Dynasty Fantasy Baseball | Excelling Rookies Under 25 Years Old: Jackson Merrill, Ceddanne Rafaela, Colton Cowser and Joey Ortiz

I always enjoy sorting through MLB stats. You have a ton of different stats to choose from, and you can keep adding filters to find some sparsely-owned fantasy players along the way.

I was checking out stats for MLB rookies and decided to turn those stats into a dynasty-focused article. Because the focus is on dynasty leagues, my age cutoff is 25 years old. We’ll focus on hitters here and cover pitchers another time.

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Hitting Prospects

San Diego Padres’ Jackson Merrill has been the top hitter using the criteria I am rolling with for this story. He’s got 43 hits this season, and a .291 average overall.

In 45 games so far, Merrill has eight extra-base hits, including three home runs. He’s driven in 18 runs, scored 19 times, walked 12 times and struck out on just 27 occasions.

Merrill is just 21 years old, but looks like a seasoned veteran already. He’s arguably the most valuable dynasty player for eligible players for this story, and is already owned in 68% of leagues overall. I’m surprised his own percentage isn’t even higher, but that’s likely due to a lack of extra-base hits.

In dynasty leagues that have been around for longer than this season, fantasy owners have been waiting for Merrill. Now isn’t the time to move Merrill, and I’d actually say he’s almost untouchable in dynasty formats. I want to see how Merrill improves over his career, and I think he’s capable of being one of the better fantasy hitters in the game someday.

Boston Red Sox’s Ceddanne Rafaela and Baltimore Orioles’ Colton Cowser lead players under this criteria with 23 RBIs each.

Rafaela is hitting just .192 this season, but does have 14 extra-base hits (four homers). He’s collected 30 total hits and scored 19 runs, despite only walking six times so far. Rafaela has struck out 43 times.

Rafaela is owned in about 23% of all fantasy leagues right now. The 23-year-old has more value in dynasty leagues right now.

He looks like the typical power hitter who is going to strike out a bunch, but his minor league numbers suggest he can also hit for a good average too. For that reason, I’d try to acquire Rafaela if he wasn’t already on my team - and if I did roster him, I’d hold out hope for him.

Rafaela also plays all over the diamond, so even if he’s not hitting for a high average right now, his versatility makes him more valuable right now. It also helps him stay in the lineup, even with a weaker average.

Cowser is at a much better .277 average this season, with 33 total hits. He’s got 17 extra-base hits (six homers), 16 runs scored, 19 walks and 41 strikeouts.

Cowser struggled quite a bit in his first taste of the big leagues in 2023, but looks like he belongs with his play this season. He has pretty well-rounded fantasy numbers, and is on pace for a really good overall season. 

Cowser was owned in nearly every fantasy league early in the season, but has fallen back to about 63% right now. He’s a good option in any league, and is someone who has certainly boosted his dynasty stock this season. He was a pretty good minor leaguer, and I’d personally want to hang on to Cowser, but if you aren’t trusting his numbers, then now would be a pretty solid time to try and move him.

Milwaukee Brewers’ Joey Ortiz is making quite a first impression in his first season with Milwaukee. He’s outperforming teammate Jackson Chourio, who was one of the highest-ranked prospects in baseball coming into the season. 

Ortiz is hitting .292, with 14 extra-base hits among his 31 total knocks. Ortiz has 15 RBIs, 16 runs scored, 16 walks and just 20 strikeouts this season.

Ortiz is looking like a building block for Milwaukee, and is now a decent fantasy option in all league formats. He’s owned in 53% of leagues after a recent hot streak at the plate.

Ortiz is 25 years old, so he’s not quite as good a dynasty option as he might appear. He had very good numbers in the minor leagues and is excelling with his first chance at a full-time starting role in the MLB. 

Ortiz is another player who I would try to hang on to for the long haul, although if a dynasty team was in a deep rebuild and isn’t going to be ready to compete for a while, Ortiz probably makes sense to move given his age. His dynasty value hasn’t been any higher than it is right now.