Welcome to the spring training edition of my triannual Dynasty 300 rankings! Consider them a "price guide" of sorts for dynasty or keeper leagues, whether yours exists already or you have plans to start from scratch in 2018.
The rankings formula
The Dynasty 300 uses the following player valuation formula:
2018 performance: 20 percent.
2019 performance: 20 percent.
2020 performance: 20 percent.
2021 performance: 20 percent.
2022 performance and beyond: 20 percent.
The rationale behind these weights is to provide long-term player value projection, in order to help fantasy owners in dynasty/keeper leagues either drafting fresh, weighing trades or making keeper decisions. For those in redraft/single-year leagues, my rankings for 2018 alone can be found here: Tristan's Top 300. This page, however, is for fantasy owners who need to forecast deep into the future.
Bear in mind that other factors influence these values, beyond simply your league's scoring system. Here are some of the other things to consider:
Number of keepers: How many players can you keep each year, and must every team keep the same number?
Player pricing: Is your league draft or auction format, and do you price players by draft round, for a dollar amount, or is price not part of the keeper equation?
Contract factors: Are there limits on the number of years you can keep a player and/or are there guaranteed contracts, and is there price inflation?
Farm teams: Does your league include minor league/farm team slots and how are these players factored into the keeper system?
Team competitiveness: Are you a contender, rebuilder or something in between?
Dynasty 300
Note: "Elig. Pos." is the player's eligible position(s) in an ESPN league entering 2018. Position eligibility is determined based on a minimum of 20 games, otherwise the position the player appeared at most, in 2017. Players' projected future positions -- 2019 and beyond -- are considered in the ranking. Players' listed ages are as of March 29, which is Opening Day.
Players' peak rankings in past keeper lists ("Prv. Peak") are provided: These lists have been published semiannually since 2010 and triannually since 2014, with preseason ("Pre-"), midseason ("Mid") and end-of-season ("End") designated to differentiate the different times of the years in question. For example, Jon Lester is listed with a peak of 17 in "Mid-10," meaning that his best all-time rank was 17th, in the 2010 midseason list. A "--" means that the player has never before made the cut.
Positional rankings
Note: Players are listed by position, and their overall rank is included if in the top 300. Players outside the top 300 are denoted by NR.
Catcher
First base
Second base
Third base
Shortstop
Outfield
Designated hitters
Note: Players listed below qualify only at designated hitter entering the 2018 season
Starting pitchers
Relief pitchers