April 2022 – Imaginary Brick Wall

Posted on April 25, 2022April 26, 2022 by Michael Halpern

Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (4/25/22)

I’ll be running down everything that caught my eye in the Dynasty Baseball world on most Mondays throughout the season. Here is the Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (4/25/22):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-UPDATED APRIL 2022 TOP 414 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-UPDATED TOP 300 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS COMING NEXT WEEK
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS

Jesus Luzardo MIA, LHP, 24.6 – 5 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER, 8/4 K/BB vs. Atlanta. Why improve your control when you can just make your stuff even nastier? Luzardo’s BB% is still sitting at 11.5%, but the fastball is up to 97.1 MPH and his whiff% is up 10.1 percentage points to 39.5%. It’s a good life lesson. If you can’t improve your weaknesses, just make your strengths even stronger.

Byron Buxton MIN, OF, 28.3 – 6 for 9 with 3 homers in his last 3 games. He now has a 97.8 MPH EV and a 1.361 OPS on the season. I ranked Buxton 32nd overall on my off-season Top 1,000 because I thought the injury risk was deflating his league winning upside too much. I’ll take a quick victory lap for Buxton while he’s still healthy, and also because if Buxton took the victory lap, he’d probably pull a hammy and be out for the year.

Connor Joe COL, 1B/OF, 29.7 – Continues to put in Yeoman’s work, going 1 for 4 with a double and a 0/1 K/BB. Joe has just been quietly performing like a near elite hitter with a career .370 xwOBA in 264 AB. He has a .406 xwOBA this year with a career best 17.3% whiff%, which backs up his excellent 18.6%/11.9% K%/BB%. He jumped all the way up to #183 on my Updated April 2022 Top 414 Dynasty Baseball Rankings over on Patreon. Don’t sleep on him. He looks like the next legit late career breakout.

Cody Bellinger LAD, OF/1B, 26.9 – I kept the faith on Bellinger, ranking him 63rd overall this off-season, and he has rewarded that faith, dropping two bombs yesterday to bring his season OPS up to .915. I would still be a tad cautious to consider him back to being elite because of a 33.3% K%, but it seems pretty safe to say he didn’t all of a sudden turn into a horrible ballplayer. It was just a rough couple years because of poor luck and injury.

Ty France SEA, 1B/2B, 27.9 – 3 for 5 with his 5th homer, and now has a 1.116 OPS on the year. He has a career best 10.5% K% and 89.6 MPH EV. Always gotta balance out all the back patting with one I got wrong, and while it’s not like I was super low on France, ranking him 163rd overall this off-season, I’ve been generally low on France his entire career. It was a mistake.

Corbin Carroll ARI, OF, 21.7 – Carroll’s ascent to truly elite prospect status was basically a foregone conclusion, and he’s fulfilling that promise with his 3rd homer on an electric swing down in the zone. He has a 192 wRC+ with 5 steals in 13 games at Double-A. I don’t care if you are in win now mode, do not trade this man unless you are getting back a near elite hitter back in return.

Michael Harris ATL, OF, 21.1 – Absolutely destroyed his first homer of the year at Double-A. and while he hasn’t hit many homers in his career, watching that one shows the kind of potential he has. All of the skills have basically transferred to Double-A with a .317 BA and 6 steals. Unlocking more of his plus raw power is the last step.

Masyn Winn STL, SS/RHP, 20.0 – St. Louis dropped the pitching thing and decided to have Winn focus solely on hitting. So far, so good as Winn unloaded for his first homer of the year to bring his season wRC+ up to 210 in 10 games at High-A on the back of a 15.6%/11.1% K%/BB%. He has 4 steals with a 38.7% GB% and plus raw power. Now could be the time to buy in before his value explodes.

Zack Collins TOR, C, 27.2 – Collins is stealing Alejandro Kirk’s presumed breakout, going 2 for 5 with his 3rd homer. He now has a .960 OPS on the season with a 94.9 MPH EV. but a 32.4%/2.9% K%/BB% and long term playing time concerns still makes me hesitant to buy in.

Jeremy Pena HOU, SS, 24.5 – Ripped a 425 foot walk off dinger off Jordan Romano for his 3rd of the year. He’s smashing the ball with a 90.6 MPH EV and has respectable contact rates with a 25.7% whiff%. He jumped to #158 on the Updated Dynasty Rankings.

Shane McClanahan TBR, LHP, 24.11 – 7 IP, 6 hits, 2 ER, 7/0 K/BB vs. Boston. Fastball sat 96.6 MPH and put up a 40% whiff% overall. His curve, slider, and changeup now have a 45.9%, 47.4%, and 57.1% whiff% on the season. He’s quickly cementing himself as an ace.

Nick Lodolo CIN, LHP, 24.2 – 5.2 IP, 5 hits, 1 ER, and a 7/0 K/BB vs. St. Louis. All of his skills are translating to the MLB level with a strong 86.1 MPH EV against, 7 degree launch angle, and a 27.5%/7.2% K%/BB%. If you can buy low off the 5.52 ERA, I would do so.

Randal Grichuk COL, OF, 30.8 – Grichuk got off the schneid with his first homer on a 414 foot, 108.7 MPH bomb. He went 3 for 4 on the day which brings his BA up to .404 on the back of a 14.3% K%. The power has been lacking to this point with an 86.9 MPH EV and negative 2.1 degree launch angle, but those numbers are so out of character for his career that they will almost certainly regress closer to career averages.

Austin Riley ATL, 3B, 25.0 – 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and a homer. Riley is backing up the 2021 breakout with a 93.4 MPH EV and .452 xwOBA. Don’t trade him unless you are getting an elite piece back.

Jo Adell LAA, OF, 23.0 – Cracked an opposite field grand slam for his 3rd of the year, and more importantly, didn’t strikeout once, which is the first game this season he hasn’t recorded a strikeout. He has a 21.4% Barrel% and 40.7% whiff% on the season.

Tylor Megill NYM, RHP, 26.8 – 6.2 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 7/1 K/BB vs. Arizona. He hasn’t been able to fully maintain his early season velocity uptick, but settling in at 95+ MPH, which is where he’s at now would be perfect. His slider has been silly untouchable with a .135 xwOBA and 50% whiff%. I’m fully buying in, ranking him 97th overall on the Updated Dynasty Rankings.

Eric Lauer MIL, LHP, 26.10 – 6 IP, 5 hits, 0 ER, 13/1 K/BB. Lauer is going full breakout with his fastball up 1.2 MPH to 93.8 MPH. He has a 34.6% K% on the year, although with a 26.5% whiff%, he’s unlikely to be able to come close to keeping that up. He was a favorite of mine in his First Year Player Draft class, and of course I no longer own him anywhere. I do own Kyle Wright in a couple leagues, who I didn’t like in his draft year. Just the nature of the pitching prospect beast.

Nolan Gorman STL, 3B/2B, 21.11/Elly De La Cruz CIN, SS/3B, 20.3 – It’s the strikeout and power hour of the dynasty rundown, as Gorman and Cruz both ripped another homer with 2 more K’s. That makes it 8 homers with a 32.3%/6.5% K%/BB% in 15 games at Triple-A for Gorman, and 3 homers with a 37.5%/6.3% K%/BB% in 12 games at High-A for Cruz. Gorman’s 2021 strikeout improvement has completely disappeared, and Cruz’ strikeout issues have gotten worse this year too.

Shea Langeliers OAK, C, 24.5 – Backing up his 2021 power breakout with his 5th homer in 15 games at Triple-A, and he’s doing it with a much improved 19% K%. He’s blocked by Sean Murphy, but there were rumors Murphy could be traded over the off-season, so he could be dealt before the deadline which would open up the full time job for Langeliers.

Jhonkensy Noel CLE, 1B/3B, 20.9 – Noel tore apart High-A last year with 8 homers in 26 games, and he’s back at it this year after going deep twice yesterday for his 3rd and 4th of the year. More important than the power, he has an excellent 23.4%/14.9% K%/BB% in 12 games.

Marco Luciano SFG, SS, 20.6 – Bouncing back from last year’s horrible showing at High-A with his 3rd homer in 12 games to bring his season OPS up to .981. The plate approach isn’t great with a 24.5%/8.2% K%/BB%, but it’s much better than last year’s 37.2%/6.9% mark.

Orelvis Martinez TOR, SS, 20.4 – Martinez’ plate approach, or lack thereof, is getting exposed at Double-A with a 33.9%/1.8% K%/BB%, but nothing can stop his power as he jacked his 6th homer of the year yesterday.

Brady House WAS, SS, 18.10 – Housed his 2nd homer of the year to bring his season wRC+ up to 171 in 15 games at Single-A. The plate approach has been strong at 22.1%/9.1%, but the GB% is a bit high at 50%. Keep in mind this dude is still just 18 years old.

Oneil Cruz PIT, SS, 23.6 – Smoked his first homer of the year, and when I say smoked, I really mean smoked. He’s struggled a bit to start the year with a 74 wRC+ and 31.1% K% at Triple-A, but all that really means is that Pittsburgh can continue to manipulate his service time without getting major blowback.

Andy Pages LAD, OF, 21.4/Michael Busch LAD, 2B, 24.4 – LA’s power and patience duo got back to work yesterday at Double-A. Pages hit his 2nd homer, and it comes with an excellent 20.3%/13% K%/BB% in 15 games. Busch got ahold of his 7th homer, and his comes with a 23.9%/21.1% K%/BB% in 15 games. Finding playing time in LA’s stacked lineup could be their biggest issue.

Jasson Dominguez NYY, OF, 19.2 – Dominguez went 2 for 4 with his 1st homer of the year, but he needs to do a lot more than that to dig himself out of the hole he’s in. He has a 37.3%/1.7% K%/BB% with a 67 wRC+ in 13 games at Single-A. He doesn’t really have the young for the level excuse anymore. His stock is dropping hard.

Max Meyer MIA, RHP, 22.11/Roansy Contreras PIT, RHP, 22.5 – Meyer – 5 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, 7/2 K/BB. Contreras – 3.1 IP, 3 hits, 1 ER, 5/1 K/BB. Both are pushing hard for a rotation spot and could immediately be impact MLB starters when they do get the chance. I have them in a tier of elite pitching prospects with Daniel Espino and Jack Leiter.

Cade Cavalli WAS, RHP, 23.8 – 4 IP, 3 hits, 4 ER, 2/1 K/BB at Triple-A. I got slightly worried about Cavalli after MLB hitters ripped him apart in Spring, and he’s carried over those struggles into Triple-A with a 9.00 ERA and 12/4 K/BB in 12 IP. He also struggled hard at Triple-A last year. I’m far from panicking, but if I was in win now mode, I might be willing to use him as a centerpiece of a trade after he strings a few good starts together.

Moises Gomez STL, OF, 23.8 – 2 for 5 with his 9th homer. Gomez is ranked 2nd among all of the qualified minor league hitters with a 269 wRC+ at Double-A. He’s always had big power with low groundball rates, and it’s not like he is a completely out of nowhere prospect as he ranked 237th on my 2019 Top 472 Prospects Rankings. If he can keep his strikeouts in check (22.4% in 2022 vs. 38.2% in 2021), and considering St. Louis is an expert in developing these kind of hitters, he could really put himself back on the map.

Connor Scott PIT, OF, 22.6 – 2 for 3 with 2 steals. Ranked #407 on my 2022 Top 500 Prospects Rankings, Scott is off to a strong start at Double-A, slashing .400/.489/.600 with 1 homer, 3 steals, and a 17%/12.8% K%/BB% in 11 games. He’s a former 13th overall pick in the draft and has the athleticism to back that up at 6’3”, 200 pounds. He always had a solid plate approach throughout his MiLB career. He hasn’t had that wow year yet, but he’s just steadily climbing the ladder with a nice combo of safety and upside.

Adael Amador COL, SS, 19.2 – 1 for 3 with a steal. The plus plate approach is transferring to full season ball with a 12.3%/18.5% K%/BB%. It’s led to a 151 wRC+ in 14 games at Single-A. He also has 2 homers and 3 steals, but with a 56.8% GB% and 13 for 20 success rate on the bases in his career, not sure there is a big power/speed combo at the moment.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON LONG, INCLUDING:
-APRIL TOP 414 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-UPDATED TOP 300 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS COMING NEXT WEEK
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)

Posted on April 19, 2022April 22, 2022 by Michael Halpern

Updated April 2022 Top 413 Dynasty Baseball Rankings

It’s the first Dynasty Baseball Rankings Week over on the Patreon. I’m going over 400 deep and there will be quick notes for the vast majority of players (all of the players in the top 100 have a blurb). Here are the Updated April 2022 Top 413 Dynasty Baseball Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE AND A TON OF OTHER CONTENT THROUGHOUT THE SEASON, INCLUDING DYNASTY RUNDOWNS, MONTHLY TOP 400+ DYNASTY RANKINGS, MONTHY TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKINGS, AND MUCH MORE

Tier 1

1) Shohei Ohtani LAA, RHP/DH, 27.9 – Surface stats haven’t been great on both the hitting and pitching side, but nothing is setting off alarm bells under the hood as the homers, steals and strikeouts are still flowing. 4.1% BB% is really the only thing out of character, but that is almost certainly a small sample thing

2) Juan Soto WASH, OF, 23.5 – 1.013 OPS. .475 xwOBA. 24% BB%. 0 steals. Straight killer in non 5×5 BA leagues.

3) Ronald Acuna Jr. ATL, OF, 24.3 – Scheduled to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A and should be back to hitting bombs soon.

4) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. TOR, 1B, 23.0 – 5 homers with a 22.2% Barrel%. Launch angle (6.5 degrees) and plate approach (27.5%/5.0% K%/BB%) haven’t been great, but he’s one of the best hitters in baseball no matter how you slice it.

5) Fernando Tatis Jr. SD, SS, 23.3 – Tatis is trying his hardest to get hurt again, tripping over a soccer ball and using his right arm to break his fall. You never try to break your fall by using your arm. I’ve learned that the hard way breaking my wrist twice playing sports as a kid. He needs to learn how to fall right. On the plus side, he’s mentioned he is ahead of schedule, so maybe we see him before July.

Tier 2

6) Bo Bichette TOR, SS, 24.1 – It’s a slow start for Bichette with a .556 OPS, 3.7 degree launch anagle, 0 walks, and 0 steals in 10 games. Obviously don’t panic and he’ll be fine, but it doesn’t look like he is going to take another step with his plate approach and power this year if the early returns are any indication.

7) Trea Turner LAD, SS, 28.9 – Same old Trea with a .316 BA, 1 homer, and 2 steals

8) Kyle Tucker HOU, OF, 25.2 – Surface stats are trash (.530 OPS). Underlying numbers are class (.450 xwOBA).

9) Ozzie Albies ATL, 2B, 25.3 – 9.3% BB% (6.9% in 2021). Walk rate was really the only flaw in his profile, so he could be maturing at the plate.

10) Luis Robert CHW, OF, 24.8 – Contact rates are even better than last year with a 8.1% K% and 21.4% whiff%. I already trusted he was elite, but this start is just locking it in. Ignore the .194 BA, and focus on the .342 xBA.

11) Wander Franco TBR, SS, 21.1 – Power/speed upside hasn’t popped yet with 0 homers, 3.5 degree launch angle and 1 steal, but real life upside is firing on all cylinders with a .381 BA and .431 xwOBA.

12) Jose Ramirez CLE, 3B, 29.6 – The baseball must be looking like a beach ball for Ramirez with a 5% K% and 1.386 OPS

13) Bryce Harper PHI, OF, 29.5 – Hasn’t gotten hot yet, but is still putting in work with a .819 OPS

Shadow13) Shohei Ohtani LAA, DH only/Weekly Leagues, 27.9

14) Rafael Devers BOS, 3B, 25.5 – Continues to smash the ball with a 91.8 MPH EV and 12.3 degree launch angle. The perfect recipe for average and power.

15) Yordan Alvarez HOU, OF, 24.9 – Socked 2 homers yesterday and now has a silly 100.6 MPH EV with a .551 xwOBA.

16) Corbin Burnes MIL, RHP, 27.5 – Control wasn’t great in his first start with 3 walks in 5 IP, causing some concern he might not be able to keep up the 2021 improvement in that area, but his 2nd start eased those concerns with 1 walk in 7 IP

17) Mike Trout LAA, OF, 30.8 – Hit on the hand with a pitch. X-Rays were negative and he will likely miss a few games. Let’s hope “miss a few games” doesn’t turn into an IL stint later in the week when the hand doesn’t heal as quickly as they hope.

18) Manny Machado SD, 3B, 29.9 – 3 steals and a .987 OPS in 12 games

19) Francisco Lindor NYM, SS, 28.4 – Surface stats and underlying numbers are both popping. He’s back.

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)

Posted on April 11, 2022April 11, 2022 by Michael Halpern

Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (4/11/22)

I’ll be running down everything that caught my eye in the Dynasty Baseball world on most Mondays throughout the season. Here is the Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (4/11/22):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR A TON MORE OF THESE DYNASTY RUNDOWNS ALL SEASON, PLUS MONTHLY DYNASTY AND PROSPECTS RANKINGS UPDATES

Heliot Ramos SFG, OF, 22.6 – Ramos made his MLB debut and immediately put up some grown man exit velocities on a 2 for 3 day. He ripped 2 singles at 107.4 MPH and 100.1 MPH. I don’t know if he can carve out a full time role or stick in the majors long term, but if he keeps hitting he’ll give them no choice but to play him.

Francisco Lindor NYM, SS, 28.4 – The Francisco Lindor comeback tour is coming to a town near you as Lindor stole a bag and homered for his first of the year. He now has a 1.054 OPS in his first 4 games. I was about to crack a joke about the homer being against Erick Fedde, but Fedde actually pitched pretty well otherwise (5 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 5/2 K/BB).

Hunter Greene CIN, RHP, 22.8 – Greene made his MLB debut and went 5 IP with 4 hits, 3 ER, and a 7/2 K/BB vs a very tough Atlanta lineup. His fastball averaged 99.7 MPH with a 32% whiff%, his slider put up a 45% whiff%, and he used his changeup as a legitimate third pitch with a 14% usage rate. This start only gets me more excited.

Wander Franco TBR, SS, 21.1 – Franco collected 3 more hits in 4 AB and is now 6 for 11 on the season, but more importantly, he snagged his first bag. He was already elite without projecting a ton of steals, so if he starts really running, hang on to your hats.

Andrew Vaughn CHW, 1B, 24.0 – Vaughn is cooking with his 2nd dinger of the year and he tacked on a 98.6 MPH single. I think some people were forgetting about how good this guy is.

Maddux Bruns LAD, LHP, 19.10 – 2 IP, 1 hit, 0 ER, 4/0 K/BB at Single-A. LA took the high risk, high reward Bruns in the late 1st round with the thought they could fix his control problems, and while it’s only 2 innings, looking good so far. He has a mid 90’s fastball and looked like he was throwing both a big loopy curve and a harder slider. Everything was working. If you are in a league where you have to jump on guys really fast, this is a high upside prospect who could fly up lists if the control gains hold.

Bryan Ramos CHW, 3B/2B, 20.1 – Well lookie lookie here, Ramos did it again, this time with an absolute tank out to left center for his 2nd of the year at High-A. He was one of my players to target in my Hitter Targets Part 1 article in February on Patreon. Get in now if you still can.

Seiya Suzuki CHC, OF, 27.7 – I’ve done more than my fair share of patting myself on the back during week 1, but this is one I wish I could have back. I wasn’t low on Suzuki, but I wasn’t high either, and that is looking like a mistake in the early going. He got ahold of his first dinger, and it was no cheapie either, decimating it at 110.9 MPH. He has a 1.288 OPS on the year.

Rowdy Tellez MIL, 1B, 27.0 – Rowdy Rowdy Tellez is starting to bud that breakout that the underlying numbers easily predicted would happen. He drilled a 107.7 MPH, 424 foot homer for his first of the year. He has a 1.357 OPS in the early going.

Michael Kopech CHW, RHP, 25.11 – 4 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER, 3/2 K/BB. His fastball sat 95.3 MPH, and while this would be a fine place to sit as a starter, there could be more in the tank as he rounds into mid season form. His secondaries lost some spin and MPH too, but they were relatively effective. Kopech didn’t wow, but considering his delayed start to spring and quick ramp up, this wasn’t too bad.

Julio Urias LAD, LHP, 25.8 – 2 IP, 6 hits, 6 ER, 0/2 K/BB. It was a total disaster for Urias with his velocity down 2.7 MPH to 91.4 MPH. All of his pitches got hit up, resulting in a 95.6 MPH EV against. Let’s hope his stuff comes back with time, but there is no getting around it, this was bad.

Art Warren CIN, Closer (for now), 29.1 – Warren nailed down his first save of the year with his 97.6 MPH fastball and plus slider. Lucas Sims should be back soon, and while I was targeting Sims all off-season, it could get hairy if Warren keeps pitching well. They very well might continue to ride the hot hand here.

Jeremy Pena HOU, SS, 24.5 – Pena keeps rolling with a 3 for 5 day, highlighted by a 98.9 MPH double. He’s struck out a bit with 5 K’s in 16 AB, but seeing him hit the ball this hard is more encouraging.

Joshua Mears SDP, OF, 21.1 – Mears went 4 for 8 with 2 homers and 4 K’s in a doubleheader. Homers and strikeouts are Mears’ bread and butter. My bread and butter … are bread and butter.

Aeverson Arteaga SFG, SS, 19.1 – Arteaga has struggled in his full season debut with 8 K’s in 11 AB, but he got off the schneid yesterday with his first homer of the year. Considering the high strikeout rate from last year, all the K’s aren’t great.

Kahlil Watson MIA, SS, 18.11 – Make it two straight for Watson, and he completely obliterated this one for his 2nd of the year. He was then pulled from the game after 2 AB for slamming his bat on the ground after grounding out. How dare you show any emotion. If you don’t play the game like an emotionless robot, you sit. It’s 1950’s rules in baseball.

Ryne Nelson ARI, RHP, 24.2 – 5 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 7/0 K/BB. The velocity is still way down at 91.9 MPH, but he continues to be effective in spite of that. Even with the great results, I’m not sure I can just ignore the stuff being down. I’m definitely getting a bit concerned.

Steven Kwan CLE, OF, 24.7 – 5 for 5 and is now 8 for 10 on the year with a 0/3 K/BB in the majors. He doesn’t have big power, and he’s not super fast either with a 27.4 ft/sec sprint speed, so while I don’t think he is going to be a fantasy monster, the contact skills are most certainly translating to the majors.

Hudson Haskin BAL, OF, 23.3 – Once, twice, three times a dinger as Haskin pulled the hat trick and went deep 3 times at Double-A. He’s now 7 for 12 on the year. After hitting only 5 homers in 83 games last year, the power surge is great to see.

Nolan Gorman STL, 3B/2B, 21.11 – Gorman came up one short of the hat trick at Triple-A, knocking two homers out, one vs. a lefty and one vs. a righty. He’s struck out 8 times in 17 AB, which has been a problem for him in the past, so hopefully that number comes down.

Jordan Walker STL, 3B, 19.10 – St. Louis pushed Walker to Double-A, and he’s responded by drilling his first homer of the year on a 109 MPH bullet. Almost more importantly, he has a 1/3 K/BB in 11 AB. Arrow continues to point way up.

Elehuris Montero COL, 1B/OF, 23.7 – Montero tore up Triple-A last year, and he’s back at it this year, crushing his 2nd homer in 22 AB. Can’t wait for Colorado to give him full time at bats when he’s 29 years old.

Robert Hassell SDP, OF, 20.7 – Hassell went the opposite way for his first homer of the year at High-A. He’s now 5 for 11 with 2 steals and a 2/2 K/BB. He can be a top 5 prospect by this time next year.

MJ Melendez KCR, C, 23.4/Shea Langeliers ATL, C, 24.5 – Both of these blocked power hitting catchers hit bombs. It was Langeliers’ 3rd and Melendez’ 1st. They’ll crack the majors at some point, but it might not be in a full time role.

Cole Henry WASH, RHP, 22.9 – 3 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 5/1 K/BB at Double-A. The fastball sat in the mid 90’s, his control was strong, and the secondaries were getting whiffs. He’s an exciting pitching prospect who doesn’t get the hype he deserves.

Ty Madden DET, RHP, 22.1 – Madden didn’t want to be outdone by his fellow 2021 1st round pitchers who had strong starts on Saturday, so he went out on Sunday and went 4 IP with 1 hit, 1 ER, and a 6/1 K/BB at High-A. His fastball reached 99 MPH. This year’s entire rookie class has been dominating on every level.

Alex Binelas BOS, 3B, 21.10 – Speaking of the 2021 rookie class, Binelas cracked a monster opposite field homer as he continued his assault on High-A pitching. He’s 5 for 11 with 2 steals and a 3/2 K/BB in 3 games. The power isn’t in question, so the plate approach is what to watch.

Jhailyn Ortiz PHI, OF, 23.5/Rece Hinds CIN, 3B, 21.7 – Two large humans did what large humans tend to do on a baseball field, and that is hit for power as both Ortiz and Hinds hit their first homer of the year. Ortiz’ homer came at Double-A, and Hinds’ came at High-A.

Cody Bellinger LAD, OF/1B, 26.9 – 2 for 3 with a 1/1 K/BB. We have a pulse.

Jo Adell LAA, OF, 23.0 – 0 for 9 with 7/0 K/BB on the season. No pulse.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR A TON MORE OF THESE DYNASTY RUNDOWNS ALL SEASON, PLUS MONTHLY DYNASTY AND PROSPECTS RANKINGS UPDATES

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)

Posted on April 4, 2022April 5, 2022 by Michael Halpern

Spring Dynasty Baseball Rundown (4/4/22)

The regular season is right around the corner, but there are still jobs to be won and last minute fantasy drafts to prepare for. I’ll be running down the action all spring and all season long on my Patreon (free posts on my site are usually on Monday’s). Here is the Spring Dynasty Baseball Rundown (4/4/22):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT, INCLUDING:
-OBP TOP 600 2022 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-POINTS/6+ CATS “UNIVERSAL” TOP 600 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-ALL-IN-ONE SPREADSHEET WITH ALL THE RANKINGS
-POSITION BY POSITION TARGET ARTICLES
–TOP 100 2022 REDRAFT PROSPECTS RANKINGS
–PREDICTING THE 2023 TOP 50 DYNASTY BASEBALL PROSPECTS
–STRATEGY/TARGET ARTICLES FOR SHALLOW AND DEEP LEAGUES
–ANALYZING MY 18 TEAM FYPD W/ GENERAL STRATEGY THOUGHTS
-DYNASTY RUNDOWNS AND UPDATED RANKINGS ALL SEASON LONG

Spencer Torkelson DET, 3B/1B, 22.7 – The baseball gods work in mysterious ways, as they tooketh Riley Greene from us for the next 2 months with a broken foot, but they gaveth us Spencer Torkelson as it was announced he will crack the Opening Day roster. Tork celebrated by taking Aaron Nola deep off a well placed pitch on the inside corner. It was the only hit Nola gave up in 5.1 IP. This guy can rake off anybody.

Jeremy Pena HOU, SS, 24.5 – Who needs Carlos Correa when you have Jeremy motherloving Pena?!?! Pena went deep twice yesterday off Josiah Gray for his first 2 homers of the spring, and now has a 1.199 OPS with a 4/1 K/BB in 19 PA. I ranked him 250th overall in my Top 1,000 Dynasty Rankings, and while I’m not expecting him to light the world on fire in his rookie year, he can be a solid across the board contributor.

Byron Buxton MIN, OF, 28.3 – Buxton’s hot spring continued as he went 2 for 3 with 2 doubles, and now has a 1.485 OPS in 33 PA. The doubles were ripped at 114.2 MPH and 109.2 MPH. The power gains he’s made over the past few seasons are very real, so now we just gotta hold our breath for good health … or on second thought, breathing is quite important for health, so maybe we should be focusing on our breath for good health.

Julio Rodriguez SEA, OF, 21.3 – Rodriguez refuses to let Seattle send him down without making them look like cheap idiots, going 3 for 4 with this screaming liner of a dinger to right centerfield. He’s now slashing .419/.471/.839 with 3 homers, 3 steals, and a 9/3 K/BB in 34 PA. Please don’t rob baseball fans of seeing this man play on the highest level.

Jarred Kelenic SEA, OF, 22.8 – Kelenic is so yesterday’s news, collecting dust in the corner while everyone plays with the new shiny toy, but he did his best to not be forgotten by ripping a homer off a lefty to deep centerfield. He’s struggled this spring with a .648 OPS, but I still think the breakout is coming this season.

Akil Baddoo DET, OF, 23.7 – Baddoo done did it again, taking a lefty deep to the opposite field. He was just getting started in 2021.

Noah Syndergaard LAA, RHP, 29.7 – On the surface it looks like Thor might have gotten his hammer back, going 5 IP with 2 hits, 1 ER, and a 7/1 K/BB against most of the Dodgers real starting lineup. It’s not as pretty looking at the underlying stats though with his stuff down about 3 MPH on all of his pitches, and his slider and curve didn’t illicit a single swing and miss. It’s nice to see he can be effective with the diminished stuff, and I’m sure it will tick up over time, but I’m hesitant to buy in.

Mitch Keller PIT, RHP, 26.0 – 3.2 IP, 8 hits, 4 ER, 5/2 K/BB. The juiced up stuff was still there with a 96.4 MPH heater, and he put up a respectable 26% whiff% and 88.2 MPH EV against, so the underlying numbers look better than the surface stats. I definitely gave Keller a bump after seeing his stuff tick up, but I’m still not exactly going out of my way to get him.

Drew Rasmussen TBR, RHP, 26.8 – Rasmussen doesn’t get the respect he deserves, but that might not last long if his final spring start is any indication, going 3.1 IP with 5 hits, 1 ER, and a 6/0 K/BB. His fastball sat 97.1 MPH and he put up a 30% whiff% overall. He’s not likely to go deep into games, so ding him a bit in QS leagues, but in wins leagues I would be all over him.

Wander Franco TBR, SS, 21.1 – 3 for 3 with 3 doubles. Nice to see him rounding into form with Opening Day around the corner.

Keibert Ruiz WAS, C, 23.8 – Ruiz did what he does best, which is get the bat on the ball, going 4 for 5 with 0 K’s, including his first spring homer. He’s not going to be a huge power threat early in his career, but a catcher that can actually help you in batting average ain’t too shabby.

Josiah Gray WAS, RHP, 24.3 – 4.2 IP, 7 hits, 5 ER, 6/1 K/BB. The K/BB numbers have been strong all spring with a 13/1 K/BB, but he’s getting hit up when guys do make contact with a 9.31 ERA in 9.2 IP. He’s going to need to improve his command to take the next step.

Sonny Gray MIN, RHP, 32.5 – Gray made his spring debut and went 4 perfect innings with 6 K’s. His velocity was down about 2 MPH on his 4 most used pitches, but at this point you have to assume he is easing himself into things, and considering the 43% whiff%, this start was certainly more of a positive than a negative.

Casey Mize DET, RHP, 24.11 – Mize wasn’t able to keep up the whiff gains he’s shown earlier this spring, going 4.1 IP with 7 hits, 3 ER, and a 1/0 K/BB. It’s only one start, but it would have been nice to see him head into the season on a high note.

Clarke Schmidt NYY, RHP, 26.1 – Schmidt went against Toronto’s vaunted real starting lineup and pitched pretty damn well again, going 4.1 IP with 2 hits, 2 ER, and a 5/1 K/BB. His sinker sat 94.3 MPH and he put up a 38% whiff% overall. He’s becoming one of the more interesting 6th starters if you are looking for pitching in deeper leagues.

Nick Lodolo CIN, LHP, 24.2 – 4 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, 3/1 K/BB. Whiff machine Nick Lodolo just keeps missing bats, racking up whiffs with a 31% whiff%. He’s fighting for the last rotation spot, and I’m not sure this start really moved the needle in either direction.

Sean Murphy OAK, C, 27.6 – Murphy has been red hot this spring, and he absolutely decimated a Dinelson Lamet fastball that legitimately landed in the parking lot. He’s now slashing .520/.567/1.000 with 2 homers and a 3/4 K/BB in 30 PA. I loved him as a breakout in 2021, and while I cooled on him a bit this year after it didn’t happen, I’m still relatively high on him.

Ezequiel Duran TEX, 2B/SS, 22.10 – Watching Duran’s swing just gets me excited every time, and he used that explosive swing to jack out his 2nd spring homer. He now has a 1.345 OPS in 14 PA. If he can keep his strikeouts in check, he’s going to explode this year in the upper levels of the minors.

Alexander Canario CHC, OF, 21.11 – The 21 year old Canario already looks the part, smashing his 2nd spring homer out to left center. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say his listed weight of 165 pounds is a tad light.

MacKenzie Gore SDP, LHP, 23.1/Sean Manaea SDP, LHP, 29.2 – The Manaea trade takes Gore out of the running for the opening day roster, although it was already a long shot that he was going to make anyway. Manaea was solid in his debut, going 3.2 IP with 6 hits, 1 ER, and a 4/1 K/BB. Gore closed out the game, going 3 IP with 4 hits, 4 ER, and a 5/2 K/BB. He’s better off at Triple-A anyway as he isn’t a finished product yet.

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)