all of your fantasy baseball questions every weekday, whether it’s redraft or dynasty, or during the offseason, draft season, the regular season or the fantasy playoffs. The main goal of this Substack? To help you win your fantasy leagues.
David Bednar (#210, 41 trade value).
It’s very early, with very being the operative word, but David Bednar might be back as a top-15 (or better) fantasy closer.
The 30-year-old was demoted to the minors after some early struggles to begin the 2025 campaign. Really, Bednar struggled mightily at times in 2024 also, pitching to a 5.77 ERA and a 4.80 FIP in 62 appearances and 57.2 innings. He rattled off 23 saves and three pitcher wins, but Bednar probably was selected much later in drafts than he has been in years past.
Switching back to 2025, Bednar has made six appearances since April 19. In those six appearances, he’s given up just one earned run and one walk, while scattering five hits. The veteran has struck out six during that span while registering two saves and two holds.
Most crucially, Bednar is posting a 17.9% swinging strike percentage during that span. It’s a small sample size, but it’s right in line with what Bednar did during his best Major League seasons, and a marked improvement over what the closer did in 2024.
David Bednar SwStr% By Season Since 2021:
2021: 15.6%
2022: 15.3%
2023: 16.1%
2024: 13.1%
2025: 18.8% (17.9% since April 19).
Jorge Polanco (#66, 83 trade value).
Jorge Polanco has had really good seasons in the Majors before. He hit 33 home runs and logged a 4.0 fWAR in 644 plate appearances in 2021. He also logged a 3.3 fWAR in 2019.
He’s also had really good fantasy seasons before. That 2021 season included 97 runs scored, 98 RBI and 11 runs scored. Polanco scored 107 runs, drove in 79 more and stole four bases to go along with 22 home runs in 2019.
He’s also reached double-digit home runs in seven of his last eight full seasons and has five times been between 11% and 24% better than league average from a wRC+ standpoint in a full season.
But has Jorge Polanco ever been this good at the plate?
It’s a fair question to ask.
Because the veteran infielder is hitting .384 with a .418 on-base percentage, nine home runs and a stolen base so far. He’s walking 5.0% of the time, but striking out just 11.3% of the time in 80 plate appearances.
For reference, in terms of the home runs, Polanco hasn’t topped 16 home runs in each of the last three seasons:
Jorge Polanco in 2022: 445 plate appearances, 16 home runs
Jorge Polanco in 2023: 343 plate appearances, 14 home runs
Jorge Polanco in 2024: 469 plate appearances, 16 home runs
And while the surface-level numbers certainly draw the eye, Polanco’s quality of contact metrics have been just as good, if not better.
He ranks in the 100th (!) percentile so far in xwOBA (.497), xBA (.390) and xSLG (.745) so far. Among batters with at least 75 plate appearances this season, only Aaron Judge has a higher xwOBA.
Polanco also sits in the 95th percentile in barrel rate with a 19.7% metric. His 56.1% hard-hit rate is in the 94th percentile league-wide.
The infielder has also already reached 13 barrels in the 80 plate appearances and 66 batted ball events. He had 25 barrels all of last season in 469 plate appearances and 281 batted ball events.
Furthermore, in his career year in 2021 that featured a personal best (in the Majors) 33 home runs, Polanco collected 48 barrels that year. We’re only just now in May and he’s already at 13.
Elsewhere, among batters with 75 plate appearances in 2025, only three (Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Christopher Morel) have a higher xwOBAcon than Polanco’s .550 number.
Put slightly differently, here are Polanco’s numbers so far compared to three batters who were almost assuredly taken in the top three or four rounds during draft season.
Jorge Polanco in 2025: 5.0 BB%, 11.3 K%, .497 xwOBA, .550 xwOBAcon, 19.7% barrel rate
Freddie Freeman in 2025: 12.3 BB%, 16.0 K%, .467 xwOBA, .532 xwOBAcon, 14.0% barrel rate
Pete Alonso in 2025: 16.8 BB%, 14.6 K%, .481 xwOBA, .521 xwOBAcon, 20.2% barrel rate
Really, everything looks sustainable for now, too, with this type of quality of contact. As such, Polanco vaults from #206 last week well into the top 100 this week for the rest of the season.
As long as this type of contact keeps up, he’s going to say up there too.
Also, as an added bonus, hitting near Julio Rodriguez near the top of the Mariners lineup shouldn’t exactly hurt Polanco’s rest of season scoring upside either.
Javier Baez (#357, 19 trade value).
From an underlying and quality of contact standpoint, Baez hasn’t been anywhere near as impactful as Polanco so far. Still, there’s some useful fantasy upside here for the veteran infielder as a short-term option for fantasy managers in need of hitters for the next week or two.
The 32-year-old is hitting .296 with a .337 on-base percentage and a .744 OPS in 86 plate appearances for the Detroit Tigers
His expected stats are hardly ideal. A .262 xwOBA, a 1.7% barrel rate. A 32.2% hard-hit rate, just a 4.7% walk rate, but Baez has been playing a variety of roles for the Tigers, seeing extended time at both third base and in center field. As such, he has fantasy eligibility at both (in addition to shortstop) in some leagues.
It’s fair to wonder just how regularly Baez will play for the Tigers once Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling return from the injured, but for now, he’s providing them with some solid production at the plate, most notably a 116 wRC+.
If his xwOBA and other expected numbers continue to stay this low, Baez’s average and OPS are going to regress in a larger sample size. They’ll also regress once the .397 BABIP starts to come back to earth.
But with nearly a .300 average and fantasy eligibility at a number of positions, Baez makes for a solid short-term option fill in for an injured player, or simply as a streaming option to provide a short-term boost for a few days, particularly in deeper leagues.
Beware the Open Roster Spot (Or lack thereof)
Oh and one more quick note, beware the open roster spot, or lack thereof rather, in trades.
While a two-for-one or even a three-for-one or four-for-two deal might line up from a trade value standpoint, the roster spots are worth considering. Essentially, if you’re having to cut someone, it turns into you giving up another player or players in addition to potentially the best player in the deal. It’s obviously a different story if you’re working with a flexible roster or open roster spots, but it adds another layer to deals that can potentially change the calculus of things considerably.
New Weekly Column Alert! (Check out Week 1’s column for free!)
League Winners Week 6: A Slugging Catcher and Two (Potentially) Elite Outfielders
In this week’s League Winners, a veteran fantasy catcher who is off to a slow start from a surface-level stats standpoint, but who could see a significant turnaround in the very near future. A statistical turnaround that could prove to be crucial for fantasy managers.
