I’ll be running down everything that caught my eye in the Dynasty Baseball world on most Mondays (Tuesday in this case) throughout the season here on the Brick Wall. The rest of the week you can catch my Rundowns on the Patreon. Here is the Tuesday Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (5/28/24):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-MAY TOP 414 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS (5/24/24)
-MAY TOP 301 PROSPECTS RANKS (5/10/23)
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: MAY MAILBAG! (coming this week)
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-SPREADSHEETS

Ronald Acuna Jr. ATL, OF, 26.5 – Acuna tore his ACL and will be out for the season. He was a shell of his former self before going down with the injury. The team who owned Acuna in my 12 team league ran the league last year, dominating from start to finish in demoralizing fashion. He was the heavy favorite going into 2024, and now his team is at the bottom of the standings with little hope. I’ve gotten so many questions from dynasty owners who say they have Acuna, Julio, Carroll etc …, thought they were going to high step to a championship, and are now struggling and don’t know what to do. It reminds me of one of my tenets of Dynasty Baseball Strategy which I wrote up in my 10 (More) Dynasty Baseball Rules to Live By back in 2021: “Play with blinders on. When rebuilding, the teams on top can seem unbeatable and discourage you from ramping up. Don’t let fear and intimidation beat you before you even try. Focus on your own roster and trust that cracks in the armor will emerge from the top dogs.” Let this be a reminder to pound that point home in your head. Don’t let the team that looks unbeatable in the off-season discourage you from going for it. Anything can happen year to year. As for the Acuna owners, there is nothing you can do but set your sights on 2025. You probably weren’t off to a great start this year anyway. Panic selling low doesn’t make sense as he’s still just 26 years old, and I guess it’s better that it’s not the same knee. It seems plausible he can return from this injury just like he did the last one and still put up huge seasons. This is still a Top 20 dynasty asset for me, or at least close to it.

Maikel Garcia KCR, 3B, 24.3 – It was only a matter of time before the hits starting dropping for Garcia, and after going 2 for 5 yesterday, he’s now brought his BA up from .226 on May 1st to .270 on May 28th. He’s already surpassed his homer total from 2023 in less than half the games (5 homers), and he’s a perfect 13 for 13 on the basepaths. When I put a “if Ketel Marte liked to run” comp on him this off-season, this is exactly what I envisioned, and hopefully like Ketel, those homer totals will continue to rise he gets older. He just took his rightful place in the Top 100 overall dynasty assets, ranking 96th overall on the Updated May Top 415 Dynasty Baseball Rankings that dropped on the Patreon last week.

Brandon Sproat NYM, RHP, 23.8 – 7 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 5/2 K/BB at Double-A. Sproat is quickly becoming one of my favorite pitching prospect targets with huge stuff, Double-A production, and showing the seeds of improved control. He has a 1.89 ERA with a 28.2%/7..0% K%/BB% in 19 IP at Double-A. This coming off his destruction of High-A (1.07 ERA with a 32.4%/15.7% K%/BB% in 25.1 IP). He had some control issues in college, and as you can see from the High-A numbers, they aren’t completely behind him, but this is the type of profile that can blow up if it does take a meaningful step forward. He throws mid 90’s heat with two legit secondaries in his changeup and slider. I drafted him in the 3rd round of my 30 team FYPD Draft this off-season, and he looks on a beeline for Top 100 status.

Bo Bichette TOR, SS, 26.3 – We finally have signs of life from Bichette. He cracked a 105.7 MPH, 419 foot homer off Nick Nastrini (who I’ve soured on and recently rage dropped in my 18 team league), and he now has 3 homers, 3 steals, and a .358 BA in his last 17 games. The contact/hard hit ability is still there with a 14.4% K% and 89.8 MPH EV. It still doesn’t feel like he’ll ever truly hit that peak with a low launch (7.7 degree launch) and mediocre speed (27.4 ft/sec sprint), so I wouldn’t let this heater fully pull you back in, but he desperately needed this to show us he isn’t going full Andrew Benintendi on us with a slow fade into irrelevance.

Nick Nastrini CHW, RHP, 24.3 – As I mentioned, Nastrini absolutely blew me up in my 18 team points league in his outing before this one, and I went full rage drop on him. He wasn’t likely going to be a keeper for me with our keeper rules, but I haven’t done a good rage drop in awhile, and it felt warranted here. He wasn’t as bad in this outing, going 5 IP with 3 hits, 3 ER, and a 5/4 K/BB, but he wasn’t good either. He now has a 9.92 ERA with a 15.3%/20% K%/BB% in 16.1 IP, and he’s been bad at Triple-A too with a 5.83 ERA in 29.1 IP. The stuff isn’t all that notable with a 93.7 MPH fastball and the control is below average. He’s better than he’s shown, but I’m still mostly out on Nastrini.

Nick Lodolo CIN, LHP, 26.4 – Lodolo returned quickly from the IL with a groin strain, which is great to see because he’s had lower body injuries linger before, and he looked great, going 5.1 IP with 5 hits, 1 ER, and a 3/0 K/BB vs. STL. The fastball sat 94.8 MPH, the curve put up a 56% whiff%, and he induced weak contact with a 85 MPH EV against. He now has a 3.12 ERA with a 28.6%/5.6% K%/BB% in 40.1 IP. I’ve loved Lodolo for years now, and there was almost no doubt he would breakout if he stayed healthy. He ranked 139th overall on the Updated May Top 415 Dynasty Rankings (Patreon), and that was with him on the IL. Now that he’s back, he might be a Top 100 overall dynasty pitcher for me.

Robert Gasser MIL, LHP, 25.0 – Gasser had his most impressive outing yet in the majors, going 6 IP with 3 hits, 0 ER, and a 7/0 K/BB vs. MIL. The fastball sat 94.1 MPH, which is impressive for him, and he used a legit 5 pitch mix to notch a 28% whiff% and 84 MPH EV against. It was all encompassing dominance. He now has a 1.96 ERA with a 14.1%/1.1% K%/BB% in 23 IP, so seeing him capable of missing bats like he did yesterday was big to see. He checked in at #85 overall on the May Top 301 Prospects Rankings (Patreon), and even that might be looking a bit light right now.

Jazz Chisholm MIA, OF, 26.4 – I feel like I’m the only person who truly kept the faith on Jazz being a nearly elite dynasty asset this off-season, ranking him 34th overall on the Top 1,000, and he’s rewarding that faith after going 2 for 4 with a double and 107.7 MPH, 416 foot bomb off Michael King for his 8th homer in 54 games. He also stole his 10th bag in this game. The plate approach is taking a step forward with career bests in both K% and BB% (24.8%/8.8% K%/BB%), he’s crushing the ball as always with a 13.5% Barrel% and 90.2 MPH EV, and he’s faster than ever with a career best 4.08 Home Plate to 1B time. It could all go away tomorrow if the injury bug strikes him again, which is why many here hesitant to believe in him this off-season, but let’s not borrow trouble. Just enjoy the booty (as in pirate’s booty, not booty, booty) if you bought low and stole him this off-season.

Davis Schneider TOR, 2B/OF, 25.4 – Schneider obviously was never going to be as good as his insane 2023 MLB debut, but he’s locking in that he’s no fluke after drilling his 6th homer in 46 games. He now has a 131 wRC+ with the underlying numbers to back it up. He has a 15.6% Barrel%, 90.7 MPH EV, 22.3 degree launch, and a 26.4%/12.9% K%/BB%. The 28.7% whiff% isn’t even close to the danger zone, and he runs a bit too with 3 steals. That is a very exciting profile for OBP leagues especially. He’s legit.

Kyle Stowers BAL, OF, 26.5 – Baltimore begrudgingly put Grandpa Stowers into the lineup, and lo and behold, he raked, going 3 for 4 with a 104.3 MPH double, 103.8 MPH single, and 98.9 MPH double. He drove in 4 runs. He now has a fun 38.5% Barrel% in 13 batted balls to go along with a .916 OPS and 23.5% K% in 17 PA. The 37.8% whiff% is still high and I don’t trust Baltimore at all to really give him a real shot if history is any indication, but I stand by my opinion that he can be a legit MLB slugger if given the chance. He slugged 11 homers with a 91.2 MPH EV in 36 games at Triple-A. At the least, he’s worth keeping an eye on.

Dalton Rushing LAD, C/1B, 23.3 – I feel like people are already getting prospect fatigue with Rushing just anticipating his impossible path to playing time. It’s like Precog prospect fatigue. But while we all bemoan his lack of path, he just keeps on raking at Double-A, jacking out his 7th homer in 35 games with a grand salami. He now has a 142 wRC+ with a 18.5%/13% K%/BB%. He’s DH’d almost as much as he’s caught, so worrying about playing time is legit, but the bat also looks legit. I don’t know where or when or what team he will play for, but I’m still betting on the bat and hoping the rest works itself out.

Walker Martin SFG, SS, 20.3 – The highly touted Martin finally made his pro debut on May 20th, and while it’s been a strikeout fest in rookie ball with a 62.5% K% in 5 games, he got comfortable yesterday with 2 bombs. The dude most certainly looks the part already at 6’2” and with a neck that is bigger than his head. Give him some time to shake the rust off and get comfortable in pro ball before making any determinations, because there is big talent in here befitting of the $3 million singing bonus SF handed him last year.

Blake Mitchell KCR, C, 19.4 – KC taking Mitchell 8th overall was a bit of a surprise, but he continues to prove he was worth it, going the opposite way for his 6th homer in 39 games. He now has a 144 wRC+ with 10 homers and a 32.6%/17.1% K%/BB% at Single-A, and he’s also finally showing some contact improvement of late with a 12.9% K% in his last 7 games. His value continues to rise.

Yoeilin Cespedes BOS, SS, 18.9 – The DSL breakout is completely transferring stateside for Cespedes after he jacked out his 2nd homer in 12 games yesterday. He now has a 142 wRC+, which almost matches his 145 wRC+ from last year. I compared his swing to a miniature version of Vlad Guerrero Sr. in the 2024 Top 1,000 Rankings, so while he’s not a huge guy, the huge swing most certainly packs a punch. He’s not a threat on the bases with 0 steals, it will be important to watch the hit tool and plate approach at higher levels (19.6%/9.8% K%/BB%), and his size may cap the raw power a bit, so I would still have some caution when going after him, but he’s a no doubt riser right now.

Eduardo Quintero LAD, OF, 18.9 – Speaking of DSL breakouts, Quintero had another big day stateside, going 3 for 5 with 2 walks. He’s fully backing up the huge DSL numbers, slashing .310/437/.483 with 3 homers, 1 steal, and a 22.5%/15.5% K%/BB% in 17 games. He’s stolen only 1 bag and he’s starting to look pretty thick, but he’s still an excellent athlete and the power is coming in nicely. His hype is already steadily rising, and he’s a candidate to explode when he gets into full season ball.

Joendry Vargas LAD, SS, 18.7 – The Dodgers pipeline never ends as Vargas had his first huge day stateside, going 4 for 6 with 2 doubles and a triple. He’s yet to hit a homer in 10 games, but everything else looks good with a 118 wRC+, 4 steals, and a 17%/8.5% K%/BB%. If the power starts to come, and it should for the projectable 6’4” Vargas, the hype will hit hard and fast.

Hurston Waldrep ATL, RHP, 22.3 – 5 IP, 6 hits, 2 ER, 7/2 K/BB at Double-A. Waldrep got off to a rocky start to the season with 10 earned in his first 2 outings, but he’s yet to give up more that 2 ER or go less than 5 IP in any of his 7 outings since then. He now has a 2.92 ERA with a 22.4%/7.9% K%/BB% in 49.1 IP. Seeing the solid control is big, and while the strikeout rate isn’t as high as we would like it, the nasty stuff is still there, and we know there is more in the tank. This is his first full year of pro ball and he’s performing well in the upper minors. His value at least holds steady from the rightful hype he got this off-season.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-MAY TOP 414 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS (5/24/24)
-MAY TOP 301 PROSPECTS RANKS (5/10/23)
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: MAY MAILBAG! (coming this week)
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-SPREADSHEETS

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

I’ll be running down everything that caught my eye in the Dynasty Baseball world on most Mondays throughout the season here on the Brick Wall. The rest of the week you can catch my Rundowns on the Patreon. Here is the Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (5/13/24):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-APRIL TOP 427 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS (4/19/24)
-MAY TOP 301 PROSPECTS RANKS (5/10/23)
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL MAILBAG! (4/24/24)
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-TOP 42 PROSPECTS TO STACH FOR 2024 ONLY (May Update coming soon)
-MAY DYNASTY TARGETS COMING SOON
-SPREADSHEETS

Chase Jaworksy HOU, SS, 19.9 – Jaws has been one of my low key prospect sleepers since he was drafted 164th overall by Houston, and he stole the show on Mother’s Day, blasting two dingers. Doesn’t he know his mom is supposed to be the star on Mother’s Day? So selfish. He now has 3 homers, 13 steals, a 20%/14.5% K%/BB% and 136 wRC+ in 26 games at Single-A. He’s a legit great athlete with plus speed, plenty of power potential at 6’1”, 170, and an excellent plate approach. He’s extremely exciting and is silly underrated. He just checked in at #279 on the May Top 301 Prospects Rankings update that dropped on the Patreon last week, and a day like yesterday will have him continuing to rise. It’s time to grab him if he’s still out there in your league.

Brady House WAS, 3B, 20.11 – House has been so quietly destroying Double-A as a 20 year old, and that continued on the Day of Mothers, obliterating his 7th bomb in 30 games. He now has a 146 wRC+ with a 21.7%/11.6% K%/BB%. He’s finally living fully up to the hype from his draft year, slotting in at #22 on those Updated Prospect Rankings. Like a good mother, he’s turning this House into a Home, because he’s becoming that core dynasty piece that you settle down in and don’t flip. The kids are starting to grow up in Washington (Wood, House, Gore, Abrams, Garcia etc). The future is bright.

MacKenzie Gore WAS, LHP, 25.2 – Speaking of the kids blossoming in Washington, Gore threw another gem yesterday, going 6 IP with 6 hits, 2 ER, and a 9/3 vs. BOS. He now has a 3.38 ERA with a 29%/7.4% K%/BB% in 40 IP. The control is improved, the velocity is up, he’s inducing more weak contact, and he’s missing more bats. It’s a total across the board leveling up. Gore was my “pitching development isn’t linear” target this off-season, and this sure looks like the breakout we have been waiting for. He ranked 127th overall on the Updated Top Top 427 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon).

Justin Wrobleski LAD, LHP, 23.8 – Let’s stick with flame throwing lefties and talk about Wrobleski. It’s probably too late to jump on the Gore bandwagon, but there is still plenty of time to jump on the underrated Wrobleski train. He went 5 IP with 5 hits, 3 ER, and a 6/0 K/BB at Double-A, which has been the story of his season with a 4.86 ERA and 25.4%/2.9% K%/BB% in 33.1 IP. But be happy that ERA is elevated, because it just keeps his buy window wide open with a 3.13 xFIP, legitimately nasty stuff from the left side, much improved control, and a great organization. This is the type of pitcher that should be approaching elite pitching prospect status, and he really doesn’t have much hype at all. He should be owned in all league sizes.

Matt Wilkenson CLE, LHP, 21.5 – From lefty flamethrowers to lefty Tugboats, Wilkenson dominated again, going 5 IP with 5 hits, 1 ER, and a 8/0 K/BB at Single-A. He’s been insanely good on the season with a 1.02 ERA and 48.5%/6.9% K%/BB%, but he has to prove it against more advanced competition before really going all in on him, as the fastball only sits upper 80’s/low 90’s. I can’t help but be reminded so much of David Wells when watching him pitch, and there is no doubt he’s so easy to root for, but it still feels like more of a back end profile on the major league level. I like him, but I am going to continue to have some caution until I see him do this against more advanced hitters.

 Jonny DeLuca TBR, OF, 25.9 – DeLuca finally made his Tampa debut in May after fracturing his hand in spring, and he’s showing why he was a named target for me this off-season. He’s off to a scorching start after going 1 for 3 with a double and walk yesterday, and now has a .930 OPS in 33 PA. The plate approach has been elite with a 9.1%/15.2% K%/BB%, he’s lifting the ball more with a 16.9 degree launch, and the speed is almost double plus with a 28.9 ft/sec spring and 2 steals. The 85.7 MPH EV is low, but if any team knows how to get the most out of low EV players, it’s the Rays (see Isaac Paredes). DeLuca is becoming the next Paredes, except with more speed. He’s now becoming a major target for me. Get him everywhere you can.

Xavier Isaac TBR, 1B, 20.4 – Isaac has officially shook off his bit of a rocky start with an absolute missile yesterday for his 6th homer in 28 games at High-A. And most importantly, the uncharacteristically poor hit tool has been much better of late with a .315 BA and 18.8%/15.6% K%/BB% in his last 16 games. He now has a 142 wRC+ at the level. He’s on a beeline for elite prospect status if he isn’t there already, and once he gets to the upper minors, it’s very possible he can rise to #1 overall fantasy prospect status in the near future.

Orelvis Martinez TOR, 2B/3B/SS, 22.5 – With Toronto slowly falling out of the race at 18-22, and Addison Barger getting off to slow start, it’s only a matter of time before they start calling up their big guns, and Orelvis is the biggest gun they got right now. He smoked his 10th homer yesterday with an athletic and powerful righty swing that looks just about ready for the majors. He now has a 136 wRC+ with a 20.8%/9.4% K%/BB% in 35 games at Triple-A. Toronto has scored the 3rd least amount of runs in the game, and they desperately need a shot in the arm. Orelvis could be that shot. He’s a great stash.

Damiano Palmegiani TOR, 3B/1B, 24.3 – If Orelvis doesn’t give them that shot, Damiano will, as his bat is so sincere after cracking his 7th homer in 37 games at Triple-A. He hasn’t been destroying the level with a 97 wRC+, but his high K, high BB slugging profile is fully intact with a 91.4 MPH EV and 29.6%/12.5% K%/BB%. Considering their ages, it’s possible Toronto goes to Damiano first, but Orelvis has the much better glove and is the much better prospect in general. Regardless, Damiano is a very good prospect in his own right and is worth a stash in medium to deeper leagues.

Tyler Locklear SEA, 1B, 23.4 – While we’re on the topic of hitting stashes, Locklear should firmly be on your radar. France continues to slump with another 0-fer day, and Locklear’s footsteps keep getting louder and louder. He’s been destroying Double-A, slashing .295/.419/.500 with 4 homers, 3 steals, and a 22.6%/14.6% K%/BB% in 30 games. He’s done nothing but rip up pro ball at every stop, and while he’s not at Triple-A yet, I don’t think Seattle will make him spend much time there, if any, when they feel they are ready to make the switch. France isn’t a particularly good defensive player and he isn’t the type of bat you want at 1B. Locklear is that type of bat, and he’s coming for that 1B job of the present and the future.

Zac Veen COL, OF, 22.4 – I did all my mea culpas for ranking Veen so highly last year, but I knew I wasn’t going crazy thinking that this guy should be really good, and with a healthy hand, he’s back with a vengeance in 2024. He’s been straight unconscious, going 2 for 5 with a steal yesterday, and is now slashing .341/.434/.593 with 5 homers, 9 steals, and a 23.6%/12.3% K%/BB% in 26 games at Double-A. That’s good for a 191 wRC+. This is everything I thought he was capable of in 2023, but the hand injury clearly prevented the breakout. Today, we spell redemption, H-A-L-P … let’s not talk about Parker Meadows which now swaps with Veen as my worst call 😉

Christopher Morel CHC, OF, 24.11 – Talking about former favorites of mine, Morel is starting to lock in a true leveling up, going 2 for 4 with a 397 foot homer off Bailey Falter for his 9th in 40 games. Most importantly, he didn’t strike out once, and his 21.8%/10.9% K%/BB% is looking oh so sweet combined with his hard hit ability (91.3 MPH EV), lift (14 degree launch), and athleticism (4 steals). The reasonable 29.8% whiff% mostly backs up the strikeout rate gains. His .384 xwOBA is in the top 8% of the league, and Chicago looks committed to getting his bat in the lineup despite continued poor defense. The surface stats haven’t completely caught up with the underlying numbers quite yet, so there could still be a buy window here if you are looking to buy offense that won’t cost you an arm and a leg.

Oneil Cruz PIT, SS, 25.6 – In my last Monday Morning Rundown, I implored you to not sell low on Cruz, and he’s exploded since then, crushing a 112.7 MPH bomb off Kyle Hendricks yesterday. He’s now slashing .344/385/.623 with 4 homers and a 14/4 K/BB in 18 games since that Rundown. The dude is a beast with a 94.2 MPH EV and a declining K rate (21.5% over those last 18 games). Any buy low window has been shut.

 Jazz Chisholm MIA, OF, 26.2 – I called Jazz a buy low in that same Rundown, and he’s also hit very well since then, going 2 for 3 with a double, triple, and 0/1 K/BB yesterday. He now has 3 homers, 4 steals, a 21% K% and .836 OPS in 19 games since that writeup. The dude is a gimme for 20/20, and 30/30 is so easily within reach too if he can just stay healthy. So far, he’s healthy. Corbin Carroll and Jordan Walker were my two other buy low calls from that Rundown, and while they haven’t broken out yet, I still implore you to hold on to both, especially Carroll. My faith is Walker is maybe cracking a bit more after he got sent down, but long term, I still think he ends up really really good.

Jesus Baez NYM, SS, 19.1 – Baez is quickly becoming one of the most exciting Single-A breakouts, going 2 for 6 with a homer, and now has 4 homers, 5 steals, a 10.1% K%, and 131 wRC+ in 31 games. He hits the ball hard with a vicious righty swing and the K rate is in the elite range. He’s not a perfect prospect as he’s not a burner and the 5.8% BB% is low, but the hit/power combo is looking legit right now.

Alek Manoah TOR, RHP, 26.3 – We finally have a pulse. Manoah went 7 IP with 4 hits, 0 ER, and a 6/1 K/BB vs. MIN. The fastball sat 93.8 MPH and all 4 of his pitches missed bats for a 33% whiff% overall. You obviously still can’t fully trust him, but just seeing him capable of putting together a good start is great to see after his complete implosion and poor 1st outing. Tread carefully here, but this is as close to the old Manoah we’ve seen since it all went wrong.

Ethan Salas SDP, C, 17.10/Leodalis De Vries SDP, SS, 17.6 – Let’s check in on San Diego’s experiment of being stupid aggressive with their assignments. Salas has a 67 wRC+ with 0 homers in 28 games at High-A. De Vries has a 65 wRC+ with a 30.3% K% in 7 games at Single-A and hasn’t played since May 1st. I hated the old way of being so conservative to the point of stunting prospects development and robbing baseball fans of seeing the best young players in the game at the highest levels, but San Diego has taken it to cartoonish levels, and it’s starting to come back to bite them.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-APRIL TOP 427 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS (4/19/24)
-MAY TOP 301 PROSPECTS RANKS (5/10/23)
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL MAILBAG! (4/24/24)
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-TOP 42 PROSPECTS TO STACH FOR 2024 ONLY (May Update coming soon)
-MAY DYNASTY TARGETS COMING SOON
-SPREADSHEETS

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