The 2017 season is still young, but Dynasty owners do not have the luxury of large sample sizes when trade offers start rolling in at all times of the year. Here are the Early Season Risers and Fallers from My 2017 Top 100 Fantasy/Dynasty Baseball Prospect Rankings:

Risers

Aaron Judge (#23) NYY, OF – The boom in strikeouts across Major League Baseball over the past decade is one of the reasons I am not as scared off by high strikeout prospects as I would have been 20 years ago. Back in December, I wrote about MLB breaking its own strikeout record for an amazing 9th straight season, and they are at it again this year, currently sitting at an all-time high mark of 8.3 K/9 and a 21.7% K rate. That is why I remained high on Judge even when many others were jumping ship, because although he would strike out (like everyone else), I knew when he did make contact, he would do damage. And that is exactly what is happening in the early going, as he is slashing .250/.341/.583 with 3 homers and a 11/5 K/BB in 11 games.

Cody Bellinger (#26) LAD, 1B – Fuck it. There isn’t a single at-bat in the minors I find myself gravitating towards more than Bellinger’s. I’m down to ignore that Looney Tunes, Tasmanian Devil swing just like everyone else. Let’s see where this crazy train takes us. Also, maybe my podcast co-host, Ralph Lifshitz, will stop taunting me on twitter every time he gets a hit 😉

Dominic Smith (#29) NYM, 1B – Picked up right where he left off from his dominant second half in 2016, slashing .372/.413/.535 in 11 games at Triple-A. The beginning of his MLB career could look a lot like Stephen Piscotty’s.

Ian Happ (#35) CHC, 2B/OF – Happ is just destroying Triple-A with 6 homers in his first 11 games at the level. I’m starting to think it isn’t so much that the Cubs are especially good at drafting and developing, as much as it is that the other teams are particularly bad. Mark Appel was drafted ahead of Kris Bryant. Brady Aiken, Tyler Kolek, and Carlos Rodon were taken ahead of Kyle Schwarber. Dillon Tate, Tyler Jay, and Carson Fulmer were selected ahead of Ian Happ. It doesn’t take a staff of Ivy League geniuses and a room full of super computers to understand you don’t let the very best college bats slip through your fingers when drafting in the top half of the 1st round.

Francisco Mejia (#49) CLE, C – I have always been a little skeptical of the plus hit tool Minor League guys, and my rankings the last two years can attest to that. Jeff Zimmerman over at Fangraphs has been doing some great research this off-season on Minor League hit tool grades, and the early findings have backed up my apprehension about ranking guys very high based on their plus minor league hit tool. Having said that, what Mejia is doing is just above and beyond silly. After a 50-game hit streak last year, which grabbed the attention of prospect hounds everywhere, he started this season at Double-A hitting safely in all 8 games. There is only so much skepticism a guy can have in the face of such an undeniable skill. My boy Ralph has loved Mejia from get go, and he is also a favorite of Season 1 Top Chef winner, Harold Dieterle, as heard on the star-studded Razzball Baseball Podcast three weeks ago.

Anthony Alford (#52) TOR, OF – The breakout already happened in the second half of last season when everyone was still hemming and hawing over his poor, injury riddled 1st half, but his hot start to this season has put any doubt to rest, as he is slashing .464/.571/.607 with 1 homer and 4 steals in 8 games at Double-A.

Brent Honeywell (#59) TB, RHP – Tampa Bay management must be listening to the Razzball Prospect Podcast, because right after I mentioned how ridiculous it was getting for Honeywell to still be pitching against the clearly inferior Double-A competition, they bumped him up to Triple-A. I know he still has many pitchers ahead of him, but it is not unheard of for truly superior prospects to jump the line. He will get a chance to prove he is worthy of that treatment at Triple-A.

Vlad Guerrero Jr. (#64) TOR, 3B/Juan Soto (#70) WASH, OF – Possibly the two most talented 18-year-old hitters in the world have been carving through full season ball pitching as easily as they did Rookie ball pitching. Other than proximity to the bigs, there isn’t much left to doubt with either of these phenoms.

Rhys Hoskins (#110) PHI, 1B/Trey Mancini (#168) BAL, 1B/Chris Shaw (#183) SFG, 1B – Three hulking first baseman who are proving they are the real deal at higher levels. Shaw is doing it at Double-A (.382/.475/.765), Hoskins is excelling in a non-Reading aided environment at Triple-A (.324/.452/.676), and Mancini is going insane in the Majors with 4 homers in 24 PA. “Nonathletic” first baseman need to rake and force their way into the lineup, and these guys are doing it so far.

Fallers

Tyler Glasnow (#12) PIT, RHP /Lucas Giolito (#14) CHW, RHP – Man is it frustrating to own pitchers in Dynasty Leagues, no matter how hyped they have been throughout their minor league career. Glasnow has shown little improvement on his command, and Giolito’s elite fastball disappeared somewhere along the way. You can throw Alex Reyes in this mix too, who went down with Tommy John surgery.

J.P. Crawford (#13) PHI, SS – I like sitting up in my Ivory Tower and acting all unaffected by minor league numbers as much as the next guy, but Crawford’s continued struggles is making it hard to keep the ruse up. After struggling at Triple-A last year, he is slashing .086/.200/.143 with a 30% K rate in 40 PA this year. His potential is obvious when you watch him play, but you have to start producing at some point.

James Kaprielian (#101) NYY, RHP – The velocity bump followed by arm troubles is what kept Kaprielian out of my top 100, and also the reason I was one of the few (along with Ralph) to place him behind Justus Sheffield on my Top 10 New York Yankees Fantasy Prospects Rankings. As I’m sure you have heard, he will undergo Tommy John surgery this week, and while it’s always sad to see someone get injured, that is the risk associated with adding velocity. Although, in today’s game where everyone is throwing harder and striking everyone out, maybe he felt like he had no choice.

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

12 thoughts on “Early Season Risers and Fallers from My 2017 Top 100 Fantasy/Dynasty Baseball Prospect Rankings”

  1. Really good stuff. Please don’t be shy about sharing any of your views during the season. You have very interesting vision. Q: Have you formed any thoughts about Luis Robert? Thanks.

    1. Thanks. Truly appreciated. From the little I have seen and know about him, he has that typical long-ish Cuban swing, but the power/speed combo and raw tools are all top of the line.

  3. Haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere, but Ryan McMahon is picking up where he left off in 2015. Walking more, striking out less, and making a lot more contact with plus power… His path is blocked, but how long before he’s back on people’s radar?

    1. I didn’t completely jump off his bandwagon because he didn’t have a homefield last year, but he did fall out of my top 100. I think he is definitely back on people’s radars with his hot start. Biggest concern is that he seems like prime trade bait, and the Rockies just feel like they are itching to try to do something this year.

  4. Would you trade Renfroe straight up for Glasnow, even with Glasnow’s stock being down?

    1. It would be entirely team dependent because I think their values are pretty similar right now. All things being equal, I want to say Renfroe, but he literally hasn’t walked a single time in 59 plate appearances. Glasnow is so extremely boom or bust right now though, it would take some balls to trade for him. I think I would only do it if I was stacked in the OF and desperate for pitching.

      1. I guess my roster to some effect fits that description, and it’s also an OBP league hurting Renfroe.

        I have Trout, Buxton, Cargo, Puig and Grichuk at the big league level, with a bunch of other OF’s who should be close – Corey Ray, Kyle Lewis, Derek Fisher, Laureano, etc.

        Rotation is headlined by Strasburg, Price, Bundy, Stroman, Shoemaker, and Richards – only notable pitching prospects are Martes, Fried, Buehler, Gohara, Hudson, Tate, and Luis Castillo.

          1. I also have Desmond Lindsay, Jahmai Jones, Taylor Trammell, Jorge Ona, Magneuris Sierra, and Pedro Gonzalez in the pipeline – so there are more guys that profile favorably at the MLB level, just with more distant ETA’s. And some upside oriented guys like Brayan Hernandez, Gilberto Celestino, Victor Garcia.

            I’ve responded to the initial offer, asking for Albertos+Glasnow for Renfroe.

            I mentioned Pedro Gonzalez though, what’s your take on him? TheDynastyGuru put him just outside their top 200, and I think I saw one list have him in the top 100 just on physical projection alone. I snagged him (alongwith Senzatela actually) in a trade back in July 2015, but it seems like the annual scouting prospect writeup hasn’t changed much since his J2 signing.

          2. I don’t have much to add on him that isn’t already out there. Just a total lottery ticket type. I think it is worth throwing him in to get a trade done that you really like, but he has the raw talent for it to bite you in the ass.

Comments are now closed.