I’ll be running down everything that caught my eye in the Dynasty Baseball world on most Mondays throughout the season. Here is the Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (6/7/21):
Diego Cartaya LAD, C, 19.9 – Cartaya has been a man on fire in his full season debut, crushing two more bombs yesterday to give him 5 homers in 8 games. Francisco Alvarez all of a sudden has some competition for the most hyped teenage catcher prospect in the lower minors.
Francisco Alvarez NYM, C, 19.6 – Not to be outdone, Alvarez had himself a day as well, going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and a walk at High-A. He hasn’t been able to dominate this level as much as he did Single-A, but a 133 wRC+ ain’t too bad.
Adley Rutschman BAL, C, 23.4 – The elder statesman of the top catcher prospects group told those damn teens to get off his lawn, going 2 for 3 with his 8th homer and 5th double of the year at Double-A. He now has more walks than strikeouts with an 18.6%/20.2% K%/BB% in 28 games.
Luis Severino NYY, RHP, 27.3 – Severino was one of my favorite targets in dynasty leagues this off-season, and he took another huge step in his rehab from Tommy John surgery, going 2.2 IP with 2 hits, 1 ER, and a 3/1 K/BB at Single-A. His fastball was back into the upper 90’s. It might be too late to buy at a reduced price, but if you followed my rankings, you already own him.
Logan Gilbert SEA, RHP, 24.1 – Gilbert had his most impressive start in the majors, going 5 IP with 2 hits, 1 earned, and a 7/4 K/BB. His fastball sat 95.2 MPH and his slider put up a 45% whiff%. He had a 36% whiff% overall which is great to see as his season total sits at a slightly below average 23.9%.
Luis Garcia HOU, RHP, 24.6 – Garcia shot up to #206 overall on my latest Updated Dynasty Baseball Rankings over on my Patreon, and it might not have been high enough as he has kept on dominating. He went 6 IP with 3 hits, 1 earned and a 8/2 K/BB against the feared Toronto lineup. He put up a 41% whiff% on the day and his secondaries continue to befuddle hitters with utterly dominant xwOBA’s on all four of them.
Bobby Bradley CLE, 1B, 25.0 – Called up the majors and dominated in his first start, going 3 for 4 with a 103 MPH homer and a 114.2 MPH double. He hit only .196 with a 32.1%/6.4% K%/BB% at Triple-A, so I would keep your expectations in check, but he also hit 9 homers, so there is certainly thunder in his bat.
Brett Baty NYM, 3B, 21.7 – Baty is quickly becoming one of my favorite prospects with his advanced beyond his years plate approach, and when I ranked him 91st overall in my Patreon Mid May Top 100 Prospect Update, I knew the homer power would come. And boy has it come with him scorching his 4th homer in his last 6 games to go along with a 22.3%/16.5% K%/BB% in 24 games at High-A.
Austin Martin TOR, OF, 22.2 – Speaking of power coming around, Martin drilled an opposite field shot for his 2nd homer in 4 games. He’s handled the aggressive assignment to Double-A well with a .396 OBP and 131 wRC+.
Cade Cavalli WASH, RHP, 22.9 – One of the fastest rising pitching prospects in the minors was at it again, going 6 IP with 5 hits, 3 earned, and a 11/2 K/BB at High-A. He’s now rocking an elite 41.8%/7.5% K%/BB% with the premium stuff to back it up. He’s in the conversation for the top pitching prospect in the game.
Edward Cabrera MIA, RHP, 23.2 – Cabrera made his season debut after being sidelined by a right biceps injury, and it didn’t take long to re-establish himself as a beast, going 3 IP with 2 hits, 0 ER and a 3/0 K/BB at Single-A with the fastball reaching 97 MPH. Any buy low window has been slammed shut and it might not be all that long before he is called up to the majors.
Jake Eder MIA, LHP, 22.8 – Possibly the top pop up pitching prospect of 2021 continued to rise to the occasion, pitching a new age perfect game, going 5 IP with 0 hits, 0 earned and an 8/0 K/BB at Double-A. The days of letting pitchers go until their arms fall off during no hitters/perfect games are over, and rightfully so. He now has a silly pitching line of 0.61/0.81/50/12 in 29.2 IP
Brayan Bello BOS, RHP, 22.1 – Bello resents me giving Eder the top pop up pitching prospect crown, as he dominated yesterday as well, going 5.1 IP with 4 hits, 1 ER, and a 9/0 K/BB at High-A. His fastball can reach the upper 90’s and he can control it too with a 5.7% BB%.
Kyle Bradish BAL, RHP, 24.9 – Bradish would like to have a word with me as well, as his spectacular season continued, going 5 IP with 4 hits, 0 earned and a 8/4 K/BB at Triple-A. He throws a legitimate 4 pitch mix and has a sparkling 1.00 ERA in 27 IP, but his 13.6% BB% is a bit on the high side.
Evan Carter TEX, OF, 18.9 – Smoked his 2nd homer of the year at Single-A, and while his .213/.403/.360 triple-slash isn’t super impressive, he’s 18 years old in full season ball with a 21.8%/.21.8% K%/BB% and a 126 wRC+. He’s only going to grow into more power at 6’4”, 190 pounds and he has 12 steals on the year. Carter has a chance to be an absolute monster.
Miguel Vargas LAD, 3B, 21.7 – Vargas was one single away from the cycle yesterday as he went 3 for 5 with his 11th double, 1st triple, and 5th homer in 30 games at High-A. His 18.8% K% with a 27.8% GB% is a recipe for success. I liked him coming into the year and his stock keeps rising. Now is the time to make a move on him if he is still available in your league.
Gavin Sheets CHW, 1B, 25.1 – After a brief call up to the majors that resulted in 0 at-bats, Sheets got right back to raking at Triple-A with him launching his 5th homer in 25 games yesterday. He’s had strong contact numbers his entire career going back to college (18.9% K% in 2021), and his game power is now breaking out as he had hit only 26 homers in 301 minor league games prior to this season.
Ethan Small MIL, LHP, 24.4 – Small has yet to strikeout less than 6 batters in any of his 6 starts this season, and yesterday was no exception with him going 5.2 IP with 2 hits, 0 ER and a 8/2 K/BB at Double-A. He doesn’t have huge stuff and his 16.5% BB% is a little concerning, but the man knows how to miss bats.
Carmen Mlodzinski PIT, RHP, 22.3 – Mlodzinski’s pro debut is going swimmingly as he’s been lights out in all 4 of his outings. He went 5 IP with 4 hits, 0 ER, and a 7/1 K/BB at High-A yesterday. The 39.7% K% is great to see after he put up a 7.8 K/9 in 25.1 IP in the SEC during the shortened 2020 season.
Taylor Walls TB, SS, 24.11 – Walls smacked 2 doubles en route to a 3 for 5 day with 0 K’s. His underlying numbers have been very strong in the early going with a 90.9 MPH exit velocity, 17.3 degree launch angle, 18.8% whiff%, 16% BB%, 28.5 ft/sec sprint speed and a .371 xwOBA. He’s never going to put up huge power/speed numbers, but he looks like a legit top of the order hitter and there definitely might be some more juice in his bat as he enters his mid 20’s.
By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)