Posted on by Michael Halpern

Seattle Mariners 2023 Dynasty Baseball Team Report (Top 10 Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy Talk)

Along with a Top 10 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Ranking, I wanted to highlight some interesting MLB guys for every team and talk some strategy to give a more complete Dynasty Team Report. Like during the regular season, I’m still going to be posting a few articles a month for free on my website. This is one of those articles. Here is the Seattle Mariners 2023 Dynasty Baseball Report (Top 10 Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy Talk):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-A TOP 59 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2023 TOP 1,000 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-2023 DEEP DYNASTY POSITIONAL RANKS: TOP 65 CATCHERS
-TOP 13 EARLY OFF-SEASON DYNASTY TARGETS
-TOP 8 OFF-SEASON DYNASTY SELLS
-TOP 360 END OF SEASON 2022 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP 456 END OF SEASON 2022 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS

Previous Team Reports on Patreon
Arizona Diamondbacks—Baltimore Orioles (free)—Boston Red Sox (free)—Chicago White Sox—Colorado Rockies—Kansas City Royals—Miami Marlins—Milwaukee Brewers—Minnesota Twins—New York Mets (free)—San Francisco Giants—Texas Rangers—Washington Nationals

Hitters

Julio Rodriguez SEA, OF, 22.3 – Prospects can break your heart, but the season Julio just had is why we play this game. There is nothing more satisfying in all of fantasy sports than acquiring a young prospect, letting him develop in your farm system, and then watching him explode in his MLB debut. And explode is exactly what Julio did, slashing .284/.345/.509 with 28 homers, 25 steals, and a 25.9%/7.1% K%/BB% in 132 games. He has elite speed (29.8 ft/sec sprint speed) and elite exit velocity numbers (92/96.2 MPH AVG/FB EV). He closed out the season with a bang, putting up a 1.202 OPS in his final 19 games, which could be foreshadowing for what he has in store for 2023. The only quibble is that he ran far less in the 2nd half with only 4 steals in 7 attempts in his final 50 games, but considering how fast he is, I wouldn’t get too hung up on that. 2023 Projection: 96/32/98/.278/.353/.522/26

Jarred Kelenic SEA, OF, 23.9 – Prospects can fill your heart, but the career Kelenic is having is why we curse this game. There is nothing more painful in all of fantasy sports than acquiring a young prospect, letting him develop in your farm system, and then watching him implode in the majors. And implode is exactly what Jarred did, slashing .168/.251/.338 with 21 homers, 11 steals, and a 30.0%/9.3% K%/BB% in his 147 game career. He actually managed to get worse in year 2 with a .534 OPS, 33.7% K%, and 55 wRC+ in 54 games. I wrote in the Torkelson blurb for the Tigers Team Report that I’m almost more encouraged that Tork struggled at Triple-A too considering he ripped up Triple-A in 2021. It means it just might have been a down year, which happens to almost everyone in baseball. If he went right back to destroying Triple-A, I might think he has some kind of fatal flaw vs. MLB pitchers. Enter Jarred Kelenic, who continually gets sent back down to Triple-A and goes right back to raking. He was starting to show the weakest of pulses in September with 3 homes and a 1.107 OPS in the first 7 games of the month, but it was false hope as he closed out the season going 1 for 23. Even his upside isn’t what it used to be as he now has below average speed. He’s still only 23 years old, and he has nowhere to go but up (although I said that last year too), but his name value will still probably push his acquisition cost up higher than I would be willing to go. I’m staying away. 2023 Projection: 53/17/61/.228/.299/.405/9

Cal Raleigh SEA, C, 26.4 – Raleigh became one of the premier power hitting catchers in the majors, smashing 27 homers which was tied for first with Daulton Varsho. They weren’t cheapies either as he crushed the ball with a 90.9/94.8 MPH AVG/FB EV and 22.5 degree launch. His 114 MPH Max EV was in the top 6% of the league. The high launch angle combined with a high strikeout rate (29.4% K%) is going to tank his batting average (.211 BA), so he’s basically Mike Zunino 2.0, although his strikeout problems aren’t nearly as bad as Zunino’s. 2023 Projection: 57/25/71/.225/.304/.462/2

Starting Pitchers

George Kirby SEA, RHP, 25.2 – Kirby dominated in his MLB debut with elite control (4.1% BB%) of a legitimate 6 pitch mix (4-seam, curve, cutter, sinker, slider, change). He threw each pitch at least 8% of the time, but the fastball is the money maker, throwing it 45.4% of the time and putting up a negative 18 run value on it (9th best in baseball). It led to a pitching line of 3.39/1.21/133/22 in 130 IP. As advertised from his prospect days, none of his secondaries are true out pitches, and his 24.5% K% isn’t standout with a below average 21.2% whiff%, but that is one hell of a rookie season. I’m only expecting improvements from here. 2023 Projection: 12/3.45/1.11/178 in 170 IP

Logan Gilbert SEA, RHP, 25.4 – Gilbert’s profile is very similar to Kirby’s, except slightly worse. He also has excellent control (6.4% BB%) of a heavily used 96.1 MPH fastball (53.9% usage). He put up a negative 12 run value on the pitch which was 25th overall. It led to a pitching line of 3.20/1.18/174/49 in 185.2 IP. None of his secondaries are truly standout, and while his changeup performed the best, he only went to it 8% of the time. The biggest red flag is that his stuff is mighty hittable with a 91 MPH EV against (bottom 3% of the league) and 118 MPH Max EV against (bottom 1%). His 4.11 xERA was much worst than his 3.20 ERA. K/BB numbers are still king at the end of the day, and his control will ensure a good WHIP even if the ERA rises. I would also bet on improvements to his secondaries as he already tinkered with his slider this year, throwing it 3.5 MPH faster. 2023 Projection: 13/3.58/1.16/187 in 190 IP

Bullpen

Andres Munoz SEA, Setup, 24.2 – Munoz is the top setup man to own in dynasty, and Seattle has been malleable with their bullpen in the past, so he could easily lock down a share of the closer job with Paul Sewald. He throws a 100.2 MPH fastball with a silly elite slider that put up a 50.8% whiff% and .162 xwOBA. It led to a 38.7% K% and 41.8% whiff%. If that wasn’t enough, he also has near elite control with a 6% BB% and he induced weak contact at near elite rates with a 86.2 MPH EV against. He had a 2.49 ERA with a 96/15 K/BB in 65 IP, and his 1.84 xERA was even better. The guy literally doesn’t have a weakness and has a real argument to be crowned the best reliever in baseball. 2023 Projection: 5/2.39/0.93/91/12 saves in 62 IP

Top 10 Seattle Mariners Fantasy Baseball Prospects

1) Harry Ford SEA, C, 20.1 – Harry Ford and Logan O’Hoppe were my top 2 prospect catcher targets for 2022, and both were big hits. Granted, you could have thrown a rock and hit a catcher prospect breakout with Endy Rodriguez, Bo Naylor, Edgar Quero, Diego Cartaya, Ford, O’Hoppe etc … all having big seasons. Ford used his lightning quick bat, plus speed, and mature plate approach to put up a 132 wRC+ in 104 games at Single-A. He slashed .274/.425/.439 with 11 homers, 23 steals, and a 23%/17.6% K%/BB%. The power didn’t pop, but his home ballpark is one of the worst for homers, and I have no doubts about his long term power as he doesn’t have any groundball issues. He hit 8 homers in 53 games on the road and 3 in 51 games at home. He’s a plus athlete who could play other position, so he could be the type to retain catcher eligibility while still playing 150+ games. He’s still a major buy for me in 2023. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 84/23/78/.268/.350/.463/16

2) Gabriel Gonzalez SEA, OF, 19.3 – Gonzalez might not have the highest upside as he’s not a huge tools guy. He doesn’t have monster power or speed, and he’s not a hulking human being at about 5’11”, but what he does have is monster baseball skills. He destroyed the DSL in 2021 with a 141 wRC+ in 54 games, then he crushed stateside rookie ball in 2022 with a 164 wRC+ in 35 games, before making his full season debut and barely slowing down with a 14%/8.7% K%/BB% and 116 wRC+ in 32 games at Single-A. He has a plus hit tool with near elite contact rates his entire career, and there is plus power potential especially considering the quality of contact. He’s not a burner but he should be able to nab a handful of steals as well. He’s one of the safest teenage prospects in the game and it’s not like there isn’t some upside in here either. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 85/25/85/.278/.343/.473/9

3) Jonatan Clase SEA, OF, 20.10 – Clase had a big time breakout season, but nobody seemed to notice. He slashed .267/.374/.463 with 13 homers, 55 steals, and a 26.7%/13% K%/BB% in 107 games at Single-A. He has elite speed and there is some real juice in his bat with him crushing some absolute bombs. He’s only 5’8”, 150 pounds, so he’s not going to be a huge power hitter, but there should be enough to let his speed shine. The high K% adds risk which prevents his value from really exploding, but he mitigates that with high a walk rate. Clase is the type I hope falls right into my lap late in off-season prospect drafts. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 79/14/60/.246/.328/.398/31

4) Cole Young SEA, SS, 19.8 – Selected 21st overall in the 2022 MLB Draft, Young is kinda similar to Edwin Arroyo (selected 48th by Seattle in 2021) in the sense he doesn’t necessarily jump off the screen, but there is still an exciting set of tools led by the plus hit. He did damage in his pro debut, slashing .367/.423/.517 with 2 homers, 4 steals, and a 8/8 K/BB in 17 games split between rookie ball and Single-A (he actually performed better at Single-A than rookie). He’s a very solid 6’0”, 180 pounds with above average speed and the ability to put a sting into the ball, although his well over 50% GB% will limit his power. It’s not the highest upside profile, but it’s a safe one with the potential to contribute in every category ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 87/17/62/.274/.340/.428/15

5) Lazaro Montes SEA, OF, 18.6 – I fell in love with Montes’ graceful lefty swing from a 6’3”, 210 pound frame last off-season, and he didn’t disappoint in 2022, slashing .284/.422/.585 with 10 homers, 3 steals, and a 33.2%/15.7% K%/BB% in 55 games in the DSL. It’s legitimate 40+ homer potential, but I can’t deny the 33.2% K% against the very weak DSL pitching isn’t concerning. The high walk rate shows that some of that was because of his extreme patience, but it gives him major hit tool risk, and as a corner outfielder, his bat will have to hit close to it’s ceiling to lock in playing time. I’m still betting on the talent long term, but not as much as I would have with better K rates. ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 76/34/84/.238/.320/.502/4

6) Felnin Celesten SEA, SS, 17.6 – Expected to sign for over $4 million, Celesten has that super smooth lefty swing (he also hits righty) in the mold of a Marcelo Mayer, George Valera, and Zac Veen. It just screams offensive potential. He’s also an excellent athlete with plus speed. We’ve seen plenty of international prospects with smooth swings just not hit enough against more advanced competition, but it’s hard not to fall in love with the swing and tools. Considering the last couple international classes haven’t really popped, Celesten could come at a very reasonable price in 2023 First Year Player Drafts. This could be the year to dive back into this market. ETA: 2028 Prime Projection: 83/26/87/.268/.336/.470/18

7) Bryce Miller SEA, RHP, 24.7 – Miller showed major control problems in 2021 in the SEC in his first year as a starter with a 5.9 BB/9 in 56.2 IP, but Seattle took a shot on his big stuff in the 4th round, and it paid off in 2022. He put up a pitching line of 3.16/1.04/163/46 in 133.2 IP at mostly High-A and Double-A. He pitched just as well at each level. He throws gas with a mid 90’s fastball and has 3 quality secondaries in his slider, change, and curve. He certainly still has some reliever risk, but there is real fantasy upside here, especially considering this was only his 2nd year as a starter. 2023 Projection: 3/4.19/1.34/51 in 50 IP Prime Projection: 10/3.76/1.30/168 in 160 IP

8) Emerson Hancock SEA, RHP, 23.10 – Hancock was art of pitching his way through Double-A with a 2.19 ERA and 64/21 K/BB in his first 70 IP, but the lack strikeouts caught up with him in the end with a 7.62 ERA and 28/17 K/BB in his final 28.1 IP. His 3.75 ERA was still solid overall, but the 22.3%/9.2% K%/BB% and 5.43 xFIP doesn’t look as good. He has the pedigree as the former 6th overall pick in the draft, and he looks the part when you watch him with 3 electric pitches (mid 90’s heat, change, slider), but the numbers say back end starter. I’ll split the difference and put a #4 starter tag on him. 2023 Projection: 2/4.42/1.38/56 in 65 IP Prime Projection: 10/3.93/1.27/158 in 170 IP

9) Cade Marlowe SEA, OF, 25.9 – Marlowe is in that Joey Wiemer class of prospect. He’s an older prospect with a plus power/speed combo and major hit tool issues. He slashed .287/.377/.487 with 23 homers, 42 steals, and a 27.0%/10.7% K%/BB% in 133 games at mostly Double-A. He made it to Triple-A for 13 games and his K% spiked to 38.3%, which isn’t a great sign. He’s older than Wiemer and the power/speed combo isn’t as big as Wiemer, but these types of prospects give you legitimate upside without having to draft a teenager who is likely at least 3-4 years away. I doubt Seattle will just hand him a starting job, so he will have to scratch and claw for playing time with a very short leash when he does get his shot. He also hits righties significantly better than lefties, so a platoon role is in play. 2023 Projection: 19/5/20/.221/.290/.398/6 Prime Projection: 51/16/60/.236/.316/.431/12

10) Tyler Locklear SEA, 1B/3B, 22.4 –  Selected 58th overall in the 2022 MLB Draft, Locklear put up video game numbers in the Atlantic 10, slashing .402/.542/.799 with 20 homers, 6 steals, and a 25/47 K/BB in 62 games. He smashed in pro ball too with 7 homers and a 21.8% K% in 29 games at Single-A. The power is very real at 6’3”, 210 pounds and he also has a good feel to hit with a relatively short righty swing. The swing isn’t particularly athletic, he has below average speed and he’s likely a 1B long term, so the bat will have to hit it’s absolute ceiling to hold down a full time job. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 64/22/77/.254/.321/.466/2

11) Axel Sanchez SEA, SS, 20.4 – Sanchez looks cool as a cucumber in the box before exploding on the ball. He has easy athleticism and was known more for his glove than his bat prior to this year. The bat really shined in 2022 though, slashing .283/.365/.510 with 10 homers, 13 steals, and a 24.9%/9.1% K%/BB% split between rookie (117 wRC+ in 27 games), Single-A (155 wRC+ in 33 games), and High-A (38 wRC+ in 8 games). There is still plenty of refinement needed, but he reminds me a bit of Jeremy Pena. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 76/20/72/.250/.322/.428/13

12) Michael Arroyo SEA, SS/3B, 18.5 – Arroyo was a high priced international signing who was known for his plus hit tool and mature approach. He came exactly as advertised in his pro debut, slashing .314/.457/.484 with 4 homers, 4 steals, and a 16.6%/13.6% K%/BB% in 49 DSL games. He’s similar to Gabriel Gonzalez in that he isn’t a huge tools guy at 5’10”, 160 pounds, although his power potential probably doesn’t rise quite to Gonzalez’ level. I want to love Arroyo even more, but it’s hard for me to fly a guy up my rankings who doesn’t have huge upside, is a long way off from the majors, and hasn’t even debuted stateside. ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 83/21/73/.273/.339/.447/6

13) Taylor Dollard SEA, RHP, 24.1 – Dollard isn’t a big velocity guy with a low 90’s fastball, but he mitigates that by going to his plus slider very often (he also throws a curve and change) and by hitting his spots with at least plus control (5.4% BB%). He put up a pitching line of 2.25/0.95/131/31 in 144 IP at Double-A. He’s not a big strikeout guy, and his .248 BABIP with a 4.66 xFIP shows he needed some luck to put up those numbers. Despite his age, he’s still relatively projectable at 6’3”, 195 pounds, so if he’s able to add velocity in his mid 20’s, he could easily beat his current back to mid rotation projection: 2023 Projection: 1/4.46/1.31/23 in 30 IP Prime Projection: 9/4.12/1.26/152 in 165 IP

14) Bryan Woo SEA, RHP, 23.2 – Woo returned from Tommy John surgery in June and immediately showed the big stuff is back with a mid 90’s fastball, plus slider, and a changeup that flashes plus. He was a strikeout machine in the lower minors with a 85/22 K/BB (4.11 ERA) in 57 IP spread across 3 levels (rookie, A, A+). He’s now destroying the AFL with a 0.84 ERA and 16/4 K/BB in 10.2 IP. I generally discount AFL performance, but one of the exceptions is from a pitcher who was out for most of the season. You can’t fake big time stuff, and Woo certainly has big time stuff. This off-season is definitely the time to get in on Woo before his value explodes in 2023. ETA: 2024 Prime Projection: 9/3.94/1.32/161 in 155 IP

Dynasty Baseball Thought/Strategy of the Day (which may or may not be related to the team I’m covering that day)

As I alluded to in the Jonatan Clase blurb, not every target of mine is someone I’m necessarily going to really stick my neck out to grab. If you’re constantly reaching for all of your favorite underrated targets, you’re basically eliminating the excess value they should provide to you. The value comes from letting that player fall right into your lap. Gaming the draft is a big part of fantasy success, and you have to risk losing a guy. If you miss out on them, c’est la vie. I certainly have some targets I need to have and am willing to go above and beyond to get, but you have to pick your spots.

Previous Team Reports on Patreon
Arizona Diamondbacks—Baltimore Orioles (free)—Boston Red Sox (free)—Chicago White Sox—Colorado Rockies—Kansas City Royals—Miami Marlins—Milwaukee Brewers—Minnesota Twins—New York Mets (free)—San Francisco Giants—Texas Rangers—Washington Nationals

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-A TOP 59 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2023 TOP 1,000 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-2023 DEEP DYNASTY POSITIONAL RANKS: TOP 65 CATCHERS
-TOP 13 EARLY OFF-SEASON DYNASTY TARGETS
-TOP 8 OFF-SEASON DYNASTY SELLS
-TOP 360 END OF SEASON 2022 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP 456 END OF SEASON 2022 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Patreon Post: Top 456 September 2022 Dynasty Baseball Rankings

Previous rankings from August through April are in parenthesis, in that order. Here is the Top 456 September 2022 Dynasty Baseball Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS AND TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON AND OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-TOP 360 SEPTEMBER 2022 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP 10 TRADE NEGOTIATION TACTICS (one of my favorite things I’ve ever written)
-MID-SEASON OBP TOP 447 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS 
-MID-SEASON POINTS/6+CATS/OPS “UNIVERSAL” TOP 430 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 40 2023 FYPD RANKINGS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-OFF-SEASON CONTENT: Team Prospect Lists, Positional Dynasty Rankings, and early access to the Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings

Tier 1

1) 1) (1) (1) (1) (1) Shohei Ohtani LAA, RHP/DH, 28.3 – M-V-P … M-V-P … M-V-P (I actually don’t have a strong opinion on it as Judge’s season is insane too. I just can’t seem to care about Hall of Fame and End of Season award debates)

Tier 2

2) (4) (4) (6) (22) (21) Julio Rodriguez SEA, OF, 21.8 – Considering Soto’s weak finish, Acuna’s knee, and Tatis’ everything, I’m not sure there is much of an argument against Julio being the 2nd best dynasty asset in the game. Lack of steals in the 2nd half is the only quibble

3) (2) (2) (2) (3) (3) Ronald Acuna Jr. ATL, OF, 24.9 – Only 13 homers in 107 games but he should be much better as he gets further away from the knee injury

4) (5) (8) (8) (7) (15) Yordan Alvarez HOU, OF, 25.3 – Finishing strong with a 1.370 OPS in 12 September games

5) (3) (3) (3) (2) (2) Juan Soto SDP, OF, 23.11 – .752 OPS in 38 games with San Diego. 90.8 MPH EV is down 2.2 MPH from 2021 and is a 4 year low. Having said all that, I would buy hard this off-season if you can get any discount on him at all

6) (6) (5) (7) (26) (20) Bobby Witt Jr. KC, SS, 22.3

7) (6) (5) (4) (5) Fernando Tatis Jr. SD, SS, 23.7

8) (8) (7) (4) (5) (8) Kyle Tucker HOU, OF, 25.8

9) (9) (11) (21) (24) (27) Aaron Judge NYY, OF, 30.4 – He’s having a career year in a contract year. Next year he will have that guaranteed fat contract and could be with a new team too. Call me crazy, but I’m not sure we can expect him to hit 60 every year from here on out.

10) (10) (9) (10) (11) (7) Trea Turner LAD, SS, 29.3

Shadow10) (10) (9) (16) (14) (13) Shohei Ohtani LAA, DH only/Weekly Leagues, 27.10

11) (11) (10) (9) (6) (4) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. TOR, 1B, 23.7 – 8 steals is a career high by far

12) (12) (13) (15) (13) (13) Bryce Harper PHI, OF, 29.8 – Hasn’t rounded into form yet returning from injury with a .755 OPS in 19 games. Zero worries long term

13) (13) (12) (11) (12) (12) Jose Ramirez CLE, 3B, 29.10 

14) (15) 16) (20) (35) (69) Shane McClanahan TBR, LHP, 25.4 – Returned from a shoulder impingement and looked like his usual dominant self in his first start back

15) (17) (36) (37) (32) (34) Jacob deGrom NYM, RHP, 34.1 – 86/4 K/BB in 54.1 IP … enough said

16) (15) (18) (16) (14) Rafael Devers BOS, 3B, 25.9 – .616 OPS in his last 39 games, although he’s been heating back up with a .910 OPS in 19 September games

17) (20) (20) (22) (18) (18) Manny Machado SD, 3B, 30.0

18) (21) (21) (17) (19) (22) Mookie Betts LAD, OF, 29.9 – The off-season injury concerns proved to be overblown

19) (16) (17) (19) (17) (16) Corbin Burnes MIL, RHP, 27.9 – He’s still great, but he took a step back from his untouchable 2021

Tier 3

20) (42) (66) (112) (130) (287) Michael Harris ATL, OF, 21.6 – 1.112 OPS in his last 23 games. He’s locking in his status as a near elite dynasty asset

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS AND TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON AND OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-TOP 360 SEPTEMBER 2022 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP 10 TRADE NEGOTIATION TACTICS (one of my favorite things I’ve ever written)
-MID-SEASON OBP TOP 447 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS 
-MID-SEASON POINTS/6+CATS/OPS “UNIVERSAL” TOP 430 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 40 2023 FYPD RANKINGS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-OFF-SEASON CONTENT: Team Prospect Lists, Positional Dynasty Rankings, and early access to the Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (9/12/22)

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 (9/12/22):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON AND OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-TOP 360 SEPTEMBER 2022 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP 455 AUGUST 2022 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 10 TRADE NEGOTIATION TACTICS (one of my favorite things I’ve ever written)
-MID-SEASON OBP TOP 447 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS 
-MID-SEASON POINTS/6+CATS/OPS “UNIVERSAL” TOP 430 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 40 2023 FYPD RANKINGS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-OFF-SEASON CONTENT: Team Prospect Lists, Positional Dynasty Rankings, and early access to the Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings

Corbin Carroll ARI, OF, 22.1 – Don’t you do it. Don’t you dare do it. I know you’re getting that wandering eye. You love baseball, but damn, football is looking so sexy rolling up to the party all fresh faced with nothing but hope and potential. But just you wait. Soon half your roster will be out with a high ankle sprain, your favorite team’s O-Line will be a sieve, and you’ll be spending 75% of your FAAB on some 3rd string running back. Then you’ll be begging to come back. Your old ball and chain, baseball, is even willing to meet you halfway. They’re willing to bring new people into the bedroom! So many of the games top prospects have gotten the call, none more exciting than my #1 fantasy prospect, Corbin Carroll. He went 1 for 4 with a 101.3 MPH single that he hit into the ground at a negative 48 degree launch angle. That’s been the story of his MLB debut as he has a respectable 88.5/93.7 MPH AVG/FB EV, but he hasn’t been lifting the ball with a negative 1.3 degree launch. He’s the fastest man in baseball with a 30.6 ft/sec sprint speed, but he’s 0 for 1 on the bases in 11 games. He has some swing and miss in his game, and while a 29.5% K% is high, the 26% whiff% shows it likely won’t be a major issue. He’s done enough to hang onto the top spot, but he has someone right on his tail …

Gunnar Henderson BAL, SS, 21.2 – The #2 ranked prospect on the Updated Top 360 Dynasty Prospects Rankings that just hit my Patreon last week, Henderson went 0 for 1 with a 1/1 K/BB coming off the bench. The game here is to bench these guys enough for them to maintain their rookie status for 2023. Like Carroll, he’s been solid in his pro debut with nothing setting off alarm bells. He has a 89.9 MPH EV, 9.2 degree launch, and a 20%/8.9% K%/BB%. His speed also might have been undersold as a 28.8 ft/sec sprint speed is damn fast.

Josh Jung TEX, 3B, 24.6 – Jung had to earn this MLB debut, coming back from shoulder surgery, and he blew his load early with a homer in his very first at bat on Friday. It hasn’t been as good since, putting up the golden sombrero yesterday (0 for 4 with 4 K’s). A golden sombrero literally does sound like a quite disgusting sex act (no judgement if that’s your thing). I looked up the origin of golden sombrero, thinking it would be some super cool story (also worried that it might have been a little racist), but turns out there is no story. According to Wikipedia, baseball thought calling 3 goals in hockey a “hat trick” was cool, “and since four is bigger than three, the rationale was that a four-strikeout performance should be referred to by a bigger hat, such as a sombrero.” Pretty uninspiring. Jung has a 83.8 MPH EV with a 44% whiff% in his 3 game debut.

Triston Casas BOS, 1B, 22.8 – Cases went 0 for 3 with a K yesterday, and his MLB debut has been similar to Jung’s with 1 homer and not much else. The 35.7% whiff% in 7 games will be something to keep an eye on as the hope was for Casas to be an excellent all around hitter, not just a low average slugger.

Michael Harris ATL, OF, 21.5 – Atlanta didn’t wait until September to call up their young studs, and Harris rewarded them majorly for their boldness. He homered twice yesterday and the cement is now starting to dry on his status as an elite dynasty asset. He ranked 42nd overall on the August Top 455 Dynasty Rankings (Patreon), and he might be pushing Top 20 status when I update the rankings for September next week.

Julio Rodriguez SEA, OF, 21.8 – Speaking of the cement drying on an elite dynasty asset, Rodriguez’ dried so long ago it even has an imprint of my hand with “Halp was here, April 2022” etched into it for eternity. He went 3 for 4 with 2 bombs yesterday, and if you told me you wanted to take him 1st overall in a new dynasty league this off-season, it would be hard for me to argue against it. Ohtani might still be my top choice, but I think Julio could be a close 2nd.

Luis Patino TBR, RHP, 22.8 – Let’s keep the excitement going with Patino who is getting another crack at the rotation and … yikes. He gave up 9 earned in 1.1 IP and the stuff didn’t look all that good either with a decent 94.6 MPH fastball and relatively low spin rates on all of his pitches. He’s still young, but I’m starting to sour on him a bit.

Grayson Rodriguez BAL, RHP, 22.10 – Rodriguez returned from a lat strain and he definitely has some rust to shake off. He went 2.2 IP with 1 hit, 4 ER and a 7/3 K/BB at Double-A. You can never relax when you are banking on pitching prospects to carry the future of your dynasty team. Just look at the ghost of Forrest Whitley who has a 7.07 ERA in 28 IP at Triple-A this year. Or Daniel Espino disappearing into thin air so completely that it would make David Copperfield jealous.

Spencer Torkelson DET, 3B/1B, 22.11 – Torkelson returned to the majors and he’s trying to make us forget about the struggles that got him sent down in the first place. He went 1 for 3 with a 107 MPH double and now has a 1.030 OPS with a 5/3 K/BB and 97 MPH EV in 8 games since returning. He just might be able to rekindle those new love butterflies we all had earlier in the season if he keeps killing it down the stretch.

Michael Massey KCR, 2B, 24.4 – Massey is someone I am going to be grabbing a ton of this off-season. He went 1 for 3 with a homer and 1/1 K/BB yesterday. The underlying numbers look great to me with a 90.5 MPH EV, 16.8 degree launch angle, 15.5% barrel% and 22.7% K%. He’s not super fast, but he’s proving he has some real stolen base skills (3 for 3 on the bases). He might not be a league winner, but I think he is going to be sneaky good next year.

Jonathan Aranda TBR, 1B/2B/3B, 24.0 – 1 for 3 with a 1/1 K/BB. Aranda is trying to wade his way through Tampa’s deep roster to get playing time, and when he does, he’s proving that he’s just a damn good hitter no matter what the level. He has a 94.4 MPH EV with a 15.4%/11.5% K/BB% in 26 MPH PA. Playing time is going to be an issue and he might not have super high upside, but it’s pretty clear this guy is going to hit.

George Valera CLE, OF, 21.10 – Valera might not join the top prospect brigade in the majors this year, but it probably won’t be too far into 2023 until he does. He drilled his 7th homer in 28 games since getting called up to Triple-A. He has a little Gary Sheffield bat wiggle, and that line drive homer is reminiscent of some of the frozen ropes Sheffield would hit. Valera isn’t as good as Sheffield, but his power and OBP profile is completely transferring to Triple-A.

Joey Wiemer MIL, OF, 23.7 – Wiemer got called up to Triple-A and became a new man. He went 2 for 4 with a dinger and is now slashing .275/.360/.533 with 6 homers, 6 steals, and a 20.9%/12.2% K%/BB%. What strikeout problems?

Adael Amador COL, SS, 19.7 – Amador laughs at strikeout problems as he’s maintained an elite plate approach all season (12.1%/15.7% K%/BB%), and he showed off the power yesterday jacking out his 15th homer in 115 games at Single-A. The power/speed combo may not be huge, but plenty of superstars have bubbled up from these elite plate approach guys even if they aren’t visually jaw dropping athletes.

Kevin Parada NYM, C, 21.11 – Parada got on the board with his first professional homer in 13 games. He’s walking a ton with a .463 OBP and 24.4% BB% at Single-A, but the 29.3% K% is on the high side.

Justyn-Henry Malloy ATL, 3B/OF, 22.7 – Malloy is getting some late season helium as he continued to handle his business since getting called up to Double-A. He cracked his 6th homer in 48 games at the level and is now slashing .291/.416/.459 with 6 homers, 0 steals and a 24.8%/17.3% K%/BB%. He always had very high walk rates throughout his career and he’s shaping up to a great low key target in OBP leagues this off-season.

Oswaldo Cabrera NYY, OF, 23.7 – Cabrera hit his first MLB homer with a 408 foot shot on a 1 for 4 day. He has a 86.7 MPH EV with a 28.8% whiff% and 27.3 ft/sec sprint speed in 88 MLB PA. I think he’s a heavily used utility player long term and isn’t really a target of mine.

Bubba Thompson TEX, OF, 24.3 – The 7th fastest man in baseball racked up 2 more steals to give him 13 steals in 33 games. He has a 2.8% barrel%, so his .298 BA is the result of good luck, but a 87.8 MPH EV and 29% whiff% isn’t hopeless. It’s not a bad MLB debut, and his elite base stealing ability is worth taking on the extra risk.

Brandon Pfaadt ARI, RHP, 23.10 – Pfaadt bounced back from his first bad start at Triple-A with a gem yesterday, going 8 IP with 4 hits, 2 ER, and a 11/0 K/BB. He threw a 5 pitch mix led by his high spin, 94.3 MPH fastball. His K/BB numbers have been elite all year and they barely dropped off at all at Triple-A with a 30.4%/6.3% K%/BB% in 50 IP.

Tanner Bibee CLE, RHP, 23.6 – The hard charging Bibee isn’t slowing down, going 6 IP with 3 hits, 1 ER, and a 5/2 K/BB at Double-A. He rose up all the way to #60 overall on the Updated Top 360 Prospects Rankings and I think his name value will remain subdued enough this off-season to get him at a very reasonable price.

Mitch Keller PIT, RHP, 26.5 – 7 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 6/3 K/BB vs. STL. Keller is doing just enough to close out the season to screw us all over again in 2023. He has a 2.51 ERA with a 49/19 K/BB in his last 61 IP. I’m not taking the bait though as the strikeout numbers just haven’t been impressive enough. Don’t get sucked back in.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON AND OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-TOP 360 SEPTEMBER 2022 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP 455 AUGUST 2022 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 10 TRADE NEGOTIATION TACTICS (one of my favorite things I’ve ever written)
-MID-SEASON OBP TOP 447 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS 
-MID-SEASON POINTS/6+CATS/OPS “UNIVERSAL” TOP 430 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 40 2023 FYPD RANKINGS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-OFF-SEASON CONTENT: Team Prospect Lists, Positional Dynasty Rankings, and early access to the Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Patreon Post: Top 437 July 2022 Dynasty Baseball Rankings

With the trade deadline approaching, now is your last chance to make that push for a championship, or regroup for future years. Previous rankings from June through April are in parenthesis, in that order. Here is the Top 437 July 2022 Dynasty Baseball Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS AND TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT, INCLUDING:
-MID-SEASON TOP 314 2022 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP 10 TRADE NEGOTIATION TACTICS (one of my favorite things I’ve ever written)
-TOP 10 MID-SEASON TRADE TARGETS
-MID-SEASON OBP TOP 447 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS 
-MID-SEASON POINTS/6+CATS/OPS “UNIVERSAL” TOP 430 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 40 2023 FYPD RANKINGS

Tier 1

1) (1) (1) (1) Shohei Ohtani LAA, RHP/DH, 28.1 – Ohtani’s all-encompassing dominance is starting to feel routine

2) (2) (3) (3) Ronald Acuna Jr. ATL, OF, 24.7 – He’s not back to 100% with a 28.2 ft/sec sprint speed (29.4 in 2021) and 11.9 degree launch angle (18.2 in 2021), but if he’s about 80% of himself this year, I’ll bet on him getting to like 95% in 2023. He may never truly get back to 100% though. Getting old sucks.

3) (3) (2) (2) Juan Soto WASH, OF, 23.9 – The inevitable huge 2nd half is in full swing with a 1.220 OPS in his last 22 games. In anything other than a 5×5 BA league he would jump over Acuna

4) (6) (22) (21) Julio Rodriguez SEA, OF, 21.7 – A 32.3% whiff% with a 6.8% BB% shows he isn’t really an elite hitter yet, but it would be just silly if he already had a mature plate approach with how dominant he is everywhere else

5) (7) (26) (20) Bobby Witt Jr. KC, SS, 22.1 – Witt is faster than Julio (and everyone else too with a league leading 30.4 ft/sec sprint speed), he swings and misses much less (26% whiff%), and he hits the ball in the air more (17 degree launch angle). He doesn’t hit the ball as hard though

6) (5) (4) (5) Fernando Tatis Jr. SD, SS, 23.7 – Tatis has been swinging with no issues and seems to be nearing a rehab assignment. The added injury risk would make it very hard for me to part with Julio or Witt for him right now though

7) (4) (5) (8) Kyle Tucker HOU, OF, 25.6 – 89.4 MPH EV is a career low and a 92.2 MPH FB/LD EV ain’t great

8) (8) (7) (15) Yordan Alvarez HOU, OF, 25.1 – .470 xwOBA leads the league by far with Judge a distant 2nd at .440. 96.2 MPH EV also leads the league

Tier 2

9) (10) (11) (7) Trea Turner LAD, SS, 29.1 – 30.4 ft/sec sprint speed is tied for first with Bobby Witt. When the inevitable speed decline comes, there will at least be a long runway before it drops off a cliff

Shadow9) (16) (14) (13) Shohei Ohtani LAA, DH only/Weekly Leagues, 27.9

10) (9) (6) (4) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. TOR, 1B, 23.4 – He’s falling back to somewhere in between his pre and post 2021 breakout self

11) (21) (24) (27) Aaron Judge NYY, OF, 30.2 – The Yanks might have to pay this dude $100 million per year at this rate

12) (11) (12) (12) Jose Ramirez CLE, 3B, 29.8 – .326 xwOBA vs. a .390 wOBA is definitely scaring me a little, but I’m ignoring it because nothing is really setting off alarm bells in the underlying numbers and he has a long track record of success

13) (15) (13) (13) Bryce Harper PHI, OF, 29.7 – Underwent thumb surgery and will return in mid August at the earliest

14) (13) (9) (10) Luis Robert CHW, OF, 25.0 – He’s basically Bo Bichette with more speed at this point, but his speed is also dropping with a career worst 27.8 ft/sec sprint speed

15) (18) (16) (14) Rafael Devers BOS, 3B, 25.8 – Elite everywhere but steals

16) (20) (35) (69) Shane McClanahan TBR, LHP, 25.2 – 2.29 xERA leads all starters

17) (19) (17) (16) Corbin Burnes MIL, RHP, 27.8 

18) (12) (8) (6) Bo Bichette TOR, SS, 24.5 – He didn’t take a step forward as a hitter this year and his 27.4 ft/sec sprint speed is a career low, leading to a terrible 7 for 13 success rate on the bases

19) (14) (10) (11) Wander Franco TBR, SS, 21.5 – Underwent wrist surgery that will likely keep him out until early September. Wrist injuries are known to sap power and have also been known to linger. Like you I’m sure, I’m also feeling the itch to drop Wander lower than this, but his elite bat to ball skills makes it hard for me to give up on his upside. He’s only 21. I think the breakout is still coming

20) (22) (18) (18) Manny Machado SD, 3B, 30.0

21) (17) (19) (22) Mookie Betts LAD, OF, 29.8 – He definitely seems to be on the decline from his absolute peak with a below average 27.1 ft/sec sprint speed and a career worst 17.2% K%, but it doesn’t look like he is going to fall off a cliff anytime soon

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS AND TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT, INCLUDING:
-MID-SEASON TOP 314 2022 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP 10 TRADE NEGOTIATION TACTICS (one of my favorite things I’ve ever written)
-TOP 10 MID-SEASON TRADE TARGETS
-MID-SEASON OBP TOP 447 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS 
-MID-SEASON POINTS/6+CATS/OPS “UNIVERSAL” TOP 430 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 40 2023 FYPD RANKINGS

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (7/4/22)

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 (7/4/22):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT, INCLUDING:
-TOP 10 TRADE NEGOTIATION TACTICS (one of my favorite things I’ve ever written)
-TOP 10 MID-SEASON TRADE TARGETS
-MID-SEASON OBP TOP 447 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS 
-MID-SEASON POINTS/6+CATS/OPS “UNIVERSAL” TOP 430 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-JUNE 2022 TOP 350 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-JUNE 2022 TOP 445 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS

Edward Olivares KCR, OF, 26.4 – 2 for 4 with a 108 MPH homer and 108.9 MPH single. That has been the story of Olivares’ season as he’s been smoking the ball with a 91.2 MPH EV in 59 AB. While I doubt he can keep hitting the ball this hard, coming into more power in his late 20’s isn’t that hard to buy into. He’s also fast and his strong contact rates have transferred to the majors. I’ve never ranked Oliveras all that high in my dynasty rankings throughout his career, but maybe my hate of olives has subconsciously biased me against him. The high groundball rates might limit his upside, but he can be the fake Gucci bag version of Michael Harris and Alek Thomas.

Michael Harris ATL, OF, 21.4 – Speaking of Harris, he nuked a dinger of his own on a 108.8 MPH, 425 foot bomb. If you’re trying to acquire him at this point, you’re going to have to pay up like it’s one of those stores on 5th Avenue where you have to be buzzed in to even be let in the store.

Spencer Torkelson DET, 1B, 22.10 – 1 for 4 with a frozen rope of a homer for his 5th of the year in 70 games. Tork is struggling with a .587 OPS, but his 23.9% whiff% is above average, his 89 MPH EV is above average, his .319 xwOBA is above average and his 10.4% BB% is above average. Whatever you do, don’t give up on him.

Brandon Woodruff MIL, RHP, 28.5 – 6 IP, 6 hits, 0 ER, 8/0 K/BB vs. PIT. The stuff looks great. My dad has had Reynaud’s Syndrome basically my entire life, and while he would be in full arctic tundra gear when watching some of my baseball games, he would still kick my ass in stickball with a 4 pitch mix and pinpoint control. If Woodruff’s anything like my pops, he’ll figure it out.

Max Meyer MIA, RHP, 22.4 – Meyer hit the IL after two terrible starts in mid May, but he’s back to dominating since returning in mid June. He went 6 IP with 2 hits, 0 ER, and a 5/0 K/BB at Triple-A yesterday and now has a 1.62 ERA with an 18/1 K/BB in his last 16.2 IP. He could get the call at any moment.

Emerson Hancock SEA, RHP, 23.1 – 5.2 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 6/2 K/BB at Double-A. Hancock gets forgotten about, but he has plus control (7% BB%) of an MLB quality 4 pitch mix. He also understands the art of pitching. If he can stay healthy, I would be pretty surprised if he doesn’t end up a damn good MLB starter.

Vaughn Grissom ATL, SS, 21.6 – 3 for 4 with a double and a homer that he launched over the Green(ville) Monster. Grissom’s power is taking a big jump this year with 12 homers in 68 games at High-A and it hasn’t impacted his elite contact numbers at all (12% K%). He walks and has speed too. He’s easily entering Top 50 prospect status at the least.

 James Triantos CHC, 3B, 19.5 – Triantos homered for the 3rd straight game, and this one left no doubt about his future power potential as he crushed it out to centerfield. It also happened to be some of the best camera work I’ve ever seen on a homer, following the ball perfectly against the backdrop of the clear black sky. The hit tool has been as advertised with a .280 BA and 17.5% K% in 66 games at Single-A, and now he has a decent 5 homers on the year.

Eguy Rosario SDP, 2B/3B, 22.10 – First there was Esports, and now there are Eguys. When will it end? Like Esports, Eguy is taking over, going 3 for 3 with 2 homers and a steal yesterday, and now has 13 homers, 13 steals, and a 21.8%/11.2% K%/BB% in 72 games at Triple-A. He also made one of the best catches I’ve ever seen. Eguys are just built different I guess.

Jordan Lawlar ARI, SS, 19.11 – 3 for 5 with a double and a homer at Single-A. He’s managed to get even better since returning from the IL, slashing .396/.476/.642 with 1 homer, 5 steals, and a 20.6%/12.7% K%/BB% in 14 games. He’s an elite prospect.

Andy Pages LAD, OF, 20.7 – The power explosion was inevitable, and it arrived in full force once the calendar hit June. He went 2 for 4 with a homer yesterday and has now hit 9 homers in his last 27 games at Double-A. His profile is pretty locked in as a low average, high walk slugger.

Shane Baz TBR, RHP, 23.1 – 6 IP, 7 hits, 1 ER, 7/2 K/BB vs. TOR. The fastball averaged 95.9 MPH and put up a 79.7 MPH EV on the pitch, while his slider and curve racked up whiffs with a 45% and 40% whiff%. It’s pretty clear he is healthy and on a beeline to become one of the best pitchers in baseball.

MacKenzie Gore SD, LHP, 22.4 – The walk problems are back as Gore walked 4 batters in 5.2 IP yesterday and has now walked 3 or more in his last 6 starts. It’s well beyond just a couple game blip at this point. You have to expect some growing pains, so I would stay patient, but it’s definitely a little concerning.

Bobby Miller LAD, RHP, 22.3 – Miller had his best start of the year, going 6 IP with 2 hits, 0 ER, and a 10/3 K/BB at Double-A. His season was starting to look pretty mediocre, so he desperately needed a start like this. The stuff is huge and is most certainly MLB quality, so while he might not be an ace, he should be able to get the job done in whatever role LA deploys him in.

Gavin Williams CLE, RHP, 22.11 – 6.2 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER, 6/0 K/BB at Double-A. The upper minors has been no issue for Williams with a pitching line of 1.69/1.13/19/8 in 16 IP. The fastball is his best pitch and it might legitimately be an elite pitch. His secondaries aren’t too shabby either. He’s trending towards being a #2 fantasy starter.

Jeremy Pena HOU, SS, 23.9 – Pena looked a little rusty after coming off the IL with a thumb injury and also after his collision with Alvarez, going 4 for 23 with a 10/0 K/BB in 5 games, but he found his rhythm yesterday going 4 for 5 with 2 homers. The only weakness to his game has been his walk rate with only a 5.1% BB%, and he didn’t walk that much in any league above Single-A, but I still couldn’t rank him any lower 67th overall on my OBP Top 447 Mid-Season Dynasty Baseball Rankings considering how exciting his debut has been.

Julio Rodriguez SEA, OF, 20.6 – 2 for 3 and he obliterated the ball in every at bat with a 112.4 MPH double, 110.6 MPH groundout, and 106.9 MPH homer. I’m almost at the point where it isn’t even worth mentioning him in these rundowns because he’s so locked into elite status.

Cavan Biggio TOR, 2B, 26.0 – Biggio is quietly getting his career back on track, ripping 2 line drive singles in 4 AB at 98.8 MPH and 95.4 MPH. He now has a career high .365 xwOBA and 13% Barrel%. The homer and steal numbers are still subdued with 2 homers and 1 steal in 104 AB, but he’s back to being an OBP beast and is getting near full time at bats in a stacked lineup.

Tyler Wells BAL, RHP, 27.7 – 6 IP, 3 hits, 1 ER, 7/1 K/BB vs. MIN. Wells had no trouble getting whiffs in this one with a 34% whiff% (22.2% on the season). He’s been thriving on weak contact with an 87.6 MPH EV against, but the lack of K’s has made me hesitant to buy in. Doing this against Minnesota’s tough lineup just evaporated a lot of that doubt.

Max Muncy OAK, SS, 19.9 – 1 for 4 with a homer. Muncy swings one of the quickest bats in the minors and it’s resulted in 15 homers in 70 games at Single-A. The 29.7% K% is high, but it’s been better of late with a 24.8%/17.9% K%/BB% in his last 25 games. He’s easily trending towards being a top 100 prospect if he’s not there already.

Jeferson Quero MIL, C, 19.9 – 2 for 4 with a homer at Single-A. Jeferson’s season got off to a slow start with a .665 OPS in April and .587 OPS in May, but he’s exploded in his last 23 games, slashing .333/.426/.556 with 5 homers, 6 steals, and a 12.8%/11.7% K%/BB%. He’s firmly back on track to be one of the top catcher prospects in the game by this time next year.

Endy Rodriguez PIT, C, 22.1 – 2 for 4 with a homer. Rodriguez is putting in Yeoman’s work at High-A with a 122 wRC+. He doesn’t have huge power with 8 homers in 65 games, and his hit tool took a step back against more advanced competition with a career worst 24.2% K%. I think he can be a solid hitting catcher, but I don’t think he is going to be a major fantasy difference maker.

Xavier Edwards TB, 2B/3B, 22.11 – I admittedly have no idea what to think of Edwards. His power is ticking up this year as he drilled his 4th homer in 29 games at Triple-A, and the elite contact rates are still there with a 13.5%/9.5% K%/BB%, but he’s struggled mightily on the bases with 1 steal in 5 attempts. He had 19 steals in 31 attempts last year, so this isn’t a one year blip. I’m personally struggling to buy in, but I get if you’re higher on him than I am.

Bubba Thompson TEX, OF, 24.1 – 2 for 3 with a homer and 0/2 K/BB. Bubba is another one I’m torn on. He was a favorite of mine coming out of his draft year, and his mouth watering talent is self evident with 10 homers and 37 steals in 60 games at Triple-A. The plate approach is rough with a 26.7%/5% K%/BB%, but it’s been better of late with a 23.1%/11.5% K%/BB% in his last 22 games. The improved BB% definitely has me a little excited as he could be setting up to be a late career breakout type.

 Jonatan Clase SEA, OF, 20.1/Luis Rodriguez LAD, OF, 19.10 – Clase and Rodriguez both collected 2 hits with a homer yesterday for their 7th homers of the year, and are both prospects I like a lot, but they each have a 31.6% K% which is preventing me from really getting excited for them. I like Clase more between the two because he’s a speedster with 25 steals, so if he can get the K’s in check, his fantasy stock could soar.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-TOP 10 TRADE NEGOTIATION TACTICS (one of my favorite things I’ve ever written)
-TOP 10 MID-SEASON TRADE TARGETS
-MID-SEASON OBP TOP 447 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-MID-SEASON POINTS/6+CATS/OPS “UNIVERSAL” TOP 430 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-JUNE 2022 TOP 350 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-JUNE 2022 TOP 445 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 16 2023 FYPD RANKINGS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Patreon Post: Updated Points/6+Cats/OPS “Universal” Top 430 2022 Dynasty Baseball Rankings

The Updated Points/6+Cats/OPS “Universal” Top 430 2022 Dynasty Baseball Rankings are for leagues that juice up good real life hitters and devalues speed. Their 5×5 BA ranking is in parenthesis. Let’s get to it:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS AND TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-UPDATED JUNE 2022 TOP 350 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-UPDATED JUNE 2022 TOP 445 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 16 2023 FYPD RANKINGS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS

Tier 1

1) (3) Juan Soto WASH, OF, 23.7 – Not dropping his ranking at all yet. Underlying numbers are still elite

2) (2) Ronald Acuna Jr. ATL, OF, 24.5

3) (8) Yordan Alvarez HOU, OF, 24.10 – Yordan and Vlad are made for this type of format where speed is devalued. I can see going with them even over Acuna depending on the specific rules

4) (1) Shohei Ohtani LAA, RHP/DH, 27.11

5) (9) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. TOR, 1B, 23.2 

6) (4) Kyle Tucker HOU, OF, 25.4 

7) (5) Fernando Tatis Jr. SD, SS, 23.5 

8) (16) Mike Trout LAA, OF, 30.9 – So good that I think he deserves to be in Tier 1 in these kinds of formats despite the fact he is 30

9) (18) Rafael Devers BOS, 3B, 25.6 – Low walk rates are the only thing keeping me from ranking him even higher

10) (21) Aaron Judge NYY, OF, 30.0 -.465 xwOBA is 2nd to only Yordan

11) (11) Jose Ramirez CLE, 3B, 29.6

12) (15) Bryce Harper PHI, OF, 29.5 – UCL thing is still in the back of my mind even though it doesn’t look to be affecting him much

Tier 2

13) (24) Pete Alonso NYM, 1B, 27.5

14) (31) Austin Riley ATL, 3B, 25.1

15) (14) Wander Franco TBR, SS, 21.3 – He’s a great long term 5×5 fantasy asset, but he’s even better in a format that rewards good real life hitters

16) (6) Julio Rodriguez SEA, OF, 21.4 – Julio and Witt take a hit in these rankings because they have not established themselves as elite hitters yet and their stolen bases don’t make as much of an impact.

17) (7) Bobby Witt Jr. KC, SS, 21.10 

Shadow17) (16) Shohei Ohtani LAA, DH only/Weekly Leagues, 27.9

18) (10) Trea Turner LAD, SS, 28.10

19) (19) Corbin Burnes MIL, RHP, 27.6

20) (20) Shane McClanahan TBR, LHP, 25.0

21) (32) Matt Olson ATL, 1B, 28.1

22) (12) Bo Bichette TOR, SS, 24.3 

23) (13) Luis Robert CHW, OF, 24.10 

24) (22) Manny Machado SD, 3B, 29.10 

25) (17) Mookie Betts LAD, OF, 29.6 – On the IL with a cracked rib but they are hopeful he can return in a couple of weeks. There is definitely risk this could hurt his production when he returns

26) (44) Corey Seager TEX, SS, 28.0

Tier 3

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS AND TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-UPDATED JUNE 2022 TOP 350 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-UPDATED JUNE 2022 TOP 445 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 16 2023 FYPD RANKINGS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Patreon Post: Top 445 June 2022 Dynasty Baseball Rankings

It’s Dynasty Baseball Rankings Week over on the Patreon. We complete the rankings today with the Top 445. Quick notes for almost every player. Here is the Top 445 June 2022 Dynasty Baseball Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE AND TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-UPDATED JUNE 2022 TOP 350 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-UPDATED JUNE 2022 TOP 445 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS

Tier 1

1) (1) (1) Shohei Ohtani LAA, RHP/DH, 27.11 – Surface stats haven’t been as good on the hitting side, but a .395 xwOBA shows he’s as good as ever. On the pitching side he’s setting a career high mark on K% (31.7%) and BB% (5.8% BB%).

2) (3) (3) Ronald Acuna Jr. ATL, OF, 24.5 – What torn ACL? Acuna is right back to being a beast with a .424 xwOBA and 11 steals in 32 games. His sprint speed is down to 28.1 ft/sec, but a 4.29 HP to 1B runtime is right in line with where he was in 2020-21

3) (2) (2) Juan Soto WASH, OF, 23.7 – 89.3 MPH EV is a career low, but his down surface stats (.835 OPS) are mostly due to a .228 BABIP.

4) (5) (8) Kyle Tucker HOU, OF, 25.4 – 13.4% BB% is a career high by far. He’s on pace for a 29/29 season

5) (4) (5) Fernando Tatis Jr. SD, SS, 23.5 – CT scan did not show enough healing to resume swinging and his timeline is pushed back

6) (22) (21) Julio Rodriguez SEA, OF, 21.4 – Hasn’t established himself as a truly elite hitter yet, but it seems like a foregone conclusion

7) (26) (20) Bobby Witt Jr. KC, SS, 21.10 – Slashing .278/.339/.602 with 7 homers, 5 steals, and a 27/9 K/BB in his last 29 games. Rodriguez and Witt have done enough to prove they are going to be elite fantasy players, even if they aren’t quite there yet

8) (7) (15) Yordan Alvarez HOU, OF, 24.10 – .489 xwOBA is just stupid. In a 5×5 BA league I just don’t think I can give up the all category potential of Witt and Rodriguez though. I will update the Universal Rankings (and OBP rankings too) in 2 weeks, and those rankings will be a different story

9) (6) (4) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. TOR, 1B, 23.2 – .247 BABIP is keeping the surface stats down, and a .392 xwOBA is still elite. The launch angle is back down to 4.4 degrees though

Tier 2 

10) (11) (7) Trea Turner LAD, SS, 28.10 – Here’s what I wrote in last month’s update, “2021 homer breakout hasn’t held with only 1 homer, but a career high 50% HardHit% shows the power will likely come” He’s ripped 6 homers since then

11) (12) (12) Jose Ramirez CLE, 3B, 29.6 – He’s back to running with 6 steals in his last 19 games. If I was rebuilding, I would likely prefer the youngsters ranked after him

12) (8) (6) Bo Bichette TOR, SS, 24.3 – Slashing .314/.369/.598 with 7 homers, 1 steal, and a 23/9 K/BB in his last 24 games. Sprint speed is down to a mediocre 27.3 MPH and he’s only 4 for 7 on the bases. It’s not a great sign for his future stolen base numbers

13) (9) (10) Luis Robert CHW, OF, 24.10 – In the midst of a cold streak with a .520 OPS in his last 14 games. Underlying numbers show he is still a 5×5 BA beast

14) (10) (11) Wander Franco TBR, SS, 21.3 – Has been out for all of June with a quad injury

15) (13) (13) Bryce Harper PHI, OF, 29.5 – Small tear in his UCL doesn’t seem to be an issue as he has a 1.006 OPS in his last 20 games

16) (14) (17) Mike Trout LAA, OF, 30.9 – He’s dodged a couple of land mines with some minor injuries that he’s managed to come back quickly from

Shadow16) (14) (13) Shohei Ohtani LAA, DH only/Weekly Leagues, 27.9

17) (19) (22) Mookie Betts LAD, OF, 29.6 – 1.038 OPS in his last 29 games definitely answered the question of whether he is still elite or not

18) (16) (14) Rafael Devers BOS, 3B, 25.6 

19) (17) (16) Corbin Burnes MIL, RHP, 27.6

20) (35) (69) Shane McClanahan TBR, LHP, 25.0 – 0.90 ERA with a 51/4 K/BB in his last 40 IP. He might be the best pitcher in baseball. I named McClanahan as one of my Top 10 Targets on July 1st of last year, finishing the write up by saying, ” I would consider making an offer that seems like an overpay on it’s face, but actually might look like a steal one year from now.” Safe to say if you traded for him then, it looks like a steal today.

21) (24) (27) Aaron Judge NYY, OF, 30.0 – 24 homers leads the majors by far. Alsono is 2nd with 18

22) (18) (18) Manny Machado SD, 3B, 29.10 – Cooling off a little with a .625 OPS in his last 18 games

Tier 3

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE AND TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-UPDATED JUNE 2022 TOP 350 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-UPDATED JUNE 2022 TOP 445 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (5/2/22)

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 (5/2/22):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-UPDATED APRIL 2022 TOP 414 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-UPDATED TOP 300 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS COMING TOMORROW
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS

Julio Rodriguez SEA, OF, 21.4 – The umpires have been screwing Julio all season, and he took out his frustration on poor Sandy Alcantara yesterday, absolutely drilling a 110.4 MPH, 450 foot bomb for his first of many MLB homers. He’s been hot over his last nine games, slashing .364/.432/.546 with an 8/3 K/BB. He leads all of baseball with 9 steals, and his 29.9 ft/sec sprint speed is in the top 1% of the league. Pitchers better hope the umps keep expanding the strike zone on him, because it’s about to get ugly.

Jarred Kelenic SEA, OF, 22.9 – Speaking of getting ugly, Kelenic went 0 for 3 with 2 K’s and now has a .508 OPS with an 85.2 MPH EV and 38.4% whiff% on the year. There are no silver linings. He dropped to 68th overall on my the Updated Dynasty Rankings over on my Patreon a few weeks ago, and he’ll drop even further on the next update.

J.P. Crawford SEA, SS, 27.4 – Crawford has been molten hot, going 2 for 3 with a homer, double and walk. He now has 4 homers with a 1.091 OPS and 9.7%/11/8% K%/BB% in 22 games. I’m struggling to buy into the breakout because of an 85.1 MPH EV and 20.8% whiff%. I would sell high if you can.

Andrew Painter PHI, RHP, 19.0 – Painter’s dominance continued, going 4 IP with 2 hits, 0 ER, and a 6/2 K/BB at Single-A. His fastball sat 96.5 MPH and put up a 38% whiff%. He now leads all minor league pitchers with more than 2 IP with a negative 0.68 xFIP. I joked on Twitter last week that he’s been so dominant the advanced stats just said fuck it, they should really start taking runs away from the other team. He’ll be pushing Top 50 prospect status when my Updated Top 300 Prospects Rankings hit Patreon tomorrow.

Jackson Jobe DET, RHP, 19.8 – Jobe is trying his best to keep up with Painter to hold his crown as the top rated high school pitcher from the 2021 draft class, going 3 IP with 3 hits, 2 ER, and a 3/1 K/BB. The fastball sat 95.8 MPH and his slider continues to spin enough to make a guy dizzy with a 3084 spin rate. It’s still close, but I think I prefer Painter right now.

Michael Harris ATL, OF, 21.2 – The game power has arrived in all it’s glory as Harris lifted off twice yesterday for his 3rd and 4th homers of the year at Double-A. He walloped a 432 foot shot to leadoff the game and then dug one almost out of the dirt off a sidewinder righty for his 2nd. The plate approach (18.8%/8.3% K%/BB%) and speed (9 steals in 21 games) are working too. He’s dotting his i’s, crossing his t’s, and semi circling his p’s.

Matt McLain CIN, SS, 22.8 – McLain’s been minding his P’s and Q’s at Double-A as well, matching Harris with a 2 homer game. He took both homers out to deep centerfield. How much power he would get to was a question coming out of the draft, but he’s had no issues with 5 homers and a 35% GB% in 20 games.

Triston Casas BOS, 1B, 22.2 – I’m all out of expressions involving the alphabet, but the only letter Casas needs to focus on is K. Bobby Dalbec’s K’s that is. Casas is coming for the starting 1B job with his 5th homer in 23 games at Triple-A while Dalbec is sitting on a 29 wRC+ with a 30.7% K% in the majors.

Ryan Helsley STL, Closer Committee, 27.9 – Picked up his first save, going 2 perfect innings with 4 K’s. Helsley’s been silly good all year with 1 hit, 0 ER, and a 16/0 K/BB in 8.1 IP. His fastball is up to 98.7 MPH and his cutter and curve are putting up a 55.6% and 50% whiff%, respectively. He’s likely in a closer committee right now, but he has the chance to pull away with the role.

Triston McKenzie CLE, RHP, 24.9 – McKenzie lost his control for the first time in his career in 2021, and it’s back this year, going 6.1 IP with 4 hits, 0 ER, and a 7/1 K/BB vs. Oakland. He has an above average 7.4% BB% on the year. His whiff% is only sitting at 22.7%, but as long as the control is there, he should be solid.

 Josh Winder MIN, RHP, 25.6 – Winder got his first MLB start and impressed, going 6 IP with 2 hits, 0 ER and 7/1 K/BB vs. Tampa. The fastball sat 94.9 MPH, the slider had a 76 MPH EV against, and the curve and change handled the whiffs, leading to a 27% whiff% overall. He has good stuff with a starter’s repertoire. It all seems to add up to a rock solid mid rotation starter.

George Kirby SEA, RHP, 24.2 – 5 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, 7/0 K/BB at Triple-A. His fastball sat 95.7 MPH and the slider induced weak contact with a 83 MPH EV against. The K/BB numbers have been pristine all year with a 34.4%/5.4% K%/BB% in 24.2 IP. It might not be long before he takes Brash’s spot in the rotation.

Nick Pratto KCR, 1B, 23.7 – Pratto went deep yesterday and has now homered in back to back games for his 4th and 5th homers in 21 games at Triple-A. He’s still striking out too much with a 33.3% K%, but after striking out 15 times in his first 8 games, he’s brought it down to a more reasonable 16 times over his last 13 games.

Vinnie Pasquantino KCR, 1B, 24.6 – The competition is on for Kansas City’s first baseman of the future job. Pasquantino ripped his 4th homer in 22 games at Triple-A, and his comes with a sparkling 10.9%/16.3% K%/BB%. He’s not as good of a defender, which could still give the edge to Pratto.

Anthony Volpe NYY, SS, 21.0 – It didn’t take long for Volpe to shake off his slow start at Double-A, homering for his 3rd time yesterday. More importantly, he didn’t strikeout once and now has a 6/10 K/BB in his last 9 games to bring his season K%/BB% up to a very good 25.3%/16.1%.

Pedro Leon HOU, OF/SS, 23.10 – The ball has been exploding off Leon’s bat this year, and he crushed his 3rd homer on a 110.4 MPH rocket. The strikeouts remain a problem with a 32.3% K%, but at least we know he’s going to do damage when he does make contact.

Tyler Soderstrom OAK, C, 20.5 – Soderstrom got ahold of his 3rd homer in 19 games at High-A, but it’s been a struggle otherwise with a 31.5%/8.2% K%/BB%, 50% GB% and 72 wRC+.

Aeverson Arteaga SFG, SS, 19.2 – Arteaga’s been hitting the ball very hard all year, and he tacked on his 3rd homer on a screaming liner. He has a 104 wRC+ in 18 games at Single-A, but he’s had strikeout problems with a 35.4% K%.

Alex Ramirez NYM, OF, 19.2 – Ramirez cranked a 103.9 MPH, 382 foot shot for his first homer of the year in 18 games at Single-A. He’s been much improved his 2nd time around at the level with a 159 wRC+ and 19.5%/4.9% K%/BB%.

Seth Johnson TB, RHP, 23.7 – 3.2 IP, 1 hit, 0 ER, 7/2 K/BB at High-A. Johnson has been a strikeout and walk machine all year with a 40.4%/15.4% K%/BB% in 12.1 IP. He features a plus fastball/slider combo and is trending toward some kind of multi inning role. Upside is high though if he can improve his control.

Andrew Abbott CIN, LHP, 22.10 – 6 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 10/1 K/BB at High-A. This is his 3rd straight start with over 10 K’s and now has a 42.7%/8.5% K%/BB% in 21 IP. He doesn’t have overpowering stuff with a low 90’s fastball, and while his control has been solid he’s not a pinpoint control guy, so I’m not going bonkos over the hot start. Regardless, his stock is definitely up in the early going.

Royber Salinas ATL, RHP, 21.1 – 5 IP, 1 hit, 1 ER, 9/1 K/BB at Single-A. The control was much improved in this one and the fastball/breaking ball combo was still racking up whiffs. I would like to see him start picking on people his own size (and age), but the stuff is undeniably electric.

Luis Rodriguez LAD, OF, 19.8 – Rodriguez got on the board with his first homer of the year at Single-A. His 30.9% K% in rookie ball last year was a little concerning, but it’s improved a bit in full season ball with a 27.3% K%, and he’s walking like crazy with a 22.7% BB%. He’s sitting on a 151 wRC+ in 19 games.

Michael Massey KCR, 2B, 24.1 – Checking in at #840 on my offseason Top 1,000 Dynasty Rankings, Massey is off to a strong start at Double-A, hitting his 5th homer and nabbing his 3rd bag in 20 games. The plus contact rates have transferred with a 19.4% K%, but so has the below average walk rates (5.4% BB%). He might end up a Quad-A type, but he has fantasy friendly upside if he can find playing time.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-UPDATED APRIL 2022 TOP 414 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-UPDATED TOP 300 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS COMING TOMORROW
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Spring Dynasty Baseball Rundown (4/4/22)

The regular season is right around the corner, but there are still jobs to be won and last minute fantasy drafts to prepare for. I’ll be running down the action all spring and all season long on my Patreon (free posts on my site are usually on Monday’s). Here is the Spring Dynasty Baseball Rundown (4/4/22):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT, INCLUDING:
-OBP TOP 600 2022 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-POINTS/6+ CATS “UNIVERSAL” TOP 600 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-ALL-IN-ONE SPREADSHEET WITH ALL THE RANKINGS
-POSITION BY POSITION TARGET ARTICLES
–TOP 100 2022 REDRAFT PROSPECTS RANKINGS
–PREDICTING THE 2023 TOP 50 DYNASTY BASEBALL PROSPECTS
–STRATEGY/TARGET ARTICLES FOR SHALLOW AND DEEP LEAGUES
–ANALYZING MY 18 TEAM FYPD W/ GENERAL STRATEGY THOUGHTS
-DYNASTY RUNDOWNS AND UPDATED RANKINGS ALL SEASON LONG

Spencer Torkelson DET, 3B/1B, 22.7 – The baseball gods work in mysterious ways, as they tooketh Riley Greene from us for the next 2 months with a broken foot, but they gaveth us Spencer Torkelson as it was announced he will crack the Opening Day roster. Tork celebrated by taking Aaron Nola deep off a well placed pitch on the inside corner. It was the only hit Nola gave up in 5.1 IP. This guy can rake off anybody.

Jeremy Pena HOU, SS, 24.5 – Who needs Carlos Correa when you have Jeremy motherloving Pena?!?! Pena went deep twice yesterday off Josiah Gray for his first 2 homers of the spring, and now has a 1.199 OPS with a 4/1 K/BB in 19 PA. I ranked him 250th overall in my Top 1,000 Dynasty Rankings, and while I’m not expecting him to light the world on fire in his rookie year, he can be a solid across the board contributor.

Byron Buxton MIN, OF, 28.3 – Buxton’s hot spring continued as he went 2 for 3 with 2 doubles, and now has a 1.485 OPS in 33 PA. The doubles were ripped at 114.2 MPH and 109.2 MPH. The power gains he’s made over the past few seasons are very real, so now we just gotta hold our breath for good health … or on second thought, breathing is quite important for health, so maybe we should be focusing on our breath for good health.

 Julio Rodriguez SEA, OF, 21.3 – Rodriguez refuses to let Seattle send him down without making them look like cheap idiots, going 3 for 4 with this screaming liner of a dinger to right centerfield. He’s now slashing .419/.471/.839 with 3 homers, 3 steals, and a 9/3 K/BB in 34 PA. Please don’t rob baseball fans of seeing this man play on the highest level.

Jarred Kelenic SEA, OF, 22.8 – Kelenic is so yesterday’s news, collecting dust in the corner while everyone plays with the new shiny toy, but he did his best to not be forgotten by ripping a homer off a lefty to deep centerfield. He’s struggled this spring with a .648 OPS, but I still think the breakout is coming this season.

Akil Baddoo DET, OF, 23.7 – Baddoo done did it again, taking a lefty deep to the opposite field. He was just getting started in 2021.

Noah Syndergaard LAA, RHP, 29.7 – On the surface it looks like Thor might have gotten his hammer back, going 5 IP with 2 hits, 1 ER, and a 7/1 K/BB against most of the Dodgers real starting lineup. It’s not as pretty looking at the underlying stats though with his stuff down about 3 MPH on all of his pitches, and his slider and curve didn’t illicit a single swing and miss. It’s nice to see he can be effective with the diminished stuff, and I’m sure it will tick up over time, but I’m hesitant to buy in.

Mitch Keller PIT, RHP, 26.0 – 3.2 IP, 8 hits, 4 ER, 5/2 K/BB. The juiced up stuff was still there with a 96.4 MPH heater, and he put up a respectable 26% whiff% and 88.2 MPH EV against, so the underlying numbers look better than the surface stats. I definitely gave Keller a bump after seeing his stuff tick up, but I’m still not exactly going out of my way to get him.

Drew Rasmussen TBR, RHP, 26.8 – Rasmussen doesn’t get the respect he deserves, but that might not last long if his final spring start is any indication, going 3.1 IP with 5 hits, 1 ER, and a 6/0 K/BB. His fastball sat 97.1 MPH and he put up a 30% whiff% overall. He’s not likely to go deep into games, so ding him a bit in QS leagues, but in wins leagues I would be all over him.

Wander Franco TBR, SS, 21.1 – 3 for 3 with 3 doubles. Nice to see him rounding into form with Opening Day around the corner.

Keibert Ruiz WAS, C, 23.8 – Ruiz did what he does best, which is get the bat on the ball, going 4 for 5 with 0 K’s, including his first spring homer. He’s not going to be a huge power threat early in his career, but a catcher that can actually help you in batting average ain’t too shabby.

Josiah Gray WAS, RHP, 24.3 – 4.2 IP, 7 hits, 5 ER, 6/1 K/BB. The K/BB numbers have been strong all spring with a 13/1 K/BB, but he’s getting hit up when guys do make contact with a 9.31 ERA in 9.2 IP. He’s going to need to improve his command to take the next step.

Sonny Gray MIN, RHP, 32.5 – Gray made his spring debut and went 4 perfect innings with 6 K’s. His velocity was down about 2 MPH on his 4 most used pitches, but at this point you have to assume he is easing himself into things, and considering the 43% whiff%, this start was certainly more of a positive than a negative.

Casey Mize DET, RHP, 24.11 – Mize wasn’t able to keep up the whiff gains he’s shown earlier this spring, going 4.1 IP with 7 hits, 3 ER, and a 1/0 K/BB. It’s only one start, but it would have been nice to see him head into the season on a high note.

 Clarke Schmidt NYY, RHP, 26.1 – Schmidt went against Toronto’s vaunted real starting lineup and pitched pretty damn well again, going 4.1 IP with 2 hits, 2 ER, and a 5/1 K/BB. His sinker sat 94.3 MPH and he put up a 38% whiff% overall. He’s becoming one of the more interesting 6th starters if you are looking for pitching in deeper leagues.

Nick Lodolo CIN, LHP, 24.2 – 4 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, 3/1 K/BB. Whiff machine Nick Lodolo just keeps missing bats, racking up whiffs with a 31% whiff%. He’s fighting for the last rotation spot, and I’m not sure this start really moved the needle in either direction.

Sean Murphy OAK, C, 27.6 – Murphy has been red hot this spring, and he absolutely decimated a Dinelson Lamet fastball that legitimately landed in the parking lot. He’s now slashing .520/.567/1.000 with 2 homers and a 3/4 K/BB in 30 PA. I loved him as a breakout in 2021, and while I cooled on him a bit this year after it didn’t happen, I’m still relatively high on him.

Ezequiel Duran TEX, 2B/SS, 22.10 – Watching Duran’s swing just gets me excited every time, and he used that explosive swing to jack out his 2nd spring homer. He now has a 1.345 OPS in 14 PA. If he can keep his strikeouts in check, he’s going to explode this year in the upper levels of the minors.

Alexander Canario CHC, OF, 21.11 – The 21 year old Canario already looks the part, smashing his 2nd spring homer out to left center. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say his listed weight of 165 pounds is a tad light.

MacKenzie Gore SDP, LHP, 23.1/Sean Manaea SDP, LHP, 29.2 – The Manaea trade takes Gore out of the running for the opening day roster, although it was already a long shot that he was going to make anyway. Manaea was solid in his debut, going 3.2 IP with 6 hits, 1 ER, and a 4/1 K/BB. Gore closed out the game, going 3 IP with 4 hits, 4 ER, and a 5/2 K/BB. He’s better off at Triple-A anyway as he isn’t a finished product yet.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT, INCLUDING:
-OBP TOP 600 2022 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-POINTS/6+ CATS “UNIVERSAL” TOP 600 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-ALL-IN-ONE SPREADSHEET WITH ALL THE RANKINGS
-POSITION BY POSITION TARGET ARTICLES
–TOP 100 2022 REDRAFT PROSPECTS RANKINGS
–PREDICTING THE 2023 TOP 50 DYNASTY BASEBALL PROSPECTS
–STRATEGY/TARGET ARTICLES FOR SHALLOW AND DEEP LEAGUES
–ANALYZING MY 18 TEAM FYPD W/ GENERAL STRATEGY THOUGHTS
-DYNASTY RUNDOWNS AND UPDATED RANKINGS ALL SEASON LONG

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Patreon Post: 2022 Top 100 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings

I’m dropping rankings galore on my patreon as I lead up to the release of the 2022 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings. Here is the 2022 Top 100 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE AND TONS OF CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
–A Top 413 Sneak Peek of my 2022 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings with more early releases coming all off-season
–Positional Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Top 278 SP/Top 256 OF/Top 122 SS/Top 88 3B/Top 90 2B/Top 78 1B/Top 56 C)
–Top 50 First Year Player Draft Rankings (full Top 100 coming out with the Top 1,000 Rankings)
-Dynasty Team Reports for every team (Top 10 Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy Talk)

Tier 1

1) Bobby Witt Jr. KC, SS, 21.9 – Bobby Witt showed out so much in Spring Training that there were whispers he would make the opening day roster, and he probably should have because Double-A and Triple-A proved no match for him. He slashed .290/.361/.575 with 33 homers, 29 steals, and a 23.2%/9.0% K%/BB% in 123 games. It will be ridiculous if he doesn’t break camp with the team in 2022. 2022 Projection: 78/26/84/.260/.329/.472/18 Prime Projection: 94/33/101/.277/.351/.541/23

2) Julio Rodriguez SEA, OF, 21.3 – Rodriguez did it all in 2021. He brought his BB% up to 12.6% (6.8% in 2019), he stole 21 bases (in 26 attempts) in just 74 games, and he obliterated the upper levels of the minors, slashing .362/.461/.546 with 7 homers, 16 steals, and a 37/29 K/BB in 46 games at Double-A. He’s in a two man race with Bobby Witt for the #1 overall prospect in baseball.  2022 Projection:59/17/63/.277/.342/.472/6 Prime Projection: 98/35/110/.291/.378/.575/11

Tier 2

3) Spencer Torkelson DET, 3B/1B, 22.7 – Tork is a 6’1”, 220 pound bull with a swing geared towards launching bombs. And that is all he’s done in his baseball career, crushing 25 homers in 55 games as a freshman in the Pac 12, ripping 23 homers as a sophomore, and now smashing 30 bombs in his pro debut over 121 games split pretty evenly across 3 levels (A+, AA, AAA). He does all this with an advanced plate approach (13% BB% at Triple-A) and without any major strikeout worries (20.3% K% at Triple-A). 2022 Projection: 72/27/74/.252/.337/.485/3 Prime Projection: 96/35/105/.275/.372/.533/3

4) Riley Greene DET, OF, 21.6 – Greene is 6’3”, 200 pounds with a smooth lefty swing that is geared for power and average. He just steamrolled through the upper levels of the minors as a 20 year old, slashing .301/.387/.534 with 24 homers, 16 steals (in 17 attempts), and a 27.4%/11.3% K%/BB% split between Double-A and Triple-A. Stolen bases weren’t supposed to be a major part of his game, but he obviously is a very savvy base stealer as he is 21 for 22 on the bases in his pro career. The K% is high, but I’m betting on that coming down as he gains more experience. 2022 Projection: 49/14/45/.255/.330/.462/5 Prime Projection: 102/30/98/.281/.364/.518/10

5) Brennen Davis CHC, OF, 22.5 – Davis is 6’4”, 210 pounds with easy power and no problems keeping the ball off the ground. He smacked 19 homers in 99 games split across 3 levels (A+, AA, AAA). Like many guys this tall, he has some strikeout issues with a 28.7% K%, and while he will definitely chip in with steals, he went 6 for 10 in 76 Double-A games and he didn’t attempt a steal in 15 Triple-A games. The upside is very high, but there is still some risk here too. 2022 Projection:48/17/55/.242/.313/.441/7 Prime Projection: 88/33/99/.261/.338/.510/11

6) CJ Abrams SD, SS, 21.6 – A fractured tibia and sprained MCL ended Abrams season after just 42 games. He proved his plus hit tool and speed will transfer against advanced competition at Double-A, slashing .296/.363/.420 with 2 homers, 13 steals (in 15 attempts), and a 19.7%/8.2% K%/BB%. His power isn’t there yet, and there is a chance it will never be a major part of his game, but he still looks pretty skinny to me at 6’2”, 185 pounds and don’t think those man muscles have come in yet. The power will tick up in time. ETA: 2023 Prime Projection: 95/18/75/.288/.342/.437/27

7) Grayson Rodriguez BAL, RHP, 22.4 – Rodriguez is the total package with the potential for 4 plus pitches and above average control. He put up a 45.5%/5.7% K%/BB% in 23.1 IP at High-A and then followed that up with a 39%/7.1% K%/BB% in 79.2 IP at Double-A. He’s the #1 pitching prospect in the game. 2022 Projection: 4/3.88/1.21/77 in 69 IP Prime Projection: 15/3.32/1.08/228 in 195 IP

8) Shane Baz TBR, RHP, 22.10 – Baz’ control took two huge steps forward, going from well below average to near elite with a 1.7% BB% at Double-A, 6.2% at Triple-A, and 6.1% in the majors. He sacrificed nothing to do it, throwing an elite 97 MPH fastball that put up 30.4% whiff%. He combines that with two plus breaking balls in his slider (40.7% whiff%) and curve (50% whiff%), while his changeup lags behind. He’s in a two man race with Grayson Rodriguez for the top pitching prospect in baseball. 2022 Projection: 9/3.78/1.20/148 in 130 IP Prime Projection: 15/3.35/1.07/220 in 187 IP

9) Adley Rutschman BAL, C, 24.2 – Rutschman dominated the upper levels of the minors with an elite plate approach (90/79 K/BB in 123 games) and plus power (23 homers). He has an argument to be the #1 overall prospect in real baseball because of his at least plus catcher defense, but in fantasy, being a catcher only causes more problems with wear and tear and more days off. He should open the 2022 season as Baltimore’s starting catcher, but service time manipulation might also come into play. 2022 Projection: 69/22/63/.262/.341/.449/2 Prime Projection: 86/27/84/.276/.364/.493/3

Tier 3

10) Zac Veen COL, OF, 20.4 – Veen is 6’4”, 190 pounds with a violent lefty swing that is made to hit rockets. He’s pretty skinny now, so if he puts on weight, his power upside is scary. He backed up the hype in his pro debut, slashing .301/.399/.501 with 15 homers, 36 steals in 53 attempts, and a 26.3%/13.4% K%/BB% in 106 games at Single-A. You have to throw out the steal numbers because of the Single-A rule changes, and he also wasn’t very successful, but seeing he loves to run this much is a good sign. He has elite fantasy upside, especially in Coors. I’m buying high. ETA: 2024 Prime Projection: 99/32/103/.277/.358/.519/13

11) Oneil Cruz PIT, SS, 23.6 – It took only 2 MLB games for Cruz to put the entire league on notice. He went 3 for 9 with 1 homer and 4/0 K/BB, but it was the elite exit velocity readings that really popped. He had a silly 100.5 MPH average exit velocity, and he hit a 118.2 MPH line drive single that was the 7th hardest hit ball all season. At 6’7”, 210 pounds, Cruz’ raw power is in rarified air. He’s had high groundball rates his entire career, but he’s slowly been improving them, putting up a 47.3% GB% in 62 games at Double-A and a 31.3% GB% in 6 games at Triple-A. Speaking of his 6 game taste of Triple-A, he went nuclear with 5 homers and a 5/8 K/BB. Oh yea, he also has plus speed with 19 steals in 22 attempts. There will inevitably be some swing and miss to his game, and I don’t think he is completely out of the woods with his high groundball rates, but Cruz very well might have the highest pure upside of anybody in the minors. 2022 Projection:72/24/81/.257/.320/.468/17 Prime Projection: 92/30/101/.272/.335/.518/16

12) Anthony Volpe NYY, SS, 20.11 – The power breakout came well before schedule as Volpe cranked 27 homers in 109 games split between Single-A and High-A. The Yankees drafted Volpe 30th overall in 2019 based on his hit hit tool, speed, and defense, so the power explosion puts Volpe in elite prospect territory. If you play in a shallow to medium sized league where you can’t pick up prospects during the season, Volpe should very likely be the top pick in your off-season prospect draft. ETA: 2023 Prime Projection: 92/26/89/.278/.352/.481/15

13) Noelvi Marte SEA, SS, 20.5 – Marte has a powerful righty swing that is both under control and lightening quick. It reminds me a bit of Manny Machado. He showed a mature plate approach (22.2%/12.1% K%/BB%), plus power (17 homers in 99 games), and speed (23 for 30 on the bases) in his full season debut as a 19 year old. He has the upside to be a perennial first rounder in fantasy. ETA: 2023 Prime Projection: 91/33/103/.276/.362/.547/12

14) Corbin Carroll ARI, OF, 21.7 – Shoulder surgery ended Carroll’s season after just 7 games, but he managed to make such a great impression in those games, along with strong reports from the 2020 alt site, that he should still be considered a near elite prospect. He’s an explosive player with an at least plus contact/speed combo. His power has been underrated even from before he was drafted because he is only 5’10”, but he puts a sting into the baseball. Shoulder injuries are known to sap power, but he is young enough that you have to assume a full recovery. As high as his value is now, it might shoot through the roof not far into 2022. ETA: 2023 Prime Projection: 89/20/78/.283/.367/.463/28

15) Robert Hassell SDP, OF, 20.7 – Hassell dominated Single-A (139 wRC+) with a plus plate approach (17.2%/13.3% K%/BB%) and speed (31 steals), but he only hit 7 homers in 92 games with a 52.1% GB%. He then went to High-A for 18 games and proved he has the ability to make adjustments to get to his power, jacking 2 homers with a 32.7% GB%. The K% rose with the power to 28.7%, but it’s still a good sign he will eventually be able to put it all together. He’s 6’2’’, 195 pounds, so while he is expected to be a hit tool, speed guy, I wouldn’t rule out a power explosion. ETA: 2024 Prime Projection: 93/18/74/.277/.358/.446/23

16) Triston Casas BOS, 1B, 22.2 – Casas in 6’4”, 252 pounds with double plus raw power and a mature approach at the plate. He put up a 19.1%/15.4% in 86 games at mostly Double-A (9 games at Triple-A). He has a textbook lefty swing with very little movement, and he rarely sells out to get to his power. His homer totals don’t jump out at you with only 14 homers, but he doesn’t have any major groundball issues with a 42.8% GB% (34.6% GB% at Triple-A), so even if he doesn’t make adjustments to unlock more power, he will still hit plenty of homers while maintaining a high BA. He’s in the mold of a Freddie Freeman and Paul Goldschmidt if he hits his ceiling. 2022 Projection: 36/10/41/.253/.334/.469/2 Prime Projection: 96/32/102/.276/.365/.515/4

17) Hunter Greene CIN, RHP, 22.8 – Greene is a mountain of a man at 6’5”, 230 pounds and he puts that frame to good use by consistently pumping in upper 90’s fastballs that reach 100+ MPH often. Even his changeup is 90+ MPH and it has the potential to be a nasty pitch with good drop and tail action. The slider was much improved this year and has the potential to be a plus pitch. He used all of those weapons to put up a pitching line of 3.30/1.18/139/38 in 106.1 IP split between Double-A and Triple-A. He’s not a finished product, but Greene truly has the upside to be the best pitcher in baseball one day. 2022 Projection: 6/3.88/1.32/112 in 100 IPPrime Projection: 14/3.39/1.12/222 in 185 IP

18) Josh Lowe TBR, OF, 24.2 – Lowe blew up at Triple-A, slashing .291/.381/.535 with 22 homers, 26 steals (in 26 attempts), and a 26.2%/13% K%/BB% in 111 games. I’ve been high on him since his 2019 breakout because he is a premium athlete at 6’4”, 205 pounds with a plus power/speed combo and high walk rates. Even though his K% remained high, his hit tool took a step forward this year, which is the one thing that could hold him back. 2022 Projection: 23/7/21/.237/.310/.428/6 Prime Projection: 84/24/76/.256/.338/.467/16

19) Francisco Alvarez NYM, C, 20.4 – Alvarez is a bulldog at the plate at 5’10”, 233 pounds with massive raw power and a precocious plate approach. He put up a silly 227 wRC+ with a 10.4%/22.4% K%/BB% in 15 games at the age appropriate Single-A before he went to High-A and bashed 22 homers in 82 games. This is a do it all, middle of the order bat who has a good chance of sticking at catcher. Rutschman is going to have some competition for that top spot in a couple years. ETA: 2023 Prime Projection: 78/30/92/.272/.355/.495/4

20) Josh Jung TEX, 3B, 24.2 – A stress fracture in his foot delayed the start of Jung’s season, but he came back angry, demolishing the upper levels of the minors. He slashed .326/.398/.592 with 19 homers and a 22.2%/9.1% K%/BB% in 78 games split between Double-A and Triple-A. Both of his home ballparks juice up homers, but he was even more dominant on the road. He has at least plus power and he should be able to hit for a pretty good average too. Texas might play team control games with him, but he deserves to be their starting 3B out the gate. 2022 Projection:68/22/77/.258/.327/.455/2 Prime Projection: 86/29/90/.272/.344/.496/3

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