Posted on by Michael Halpern

A Top 20 Sneak Peek of the 2020 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings

The 2020 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings will be finished in late January/early February. I’m going to drop some sneak peeks leading up to that, starting with the top 20:

1) Ronald Acuna ATL, OF, 22.3 – Combination of age and stolen base upside is what separates Acuna from the pack, but a 26.3% K% presents a risk that other candidates for the top spot don’t have. In anything other than a 5×5 league (points, OBP), I would look elsewhere with the top pick. 2020 Projection: 111/37/98/.285/.367/.524/31

2) Mike Trout LAA, OF, 28.8 – Turning 29 during the 2020 season, career low 13 steal attempts, and a much younger crop of generational talent establishing themselves in 2019 are why Trout is no longer the obvious #1 pick in dynasty. I still have him #1 in redrafts. 2020 Projection: 113/46/107/.299/.442/.631/15

3) Juan Soto WASH, OF, 21.5 – Flipped hitting profile from rookie season, upping FB% to 37.2% (from 28.8%) and lowering GB% to 41.6% (from 53.7%). 97 MPH FB/LD exit velocity is 2.1 MPH higher than Trout and 1.4 MPH higher than Acuna. Soto is my #1 pick in non 5×5 dynasty leagues. 2020 Projection: 108/36/105/.296/.404/.553/10

4) Cody Bellinger LAD, 1B/OF, 24.9 – Career bests in BB% (14.4%), K% (16.4%), average exit velocity (90.7 MPH), and launch angle (17.6 degree launch). On the flip side, OPS declined every month of the season (1.397, .998, .967, .952, .918, .891, playoffs-.549). 2020 Projection: 110/43/110/.288/.383/.598/14

5) Christian Yelich MIL, OF, 28.4 – Here is what I wrote about Yelich in my 2019 Top 1,000: “… posted the lowest GB% of his career by a good margin in August and September (46% and 44%, respectively). If he can carry those gains over a full season, the power breakout may not be a complete outlier.” That is exactly what happened, with Yelich posting a 43.2% GB% and hitting a career high 44 homers. The fractured knee cap that ended his season supposedly won’t have any long term effects. 2020 Projection: 111/37/104/.309/.410/.605/20

6) Mookie Betts BOS, OF, 27.6 – As a Yankees fan, I pray to the baseball gods every night that Boston trades Mookie Betts for “can’t miss” pitching prospects. 2020 Projection: 119/33/86/.310/.402/.552/22

7) Trea Turner WASH, SS, 26.9 – Power took a big step forward, raising average exit velocity 2.5 MPH to 90.3 MPH. Remains a speedster with the 2nd fastest sprint speed in baseball, behind only Tim Locastro (Buxton is a close 3rd).  2020 Projection: 104/24/77/.293/.350/.488/41

8) Fernando Tatis Jr. SD, SS, 21.3 – With a 29.6% K% and a 6.9 degree launch angle, you can look at Tatis’ 2019 in one of two ways. Either you think he got lucky and there is serious regression coming, or you are scared at the thought of what his stats might look like when he inevitably improves on those underlying numbers. I’m in camp #2. 2020 Projection: 101/35/99/.274/.348/.531/26

9) Francisco Lindor CLE, SS, 26.4 – Small step back in K%, BB%, GB% and sprint speed, but I’m willing to write that off to his early season calf injury considering overall production remained strong. 2020 Projection: 104/32/87/.285/.349/.520/20

10) Trevor Story COL, SS, 27.4 – Carried over the major improvements he made in K% and stolen bases in 2018 into 2019. One of the premier power/speed combos in the game. 2020 Projection: 100/36/100/.283/.354/.546/22

11) Wander Franco TB, SS, 19.1 – Acuna and Soto might be old news in 2 years if Franco reaches his upside of plus to double plus all category production. He very well may be the true heir to Trout’s throne. 2020 Projection: September-13/4/9/.277/.341/.445/4 Prime Projection: 114/32/113/.316/.405/.595/19

12) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. TOR, 3B, 21.0 – Modest rookie season, but make no mistake, the thunder is coming. 2020 Projection: 95/32/106/.298/.373/.538/2

13) Rafael Devers BOS, 3B, 23.5 – Ranked 16th overall in average exit velocity (92.1 MPH) and cut K% by 7.7% to 17%. 2020 Projection: 98/33/104/.302/.360/.549/7

14) Alex Bregman HOU, 3B, 26.0 – Gets dinged in the rankings because of the possibility of a suspension and the unknown of how much cheating improved his stats. Relatively low 92.3 MPH FB/LD exit velocity is another red flag. 2020 Projection: 103/30/101/.291/.403/.538/9

15) Jose Ramirez CLE, 3B, 27.6 – Armageddon 1st half (.218/.308/.344) followed by a beastly 2nd half (.327/.365/.739) that was interrupted and ultimately cut short by a fractured hamate bone. Like Bregman, low FB/LD exit velocity (91.8 MPH) indicates some power downside. 2020 Projection: 98/30/93/.279/.358/.518/25

16) Nolan Arenado COL, 3B, 29.0 – Steady as they come. 40 homers with a high average. 2020 Projection: 103/39/116/.298/.375/.568/2

17) Austin Meadows TB, OF, 24.11 – When I ranked Meadows 54th overall in last year’s ranking, someone asked me what I was smoking. Apparently I was toking on salvia divinorum, aka, sage of the diviners, aka it’s a plant you smoke and then you hallucinate, because Meadows broke out with a .291 BA, 33 homers, and 12 steals. He hits it very hard, hits it in the air, has speed, and has a strong plate approach. 2020 Projection: 93/32/96/.282/.351/.531/15

18) Bryce Harper PHI, OF, 27.6 – Strikeout rate going in the wrong direction (26.1%), but power, speed, and walks are all in peak form. 2020 Projection: 100/36/103/.265/.381/.533/14

19) Yordan Alvarez HOU, OF, 22.9 – Hitting profile looks mighty similar to Bryce Harper without the speed. 2020 Projection: 93/35/104/.273/.369/.542/4

20) Aaron Judge NYY, OF, 27.11 – Led the league in average exit velocity every year since getting called up in 2016. Smashed 15 homers in final 33 games to salvage what was shaping up to be a mediocre season. 2020 Projection: 107/42/101/.263/.370/.545/7

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Predicting the 2019 Mid-Season Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Prospects

With the MiLB season starting later today, I thought I would kick off the opening day festivities by predicting what the 2019 Top 50 mid-season prospect list will look like. Once the games start, I will stop predicting, and will start analyzing, which now that I think about it, will probably lead to more predictions. Are prospect lists and fantasy advice anything other than predictions anyway?

1) Wander Franco TB, SS, 18.1 – Assigned to Full-A. If Franco performs even half as well at Full-A as he did in the Appy League, he will be the undisputed top prospect in baseball.

2) Bo Bichette TOR, SS, 21.1 – Bichette will be 25 at-bats into his MLB career by list season and will hit the ground running with 2 homers, 2 steals and a .285 average. The hype will be real.

3) Forrest Whitley HOU, RHP, 21.6 – Pushing, shoving, carving, “Fucking and Punching” (shout-out to any Californication fans out there) or whatever the hell else everyone now seems to be calling it, Whitley will be doing it at the major league level by mid-season, and his 2.81 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched will be enough for everyone to forget any inherent risk that comes with young pitchers.

4) Royce Lewis MIN, SS, 19.10 – Returning to High-A to start the year, but by mid-season he should have at least gotten a taste of Double-A, allowing Lewis to show off his all category potential in the upper levels of the minors as a 20-year-old.

5) Kyle Tucker HOU, OF, 21.4 – With him still not called up to the majors, MLBTradeRumors will mention his name 436 times in the month of July.

6) Jo Adell LAA, OF, 20.0 – Will likely return to Double-A in June when he recovers from his hamstring and ankle injuries, but the possibility of a slow start to shake some of the rust off could prevent the hype from being where it would have been had he remained healthy.

7) Carter Kieboom WASH, SS, 21.7 – With Dozier struggling, the calls for Kieboom will grow louder and louder by mid-season, juicing up his value on mid-season lists with his ETA moving up earlier than expected.

8) Keston Hiura MIL, 2B, 22.8 – As Orlando Arcia continues to struggle, Milwaukee will move Moustakas to SS, proving the shift has completely killed and redefined positional value, which will be the tipping point for Manfred to ban the shift. Hiura will be solid but unspectacular in his first taste of the majors before getting hot during the stretch run.

9) Alex Kirilloff MIN, OF, 21.5 – Will prove too advanced for Double-A, as the home-schooled Kirilloff was taking batting practice at his dad’s indoor training facility while the pitchers he will be facing were sitting in History class.

10) Taylor Trammell CIN, OF, 21.6 – Assigned to Double-A, and once you start producing at Double-A, the resistance on prospect lists fades away.

11) Brent Honeywell TB, RHP, 24.0 – Only a few starts into his MLB career, Honeywell will still have some rust to shake off from last year’s Tommy John surgery, but the raw stuff will remind everyone why he was ranked so high in the first place.

12) Brendan Rodgers COL, SS, 22.8 – With McMahon, Hampson, or both firmly establishing themselves as Colorado’s second baseman of the future, Rodgers ETA will become murkier and murkier, and his future in Colorado might come into question as his name pops up in trade rumors.

13) Jesus Luzardo OAK, LHP, 21.6 – He shouldn’t be on this list, but the shoulder injury will likely prevent Luzardo from passing his rookie limits by mid-season.

14) Jonathan India CIN, 3B, 22.3 – Advanced, battle tested SEC bat with power, speed, and a good feel to hit will unsurprisingly rip up the minors, proving his low off-season ranking by many outlets to be too conservative.

15) Kristian Robinson ARI, OF, 18.4 – A good full-season debut as an 18-year-old with Robinson’s tools is a recipe for top 10 prospect status in short order.

16) Casey Mize DET, RHP, 21.11 – Mize’s mid 90’s heat with plus command and a plus splitter will put up some crazy K/BB numbers that will finally have the computers and humans come together in universal agreement. This will lay the seeds for future cooperation between man and machine, preventing the impending robot takeover. Yes, Casey Mize will unintentionally save the world.

17) Luis Robert CHW, OF, 21.8 – Once the production comes, Robert’s top 5 fantasy prospect tools will shoot him up lists.

18) Nolan Gorman STL, 3B, 18.11 – Will be talked about as one of, if not the top, pure power hitting prospects in baseball. Gorman is close to the same age as many of the high school kids in this upcoming MLB draft.

19) MacKenzie Gore SD, LHP, 20.1 – With the unexpected Tatis promotion, I’m half expecting Gore to be headlining the Padres rotation by August.

20) Yordan Alvarez HOU, OF, 21.9 – The “hyped up Houston 1B prospect who is blocked” baton will now be passed to Alvarez. Seth Beer is readying himself for the hand-off on the next leg of the race.

21) Andrew Vaughn 1B, California, 21.0 – I’m always aggressive with ranking incoming draft guys, which led me to rank Andrew Benintendi in my top 10 in 2016, but also Zack Collins in my top 25 in 2017. It’s a give and take.

22) Bobby Witt Jr. SS, High School, 18.10 – The top power/speed combo in the draft, and while his hit tool is high risk and high school stats don’t mean much, he does have a 5/16 K/BB in 22 games this season to go along with 11 homers, 10 steals, and a .587 BA.

23) Jasson Dominguez OF, NYY, 16?? – Ranking Dominguez will simply be an exercise in who is willing to take on the most risk for that unknown upside. For a fantasy list especially, you have to skew upside.

24) Cristian Pache ATL, OF, 20.5 – With Pache’s plus centerfield defense, he only needs to be competent against Double-A pitching as a 20-year-old for the hype to really start to push and shove like a 5th grade bully.

25) Michael Kopech CHW, RHP, 22.11 – Underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2018, so no news will be good news, but out of sight, out of mind is a very real thing on prospect lists. Just ask Dusty Colorado.

26) A.J. Puk OAK, LHP, 23.11 – Puk should have at least a few rehab starts under his belt by mid-season, which will be enough to prove his stuff has returned and allow him to flash that elite K upside.

27) Gavin Lux LAD, SS, 21.4 – Speaking of upside, Lux might not have a ton of it, but a 21-year-old with a moderate power/speed combo and a good feel to hit who is performing well at the upper level of the minors will be tough to overlook.

28) Drew Waters ATL, OF, 20.3 – Aggressively assigned to Double-A to start the season, giving Waters the opportunity to prove he is among the most talented prospects in baseball. I wouldn’t bet against him.

29) Vidal Brujan TB, 2B, 21.2 – Tampa takes it nice and slow with their prospects, as Brujan will head back to High-A where he put up a 1.015 OPS in 27 games last year. He might not be able to do quite enough damage at Double-A, if any, for mid-season prospect lists to really fire up the hype train for him.

30) Andres Gimenez NYM, SS, 20.7 – I expect Gimenez to perform well at Double-A, but not explode, which should keep his prospect stock relatively stable.

31) Daz Cameron DET, OF, 22.2 – Hit tool and plate approach will be good enough against advanced Triple-A pitching for Cameron’s power/speed combo to shine through.

32) Adley Rutschman C, Oregon State, 21.2 – Slashing .420/.592/.570 with 8 homers and a 18/37 K/BB in 26 games. I should note that Vaughn in particular (13 for 52 with 2 homers) and Rutschman (2 homers in his last 14 games) haven’t been quite as good since conference play began.

33) Jazz Chisholm ARI, SS, 21.2 – Another aggressive Double-A assignment, but this one is a little riskier with Jazz’ 32.5% K% at High-A

34) Ian Anderson ATL, RHP, 20.11 – I wouldn’t be shocked if Anderson was up with the big league club by list season, and nothing jumps you up lists faster than performing well in small MLB samples.

35) George Valera CLE, OF, 18.5 – Everybody who was able to draft Valera later than they should have been able to in their off-season prospect draft should thank that hamate bone injury for ending his season after just 6 games. The buy window will be slammed shut by mid-season.

36) Sixto Sanchez MIA, RHP, 20.8 – Held back in extended spring training in an effort to limit his early season innings, but also because he may not be 100% healthy after elbow troubles last season and collarbone soreness that held him out of the Arizona Fall League. The injuries are starting to dampen the hype.

37) Dylan Cease CHW, RHP, 23.3 – Returning to Double-A where he put up a pitching line of 1.72/0.99/78/22 in 52.1 IP last season. I expect Cease to be eased into the Majors as a relief pitcher to help Chicago down the stretch in the playoff race.

38) Luis Urias SD, SS/2B, 21.10 – Surprise … Tatis cracked the roster and Urias was sent down. How sad is it that it is absolutely shocking and worthy of praise when baseball teams actually have their best players break camp.

39) Luis Garcia WASH, SS, 18.10 – Back in 2017 I had Leody Taveras ranked 99th and Fernando Tatis Jr. ranked 100th (the vast majority of lists did not have Tatis in their top 100 at all), and wrote, “Hopefully these two lottery tickets turn out better than the one sitting on my coffee table right now.” I don’t think I have to tell you how that turned out so far. Garcia is in a similar boat where the numbers haven’t necessarily been there, but he has been very young compared to his competition and the talent is evident.

40) Jeter Downs LAD, SS, 20.8 – I talked about Downs being one of my favorite underrated prospects in 2019 on the Reunion episode of the Razzball Prospect Podcast, where Ralph Lifshitz and I ran down our favorite prospect targets.

41) Jarred Kelenic SEA, OF, 19.8 – Strong full-season debuts from 19-year-old power-speed combos is a sure way to get the fantasy community dreaming about that upside.

42) Triston McKenzie CLE, RHP, 21.8 – Will be out for about the first month of the season with an upper back strain, which could delay his Triple-A promotion and thus delay the real hype until 2020 off-season lists.

43) Julio Rodriguez SEA, OF, 18.3 – Aggressive assignment to Full-A gives Rodriguez more at-bats to impress prospect rankers, and is an indicator of how high Seattle is on him.

44) Ke’Bryan Hayes PIT, 3B, 22.2 – The power is coming and Hayes will be knocking on the door of the bigs.

45) Bubba Thompson TEX, OF, 20.10 – Will make the leap this year with an improved plate approach and development in the power department.

46) Nico Hoerner CHC, SS, 21.11 – Assigned to Double-A to start the year. I guess the theme of a lot of the risers on this predicted list is if your team believes in you, and gives you the opportunity to shine at higher levels, the list makers will love you.

47) Hunter Bishop OF, ASU, 20.9 –  Turned it up even more since conference play started, with 6 homers in his last 8 games. He’s also young for his draft class. Bishop’s fantasy fypd stock is soaring.

48) Austin Riley ATL, 3B, 22.0 – The only thing between Riley and Atlanta’s 3B job is the brittle and declining Donaldson. I don’t think he will take it over by mid-season, so short of him going Rhys Hoskins at Triple-A, his value should remain stable.

49) Jesus Sanchez TB, OF, 21.6 – Sanchez’ dynasty value has remained pretty stable since 2017, with solid but unexciting stat lines, and I’m expecting the same for 2019.

50) Victor Victor Mesa MIA, OF, 22.8 – Somebody has to be a dropper (taking into account all the graduates) and I’ll go with Victor Victor as he gets picked apart by professional scouts and adjusts to stateside ball.

Just missed: Luis Garcia, Nick Madrigal, Corbin Carroll, CJ Abrams, Riley Greene, Trevor Larnach, Xavier Edwards

Graduates: Vlad Guerrero Jr., Eloy Jimenez, Victor Robles, Fernando Tatis Jr., Nick Senzel, Alex Reyes, Tyler O’Neill, Pete Alonso, Garrett Hampson, Chris Paddack, Christian Stewart, Yusei Kikuchi, Yusniel Diaz, Austin Hays, Danny Jansen, Francisco Mejia, Josh James, Corbin Burnes, Mike Soroka

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

10 Dynasty Baseball Slanted Bold Predictions

I hate bold prediction articles. I hate how embarrassingly wrong all of them are at the end of the season. I hate how they make you a worse fantasy player, because you get it in your head that these things are going to happen, and they aren’t going to happen. I hate how they aren’t really predictions, because if you were really predicting it, it would be reflected in your rankings. Here are my 10 Dynasty Baseball Slanted Bold Predictions:

Click the below links for my previous off-season content:
Halp’s Dynasty Baseball Podcast
2019 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings
2019 Top 472 Dynasty Baseball Prospect Rankings
Updated March Top 100 Prospects Ranking
11 Dynasty Baseball Rules to Live By
2020 Top 90 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings (1st Edition)
The Dynasty Baseball Rundown (3/10/19)

1) Daz Cameron will have a Ramon Laureano-like August and September, helping many a fantasy team take home the title in those crucial final months. The power is definitely coming. Just watch him crush this grand slam on Sunday. With groundball rates consistently under 40% for the last two seasons, this power breakout was inevitable. Add to that plus speed, plus centerfield defense, and a clear path to playing time, and Cameron is one of my favorite underrated prospects in general.

2) Garrett Stubbs will be the strong side of a starting catcher platoon with Robinson Chirinos/Max Stassi by June, and finish the season as a top 15 catcher. Chirinos was one of the worst pitch framers in baseball last season according to StatCorner, costing his team 14.5 runs. I’m sure those numbers will look better with Houston, but point being he is not some defensive catching wizard Houston will feel compelled to keep in the linuep (conversely, Stassi was one of the best pitch framers, saving Houston 8.4 runs). Stubbs also brings a unique skillset compared to Chirinos/Stassi in hitting left handed, making good contact with a 15.6% K% (Chirinos struck out 32.9% of the time and Stassi 29.6%), and above average speed, going 35 for 38 on stolen base attempts in his 304 game MiLB career (Chirinos and Stassi can both be timed with a sundial as my high school coach used to often yell at me as I ran the bases). With Chirinos signed to only a one year deal, I foresee Stubbs being drafted as a top 10 catcher in redraft leagues in 2020.

3) Hunter Harvey will remain healthy all season, and armed with a new splitter, will re-establish himself as one of the best young starters in baseball. Harvey was sitting 95-97 with a high of 98 MPH this spring. Baltimore has babied him the last couple years (preventing him from throwing the splitter) with the intent on keeping him healthy, but that obviously hasn’t worked, so the training wheels are off now. I expect Harvey to debut this season and will boldly predict a sub 3.80 ERA with over a strikeout per inning in 70 IP, and would keep my eye on him in redraft leagues as the talent and upside are all still there.

4) AJ Puk will be drafted as a top 30 SP in 2020 redraft leagues after being a strikeout machine in the 2nd half of the season, while also picking up the win in game 7 of the WS with 6 shutout innings and 10 K’s. Puk had Tommy John surgery on April 10, 2018. Even with the most conservative of rehab schedules, he is going to be ready to go by the 2nd half, and his strikeout numbers will have fantasy owners drooling over the potential. Oakland also has a terrible starting rotation, and with them managing Puk’s innings early in the season, he will just be hitting his stride by the time the playoffs roll around. If Luzardo gets healthy, and Oakland trades for a starter or two, they have the dominant offense and bullpen to break that Billy Beane playoff curse.

5) Carter Kieboom will be the Nationals starting 2B by August and OPS over .800 in the final two months. Kieboom had an impressive spring, slashing .279/.353/.558 with 3 homers and a 10/6 K/BB in 43 at-bats. Two of those homers came off Justin Verlander. He’s got a good feel to hit with natural loft in his swing. Brian Dozier is on a 1 year deal, so Washington will not hesitate to make the switch if they are in the playoff race and Dozier is hurt or under performing. Washington might not be so patient waiting on Dozier’s patented 2nd half surge which never came last season.

6) Nick Neidert will be drafted as a top 50 starter in redraft leagues next season after he puts up impressive K/BB numbers down the stretch in his MLB debut. I’ve been high on Nick Neidert for years now, because plus changeup guys can’t get love on mainstream lists. Scouts love breaking balls more than Roastmaster General Jeff Ross does. He also has plus control and command. He’s basically a poor man’s Chris Paddack (Paddack has the superior fastball).

7) Austin Meadows will go 20/20 with a .280+ average and be a top 50 overall player in 2019. Meadows has the 83rd fastest sprint speed in baseball, but his run times for 85 ft (which is about the distance needed to steal a base) is 47th fastest. I can spend all day playing around with those Statcast 90 ft splits. He’s displayed a good feel to hit throughout his minor league career with a smooth lefty swing that is geared for both average and power. He’s gonna be a stud.

8) Brad Zimmer will be Cleveland’s starting centerfielder by June and will finish the season with 10+ homers and 20+ steals. Zimmer has been progressing well from major shoulder surgery in July 2018, and with Cleveland’s outfield far from locked down, he should have the opportunity to re-establish himself as Cleveland’s starting CF when healthy. I’ll bring Kyle Zimmer into this one too. His fastball has been in the mid 90’s this spring and is impressing out of the bullpen in Royals camp. I foresee that the Zimmer family is due for some good luck in 2019.

9) Clint Frazier will overtake Brett Gardner for the starting LF job and will hit .265 with 20 homers during the final 4 months of the season. I guess my theme here is talented players being underrated because of recent injury history. If I wrote this last year, David Dahl would have definitely been included. So would Trevor Story, Matt Chapman, and Ozzie Albies judging by the one article I did manage to put out last off-season where I ranked the top inexperienced players and prospects for 2018.

10) I will shatter the bold prediction record and go exactly 7 for 10 on these probably too vague and maybe not bold enough predictions.

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

 

 

 

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Halp’s Dynasty Baseball Podcast: Finishing Up My March 2019 Top 100 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Ranking

The final installment of my March Top 100 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Ranking comes in podcast form as I run down the 76th-114th ranked prospects on my list:

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Click the below links for my previous off-season content:
2019 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings
2019 Top 472 Dynasty Baseball Prospect Rankings
11 Dynasty Baseball Rules to Live By
2020 Top 90 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings (1st Edition)
The Dynasty Baseball Rundown (3/10/19)

76) Joey Bart SF, C, 22.3 – ETA: 2020 Prime Projection: 69/25/83/.259/.335/.463/3

77) Brandon Lowe TB, OF/2B, 24.9 – 2019 Projection: 41/11/39/.255/.330/.439/4 Prime Projection: 82/25/79/.263/.350/.469/9

78) Keibert Ruiz LAD, C, 20.8 – ETA: Late 2020 Prime Projection: 64/21/72/.283/.341/.469/0

79) Seth Beer HOU, 1B/OF, 22.7 – ETA: 2021 Prime Projection: 68/30/81/.268/.342/.480/1

80) Hunter Greene CIN, RHP, 19.8 – ETA: 2022 Prime Projection: 16/3.32/1.10/220 in 190 IP

81) Luis Garcia PHI, SS, 18.6 – ETA: 2022 Prime Projection: 88/18/73/.278/.353/.449/16

82) Kyle Wright ATL, RHP, 23.6 – ETA: Late 2019 Prime Projection: 14/3.69/1.24/180 in 180 IP

83) Mitch Keller PIT, RHP, 23.0 – 2019 Projection: 4/4.31/1.38/46 in 58 IP Prime Projection: 14/3.54/1.20/185 in 185 IP

84) Bubba Thompson TEX, OF, 20.10 – ETA: 2022 Prime Projection: 83/17/72/.262/.318/.420/28

85) Nico Hoerner CHC, SS, 21.11 – ETA: 2021 Prime Projection: 88/15/63/.281/.363/.426/18

86) Matt Manning DET, RHP, 21.3 – ETA: 2020 Prime Projection: 15/3.61/1.27/215 in 190 IP

87) Ke’Bryan Hayes PIT, 3B, 22.2 – ETA: 2020 Prime Projection: 86/20/81/.279/.362/.453/14

88) Cole Tucker PIT, SS, 22.9  ETA: 2020 Prime Projection: 81/17/72/.268/.331/.418/21

89) Estevan Florial NYY, OF, 21.6 – ETA: 2021 Prime Projection: 88/23/75/.252/.344/.451/21

90) Isaac Paredes DET, SS, 20.1 – ETA: 2020/21 Prime Projection: 83/20/78/.291/.372/.468/3

91) Nolan Jones CLE, 3B, 20.11 – ETA: 2021 Prime Projection: 82/28/86/.253/.367/.485/2

92) Travis Swaggerty PIT, OF, 21.9 – ETA: 2021 Prime Projection: 87/18/72/.274/.338/.431/23

93) Brendan McKay TB, LHP, 23.3 – ETA: 2020 Prime Projection: 14/3.68/1.17/189 in 183 IP

94) Justus Sheffield SEA, LHP, 22.10 – 2019 Projection: 7/4.36/1.38/109 in 120 IP Prime Projection: 11/3.66/1.28/174 in 180 IP

95) Griffin Canning LAA, RHP, 22.11 – ETA: Late 2019 Prime Projection: 13/3.68/1.23/182 in 177 IP

96) Corey Ray MIL, OF, 24.6 – ETA: Late 2019 Prime Projection: 78/21/71/.238/.318/.445/26

97) Kameron Misner OF, Missouri, 21.3 – ETA: 2022 Prime Projection: 86/23/79/.260/.350/.468/17

98) Hunter Bishop OF, ASU, 20.9 – ETA: 2022 Prime Projection: 84/25/86/.265/.340/.473/16

99) Jordyn Adams LAA, OF, 19.5 – ETA: 2023 Prime Projection: 86/18/75/.250/.340/.439/28

100) Jerrion Ealy OF, HS, 18.7 – ETA: 2024 Prime Projection: 91/21/86/.277/.345/.461/30

101) Maurice Hampton OF, HS, 17.8 – ETA: 2024 Prime Projection: 83/24/83/.258/.330/.468/23

102) Robert Puason SS, OAK, 16?? – ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 93/23/87/.277/.351/.479/22

103) Jahmai Jones LAA, 2B, 21.8 – ETA: 2021 Prime Projection: 93/17/78/.271/.337/.434/23

104) Alec Bohm PHI, 3B, 22.8 –  ETA: 2020/21 Prime Projection: 77/25/92/.278/.346/.477/4

105) Wander Javier MIN, SS, 20.3 – ETA: 2022 Prime Projection: 87/21/82/.278/.342/.455/15

106) Marco Luciano SF, SS, 17.7 – ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 81/28/93/.255/.338/.483/7

107) Adrian Morejon SD, SP, 20.1 – ETA: 2021 Prime Projection: 13/3.62/1.29/169 in 173 IP

108) Adonis Medina PHI, RHP, 22.4 – ETA: 2020 Prime Projection: 13/3.73/1.19/193 in 181 IP

109) Brusdar Graterol MIN, RHP, 20.7 –  ETA: 2020 Prime Projection: 14/3.52/1.23/190 in 180 IP

110) Nate Pearson TOR, RHP, 22.7 – ETA: 2020 Prime Projection: 13/3.58/1.24/192 in 180 IP

111) Colton Welker COL, 3B, 21.6 – ETA: 2021 Prime Projection: 77/23/84/.272/.338/470/5

112) Tyler Nevin COL, 1B/3B, 21.10 – ETA: 2021 Prime Projection: 79/25/91/.277/.348/.485/5

113) Kevin Smith TOR, SS, 22.9 – ETA: Late 2020 Prime Projection: 74/24/77/.248/.312/.456/12

114) Anthony Alford TOR, OF, 24.8 – ETA: Late 2019 Prime Projection: 79/17/73/.263/.328/.428/16

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

51-75: March 2019 Top 100 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Ranking (w/ new blurbs, updated rankings, and slightly updated projections)

Things change fast in the prospect world. Even during the off-season these lists can be fluid. Now that we’ve actually laid eyes on many of the 2019 versions of these prospects, and have the first indication of how their parent clubs view them fitting in on the future roster, I decided to update the first 100 of my 2019 Top 472 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Ranking. Here is the March 2019 Top 100 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Ranking: 51-75 (w/ new blurbs, updated rankings, and slightly updated projections):

CLICK HERE FOR 1-25
CLICK HERE FOR 26-50
CLICK HERE FOR 76-114 (PODCAST)

Click the below links for my previous off-season content:
2019 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings
2019 Top 472 Dynasty Baseball Prospect Rankings
11 Dynasty Baseball Rules to Live By
2020 Top 90 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings (1st Edition)
The Dynasty Baseball Rundown (3/10/19)

+17 (51) Cristian Pache ATL, OF, 20.5 – I was the high guy on Pache back in 2017 when I was the only list to have him in my top 100, telling you to ignore the poor numbers and draft the talent. He’s currently 10 for 22 for 2 homers, 1 steal and a 1.364 OPS. Looking at the other prospects I ranked towards the back of that list, I was also high on Austin Hays, Carter Kieboom (who took Justin Verlander deep twice yesterday), Colton Welker, and Bubba Thompson relative to the rest of the “industry.” Not bad if I say so myself. ETA: Late 2020 Prime Projection: 83/19/76/.269/.3335/.448/26

+101 (52) Austin Hays BAL, OF, 23.9 – On a rampage this spring, blasting another homer yesterday and now has 4 total with a .355 BA and 1.246 OPS. He is the favorite to open the season as Baltimore’s starting RF, and there is no reason not to jump back on the bandwagon. He’s worth a flyer late in redraft leagues too. (Update: Sent down to Triple-A. Note to self: Never take merit into account when trying to guess playing time decisions) 2019 Projection: 52/17/61/.254/.318/.436/2 Prime Projection: 81/26/87/.271/.337/.468/5

-10 (53) Josh James HOU, RHP, 26.1 – The risk of James not being utilized in the most advantageous of ways for fantasy owners is getting greater and greater by the day. The quad injury took him out the running for the 5th starter job, but there were indications even before the injury that he was not the favorite. Forrest Whitley is also knocking on the door and Dallas Keuchel is still not out of the question. The strikeout upside is unquestionable, but opportunity is becoming a legitimate concern. 2019 Projection: 5/3.91/1.28/105 in 90 IP Prime Projection: 13/3.63/1.28/193 in 170 IP

-8 (54) Victor Victor Mesa MIA, OF, 22.8 – I was one of the first to pump the breaks on the Gurriel brothers hype train back in 2016 (incidentally, I think Lourdes is being underrated now), being leery of the Cuban hype machine, but I might have gotten a little too swept up in the Victor Victor hype. Just goes to show you that you can get swept up in propaganda even if you know it is coming. Mesa got hurt in his first game this spring, so the uncertainty of how good he really is continues to grow. ETA: Mid 2020 Prime Projection: 88/14/71/.277/.334/.436/24

55) Triston McKenzie CLE, RHP, 21.8 – Cleveland has been so great with pitching prospects recently (Kluber, Carrasco, Clevinger, Bieber, Bauer) it is hard not to have an extra tick or two of confidence in McKenzie. And why shouldn’t we, considering developing talent is at least half the battle and maybe much more than that. An upper back strain will keep him out about 6 weeks, but that shouldn’t impact his dynasty value much, if at all. ETA: 2020 Prime Projection: 13/3.38/1.14/188 in 176 IP

56) Corbin Burnes MIL, RHP, 24.5 – Battling for the last spot in Milwaukee’s rotation, but considering the attrition rate of starters and Milwaukee’s shaky rotation to begin with, he should get his chance at some point this year even if he loses the competition. 2019 Projection: 6/3.94/1.27/110 in 120 IP Prime Projection: 13/3.61/1.18/175 in 180 IP

57) Ian Anderson ATL, RHP, 20.11 – Soroka has a bum shoulder. Gausman already had inflammation in his right shoulder and got shellacked in his spring debut. Mike Foltynewicz has a sore pitching elbow and just started playing light catch. Touki Toussaint has nasty stuff but still has a lot to prove. Luiz Gohara is feeling tightness in his shoulder. All of this to say it is not so far fetched that we see Anderson make more than a handful of major league starts this season. I moved up his ETA up from late 2020, to late 2019. ETA: Late 2019 Prime Projection: 15/3.45/1.20/210 in 190 IP

58) A.J. Puk OAK, LHP, 23.11 – With a stacked bullpen and how desperate Oakland is for impact starters, a rotation spot should be waiting for Puk when he is ready. In redraft leagues, I would be closely monitoring Puk’s progress, and be ready to pounce at the first hint of him rounding into form. ETA: 5/3.70/1.33/84 in 72 IP Prime Projection: 15/3.42/1.26/214 in 186 IP

59) Austin Riley ATL, 3B, 22.0 – Although Riley’s overall spring numbers are poor (.615 OPS), I take it as a good sign that he has a solid 7/3 K/BB in 32 at-bats after striking out 4 times in 8 at-bats in Spring 2017 and 10 times in 24 at-bats in Spring 2018. Maybe saying it is a “good sign” is a little too strong, but it’s better than the alternative. ETA: 2020 Prime Projection: 79/29/93/.262/.332/.485/2

60) Jesus Sanchez TB, OF, 21.6 – 1 for 13 with 1 homer this spring. Was optioned back to the minors this weekend. Sanchez has a good feel to hit, plus raw power, and some speed too. Hit ultimate hitting profile can still go in any number of different directions. This 21-year-old season should start to truly reveal the player he will likely become. ETA: Mid 2020 Prime Projection: 78/25/83/.276/.332/.478/9

61) Drew Waters ATL, OF, 20.3 – Now seems like a good time to tell you that I’ve been battling the flu this week, but like German Marquez, it’s not gonna stop me from performing. I’ve been trying to stay hydrated as much as possible, so I guess you can say I drew waters out of the faucet all week … my bad, I try to avoid bad puns in my writing, but I get to blame that one on being sick. ETA: 2022 Prime Projection: 86/21/84/.278/.335/.474/20

-28 (62) Mike Soroka ATL, RHP, 21.8 – I find trying to differentiate injury risk between pitchers one of the toughest things to do as a ranker, because all pitchers are already high risk. But now that Soroka has felt renewed pain in his shoulder, it is clear I didn’t factor in last season’s shoulder injury enough on my original ranking. ETA: Mid 2019 Prime Projection: 13/3.49/1.12/170 in 182 IP

+10 (63) Touki Toussaint ATL, RHP, 22.9 – Gets a bump now that he is the favorite for the last spot in the rotation. He’s got nasty stuff evidenced by a 84.9 MPH average exit velocity against and 32 K’s in 29 MLB IP, but control/command is still a work in progress and ultimately the reliever risk is very real. 2019 Projection: 8/4.23/1.38/141 in 140 IP Prime Projection: 13/3.81/1.31/186 in 180 IP

64) George Valera CLE, OF, 18.5 – Saw a great gif in the Rotoworld MiLB Forum comparing Valera’s swing to Robinson Cano’s. It really is uncanny. That forum is a great place to talk about prospects in general and to get the early scoop on some pop up guys during the season. You should definitely check it out. ETA: 2022 Prime Projection: 88/23/88/.291/.365/.493/9

65) Nick Madrigal CHW, 2B, 22.1 – I can’t decide if I’m underrating Madrigal or overrating him. He seems like one of the most divisive prospects in this year’s FYPD pool. It’s going to come down to how hard his contact is now that he is healed up from last season’s wrist injury. ETA: Late 2020 Prime Projection: 92/11/63/.296/.351/.418/24

66) Corbin Carroll OF, HS, 18.7 – Haven’t heard anything new on Carroll. While he is generally ranked too high to say he is underrated, I think his small stature is really preventing the hype train from going into overdrive. Prime Projection: 96/23/92/.285/.358/.478/26 ETA: 2023

67) CJ Abrams SS, HS, 18.6 – Abrams is now the favorite to be the 1st high school player selected in the draft. Witt’s hit tool is too risky for teams drafting at the very top. Prime Projection: 96/18/71/.287/.349/.453/29 ETA: 2023

68) Riley Greene OF, HS, 18.6 – Reports from Fangraphs have been glowing about Greene in the early going this year. You should really check out that article if haven’t already for tons of great draft nuggets. Prime Projection: 91/25/92/.288/.373/.505/13 ETA: 2023

69) Jazz Chisholm ARI, SS, 21.2 – Chisholm has been working on his patience this spring. “You can definitely get yourself out when you go up there overaggressive instead of going up there and taking your pitch and hitting your pitch,” he said. “I’m just working on staying a little less aggressive but still being aggressive. Cutting it loose when I get the pitch to cut it loose on, not trying to do too much.” So he is trying to be aggressive but also not be aggressive and wants to cut it loose but also not try to do too much. Who said this hitting a baseball thing was easy? ETA: 2021 Prime Projection: 82/23/76/.241/.313/.438/16

70) Trevor Larnach MIN, OF, 22.1 – Seems like there are a couple guys in each 25 player group that I don’t have anything interesting to add. Larnach and Edwards are those guys in this group. ETA: Late 2020 Prime Projection: 78/26/87/.263/.347/.483/2

71) Xavier Edwards SD, SS, 19.8 – “As above, so below.” ETA: 2022 Prime Projection: 103/10/56/.291/.366/.401/36

72) Nathaniel Lowe TB, 1B, 23.9 – Not a great spring for someone trying to force their way into a crowded lineup and prove they aren’t a one year wonder, going 3 for 32 with 14 K’s and 1 walk. Ultimately, how he performs at Triple-A is all that will matter. ETA: Late 2019 Prime Projection: 73/25/82/.264/.339/.470/1

73) Michael Chavis BOS, 3B, 23.8 – Since I wrote about Chavis in my first Dynasty Baseball Rundown of the season, he has only continued to mash with 4 homers and a 1.152 OPS. Whether he breaks into the majors through trade, injury, or poor performance, Chavis has the type of power that can carry your fantasy squad for a few weeks if he gets hot at the right time. ETA: Late 2019 Prime Projection: 72/28/88/.254/.328/.476/5

+130 (74) Kyle Lewis SEA, OF, 23.9 – The knee looks good and that is all I need to see for Lewis to rise up my rankings. I ranked him first on my pre-draft list in 2016, and I’m just happy to see him healthy again. ETA: 2020 Prime Projection: 79/27/89/.265/.343/.474/8

-20 (75) Alex Verdugo LAD, OF, 22.11 – The whispers over how well Verdugo handles the mental aspect of the game have grown louder and louder. The power has always been an issue for fantasy, and even if you don’t buy into the mental concerns (lack of effort and focus), if it prevents the Dodgers or another team from really giving him a true chance to grow and develop at the major league level, it is a problem. 2019 Projection: 40/8/36/.273/.335/.415/5 Prime Projection: 84/18/82/.285/.351/.447/9

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CLICK HERE FOR 76-114 (PODCAST)

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

The Dynasty Baseball Rundown (3/10/19)

Throughout the 2019 season, I will be running down some of the notable performances impacting dynasty baseball leagues, or anything that might have caught my eye in general. Here is The Dynasty Baseball Rundown (3/10/19):

Click the below links for my previous off-season content:
March 2019 Top 100 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Ranking
2019 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings
2019 Top 472 Dynasty Baseball Prospect Rankings
11 Dynasty Baseball Rules to Live By
2020 Top 90 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings (1st Edition)

Bo Bichette TOR, SS – If you are going to watch only one gif of prospect spring training exploits, this gif (made by Prospect Live’s Lance Brozdowski) of the ball taking off like a rocket ship from the bat of Bo Bichette is the one to watch. Part of me thinks it is too good to be true and there is something going on with the speed of the video, but either way, it is really fun to watch.

Anthony Alford TOR, OF – I told you not to give up on Alford’s plus athleticism in my Top 1,000 Dynasty Ranking (I acquired him as a throw-in in one of my leagues) and he is showing you why with a beastly spring, going 7 for 21 with 4 homers and 2 steals. He isn’t going to break camp with the team, but if he puts up big numbers in Triple-A, he’s got a shot to make an impact in the 2nd half.

Kyle Lewis SEA, OF – Blowing up this spring, going 7 for 15 with 2 homers and a stolen base. More importantly, the knee looks healthy. Lewis is firmly back in my Top 100. Hold on to him for dear life.

Jo Adell LAA, OF – Speaking of knee injuries, Adell avoided a serious one while running the bases yesterday, but he did come away with a sprained right ankle and strained left hamstring that should keep him out for several weeks. It doesn’t impact his dynasty value at all, but it is a reminder that the injury gods are always lurking, ready to destroy your fantasy teams on a whim.

Cristian Pache ATL, OF – 8 for 19 with 2 homers and a steal. Considering his bat is supposed to be a weakness, this is quite the impressive performance. He has a chance to explode up prospect lists by mid-season.

German Marquez COL, SP – Struck out 9 batters in 3 IP with the flu. That’s some Michael Jordan shit right there, except Jordan did it in Game 5 of the Championship series, while Marquez did it in Spring Training. So I guess maybe it isn’t some Michael Jordan shit.

Matt Strahm SD, SP – The Strahm hype is real, throwing 4 scoreless innings with 2 hits and 8 K’s yesterday. He won’t be underrated in smarter fantasy leagues, but my guess is you will be able to steal him in the majority of leagues out there.

Eloy Jimenez CHW, OF – The hype has been very quiet on Eloy, maybe because he is 3 for 23 with 8 K’s, 0 walks and 1 homer. He’s making it really hard for prospect social media to get up in arms and outraged over manipulating his service time. Help us, help you.

Keston Hiura MIL, 2B – Starting to heat up, homering and driving in four yesterday. He’s now slashing .273/.385/.591 with 2 homers and a steal. This guy is going to contribute in every category when he finally gets his shot.

Ronald Guzman TEX, 1B – Hitting .292 with 3 homers and a 1.079 OPS. Guzman is a big dude at 6’5”, 225 who focused on being a good hitter rather than selling out for power in the minors. Now that he is entering his physical prime, there is some serious underrated upside here.

Triston McKenzie CLE, SP – Shut down with an upper back strain. It’s probably from carrying around all that extra weight. The 6’5”, 165-pound McKenzie could stand to lose a few 😉

Ryan McMahon COL, 2B – Leads all qualified spring hitters with a 1.333 OPS. Garrett Hampson is 7th with a 1.033 OPS. It’s never easy with Colorado.

Lewis Brinson MIA, OF – Leading all hitters with 5 homers, although a 8/2 K/BB in 26 at-bats is not exactly sparkling. He was bad last year, but the numbers looked even worse because he was also unlucky. There is nowhere to go but up.

Domingo Santana SEA, OF – Slashing .455/.520/1.091 with 4 homers and a 5/3 K/BB. I’ve still seen Domingo going silly low in drafts. I would own him everywhere at the price he is available at right now.

Austin Hays BAL, OF – Getting an early jump on his bounce back season, slashing .320/.346/.800 with 3 homers. With Mancini, Hays, Stewart and Diaz, the Orioles corner OF spots are up for grabs.

Vlad Guerrero Jr. TOR, 3B – Left oblique strain will keep Guerrero out for about 3 weeks. Toronto already announced he will start the year in the minors, but it might push his timetable back another week or two at least. This hurts more for the people aggressively drafting him in re-draft leagues.

Domingo German NYY, SP – My guess is German is next man up with Severino on the shelf. He’s got nasty stuff and is dominating this spring with a 2.35 ERA and a 12/1 K/BB in 7.2 IP. By the time Severino returns, Paxton will probably be on the DL. Or CC. Or Tanaka. Point being, German is going to get a ton of innings this year one way or another.

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

26-50: March 2019 Top 100 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Ranking (w/ new blurbs, updated rankings, and slightly updated projections)

Things change fast in the prospect world. Even during the off-season these lists can be fluid. Now that we’ve actually laid eyes on many of the 2019 versions of these prospects, and have the first indication of how their parent clubs view them fitting in on the future roster, I decided to update the first 100 of my 2019 Top 472 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Ranking. Here is the March 2019 Top 100 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Ranking: 26-50 (w/ new blurbs, updated rankings, and slightly updated projections):

CLICK HERE FOR 1-25
CLICK HERE FOR 51-75
CLICK HERE FOR 76-114 (PODCAST)

Click the below links for my previous off-season content:
2019 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings
2019 Top 472 Dynasty Baseball Prospect Rankings
11 Dynasty Baseball Rules to Live By
2020 Top 90 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings (1st Edition)
The Dynasty Baseball Rundown (2/24/2019)

+5 (26) Christin Stewart DET, OF, 25.4 – One of my favorite underrated prospects, Stewart is performing well this spring, going 5 for 18 with 2 homers and a .944 OPS, but more importantly he proved he is fully recovered from the core muscle surgery which ended his 2018 season. Take advantage of the fact he gets no respect on traditional lists because of his poor defense, and draft him in every league he is available (redraft, shallow keeper, etc …). I want to say he will provide similar value to Matt Olson and Matt Chapman, but while Stewart’s launch angle and strikeout rate should be similar, his exit velocity readings weren’t as beastly as those two. 2019 Projection: 73/26/85/.249/.336/.470/1 Prime Projection: 77/31/93/.254/.345/.489/1

27) Luis Robert CHW, OF, 21.8 – The injured thumb that tanked Robert’s 2018 season is jammed again after a headfirst slide into 2nd base. It’s supposedly not that serious and should sideline him only a few days, but it’s not a good sign how easily it got re-injured. Also, maybe we shouldn’t be sliding headfirst in spring training games, although are spring training games any less meaningful for prospects than minor league games? ETA: 2020 Prime Projection: 86/27/88/.265/.338/.481/18

28) Jonathan India CIN, 3B, 22.3 – Nothing new to say on India and Gorman. They are still my top 2 picks in a first year player draft. ETA: Mid 2020 Prime Projection: 91/24/85/.268/.346/.463/14

29) Nolan Gorman STL, 3B, 18.11 – Look up one inch. ETA: 2022 Prime Projection: 88/36/105/.265/.355/.520/2

30) Yusei Kikuchi SEA, LHP, 27.9 – Hasn’t looked all that hot this spring, but he did look better in his latest outing. I think Kikuchi couldn’t care less about feeding the hype machine, and is slowly adjusting to a new routine and getting himself ready for when it counts. I wouldn’t expect to truly see him at his best and open up his full bag of tricks until the regular season begins. 2019 Projection: 12/3.69/1.21/163 in 170 IP

31) MacKenzie Gore SD, LHP, 20.1 – This is a lofty ranking for a young pitching prospect who hasn’t really proven anything yet, and if this thing goes sideways, I’m blaming that flashy, Rockettes-style leg kick. I even mentioned we all might be getting taken in by that leg kick back in my 2017 MLB Draft Ranking, where I ranked Gore 5th and said, “I am a sucker for a big lefty with a funky delivery, and Gore not only checks those boxes, but he also has elite control of a low 90’s fastball, along with three different secondary pitches (slider, curveball, changeup) that flash plus and project as above average or better. Nothing about him screams ace, and maybe we are all being pulled in by that leg kick (something I am seriously considering, ha) but all together, there doesn’t seem to be many weaknesses, either.” The very same thing could still be said about him today.  ETA: 2021/22 Prime Projection: 15/3.21/1.07/215 in 200 IP

32) Casey Mize DET, RHP, 21.11 – Mize looked great in his spring debut (and spring finale), striking out 2 in 2 IP and reaching 98 MPH on the stadium gun. He was reassigned to minor league camp yesterday. I think he could more than hold his own in the major league rotation right now, but MLB loves to hide their most exciting young players in the minors for years, just to make sure they lose as much of their marketability as possible before debuting in some meaningless game in August/September after over half their teams fan base has already checked out on the season. ETA: 2020 Prime Projection: 16/3.49/1.15/215 in 190 IP

33) Andrew Vaughn 1B, California, 21.0 – What the hell, I’m adding 2020 First Year Player Draft guys into this ranking too. Vaughn ranked 4th on my 2020 Top 90 First Year Player Draft Rankings, but I wrote I wouldn’t blame you if you took him #1. And now I’m not blaming myself and would take him #1. He is wrecking college ball right now, slashing .529/.680/1.176 with 7 homers and a 5/15 K/BB in 10 games, although Cal doesn’t really get into the meat of their conference schedule until this weekend.. Plus hit, plus power, and plus proximity. Prime Projection: 82/30/94/.285/.361/.514/2 ETA: 2021

+43 (34) Yusniel Diaz BAL, OF, 22.6 – Count me all-in on Yusniel Diaz. He has a good feel to hit with average speed and if spring training is any indication, his power is about to take the next step. Mitch Haniger is the ceiling comp. ETA: Mid 2019 Prime Projection: 87/26/88/.276/.345/.481/10

35) Kristian Robinson ARI, OF, 18.4 – I drafted Robinson in the 2nd round of my 12 team, hometown dynasty league, passing up on players I had previously ranked higher than him in Gavin Lux and Luis Garcia. Some of it had to do with preferring upside based on my roster construction and league set-up, but when the pressure was on, I wanted Robinson. It either goes to show you shouldn’t be a slave to anyone’s rankings, even your own, or conversely, when the pressure is on and emotions come into play, you make stupid decisions. We’ll figure out which one a few years from now, but until then, I like to put my money where my mouth is, so I bumped Robinson up over those guys. Actions speak louder than words. ETA: 2023 Prime Projection: 86/28/95/.268/.355/.498/14

36) Bobby Witt Jr. SS, High School, 18.10 – Witt certainly doesn’t lack for confidence, saying last year, “My goal in baseball is to be the best that’s ever played. I want to set my goals high and keep going after them until I eventually can’t do it anymore.” He is old for his high school class and the hit tool needs improvement, but the plus power-speed combo is worth chasing after. Prime Projection: 88/26/92/.257/.339/.479/21 ETA: 2024

37) Jasson Dominguez OF, NYY, 16?? – An international man of mystery. There is still not very much information out there on Dominguez other than a few “The Scout” style Youtube videos of him on the backfields. I just can’t resist the upside. Prime Projection: 96/28/94/.281/.357/.511/19 ETA: 2025

38) Gavin Lux LAD, SS, 21.4 – One of my Twitter followers, @ReedDeSalvo, caught a few Lux at-bats this spring and came away impressed, saying, “Got to see Gavin Lux’s at-bats yesterday. Roping a Thyago Viera fastball for a hit. Didn’t realize how big Lux is — 6’2, 190 legit — his stance is a slightly more upright KBryant (not comparing just saying). You’re definitely high on him, but man I REALLY liked his physique.” You heard the man, don’t sleep on Lux’s physique, and considering he is the same age as the juniors in the 2019 MLB draft, there just might be another level of power to be unlocked. ETA: Late 2020 Prime Projection: 93/20/69/.275/.352/.450/17

39) Danny Jansen TOR, C, 24.0 – Going only 3 for 15 this spring has kept the hype train in check and also kept his price reasonable in redraft leagues. Jansen would be my top late round catcher to target. 2019 Projection: 51/15/59/.257/.345/.429/2 Prime Projection: 64/21/73/.273/.351/.463/6

40) Vidal Brujan TB, 2B, 21.2 – Joey Wendle, Daniel Robertson, Brandon Lowe, and Nick Solak are all currently ahead of Brujan on Tampa’s 2B depth chart. The competition might be even tougher in the OF, plus Brujan has never played a single inning in the OF during his minor league career. Tampa loves to platoon, and while Brujan is a switch hitter, he hits righties much better than lefties. I’m not dinging his value for any of this, but it is something I would keep in mind, and it might make me a little more willing to trade him if the right deal came along. ETA: 2021 Prime Projection: 91/13/56/.283/.348/.419/33

41) Andres Gimenez NYM, SS, 20.7 – Like Bichette, Gimenez is another player I would love to get sprint speed data on, because I have seen his speed grades all over the place. Maybe one day I’ll get my ass out from behind the computer and start timing these guys on my own. Like my grandfather used to say, “if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.” ETA: 2021 Prime Projection: 92/17/66/.288/.343/.421/20

42) Sixto Sanchez MIA, RHP, 20.8 – Trade to Miami puts him in a better ballpark, and while Miami is a Quad-A team right now, they can’t be this bad forever. Although they seemed to target a whole bunch of high risk/high reward prospects in their rebuild (Brinson, Harrison, Alfaro), so maybe their chances are actually pretty high of being this bad for a long time. ETA: 2021 Prime Projection: 14/3.42/1.07/188 in 182 IP

43) Dylan Cease CHW, RHP, 23.3 – Made his spring debut yesterday, pitching a scoreless inning and consistently hitting 98 MPH with his fastball. Control was shaky, throwing only 8 of 14 pitches for strikes, but that can be expected for his first outing. ETA: 2020 Prime Projection: 13/3.78/1.29/196 in 174 IP

44) Luis Urias SD, SS/2B, 21.10 – 6 for 18 with a 6/1 K/BB, 1 homer, and 1 steal. Strikeout rate was also considerably higher in 2018 than it had been in previous years, and although it came with a small spike in power, his 3.4 degree launch angle in his small MLB sample isn’t a great sign. DJ LeMahieu without Coors would be my best comp, albeit with higher upside because he has been much younger than his competition every step of the way. 2019 Projection: 69/10/50/.262/.328/.392/6 Prime Projection: 96/18/63/.293/.371/.469/12

45) Francisco Mejia SD, C/OF, 23.5 – Cracked his first spring homer yesterday against Mike Leake. He’s now 8 for 16 this spring with a 3/2 K/BB. There really isn’t any room for him in the starting lineup other than at catcher, so much of his value will be tied to beating out Hedges as the starting catcher over the course of the year. Work on that defense! 2019 Projection: 31/9/27/.252/.300/.401/2 Prime Projection: 69/22/82/.278/.331/.456/4

46) Adley Rutschman C, Oregon State, 21.2 – Slashing .343/.540/.800 with 5 homers and a 8/15 K/BB in 11 games. I mentioned in my original write-up that safe college bats are bound to rise as we get closer to the draft, and that is exactly what is happening with my rankings. Why didn’t I just rank them higher in the first place, you might ask? Good question. Prime Projection: 78/26/87/.278/.366/.483/3 ETA: 2021

47) Daz Cameron DET, OF, 22.2 – Another one of my favorite underrated prospects. Cameron has plus speed, a clear path to the future starting CF job, and a batted ball distribution that makes a power outbreak almost inevitable as he matures. I’m also a sucker for bloodlines. ETA: Late 2019 Prime Projection: 88/19/69/.262/.340/.442/23

-11 – (48) Luis Garcia WASH, SS, 18.10 – A prospect evaluator I really respect, John Calvagno, voiced some concerns on Twitter in late January about the hype Garcia was getting, saying, “I’m a little lower than most on Luis Garcia (Nats) I saw him for 2 games in April pre-breakout. I liked the hands and the bat speed was evident but the linear swing and minimal load has me ? the future power and not sure the speed ages well. Likely a 2B-3B long term.” This could be a Leody Taveras, getting hype a little too early situation, which I didn’t properly factor in on my original ranking. ETA: 2021 Prime Projection: 88/22/82/.287/.346/.469/14

49) Jeter Downs LAD, SS, 20.8 – There is a reason one of the smartest teams in baseball stole Downs out from under Cincinnati. He might not have blazing speed or huge raw power, but he excels in the skills that make for a great modern day baseball player. He hit the ball in the air over 50% of the time, had a strikeout rate under 20%, a 9.9% walk rate, and stole 37 bases. I drool over insane tools as much as the next guy, but Downs has insane baseball skills and is being criminally underrated by the prospect community right now. ETA: 2022 Prime Projection: 88/23/77/.271/.355/.468/18

50) Jarred Kelenic SEA, OF, 19.8 – Practices something called goat yoga, where goats literally walk on your back as you’re lying down. Why am I wasting my time blogging when I can come up with a snake oil scheme to scam gullible young millionaire athletes out of their money? ETA: 2022 Prime Projection: 89/24/81/.278/.352/.477/16

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

March 2019 Top 100 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Ranking: 1-25 (w/ new blurbs, updated rankings, and slightly updated projections)

Things change fast in the prospect world. Even during the off-season these lists can be fluid. Now that we’ve actually laid eyes on many of the 2019 versions of these prospects, and have the first indication of how their parent clubs view them fitting in on the future roster, I decided to update the first 100 of my 2019 Top 472 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Ranking. Here is the March 2019 Top 100 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Ranking: 1-25 (w/ new blurbs, updated rankings, and slightly updated projections):

CLICK HERE FOR 26-50
CLICK HERE FOR 51-75
CLICK HERE FOR 76-114 (PODCAST)

Click the below links for my previous off-season content:
2019 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings
2019 Top 472 Dynasty Baseball Prospect Rankings
11 Dynasty Baseball Rules to Live By
2020 Top 90 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings (1st Edition)
The Dynasty Baseball Rundown (2/24/2019)

1) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. TOR, 3B, 20.0 – The Zion Williamson of baseball. Both are fat, dominant, and forced to play for peanuts. Let’s just hope Vlad doesn’t go the way of Zion and injure himself before making it to the big stage. ETA: Mid April 2019 Projection: 74/23/77/.294/.365/.502/5  Prime Projection: 103/40/118/.325/.420/.616/5

2) Eloy Jimenez CHW, OF, 22.4 – No news is good news. 2019 Projection: 61/25/69/.281/.338/.504/1 Prime Projection: 92/42/109/.306/.377/.563/1

3) Victor Robles WASH, OF, 21.10 – With Bryce Harper officially signing with Philly, any small chance he could have returned to Washington and stole Robles’ playing time is now gone. Robles is 3 for 11 with 1 homer, 2 steals and a 1.036 OPS thus far in spring. He’s ramping up to be a 5-category stud in short order. 2019 Projection: 84/16/71/.272/.327/.430/24 Prime Projection: 104/21/75/.296/.370/.477/32

4) Fernando Tatis Jr. SD, SS, 20.3 – Murdering spring pitching with 2 homers and a 1.295 OPS in 14 at-bats. Adding Machado to all of the young talent that is ready to break through on San Diego’s roster means there is at least a chance they are competitive enough to make it worth their while to call Tatis up earlier than originally planned. 2019 Projection: 33/10/39/.247/.318/.438/7 Prime Projection: 92/34/108/.273/.362/.526/16

5) Kyle Tucker HOU, OF, 21.4 – Will Houston let Tucker go through some growing pains if necessary considering all of their other options? I don’t know the answer, but my guess is that they are a smart enough organization to allow it … or they will trade him for starting pitching before he marinates too long in the minors. 2019 Projection: 42/12/47/.250/.320/.450/7 Prime Projection: 92/31/101/.278/.371/.518/10

6) Wander Franco TB, SS, 18.1 – Looking at my prime projection for Franco he could easily be ranked #1 on this list, but I’m just not in the business of trading my top prospects who are about to break into the bigs for the next big thing in rookie ball/A-Ball. It just seems like you will constantly be running in circles. ETA: 2021 Prime Projection: 110/30/110/.310/.395/.587/18

+1 (7) Nick Senzel CIN, 3B, 23.9 – Cincinnati seems serious about using Senzel in centerfield, and he now has a real chance of breaking camp with the big league club. I bumped him up over Lewis because of the new path to playing time. 2019 Projection: 66/14/64/.270/.330/.440/10 Prime Projection: 93/24/91/.288/.360/.484/13

8) Royce Lewis MIN, SS, 19.10 – Has been sidelined with a mild oblique strain. Injury expert, and Twins current manager Rocco Baldelli said, “That’s something we are going to work through and we’re not overly concerned as we sit here right now. It is something to take note of as we go forward.” You don’t want the guy who never got hurt managing the grind of a long season, you want the guy who was always hurt. Bold prediction: Minnesota is one of the least injured teams in baseball with Rocco in town. ETA: 2021 Prime Projection: 104/23/87/.293/.351/.475/25

9) Bo Bichette TOR, SS, 21.1 – Baseball America says Bo Bichette has average speed. Keith Law says he has above average speed. Fangraphs puts a 45 grade on it. Prospects Live says he has plus speed. Maybe Bichette binged on the never ending pasta bowl at Olive Garden the day Baseball America and Fangraphs were in attendance. Or maybe he has inconsistent speed? Is that even possible? I really wish the Statcast data on minor leaguers became public. Can we get a petition going for that or something? ETA: Late 2019 Prime Projection: 92/25/89/.289/.358/.493/23

10) Jo Adell LAA, OF, 20.0 – If this were a pure fantasy upside list, Adell would rank 3rd behind Wander Franco (#1) and Fernando Tatis Jr. (#2). You can learn to strike out less with experience, but it’s much harder to get considerably faster as you get older. ETA: Late 2020 Prime Projection: 94/37/107/.265/.348/.540/14

11) Forrest Whitley HOU, RHP, 21.6 – I’m tempted to move Whitley higher but I just can’t part with my stud hitters for a pitching prospect, even one as good as Whitley. If you don’t have the aversion to pitching prospects that I have, he would easily be top 5 on this list. 2019 Projection: 7/3.75/1.23/102 in 85 IP Prime Projection: 18/3.25/1.07/240 in 210 IP

+5 (12) Alex Reyes STL, RHP, 24.7 – With Carlos Martinez likely moving back to the bullpen, it gives me more confidence Reyes will find himself in the starting rotation sooner rather than later. He’s scheduled to make his spring debut sometime this week, and I’m guessing he is about to remind all of us what all the hype was about. 2019 Projection: 7/3.71/1.28/136 in 110 IP Prime Projection: 15/3.32/1.23/221 in 185 IP

13) Brendan Rodgers COL, SS, 22.8 – With Arenado locked up long term, Garrett Hampson looking like he will have the first crack at the 2B job, and there still being some rawness to his plate approach, I can’t help but think it might not be the smoothest road ahead for Rodgers’ path to making a serious impact on your fantasy squad. ETA: Late 2019 Prime Projection: 83/28/95/.284/.339/.489/5

14) Keston Hiura MIL, 2B, 22.8 – Going 1 for 11 so far this spring doesn’t allow for the Twitter GIF hype machine to take effect in all its glory. The Mike Moustakas signing also puts a damper on his chance of forcing his way into the lineup. ETA: Late 2019 Prime Projection: 92/23/87/.287/.350/.476/13

15) Alex Kirilloff MIN, OF, 21.5 – I was curious what the origin of the name Kirilloff was. I didn’t find it, but I did end up in an internet black hole about surname numerology. Here is the Talent Analysis of Kirilloff by expression number 8: “You have the power and potential to achieve great things. It is both your challenge and your birthright to gain dominion over a small part of the earth. Whatever your enterprise, you strive to be the best and most successful in your field. You are highly competitive and will not rest until you are satisfied that you have bypassed the opposition. You enjoy challenges and rivalry.” Damn, pretty spot on. Maybe there is something to this surname numerology after all. Let me check the Talent Analysis of my surname, Halpern: “Yours is the most highly charged Expression number of all. You are like a lightning rod, attracting powerful ideas, intuitions, and even psychic information like unpredictable bolts. You are a powerful presence without any awareness on your part of having personal power. You are a channel for higher vibrations. But in order to be emotionally and psychologically at peace, you must learn to control that flow of energy. You possess a bridge between the unconscious and the conscious.” Fuuuuuck … my website name is pretty new agey and I am into going inward with meditation. Let’s move on before I start buying into this nonsense. ETA: Late 2020 Prime Projection: 93/28/96/.292/.348/.531/4

16) Tyler O’Neill STL, OF, 23.9 – O’Neill’s spring numbers are almost too on the nose, going 2 for 12 with 2 homers, a .167 BA and 1.000 OPS. I looked up the Talent Analysis of O’Neill, and it just says, “Tyler smash.” 2019 Projection: 31/10/33/.238/.300/.470/4 Prime Projection: 88/35/100/.255/.339/.510/10

17) Brent Honeywell TB, RHP, 24.0 – Honeywell’s Twitter account is now locked. I guess it has something to do with him getting suspended 4 games in 2017 for tweeting his frustration over not being called up. If you tweet a suspendable offense from a locked account do you still get suspended? I feel like this falls under the eternal philosophical question of, “if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” 2019 Projection: 5/4.30/1.34/75 in 80 IP Prime Projection: 15/3.33/1.13/205 in 190 IP

+4 (18) Pete Alonso NYM, 1B, 24.4 – Only a dumb franchise wouldn’t hold their top prospects down for a few weeks to accrue an extra year of service time, so although Todd Frazier and Jed Lowrie are out with injuries, I’m definitely guessing Alonso breaks camp with the MLB club. 2019 Projection: 64/27/78/.243/.320/.464/1 Prime Projection: 83/34/101/.258/.339/.508/1

+5 (19) Garrett Hampson COL, 2B, 24.6 – Looking better and better to win near everyday at-bats in Colorado and possibly gain multi position eligibility along the way. Hampson has seen time all over the field, and is off to a blazing start this spring, going 5 for 11 with 2 homers and 3 steals. 2019 Projection: 73/8/58/.278/.335/.412/28 Prime Projection: 94/14/65/.291/.366/.449/35

20) Jesus Luzardo OAK, LHP, 21.6 – Luzardo was electric in his 2nd spring outing, striking out 3 of the 7 batters he faced. It had his pitching coach buzzing, “He’s got unbelievable stuff. In my opinion, this guy is going to be an elite pitcher in the big leagues. The fastball is electric, the changeup is really, really good, and he’s got an exploding breaking ball.” Usually teams try to keep expectations in check, but Oakland is so desperate for starting pitching they can’t help but be excited. Luzardo’s got a real shot of spending all season with the big league club. 2019 Projection: 8/3.94/1.28/116 in 130 IP Prime Projection: 15/3.38/1.15/198 in 195 IP

+20 (21) Chris Paddack SD, RHP, 23.3 – From the moment I first started writing about prospects I was always higher on plus change-up guys than the big boys in the industry, and was actually hyping up Paddack after his very first starts in 2016. That’s why I regret getting cold feet over the still developing curveball in my January prospect ranking, and while being ranked #41 is still very good for a pitcher in my rankings, the mid 90’s fastball and elite change-up deserved more respect. 2019 Projection: 4/3.81/1.24/73 in 68 IP Prime Projection: 15/3.41/1.12/203 in 188 IP

22) Michael Kopech CHW, RHP, 22.11 – Started throwing in February as he continues to recover from Tommy John surgery. We always focus on the physical aspect of the game, but like Yogi Berra said, “Baseball is 90 percent mental and the other half is physical.” Here is a great article on how Kopech handles the mental side of the game, which alludes to meditation being at least one tool in his arsenal. ETA: 2020 Prime Projection: 17/3.45/1.21/240 in 200 IP

23) Taylor Trammell CIN, OF, 21.6 – Trammell’s elite athletisism and plus power-speed combo get talked about a ton, but to stick with this mental aspect of the game theme, his elite character and leadership qualities don’t get mentioned often enough. He won his high school’s top leadership award and earned a 3.4 GPA. Reds manager, David Bell, recently said, “We’ve really enjoyed having him in camp. The interaction and conversations. He’s really a pleasure to be around. He’s a hard worker, really talented. He seems comfortable out there. He’s played well. More than anything, it’s fun getting to know him.” ETA: Late 2020 Prime Projection: 92/18/73/.266/.344/.452/24

24) Carter Kieboom WASH, SS, 21.7 – 4 for 10 with 2 doubles and a 1/3 K/BB. Doesn’t have huge power or speed upside, but is a safe bet to be a strong all category contributor. ETA: 2020 Prime Projection: 92/25/86/.280/.366/.485/9

25) Yordan Alvarez HOU, OF, 21.9 – You don’t think billion dollar major league baseball organizations have any strategies when it comes to manipulating the media, do you? Nah, probably not. That’s why when they tell you there is nothing to see here with Houston’s blocked, star 1B prospect, you should probably believe them and drop Alvarez way, way down your rankings. It wouldn’t be because every team is going to ask for him in trade negotiations this upcoming season, is it? Nah, that couldn’t be it. Who needs big sluggers these days anyway? ETA: 2020 Prime Projection: 82/29/98/.268/.354/.505/2

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

The Dynasty Baseball Rundown (2/24/19)

Baseball is back! And with the super fun way the rules are set up in MLB, now is the only time to watch the best young players compete in MLB uniforms and in High Definition on your television screen. When the games start to count, you can watch them “work on their defense” in grainy footage on your laptop, although MiLB.tv is claiming more games will be available in high quality video this season. We shall see. Here is The Dynasty Baseball Rundown (2/24/19):

Click the below links for my previous off-season content:
2019 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings
2019 Top 472 Dynasty Baseball Prospect Rankings
11 Dynasty Baseball Rules to Live By
2020 Top 90 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings (1st Edition)

Yoan Moncada CHW, 3B/2B – Writing about Moncada brings back memories to the very first Rundown I wrote back on April 11, 2016. It was a simpler time back then, when doing a write-up like this was a novelty and there weren’t 1,000 other websites in the fantasy prospect game. Other than Baseball America’s prospect hot sheet, my fantasy prospect rundown was just about the only other game in town, and definitely the only fantasy slanted one. I like to think I helped inspire the boom in prospect and fantasy prospect coverage which transpired very shortly after that first rundown hit the wire, and while the landscape is more competitive, dynasty baseball fans deserved the content explosion. Watching the community build from the ground up has been awesome. As for Moncada, he went 2 for 3 with a run, RBI, and K. Adding him in the rundown was more about bringing this thing full circle than for his performance, but also to remind you that he is still a future stud despite his lukewarm MLB numbers thus far.

Pete Alonso NYM, 1B – Pete “don’t call me Peter” Alonso blasted a mammoth homer to center field off a 94 MPH Touki Toussaint fastball. If he keeps this up, he can make us all call him P-Diddy for all I care.

Willie Calhoun TEX, DH – The re-motivated Calhoun lost 24 pounds this off-season by not eating after 7:30 pm and not playing late night video games. I cut down on video games in my early 20’s too, which resulted in me playing more Baseball Mogul on my computer. I don’t know, it felt like a win at the time. Being that Calhoun was already a relatively small guy, I hope dropping that weight doesn’t negatively impact his power at all. He went 0 for 4 to kick things off in the DH spot, and was one of the few players around baseball to get a full game of at-bats.

Byron Buxton MIN, OF – 2 for 2 with a homer and 5 RBI. He was atrocious in the majors last year and wasn’t all that hot in the minors either, so any glimpse of dominance is a good sign in my book.

Yusniel Diaz BAL, OF – Smacked a 2 run homer to left field on a swing where he wasn’t even completely on balance. Diaz looked like an absolute beast at the plate too, and while I gave him a prime projection of 23 homers, I’m thinking even that might be too low.

Cedric Mullins BAL, OF – Set the table going 2 for 2 with 2 runs, a walk and a stolen base. Don’t be surprised if this is common practice for Mullins during the season. He’s still being underrated.

Enyel De Los Santos PHI, RHP – 2 IP with 4 K’s, 0 BB and 0 ER. He isn’t going to crack the opening day rotation, but he has some nasty stuff, and when injuries/ineffectiveness inevitably hits the Phillies starters, you should scoop Enyel before it’s too late. Adonis Medina pitched a clean inning in this game too, with 1 strikeout and a fastball that reached 96 MPH.

Max Schrock STL, 2B – 3 for 4 with a homer, 2 runs, 4 RBI, and 0 K’s. Somewhere far, far away (Canada), in a windowless office deep in the bowels of the stadium with a single fluorescent light bulb overhead, Carson Cistulli is smiling. Or at least that’s how I imagine it anyway.

Sandy Alcantara MIA, RHP – Will need a strong spring to lock down a rotation spot, and Alcantara showed well in his first outing, going 2 IP of scoreless ball with 3 K’s, 1 BB, and 1 hit. He hit 98 MPH on the gun, and was generally in control of his plus stuff.

Adalberto Mondesi KC, SS/2B – Possibly the most divisive player in fantasy baseball this season, Mondesi opened the spring going 2 for 2 with 2 runs scored. He’s going to be one of the most fun players to follow all year … or one of the most depressing.

Kris Bryant CHC, 3B – 2 for 2 with a dinger. Bryant was feeling good about himself after the game too, basically telling all of his doubters to piss off and how the negative chatter only motivated him coming into this season. Not gonna lie, I’m a little concerned about trading him away in my hometown dynasty league for Joey Gallo, Bo Bichette, and Garrett Hampson. I needed the haul to kick start my rebuild, but I’m starting to sweat a bit.

Corey Ray MIL, OF – 2 for 3 with a homer and more importantly 0 strikeouts. Considering he is the former 5th overall pick in the draft and coming off a season where he hit 27 homers and stole 37 bases, the hype around Ray is mighty quiet.

Gleyber Torres NYY, 2B/SS – Smoothly lifted a homer to dead center field. With The Boss’ sons now pinching pennies, Gleyber may end up the Yanks long term SS if they don’t pay up for Didi next off-season.

Michael Chavis BOS, 3B – Scorched a frozen rope the opposite way for an impressive homer. Chavis has one of the quickest and most powerful bats in the minors.

Nick Madrigal CHW, 2B – 1 for 3 with a strikeout. Only mentioning him because I’m just shocked he struck out.

Taylor Ward LAA, 3B – 1 for 3 with a grand slam. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ward snuck his way into legitimate playing time season, and would keep an eye on him in deeper leagues.

Shed Long SEA, 2B – 1 for 3 with a bomb to dead center. He’s blocked right now, but if Seattle continues to sell off during the season, Long has a chance to put up some fantasy friendly stat lines.

Colton Welker COL, 3B – In his first career MLB (spring training) at-bat, Welker blasted a 2 run homer off a 79 MPH curveball. I’ve loved his swing for a long time now. Sam Hilliard knocked a homer in this game too

Jake Faria TB, RHP – After an awful 2018 it was nice to see Faria look crisp in the early going, throwing a perfect 1.2 innings with 3 strikeouts and his fastball reaching 93 MPH.

Chance Sisco BAL, C – Sisco is trying to nail down Baltimore’s starting catcher role, both for this season and the future. He made a strong opening argument yesterday, going 1 for 1 with a homer and a walk. He always had more raw power than he showed in the minors, so hopefully this is just the start of things to come.

Fernando Romero MIN, RHP – 1 IP with 2 K’s. Romero is in that hype-less prospect-ish void where he isn’t quite a major leaguer yet, but has also graduated from prospect status. Regardless of the role, Romero is ready and has the stuff to make an impact in fantasy leagues this year.

Ramon Urias STL, 2B – Luis Urias‘ older brother. Ramon raked in the Mexican League before slashing .300/.356/.516 with 13 homers and a 58/24 K/BB split between Double-A and Triple-A in 2018. He continued to impress yesterday going 2 for 4 with a dinger. St. Louis has about a dozen underrated infielders in the majors and minors, so who knows if he can find playing time.

Derek Fisher HOU, OF – 0-3 with 2 K’s. He is going to need to play better than this to force his way into an overstuffed Houston organization.

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

2020 Top 90 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings (1st Edition)

2019 prospects are old news. If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent so much time watching, listening, and reading about these guys, you know them better than you know thyself. With the NCAA Baseball season kicking off this weekend, I figured now is as good a time as any to roll out the first edition of my 2020 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings. Disclaimer: these rankings may change drastically as we get closer and closer to the June draft. Here are the 2020 Top 90 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings (1st Edition):’

Click the links below for my previous off-season content:
2019 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings
2019 Top 472 Dynasty Baseball Prospect Rankings
11 Dynasty Baseball Rules to Live By

Player Name POSITION, TEAM, AGE (Years.Months on 2019 MLB Opening Day – Months are on a scale of 0-11 … I know it is not mathematically correct, but gimme a break, I was a History major)

Projections (Hitters): R/HR/RBI/AVG/OBP/SLG/Steals
(Pitchers): Wins/ERA/WHIP/K

1) Bobby Witt Jr. SS, High School, 18.10 – Won of the Home Run Derby at the High School All-Star game and won MVP at the Under Armour All-America Game. Witt has posted elite exit velocity for his age and has plus speed. This is the high upside prospect you are looking for in Dynasty leagues. Prime Projection: 89/28/96/.257/.339/.485/22 ETA: 2024 Where he would rank on my 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #35 – ranked around Gavin Lux, Kristian Robinson, Danny Jansen, and Josh James.

2) Jasson Dominguez OF, NYY, 16?? – Expected to sign for about $5 million with the Yankees. Dominguez is a chiseled 5’10”, 195 pounds with a plus power-speed combo and good feel to hit. There isn’t that much info out there on him, but the ball explodes off his bat from the three Youtube clips I watched, and the $5 million signing bonus speaks for itself. Prime Projection: 96/28/94/.281/.357/.511/19 ETA: 2025 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #36 – ranked around see above, plus Mike Soroka, Vidal Brujan, and Andres Gimenez

3) Corbin Carroll OF, HS, 18.7 – Undersized at 5’10”, 165 pounds but has a quick and powerful stroke that has produced excellent exit velocity readings. Advanced approach with plus hit and 70 grade speed are his bread and butter. Prime Projection: 96/23/92/.285/.358/.478/26 ETA: 2023 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking:#47 – ranked around Jeter Downs, Victor Victor Mesa, and Jarred Kelenic.

4) Andrew Vaughn 1B, California, 21.0 – Insane sophomore year in the Pac12 with a 18/44 K/BB, 23 homers, and a triple-slash of .402/.531/.819. Plus hit, plus bat speed, plus power and plus exit velocity. If you prefer a quick moving college bat, I would’t blame you if you took Vaughn 1st overall. Prime Projection: 82/30/94/.285/.361/.514/2 ETA: 2021 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #58 – ranked around Austin Riley, Nathaniel Lowe, and George Valera.

5) Adley Rutschman C, Oregon State, 21.2 – Switch hitting catcher with power from both sides, an advanced plate approach, and a sure bet to stick behind the plate. Plus catcher defense makes him more valuable in real life. Prime Projection: 78/25/87/.278/.366/.483/3 ETA: 2021 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #64 – ranked around Trevor Larnach, Seth Beer, and Michael Chavis.

6) CJ Abrams SS, HS, 18.6 – Prototypical top of the order hitter with elite contact ability and elite speed.  At 6’2”, 180 pounds he has the frame to grow into more power, and has posted a top exit velocity of 93 MPH at a Perfect Game showcase, which isn’t bad.. Prime Projection: 96/18/71/.287/.349/.453/29 ETA: 2023 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #71 – ranked around Bubba Thompson, Nico Hoerner, and Mitch Keller.

7) Riley Greene OF, HS, 18.6 – Pure hitter with plus bat speed and plus exit velocity that should lead to more power as he matures. Greene has one of the smoothest lefty swings in the draft. Prime Projection: 91/25/92/.288/.373/.505/9 ETA: 2023 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #75 – ranked around Ke’Bryan Hayes, Estevan Florial, Yusniel Diaz, and Isaac Paredes.

8) Jerrion Ealy OF, HS, 18.7 – Elite two-sport athlete (he’s also a star running back) with double plus speed, vicious bat speed, and elite contact ability. These two sport stars always seem to be a little underrated (see Taylor Trammell and Bubba Thompson, two guys I was much higher on than any other list pre-draft). Ealy has the potential to be an absolute stud. This ranking doesn’t take any signability concerns into account. I would just be wildly guessing at the odds he chooses to go to college to play football. Same goes for my #10 ranked prospect, Maurice Hampton. Prime Projection: 91/21/86/.277/.345/.461/30 ETA: 2023 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #78 – ranked around Nolan Jones, Joey Bart, Travis Swaggerty, and Corey Ray.

9) Michael Busch 1B/OF, North Carolina, 21.5 – Plus hit, plus power combo with sneaky athleticism. Dominated the Cape Cod League, slashing .322/.450/.567 with 6 homers, 3 steals, and a 17/19 K/BB in 27 games. Prime Projection: 85/26/88/.274/.353/.479/8 ETA: 2021 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #90 – ranked around Alec Bohm, Tyler Nevin, and Jordyn Adams.

10) Maurice Hampton OF, HS, 17.8 – Elite two sport athlete (star cornerback) with plus speed and plus exit velocity, but inexperience shows up in his raw hit tool. Hampton is another underrated two sport star. Upside is elite. Prime Projection: 83/24/83/.258/.330/.468/23 ETA: 2024 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #91 – ranked around Jordan Adams, Julio Pablo Martinez, and Wander Javier.

11) Robert Puason SS, OAK, 16?? – Dominguez and Puason are the top tier of the 2019 J2 class. Puason is a long and lean 6’2” with elite athleticism and plus speed. Prime Projection: 93/23/87/.277/.351/.479/22 ETA: 2025 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #100 – ranked around Kevin Smith and Marco Luciano.

12) Carter Stewart RHP, Junior College, 19.5 – Selected 8th overall by Atlanta in the 2018 draft, but never signed due to concerns over a wrist injury. Stewart is a 6’6”, 200 pound man child with a nasty high spin rate curveball. He has an intimidating presence on the mound with a fastball that tops out at 97 MPH. Prime Projection: 15/3.54/1.23/198 in 180 IP ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #101 – ranked around Luiz Gohara, Jon Duplantier, Luis Patino, and Ryan Mountcastle.

13) Graeme Stinson LHP, Duke, 21.8 – 6’5”, 245 pound lefty with a nasty fastball/slider combo that racks up strikeouts. Changeup is far behind and he has been a reliever for most of his college career, so bullpen risk is high. Prime Projection: 11/3.48/1.24/171 in 145 IP ETA: 2021 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #111 – ranked around see above, plus Brent Rooker, Willians Astudillo, and Ryan McKenna.

14) Daniel Espino RHP, HS, 18.3 – Fastball sits in the mid 90’s and can touch 100 MPH, to go along with a plus curveball and potentially plus slider. Espino might have the most electric stuff in the draft. Prime Projection: 14/3.55/1.25/193 in 178 IP ETA: 2023 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #113 – ranked around see above, plus Anderson Espinoza, Isan Diaz, and Heliot Ramos.

15) Brennan Malone RHP, HS, 18.7 – Power pitcher at 6’5”, 210 pounds with a fastball that hits 97 MPH and an arm action that looks like it could launch military grade weapons. Secondaries are still raw, but curveball flashes plus, and has good arm speed and fade on developing changeup. Prime Projection: 15/3.69/1.24/201 in 185 IP ETA: 2023 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #121 – ranked around Leody Tavares, Brandon Marsh, and Justin Dunn.

16) Josh Jung 3B, Texas Tech, 21.2 – Big, physical hitter at 6’2”, 215 pounds who needs to start pulling the ball more to fully tap into his raw power. 32/39 K/BB in 65 games shows good feel to hit. Prime Projection: 78/26/91/.271/.339/.470/4 ETA: 2021 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #127 – ranked around Adam Haseley, Grant Lavigne, and Oscar Mercado.

17) Will Holland SS, Auburn, 20.11 – Plus power/speed combo who performed very well in his sophomore year in the SEC, slashing .313/.406/.530 with 12 homers and 9 steals. Has a very pronounced wide and low batting stance, and a 49/28 K/BB in 66 games shows his plate approach needs improvement. Prime Projection: 84/20/79/.258/.334/.445/23 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #128 – ranked around Oscar Mercado, Sandy Alcantara, DJ Stewart, and Cole Tucker.

18) Michael Toglia 1B/OF, UCLA, 20.8 – Toglia is one of the youngest players in the college draft class. He has plus raw power with a patient approach at the plate that leads to high strikeout totals. At 6’4”, 205 pounds, the potential is there for him to turn into an absolute beast. Prime Projection: 82/27/91/.262/.354/.476/4 ETA: 2022 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #133 – ranked around Luis Alexander Basabe, Austin Beck, and Zack Collins.

19) Yolbert Sanchez SS, Cuba, 22.1 – Slick fielding shortstop with plus speed and everything else still pretty much a mystery. His numbers in Cuba were unimpressive, although he was mostly a teenager and he rarely struck out. Prime Projection: 78/15/75/.274/.331/.423/20 ETA: 2021 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #149 – ranked around Nick Neidert, Logan Gilbert, and Akil Baddoo.

20) Greg Jones SS, UNC-Wilmington, 21.1 – Tooled up athlete with double plus speed and developing power. 70/33 K/BB in 60 games shows he is still raw. Prime Projection: 80/15/73/.255/.337/.418/26 ETA: 2022 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #152 – ranked around Akil Baddoo, Anderson Tejada, and Austin Hays.

21) Kameron Misner OF, Missouri, 21.3 – Plus power-speed combo but approach is more line drive oriented. Was leading Division 1 in walks in 2018 before breaking his foot on a foul ball. Prime Projection: 86/23/79/.262/.350/.465/17 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #158 – ranked around Dane Dunning, Tirso Orneles, and Tristen Lutz.

22) Rece Hinds 3B, HS, 18.7 – Hinds is 6’4”, 220 pounds with possibly the most power potential in the entire draft class. Struggles to pick up spin and has some legitimate swing and miss. Prime Projection: 81/35/96/.247/.338/.516/5 ETA: 2024 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #165 – ranked around Parker Meadows, Jordan Groshans, and Triston Casas.

23) Tyler Dyson RHP, Florida, 21.3 – 6’3”, 225 pounds with a fastball that consistently hits the mid 90’s, a tight slider, and a developing changeup. Reminds me of Trevor Bauer a bit with the odd way the ball comes out of his hand. I’m very intrigued by Dyson. Prime Projection: 14/3.73/1.26/183 in 180 IP ETA: 2021 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #165 – ranked around Brady Singer, Ryan Weathers, and Freudis Nova.

24) Jackson Rutledge RHP, Junior College, 20.1 – 6’8”, 260 pounds with a fastball that can hit the upper 90’s and a potentially plus slider and curveball. Has a delivery that hides the ball very well. Rutledge has a chance to shoot up the rankings by draft time. Prime Projection: 14/3.81/1.28/191 in 185 IP ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #166 – ranked around see above.

25) Logan Davidson SS, Clemson, 21.3 – Plus power-speed combo with a high strikeout rate. Raked in his two years at Clemson, but was horrific in the Cape Cod League, slashing .194/.292/.266 in 139 at-bats in 2018. Prime Projection: 79/23/84/.246/.332/.457/14 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #188 – ranked around Austin Dean, Blake Rutherford and Orelvis Martinez.

26) Nasim Nunez SS, HS, 18.7 – 5’9”, 160-pound speedster with plus athleticism and one of the best gloves in the draft. Limited power projection. Prime Projection:  89/11/59/.277/.343/.401/30 ETA: 2023 2019 Top 2019 472 Prospects Ranking: #208 – ranked around Noelvi Marte, Matt Thaiss, and Tony Santillan

27) Myles Austin SS, HS, 18.2 – Long and lean at 6’3”, 180 pounds. Austin has good athleticism and a plus power/speed combo, but is still raw at the dish. High risk, high reward prospect. Prime Projection: 79/23/81/.254/.322/.450/16 ETA: 2024 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #213 – ranked around Wenceel Perez, Calvin Mitchell, and Kyle Lewis.

28) Spencer Jones LHP/1B, HS, 17.10 – Two way player but ultimate future is likely as a pitcher. Intimidating mound presence at 6’7”, 205 pounds with a low 90’s fastball and good feel for a curveball. He has the upside to be the best pitcher in the class as he gains more experience. Offensively, he has a plus power/speed combo but is still raw. Prime Projection: 14/3.71/1.27/171 in 175 IP ETA: 2024 2019 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #215 – ranked around Dakota Hudson, Kolby Allard, and Kyle Muller.

29) Nick Lodolo LHP, TCU, 21.2 – Projectable 6’6”, 180 pounds with a downhill low 90’s fastball to go along with an inconsistent curveball and changeup. Stuff and upside are better than college numbers indicate at this point in his career. Prime Projection: 13/3.83/1.29/174 in 177 IP ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #219 – ranked around Jay Groome, Evan White, and Lazaro Armenteros.

30) Matthew Lugo SS, HS, 17.11 – High upside prospect with the potential for above average tools across the board. Swing looks great in batting practice, but he is still a bit of a dart throw. Prime Projection: 80/20/76/.260/.335/.450/16 ETA: 2024 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #228 – ranked around Grayson Rodriguez, Luis Rengifo, and Ryan Vilade.

31) Bryson Stott SS, UNLV, 21.6 – A bunch of the college hitters ranked beyond this point are almost sure to shoot up this list based on who takes the next step in their junior year. I leaned young upside for this first edition, but as the safe college bats become even safer with another year of improvements, the good ones will rise. Stott has elite contact rates with a 18/32 K/BB and .365 BA in 59 games his sophomore season. He has above average speed, and while he presently has below average power, at 6’3”, 195 pounds, there is more power to be unlocked. Prime Projection: 88/18/71/.284/.348/.441/17 ETA: 2021 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #233 – ranked around Kyle Isbel, Jake McCarthy, and Tyler Freeman.

32) Braden Shewmake SS, Texas A&M, 21.8 – Solid offensive skills across the board with near elite contact rates (21/21 K/BB in 60 games his sophomore season). Good base runner with above average speed and at 6’4”, 180 pounds, there could be a tick more power in here. Prime Projection: 82/21/77/.275/.340/.460/15 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #237 – ranked around Tyler Freeman, Moises Gomez, and Daniel Johnson.

33) Shea Langeliers C, Baylor, 21.5 – Plus defensive catcher who is a much better prospect in real life than fantasy. Solid offensive skills across the board except for base running, but nothing is standout. Prime Projection: 66/22/74/.260/.338/.449/2 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #260 – ranked around Tyler Stephenson, Chavez Young, and Garrett Whitley.

34) Will Wilson SS, North Carolina St., 20.8 – Has done nothing but rake since entering the SEC, slashing .307/.376/.588 with 15 homers and a 41/27 K/BB in 59 games in 2018. Good feel to hit with at least above average power, but he is not a major threat on the bases. Prime Projection: 79/23/85/.267/.338/.464/6 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #261 – ranked around Aramis Ademan, Jose Siri, and Micker Adolfo.

35) Matt Wallner OF, Southern Miss., 21.4 – Prodigious raw power with the home run totals to prove it, smashing 19 his freshman year, 16 his sophomore year, and 4 in 23 Cape Cod games. Has some swing and miss and needs to refine his plate approach. Prime Projection: 73/27/87/.248/.325/.472/6 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #262 – ranked around see above.

36) Matthew Thompson RHP, HS, 18.8 – Plus athlete with a lightening quick arm and good feel for a curveball and slider. Prime Projection: 12/3.90/1.28/176 in 175 IP ETA: 2023 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #269 – ranked around Taylor Widener, Nicky Lopez, and TJ Friedl.

37) Blake Sabol C/OF, USC, 21.3 – Mediocre numbers at USC thus far, but broke out in the Cape Code League, slashing .340/.445/.573 with 7 homers, 14 steals, and a 21/21 K/BB in 37 games. The tools back up the power/speed numbers. Sabol could be a fast riser with a strong junior season, especially for fantasy. Prime Projection: 78/22/81/.255/.328/.448/12 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #273 – ranked around Luis Gonzalez, Jeissen Rosario, and Junior Santos.

38) Jack Leiter RHP, HS, 18.11 – Son of Al Leiter, and as expected, Jack is advanced beyond his years with a 4-pitch mix headlined by a high spin rate, plus curveball. Doesn’t have overpowering stuff, but he is as safe as a high school pitcher gets. Prime Projection: 12/3.88/1.26/161 in 168 IP ETA: 2023 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #274 – ranked around Junior Santos, David Peterson, and Patrick Weigel.

39) Jack Kochanowicz RHP, HS, 18.3 – Projectable 6’6”, 207 pounds, Kochanowicz throws strikes with a low 90’s fastball, curve that flashes plus, and developing changeup. Like Tyler Dyson, Kochanowicz is another pitcher where I just like the way the ball comes out of his hand. Prime Projection: 14/3.77/1.26/180 in 180 IP ETA: 2023 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #280 – ranked around Michael Grove, Mickey Moniak, and Seth Romero.

40) Nick Quintana 3B, Arizona, 21.6 – Slashed .313/.413/.592 with 14 homers and a 47/32 K/BB in 56 games in 2018. Power showed up in the Cape too, but strikeout issues reared their ugly head with a 44/16 K/BB in 35 games. Prime Projection: 77/24/86/.265/.338/.464/3 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #281 – ranked around Braxton Garrett, Lenny Torres, and Simeon Woods Richardson.

41) Austin Shenton 3B, Florida International, 21.2 – When I tweeted on Tuesday about this list dropping today, a Cape Cod league scout (my former podcast co-host Ralph Lifshitz) immediately texted me, “Austin Shenton > Logan Davidson. Don’t overlook him.” So of course I still ranked Shenton below Davidson. What can I say? I’m hard headed 😉 But I did move Shenton up higher than I had him. He destroyed the Cape, slashing .348/.450/.490, and while he doesn’t have huge power, his hit tool is definitely going to play. Prime Projection: 79/21/81/.278/.346/.456/5 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #285 – ranked around Trevor Rogers, Willi Castro, and Bryan Abreu.

42) Matthew Allan RHP, HS, 17.11 – Prototypical big bodied (6’3”, 210 pounds) teenage pitching prospect with a power fastball that can hit 97 MPH and good feel for a curveball. Command and changeup lag behind. Prime Projection: 12/3.78/1.31/168 in 173 IP ETA: 2024 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #298 – ranked around Josiah Gray, Thomas Szapucki, and Jojo Romero.

43) Bayron Lora OF, TEX, 16?? – Expected to sign for about $4 million with Texas. Lora is a physical beast at 6’4” with a quick bat and the potential for double plus power at peak. Prime Projection: 83/32/95/.263/.348/.518/4 ETA: 2026 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #305 – ranked around Blaze Alexander, Jeremy Eierman, and Kody Clemens.

44) Chris Newell HS, OF, 17.11 – Underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2017. Above average runner with a left handed swing geared for flyballs. At 6’3”, 190 pounds, Newell has a chance to grow into a 5 category stud. Prime Projection: 82/23/87/.269/.343/.472/14 ETA: 2024 2019 Top 472 Prospect Ranking: #307 – ranked around Tristan Pompey, Josh Stowers and Miguel Vargas.

45) Emmanuel Dean OF, HS, 18.9 – Dean is a ripped up 6’5”, 210 pounds with elite exit velocity readings and plus 60 yard dash times. If he was Cuban, baseball writers heads would be exploding. But he’s not, so he’s underrated. Prime Projection: 78/25/83/.245/.329/.468/16 ETA: 2024 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #310 – ranked around Myles Straw, Jose Garcia, and Jonathan Orneles.

46) Jason Hodges OF, HS, 17.9 – Hodges is a big and broad 6’3”, 210 pounds with at least plus raw power at maturity. Near elite exit velocity readings for his age, and is about an average runner as well. Prime Projection: 77/26/81/.249/.328/.477/9 ETA: 2024 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #313 – ranked around Osiris Johnson, Joe Perez, and Jameson Hannah.

47) Drew Mendoza 3B, Florida St., 21.6 – 6’4”, 200 pounds with plus raw power, patience, and strikeouts. Hasn’t performed well in the Cape and hasn’t tapped into all of his power, but has been strong in the ACC (.934 OPS in 2017 and .931 OPS in 2018). Prime Projection: 74/25/82/.247/.332/.470/4 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #318 – ranked around Joe Gray, Sandy Gaston, Diego Cartaya, and Jose De Leon.

48) JJ Bleday OF, Vandy, 21.4 – Power exploded in the wood bat Cape Cod League with 5 homers in 36 games. Has already displayed a good feel to hit throughout his college career, so if the power gains roll over, he could continue to rise as the draft approaches. Prime Projection: 75/23/82/.267/.339/.462/3 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #319 – ranked around see above.

49) Kyle Stowers OF, Stanford, 21.3 – Above average power with a swing designed to lift the baseball, but it also comes with a healthy number of strikeouts. Prime Projection: 73/23/81/.251/.327/.451/8 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #321 – ranked around Osiel Rodriguez, Tyrone Taylor, and Luis Toribio.

50) JJ Goss RHP, HS, 18.3 – Low 90’s fastball with a swing and miss slider and good feel for a changeup. He throws strikes and the fastball should tick up as he fills out. Prime Projection: 12/3.88/1.29/165 in 164 IP ETA: 2024 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #357 – ranked around Jacob Nix, Hunter Harvey, and James Kaprielian.

51) Glenallen Hill Jr. OF, HS, 18.6 – Glenallen Hill’s son. 5’9”, 169 pounds with plus speed and vicious bat speed. Hill profiles as a leadoff hitter with enough power for 10+ bombs. Prime Projection: 86/13/54/.268/.332/.409/25 ETA: 2023 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #361 – ranked around Ryan Rolison, Jason Martin, and Randy Arozarena.

52) Erick Pena OF, Royals, 16?? – 6’3” with a smooth and powerful left handed swing. Prime Projection: 83/27/91/.268/.347/.485/5 ETA: 2026 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #378 – ranked around Esteban Quiroz, Raynel Delgado, and Misael Urbina.

53) Yhoswar Garcia OF, PHI, 16?? – Prototypical leadoff hitter with double plus speed and good feel to hit. At a lean 6’0”, he should develop more power as he ages. Prime Projection: 92/13/59/.279/.340/.418/27 ETA: 2025 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #381 – ranked around Misael Urbina, Zack Short, and Max Schrock.

54) Zack Thompson LHP, Duke, 21.5 – 4-pitch mix headlined by a deceptive low 90’s fastball and breaking ball that flashes plus. Injury issues and control/command issues throughout his career. Prime Projection: 11/3.97/1.33/156 in 169 IP ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #383 – ranked around Logan Webb and Mike King.

55) Tyler Callihan 3B, HS, 18.9 – Plus raw power with a quick left handed swing, advanced approach, and good feel to hit. Prime Projection: 76/25/86/.269/.348/.473/4 ETA: 2024 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #390 – ranked around Kevin Cron, DJ Peters, Dylan Cozens, and Roberto Ramos.

56) Brett Baty 3B, HS, 19.5 – Plus raw power with a quick, uppercut lefty swing. Advanced hitter with the ability to pick up spin and doesn’t sell out for power. Chance he has to move across the diamond to 1B. Prime Projection: 74/26/85/.263/.347/.471/2 ETA: 2023 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #391 – ranked around see above.

57) Alek Manoah RHP, West Virginia, 21.3 – After being used mostly out of the bullpen in his college career, Manoah broke out in the Cape Cod league as a starter, leading the league in strikeouts with 48 in 33.1 IP. He’s 6’6”, 260 pounds with mid 90’s heat, a slider that flashes plus, and a developing changeup. Prime Projection: 9/3.72/1.31/136 in 130 IP ETA: 2021 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #402 – ranked around Luis Ortiz, Dillon Tate, Dennis Santana, and Tim Cate

58) Erik Miller LHP, Stanford, 21.2 – At 6’5”, 230 pounds and the potential for 3 above average to plus pitches, Miller could shoot up draft boards with a great junior year, but he struggles with command and got lit up in the Cape Cod League (7.71 ERA in 23.1 IP). Prime Projection: 11/3.93/1.34/158 in 165 IP ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #403 – ranked around see above.

59) George Kirby RHP, Elon, 21.2 – Potential for 4 average to above average pitches with mid 90’s heat and good control. Prime Projection: 11/3.98/1.31/151 in 160 IP ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #404 – ranked around see above.

60) Ryan Zeferjahn RHP, Kansas, 21.1 – 6’4”, 215 pounds with a fastball that can reach the upper 90’s and a potentially plus slider. Control/command will have to take a step forward in 2019 to shoot up this list. Prime Projection: 10/4.02/1.33/153 in 155 IP ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #405 – ranked around see above.

61) Dominic Fletcher OF, Arkansas, 21.8 – 5’10”, 185 pounds but packs a powerful punch with his strong and quick left-handed swing. He’s smacked 22 homers in his 128 game SEC career. Prime Projection: 73/23/82/.258/.333/.454/4 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #406 – ranked around Luis Campusano, Anthony Banda, and Buddy Reed.

62) Chase Strumpf 2B, UCLA, 21.1 – Breakout sophomore year, slashing .363/.475/.633 with 12 homers and a 53/45 K/BB in 58 games. Doesn’t have any loud tools, but is solid across the board. Prime Projection: 78/20/77/.260/.330/.442/7 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #410 – ranked around Jared Olivia, Miguel Hiraldo, and Ronny Brito.

63) Will Robertson OF, Creighton, 21.3 – Good feel for contact with plus raw power. Slashed .333/.412/.641 with 12 homers and a 31/17 K/BB in 50 games played at one of the toughest ballparks to hit homers in. Prime Projection: 73/24/80/.263/.335/.467/2 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Rankings: #414 – ranked around Edwin Rios, Josh Ockimey, and Luken Baker.

64) Hunter Barco LHP, HS, 18.4 – Prototypical starter size at 6’4”, 208 pounds with an almost sidearm delivery. Barco flashes the potential for 3 plus pitches (fastball, slider, chanegup), but a lot of that is based on projection at his point. Prime Projection: 11/3.93/1.30/167 in 173 IP ETA: 2024 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #428 – ranked around Luis Medina, Gregory Santos, and Rogelio Armenteros.

65) Wil Dalton OF, Florida, 21.7 – Plus power-speed combo who destroyed junior college freshman year and then had a strong season in his SEC debut, slashing .262/.338/.542 with 19 homes, 8 steals, and a 74/24 K/BB. Struggles with breaking balls and is still raw at the plate. Prime Projection: 77/22/78/.246/.320/.442/14 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #441 – ranked around Adam Kloffenstein, Kyle Cody, and Jayce Easley.

66) Sammy Siani OF, HS, 18.4 – Brother of Mike Siani, a 4th round pick in 2018 and my 198th ranked prospect. Sammy isn’t as highly regarded as his brother, but he has plus speed and makes good contact with a smooth left handed swing. Prime Projection: 78/14/69/.269/.337/.410/20 ETA: 2024 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #443 – ranked around Jayce Easley, Joe McCarthy, and Nick Decker.

67) Cade Doughty 3B, HS, 18.0 – Good athlete who can play all over the field. Posted plus 60 yard dash times and plus exit velocity. Type of player who will chip in a little bit in every category. Prime Projection: 82/18/73/.268/.336/.432/15 ETA: 2024 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #445 – ranked around Nick Decker, Terrin Vavra, and Will Benson.

68) Gunnar Henderson SS, HS, 17.9 – Above average exit velocity and 60 yard dash times with a good feel to hit. One of the youngest players in the draft class. Prime Projection: 79/20/78/.267/.346/.445/9 ETA: 2024 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #449 – ranked around Jamie Westbrook, Heath Quinn, Dom Thompson-Williams.

69) Zach Watson OF, LSU, 21.9 – Good athlete with at least plus speed and developing power. Strong power-speed numbers in the SEC (7 homers and 14 steals in 57 games) but 45/16 K/BB shows approach still needs some work. Prime Projection: 77/18/76/.259/.316/.428/19 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #452 – ranked around Brock Deatherage, Osleivis Basabe, and Larry Ernesto.

70) Ismael Mena OF, SD, 16?? – Mena is a lean and projectable 6’2” with plus speed and a smooth lefty swing that generates effortless bat speed. He’s a future 20/20 threat. Prime Projection: 87/22/84/.265/.335/.465/19 ETA: 2026 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #454 – ranked around Larry Ernesto, Owen White and Jake Wong.

71) Alexander Ramirez OF, NYM, 16?? – A 6’3” plus power-speed combo. It goes without saying I don’t have much information on these J2 kids, but he looks like a potential stud on Youtube. Prime Projection: 83/25/89/.262/.337/.479/16 ETA: 2026 2029 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #455 – ranked around Mario Feliciano, Will Banfield, and Francisco Morales.

72) Luis Rodriguez OF, LAD, 16?? – Advanced at the plate with solid tools across the board. Prime Projection: 88/23/86/.278/.353/.475/10 ETA: 2026 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #468 – ranked around JJ Matijevic, Juan Guerrero, and Tyler Phillips.

73) Ryne Nelson RHP, Oregon, 21.2 – Fastball that can hit the upper 90’s with a potentially plus hard slider that he fires from a projectable 6’4”, 182 pound frame. 2019 will be his first year as a starter, so while the upside is high, so is the risk. Prime Projection: 9/3.61/1.28/125 in 119 IP ETA: 2021 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #469 – ranked around Griffin Roberts, Daulton Jefferies, and Mike Ford

74) Mason Feole LHP, Connecticut, 21.? – Unorthodox, reliever like delivery. Feole has a low 90’s fastball and potentially plus curveball that racked up 120 strikeouts in 100.2 IP in 2018, but due to a lack of third pitch and aforementioned delivery, there is major pen risk. Prime Projection: 8/3.65/1.25/112 in 110 IP ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #470 – ranked around see above.

75) Kendall Williams RHP, HS, 18.7 – Projectable 6’6”, 190 pounds with a low 90’s fastball that should tick up as he ages and good feel for a breaking ball. Prime Projection: 12/3.85/1.31/165 in 171 IP ETA: 2024 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #471 – ranked around see above

76) Logan Wyatt 1B, Louisville, 21.5 – Advanced approach at the plate with plus raw power that he hasn’t completely tapped into. Prime Projection: 78/22/81/.267/.359/.459/2 ETA: 2022 2019 Top 472 Prospects Ranking: #472 – ranked around see above

77) Kyren Paris SS, HS, 17.4 – One of the youngest players in the draft class. I always have an affinity for these guys because I was one of the youngest players in my “draft” class too. Paris is an above average runner who makes good contact and should develop more power as he ages. Prime Projection: 76/16/76/.273/.339/.427/13 ETA: 2024

78) Quin Cotton OF, Grand Canyon, 21.0 – Good athlete with a plus power-speed combo. How much of that raw power he taps into this season will dictate his draft day value. Prime Projection: 78/18/75/.257/.318/.421/13 ETA: 2022

79) Quinn Priester RHP, HS, 18.6 – Cold weather arm who has less experience than many of his peers. High spin rate curveball and developing high spin rate two seamer are his best weapons. Prime Projection: 11/3.95/1.32/154 in 162 IP ETA: 2024

80) Matt Canterino RHP, Rice, 21.4 – Solid 4-pitch mix. Herky jerky reliever like delivery, but can’t argue with the numbers he put up at Rice (3.06/0.93/116/22 in 94 IP) and the Cape (2.59/1.08/29/10 in 24.1 IP). Prime Projection: 9/3.78/1.27/126 in 132 IP ETA: 2021

81) Rick Devito RHP, Seton Hall, 20.7 – Dominated the Big East his sophomore season with a pitching line of 1.88/1.03/67/22 in 62 IP. Devito has the potential for 3 above average pitches (fastball, curveball, changeup), all of which he can throw for strikes, and he is young for the class. Prime Projection: 11/3.92/1.30/166 in 178 IP ETA: 2022

82) Judson Fabian OF, HS, 18.6 – Plus bat speed and plus speed with an advanced approach at the plate. Power should develop as he matures. Prime Projection: 82/18/73/.273/.347/.441/16 ETA: 2024

83) Bryant Packard OF, East Carolina, 21.6 – Slashed .406/.462/.671 with 14 homers and a 46/20 K/BB in the American Athletic Conference, and then backed up that performance in the Cape Cod League (.997 OPS in 18 games). At 6’3”, 210 pounds, Packard has the attributes to be a power hitting corner outfielder. Prime Projection: 73/22/80/.264/.345/.458/6 ETA: 2022

84) Jimmy Lewis RHP, HS, 18.5 – Projectable 6’6”, 200 pounds with good control and the potential for 3 above average pitches (fastball, curveball, changeup). Prime Projection: 13/3.89/1.25/178 in 181 IP ETA: 2024

85) Dilan Rosario SS, HS, 17.10 – Plus 60 yard dash times with a swing geared towards all field contact and plenty of power projection at 6’2”, 170 pounds. Prime Projection: 79/17/74/.270/.335/.430/18 ETA: 2024

86) Hylan Hall OF, HS, 18.2 – Toolsy athlete with plus speed and a quick bat. Raw at the plate and power is currently below average, but there are skills to dream on here. Prime Projection: 78/18/74/.257/.326/.438/18 ETA: 2024

87) Maximo Acosta SS, TEX, 16.5 – Prototypical leadoff hitter with plus speed, a good feel to hit, and developing power. Prime Projection: 88/16/69/.273/.338/.427/23 ETA: 2026

88) Anthony Volpe SS, HS, 17.11 – Plus defensive middle infielder with plus speed and makes hard line drive contact. Has a chance to be a solid all around contributor. Prime Projection: 78/15/71/.271/.335/.422/15 ETA: 2024

89) Christian Cairo SS, HS, 17.9 – Son of Miguel Cairo. Christian is a plus runner with a high contact oriented approach and below average power. Prime Projection: 81/13/62/.276/.341/.412/15 ETA: 2024

90) Spencer Brickhouse 1B, East Carolina, 21.0 – Big raw power befitting his last name, but the gains he made with his contact percentage his sophomore year in the AAC disappeared in the Cape Cod League. Prime Projection: 71/24/78/.252/.324/.451/2 ETA: 2022

91) Brooks Lee SS, HS, 18.1 – Good feel to hit and good defensive player but has below average power and speed. Better in real life than fantasy. Prime Projection: 81/17/69/.283/.345/.420/7 ETA: 2024

92) Arol Vera SS, LAA, 16?? – Another lean, 6’2” projectable J2 kid. Vera is a switch hitter with a smooth swing from both sides. Good feel to hit and has shown power in batting practice. Prime Projection: 81/21/78/.275/.348/.459/8 ETA: 2026

93) Adael Amador SS, COL, 16?? – Not a long, lean, and projectable J2 prospect, but Amador is an advanced hitter with a strong history of performance in international competition. Prime Projection: 82/18/66/.283/.351/.435/9 ETA: 2025

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By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
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