The most anticipated World Series in some time will begin Friday night when the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers take the field at Dodger Stadium. It’s a meeting of the top teams in the two biggest media markets, potentially leading to record ratings and hopefully a long, tightly contested series.

The matchup is also loaded with star power, featuring possibly the three best players in the entire sport and a list of potential Hall of Famers and perennial All-Stars following them.

Now it’s time to take a look at how every player on both sides stack up. Teams have not revealed their 26-man rosters yet, so here’s how we’re looking at both rosters for this exercise: I’m ranking every player in the series as if there were a fantasy redraft held today to build the best team for this series.

Regular-season performance is the most important factor since that has the largest sample size to draw from, but the different roles needed during playoff baseball and how each player is playing of late is also factored in here.

Let’s rank the top 52 players in this World Series, from the all-time greats all the way down to the bench players and long relievers.

1. Shohei Ohtani, DH, Dodgers
What else can be said? Ohtani just had one of the most memorable regular seasons in our lifetimes after signing a record $700 million contract. He doesn’t play in the field and he doesn’t pitch (right now), but he does everything else at an incredible level. Ohtani hadn’t been in the playoffs until this season, but he seems pretty comfortable now.

2. Aaron Judge, CF, Yankees
Judge put up more WAR and was a slightly better hitter than Ohtani during the regular season, but Judge has been just OK in the playoffs relative to the very high bar he’s set for himself. It’s not just this year either as he’s a much lesser hitter in his postseason career: 1.010 OPS in 993 regular-season games and .761 OPS in 53 playoff games. That’s still not a big enough sample to prove it means he’s actually playing worse in the playoffs (there’s some bad BABIP luck involved, too), but it’s enough to lose a coin flip with a red-hot Ohtani for the No. 1 spot on this list.

3. Juan Soto, RF, Yankees
Soto is closing in on a historic payday, had a huge regular season, and has been blazing hot in the playoffs. In most World Series, he’d be all anyone is talking about, but this is one of the most loaded playoff series of all time, chock full of future Hall of Famers. You could really put the first three on this list in any order.

4. Mookie Betts, RF, Dodgers
Betts is still one of the best players in baseball even if his physical tools aren’t as obvious as the trio above. He started slow in the playoffs but has now caught fire, with extensive postseason experience (69 games) on his résumé.

5. Freddie Freeman, 1B, Dodgers
Freeman has been hobbled with an ankle injury of late but says there is a 100% chance of him taking the field in the World Series. He’s unquestionably one of the best hitters of this generation, with an iconic run to a ring (five homers, OPS over 1.000 in 16 games in 2021 with Atlanta) in his back pocket.

6. Anthony Volpe, SS, Yankees
You might not expect to see the Yankees’ 23-year-old shortstop this high in a series filled with bigger names, but this ranking is fueled by what Volpe adds in the field and on the basepaths. He’s the 15th-best defender in the entire sport and the best fielder in this series. Volpe is also one of the better baserunners in baseball. And while he was already a solid hitter this regular season, he has been even better in the postseason with a .310 average and more walks than strikeouts. Volpe has a chance to impact the game in every inning of this series.

7. Teoscar Hernandez, LF, Dodgers
The 2024 Home Run Derby champion hit 33 homers in a bounce-back regular season and has been solid in the playoffs before he will hit free agency after the season. He isn’t a headline name in this star-studded series, but could end up being a key figure.

8. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, SP, Dodgers
Yes, Yamamoto is the best starter in this series — but it’s close between the L.A. rookie and New York’s much more established ace. As the Dodgers’ Game 2 starter, Yamamoto could get to make two starts in this series with a chance to show why he’s worth the $325 million contract he got last winter.

9. Gerrit Cole, SP, Yankees
Cole is starting to show some age, with his velocity dropping two years in a row and an injury causing him to miss roughly half of the 2024 season. He’s still one of the better starters in baseball and has a career 2.98 ERA in 120.1 postseason innings, so I’d still count on him to be solid in this series, but as his diminishing strikeout rate (6.6 per nine innings this postseason) shows he is no-longer the slam-dunk ace he has been.

10. Will Smith, C, Dodgers
Smith has been quite unlucky in the playoffs — a .275 career BABIP, a .133 BABIP this postseason — but he has otherwise been the same standout catcher, one of the best in the game, that he has been since a breakout 2021 season.

11. Max Muncy, 3B, Dodgers
Muncy doesn’t look like a standout athlete in any way, but his combination of power, patience and instincts is incredible.

12. Giancarlo Stanton, DH, Yankees
Fresh off an American League Championship Series MVP performance with five home runs to his name this postseason, Stanton is reminding us just how good he was in his prime. Yes, he could continue to put up video game numbers in the next series, but he is also the object lesson on why aging curves matter. He hasn’t been an above-average regular since 2021 and won’t contribute in the field or on the basepaths (not that that will matter to Yankees fans if he keeps crushing home runs).

13. Jazz Chisholm Jr., 3B, Yankees
Chisholm was better by every measure after being traded to New York from the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline in July, but he has also been pretty bad at the plate in nine postseason games. He’s a high variance type that could have a big moment in this series.

14. Jack Flaherty, SP, Dodgers
Flaherty is one of many pending free agents in this series and had a strong regular season thanks to changing the shape of his fastball. The Dodgers need him to be a shutdown starter and he hasn’t been that in the playoffs.

15. Gleyber Torres, 2B, Yankees
Another player who will hit free agency when the World Series ends, Torres’ season-long numbers aren’t great but he turned it on in the second half and has continued that in the playoffs.

16. Carlos Rodon, SP, Yankees
Rodon looked like a pumpkin after posting -0.1 WAR in his first season of a $162 million free agent deal with the Yankees, but he bounced back this year and has been even better in the playoffs.

17. Austin Wells, C, Yankees
Wells’ baseball card numbers — .229 average, 13 homers, 42 RBI in 115 games — don’t tell the story of why his rookie year was so good. He was one of MLB’s best pitch framers and one of 25 least lucky hitters in the sport. He’s also 3-for-33 so far in the playoffs, which probably shouldn’t matter since it’s only nine games, but everything is under a microscope this time of year.

18. Tommy Edman, SS, Dodgers
After Lux and Betts proved they were not long-term defensive options at shortstop and Miguel Rojas seemed like a 35-year-old Band-Aid to the hole left when Corey Seager signed with the Rangers, the Dodgers got Edman at the trade deadline from St. Louis as he was coming off of the injured list. He was solid down the stretch and has been excellent in the playoffs.

19. Luke Weaver, RP, Yankees
Weaver has made some significant changes to go from mediocre back-end starter to one of the best relievers in the sport in one season.

20. Gavin Lux, 2B, Dodgers
Lux was a top-five prospect in the sport at one point but simply hasn’t hit for the power that was expected. He’s a solid low-end starter at second base and we’re getting close to the point where you shouldn’t be expecting much more.

21. Clarke Schmidt, SP, Yankees
Schmidt throws a cutter, slider or curve nearly 80% of the time, showing the new-age way to be effective without a conventional fastball (he throws a sinker) or changeup (he throws it under 1% of the time).

22. Walker Buehler, SP, Dodgers
Since coming back from Tommy John surgery late this season, Buehler has undergone a transformation on the mound to overcome the declining effectiveness of his fastball. He’s a different sort of pitcher now and is a bit of a wild card for this series, with a strong outing in the National League Championship Series and a bad one in the NLDS.

23. Enrique Hernandez, CF, Dodgers
He was his normal, totally-fine utility guy self this regular season but, like clockwork, Hernandez is outperforming his regular-season numbers (career 93 wRC+, or 7% below MLB average, in 1183 games) in the playoffs (career 137 wRC+, or 37% above MLB average, in 81 postseason games).

24. Blake Treinen, RP, Dodgers
Treinen is 36 years old and his velo is down two ticks this season, but his slider is still awe-inspiring and he’s been effective as ever.

Blake Treinen, K’ing the Side with Video Game Sweepers. 😳🕹️ pic.twitter.com/72UVu9nmjo

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 21, 2024

25. Clay Holmes, RP, Yankees
Holmes is a pending free agent whom I mentioned earlier this month had something to prove in the playoffs. He was a top-10 reliever in the sport, then was terrible down the stretch, and now has been solid in the playoffs.

26. Evan Phillips, RP, Dodgers
The righty bounced around a few teams (Atlanta, Baltimore and Tampa Bay) before settling as a late-inning option for the Dodgers in 2022 and he has been a core bullpen piece in L.A. since.

27. Luis Gil, SP, Yankees
Gil hovered in the upper minors, big leagues and on the injured list for years, then broke out this season with a 3.50 ERA in 151.1 IP. He’ll likely only make one start in this series.

28. Michael Kopech, RP, Dodgers
Kopech was a 2014 first-round pick by the White Sox who was later traded with Yoan Moncada in the deal that sent Chris Sale to the Red Sox. He battled injuries and command issues during his time in Chicago then magically started pitching better under the bright lights after the Dodgers landed him in a trade deadline deal this summer.

29. Andy Pages, CF, Dodgers
The 23-year-old slugger made his big league debut early this season and has been good at everything: he can play all three outfield spots, has a huge arm and hit 13 homers after posting gaudy homer totals in the minors. He’s in a time-share with veteran playoff hero Enrique Hernandez, but will get a chance to make an impression in this series.

30. Alex Verdugo, LF, Yankees
The 28-year-old outfielder is a pending free agent and has always been able to hit, with medium in-game power. He has been hit-unlucky this season and landed closer to the role player/reserve part of the spectrum, after being more of a low-end starter when he played for the Red Sox.

31. Anthony Rizzo, 1B, Yankees
Rizzo is 35 years old and will likely be a free agent after this series (his contract has a club option for 2025 that includes a $6 million buyout). He’s still a solid player but has really regressed the past couple seasons and has been dealing with two broken fingers on his right hand this postseason.

32. Jose Trevino, C, Yankees
Wells hasn’t been hitting much in the playoffs, so Trevino could get a chance to play more and he’s a capable hitter if the opportunity arises. Trevino is a standout framer and blocker behind the plate.

33. Tommy Kahnle, RP, Yankees
The 35-year-old Kahnle is a solid middle reliever but is just a touch too unpredictable to be the regular seventh-inning guy for a World Series winner; you’ll have to hold your breath a few times when he’s pitching.

34. Jon Berti, UT, Yankees
Berti can play any position on the field — including handling first base for the first time in his career this postseason — and is a roughly league average hitter, but that makes him a good utility guy in the playoffs.

35. Tim Hill, RP, Yankees
The best lefty in the Yankee bullpen was released by the White Sox in June and won’t strike out a lot of batters, but he’s been very effective since his rock-bottom.

36. Jasson Dominguez, OF, Yankees
“The Martian” hasn’t quite settled in at the big league level just yet, but he’s still just 21 years old, he can play all three outfield spots, can draw a walk and has big raw power.

37. Anthony Banda, RP, Dodgers
The journeyman lefty is having a career year both statistically and with his velocity. His fastball now comes in at 95-97 mph and his slider is his best secondary pitch.

38. Oswaldo Cabrera, UT, Yankees
Cabrera is a switch-hitter who can play anywhere on the field defensively (though not that well), and has the power to punish a mistake at the plate. He’s still just 25 years old, so there may be a path for him to be an everyday corner outfielder in the future.

39. Ryan Brasier, RP, Dodgers
The 37-year-old longtime Red Sox reliever has served as the opener this postseason for two of the Dodgers’ bullpen games. He’s a good, reliable middle reliever.

40. Landon Knack, RP, Dodgers
Knack is the fourth best healthy starter the Dodgers have, but they’ve opted for bullpen games, relegating him to a long relief role.

41. Daniel Hudson, RP, Dodgers
The 37-year-old journeyman reliever is still sitting in the mid-90s and is still effective.

42. Ben Casparius, RP, Dodgers
The 25-year-old rookie made his big league debut late this season and can go multiple innings if needed, relying on a 94-97 mph heater and three breaking pitches.

43. Trent Grisham, CF, Yankees
The other guy acquired in the Soto deal hasn’t played in this year’s playoffs yet, but he’s a solid center-field defender with some pop.

44. Mark Leiter Jr., RP, Yankees
Leiter was a deadline acquisition from the Cubs after pitching well in Chicago, but he’s been just OK since the trade.

45. Edgardo Henriquez, RP, Dodgers
The 22-year-old started the season in Low-A in a new relief role and steadily worked his way up in time to make three major league appearances before the season ended. He sits 98-100 mph and has a nasty 88-91 mph cutter.

46. Chris Taylor, UT, Dodgers
After a long run of being a productive multi-positional option who played regularly, the 34-year-old Taylor hit a wall offensively this season and is now a true utility guy.

47. Austin Barnes, C, Dodgers
He’s a solid true backup catcher who is simply there to spell the starter in the regular season, but has only appeared in one playoff game this month.

48. Kevin Kiermaier, CF, Dodgers
The 34-year-old has announced that he will retire after the playoffs and, after a nice run as a starter, is now a defensive specialist and pinch runner.

49. Jake Cousins, RP, Yankees
The 30-year-old reliever had a career year this season (38 IP, 2.37 ERA) after bouncing around for years, but is still just a middle reliever at this point.

50. Marcus Stroman, RP, Yankees
He signed a two-year, $37 million deal before the season and now looks like the typical bulk-innings regular-season starter who becomes a long reliever in the postseason because he doesn’t miss enough bats to make the playoff rotation.

51. Tim Mayza, RP, Yankees
A lefty reliever with a low-90’s sinker and a good slider, but hasn’t been that effective this season.

52. Brent Honeywell, RP, Dodgers
He went from No. 72 overall pick in the 2014 draft to a top 100 prospect quickly, then endured a number of injuries and has only made 63 career regular-season MLB appearances. He still sits in the mid-90s and has the screwball that made him a top prospect.