Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Top 700 Rankings & Trade Value Version 2.17

This week: An Angels outfielder who looks likely to rebound at the plate, plus a Tigers hitter on the rise.

May 14, 2025

New this week: A look at a Los Angeles Angels slugger who is off to a slow start from a surface-level stats standpoint, but could see his numbers improve soon if some of his underlying metrics have anything to say about.

Plus, a Tigers hitter who might be breaking out at the plate, and who’s also very much worth a look for fantasy managers in search of infield solutions for the next few years.

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Taylor Ward (#201, 35 trade value).

If you’re looking for a decidedly under-the-radar trade target who could be poised to bounce back at the plate (and if you’re in search of power production), it’s Taylor Ward.

The Los Angeles Angels outfielder logged a .344 xwOBA and a 13.0% barrel rate in 585 plate appearances and 430 batted ball events last season, but is batting just .190 with a .232 on-base percentage on the season in 2025.

Which isn’t great.

Ward’s .295 xwOBA and .220 xBA aren’t as ideal either, and his 26.2% strikeout rate in 164 plate appearances could be better.

But and this is the crucial bit, better production could be coming. Much better production.

Despite only hitting .190 and striking out 26.2% of the time, Ward’s whiff rate is just 21.7% (which, for reference, sits in the 67^th percentile league-wide).

Ward is also chasing pitches out of the zone at a minuscule rate, 20.7% to be exact. That, for reference, ranks in the 88^th percentile league-wide.

Which is all a long-winded way of saying that Ward should probably be making (and will likely start to make) more contact at the plate if the whiff and chase rates stay near their current respective levels.

And more contact, considering what the veteran has done when he had made contact, should lead to more power production and better fantasy scoring production.

The 31-year-old entered play Tuesday with just a .380 xwOBAcon, but had also contributed a 13.4% barrel rate and a 47.3% hard-hit rate.

One other reason to expect better production moving forward? Ward’s line drive rate is at just 16.1% so far. He’s also sporting a pop rate that, if the season ended today, would be his highest in six seasons.

Over time, those numbers should even themselves out, leading to more line drives and dangerous contact in general.

Taylor Ward Since 2018:

25.6 LD%, 8.9 pop up%, 147 PA, 90 batted ball events
42.1 LD%, 5.3 pop up%, 48 PA, 19 batted ball events
28.8 LD%, 0.0 pop up%, 102 PA, 66 batted ball events
27.6 LD%, 4.5 pop up%, 237 PA, 156 batted ball events
27.1 LD%, 6.1 pop up%, 564 PA, 380 batted ball events
22.0 LD%, 4.6 pop up%, 409 PA, 282 batted ball events
27.7 LD%, 3.7 pop up%, 663 PA, 430 batted ball events
16.1 LD%, 8.9 pop up%, 164 PA, 112 batted ball events

Trey Sweeney (#262, 32 trade value).

After a reasonably slow start to the season, Trey Sweeney has been, in short, incredibly productive at the plate.

The shortstop hit .200 with a .296 on-base percentage, a home run and a stolen base in 108 plate appearances through the end of April, logging a 69 wRC+ in the process. With a 12.0% walk rate, a 22.2% strikeout rate and a .257 BABIP, he was probably due for a bit of improved production in general, but Sweeney has been excellent as of late.

Since the calendar flipped to May, Sweeney is batting .425 with a .439 on-base percentage, three home runs and a 222 wRC+ in 46 plate appearances.

During that span, Sweeney has logged a 9.7% barrel rate and a 45.2% hard-hit rate. And while it’s still a reasonably small sample size, it’s been a promising run of form for the former Dodgers and Yankees prospect. Furthermore, it not too small in the grand scheme of things (and the season) to call it purely a hot streak and move on. Sure, he isn’t going to hit over .400 for the season, but the quality of contact numbers are extremely encouraging.

Similar to fellow under-the-radar breakout Tigers hitter Dillon Dingler, Sweeney has a considerable opportunity in front of him.

Like with Dingler and prospects Josue Briceno and Thayron Liranzo down the road, Detroit does have a few prospects of note at Sweeney’s position in shortstops Kevin McGonicle and Bryce Rainer. However, like with Dingler and Briceno and Liranzo, Sweeney has a chance to establish himself as the Tigers shortstop for at least the next few years if he keeps hitting like this (or at least with reasonably close quality of contact numbers) with both McGonicle and Rainer yet to reach Double-A.

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.

Also a quick note on prospects:

Proximity matters. Upside is obviously king here, but proximity to the Majors matters here as well with prospects, at least from a fantasy standpoint. It can be a bit of a tie-breaker with prospects with similar upside but at different minor league levels. Furthermore, the farther away a prospect is from the Majors, the more it impacts their fantasy trade value.

Of course, that’s not going to have much of a difference with elite prospects in the low minors like Ethan Salas or Max Clark, but it’s why some prospects who aren’t necessarily in the upper echelon of fantasy prospects, may have a lower trade value number in dynasty formats than a lower ceiling player already in the Majors who is guaranteed to provide MLB (and fantasy) production at least in the coming years.