Noah Schultz – Imaginary Brick Wall

Posted on September 10, 2024September 13, 2024 by Michael Halpern

Top 322 September 2024 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings (Patreon)

Jasson Dominguez was originally ranked first overall when I started this list, but with his callup last night, he is no longer eligible. So a brand new #1 prospect is crowned in Kristian Campbell! Any player currently in the majors is ineligible for this list, and I use that eligibility because I find lists are more fun/interesting/valuable when they highlight new up and coming talent. Dominguez was already the first overall prospect in the August Rankings, so he had his time. The Updated Dynasty Rankings coming in two weeks will have all of the prospects in the majors ranked, and obviously any player who retains prospect eligibility at the end of the season will be reinserted into the off-season prospects rankings. Bur for now, it’s all about ranking prospects still in the minors. As usual, I go over 300 deep with blurbs for every player. Top 25 free here on the Brick Wall. Here is the Top 322 September 2024 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings:

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*Previous Rankings are in parenthesis

**Any player currently in the majors is ineligible

1) (34) (157) (UR) (UR) Kristian Campbell – BOS, 2B/OF, 22.3 – A new #1 overall fantasy prospect is crowned, and that man’s name is Kristian Campbell. Here is what I wrote about Campbell in his latest Dynasty Baseball Rundown blurb, “I was asked about a comp for Campbell in the August Mailbag Podcast, and I couldn’t really think up of a great comp. But after watching him continue his absolute tear through Triple-A, maybe Fernando Tatis Jr. is the perfect comp. I didn’t want to go that lofty on the comp, but he has the size (6’3”, 210 pounds), the athleticism (23 steals) and power (20 homers) to live up to it.” … he currently has a 90 MPH EV in 16 games at Triple-A, and on his latest homer, I think he dislocated his shoulder with one of the most bad intentions swings I’ve seen. The launch is low and the hit tool still has some risk, so he’s not an absolutely perfect prospect, but he’s clearly an elite prospect. Campbell vs. Anthony is a coin flip for me, and Anthony being two years younger almost gave him the nod, but ultimately I couldn’t pass up on Campbell. He’s my top dog.

2) (3) (12) (10) (14) Roman Anthony – BOS, OF, 20.4 – How about the Sox having the top 2 prospects in the minor leagues right now? And they have far more than that too, they are not just top heavy. I hope the Yanks and Orioles are having their fun, because the Sox are coming real soon. As for Anthony, Triple-A isn’t slowing him down at all with a 149 wRC+ and 18.2/12.7 K%/BB% in 23 games. High groundball rates and poor base stealing are the only quibbles in his profile. He’s an upper middle class man’s Gunnar Henderson

3) (4) (8) (3) (19) Matt Shaw – CHC, 3B, 22.10 – Shaw has a 91.4 MPH EV with 4 homers in 23 games at Triple-A just in case anyone was questioning his power at 5’9”. He combines that with contact, approach and speed. He still feels underrated to me

4) (6) (15) (15) (58) Carson Williams – TBR, SS, 21.2 – 28.1% K% in 111 games at Double-A is starting to creep up there, but it’s not high enough to scare me off. He can be just fine with a K% in the high 20’s throughout his career, and if he get eventually get it under 25%, we could be looking at an elite fantasy player with his at least plus power/speed combo

5) (5) (9) (4) (25) Emmanuel Rodriguez – MIN, OF, 21.6 – Finally returned from a thumb injury and is now getting his first shot at Triple-A where he has a 41.7% K% in 5 games (as well as 1 homer and a 25% BB%). If anyone can hit under .200 with an over .400 OBP, it will be Rodriguez

6) (9) (14) (18) (64) Noah Schultz – CHW, LHP, 21.1 – His profile is almost unheard of. A 6’9” lefty with double plus stuff and plus control. Even Randy Johnson struggled with control earlier in his career. Randy actually had an insane 318 walks in 400.1 minor league innings pitched before getting the call to the bigs. Schultz is unprecedented. He’s easily my top pitching prospect in the game.

7) (11) (11) (11) (27) Samuel Basallo – BAL, C/1B, 20.1 – The upper minors definitely slowed him down a bit, and Triple-A is slowing him down more than a bit with a 41.3/4.3 K%/BB% and 19 wRC+ in 10 games. He’s barely 20 years old, so it’s an extremely encouraging season overall, but his comp maybe goes from Yordan Alvarez to Rafael Devers. Not bad

8) (12) (72) (58) (88) Leodalis De Vries – SDP, SS, 17.10 – De Vries vs. Jenkins vs. Walcott seems to be a popular debate, and I have De Vries first out of that group right now because he’s the one who has already tapped into his raw power the most. He ripped 11 homers in his last 40 games and he has a 49.3% FB% on the season. All 3 are going to be great, but that is what gives the small edge to De Vries at the moment.

9) (13) (23) (8) (12) Walker Jenkins – MIN, OF, 19.6 – I comped Jenkins to Kyle Tucker, and Jenkins’ first year of pro ball is going very similarly to Tucker’s. Tucker had 9 homers with 32 steals and a 16.3/10.1 K%/BB% in 117 games in the lower minors, and Jenkins has 6 homers with 15 steals and a 12.7/15.6 K%/BB% in 76 games. Like Tucker, the power explosion is almost certainly coming

10) (14) (7) (NA) (6) Jordan Lawlar – ARI, SS, 22.1 – Lawlar tore his shoulder swinging a bat. He broke his thumb fielding a grounder. And he suffered a major hamstring strain presumably when running. Swinging a bat, fielding grounders, and running is basically the job, and getting majorly injured so often while doing these routine things makes it appropriate to slap the dreaded “injury prone” label on him. The good news is that he’s back from the hamstring injury and went 1 for 5 in his return. He just has to stay healthy

11) (40) (112) (75) (158) Bubba Chandler – PIT, RHP, 21.11 – I was a little hesitant this off-season to go all in on Chandler, because while the huge stuff was undeniable, he still needed a lot of refinement. Well, that refinement came this off-season and he’s now destroying Triple-A with a 1.93 ERA and 32.1/9.8 K%/BB% in 28 IP. The fastball averages 96.7 MPH and is a bat missing weapon. The slider is his most used secondary and it induces weak contact and misses bats. The changeup is his best secondary with a 40.5% whiff% and 79.7 MPH EV against at Triple-A. And finally the curve is a good pitch too. As long as the control/command stays solid, this is an easy ace. Pitt is absolutely stacked with both high end talent and depth

12) (8) (FYPD-1) (NA) (NA) Travis Bazzana – CLE, 2B, 22.0 – A lot of these college bats are getting a cold splash of water to the face after putting up video game numbers in college. Bazzana is hitting well with a 126 wRC+ in 27 games at High-A, but a .238/.369/.396 slashline with 3 homers and a 25.4% K% is not exactly screaming no doubt MLB superstar. I still love him, and I think he’s still going to be an impact fantasy player, but it’s at least something to think about

13) (17) (FYPD-2) (NA) (NA) JJ Wetherholt – STL, 2B, 22.0 – Profile is completely transferring to pro ball, slashing .295/.405/.400 with 2 homers, 2 steals, and a 11.9/12.7 K%/BB% in 29 games at Single-A. His upside might not be quite as high as some of the other bats, but he probably has the highest floor, and I do think there is 20/20 upside in here

14) (20) (22) (55) (83) Josue De Paula – LAD, OF, 19.3 – The last step to elite prospect status is an uptick in game power with 10 homers in 107 games, and while he certainly has the huge raw power in the tank, we only have to look at Jordan Walker to not take it for granted

15) (21) (33) (30) (33) Sebastian Walcott – TEX, SS, 18.7 – The 25.5% K% is still on the high side, and he hasn’t fully tapped into his raw power with 10 homers in 116 games at High-A, but all of that is just nitpicking. He has a 123 wRC+ as an 18 year old at High-A. College hitters are struggling to keep their heads above water at that level right now. Future star

16) (24) (48) (28) (28) Max Clark – DET, OF, 19.9 – I gave him the Corbin Carroll/Pete Crow Armstrong comp, and he was exactly as advertised in the lower minors. When the power ticks up, like we are seeing with Pete Crow right now, there is superstar upside

17) (15) (13) (6) (15) Jackson Jobe – DET, RHP, 22.1 – Is everyone just ignoring the 12.7% BB% in 73.2 IP at Double-A? I love Jobe just as much as the next guy, but it feels like this is getting majorly glossed over at the moment. He’s also had some injury issues in his career. Huge upside, but the risk is starting to creep up there too

18) (123) (265) (263) (319) Kumar Rocker – TEX, RHP, 24.8 – Returned from Tommy John surgery and he’s going full elite pitching prospect on us with a 1.96 ERA and 55/5 K/BB in 36.2 IP at mostly Double-A and Triple-A. The fastball sits 97.9 MPH and the slider is double plus to elite. He also mixes in a cutter, sinker and slider. If you want to ignore all risk from the shoulder surgery and Tommy John surgery which delayed his career, he has a case to be the top pitching prospect in the game, but I think factoring in some risk is prudent. All pitchers are risky, so I’m not going to dock him too much, but I’m not going to put him as the #1 pitcher on this list. He’s going to make his MLB debut on Thursday, and since he’s not up quite yet, he cracks this list.

19) (22) (27) (17) (36) Andrew Painter – PHI, RHP, 21.2 – Painter underwent Tommy John surgery in late July 2023, which will keep him out for all of 2024. He has the type of elite upside to take the Tommy John discount on, but I do think you have to factor some risk in

20) (61) (92) (92) (105) Bryce Eldridge – SFG, OF, 19.9 – His dominance at High-A was so spectacular (187 wRC+ in 48 games) that it earned him a promotion to Double-A as a 19 year old, and he’s looked great there too with 1 homer, 19.2/11.5 K%/BB% and 115 wRC+ in 6 games. He’s 6’7” with elite power. No two ways about it at this point. He’s a truly elite power hitting prospect

21) (19) (18) (24) (48) Marcelo Mayer – BOS, SS, 21.9 – 141 wRC+ in 77 games at Double-A, but how big the power/speed combo will end up is still a question. He has only 8 homers with a 47.4% GB%, and he’s not a burner despite a solid 13 steals. He might end up more solid than standout in the majors, but at only 21, there is plenty of development time left to go

22) (25) (24) (12) (35) Colt Emerson – SEA, SS, 19.2 – High-A slowed him down a bit with a 90 wRC+ and 21.6% K% in 29 games, but on the plus side, he’s running a ton with 9 steals at the level. He’s 15 for 17 in 70 games on the season, so while he might not be a true burner, he looks like he could be a skilled baserunner

23) (23) (FYPD-3) (NA) (NA) Chase Burns – CIN, RHP, 21.8 – Yet to debut

24) (27) (28) (19) (68) Tink Hence – STL, RHP, 22.1 – Little Tink can’t seem to get true elite pitching prospect buzz because he isn’t a big guy, but size aside, the dude is elite with a 2.76 ERA and 34.4/8.0 K%/BB% in 78.1 IP at Double-A. He has the nasty stuff to back up the numbers. If he was a broad 6’2”, there would be zero questions about him

25) (35) (70) (82) (189) Thomas White – MIA, LHP, 19.10 – 2.61 ERA with a 29.9/8.3 K%/BB% in 62 IP at High-A. He has the size and stuff to back it up. He’s on the short list for #1 pitching prospect in the game once the guys in the upper minors graduate

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

Posted on August 6, 2024August 9, 2024 by Michael Halpern

Top 327 August 2024 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings (Patreon)

The trade deadline has passed. The 2024 MLB Draft is in the books. And that means it’s time to update the Top 300+ Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings over on the Patreon. Top 23 free here on the Brick Wall. Any player currently in the majors is ineligible for this list. So if you’re in the minors and have under 130 AB or 50 IP, you are eligible. As usual, I go over 300 deep with blurbs for every player. Here is the Top 327 August 2024 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-AUGUST TOP 327 PROSPECTS RANKS
-MID-SEASON TOP 422 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS (7/12/24)
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*Previous Rankings are in parenthesis

**Any player currently in the majors is ineligible

1) (2) (NA) (8) Jasson Dominguez – NYY, OF, 21.6 – Alex Verdugo has a 87 wRC+ and isn’t a particularly good defensive player. It’s getting mighty close to that time for The Martian to invade New York again, and we saw what happened the last time he invaded New York with 4 bombs in just 8 games. His combination of upside and proximity is hard to match. He deserves the #1 spot on these rankings with all of prospects in the major leagues being ineligible for this list.

2) (5) (NA) (4) Junior Caminero – TBR, 3B/SS, 21.1 – Caminero is a close 2nd to Dominguez in terms of upside and proximity. But he doesn’t steal bases (1 steal in 48 games), and it sure feels like Tampa is ready to manipulate the hell out of his service time

3) (12) (10) (14) Roman Anthony – BOS, OF, 20.3 – The game power and stolen base speed have arrived at Double-A with 10 homers and 10 steals in his last 38 games. There is still some low launch (46.1% GB%) and high K (25.9% K%) in his game, but that feels like nitpicking for a barely 20 year old kid with a 134 wRC+ in the upper minors.

4) (8) (3) (19) Matt Shaw – CHC, 3B, 22.9 – Earned a callup to Triple-A by obliterating Double-A over his last 46 games, slashing .333/.400/.582 with 11 homers, 15 steals, and a 13.6%/9.7% K%/BB%. The Paredes trade complicated his path to playing time, but I’m trusting it to get sorted one way or another by 2025. Shaw still feels underrated to me

5) (9) (4) (25) Emmanuel Rodriguez – MIN, OF, 21.5 – A thumb injury from sliding into 2nd base put an abrupt halt to Rodriguez’ massive season at Double-A (201 wRC+ in 37 games). Even my 9 year old nephew uses one of those huge sliding mitts when on the bases (it’s kinda hilarious). Come on EmRod. It doesn’t change how much I love him with a monster OBP/power/speed combo, but it’s definitely annoying

6) (15) (15) (58) Carson Williams – TBR, SS, 21.1 – The hit tool concerns aren’t completely out of the woods with a 27% K% and .255 BA, but the age to level, power (14 homers), speed (28 steals), and glove more than make up for that. Plus, the K rate is actually improved from what he did in the lower minors. The Rays starting SS job is waiting for him

7) (FYPD-1) Charlie Condon – COL, 3B/1B/OF, 21.4 – Ranked 1st overall on the 2025 Top 57 FYPD Rankings (Patreon), writing, “I was all set to have Bazzana #1 on my FYPD Board, but with Condon going to Coors with the 3rd overall pick in the draft, it rattled my whole game plan. How can you pass up on a massive human being, with massive numbers, in the best conference in college baseball, going to the best ballpark in the majors, which just so happens to juice up the only slight quibble in his profile? The answer is, you can’t. Or at least I can’t. Condon has to be the top dog now. He’s 6’6”, 215 pounds and he swings the bat like it’s a literal twig. He ripped 37 homers in 60 games in the SEC this year and has 62 homers in 116 career games in the SEC. The power is near elite (I say near elite, because Jac has more power). He improved both his contact rates and plate approach this year with a 13.5%/18.8% K%/BB%, and like I alluded to, Coors Field juices up batting average the most. Coors is actually slightly below average for homers in 2024, but with 6’6” baseball players, it’s always the BA you have to watch out for, so this landing spot is perfect. He’s not going to steal many bases, but he’s a good athlete, and he should be able to nab a handful. If your team really needs the stolen bases, I can maybe see going Bazzana one, but all things being equal, there is just too much offense upside in that hitting environment to pass up on Condon in the top spot. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 99/34/107/.276/.357/.529/6″

8) (FYPD-2) Travis Bazzana – CLE, 2B, 21.11 – Ranked 2nd overall on the 2025 Top 57 FYPD Rankings (Patreon), writing, “Selected 1st overall, Bazzana looks like a tightly wound ball of kinetic energy that is just ready to explode in the box (I think ball of “Potential” energy is actually the correct scientific term, but I felt like “Kinetic” just hit harder 🙂 … There is toe tapping and bat wiggling before he absolutely uncoils on the baseball, jacking 28 homers in 60 games in the Pac 12 this year, and also smoking 6 homers with a 1.037 OPS in the wood bat cape cod league in 2023. He’s “only” 6 feet tall, but there is easy plus power in here at the least. He combines the plus power with a near elite plate approach/hit tool (12.5%/25.7% K%/BB%), and speed (16 steals). He’s the total offensive package, and there is a reason he got taken #1 overall by a very smart franchise despite limited defensive value. The only thing that can stop him seems to be his parents. His parents almost ended his career before it started when celebrating. His dad tried to rip his arm out of his socket, and then his mom put him in some kind of neck hold into a tripping maneuver. Travis almost looked like he was about to square up with his mom for a second there. I guess they do things differently Down Under in Australia. Either way, he survived, and if you want to give Bazzana the edge over Condon because of steals, I wouldn’t blame you. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 100/25/91/.287/.366/.481/23″

9) (14) (18) (64) Noah Schultz – CHW, LHP, 21.0 – He’s yet to throw more than 4 IP in any outing of his career and he only has 65.2 IP on the season. Workload is the only thing to nitpick here, because everything else is straight elite with a 1.64 ERA and 29.6%/6.6% K%/BB% in 38.1 IP at Double-A. Schultz was my top pitcher target in his FYPD class, and he’s arrived

10) (10) (9) (10) Dylan Crews – WAS, OF, 22.4 – Just when we were ready to put the rough 2023 Double-A debut behind us, he went out and looked mighty mediocre when he got the call to Triple-A with a 87 wRC+ in 34 games. But the individual components look better with a 17.1%/9.1% K%/BB%, 4 homers, and 5 steals. He’s looking more like an above average across the board contributor rather than a true star right now though

11) (11) (11) (27) Samuel Basallo – BAL, C/1B, 19.11 – You couldn’t pry Basallo away from Baltimore’s cold dead hands at the deadline, and for good reason, as he’s still 19 years old with 15 homers, a 127 wRC+ and 20.9%/8.9% K%/BB% in 88 games at Double-A. At 6’4”, he has future beast written all over him

12) (72) (58) (88) Leodalis De Vries – SDP, SS, 17.9 – The explosion is on, slashing .274/.397/.573 with 9 homers, 6 steals, and 22%/14.9% K%/BB% in his last 29 games. He now has a well above average 110 wRC+ in 64 games at Single-A. He’s my favorite to be the #1 prospect in the game by this time next year

13) (23) (8) (12) Walker Jenkins – MIN, OF, 19.5 – Showed an elite plate approach at Single-A (11.3%/18.5% K%/BB% in 33 games), which is exciting because we know the big power is in there at 6’3”, 210 pounds. He hasn’t been as good since getting the call to High-A with a 61 wRC+ and 18.2%/9.2% K%/BB%, but obviously it’s too small of a sample to say anything

14) (7) (NA) (6) Jordan Lawlar – ARI, SS, 22.1 – Lawlar tore is shoulder swinging a bat. He broke his thumb fielding a grounder. And he suffered a major hamstring strain presumably when running. Swinging a bat, fielding grounders, and running is basically the job, and getting majorly injured so often while doing these routine things makes it appropriate to slap the dreaded “injury prone” label on him. I still love him, but the injuries are piling up

15) (13) (6) (15) Jackson Jobe – DET, RHP, 22.0 – The elite control from 2023 has vanished with a 14.5% BB% in 42.1 IP at Double-A. He went from Maddux to Misiorowski. But he’s still dominating with a 1.91 ERA and 30.6% K%, and I don’t believe that walk rate is his true talent. Not budging on him

16) (FYPD-3) Jac Caglionone – KCR, 1B/LHP, 21.6 – Ranked 3rd overall on the 2025 Top 57 FYPD Rankings (Patreon), writing, “Selected 6th overall, Caglionone is a giant human being at 6’5”, 250 pounds. Condon may have an extra inch on him, but he can’t even come close to Caglinone’s sheer mass. And it’s not Dan Vogelbach mass, it’s elite NFL TE type mass and athleticism. This is what truly elite power looks like, and he has no trouble getting to that power with 75 homers in 165 career games in the SEC. He also pitches with a fastball that can reach the upper 90’s to give you an idea of the type of athlete we are talking about, even if his future is almost certainly with the bat. The plate approach and hit tool were questions coming into the year, but he massively improved in those areas this year with a 8.2%/18.4% K%/BB% (18.2%/5.3% in 2023). The biggest knock on his profile is the very high chase rate, making him riskier than the other top bats in his class, but let me make a counter argument to that for a second. One, basically every hitter with an extremely high walk rate and low chase got criticized for not swinging enough, namely Kurtz. Jac is getting criticized for swinging too much. You can’t win. Two, if I was a pitcher, I wouldn’t want to give this guy anything to hit either. Sure, he chased, but not to his detriment. He did a ton of damage (.419 BA with a 1.419 OPS) and made a ton of contact. Three, there is something to be said about Jac proving he can hit very tough pitches that are out of the zone. It goes without saying that pro pitching and MLB pitching is much, much, much tougher than college pitching. You are going to have to hit tough pitches. You can’t always wait for a perfect pitch. Jac has proven he can do that. Maybe that’s just the lawyer in me to feel the pull to argue for a clear negative, ha, but it sounded good, right? I feel like there’s something to it, and on pure upside, Jac very well might be the top guy in the class. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 94/37/109/.261/.342/.524/8″

17) (FYPD-4) JJ Wetherholt – STL, 2B, 21.11 – Ranked 4th overall on the 2025 Top 57 FYPD Rankings (Patreon), writing, “Selected 7th overall, Wetherholt slid in the draft a bit after getting a lot of #1 overall buzz. Maybe it was the injuries, missing about half of the season with a hamstring injury and still not being fully healthy when he returned. It was his 2nd major hamstring injury within the year. It could also be that he is on the small side at 5’10”, and doesn’t have quite the raw power of the other top college hitters in the draft. Don’t get me wrong, he definitely has plenty of power, but about a 16 homer pace is not that impressive when everyone else is hitting 30. Or maybe it’s that he didn’t face the toughest competition in the Big 12. What he does better than maybe anyone else in the draft though is hit. He put up a 10.4%/18.3% K%/BB% in 2024 and had a 8.2% K% in 2023. He’s a complete hitter who uses the entire field with a quick and simple lefty swing. He also rocks the little man leg kick which I love, ensuring he will get the most out of his very good raw power. Tack on plus speed (57 steals in 145 career games), and you have a damn enticing fantasy player even if his power upside doesn’t quite match some of the other bats in the class. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 97/21/82/.290/.357/.462/26″

18) (19) (32) (41) Xavier Isaac – TBR, 1B, 20.8 – Called up to Double-A and went lefty on lefty for his first homer at the level in his 3rd game. The power is no joke, but the hit tool has some risk with a 30% K% at High-A and 42.9% K% in 3 games at Double-A

19) (18) (24) (48) Marcelo Mayer – BOS, SS, 21.8 – 140 wRC+ in 77 games at Double-A, but how big the power/speed combo will end up is still a question. He has only 8 homers with a 47.4% GB%, and he’s not a burner despite a solid 13 steals. He might end up more solid than standout in the majors, but at only 21, there is plenty of development time left to go.

20) (22) (55) (83) Josue De Paula – LAD, OF, 19.2 – Everything is translating to High-A except for the BABIP (.236). De Vries, Jenkins, De Paula and my next guy, Walcott, is going to be a super fun 1, 2. 3, 4 one day atop the prospects rankings

21) (33) (30) (33) Sebastian Walcott – TEX, SS, 18.6 – Destroying High-A for awhile now, slashing .301/.356/.534 with 7 homers, 9 steals, and a 24.7%/7.7% in his last 45 games. That’s insanely impressive for an 18 year old, and the tools are elite at 6’4”

22) (27) (17) (36) Andrew Painter – PHI, RHP, 21.2 – Painter underwent Tommy John surgery in late July 2023, which will keep him out for all of 2024. He has the type of elite upside to take the Tommy John discount on, but I do think you have to factor some risk in

23) (FYPD-5) Chase Burns – CIN, RHP, 21.7 – Ranked 5th overall on the 2025 Top 57 FYPD Rankings (Patreon), writing, “Selected 2nd overall, dynasty managers owe a huge debt of gratitude to Cincinnati for going Burns over Condon. It would have made me legitimately sad to see Burns going to the Rockies. I know Cincinnati is no cake walk for pitchers themselves, but they just have a small ballpark, they don’t have different air. And we’ve seen plenty of pitchers have excellent seasons in Cincy (Castillo, Gray, Greene, Lodolo), so I wouldn’t let this landing spot move you off Burns at all. He has legit ace upside at a strong 6’3”, 210 pounds with a double plus fastball that sits in the upper 90’s and a double plus slider that put up elite whiff rates. It led to a 2.70 ERA with a ridiculous 48.8%/7.7% K%/BB% in 100 IP in the ACC. He’s inevitably going to get compared to Skenes, and Skenes put up a 1.69 ERA with a 45.2%/4.3% K%/BB% in 122.2 IP in the SEC. Skenes was in the tougher conference (although Burns pitched well in the SEC in 2022-23 before transferring to the ACC) with a better ERA, better walk rate and more IP. Burns isn’t as good as Skenes, but not many are better than Skenes, so that isn’t much of a knock. Burns also throws a curve and changeup to give him a legit starters pitch mix, and how well he can develop those pitches could dictate whether he becomes a true ace or a high K, #2/3 type. If your dynasty team is stacked with hitting, I don’t think taking Burns #1 overall should be ruled out. The teams that took Skenes over Langford and Crews in 2024 aren’t complaining too much right now. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 15/3.23/1.08/245 in 190 IP”

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-AUGUST TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS
-MID-SEASON TOP 422 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS (7/12/24)
-TOP 57 2025 FYPD RANKS (7/19/24)
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: JULY MAILBAG! (7/31/24)
-TOP 11 MID-SEASON DYNASTY TARGETS (6/25/24)
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-SPREADSHEETS

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

Posted on June 11, 2024June 15, 2024 by Michael Halpern

Top 305 June 2024 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings (Patreon)

May’s update was all about the pure prospects. Any MLB taint disqualified you from the list. But I swung it back in the other direction for this month’s update because I just felt like it would be more interesting to see where the new popups fit in with the old guard. I’m unpredictable like that. So keep in mind that the previous month’s rankings are not a direct comparison with this month. It might look like guys dropped, but really it’s just because players were added into the rankings who were ineligible last month. Top 20 free here on the Brick Wall. Blurbs for every player. Here is the Top 3005 June 2024 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-MAY TOP 414 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS (5/24/24)
-JUNE TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: MAY MAILBAG! (5/30/24)
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-SPREADSHEETS

*Previous Rankings are in parenthesis (May’s Non-Debuted Pure Prospects Rankings) (Off-Season Rankings)

1) (2) (16) Paul Skenes – PIT, RHP, 21.11 – Mercury must be in retrograde or something, because I never thought I would see the day when I ranked a pitcher as the top prospect in baseball, but that day is today. Skenes jumped up to the majors and immediately overwhelmed MLB hitters with a 3.00 ERA and 35.5%/5.6% K%/BB% in 27 IP. He’s not only my top prospect in the game, he’s my top dynasty pitcher in the game, ranking 19th overall on my latest Top 414 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon).

2) (NA) (8) Jasson Dominguez – NYY, OF, 21.4 – You know what Dominguez doesn’t have in common with Holliday and Caminero? His MLB debut was actually electric with 4 homers in 8 games, and now that he’s back from Tommy John surgery, it’s like he never left with 6 homers in 15 upper minors games. Maybe the hit tool is still a bit riskier, but he more than makes up for that with upside due to how much he loves to run. Dominguez is my #1 hitting prospect in baseball.

3) (1) (9) James Wood – WAS, OF, 21.9 – Wood’s strikeout rate is better than both Holliday and Caminero’s at Triple-A. We saw Holliday’s K rate skyrocket in his MLB debut, and Wood’s plate approach is superior to Caminero’s. We’ve seen both Holliday and Caminero struggle in their MLB debuts. He runs more than both Holliday and Caminero. He hits the ball harder than both Holliday and Caminero. I can’t guarantee that Wood ends up better than Holliday and Caminero, and at his height, he most probably does have more hit tool risk, but I don’t think either can match Wood’s upside, and judging based only on 2024, his hit tool is more than holding his own vs. those guys. I’m a glutton for upside, and there might not be a prospect in baseball with more upside than Wood.

4) (NA) (2) Jackson Holliday – BAL, SS, 20.6 – If the terrible MLB debut never happened, we would all be losing our minds on what a travesty it is that Jackson Holliday and his 140 wRC+ is still at Triple-A. With all the extremely aggressive assignments throughout all levels of professional baseball, and the mostly lackluster results, it feels like the pendulum has swung too far in the other extreme. How about some middle ground. “Everything in moderation, even moderation.”

5) (NA) (4) Junior Caminero – TBR, 3B/SS, 20.11 – Caminero’s 106 wRC+ in 34 games at Triple-A isn’t super impressive, but he’s still crushing the ball (92.4 MPH EV), ripping homers (8 homers), and showing a decent plate approach (22.9%/9.2% K%/BB%). And he’s still only 20. He’s still on track to reach his righty Devers comp.

6) (NA) (11) Noelvi Marte – CIN, 3B, 22.8 – I think there is a case to put Marte over Holliday and Caminero as well due to his much superior MLB debut, but let’s get a looksie on him post PED suspension before getting ahead of ourselves. Maybe he was cheating.

7) (NA) (6) Jordan Lawlar – ARI, SS, 21.10 – Lawlar started a rehab assignment in rookie ball coming off thumb surgery. Nobody has staked claim to Arizona’s SS job in his absence, and while Perdomo is on the comeback trail as well, I just don’t think he has the bat to hold the job. Lawlar should get his shot at some point in the 2nd half

8) (3) (19) Matt Shaw – CHC, 3B, 22.8 – He hasn’t blown the doors off at Double-A, but he’s proving his big 2023 pro debut was no fluke with 6 homers, 15 steals, and a 21.4%/14.4% K%/BB% in 54 games at Double-A.

9) (4) (25) Emmanuel Rodriguez – MIN, OF, 21.3 – There are a lot of really good prospects not putting up eye popping numbers at Double-A, but Baby Bonds isn’t one of them with a 199 wRC+ in 37 games. In OBP leagues, there is a case for him to be the #1 hitting prospect in the game with a 25.1% BB%

10) (9) (10) Dylan Crews – WAS, OF, 22.2 – The disaster start is behind him, but this still isn’t the light the world on fire bat we hoped we would be getting

11) (11) (27) Samuel Basallo – BAL, C/1B, 19.10 – 1.099 OPS in his last 20 games. Looks like Basallo has figured out the upper minors, and he’s still 19 years old

12) (10) (14) Roman Anthony – BOS, OF, 20.1 – A 138 wRC+ as a barely 20 year old at Double-A is impressive even if the numbers aren’t off the charts

13) (6) (15) Jackson Jobe – DET, RHP, 21.9 – He was just getting back to his dominant self in his last 3 outings with a 16/3 K/BB in 11 IP at Double-A, but a hamstring strain landed him on the IL since May 1st

14) (18) (64) Noah Schultz – CHW, LHP, 20.9 – Insane dominance has transferred to the upper minors with a 0.77 ERA and 35%/0% K%/BB% in 11.2 IP. There is little doubt that this guy is going to be an ace if he stays healthy

15) (15) (58) Carson Williams – TBR, SS, 20.11 – 27.9% K% shows there is still hit tool risk, but as a 20 year old in the upper minors, that actually isn’t too bad, and he’s dominating regardless with a 161 wRC+. Tack on a plus SS glove which should give him a long leash, and this is a no doubt elite prospect

16) (NA) (13) Pete Crow-Armstrong – CHC, OF, 22.2 – PCA is locking in that his speed and baserunning ability are truly elite with a 30 ft/sec sprint and a perfect 7 for 7 mark on the bases, and he’s also showing much better contact rates than his first go around with a 23% K%, but he’s yet to prove he can hit the ball hard enough to truly make an impact with a 86.7 MPH EV. It sat 87.9 MPH with a 110.6 MPH MAX at Triple-A, so there is more in the tank right now, and I definitely think there is more in the tank in the future. I’m not moving off PCA

17) (7) (23) Coby Mayo – BAL, 1B/3B, 22.6 – Out since May 16th with a fractured rib. He’s on a beeline to be on the best power hitters in the game when he gets healthy again

18) (24) (48) Marcelo Mayer – BOS, SS, 21.8 – Here is what I wrote about Mayer this off-season in his Top 1,000 blurb: “Mayer feels like he’s getting a bit of the treatment Noelvi Marte got last year. He was on a beeline for elite prospect status until there was an abrupt, general cooling on him throughout the industry, but like with Marte, I’m not sure it’s warranted.” … and like Marte, he came out swinging the next season, slashing .300/.370/.486 with 6 homers, 12 steals, and a 20.2%/9.7% K%/BB% in 54 games at Double-A . Hopefully unlike Marte, he isn’t on PED’s

19) (32) (41) Xavier Isaac – TBR, 1B, 20.6 – 27.6 K% in 51 games at High-A means we have to recalibrate his hit tool expectations a bit, but on the flip side, we can do the same about his stolen base expectations with 13 steals. And the power is unquestioned with 12 homers

20) (5) (18) Spencer Jones – NYY, OF, 23.1 – He might finally be finding his groove at Double-A with 4 homers, 2 steals, and a 1.052 OPS in his last 9 games, although it still comes with a 12/2 K/BB. I’m going to keep betting on the huge talent, even if the hit tool isn’t where it needs to be right now with a 34.1% K%

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

Posted on August 14, 2023August 15, 2023 by Michael Halpern

Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (8/14/23)

I’ll be running down everything that caught my eye in the Dynasty Baseball world on most Mondays throughout the season here on the Brick Wall. The rest of the week you can catch my Rundowns on the Patreon. Here is the Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (8/14/23):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON & OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-AUGUST TOP 477 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-MID-SEASON TOP 357 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP 17 DYNASTY BASEBALL TARGETS (8/3/23)
-TOP 50 2024 FYPD RANKINGS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: JULY MAILBAG! (7/28/23)
-TOP 38 PROSPECTS TO STASH FOR 2023 IMPACT ONLY (8/15/23)
–TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS

Zack Gelof OAK, 2B/3B, 23.10 – Here’s what I wrote about Gelof about two weeks ago in my Top 17 Dynasty Baseball Targets article, “If you want safety, sign up for a defensive driving course. This here is the autobahn of dynasty baseball schools, and I don’t want speed limits. I want to take the restrictor plate off and let it fly. That brings us to the 6’3”, 205 pound Zack Gelof, whose upside was considerably underrated in the minors. The guy came up to the majors and has been a power/speed glutton with a 91.8 MPH EV, 20.3 degree launch, and 29.5 ft/sec sprint speed. It’s led to 4 homers and 5 steals in just 16 games. He flashed those same skills in the minors with 12 homers and 20 steals in 69 games at Triple-A. Sure it might feel like your car is coming apart at the seams with the steering wheel shaking and hearing a weird squeaking sound that you can’t quite place because your whiff% meter is well into the danger zone at 42.1%, but fuck it, you’re sick of playing it safe and falling just short of a championship. In fantasy baseball, if you crash and burn, you don’t actually die, you just feel shitty for a few weeks/months. If you can’t take risks in fantasy, where can you take risks? And for Gelof’s current very reasonable price, he’s worth the risk for that big time upside he’s showing off.” … he went 4 for 5 with 2 bombs last night and since that write-up is slashing .382/.432/.853 with 4 homers, 1 steal, and a 7/3 K/BB in 9 games. Buy windows can close fast during the season, and this buy window might have just slammed shut on your fingers if you didn’t act fast.

Wilyer Abreu BOS, OF, 24.1 – Abreu was also named in that target article, and he also went nuclear yesterday with a 3 dinger day. He has a sweet, sweet lefty swing that I just can’t quit, and it’s resulted in 20 bombs with a 21.4%/15.4% K%/BB% and 121 wRC+ in 80 games at Triple-A. He barely gets a whisper of hype and all he does is rake.

Noah Schultz CHW, LHP, 20.0 – I promise you I don’t want to turn this entire Rundown into one big pat myself on the back fest, but I can’t help that so many of my Targets went off yesterday. Schultz was my top pitcher target for first year player drafts, and now his hype is absolutely blowing up. He kept his immaculate season going yesterday (3.1 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 5/2 K/BB) and now has a 1.33 ERA with a 36.5%/5.8% K%/BB% in 27 IP at Single-A.

Bryan Ramos CHW, 3B, 21.3 – Okay, this is a cry for help now … just … can’t … stop … being … right 😉 … Ramos is the Rodney Dangerfield of prospects, the guy just don’t get no respect. He dug out a pitch that was down and in and somehow managed to go the other way with it with authority for his 11th homer in 49 games at Double-A. I’ve been banging his drum for two years and he’s now destroying Double-A, slashing .274/.392/.508 with 11 homers, 4 steals, and a 22.7%/12.4% K%/BB%. There actually might still be a buy window here, because I’ll tell ya, he got no respect the day he was born. He ranked 77th on my Mid-Season Top 357 Dynasty Prospects Rankings.

Coby Mayo BAL, 3B, 21.8 – I’m doing everything in my power to not mention that I predicted Coby Mayo would be a Top 10 Prospect in my Predicting the Top 50 2024 Dynasty Baseball Prospects back in February. I’m not sure he’s quite at Top 10 level yet, but he’s certainly blown up this year, and he’s starting to conquer Triple-A now too with a 457 foot bomb for his 3rd homer in 26 games. He only has a 69 wRC+ at the level (177 wRC+ at Double-A), but his strikeout rate has come down to a reasonable 25.2% and a lot of it is poor BABIP luck (.242 BABIP).

Moises Ballesteros CHC, C, 19.8 – Okay Mike, it’s not even funny anymore, don’t mention that you named Ballesteros your top catcher target this off-season in your Positional Targets Series … don’t do it … Ballesteros was my top catcher target this off-season in my Positional Targets Series, and he’s gone off this year. He got the call to High-A after conquering Single-A, and he’s now officially destroying the level after cracking his 3rd homer. He has a 131 wRC+ in 37 games after putting up a 143 wRC+ in 56 games at Single-A.

Anthony Solometo PIT, LHP, 20.7 – Let’s use Solometo as a palate cleanser. Finally one of my targets who didn’t play well yesterday. He went 1 IP with 4 hits, 3 ER and a 1/1 K/BB at Double-A. He hasn’t been bad at Double-A, but he hasn’t been dominant either with a 4.15 ERA and 25.2%/5.4% K%/BB% in 34.2 IP. Keep in mind he’s still only 20 years old, and it’s also nice to see the walk rate come all the way down to a near elite 5.4% BB%.

Homer Bush Jr. SDP, OF, 21.10 – Don’t worry, Homer Bush Jr. has never been a target of mine … yet. He didn’t crack my Top 50 2024 FYPD Rankings, but he’s proving he should have with an excellent pro debut. After across the board destruction in rookie ball, he got called up to Single-A and is still raking, slashing .294/.478/.529 with 1 homer, 2 steals, and a 8.7%/13% K%/BB% in 5 games. His 12 pro steals leads all 2023 draftees. As the 128th pick in the draft, he’s quickly becoming one of my favorite sleeper bats.

Enrique Bradfield Jr. BAL, OF, 21.8 – Speaking of guys racking up steals, Bradfield racked up 4 steals yesterday and is a perfect 9 for 9 in only 7 pro games (3 games in rookie and 4 in Single-A). As the 17th pick in the draft, you won’t get the discount you can get on Bush, but his category winning stolen base prowess is worth the price.

Dylan Crews WAS, OF, 21.4 – You heard it here first, Crews is my #1 sleeper target in first year player drafts 😉 … He’s unsurprisingly obliterating the lower minors after going 5 for 5 with 2 homers yesterday at High-A. He has a 193 wRC+ in 8 games at the level. It continues to lock in his status as a truly elite prospect, and he already ranked 51st overall on the Updated Top 477 Dynasty Baseball Rankings that dropped last week on my Patreon.

Ryan Pepiot LAD, RHP, 25.11 – 6.2 IP, 1 hit, 0 ER, 11/0 K/BB at Triple-A. The fastball sat 94.3 MPH and the changeup dominated with a 50% whiff%. Here’s a highlight reel of his dominance. I feel like we’ve seen enough plus changeup Dodgers pitchers struggle in the majors (Gavin Stone, Emmet Sheehan) to scare us off, but at the same time, those struggles might open the door for Pepiot to get the next shot when/if a rotation spot opens.

Matt Shaw CHC, SS, 21.8/Tommy Troy ARI, 3B/2B, 21.6 – There seems to be a split between people who prefer Shaw and people who prefer Troy, and while I’m most certainly on Team Shaw, I like Troy too. They both homered yesterday, and now Shaw is utterly decimating High-A with 2 homers, 1 steal, a 15.4% K% and 205 wRC+ in 9 games. Troy isn’t playing as well with a 80 wRC+ in 10 games, but a lot of that is bad BABIP luck (.185 BABIP) because the 3 homers, 4 steals, and a 26.1% K% ain’t bad at all. Shaw checked in at 43rd overall on my Mid-Season Top 357 Prospects Rankings while Troy checked in at #126.

Termarr Johnson PIT, 2B/SS, 19.1 – It didn’t take long for Johnson to find his footing at High-A. After struggling in his first few games at the level, he’s homered in back to back games. His hit tool might not have been quite as good as advertised, but this is still an explosive player with a very mature plate approach. I would say he’s living up to about 95% of his draft hype.

Chase Silseth LAA, RHP, 23.1 – 5 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER, 5/2 K/BB vs. HOU. He probably got a bit lucky in this one with only a 16% whiff% and with his secondaries getting hit relatively hard, but you know what they say, it’s better to be lucky than good. And it’s also a good sign that he was still able to come through without his best stuff. He ranked 332nd on the Updated Top 477 Dynasty Rankings.

Jace Jung DET, 2B, 22.9 – Jung went lefty on lefty off Solometo on a pitch that was so bad I’m not even sure what it was. I’m assuming it was a hanging slider. They all count the same though, and Jung is more than handling his business since getting the call to Double-A with 4 homers and a 118 wRC+ in 19 games. The Jung’s are taking the baseball world by storm this year, and it won’t be long before baby bro Jace joins his big bro Josh in the majors.

James Wood WAS, OF, 20.10 – Wood unloaded for his 13th homer in 58 games at Double-A, and he did it with an impressively short and quick swing. That type of swing gives hope his hit tool will be good enough to let the huge power/speed combo shine, but there is undeniable hit tool risk with a 32.7% K% at the level. I’m buying the talent, just like I am with the similarly tall and thin Elly (who cracked his 10th MLB homer yesterday).

Carson Williams TBR, SS, 20.1 – Okay, 11 blurbs is long enough to go without mentioning my targets going off, right? My man Williams went 5 for 5 with 2 doubles at High-A, and most importantly, he didn’t strike out once. He’s been excellent all season, but he’s been especially great over his last 33 games with 9 homers and a .973 OPS. The 30.9% K% is too high, but he has the type of talent to overlook that one small snafu. He also has the defensive prowess to keep him on the field while he works through the hit tool issues.

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

Posted on June 12, 2023June 16, 2023 by Michael Halpern

Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (6/12/23)

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-UPDATED TOP 456 JUNE DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-UPDATED TOP 314 MAY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP 44 ROOKIE BALL/DSL PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP DYNASTY BASEBALL TARGETS (5/26/23)
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: MAILBAG! (5/16/23)
-TOP 25 PROSPECTS TO STASH FOR 2023 IMPACT ONLY (6/16/23)

Luis Guanipa ATL, OF, 17.6 – Guanipa is the early favorite to be THE prospect breakout from the DSL. He’s hit in all 4 games and is slashing .333/.368/.778 with 2 homers, 4 steals, and a 21.1%/5.3% K%/BB%. It’s still early, but I loved him coming into the season as my #2 international target (Sebastian Walcott was my #1 target), and he received a large signing bonus with the tools to back it up. Sample is still super small and DSL stats are the most untrustworthy, but if you’re shooting for the moon, Guanipa could be your guy.

Jun-seok Shim PIT, RHP, 19.2 – Shim made his pro debut on Saturday and went nuclear, going 4 IP with 0 hits, 0 ER, and a 8/0 K/BB in the FCL (stateside rookie ball). He has an innings eater build at 6’4”, 215 pounds, and he has the big fastball befitting of his stature with mid 90’s heat. The curve is his best secondary, and he backed up his scouting report in his first outing showing good control. The ingredients are most certainly here for him to truly explode. At the minimum, keep a close watch on him, and it might be worth scooping him now.

Michael Arroyo SEA, SS/3B, 18.7 – Here’s what I wrote about Arroyo in my Top 44 Rookie Ball/DSL Prospects Rankings (Patreon), ranking him 14th overall:

“Upside – Gabriel Gonzalez

Downside – The plus hit tool slides more towards above average, and he doesn’t have the explosive tools to make up for it

Prime Projection: 82/18/73/.273/.339/.435/6″ …

The upside is winning out with him slashing .636/.692/.909 with 1 homer, 3 steals, and a 7.7%/7.5% K%/BB% in 4 games at stateside rookie. It’s a repeat of what he did in the DSL, and it sure looks like he will follow in Gabriel Gonzalez’ footsteps as a plus to double plus hit tool riser.

Corbin Carroll ARI, OF, 22.9 – Carroll rose all the way to 3rd overall on the Updated Top 456 Dynasty Baseball Rankings that dropped Friday on the Patreon, and he didn’t let the high ranking go to his head, smacking 3 more hits on Sunday at 109.8 MPH (single), 107.4 MPH (triple), and 103.6 MPH (double). He also stole his 19th bag. He’s on pace to go .308/32/47 on the season with the underlying numbers to back it up. Only Ohtani (#1) and Acuna (#2) can match this type of production …

Wander Franco TBR, SS, 22.3 – … don’t let Franco hear me say that, because he would have every right to take that personally. He went 2 for 4 with a 371 foot bullet shot for his for his 8th homer of the year. He’s also stolen 22 bags in 63 games, which takes his elite hit tool profile with improving power to the next level. An 88.2 MPH EV with a 8 degree launch makes his power a little shakier than some of the other elite options, which keeps him 6th overall on the Updated Dynasty Rankings.

Gunnar Henderson BAL, SS/3B, 21.11 – Gunnar went 3 for 5 with a 113.8 MPH, 462 foot rocket, and all of a sudden his season numbers are starting to look pretty damn good with his OPS over .800 at .804. Over his last 15 games he’s slashing .354/.404/.729 with 5 homers, 3 steals, and a 13/4 K/BB. He’s finally starting to run more and also get the strikeouts in check. I mean, he ain’t Corbin Carroll, that ship has sailed, but I hope you bought low when you could

Elly De La Cruz CIN, SS/3B, 21.5 – Are you even allowed to write an article about baseball without mentioning Elly De La Cruz? Dude is the talk of the town and his elite athleticism has started to transcend just baseball circles. He collected 2 more hits yesterday, one of which came at 109.7 MPH. That’s a weakly hit dribbler for Elly. He also stole his 3rd bag. He’s now slashing .364/.481/.636 with 1 homer, 3 steals, and a 37%/18.5% K%/BB% in 27 PA. The K% is high, but the 33.3% whiff% isn’t quite in the cover your eyes territory, and he’s walking a ton too. It’s just about as good of an MLB debut as we could have hoped for. He ranked 23rd overall on the Updated Rankings. He deserves a truly elite return in trades.

Rayner Arias SFG, OF, 17.2 – The plus bloodlines win again. Arias comes from a baseball family and he’s showing off that high baseball IQ and advanced beyond his years DNA, slashing .438/.550/.875 with 2 homers, 1 steal, and a 10%/20% K%/BB% in 4 DSL games. He’s not just a high IQ guy though, he’s also a projectable 6’1”, 180 pounds with a big righty swing that has clear power potential. He looks like a good one.

Gabriel Lara NYY, OF, 17.6 – Lara is another early DSL pop up, slashing .438/.550/.875 with 1 homer, 1 steal, and a 10%/15% K%/BB% in 4 games. He has truly elite speed with a good feel to hit coming from a quick, compact lefty swing. He’s only 5’9”, but he’s not a skinny nothing, he definitely has some muscle. Carlos Jorge and Jonatan Clase would be the upside here, maybe even with a better hit tool.

Keiner Delgado NYY, 2B/3B, 19.5 – Delgado’s truly elite plate approach is transferring to stateside rookie ball, slashing .333/.538/.556 with 1 homer, 4 steals, and an 11.5%/30.8% K%/BB% in 5 games. He remains a year older than optimal, and while age for level is important, you don’t want to be a total slave to it. He’s also a small guy at 5’8”, so the power upside isn’t huge. Regardless, he’s an excellent athlete with the potential for an elite plate approach with speed and some pop.

Enmanuel Tejeda NYY, SS, 18.5 – Tejada is also backing up his strong DSL showing in 2022, slashing .438/.591/.813 with 2 homers, 4 steals, and a 22.7%/22.7% K%/BB% in 5 games in stateside rookie. He’s not a monster tools guy, but he has the potential to be that solid across the board contributor at peak.

Abraham Nunez CHW, OF, 17.3 – Okay, enough with these little guy breakouts. Nunez is a projectable 6’3”, 170 pounds with baseball bloodlines (his dad played in the majors) and good athleticism. He’s slashing .500/.647/.917 with 1 homer, 3 steals, and a 11.8%/29.4% K%/BB% in 4 DSL games. He surely checks a lot of boxes. Keep an eye out.

Luis Baez HOU, OF, 19.5 – I couldn’t do this mini Rookie Ball Rundown without mentioning the current rookie ball home run leader, Luis Baez. He’s jacked 4 homers in just 5 games in stateside rookie coming off a season where he jacked 9 homers in 58 games in the DSL. He has the raw power to back up the numbers at 6’1”, 215 pounds with a powerful righty swing. The hit tool is still a bit of a question mark with a poor 25.2%/6.3% K%/BB% in 2022, but it’s been better so far in 2023 (20.8%/16.7%). He’s also a year older than optimal and is more physically mature than most of his competition. But hitting bombs like this will certainly get you on the radar.

Jack Suwinski PITT, OF, 24.10 – Everybody was looking to put Suwinski in the grave, but he refused to comply, continuing his re-reemergence yesterday on a 2 for 4 day with a 108.6 MPH homer. He has 6 homers with a 1.142 OPS over his last 14 games. The strikeout rate is still too high at 32% and he isn’t running as much as optimal, but the guy can mash.

Braxton Garrett MIA, LHP, 25.10 – 5.1 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 9/1 K/BB vs. CHW. Garrett’s been the epitome of the crafty lefty this year, throwing a 6 pitch mix without any of the pitches cracking even 90 MPH (89.9 MPH sinker), but it gets the job done with an enticing 29.4% whiff% and 4.9% BB%. He’s not exactly a world beater with a 4.10 ERA and 4.73 xERA in 63.2 IP, but the guy knows the art of pitching, With Trevor Rogers on the comeback trail, Miami will have a decision to make on their rotation, because they don’t have a spot for him right now.

Nolan Jones COL, OF, 25.1 – Who would have thunk the 24/25 year old hitting for a 175 wRC+ at Triple-A, and who has produced his entire career, would actually be good? Nice of Colorado to actually get around to playing him, and surprise surprise, he continues to be good. He went 2 for 4 with a 111.6 MPH homer yesterday and is now slashing .360/.407/.680 with 4 homers, 4 steals, and a 31.5%/7.4% K%/BB% in 15 games. Most surprising is how much he’s running, and he has the above average speed to back it up with a 27.9 ft/sec sprint. There is still hit tool risk, but the very reasonable 26.9% whiff% is comforting it won’t get too crazy. I’m buying.

Ezequiel Tovar COL, SS, 21.10 – Tovar has slowly but surely pulled himself out of that early season hole he dug himself, and his 2 for 4 day with a 424 foot homer off Blake Snell has finally brought his season OPS over .700 to .707. Over his last 21 games he’s slashing .333/.375/.533 with 2 homers, 2 steals, and a 19/5 K/BB. I’m not gonna lie, the power/speed combo is still lacking, and the plate approach has been mediocre at best, so I’m not exactly buying, but he’s certainly finding his groove against MLB pitchers.

Zach Neto LAA, SS, 22.4 – Neto has just been laying down a rock solid foundation over his first 51 MLB games, and now he’s ready to build on it, blowing up yesterday with a 2 homer game. One was hit at 106.9 MPH and the other at 105.9 MPH. It’s actually quite remarkable what he’s doing against MLB pitching considering how quickly he was rushed through the minors, and he didn’t even come from a major conference in college. An 89.6 MPH EV with an 11.4 degree launch and 18.9% K% is the exact across the board profile I expected when I ranked him 3rd overall on my FYPD Rankings this off-season.

J.D. Martinez LAD, DH, 35.9 – 0 for 4 with 0 homers. I thought it was notable that he actually had a bad day, because he hasn’t had many since I named him a player to target in my Top Dynasty Baseball Targets (Patreon), ripping 7 homers in 15 games since then. His .400 xwOBA is in the top 3% of the league and his 93 MPH EV is a career high. Dodgers strike again.

Luis Matos SFG, OF, 21.4 – Let’s just pretend 2022 never happened. Matos has picked up from where his 2021 season ended, cracking 2 more homers yesterday at Triple-A on a 3 for 5 day. And just check out the vicious swings he used to unload on those two dingers. He’s not a huge guy, but he definitely packs a punch. He’s now blowing the doors off Triple-A, slashing .396/.434/.660 with 6 homers, 6 steals, and a 7%/6.1% K%/BB%. He might have officially made it to his destination from that elite prospect beeline he was on in 2021 with power, speed, and elite contact. A callup to the majors could be in the cards in the 2nd half.

Junior Caminero TBR, 3B, 19.11 – Caminero sliced his 2nd homer in 12 games since getting the call to Double-A. He has the type of power where he doesn’t even need to get all of it to hit it out. Double-A has definitely slowed him down a bit with a 104 wRC+, but the kid is still 19 years old. He’s not the perfect prospect with a mediocre plate approach, relatively elevated groundball rates, and limited speed, but the guy is a masher no matter how you slice it.

Termarr Johnson PIT, 2B/SS, 19.0 – Johnson hit an absolute no doubter to the tiki lounge in deep centerfield for his 3rd homer in 37 games at Single-A. It hasn’t exactly been the season we wanted to see from the uberhyped prospect with a 32.3% K%, but he still has a 126 wRC+ despite the swing and miss. I warned the hit tool wasn’t as good as advertised this off-season, so I wasn’t completely caught off guard by this, but I’m still buying the talent. He turned 19 yesterday, and I respect a player who finds ways to produce even when they aren’t completely locked in yet. Something tells me he’s about to hit his first real groove of the season. Don’t sell low.

Jake Eder MIA, LHP, 24.8 – Eder made his long awaited season debut earlier this month coming off Tommy John surgery and a broken foot, and he looked good in his 2nd outing on Saturday, going 4 IP with 4 hits, 1 ER, and a 3/1 K/BB at Single-A on a rehab assignment. The slide piece is still absolutely filthy and the fastball sat in the low to mid 90’s range. He was cracking Top 100’s before going down with the injury, and he has the potential to get back there if he keeps performing when he gets back to Double-A.

Anthony Solometo PIT, LHP, 20.5 – 4 IP, 5 hits, 0 ER, 7/0 K/BB at High-A. How can you not love watching this guy pitch? He now has a 2.30 ERA with a 29.1%/10.7% K%/BB% in 58.2 IP on the season, and I think he’s now officially knocking on the door of Top 100 status if he isn’t there already. I’ve been targeting him since before he even got drafted, and I’m still buying hard.

Noah Schultz CHW, LHP, 19.8 – My top pitching target in this year’s first year player draft class, Schultz finally made his season debut earlier this month, and it was worth the wait. The guy looks like Baby Randy Johnson on the mound at 6’9”, 220 pounds with a mid 90’s fastball, a potentially plus slider and developing change. He’s dominated in his 2 short outings, going 4 IP with 1 hit, 0 ER, and a 6/0 K/BB. The control has looked pretty good too. I implore you to get in now. He’s about to blow up.

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