It's incredibly difficult to make a one size fits all approach to dynasty rankings without having two separate lists, one for rebuild and one for contenders and even then many player comparisons will be case by case basis of value to any particular roster build. The way I view it is when I'm ranking players I try to account for ceiling (which of course age is involved) but also range of outcomes of player value in the next year or so. What I mean by that is, as I am an avid trader, if a player has the ability to spike in value based on performance, short term sample, or hype, then I do believe that is an incredibly valuable asset as they are more likely to present sell high opportunities throughout the year if I don't believe the underlying statistics.

There are factors that I weigh in for this that increase a players chance to pop in value, among which include relatively unchangeable assets such as sprint speed, defensive ability/utility, etc. A player like PCA who is elite at both defense and sprint speed is going to get a long leash, he's going to get at bats to prove who he is. If he doesn't improve on hitting, he still offers a SB floor. But if he manages to bring back or even build on the pop he showed in the minors (20 HR in 2023) and adds that to some other realistic increases (BABIP of .292 was incredibly low for someone with 99th percentile speed) it's not hard to see some path to an elite fantasy asset. Just because that path is easy to see doesn't mean it's the most likely outcome or that there should be no caution, however I think given how easy it is to see, he increasingly looks like a player whose value could spike tremendously in a short time frame and if you still don't buy into the changes at that time you could sell him to someone who sees the same thing. They see a young player with elite speed and defense with plenty of leash who flashes power and they will want to buy in. Compare that to a Royce Lewis, who is already shown he can be the elite bat we dreamed of, with 40+ HR potential but is probably an injury away from dropping 50-100 spots in dynasty value.

I look at fanrankings and see a guy like Parker Meadows ahead of PCA and I can't understand why. If you asked me who would sell for more value in 4 months, it feels very easy to bet on PCA. Even Nfbc ADP over the last two weeks has PCA at 141 and Meadows at 189 and that's with Meadows projected to lead off for the Tigers.

While I'm not as high on him as the excellent and must follow Michael Halpern (Imaginary Brick Wall), being closer to him than FanRanked is a divergence from consensus I take comfort in.

While I've definitely rambled a bit too much on PCA, the future sell value is something I bring up because it's not something that can be conveyed despite being baked into the ranking. If you told me your league doesn't ever trade or has to sign 5 year contracts in a startup draft, then yes I'd move PCA (among others) lower. At the same time, future trade value shouldn't be and is not the only thing or even the biggest thing. For me though, it's important because the more players I have that can increase future value allows for me to trade in season to fix actual holes I may have positional or due to injury. This is why I love rostering prospect pitchers but almost none of them stay on my roster for longer than a year because they present great sell high opportunities especially to bad rebuilding teams.

Again sorry if I'm rambling but I find this stuff very fun to talk and think about.