Justin Crawford – Imaginary Brick Wall

Major League Baseball finally did the MLB Draft right. They made it a glitzy red-carpet event in a cool location that was well produced and a ton of fun to watch. But of course, that is just the cherry on top for us dynasty fanatics. Predicting future production is what we care about. International Prospects are included in this one. Here is the Top 40 2023 First Year Player Draft Dynasty Baseball Rankings:

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Tier 1 Strategy – Generational talents. Do whatever you can to get into the Top 4

1) Druw Jones ARI, OF, 18.8, 6’4”, 180 – Selected 2nd overall, Jones has that classic tall and projectable build that screams upside, and he has elite bloodlines with Andruw Jones being his father. He has near elite speed (6.31 60 yard dash) and truly elite bat speed (99.42 percentile-besting some marks put up by bat speed monster Harry Ford last year). His power has also exploded this year, with him launching some homers that blew up on Twitter (Will Hoefer). I don’t think he will have quite the hit tool that Termarr Johnson will have, but it’s still plus, and Johnson can’t touch the power/speed combo. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 99/30/108/.274/.355/.520/20 Mid-Season Top 314 Prospects Ranking: #10 – ranked around Hassell, Veen, Elly, Chourio, Wood, and Lawlar

2) Termarr Johnson PIT, 2B/SS, 18.1, 5’10”, 175 – Selected 4th overall, Johnson looks like a seasoned MLB vet at the dish, spitting at pitches out of the zone and making elite contact when he does swing. His swing looks geared more for contact than power at the moment, but he clearly showed his power potential in the 2021 Home Run Derby at Coors where he crushed 24 homers, one of which went 501 feet. He’s currently in the 98.22 percentile in his class for bat speed too. He’s not a burner, but a 6.65 60 yard dash (Perfect Game) is pretty damn good and he stole 9 bags in 8 Team USA games (he slashed .375/.483/.542 in those games), so his speed might be getting undersold a bit like Riley Greene’s was in his draft year with similar dash times (and maybe like Marcelo Mayer’s this year). ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 98/25/94/.290/.367/.503/10 Mid-Season Top 314 Prospects Ranking: #19 – ranked around Tovar, Noelvi, and Pete Crow

3) Elijah Green WAS, OF, 18.8, 6’3”, 225 – Selected 5th overall, Green has both Johnson and Jones beat on upside with truly elite speed (6.16 60 yard dash) and exit velocity numbers. Here he is demolishing a 109 MPH dinger earlier this year. He slashed .348/.444/.957 with 4 homers and 2 steals in 7 games for Team USA Baseball. He is a fully grown man at 6’3”, 225 pounds and his father, Eric Green, is a former 1st round pick, Pro Bowl NFL Tight End. What keeps him behind Johnson and Jones is that he does have some hit tool risk with whiffs present in his game. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 84/33/96/.254/.331/.511/21 Mid-Season Top 314 Prospects Ranking: #20 – ranked around Pete Crow, Triston Casas, and Nick Pratto

4) Jackson Holliday BAL, SS, 18.7, 6’1”, 180 – Baseball is starting to feel like it is a hereditary monarchy, where all star games are passed down based on bloodlines like it’s the 1300’s. Jackson is the son of Matt, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son. Husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the ne … my bad, lost myself there 🙂 … Like many plus bloodline kids, Jackson is an advanced hitter, and he combines that with plus athleticism and a plus power/speed combo. He truly wields the bat like it’s a samurai sword, gracefully killing the ball with a smooth and powerful lefty swing. He was selected 1st overall, but I still prefer the 3 high school bats drafted after him. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 96/25/88/.278/.357/.491/14 Mid-Season Top 314 Prospects Rankings: #26 – ranked around Curtis Mead, George Valera and Marcelo Mayer

Tier 2 Strategy – I’m not sure I would really look to stick my neck out for any of Tier 2. I wouldn’t look to specifically trade into this tier to grab someone. I obviously like these guys a lot, but I would sit tight in my draft spot and take the best available that falls into my lap

5) Justin Crawford PHI, OF, 18.6, 6’3”, 175 – Son of Carl Crawford. I could honestly end the blurb right there and you will know exactly the type of player Justin is. 6.11 second 60 yard dash is in the elite of the elite, and he has shown a good feel to hit. The power hasn’t fully developed yet, but he’s still very skinny, and I’m betting on him outdoing his father in the power department. The only reason I don’t have him in Tier 1 is because those guys have already shown big power, but Crawford could end up right there with them, especially in 5×5 BA leagues. He was selected 17th overall. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 93/18/74/.273/.328/.440/28 Mid-Season Top 314 Prospects Rankings: #63 – ranked around Colton Cowser, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Evan Carter

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

Imaginary Brick Wall

Tag: Justin Crawford

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