I mixed it up with both MLB and MiLB players on this one and I’m planning on doing it this way more often moving forward. Here is the Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (5/10/21):
Rafael Devers BOS, 3B, 24.6 – 2 for 4 with a 110.7 MPH homer and 106.5 MPH double. His sprint speed is back up to 27.6 ft/sec, his K% is back down to 21.3%, and his BB% is at an all time high 11.8%. I was a little concerned with his low sprint speed and high whiff% early in the season, but Devers not only bounced back from 2020, he took his game to another level. He is an elite dynasty asset.
Gleyber Torres NYY, SS, 24.5 – Welcome to 2021, Gleyber Torres, as he knocked his first dinger of the year off Joe Ross. His 18.2%/12.4% K%/BB% is still strong, and there is no reason to think his 84.9 MPH exit velocity won’t normalize as he we get deeper into the season. He’s no Rafael Devers, but don’t sell too low on him either.
Sandy Alcantara MIA, RHP, 25.8 – Alcantara has been dominating with the changeup all year and that continued yesterday as he went 7 IP with 5 hits, 1 earned and a 6/2 K/BB. He threw his changeup 46% of the time and put up a 31% whiff% overall. He’s inching closer to being a top 50 dynasty asset if he isn’t there already.
Pete-Crow Armstrong NYM, OF, 19.1 – Armstrong was my favorite target in first year player drafts this year, and he is showing why in the early going as he is slashing .450/.593/.550 with 2 doubles, 1 steal (on 3 attempts), and a 5/6 K/BB in 20 AB.
Corbin Carroll ARI, OF, 20.8 – Carrol was my favorite target in his draft year too and he went off yesterday, going 3 for 4 with a triple, homer, and 2 steals at High-A. The homer was an opposite field bomb. He’s now slashing .333/.455/.722 with 1 homer, 3 steals, and 7/4/ K/BB in 18 AB.
CJ Abrams SD, SS, 20.7 – Abrams had himself a day at Double-A, going 3 for 5 with a dinger and 0 K’s. His homer was also an opposite field shot. He’s slashing .320/.412/.560 with 1 homer, 2 steals, and a 9/4 K/BB in 25 AB. Both Abrams and Carroll’s strikeout rates are a bit high, but they have been showing off their explosive tools.
Cedric Mullins BAL, OF, 26.7 – The Cedric Mullins breakout continues with his 6th homer of the year off Nick Pivetta. He’s shown a good feel to hit (17.5% K%) with an above average 89.7 MPH exit velocity and a career best 9.4% BB%.
Harrison Bader STL, OF, 26.11 – 1 for 2 with a 1/2 K/BB. It’s only been 32 AB and he has still not hit great vs righties (.660 OPS), but Bader has his K% down to 13.5%. If he did make real improvements to his contact numbers, his power/speed combo has a real chance to shine through. I’m not giving up assets for him, but he is worth a pick up if he is out there on your wire.
Lewis Brinson MIA, OF, 27.0 – Cracked his 2nd homer on a 107.8 MPH, 412 foot shot, and went 3 for 4 on the day. He’s hitting the ball hard at 91.7 MPH, but he is swinging and missing more than ever (38.2% whiff%) and is barely walking (2% BB%). I’m continuing to stay away.
Yordan Alvarez HOU, OF, 23.10 – 3 for 4 and is now slashing .362/.395/.638 with 6 homers. It’s a very encouraging start considering the knee surgeries, but his .438 BABIP is likely juicing up that line a bit. The only other thing that really sticks out is his 3.5% BB% after walking 14.1% of the time his rookie year. Regardless, his stock is back on the rise.
Dane Dunning TEX, RHP, 26.5 – Dunning was a strikeout machine yesterday, going 5 IP with 6 hits, 2 earned, and a 10/3 K/BB. He put up a 43% whiff% on the back of his slider and changeup. Both pitches have dominated all season long with a .138 and .171 xwOBA, respectively. He’s backing up his strong 2020 MLB debut.
Huascar Ynoa ATL, RHP, 22.11 – 6 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 6/1 K/BB. His slider dominated with a 47% whiff% and his fastball hit a high of 99.6 MPH. I wouldn’t be so quick to sell high on him.
Kyle Tucker HOU, OF, 23.5 – It’s about time Tucker started to heat up as he went 2 for 3 with a triple, dinger, and a walk. His underlying numbers are still excellent, so I’m thinking he is about to get hot.
Nate Pearson TOR, RHP, 24.8 – Got knocked around in his MLB season debut, going 2.1 IP with 4 hits, 3 earned and a 0/5 K/BB. He put up a 6% whiff%. His stuff is too good to panic, but damn was this a terrible start.
Tyler Anderson PIT, LHP, 31.4 – 8 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, 6/1 K/BB. He now has a 3.05 ERA on the year, but I buy more into his 3.83 xERA. He can be a solid starter, but I’m not giving up any assets to acquire him.
Adolis Garcia TEX, OF, 28.2 – 3 for 4 with a 106.1 MPH bomb, 2 hard hit singles, and 0 K’s. His 30.3%/5.5% K%/BB% still makes him high risk, but he is absolutely smoking the ball with a 92.3 MPH exit velocity. The longer he keeps raking, the more you gotta trust him.
Shane McClanahan TB, LHP, 24.0 – 4 IP, 4 hits, 3 ER, 5/2 K/BB. Stuff was still nasty with a 97.5 MPH fastball and a slider that put up a 44% whiff%. He does have a 94.4 MPH exit velocity against, which is in the bottom 1% of the league, and his slider has been his only positive value pitch, so it hasn’t been all roses.
Chris Paddack SD, RHP, 25.4/Ryan Weathers SD, LHP, 21.5 – Paddack and Weathers both pitched 3 shutout innings. Paddack’s fastball was up to 95.2 MPH and it put up a 64% whiff% which was great to see. Weathers had his fastball/slider combo working for him and he gave up a single hit in the outing.
Alexander Mojica PIT, 3B, 18.9 – I was already pretty high on Mojica, and he is showing why as an 18 year old in full season ball, slashing .333/.429/.667 with 2 homers and a 5/1 K/BB in 18 AB. He was one of the best hitters in the Dominican Summer League in 2020 with big raw power, and he is continuing that success in 2021. He is a pick up in deeper leagues, and a watch list guy in shallower leagues.
Sammy Siani PIT, OF, 20.5 – Siani hit his first dinger at Single-A which is a good sign as he is known for his good feel to hit with plus speed. He doesn’t project to have a huge impact on the MLB level, but he can be a well rounded player with all category production.
Luis Garcia PHI, SS, 20.7 – After a terrible year in 2019, Garcia is finally getting the chance to bounce back and he is doing just that, hitting his first homer of the season yesterday and is now slashing .375/.448/.542 with 1 homer, 1 steal and a 6/4 K/BB and Single-A. There were reports of increased power in 2020, and his hot start to 2021 has his stock back on the upswing.
Estevan Florial NYY, OF, 23.7 – Absolutely destroyed his 4th homer of the year at Double-A and has a reasonable 6/3 K/BB in 22 AB. Could this finally be the breakout we have been waiting years for?
Josh Lowe TB, OF, 23.3 – Josh Lowe powered up for his 3rd bomb of the season at Triple-A as he joins Wander Franco and Vidal Brujan as the next wave of Tampa’s seemingly never ending pipeline.
Luis Medina NYY, RHP, 22.0 – Had his 2nd lights out start of the season, going 5 IP with 1 hit, 0 earned and a 7/2 K/BB. His stuff has always been nasty, so seeing the improved control is huge.
Lyon Richardson CIN, RHP, 21.4 – 5 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER, 6/1 K/BB for his 2nd strong outing of the season. His velocity was reportedly up in 2020 and he has a real chance to breakout in 2021.
Evan Carter TEX, OF, 18.8 – Carter snuck onto my Top 1,000 at #1,000, and I’m happy he did as he had a 3 hit day yesterday and is now 7 for 18 with 3 doubles and a 8/7 K/BB as an 18 year old in full season ball. At 6’4”, 190 pounds with a plus power/speed combo, Carter has loads of potential, and now has some production to back it up.
By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)