It is one of my favorite times of the year, FYPD season. Since COVID bumped back the J2 International Signing period to January 15, most FYPDs do not occur until after the international free agents have signed. This primer will be coupled with my rankings to help you dominate your FYPDs.

Navigating an FYPD is tough. The transition from prep or college ball to the pros is tough. The transition for NPB, KBO, or the J15 signings is also tricky. Imagine leaving where you grew up and moving across the world. You have to learn not only a new culture but also a new language and new teammates. In some ways, the game is played differently. The ball that the MLB uses will be completely different than NPB or KBO use. These factors do not get talked about often but affect a player’s mental state.

2025 Dynasty Baseball FYPD Primer

What I think sets my FYPD Rankings apart from most is having access to college and prep data. One of the better indicators of future success is having strong underlying data, not just beating up on poor college or prep competition. Exit velocities naturally drop with the transition from metal to wood, but guys with strong exit velocities with metal bats typically translate well as long as they have bat speed.

Pitch level data is huge too. I believe that pitchers who have strong arsenal traits typically have a strong path to success. Command matters, much like contact does with hitters, but big stuff will always play.

Having data on Jacob Berry in college allowed us to suggest avoiding that landmine by ranking him outside the top 30 while others ranked him top ten. Roman Anthony, Spencer Jones, Tyler Locklear, Aidan Smith, Ryan Clifford, Sebastian Walcott, Colby Thomas, Grant Taylor, and Cooper Pratt were all data darlings that were pushed on our end.

There are a long list of players we could talk about from last year but here is what I look to avoid:

For pitchers:

• Poor command without elite stuff (Elite stuff can sometimes mask a pitcher with command issues or jumps happen, see George Klassen)

• Poor fastball velocity(Under 92 for college, sometimes Quinn Mathews happens, but often not. Prep arms have a little more leeway)

• Only two pitches(even though we have seen pitchers make that work)

Hitters:

• Struggling with high fastballs(both in the zone and velocity)

• Chasing breakers out of the zone

• High strikeout rates as a prep/college player

• Lack of power(Teams generally focus on players with high exit velocities) in most cases.

FYPD General Strategy

You can spearhead your FYPD in many different directions, and each year provides a different class of players. Given the breakdown of the 2024 player pool, there are a couple of strategies you can attempt:

• Best. Available. Player. Always.

  • I get far too many questions about players drafting for need in an FYPD. Just take the best player on the board. Positions change for most prospects. Don’t draft based on positional need.

  • The few exceptions might be taking International Professionals like Roki Sasaki, who is going to go number 1 in nearly every draft.

• Don’t draft based on positional need.

  • Too many people say my farm system needs more __. So many players change positions in the field. I want my farm system to be stacked with the best prospects possible without worrying about a specific team need.

• Trade draft picks for established prospects.

  • People are enamored with drafting, and while it is fun, many managers value the experience of drafting over a player themselves. The new shiny toy syndrome makes some value picks higher than they should. This leads to capitalizing on better prospects or even some with close ETAs that can help you win sooner. Obviously, if you can trade picks for MLB pieces that help you compete, you do it in a heartbeat.

• Be in the Top 4

  • Seems simple and easier said than done, but that is where the elite values are. Having the top pick nets you Sasaki. But 2-4, for me, is a solid tier with Bazzana, Wetherholt, and Kurtz. If you don’t feel comfortable there, trade it toward the back of the first round where there is a massive tier from 5-13 for me. Or as I said earlier, trade it for win now pieces.

• Have multiple picks in the 20-30 overall range

  • My favorite place to shop in this FYPD might be the 20-30 range for the value on the prep bats and arms. While everyone wants Konnor Griffin and Bryce Rainer, any of the other prep bats could be as good as they are. Slade Caldwell, Braylon Payne, Griffin Burkholder, Tyson Lewis, Theo Gillen(who likely goes higher), Wyatt Sanford, Kellon Lindsey, and PJ Morlando are all great targets.

• Don’t Trade 2025 picks for 2026.

  • Next year’s draft may have a few studs at the top, but it does not have anywhere the depth that previous classes have had. Sure, things change over the next six months, but I don’t love the values this summers draft, unless its’s Jamie Arnold!

Here’s how drafts are likely to go:

• The Top Pick

  • Roki Sasaki, don’t overthink it.

• The Next Three

  • I think consensus will draft the next three picks in some order: Travis Bazzana, JJ Wetherholt, and Nick Kurtz.

  • Safe Picks: All of them

• Prep Studs

  • Konnor Griffin and Bryce Rainer are among the top prep bats in the class, but as I previously wrote, I would rather trade back and shop for the next tier of prep bats.

• College Crop

  • The next big chunk of players consists of college bats plus Chase Burns and Hagen Smith. The college bats are: Christian Moore, Charlie Condon, Jac Caglianone, Braden Montgomery, Cam Smith, and Carson Benge.

  • Safe Picks: Honestly, none of them.

  • Upside Play: Moore, Condon, Caglianone, Smith

  • Fast Movers: Moore and Caglianone

  • High Floor Arm: Neither Burns or Smith are high floor

• International Talent

  • The 2024 J15 class has talent abut lacks the elite upside of a Leo De Vries from last years class. Also, it is important to note that many J15 players struggle out of the gate. Last year only two of the top 10 bonus signees returned any value at all and De Vries was one.

  • Elite Upside: Roki Sasaki, Josuar Gonzalez, Yorger Bautista, Cris Rodriguez

  • Instant Impact: Roki Sasaki, Hyeseong Kim, Tomoyuki Sugano

  • Other J15 Targets: Dorian Soto, Elian Peña, Kevin Alvarez, Andrew Salas, Makyel Coret, Ayden Johnson, Kenny Fenelon, Braylin Antunez, Diego Tornes

• Top Arms

  • Pitchers are the toughest players to draft in FYPD for a variety of reasons. Pitching prospects are risky. Pitchers break. There are so many reasons pitchers don’t work out. But if I am investing in arms my targets are.

  • Upside: Ryan Sloan, Cam Caminiti, Kash Mayfield, Braylon Doughty, Levi Sterling

  • High Floor: Trey Yesavage

• Underrated Picks to Click (In My Top-50)

  • Griffin Burkholder

  • Tyson Lewis

  • Wyatt Sanford

  • PJ Morlando

  • Carson DeMartini

  • Kale Fountain

  • Luke Dickerson

  • JD Dix

  • Eddie Rynders

• Deep Picks To Click

  • Tytus Cissell

  • Kyle DeBarge

  • Blake Burke

  • Maykel Coret

  • Joey Oakie

  • Cobb Hightower

  • Chase Harlan

  • Robert Hipwell

  • Conrad Cason

  • Cameron Sullivan

  • Chase Mobley

  • Owen Hall

• Super Deep Names to Know

  • Carter Frederick

  • Callan Moss

  • Eli Lovich

  • Joseph Sullivan

  • Braylin Antunez

  • Joshua Kuroda-Grauer

  • Herick Hernandez

  • Parker Smith

  • Ty Southisene

  • Payton Tolle

  • Sam Antonacci

  • Joel Dragoo

  • Brendan Durfee

  • Josiah Romeo

  • Daniel Eagen

  • Carson Messina

  • Corey Cousin

  • Brandon Clarke

  • Griffin Tobias

  • Will Watson

  • Jack Lines

  • Devin Fitz-Gerald

  • Eddie Micheletti

  • Jude Warwick

  • Nick Montgomery

  • DJ Layton

  • Ethan Bagwell

  • Zach Swanson

  • Mack Estrada

  • Jayden Dubanewicz

  • Nate George

  • Tyler Renz

  • Eric Hartman

• Electric RP

  • Tyson Neighbors

  • Chris Cortez

  • Greyson Carter

  • Hunter Cranton

Traits to Look for In a Draft Pick

• Hitters

  • Strong Hit Tool

  • Low Strikeout Rates

  • High Walk Rates/Low Chase

  • Power/Speed Combo

• Pitchers

  • Low Walk Rates

  • Command, Command, Command

  • High Strikeout Rates

  • 3 or more Pitches

  • High Fastball Velo

  • Stuff

If you enjoyed, be sure to check out the full top-310 FYPD rankings here.