Posted on by Michael Halpern

Combo Platter Week: August 2024 Top 274 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon)

Welcome to Combination Platter Week! I’m going to try something different this week. I usually only serve up Rankings one week, and Dynasty Rundowns the next, but I’m just feeling a Combination Platter Week where I serve up a little of both. Why order just the General Tso’s Chicken when you can get the General Tso’s Chicken and Roast Pork Fried Rice combo platter (with wonton soup instead of the egg roll, please)? I’m going to do a Top 274 update of the Dynasty Rankings for the first half of the week (Top 25 free here on IBW), and then I am going to finish it off on Thursday and Friday with Dynasty Rundowns. I’ve just been having a lot of fun with Dynasty Rundowns that I don’t want to skip a full week, but I’m definitely itching to update the top half of the dynasty rankings with so many of the young breakouts going crazy right now. The latter part of the dynasty rankings are mostly prospects (which you can see the recently updated August Top 327 Prospects Rankings for that) or lower upside vets anyway, so hopefully this will be a best of both worlds type of thing. And it’s only something I want to try out and would be an occasional thing. Full Top 400+ Dynasty Rankings will still come out in September. Without further ado, here is the August 2024 Top 274 Dynasty Baseball Rankings (Patreon):

*Previous Rankings are in parenthesis

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON & OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-AUGUST TOP 327 PROSPECTS RANKS (8/9/24)
-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

1) (1) (2) (2) (2) Bobby Witt Jr. – KCR, SS, 24.2 – Witt was already my #2 overall ranked dynasty player coming into the season, and then he messed around and improved in almost all areas of his game, putting up career best marks in Barrel% (14.3%), EV (92.9 MPH), xwOBA (.418), K% (15%), and BB% (7.3%). The only thing that hasn’t improved in his baserunning, going 25 for 37 on the bases, but I think we can forgive him for that. He is the runaway #1 Dynasty player in the game.

2) (2) (1) (9) (9) Elly De La Cruz – CIN, SS/3B, 22.7 – I closed out Elly’s off-season Top 1,000 blurb by writing, “I always say, ‘if you can’t take risks in fantasy, where can you take risks,’ and I’m not even sure Elly is as risky as people think. I’m all in.” … Taking that “risk” paid off majorly as he’s on pace to go almost 30/80. He raised his launch to a respectable 10.3 degrees and he improved his plate approach with an above average 26.1% Chase%. Keep in mind he’s still just 22 years old, so if he can bring that 31.3% K% down into the mid 20’s at some point, Whoa Nelly

3) (3) (6) (13) (28) Gunnar Henderson – BAL, SS/3B, 23.2 – Career bests in Barrel% (12.6%), EV (93.2 MPH), xwOBA (.386), K% (22.5%) and Chase% (21.8%). He also improved his 2 biggest weaknesses, putting up a .891 OPS vs. lefties and running more with 14 steals. He still isn’t running quite enough to surpass Witt and Cruz though

4) (4) (3) (4) (5) Shohei Ohtani – LAD, RHP/DH, 30.1 – Ohtani ranks 1st on the CBS Player Rater, but only 3rd on the Razzball Player Rater. Battle of the Player Raters!! I’m a Razzball guy, so I’ll trust theirs. He is 1 homer and 3 steals away from joining the elite 40-40 club that has only 5 current members (Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Canseco, Alfonso Soriano, Ronald Acuna). And he’s going to be back on the mound next year too. Even at 30 years old, it might be silly to place him anywhere else but #1 in a daily moves league, and in pure win now mode, he’s almost definitely #1

Shadow4) (4) (4) (10) (13) Shohei Ohtani – LAD, DH only/Weekly Leagues, 30.1 – This is where I would rank Ohtani in weekly leagues or as a hitter only. The Shadow Ohtani is now shadowing the Real Ohtani … the world is folding in on itself

5) (5) (5) (7) (7) Juan Soto – NYY, OF, 25.10 – I nailed Soto’s off-season Top 1,000 blurb so hard that even I’m starting to question if I can actually see into the future ;), “This is a contract year for Soto, and Scott Boras is his agent. He hasn’t really had that crazy career year yet. 2020 looked like it could have been that year with 13 homers and 202 wRC+ in 49 games, but it was a shortened season. What I’m trying to say is, the Baseball Gods owe him one, and his move from one of the very worst ballparks for lefty homers to one of the very best only adds fuel to that fire (I’m expecting him to start pulling the ball just a bit more) … Everything seems to be setting up for Soto to have one of those silly statistical seasons that won’t even look real, and then he will land one of those silly contract numbers that won’t even look real.” He’s having that season with a 188 wRC+ that is 2nd only to Judge and a .478 xwOBA that is tied with Judge. I’m just imaging Boras manically laughing with every homer Soto hits

6) (9) (8) (11) (12) Aaron Judge – NYY, OF, 32.4 – Judge’s career 171 wRC+ is 9th in baseball history, behind only Josh Gibson, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Oscar Charleston, Willard Brown, Buck Leonard, Turkey Stearnes (great name), and Barry Bonds. Not bad. Trout is 13th overall, Yordan is 15th and Soto is 19th.

7) (6) (7) (8) (8) Kyle Tucker – HOU, OF, 27.6 – Out since June 3rd with a deep bone bruise in his shin. He was putting up the quietest 174 wRC+ in baseball history before going down with the injury

8) (15) (4) (1) (1) Ronald Acuna Jr. – ATL, OF, 26.7 – Underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. We’ve already seen Acuna return from a torn ACL and put up a historic season, but switching sports for a second, you can’t help but think of Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose. Both were explosive young athletes who kept blowing out their knees until the explosion dimmed. They were still good, but no longer in true prime form. Let’s hope Acuna can avoid that fate, and let’s also take into account baseball isn’t basketball. I’m not giving up on Acuna as an elite dynasty player at all, but it’s something to think about

9) (7) (13) (10) (10) Yordan Alvarez – HOU, OF, 27.2 – He’s running WILD this year with 5 whole steals. He had 2 steals in his entire career prior to this EXPLOSION. And oh yea, he’s still consistently elite with a 162 wRC+

10) (23) (28) (23) (22) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – TOR, 1B, 25.5 – The underlying numbers have been screaming Vlad was legit elite, and once again, the underlying numbers didn’t steer us wrong as he’s slashing a ridiculous .421/.492/.904 with 13 homers in his last 30 games

11) (19) (26) (29) (23) Rafael Devers – BOS, 3B, 27.9 – Having a career year in his age 27 season with a career high 156 wRC+, .968 OPS, and 93.8 MPH EV. The guy is a consistent beast

12) (8) (10) (3) (6) Fernando Tatis Jr. – SDP, OF, 25.7 – Out since June 21st with a right femoral stress reaction. It’s taking awhile for him to heel, which I’m taking as a good sign that he isn’t taking any “shortcuts.” His .400 xwOBA was in the top 4% of the league before going down with the injury. It’s clear he can still be truly elite when healthy

13) (10) (16) (17) (13) Bryce Harper – PHI, 1B, 31.10 – .365 xwOBA is the 2nd lowest mark of his career in the Statcast era, but nothing is really showing any signs of decline, and his 145 wRC+ is right in line with career norms (142 career wRC+). I’ve said it before, but Harper strikes me as the type who will be raking deep into his 30’s

14) (11) (17) (18) (15) Jose Ramirez – CLE, 3B, 31.11 – Showing zero signs of decline and he even hit the hardest ball of his career this year with a 116.6 MPH Max EV. He’s also 6 steals away from breaking his personal record, and 29 steals is already the most steals he’s had in a season since he was 25 years old

15) (13) (9) (12) (14) Mookie Betts – LAD, 2B/OF, 31.10 – .986 OPS in 7 games since returning from a broken hand. I would say he’s fully healed

16) (14) (11) (6) (4) Julio Rodriguez – SEA, OF, 23.7 – 1.022 OPS in his last 20 games. .338 xwOBA is much better than the .308 wOBA. He still crushes the ball with a 91.1 MPH EV and he’s still lightning fast with a 29.7 ft/sec sprint. Ain’t no way in hell I’m selling low on Julio

17) (21) (12) (5) (3) Corbin Carroll – ARI, OF, 23.11 – The power has finally returned, slashing .252/.341/.622 with 11 homers, 6 steals, and a 27/15 K/BB in his last 34 games. This is why I was so adamant that with a player like this, you go down with the ship before selling low

18) (25) (49) (61) (68) James Wood – WAS, OF, 21.11 – He’s doing his best Elly De La Cruz impression with huge EV’s (94.6 MPH), a low launch (3.1 degrees), speed (6 steals with a 28.3 ft/sec sprint), and some hit tool issues (30.5/11.9 K%/BB%) in his 42 game MLB debut. He’s not nearly as fast as Elly, but he’s hitting the ball much harder. He’s going to join the truly elite dynasty assets in no time, if he isn’t there already.

19) (27) (24) (20) (18) Jackson Chourio – MIL, OF, 20.5 – Here is what I wrote about Chourio in the 8/16/24 Dynasty Baseball Rundown, “We already know the Chourio level up has arrived, and he keeps arriving after going 2 for 4 with a double and a homer last night. He’s now knocking on the door of a .280/20/20 season in his rookie year at .274/15/16 in 108 games. I’m feeling pretty good about my very tough decision to place Jackson Chourio at the #1 prospect in baseball this off-season over the likes of Holliday, Langford, and Caminero. This isn’t a victory lap as all of them were about equal in my book, they are still very close, and they can end up flip flopping their entire careers, but I spent a TON of time thinking about this in the off-season, and it’s cool to see it seems I had the right read, at least for now.”

20) (22) (62) (102) (151) Jackson Merrill – SDP, OF/SS, 21.3 – Merrill had a 59.9% GB% in 2022 at Single-A, and it is all the way down to 37.9% this year in the majors. That improvement is wild, especially when you consider it hasn’t impacted his hit tool at all with a 18.1% K% and .290 BA, or his hard hit ability at all with a 89.8 MPH EV. He’s one of the most exciting young players in the game

21) (12) (14) (15) (46) CJ Abrams – WAS, SS, 23.10 – 11 for 12 on the bases in his last 29 games, so any concerns about his baserunning can be put to rest, but on the flip side, his power metrics are starting to regress too with a .522 OPS in his last 33 games

22) (17) (19) (78) (106) Paul Skenes – PIT, RHP, 22.2 – The most slam dunk generational pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg, and he hasn’t disappointed with a 2.30 ERA and 31.8/6.3 K%/BB% in 98 IP. Strasburg put up a 2.91 ERA with a 33.6/6.2 K%/BB% in 68 IP his first year out of college too. Let’s just hope Skenes’ career has more longevity, but with all of these upper 90 MPH flamethrowers dropping like flies, you sadly know it’s not going to be a decade+ of unscathed 180 IP+ years. That’s just how it goes for these guys

23) (30) (39) (32) (26) Francisco Lindor – NYM, SS, 30.9 – Lindor might be the most underrated fantasy and real life player in baseball. His 5.9 WAR is 5th best in baseball and he’s on pace for his second straight 30/30 season

24) (16) (18) (19) (17) Trea Turner – PHI, SS, 31.1 – 29.3 ft/sec sprint speed is a career low by far, and while you can blame the hamstring strain, injuries as you get older is generally what slows you down. This is the first sign of decline for the 31 year old Turner, and we know speed first profiles do not age well for dynasty. He’s stolen only 2 bases in his last 29 games. Having said that, Turner is an elite base stealer, going 14 for 15 this year and going a perfect 30 for 30 in 2023. I think he will be running until the day they tear the uniform off him

25) (18) (20) (42) (59) Tarik Skubal – DET, LHP, 27.8 – Pure dominance all season with a 2.49 ERA and 30.1/5.4 K%/BB% in 155.1 IP. It was announced he will get extra rest down the stretch though, which really puts a damper on my off-season bet for Skubal to lead the league in strikeouts at +8000 odds ($10 to win $800). He’s currently just 2 K’s behind the leader, Chris Sale. Damn

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON & OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-AUGUST TOP 327 PROSPECTS RANKS (8/9/24)
-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 by Michael Halpern

Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (6/24/24)

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 (6/24/24):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-TOP 11 MID-SEASON DYNASTY TARGETS (6/25/24)
-JUNE TOP 305 PROSPECTS RANKS (6/14/24)
-MAY TOP 414 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS (5/24/24) (new Update coming next week)
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: JUNE MAILBAG! (6/28/24)
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-SPREADSHEETS

Luken Baker STL, 1B, 27.3 – Baker is my favorite sneaky stash right now, and my favorite candidate to be the next Christian Walker/Max Muncy/Jesus Aguilar (okay, Aguilar might digging a little deep there, but he had some good seasons). Point being, guys in the Baker bucket can definitely breakout and become legit fantasy contributors. He smashed 2 more homers yesterday, and at 6’4”, 265 pounds, he did it looking like one of those absolute units in the World’s Strongest Man Competition during the wood chopping competition. The dude is country strong, and he used that strength to crack 19 homers in just 65 games at Triple-A. The 91.5 MPH EV backs up the power, not like there was any doubt. The cherry on top is that the contact rates and plate approach are also really good with a 19.8%/14.8% K%/BB%. He’s old for the level, but he’s hit very well in the minors since he entered pro ball at 21. The guy can rake, and with Paul Goldschmidt in his final year under contract, I think there is a path for St. Louis to give Baker a real shot in the future, maybe even at the trade deadline (although with St. Louis climbing back in the race, that might be less likely). Either way, the guy is likely freely available in the vast majority leagues, and there is legit potential for him to make a big impact if he gets the opportunity. I ranked him relatively high at #148 on the Updated Top 305 Prospects Rankings (Patreon).

Matt Shaw CHC, 3B, 22.7 – On the other end of the spectrum from a 6’4”, 265 pound, no hype behemoth, the normal human being sized, fully hyped Matt Shaw, all 5’9”, 185 pounds of him soaking wet, also went deep for 2 bombs. That’s the beauty of baseball. You can be good at any size. It reminds me of that picture of Judge and Altuve standing together. Shaw was having a solid season at Double-A all year, but he’s really come alive of late, slashing .296/.386/.561 with 7 homers, 7 steals, and a 20/15 K/BB in his last 25 games. That is all encompassing dominance in the upper minors, and it sure seems like he’s ready for his next challenge, which will probably be Triple-A. But once he gets to Triple-A, he could get the call at any moment to take over their 3B of the future job. He’s an elite prospect.

Brock Wilken MIL, 3B, 22.0 – Wilken was able to hit only 1 homer yesterday. Pretty lame if you ask me. But at least he was mean enough to absolutely obliterate it deep off the batter’s eye in centerfield. This man steps up to the plate with bad intentions with double plus power. Getting hit in the face with a pitch early in the season kinda put a dent in his season (and his face), but he’s been finding a groove of late with a .871 OPS and 3 homers in his last 16 games at Double-A. The hit tool is a definite risk with a 26.6% K% over that time, but you’re buying the power here, and he has plenty of it at 6’4”, 225 pounds.

George Wolkow CHW, OF, 18.5 – Wolkow looks down and laughs at these 6’4” midgets, standing a proper 6’7”, 239 pounds, and quite frankly, he has the most graceful, athletic swing of them all. Just watch him smoke this homer the opposite way with a mere flick of the wrist. He was one of my favorite prospects this off-season, and he’s been even more “fun” once his season got going with 5 homers, 3 steals, a .798 OPS and a 47% K% in 31 games split between rookie ball and Single-A. The K% jumped to 55.4% at Single-A. That is definitely a silly K rate, and if it makes you want to write him off, I totally get it. But personally, I’m blinded by how great of an athlete he is, and considering he’s still just 18 years old with only 44 pro games under his belt, I want to give him some time to figure it out. He’s the type who can thrive with a 30% K% rate, but obviously he has a long way to go to even get to that point.

Max Scherzer TEX, RHP, 39.10 – Scherzer made his season debut, and while he certainly didn’t look in prime form, the guy still pitched extremely well, going 5 IP with 1 hit, 0 ER, and a 4/0 K/BB vs. KCR. He’s the type of guy who will be throwing brushback pitches at 70 years old in the old timers game. The fastball sat only 92.9 MPH, and he only put up a 23% whiff% on the day, but I mean, he just pitched a 1 hitter (in 5 innings) at almost 40 years old coming off back surgery and a thumb injury. Legend stuff right there, and I’m apt to say he’s a target for a win now team. Hopefully his current owner won’t rake you over the coals too much based on name value, but on second thought, maybe he/she should.

Paul Skenes PIT, RHP, 22.0 – The last time I mentioned Skenes in a Rundown I said that would be the last time I mention him, because his dominance is becoming routine, but he’s just too fun not to mention right now. He threw another gem, going 7 IP with 6 hits, 1 ER, and a 8/1 K/BB vs. TBR. He now has a 2.14 ERA with a 33.7%/4.4% K%/BB% in 46.1 IP. Just to not completely bore you with his ascension to greatness, I will mention that he doesn’t really have a no doubt, slam dunk, elite whiff machine secondary. The splitter is the closest one he has, but a .251 xwOBA with a 34.6% whiff% is more in the good territory than truly outstanding. It’s just nitpicking, because what else is there to say other than he’s the top dynasty pitcher in the game.

Josh Lowe TBR, OF, 26.4 – An oblique strain caused Lowe to get off to a rocky start to the season, but he’s now starting to fully back up his 2023 breakout and cement himself as one of the more exciting young players in the game. He went 3 for 4 with a 97.7 MPH groundout, 94.9 MPH single,, 90.7 MPH single, and 87 MPH double. And he wasn’t doing that damage vs anyone, he was doing it off mostly Paul Skenes. He now has 5 homers, 2 steals, a 120 wRC+, a career best 28.8% whiff%, and a career best 14.9% Barrel% in 29 games. By the end of this season, we may be talking about Lowe as an easy Top 50 dynasty asset, and that might be underselling him. He could be ready to erupt.

Jarred Kelenic ATL, OF, 24.10 – Ronald Acuna who? Jarred Kelenic has been on fire since Acuna went down with the injury, going 1 for 3 with a 383 foot homer off Nestor Cortes yesterday. He’s now slashing .297/.338/.554 with 4 homers, 2 steals, and a 20/4 K/BB in his last 21 games. It brings his season wRC+ up to 111. As much as I want to say this is the breakout we’ve all been waiting for, I’m struggling to do that as his plate approach and swing and miss numbers are still rough. He’s also still struggling vs. lefties, although this was his first dinger off a lefty, so maybe he’s even improving in that area too. I’m buying in that he can be a good player and solid fantasy player, but I’m not yet buying in that he’s ready to explode.

Colt Keith DET, 3B/2B, 22.10 – Keith might finally be arriving. I’ve been preaching patience with him because nothing in the underlying numbers looked too bad, and he’s actually been very sneakily blowing up of late, especially after yesterday’s big day. He went 4 for 5 with a homer off essentially Triple-A pitcher Jonathan Cannon. But they all count, and in his last 32 games he’s slashing .321/.357/.486 with 4 homers, 1 steal, and a 18.3% K%. That is the type of complete hitter we expected, and like I mentioned, everything in the underlying numbers look fine with a nearly average .310 xwOBA on the season. If there is still any type of buy window here based on the lowly .628 OPS on the season, I would be all over it.

Echedry Vargas TEX, 2B/SS, 19.3 – Vargas got more than his fair share of hype this off-season as a rookie ball breakout, and after starting off a bit slow in his first real taste of full season ball, he’s been red hot of late. He lifted off for his 5th homer in 42 games on a 4 for 6 day yesterday, and is now slashing .321/.368/.547 with 3 homers, 3 steals, and a 11/3 K/BB in his last 13 games. He’s showing off the power, speed and contact ability. He’s starting to really percolate and the real hype might be just around the corner. It might be time to grab him if he is still available in your league.

Shay Whitcomb HOU, SS/2B/3B, 25.8 – If you’re looking for upside that isn’t in the form of a teenager who is several years away, Whitcomb could be your man. He’s a 25 year old who is knocking on the door of the bigs at Triple-A, and he’s putting together a monster season. He went 1 for 3 yesterday with a homer and a steal, and he’s now slashing .309/.390/.571 with 17 homers, 13 steals, and a 22.3%/11.3% K%/BB% in 68 games. His hit tool is still 100% a major concern even though it’s been improved this year, and it’s very likely that he is going to have to scratch and claw for playing time. Regardless, he’s a fun high risk, high reward prospect who seems pretty close to getting his shot.

 Jackson Jobe DET, RHP, 21.11 – Jobe looked like his usual dominant self in a rehab outing (coming off a hamstring injury) at High-A, throwing 3 perfect innings with 4 K’s. The stuff was absolutely nasty and High-A hitters had no shot at it. Once he gets back in the upper minors and finds his groove, I really don’t think it makes much sense to keep having him waste bullets in the minors. I know he doesn’t have a ton of upper minors experience, but he’s already almost 22 years old and the stuff is quite obviously MLB ready. It doesn’t seem like Detroit is any rush to call him up, so I don’t think you can expect him to be up in short order, but he should get his shot at some point in the 2nd half.

Payton Martin LAD, RHP, 20.1 – Martin had his best outing of his young season after the Dodgers supposedly held him back in extended spring training to manage his workload, going 4 IP with 4 hits, 0 ER, and a 6/2 K/BB at High-A. The fastball was only sitting low to mid 90’s on the stadium gun, but you can definitely see the athletic delivery and lively stuff. He hasn’t shown the same level of stuff and production he showed in 2023 which got a lot of people excited with a 3.99 ERA and 33/23 K/BB in 29.1 IP, but he got a late start, and maybe this will be the jumping off point for him to go on a little heater here.

Spencer Horwitz TOR, 1B/2B/OF, 26.7 – Horowitz drilled 2 homers yesterday which were also his first two homers of the year in the majors. One was a 105.6 MPH shot and the other was a 102.9 MPH shot. He was red hot at Triple-A with a 158 wRC+, and he’s carried that right over into the majors with a 197 wRC+ in 13 games. He’s never been a big home run hitter, but he did have an 89.7 MPH EV at Triple-A, so it’s not like he’s only this light slap hitter. And the plate approach is excellent with a 10%/18% K%/BB% in the majors (15.8%/17% at Triple-A). He’s played mostly 2B, and he’s actually been an above average defensive player there despite playing 1B most of his career. I always found it hard to buy into a 1B prospect with mediocre game power, but he’s definitely showing there is more to his game than that. He’s worth an add, especially with Orelvis Martinez getting busted for PED’s.

Josh Smith TEX, 3B/SS, 26.10 – I’ve been trying my best to ignore Josh Smith this year, maybe his completely non descript name wasn’t doing him any favors either, but he simply refuses to be ignored. He homered yet again yesterday and is now slashing .351/.429/.622 with 5 homers, 3 steals, and a 14%/9% K%/BB% in his last 22 games. He also has an 89.1 MPH EV over that time. There is nothing to nitpick there, he’s been legit. His track record prior to this year was been terrible with well below the Gallo line batting averages the last 2 seasons, and he’s hasn’t hit the ball that hard on the season with a 87.1 MPH EV. Jung is also seemingly getting ready to return within the next week or two, so it’s hard to really recommend him as a full buy. But I recently picked him up in my 12 teamer to cover for Bo Bichette (and with how shit Bichette has been, maybe take over for him), so I’m planning on riding it as long as possible.

Jake Irvin WAS, RHP, 27.4 – Talking about guys who refuse to be ignored, Irvin had another spectacular start, going 6 IP with 3 hits, 1 ER, and a 10/1 K/BB vs. COL. He put up a 39% whiff% on the day on the back of his curve (44% whiff%), fastball (50% whiff%), and changeup (67% whiff%). He now has a 3.13 ERA with a 22%/5.4% K%/BB% in 92 IP. I’m still a little skeptical because he’s never really shown this level of control before, the stuff is good but it’s not really great, and despite this game, there isn’t a huge amount of swing and miss in his game with a below average 23.2% whiff%. I would ride him if you have him, but I wouldn’t be willing to pay up big to get him.

Pablo Lopez MIN, RHP, 28.3 – Nothing like a start vs. Oakland to get you back on track, and Lopez took advantage, going 8 IP with 2 hits, 0 ER, and a 14/1 K/BB. I refused to move off him because his underlying numbers looked completely fine with a 3.25 xERA and 27.5%/5.2% K%/BB%. He was bound to right the ship, and while it was only Oakland, he absolutely wrecked them. I think he’s in for a big 2nd half.

Mark Vientos NYM, 3B/1B, 24.6 – Put another one up on the board for my boy Vientos as he obliterated his 7th homer at 109.3 MPH, travelling a cool 451 feet. He was one of my top targets this off-season, and the bat is living up to the hype with a .353 xwOBA, 13.6% Barrel%, and 21.6%/8.0% K%/BB% in 33 games. The cherry on top is that he actually hasn’t been too bad at 3B either. He’s locking in that full time job.

Ethan Salas SDP, C, 18.0 – 0 for 3 with 2 K’s and is now hitting .207 with 1 homer and a 78 wRC+ in 58 games at High-A. Call me crazy, but maybe consider sending him down to Single-A, where he would still be one of the youngest players at the level.

Leodalis De Vries SDP, SS, 17.8 – 0 for 4 with 1 K and is now hitting .194 with 0 homers and a 79 wRC+ in 35 games at Single-A. Call me crazy, but maybe …. eh, never mind, why do I even bother

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-TOP 11 MID-SEASON DYNASTY TARGETS (6/25/24)
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-MAY TOP 414 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS (5/24/24) (new Update coming next week)
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By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)

Posted on 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:

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*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%

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

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Top 500 MLB Prospects Rankings for 2024 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues (Patreon)

It’s Top 1,000 Dynasty Rankings Week over on the Patreon, and we kick it off today with the Top 500 MLB Prospects Rankings for 2024 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues (I actually go 582 deep). The Top 40 are free here on the Brick Wall. Analysis and Prime Projections for every player. The Top 1,000 Dynasty Rankings will drop on Wednesday, and these lists will be released here on Imaginary Brick Wall in late March. Here is the Top 500 MLB Prospects Rankings for 2024 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues (Patreon):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON & SEASON, INCLUDING:
-TOP 1,000 2024 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 500 2024 PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP 132 2024 FYPD RANKINGS (+Target & Strategy Guide)
-DEEP 2024 DYNASTY POSITIONAL RANKS: Top 78 C–TOP 101 1B–Top 129 2B–Top 133 3B–Top 161 SS-Top 316 OF-Top 321 SP-Top 102 RP
-TOP 10 EARLY OFF-SEASON DYNASTY TARGETS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST
-ALL-IN-ONE RANKINGS SPREADSHEET COMING SOON
-DYNASTY TEAM REPORTS FOR EVERY TEAM (Top 10+ Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy Talk)
-UPCOMING: Position by Position Target Series, Top 600 OBP Rankings, Top 600 Points/6+Cats/OPS “Universal” Rankings, Predicting the 2024 Top 50 Prospects Rankings that doubles as a Bold Predictions article, and much more

1) Jackson Chourio MIL, OF, 20.1 – Baseball now uses minor leaguers like guinea pigs, testing out every hairbrained idea they have all willy nilly, and Chourio got caught in the crosshairs of it. The Southern League used a pre-tacked ball for the first half of the season, and Chourio put up a lowly .714 OPS in 71 games. When they went back to the regular ball, he immediately went gangbusters, slashing .324/.379/.538 with 11 homers, 21 steals, and a 13.4%/8.0% K%/BB% in 57 games. He closed out the season at Triple-A where he put up a 4.2%/8.3% K%/BB% in 6 games. He did all of this as a 19 year old. The power/speed combo is plus to double plus, and it sure looks like his contact rates are entering the elite range if you ignore what he did in the 1st half. Jackson Holliday seems to be the consensus #1 prospect in the game (and Wyatt Langford is the trendy #1 for fantasy), but if Chourio hit with the regular ball all season, I’m not so sure that would be the case. The main thing Holliday has over Chourio right now is plate approach, which makes him the safer prospect, but for fantasy, I gotta give the ever so slight edge to the power/speed combo. Milwaukee showed us they are all in by signing him to an 8 year, $82 million contract. It makes it much more likely that he will break camp with the team, and even if doesn’t, it won’t be long until he’s up for good. Chourio is my #1 fantasy prospect. 2024 Projection: 69/21/75/.258/.320/.469/25 Prime Projection: 101/32/104/.283/.353/.523/41

2) Jackson Holliday BAL, SS, 20.4 – Holliday’s power/speed combo really wasn’t that huge with only 12 homers and 24 steals (in 33 attempts) in 125 games spread across 4 levels (A, A+, AA, AAA). It dropped off even further in the upper minors with 5 homers and 4 steals in 54 games. It seems crazy to start his blurb off with criticism, but when the battle for the top prospect in the game is so close, it needs to be highlighted. Now that we got that out of the way, Holliday had an absolutely insane season where he slashed .323/.442/.499 with a 20.3%/17.4% K%/BB%. He was in high school last year, and he displayed one of the most advanced plate approaches of any prospect all the way through Triple-A. This is why everyone drools over kids with baseball bloodlines, they tend to be far advanced beyond their years. As I mentioned, the power isn’t fully developed yet with relatively low flyball rates, but he hits the ball hard with a 30.2% Hard Hit% and a 90.9 MPH EV in 40 batted balls at Triple-A, so I’m not concerned about the power long term. He has the safety edge over Chourio, but it’s not like Chourio is a risky prospect, so Holliday slots in at #2 for me. 2024 Projection: 78/16/71/.270/.339/.441/20 Prime Projection: 117/27/94/.296/.382/.506/28

3) Wyatt Langford TEX, OF, 22.5 – I have Chourio, Holliday, and Langford in a tier of their own. The only reason Langford is 3rd is because Chourio/Holliday have a longer professional track record and more impressive age to level production. But his power, speed, hit tool, plate approach, and production can rival anyone’s. He was selected 4th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft on the back of elite production in the SEC, slashing .373/.498/.784 with 21 homers, 9 steals, and a 44/56 K/BB in 64 games. He clearly separated himself from Dylan Crews in his pro debut, slashing .360/.480/.677 with 10 homers, 12 steals, and a 17.0%/18.0% K%/BB% in 44 games, and he was equally as dominant in the upper minors as he was the lower minors. He’s the total package, and if you wanted to rank him 1st overall, I wouldn’t argue with you. 2024 Projection: 81/26/77/.262/.338/.479/18 Prime Projection: 103/34/109/.277/.364/.535/24

4) Junior Caminero TBR, 3B/SS, 20.9 – Caminero was a popular breakout pick this year (me included), and he more than lived up to the consensus hype by going full phenom beast mode. He made a mockery of High-A pitching with 11 homers and a 190 wRC+ in 36 games, and then he barely slowed down at Double-A with 20 homers and a 140 wRC+ in 81 games. He even improved his plate approach at Double-A with a 17.1%/9.1% K%/BB% (25.2%/6.3% at High-A). He completed the phenom cycle by jumping straight from Double-A to the majors as a 20 year old for a cup of coffee (he ordered the cold brew with a .631 OPS in 36 PA, but it obviously doesn’t mean much). His calling card is double plus power with a good feel to hit that reminds me of a righty version of Rafael Devers. And while he didn’t run a ton (5 for 10 on the bases), he put up a 28.6 ft/sec sprint speed in the majors, so he’ll certainly contribute in the category at the least. Tampa Bay is forever crowded, but a player like Caminero forces the issue. 2024 Projection: 57/20/64/.260/.323/.462/6 Prime Projection: 96/35/109/.284/.349/.525/10

5) Evan Carter TEX, OF, 21.7 – The only question is how much power will Carter get to, because the plate approach and speed are impregnable at this point. He’s a line drive hitter who didn’t exactly smash the ball in the minors, although a 89/95.8 MPH AVG/FB EV in his 75 PA MLB debut shows he’s not some light hitting weakling. He’s also 6’4”, 190 pounds and only 21 years old, so more raw power is certainly coming. He hit 12 homers in 105 games at mostly Double-A (133 wRC+), then he set the baseball world on fire by hitting 5 homers in his first 23 games in the majors (180 wRC+), and finally he closed out the year with 1 homer in 17 playoff games (155 wRC+). That’s 18 homers in 145 games. If he can just get to about 25 homers in his prime, the man is going to be a terror. The speed is double plus with a 29.5 ft/sec sprint speed (31 steals overall), and the plate approach is elite. He had a 9% chase% in his MLB debut and he’s been an elite plate approach guy his entire career in the minors. He struggles vs. lefties, but just like with Gunnar Henderson last year, I wouldn’t let that scare you off an elite prospect. The downside is a .260 hitter with 15 homers and 25 steals, which isn’t that bad, and the upside is a .280/25/35 guy. 2024 Projection: 87/18/72/.263/.334/.429/26 Prime Projection: 105/24/80/.278/.367/.468/31

6) Jordan Lawlar ARI, SS, 21.8 – I would completely ignore what Lawlar did in his super small sample, 34 PA MLB debut. Don’t even look at his Statcast page, it will only get in your head. Your focus should be on the pitchers he laid waste to in the upper minors. He slashed .278/.378/.496 with 20 homers, 36 steals, and a 20.6%/11.4% K%/BB% in 105 games at Double-A and Triple-A. His contact rates took a big step forward from 2022, he has truly elite speed with a 30.1 ft/sec sprint speed, and he hit the ball fairly hard, especially for a 20 year old, with a 31.8% Hard Hit%. He’s 6’2”, 190 pounds with room to add more muscle, so the power is only going up from here. He has legitimate Top 10 dynasty asset potential. 2024 Projection: 69/14/55/.248/.317/.410/25 Prime Projection: 103/24/84/.273/.351/.470/38

7) Yoshinobu Yamamoto LAD, RHP, 25.7 – When it comes to potentially elite, all category hitting prospects, you have to pry them from my dead cold hands, which is why I would struggle to give up any of the hitting prospects ranked above for Yamamoto (or even the few ranked after him depending on my team build). In fantasy, pitchers can’t contribute in every pitching category (saves at least, and some leagues have both saves and holds), so that right there limits their upside relative to an elite hitter. Not to mention the much much much higher injury risk which can knock out 2 years of their career off a single injury, and then the stress of whether or not they will get back to 100%. On a real life list, I can see ranking Yamamoto 1st overall, but for fantasy, it’s just not how I play the game, even for a pitcher that is expected to be as good as Yamamoto. The Dodgers made him the highest paid pitcher in history with a 12 year, $325 million contract (plus a $50 million posting fee). That is really all you need to know. He’s expected to be a true ace right from the get go, and signing with the best developmental team in the game also takes a lot of the risk out of his transition to a new ball, new country, new league etc … He’s been a true ace in Japan for years now, and that continued this year with a pitching line of 1.16/0.86/176/28 in 171 IP. He pitched 193 innings in both 2021 and 2022, so there also isn’t any concern of how many innings he can pitch. The fastball sits mid 90’s and regularly hits the upper 90’s. A nasty splitter is his most used secondary, and he also throws a very good curve, 2-seamer, and cutter. He has elite command over all of his pitches, and he has an unique, oddly athletic delivery which he varies constantly to mess with hitters timing. He’s a straight up nightmare to face, and looks like a ready made ace. 2024 Projection: 14/3.42/1.11/195 in 180 IP

8) Noelvi Marte CIN, 3B, 22.6 – Everyone called Marte fat and slow this off-season, so of course he put up double plus run times in the majors with a 29.1 ft/sec sprint speed. Be super wary of scouting speed grades as they are wildly inaccurate (see also, Henry Davis and Nolan Jones). Not only is he a speedster, but he crushed the ball with a 91.3 MPH EV, and the hit tool looked good with a 20.3% K% and .296 xBA in 123 MLB PA. It all resulted in a slash line of .316/.366/.456 with 3 homers, 6 steals, and a 20.3%/6.5% K%/BB%. He showed those same skills in the upper minors with 11 homers, 18 steals, and a .279 BA in 92 games. He did all of this as a 21-year-old. He’s fast, he hits it hard, he gets the bat on the ball, he produced in the upper minors, he produced in the majors, and he was super young. Quite simply, this is an elite fantasy prospect, and I’m not sure he gets the respect he deserves. 2024 Projection: 77/19/73/.261/.322/.431/22 Prime Projection: 96/27/91/.276/.354/.491/25

9) Dylan Crews WAS, OF, 22.1 – Starting this blurb with anything other than the 73 wRC+ and 0 homers Crews put up in 85 PA at Double-A would be beating around the bush, and you know me, I don’t beat around the bush. The performance was bad enough to have Wyatt Langford clearly pass him for the top spot in my Top 130 2024 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings (Wyatt’s dominance also had something to do with that), and also for me to prefer the newly minted highest paid pitcher in baseball history (Yamamoto), but that is where it ends. 85 PA isn’t enough to sour me on the 2nd overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. Crews is built like a solid rock at 6’0”, 203 pounds, and he swings the bat so fast and powerfully it almost looks like he’s using an illegally light bat (he’s not, at least I don’t think he is ha). The ball explodes off it on contact. He obliterated the SEC from the second he stepped on campus as a freshman, and he kept on improving through his junior year, slashing .380/.498/.689 with 58 homers, 23 steals, and a 146/152 K/BB in 196 career games. He also destroyed the lower minors with a 192 wRC+ in 71 PA at Single-A. His floor feels like a 30+ homer bat without the best BA or tons of steals, but the ceiling is that of a truly elite dynasty player. 2024 Projection: 62/20/71/.257/.329/.473/12 Prime Projection: 94/32/103/.274/.361/.518/16

10) Jasson Dominguez NYY, OF, 21.2 – The backlash to Dominguez’ early career hype made it hard to hold the line, but I remained all in on Dominguez last off-season, ranking him 10th overall, and he more than delivered on that ranking this year. He hit 15 homers with 37 steals and a 25.6%/15.2% K%/BB% in 109 games at Double-A as a 20 year old. Then he quickly ran through Triple-A with a 180 wRC+ in 9 games, before finishing out his season with 4 homers and a 162 wRC+ in 8 games in the majors. Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery put a halt to what was sure to be insane hype this off-season, but I wouldn’t let the Tommy John surgery scare you off. It isn’t as big of a deal for hitters as it is for pitchers, and he’s expected to return by the 2nd half of 2024. His extremely good MLB debut will likely make it hard to get good value for him this off-season even with the surgery, so my move would be to hope he needs to shake off some rust when he returns next season to bring his value into a more reasonable range again. 2024 Projection: 30/8/26/.242/.324/.438/10 Prime Projection: 92/26/86/.266/.361/.485/28

11) James Wood WAS, OF, 21.7 – The K% jumped to 33.7% in 87 games at Double-A, which is exactly what you are worried about with a player this tall (6’6”), but Wood is the type of unicorn athlete where you don’t want to let it scare you off him. He still cracked 18 homers with 10 steals and a 124 wRC+ at the level as a 20 year old. And that was coming off a 155 wRC+ in 42 games at the more age appropriate High-A. Despite his size and high strikeout rate, Wood has a relatively short and quick swing which gives hope he’ll be able to keep the strikeout rate in a range that allows his truly elite talent shine. Don’t expect a high BA, but expect him to kill it everywhere else. 2024 Projection: 45/17/51/.229/.308/.450/13 Prime Projection: 91/30/99/.253/.341/.508/18

12) Pete Crow-Armstrong CHC, OF, 22.0 – I’ve been all in on Pete Crow since before he was drafted, and he finally fulfilled his elite prospect destiny in 2023. The power took yet another step forward with him jacking 20 homers in 107 games split between Double-A and Triple-A. He’s not an EV masher, but he doesn’t hit the ball weakly either, and his high launch will ensure he gets the most out of his still growing raw power. The CF defense and speed are elite with a 29.9 ft/sec sprint speed and 37 steals. There is bit more swing and miss than optimal with a 26% K%, but he’s always generally had a good feel to hit, and he’s never had low BA’s in the minors, so I’m not overly concerned about it. Armstrong has 20/40 written all over him. 2024 Projection: 41/9/29/.241/.310/.407/19 Prime Projection: 91/22/76/.257/.334/.439/34

13) Walker Jenkins MIN, OF, 19.1 – Selected 5th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, the 6’3”, 215 pounds Jenkins has that sweet lefty swing that just oozes offensive potential. It’s athletic, quick, under control, powerful, smooth … I can go on and on. It’s hard to watch this guy hit and not completely fall in love. It has the potential for at least plus hit and plus power at peak, and he’s also a good athlete with above average run times. But we don’t have to only dream on the potential, as Jenkins’ showed it to us clear as day in his pro debut, slashing .362/.417/.571 with 3 homers, 6 steals, and a 12.2%/7.8% K%/BB% in 26 games split evenly between rookie ball (138 wRC+) and Single-A (182 wRC+). It’s the type of profile that can be an elite dynasty asset a la Kyle Tucker. Langford, Crews, and Yamamoto are locked in as my top 3 FYPD picks, and while there are good arguments for Skenes or even Matt Shaw at #4, I don’t think I can pass up on the truly “generational” (or maybe nearly generational would be more accurate ha) upside of Jenkins. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 94/31/102/.273/.345/.510/16

14) Roman Anthony BOS, OF, 19.11 – I ended Anthony’s 2023 Top 1,000 blurb by writing, “There is a lot of refinement needed, but this is a high upside bat who could explode up rankings if everything comes together.” … well, everything came together and Anthony exploded up rankings, slashing .272/.403/.466 with 14 homers, 16 steals, and a 24.2%/17.5% K%/BB% in 106 games at mostly Single-A (109 wRC+) and High-A (164 wRC+). It was a little concerning that the K% jumped to 30.6% at High-A, but then he closed out the season at Double-A and had a 185 wRC+ with a 13.6%/18.2% K%/BB% in 10 games. And he did all this starting the season as an 18 year old. He’s an elite athlete at 6’2”, 200 pounds with a plus power/speed combo, powerful lefty swing, and a mature plate approach. The only things preventing him from being ranked even higher is that he’s not great at lifting the ball with an under 25% Flyball%, and he wasn’t a great base stealer with 16 steals in 23 attempts. He hits the ball so hard he can survive without a huge launch, and he has time to refine his base stealing skills as well, so neither are major concerns. He’s on a short list to be the #1 overall fantasy prospect in baseball by this time next year. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 96/25/88/.273/.358/.472/16

15) Jackson Jobe DET, RHP, 21.9 – Jobe made his season debut in mid June from lumber spine inflammation, which obviously sounded worse than it really was, because he immediately looked like the best pitching prospect in baseball when he returned. He had a 2.81 ERA with a 32.6%/2.3% K%/BB% in 64 IP at mostly High-A. He closed the season out with a gem at Double-A, going 6 IP with 4 hits, 0 ER, and a 6/0 K/BB, and then he went to the AFL and dominated in that extreme hitter’s environment with a 2.87 ERA and 19/5 K/BB in 15.2 IP. He looks absolutely electric on the mound at 6’2”, 190 pounds with an athletic delivery and a double plus 4 pitch mix. He was known for his high spin slider coming into the draft, and the pitch is so filthy it almost doesn’t look real. His changeup dominated as well with nasty tailing diving action, the fastball sits mid 90’s with excellent movement, and the cutter is a high spin pitch that misses bats. And he does all of this with pinpoint control. He still has to prove it in the upper minors, which I’m not too concerned about, and he has to prove he can stay healthy and maintain his stuff with a full MLB starters workload, which is more concerning, but that’s just the pitching prospect game. He’s my #1 pitching prospect in baseball, non Yoshinobu Yamamoto division. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 15/3.18/1.03/220 in 180 IP

16) Paul Skenes PIT, RHP, 21.10 – Selected 1st overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, Skenes’ season was nothing short of jaw dropping with a pitching line of 1.69/0.75/209/20 in 122.2 IP in the SEC. His fastball sits in the upper 90’s and routinely hits over 100 MPH. His slider is elite, and while he didn’t go to his changeup as much, that pitch is also nasty. He also displayed plus control of his entire arsenal. He’s 6’6”, 235 pounds with a relatively athletic delivery and he’s a good athlete in general as evidenced by the fact he is also an excellent hitter. He had a career 1.121 OPS in 119 games in the Mountain West before transferring into the SEC. There were some whispers about poor fastball shape in his 6.2 IP pro debut, but I wouldn’t let that sour you on a generational type pitching prospect. He’ll still be just 21 years old on Opening Day, so plenty of refinement, tinkering, new pitches etc … are coming down the road. 2024 Projection: 8/3.80/1.27/133 in 120 IP Prime Projection: 15/3.28/1.06/237 in 190 IP

17) Matt Shaw CHC, 2B/SS, 22.5 – Selected 13th overall, Shaw is only 5’11”, but he’s a thick dude who has real power, and he combines that with above average speed and excellent base stealing skills. He has that little man leg kick (which Chicago toned down a hair in pro ball) that I absolutely love in the mold of a Alex Bregman, Spencer Steer, and Zach Neto. It seems to be working for these slightly undersized guys, and it’s certainly working for Shaw. He smashed 24 homers with 18 steals and a 1.142 OPS in 62 Big Ten games. He also impressed in the wood bat Cape Cod League with 5 homers, 21 steals, and a 1.006 OPS in 36 games. He then ran through pro ball like it was nothing, finishing the year at Double-A slashing .292/.329/.523 with 3 homers, 6 steals, and a 17.1%/4.3% K%/BB% in 15 games at the level. Shaw was my top draft target pre-draft (I actually pointed out Shaw as my top target back in February before the season even started), but now that he absolutely blew up in pro ball, there is no chance you get great value on him. He’s worth his very high draft price though. 2024 Projection: 36/10/43/.253/.312/.432/11 Prime Projection: 85/25/89/.271/.337/.469/21

18) Ricky Tiedemann TOR, LHP, 21.7 – Tiedemann’s dominance in the AFL quieted some of the risk that was growing after an injured and mixed bag season in 2023. He had a 2.50 ERA with a 23/8 K/BB in 18 IP. He went 5 IP in 3 of the 4 starts after not reaching 5 IP the entire season. The stuff is elite with a mid 90’s fastball and two plus secondaries in his slider and changeup. He also looks the part at 6’4”, 220 pounds with an almost sidearm lefty delivery. If he stays healthy and throws the ball over the plate, he’ll be an easy ace, but those are the two areas that can trip him up. He pitched only 62 innings all year, including the AFL, because of a biceps injury that kept him out for almost 3 months. It will probably take 3 years to truly build up his innings fully, and we all know the injury risk with young flamethrowers like this. His 12% BB% is also nearing the danger zone where inconsistency can end up a part of the profile. The profile isn’t without risk, but when dealing in upside prospect flamethrowers, that is just the game. He’s an elite pitching prospect. 2024 Projection: 5/3.81/1.31/111 in 100 IP Prime Projection: 14/3.38/1.19/213 in 170 IP

19) Parker Meadows DET, OF, 24.5 – I know this ranking seems high, but Meadows is looking mighty similar to my Nolan Jones and Zack Gelof buy calls from mid-season, and if you look at redraft and dynasty rankings this off-season, those guys now get valued in the range that elite prospects get ranked, or even higher. Meadows has the potential to make that same jump from afterthought prospect to highly valued dynasty asset, and you should get in this off-season before it happens. He has a very fantasy friendly skillset with the build and athleticism to back it up, but he always got vastly underrated on prospect lists. And unlike Jones and Gelof who have played far too well to still be underrated this off-season, Meadows is setting up to be in perfect buy territory with a .699 OPS in 37 games. He had a 89.3 MPH EV, 18.3 degree launch, 29 ft/sec sprint, 24% whiff%, and 11.7% BB%. And to top it all off, his at least above average CF defense should keep him in the lineup. That is a recipe for tons of fantasy goodness, and you might be able to acquire him for barely anything this off-season. His 293 NFBC ADP shows his perceived value to fantasy upside could be as wide as anyone’s right now. He’s a major target. 2024 Projection: 79/23/76/.248/.328/.432/24

20) Colt Keith DET, 3B/2B, 22.8 – Keith more than hinted at a big breakout in 2022 with a 150 wRC+ in 48 games at High-A, but a shoulder injury cut the explosion short, and even though he made it back to dominate the AFL (1.004 OPS in 19 games), the hype was still relatively subdued last off-season. Well, the explosion continued right into 2023, and this time he did it in the upper minors with a 163 wRC+ and 14 homers in 59 games at Double-A, followed up by a 119 wRC+ and 13 homers in 67 games at Triple-A. He hits the ball very hard, he has a mature plate approach, and the hit tool is at least above average. He’s one of the most complete prospect hitters in the game, and while I already assumed he was going to break camp with the team, it’s now a foregone conclusion with him signing a guarantied 6 year extension with the club.. 2024 Projection: 74/24/81/.258/.329/.445/2 Prime Projection: 89/29/92/.276/.352/.480/3

21) Coby Mayo BAL, 1B/3B, 22.4 – My boldest prediction in last off-season’s Predicting the 2024 Top 50 Prospects Rankings was that Coby Mayo would explode to a Top 10 prospect, predicting that “Mayo will follow in Gunnar Henderson’s footsteps with an off the charts type season in the upper minors. He’ll put up a 150 wRC+ at Double-A and a 130 wRC+ at Triple-A. The K% will be under 25%, the power will be huge, and there will be some surprising speed too.” … Mayo put up a 178 wRC+ in 78 games at Double-A and a 127 wRC+ in 62 games at Triple-A. The power was huge with 29 homers in 140 games, and the K% was under 25% at 24.1%. I don’t think I could have nailed that more even if I was actually able to see into the future. The surprising speed didn’t really show up with only 5 steals, but better than nothing. The 6’5”, 230 pound Mayo is now a truly elite power hitting prospect, just as I expected. 2024 Projection: 31/11/35/.242/.319/.455/2 Prime Projection: 86/34/99/.265/.346/.535/6

22) Jackson Merrill SDP, SS, 20.11 – Merrill did everything you could have asked of him in 2023. Most importantly, he brought his GB% way down from 59.6% at Single-A to 48.6% at High-A and 33.5% at Double-A. It resulted in 15 homers in 114 total games. His already strong contact rates got even better with a 12.1% K%, and he proved all of his skills will transfer to the upper minors, slashing .273/.338/.444 with 5 homers, 5 steals, and a 11.8%/8.5% K%/BB% in 46 games at Double-A. I’m still not seeing a monster power/speed combo, which is why I wasn’t the highest guy on him last off-season, but a few seasons of .300/20/20 doesn’t seem like that much of a reach. 2024 Projection: 13/2/9/.256/.307/.408/3 Prime Projection: 84/20/81/.283/.338/.451/17

23) Chase DeLauter CLE, OF, 22.6 – A broken foot delayed the start of DeLauter’s pro career until June of this year, but he quickly answered every question you could have had about him in resounding fashion. He didn’t play in the toughest college conference (Coloniel Athletic Association), so seeing his hit tool and advanced plate approach completely transfer to pro ball is huge. He put up a 12.5%/5.7% K%/BB% in 42 games at High-A (164 wRC+), a 10.7%/17.9% K%/BB% in 6 games at Double-A (149 wRC+), and a 10.1%/12.8% K%/BB% in 23 games in the AFL. For a man with his type of talent at 6’4”, 235 pounds, that is incredibly exciting. He hit only 5 homers in 57 regular season games, but he doesn’t have any major groundball issues, he has plus raw power, and he’s hit 5 homers in 23 AFL games. The power is there. He also didn’t run a ton with 6 steals, but keep in mind he was coming off the foot injury, and he nabbed 5 bags in the AFL. With a full healthy season in 2024, it’s almost inevitable that he will be in consideration for Top 10 overall prospect status real quick. 2024 Projection: 28/6/24/.257/.319/.426/7 Prime Projection: 88/25/86/.274/.343/.472/17

24) Emmanuel Rodriguez MIN, OF, 21.1 – Baby Bonds scared us all for a minute there with a .677 OPS in his first 27 games at High-A coming off a season ending meniscus tear in 2022, but he was back to his dominant self after that with a .927 OPS, 14 homers, 18 steals, and a 27.3%/20.7% K%/BB% in his final 78 games. He finished the season with a stupendous 145 wRC+ in 99 games. He has at least plus power, the ability to lift the ball, speed, and elite on base skills. The only concern is the hit tool, but some of those issues are surely due to his extreme patience. This is truly elite dynasty upside, especially in an OBP league or 6+ cat league, and I think he’s still on the underrated side. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 94/29/89/.252/.361/.490/18

25) Ethan Salas SDP, C, 17.10 – At this point, I wouldn’t even be surprised if Ethan Salas broke camp with the big league club this spring 😉 (I think I’m just joking) … San Diego flew him through the minors at absolutely unprecedented rates. He made his pro debut at Single-A as a fucking 16 year old!!! Is that even legal? And the even crazier thing is that he dominated with a 122 wRC+, 9 homers, 5 steals, and a 25.9%/10.9% K%/BB% in 48 games. SD then got a little too nutty by promoting him all the way up to Double-A to close out the season where he struggled with a 51 wRC+ in 9 games. He struggled at High-A before that too with a 35 wRC+ in 9 games. Regardless, what Salas did at Single-A for his age is truly mind blowing, and I hesitate to put a cap on what his ultimate upside could be. It might be crazy to say his ceiling is one of the greatest catchers of all time, but with how crazy San Diego handled him this year, let’s just all jump aboard the crazy train. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 84/29/92/.278/.362/.505/10

26) Samuel Basallo BAL, C/1B, 19.8 – The biggest issue with Basallo has nothing to do with him. It’s that Adley isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. And with Baltimore trying to build a Tampa Bay North situation, I don’t think they are going to feel pressured to trade him either. His bat will profile just fine at 1B, but now we’re talking about competition with Coby Mayo and possibly Heston Kjerstad too. Maybe I’m just borrowing trouble a bit too much, because Basallo looks like he has a special bat. He’s a built up 6’3” with a treacherous lefty swing that is made to do damage, slashing .313/.404/.551 with 20 homers, 12 steals, and a 94/61 K/BB in 114 games at mostly Single-A and High-A. Four of those games came at Double-A where he put up a 220 wRC+. He’s a complete hitter with power, contact, and patience. And he did all of that as an 18 year old for most of the season. If defense wasn’t a slight issue (he’s not a particularly good defensive catcher either), I would likely be even higher on him, but he has the type of bat where maybe you should just completely ignore it. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 84/32/95/.272/.354/.517/5

27) Max Clark DET, OF, 19.4 –  Clark is the 2023 draft version of Pete Crow Armstrong and Corbin Carroll, two guys who I was the high man on in their first year player draft class, although Clark actually got the respect he deserved by getting selected 3rd overall. Maybe the success of those aforementioned players paved the way for a guy like Clark to get valued correctly. As you can tell from the comps, double plus speed with a plus hit tool and developing power is what you are buying. He’s a pretty thick and muscular 6’1”, 190 pounds, so I don’t think you have to squint too hard to see legitimate power developing down the line, even if he’s more a line drive hitter currently. After dominating rookie ball with a 146 wRC+ in 12 games, he got slowed down a bit at Single-A with a 73 wRC+ and 29.4% K% in 11 games, but he still had a .353 OBP, so it’s not like he was completely overmatched or anything. 5×5 BA leagues are going to be his bread and butter, but like Carroll, he can be a beast regardless of league type. He has elite dynasty asset upside. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 93/18/72/.278/.347/.433/33

28) Jett Williams NYM, SS, 20.4 – Jett Williams got much thicker in all the right places in 2023, and that extra muscle paid dividends with him cracking 14 homers in 125 games split between Single-A (79 games), High-A (36 games), and Double-A (10 games). 9 of those homers came in his final 47 games. He combines the uptick in power with elite speed (45 steals), and an excellent plate approach (22.1%/19.5% K%/BB%). If he wasn’t 5’6”, he might be a consensus elite prospect already. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 93/20/77/.274/.350/.445/38

29) Cade Horton CHC, RHP, 22.7 – Horton was a star quarterback in high school, and his pithing delivery very much looks like he’s throwing a football with a short arm action thrown from around his ear. That type of arm action tends to produce good spin rates, and Horton can mostly certainly spin a potentially double slider that falls completely off the table. The plus fastball has good movement too and sits mid 90’s. He also mixes in a changeup and curveball that have above average potential. He used that plus stuff to obliterate pro ball in his debut with a 2.65 ERA and 33.5%/7.7% K%/BB% in 88.1 IP split between 3 levels (A, A+, AA). The K/BB numbers dropped a bit when he got to Double-A with a 28.4%/10.1% K%/BB% in 27 IP, but he still crushed the level with a 1.33 ERA. He only averaged around 4 inning outings and Chicago was very careful with him in general as this was truly his first fully healthy season coming off Tommy John surgery in 2021. He still has to prove he can handle a full MLB starter’s workload while maintaining his stuff and staying healthy, but he’s on the right track to doing that. I would put high end #2 starter upside on him. 2024 Projection: 2/3.95/1.31/42 in 40 IP Prime Projection: 14/3.48/1.17/178 in 160 IP

30) Shane Baz TBR, RHP, 24.9 – Baz underwent Tommy John surgery in late September 2022, so he should be fully healthy for 2024 assuming he has no setbacks. If you’re going to take the Tommy John discount on pithing prospects, make sure they are elite ones, and Baz is most certainly an elite one. When healthy, he throws 3 potentially double plus pitches in his mid to upper 90’s fastball, slider, and curve, to go along with a developing lesser used changeup. He struggled with control earlier in his pro career, but he improved it to about average levels in 2021 and 2022. That level of stuff with average control screams ace upside. I do think you have to at least take into account the added risk from major elbow surgery, and keep in mind he has a career high of 92 IP, so it might take 3 years before he can truly throw a full top of the rotation workload, assuming he’s actually physically able to do it, but I also understand if you want to ignore all of it for his insane upside. 2024 Projection: 7/3.76/1.19/110 in 100 IP Prime Projection: 13/3.38/1.11/190 in 160 IP

31) Spencer Jones NYY, OF, 22.11 – Strikeouts are the only thing we have to worry about with the uber talented 6’6”, 235 pound beast, which is why his 28.2% K% in 78 PA at Double-A is actually encouraging. That number could have easily skyrocketed against more advanced pitching after putting up a 29% K% in 100 games at High-A. Jones can live in the upper 20’s and still thrive due do his double plus power/speed combo. He hit 16 homers and stole 38 bags in 117 games. His groundball rates are on the high side, but with how hard he hits the ball, it might actually be a good thing to ensure his batting average doesn’t tank too low. It’s more or less the Elly De La Cruz package, and just like I’m buying Elly, I’m buying Jones too. 2024 Projection: 27/7/23/.217/.283/.411/8 Prime Projection: 76/23/82/.241/.318/.465/26

32) Termarr Johnson PIT, 2B, 19.10 – Just call me Prospectdamus, because I nailed Johnson’s 2023 season in my Predicting the 2024 Top 50 Prospects Rankings back in February, writing, “Johnson’s hit tool at Single-A won’t be as good as the hype with an over 20% K% and under .280 BA. The power/speed numbers will be good though, and he’ll still destroy the level with a 130 wRC+.” … Johnson’s K% was over 20% at 26.7% and his BA was under .280 at .244, but he still destroyed the level with a 141 wRC+, 13 homers and 7 steals in 75 games. He put up almost identical numbers at High-A too with a 142 wRC+ in 30 games. He hits the ball hard, he has a very mature plate approach, and he has some speed. He didn’t hit his ceiling projection, but I would say he still lived up to the hype. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 93/25/82/.264/.351/.478/15

33) Ronny Mauricio NYM, 2B, 23.0 – Mauricio tore his ACL and will underwent surgery after a non contact injury on the bases in Winter Ball. It’s deju vu all over again with Edwin Diaz tearing his knee in the WBC last off-season. It’s getting so sad for Mets fans that I don’t even want to crack a joke about it. I just feel bad. Mauricio was a major target for me this off-season, so it’s just a major bummer all around. He’ll likely miss the entire 2024 season, and even if he doesn’t, you can’t count on him for anything at the MLB level. He also wasn’t a burner, so even a small drop in speed isn’t great. I still like him. but he’s no longer a real target for me. Here was my write-up for him prior to going down with the injury, just so we can remember the good times: “I named Mauricio one of my top targets in the Top 10 Early Off-Season Dynasty Baseball Target article on Patreon. Mainstream prospects lists have been slowly sliding him down the rankings the closer he’s gotten to the majors, but I’ve done the exact opposite on my lists. He crushes the ball with a 117.3 MPH Max EV that was the 10th hardest hit ball all season. He had a 90.7 MPH AVG EV in 108 MLB PA (91.1 MPH at AAA). He loves to run with 7 MLB steals and 24 AAA steals, and his speed gets underrated with an above average 27.7 ft/sec sprint. He’s never had any major contact issues and he most certainly looks the part at 6’3” with a vicious swing. He doesn’t have a good plate approach with low walk rates, but keep in mind he’s always been very young for his level, and his 6.6% BB% at Triple-A (6.5% BB% in the majors) was a career high, so I wouldn’t bet against future improvement there either. His mediocre ranking on prospects and mediocre .643 OPS in the majors should create a very nice buy opportunity this off-season.” 2024 Projection: OUT Prime Projection: 78/24/83/.267/.325/.461/18

34) Sebastian Walcott TEX, SS, 18.1 – I know that nobody really cares/remembers who was “first” on a player. And being “first” on a player is a nebulous concept anyway as I guess the person who was really the first was the one to identify him when he was like an 8 year old probably. And saying you were “first” on a player who signed for $3.2 million might seem like a stretch in hindsight … but having said all that, I was first on Walcott 😉 …. his extremely elite athleticism at 6’4”, 190 pounds jumped off the screen in every video I watched of him last off-season before he was getting even a whisper of real dynasty hype. If you were a Patreon subscriber last off-season, I told you to target this kid in every first year player draft. His hype picked up in a major way later in the off-season, and I ain’t even mad at it, because he deserved the love. Texas knew they had a special kid on their hands too, promoting him to stateside rookie ball after just 9 games in the DSL, and he thrived, slashing .273/.325/.524 with 7 homers, 9 steals, and a 32.5%/6.4% K%/BB% in 35 games. The contact rates and plate approach were rough enough to assume that will be an area of his game he needs to work on, but they weren’t so bad considering his age to let it scare you off him. I’m all in on Walcott. ETA: 2027 Prime Projection: 84/32/92/.257/.328/.491/23

35) Druw Jones ARI, OF, 20.4 – I think we’ve all been spoiled by how many players came back with little to no rust from major shoulder surgery (Carroll, Lawler, Jung), and unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for Jones. He put up a .490 OPS with 0 homers in his first 25 games, and he battled hamstring and quad injuries all year too. But he finally settled down and showed glimpses of his special talent to close out the season, slashing .339/.438/.500 with 2 homers, 6 steals, and a 20.5%/15.1% K%/BB% in 16 games at Single-A. Obviously it would have been preferrable for him to light the world on fire all season, but this year was his very first taste of pro ball, he was coming off major shoulder surgery, and he dealt with multiple lower body injuries. I would be very careful about judging such a special talent like this too harshly under those conditions, and he showed what’s to come at the end of the year. He needs to learn how to get the ball in the air more as his groundball rates were very high, but he isn’t the type of player who needs an extreme launch to thrive with double plus speed, a relatively mature plate approach, and plus raw power potential. Tack on plus CF defense, and Jones is a high floor player with all the upside still present from his draft year. Buy low if you can. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 91/24/83/.268/.344/.476/31

36) Colt Emerson SEA, SS, 18.8 – Selected 22nd overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, the 6’1”, 195 pound Emerson had an electric pro debut, both statistically and visually. He slashed .374/.496/.550 with 2 homers, 8 steals, and a 17.5%/14.9% K%/BB% in 24 games at rookie ball (251 wRC+) and Single-A (147 wRC+). He has an athletic, lightning quick lefty swing that the ball absolutely rockets off of. It’s geared for both power and average. He’s not a true burner, but he has speed and he was perfect on the bases. He’ll also be 18 years old for most of the 2024 season. He checks off almost every box that you look for in a potential elite prospect coming out of the draft (size, power, average, speed, age, sweet swing, production). If you’re drafting in the mid to late 1st round, and all the buzzy names are off the board, you can confidently take Emerson knowing he can easily end up amongst the best in the class. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 93/26/86/.277/.356/.475/15

37) Andrew Painter PHI, RHP, 21.0 – Painter underwent Tommy John surgery in late July 2023, which will keep him out for all, or almost all of 2024. As I wrote in the Baz blurb, if you’re going to take the Tommy John discount on pithing prospects, make sure they are elite ones, and Painter is most certainly an elite one. He had a silly pitching line of 1.56/0.89/155/25 in 103.2 IP spread across 3 levels (A, A+, AA) in 2022. He’s 6’7”, 215 pounds with plus control of an upper 90’s fastball, plus slider, potentially plus change, and an average curve. The timing of his elbow injury in spring training and the ultimate decision to get surgery in July makes it that he will miss two entire seasons. I do think it is prudent to factor in at least some extra injury/performance risk, but if you want to assume he picks right back up from where he left off without any setbacks, I can see ranking him at least 20 spots higher. 2024 Projection: OUT Prime Projection: 15/3.28/1.08/215 in 180 IP

38) Mason Miller OAK, RHP, 25.7 – Injury risk is why I’ve been hesitant to truly put Mason Miller in the elite pitching prospect tier (he missed 4 months with a UCL sprain in 2023), and it seems Oakland has the same concerns as their GM announced Miller will start 2024 in the bullpen, and likely in the closer role. If I owned Miller, I wouldn’t even be mad at that outcome. Back in the day I was the high guy by far on Josh Hader, and while I was disappointed he never got a chance to prove he could be an ace, he’s been a mainstay on my fantasy team for 7 years. No injuries. No missed time. Just easy dominance that puts your mind at rest about scurrying for closers every year. Miller has the stuff to be in that elite closer tier with a 98.3 MPH fastball and an elite slider that put up a .207 xwOBA and 47.1% whiff% in 33.1 IP over 10 outings in his MLB debut. They haven’t ruled out a return to the rotation down the line, but I wouldn’t count on that as you plan for the future of your dynasty team. 2024 Projection: 4/3.25/1.14/88/25 saves in 65 IP

39) Kyle Manzardo CLE, 1B, 23.8 – Manzardo was getting unlucky all season, and it was only a matter of time for him to get hot. Well, he got hot in a major way on September 8th and he took it right into the AFL. He smacked 6 homers in his final 11 regular season games and then crushed 6 dingers in 22 AFL games. He had a 90.6 MPH EV with very low groundball rates at Triple-A, so like I said, the homer binge was inevitable. The hit tool took a step back from 2022 with a .237 BA and 20.8% K% at Triple-A, so while there are still no contact issues, I might be leaning towards him being power over hit by a small margin. It will depend on how he adjusts vs. MLB pitchers. Cleveland gave up really good value to get him with Aaron Civale, so that 1B job has his name written all over it right out of camp. 2024 Projection: 69/23/77/.251/.328/.452/1 Prime Projection: 85/27/90/.269/.346/.482/1

40) Jung Hoo Lee SFG, OF, 25.7 – San Francisco signed Lee to a 6 year, $113 million contract, which is definitely an eye opening amount, but he earned that contract for his real life baseball value, and not for his fantasy value. He had extremely high groundball rates in Korea with a 59.2% GB% in 2023, and he doesn’t hit the ball particularly hard. He hit only 6 homers in 86 games. He has speed, but he’s not a true burner, and he hasn’t been a good base stealer. He was 6 for 9 in 2023 and has a career high of 13 steals in 20 attempts. He also fractured his ankle in July which required season ending surgery, so that adds even more risk to his future steal projections. And to top it all off, he landed in one of the very worst hitter’s parks in the league. He’s truly elite at what he does well though, and that is hit for average. He had a 5.9%/12.7% K%/BB% in 2023, and he has a career .340 BA. He was a baseball prodigy with baseball bloodlines, dominating the KBO from the time he was 18 years old with a sweet lefty swing. He’s not a small guy at 6’0”, and there is most certainly room to tack on mass at a relatively skinny 171 pounds. He has a little bit of that Ichiro feel to him, where if he wanted to hit for more power, he would, and he did crack 23 homers in 142 games in 2022, so it’s not like he’s been some light hitter in his career. It’s also possible he runs a lot more with the new stolen base rules in MLB. It might take him a couple years to get fully acclimated like it has Ha-Seong Kim, but once he does, a .300/15/15 season looks well within reach, and it wouldn’t shock me if he got to 20/20. He might be more valuable in real life than fantasy, but that doesn’t mean he still can’t be a very good fantasy player. 2024 Projection: 81/11/51/.285/.341/.401/12 Prime Projection: 93/15/62/.305/.371/.437/15

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By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
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Posted on by Michael Halpern

Top 100 Prospects Rankings for 2024 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues (Patreon)

I actually went 144 prospects deep because here at Imaginary Brick Wall we break the mold. I would value everyone on this list as a “Top 100 Prospect,” because the deeper you get into prospect lists, the more the values even out. The top 21 are free here on the Brick Wall. Analysis and prime projections for every player. The full Top 500+ prospect list will drop the first of February on the Patreon, along with the Top 1000 Dynasty Rankings. Here is the Top 100 Prospects Rankings for 2024 Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Leagues (Patreon):

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1) Jackson Chourio MIL, OF, 20.1 – Baseball now uses minor leaguers like guinea pigs, testing out every hairbrained idea they have all willy nilly, and Chourio got caught in the crosshairs of it. The Southern League used a pre-tacked ball for the first half of the season, and Chourio put up a lowly .714 OPS in 71 games. When they went back to the regular ball, he immediately went gangbusters, slashing .324/.379/.538 with 11 homers, 21 steals, and a 13.4%/8.0% K%/BB% in 57 games. He closed out the season at Triple-A where he put up a 4.2%/8.3% K%/BB% in 6 games. He did all of this as a 19 year old. The power/speed combo is plus to double plus, and it sure looks like his contact rates are entering the elite range if you ignore what he did in the 1st half. Jackson Holliday seems to be the consensus #1 prospect in the game (and Wyatt Langford is the trendy #1 for fantasy), but if Chourio hit with the regular ball all season, I’m not so sure that would be the case. The main thing Holliday has over Chourio right now is plate approach, which makes him the safer prospect, but for fantasy, I gotta give the ever so slight edge to the power/speed combo. Milwaukee showed us they are all in by signing him to an 8 year, $82 million contract. It makes it much more likely that he will break camp with the team, and even if doesn’t, it won’t be long until he’s up for good. Chourio is my #1 fantasy prospect. 2024 Projection: 69/21/75/.258/.320/.469/25 Prime Projection: 101/32/104/.283/.353/.523/41

2) Jackson Holliday BAL, SS, 20.4 – Holliday’s power/speed combo really wasn’t that huge with only 12 homers and 24 steals (in 33 attempts) in 125 games spread across 4 levels (A, A+, AA, AAA). It dropped off even further in the upper minors with 5 homers and 4 steals in 54 games. It seems crazy to start his blurb off with criticism, but when the battle for the top prospect in the game is so close, it needs to be highlighted. Now that we got that out of the way, Holliday had an absolutely insane season where he slashed .323/.442/.499 with a 20.3%/17.4% K%/BB%. He was in high school last year, and he displayed one of the most advanced plate approaches of any prospect all the way through Triple-A. This is why everyone drools over kids with baseball bloodlines, they tend to be far advanced beyond their years. As I mentioned, the power isn’t fully developed yet with relatively low flyball rates, but he hits the ball hard with a 30.2% Hard Hit% and a 90.9 MPH EV in 40 batted balls at Triple-A, so I’m not concerned about the power long term. He has the safety edge over Chourio, but it’s not like Chourio is a risky prospect, so Holliday slots in at #2 for me. 2024 Projection: 78/16/71/.270/.339/.441/20 Prime Projection: 117/27/94/.296/.382/.506/28

3) Wyatt Langford TEX, OF, 22.5 – I have Chourio, Holliday, and Langford in a tier of their own. The only reason Langford is 3rd is because Chourio/Holliday have a longer professional track record and more impressive age to level production. But his power, speed, hit tool, plate approach, and production can rival anyone’s. He was selected 4th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft on the back of elite production in the SEC, slashing .373/.498/.784 with 21 homers, 9 steals, and a 44/56 K/BB in 64 games. He clearly separated himself from Dylan Crews in his pro debut, slashing .360/.480/.677 with 10 homers, 12 steals, and a 17.0%/18.0% K%/BB% in 44 games, and he was equally as dominant in the upper minors as he was the lower minors. He’s the total package, and if you wanted to rank him 1st overall, I wouldn’t argue with you. 2024 Projection: 81/26/77/.262/.338/.479/18 Prime Projection: 103/34/109/.277/.364/.535/24

4) Junior Caminero TBR, 3B/SS, 20.9 – Caminero was a popular breakout pick this year (me included), and he more than lived up to the consensus hype by going full phenom beast mode. He made a mockery of High-A pitching with 11 homers and a 190 wRC+ in 36 games, and then he barely slowed down at Double-A with 20 homers and a 140 wRC+ in 81 games. He even improved his plate approach at Double-A with a 17.1%/9.1% K%/BB% (25.2%/6.3% at High-A). He completed the phenom cycle by jumping straight from Double-A to the majors as a 20 year old for a cup of coffee (he ordered the cold brew with a .631 OPS in 36 PA, but it obviously doesn’t mean much). His calling card is double plus power with a good feel to hit that reminds me of a righty version of Rafael Devers. And while he didn’t run a ton (5 for 10 on the bases), he put up a 28.6 ft/sec sprint speed in the majors, so he’ll certainly contribute in the category at the least. Tampa Bay is forever crowded, but a player like Caminero forces the issue. 2024 Projection: 57/20/64/.260/.323/.462/6 Prime Projection: 96/35/109/.284/.349/.525/10

5) Evan Carter TEX, OF, 21.7 – The only question is how much power will Carter get to, because the plate approach and speed are impregnable at this point. He’s a line drive hitter who didn’t exactly smash the ball in the minors, although a 89/95.8 MPH AVG/FB EV in his 75 PA MLB debut shows he’s not some light hitting weakling. He’s also 6’4”, 190 pounds and only 21 years old, so more raw power is certainly coming. He hit 12 homers in 105 games at mostly Double-A (133 wRC+), then he set the baseball world on fire by hitting 5 homers in his first 23 games in the majors (180 wRC+), and finally he closed out the year with 1 homer in 17 playoff games (155 wRC+). That’s 18 homers in 145 games. If he can just get to about 25 homers in his prime, the man is going to be a terror. The speed is double plus with a 29.5 ft/sec sprint speed (31 steals overall), and the plate approach is elite. He had a 9% chase% in his MLB debut and he’s been an elite plate approach guy his entire career in the minors. He struggles vs. lefties, but just like with Gunnar Henderson last year, I wouldn’t let that scare you off an elite prospect. The downside is a .260 hitter with 15 homers and 25 steals, which isn’t that bad, and the upside is a .280/25/35 guy. 2024 Projection: 87/18/72/.263/.334/.429/26 Prime Projection: 105/24/80/.278/.367/.468/31

6) Jordan Lawlar ARI, SS, 21.8 – I would completely ignore what Lawlar did in his super small sample, 34 PA MLB debut. Don’t even look at his Statcast page, it will only get in your head. Your focus should be on the pitchers he laid waste to in the upper minors. He slashed .278/.378/.496 with 20 homers, 36 steals, and a 20.6%/11.4% K%/BB% in 105 games at Double-A and Triple-A. His contact rates took a big step forward from 2022, he has truly elite speed with a 30.1 ft/sec sprint speed, and he hit the ball fairly hard, especially for a 20 year old, with a 31.8% Hard Hit%. He’s 6’2”, 190 pounds with room to add more muscle, so the power is only going up from here. He has legitimate Top 10 dynasty asset potential. 2024 Projection: 69/14/55/.248/.317/.410/25 Prime Projection: 103/24/84/.273/.351/.470/38

7) Yoshinobu Yamamoto LAD, RHP, 25.7 – When it comes to potentially elite, all category hitting prospects, you have to pry them from my cold dead hands, which is why I would struggle to give up any of the hitting prospects ranked above for Yamamoto (or even the few ranked after him depending on my team build). In fantasy, pitchers can’t contribute in every pitching category (saves at least, and some leagues have both saves and holds), so that right there limits their upside relative to an elite hitter. Not to mention the much much much higher injury risk which can knock out 2 years of their career off a single injury, and then the stress of whether or not they will get back to 100%. On a real life list, I can see ranking Yamamoto 1st overall, but for fantasy, it’s just not how I play the game, even for a pitcher that is expected to be as good as Yamamoto. The Dodgers made him the highest paid pitcher in history with a 12 year, $325 million contract (plus a $50 million posting fee). That is really all you need to know. He’s expected to be a true ace right from the get go, and signing with the best developmental team in the game also takes a lot of the risk out of his transition to a new ball, new country, new league etc … He’s been a true ace in Japan for years now, and that continued this year with a pitching line of 1.16/0.86/176/28 in 171 IP. He pitched 193 innings in both 2021 and 2022, so there also isn’t any concern of how many innings he can pitch. The fastball sits mid 90’s and regularly hits the upper 90’s. A nasty splitter is his most used secondary, and he also throws a very good curve, 2-seamer, and cutter. He has elite command over all of his pitches, and he has an unique, oddly athletic delivery which he varies constantly to mess with hitters timing. He’s a straight up nightmare to face, and looks like a ready made ace. 2024 Projection: 14/3.42/1.11/195 in 180 IP

8) Noelvi Marte CIN, 3B, 22.6 – Everyone called Marte fat and slow this off-season, so of course he put up double plus run times in the majors with a 29.1 ft/sec sprint speed. Be super wary of scouting speed grades as they are wildly inaccurate (see also, Henry Davis and Nolan Jones). Not only is he a speedster, but he crushed the ball with a 91.3 MPH EV, and the hit tool looked good with a 20.3% K% and .296 xBA in 123 MLB PA. It all resulted in a slash line of .316/.366/.456 with 3 homers, 6 steals, and a 20.3%/6.5% K%/BB%. He showed those same skills in the upper minors with 11 homers, 18 steals, and a .279 BA in 92 games. He did all of this as a 21-year-old. He’s fast, he hits it hard, he gets the bat on the ball, he produced in the upper minors, he produced in the majors, and he was super young. Quite simply, this is an elite fantasy prospect, and I’m not sure he gets the respect he deserves. 2024 Projection: 77/19/73/.261/.322/.431/22 Prime Projection: 96/27/91/.276/.354/.491/25

9) Dylan Crews WAS, OF, 22.1 – Starting this blurb with anything other than the 73 wRC+ and 0 homers Crews put up in 85 PA at Double-A would be beating around the bush, and you know me, I don’t beat around the bush. The performance was bad enough to have Wyatt Langford clearly pass him for the top spot in my Top 130 2024 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings (Wyatt’s dominance also had something to do with that), and also for me to prefer the newly minted highest paid pitcher in baseball history (Yamamoto), but that is where it ends. 85 PA isn’t enough to sour me on the 2nd overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. Crews is built like a solid rock at 6’0”, 203 pounds, and he swings the bat so fast and powerfully it almost looks like he’s using an illegally light bat (he’s not, at least I don’t think he is ha). The ball explodes off it on contact. He obliterated the SEC from the second he stepped on campus as a freshman, and he kept on improving through his junior year, slashing .380/.498/.689 with 58 homers, 23 steals, and a 146/152 K/BB in 196 career games. He also destroyed the lower minors with a 192 wRC+ in 71 PA at Single-A. His floor feels like a 30+ homer bat without the best BA or tons of steals, but the ceiling is that of a truly elite dynasty player. 2024 Projection: 62/20/71/.257/.329/.473/12 Prime Projection: 94/32/103/.274/.361/.518/16

10) Jasson Dominguez NYY, OF, 21.2 – The backlash to Dominguez’ early career hype made it hard to hold the line, but I remained all in on Dominguez last off-season, ranking him 10th overall, and he more than delivered on that ranking this year. He hit 15 homers with 37 steals and a 25.6%/15.2% K%/BB% in 109 games at Double-A as a 20 year old. Then he quickly ran through Triple-A with a 180 wRC+ in 9 games, before finishing out his season with 4 homers and a 162 wRC+ in 8 games in the majors. Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery put a halt to what was sure to be insane hype this off-season, but I wouldn’t let the Tommy John surgery scare you off. It isn’t as big of a deal for hitters as it is for pitchers, and he’s expected to return by the 2nd half of 2024. His extremely good MLB debut will likely make it hard to get good value for him this off-season even with the surgery, so my move would be to hope he needs to shake off some rust when he returns next season to bring his value into a more reasonable range again. 2024 Projection: 30/8/26/.242/.324/.438/10 Prime Projection: 92/26/86/.266/.361/.485/28

11) James Wood WAS, OF, 21.7 – The K% jumped to 33.7% in 87 games at Double-A, which is exactly what you are worried about with a player this tall (6’6”), but Wood is the type of unicorn athlete where you don’t want to let it scare you off him. He still cracked 18 homers with 10 steals and a 124 wRC+ at the level as a 20 year old. And that was coming off a 155 wRC+ in 42 games at the more age appropriate High-A. Despite his size and high strikeout rate, Wood has a relatively short and quick swing which gives hope he’ll be able to keep the strikeout rate in a range that allows his truly elite talent shine. Don’t expect a high BA, but expect him to kill it everywhere else. 2024 Projection: 45/17/51/.229/.308/.450/13 Prime Projection: 91/30/99/.253/.341/.508/18

12) Pete Crow-Armstrong CHC, OF, 22.0 – I’ve been all in on Pete Crow since before he was drafted, and he finally fulfilled his elite prospect destiny in 2023. The power took yet another step forward with him jacking 20 homers in 107 games split between Double-A and Triple-A. He’s not an EV masher, but he doesn’t hit the ball weakly either, and his high launch will ensure he gets the most out of his still growing raw power. The CF defense and speed are elite with a 29.9 ft/sec sprint speed and 37 steals. There is bit more swing and miss than optimal with a 26% K%, but he’s always generally had a good feel to hit, and he’s never had low BA’s in the minors, so I’m not overly concerned about it. Armstrong has 20/40 written all over him. 2024 Projection: 41/9/29/.241/.310/.407/19 Prime Projection: 91/22/76/.257/.334/.439/34

13) Walker Jenkins MIN, OF, 19.1 – Selected 5th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, the 6’3”, 215 pounds Jenkins has that sweet lefty swing that just oozes offensive potential. It’s athletic, quick, under control, powerful, smooth … I can go on and on. It’s hard to watch this guy hit and not completely fall in love. It has the potential for at least plus hit and plus power at peak, and he’s also a good athlete with above average run times. But we don’t have to only dream on the potential, as Jenkins’ showed it to us clear as day in his pro debut, slashing .362/.417/.571 with 3 homers, 6 steals, and a 12.2%/7.8% K%/BB% in 26 games split evenly between rookie ball (138 wRC+) and Single-A (182 wRC+). It’s the type of profile that can be an elite dynasty asset a la Kyle Tucker. Langford, Crews, and Yamamoto are locked in as my top 3 FYPD picks, and while there are good arguments for Skenes or even Matt Shaw at #4, I don’t think I can pass up on the truly “generational” (or maybe nearly generational would be more accurate ha) upside of Jenkins. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 94/31/102/.273/.345/.510/16

14) Roman Anthony BOS, OF, 19.11 – I ended Anthony’s 2023 Top 1,000 blurb by writing, “There is a lot of refinement needed, but this is a high upside bat who could explode up rankings if everything comes together.” … well, everything came together and Anthony exploded up rankings, slashing .272/.403/.466 with 14 homers, 16 steals, and a 24.2%/17.5% K%/BB% in 106 games at mostly Single-A (109 wRC+) and High-A (164 wRC+). It was a little concerning that the K% jumped to 30.6% at High-A, but then he closed out the season at Double-A and had a 185 wRC+ with a 13.6%/18.2% K%/BB% in 10 games. And he did all this starting the season as an 18 year old. He’s an elite athlete at 6’2”, 200 pounds with a plus power/speed combo, powerful lefty swing, and a mature plate approach. The only things preventing him from being ranked even higher is that he’s not great at lifting the ball with an under 25% Flyball%, and he wasn’t a great base stealer with 16 steals in 23 attempts. He hits the ball so hard he can survive without a huge launch, and he has time to refine his base stealing skills as well, so neither are major concerns. He’s on a short list to be the #1 overall fantasy prospect in baseball by this time next year. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 96/25/88/.273/.358/.472/16

15) Jackson Jobe DET, RHP, 21.9 – Jobe made his season debut in mid June from lumber spine inflammation, which obviously sounded worse than it really was, because he immediately looked like the best pitching prospect in baseball when he returned. He had a 2.81 ERA with a 32.6%/2.3% K%/BB% in 64 IP at mostly High-A. He closed the season out with a gem at Double-A, going 6 IP with 4 hits, 0 ER, and a 6/0 K/BB, and then he went to the AFL and dominated in that extreme hitter’s environment with a 2.87 ERA and 19/5 K/BB in 15.2 IP. He looks absolutely electric on the mound at 6’2”, 190 pounds with an athletic delivery and a double plus 4 pitch mix. He was known for his high spin slider coming into the draft, and the pitch is so filthy it almost doesn’t look real. His changeup dominated as well with nasty tailing diving action, the fastball sits mid 90’s with excellent movement, and the cutter is a high spin pitch that misses bats. And he does all of this with pinpoint control. He still has to prove it in the upper minors, which I’m not too concerned about, and he has to prove he can stay healthy and maintain his stuff with a full MLB starters workload, which is more concerning, but that’s just the pitching prospect game. He’s my #1 pitching prospect in baseball, non Yoshinobu Yamamoto division. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 15/3.18/1.03/220 in 180 IP

16) Paul Skenes PIT, RHP, 21.10 – Selected 1st overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, Skenes’ season was nothing short of jaw dropping with a pitching line of 1.69/0.75/209/20 in 122.2 IP in the SEC. His fastball sits in the upper 90’s and routinely hits over 100 MPH. His slider is elite, and while he didn’t go to his changeup as much, that pitch is also nasty. He also displayed plus control of his entire arsenal. He’s 6’6”, 235 pounds with a relatively athletic delivery and he’s a good athlete in general as evidenced by the fact he is also an excellent hitter. He had a career 1.121 OPS in 119 games in the Mountain West before transferring into the SEC. There were some whispers about poor fastball shape in his 6.2 IP pro debut, but I wouldn’t let that sour you on a generational type pitching prospect. He’ll still be just 21 years old on Opening Day, so plenty of refinement, tinkering, new pitches etc … are coming down the road. 2024 Projection: 8/3.80/1.27/133 in 120 IP Prime Projection: 15/3.28/1.06/237 in 190 IP

17) Matt Shaw CHC, 2B/SS, 22.5 – Selected 13th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, Shaw is only 5’11”, but he’s a thick dude who has real power, and he combines that with above average speed and excellent base stealing skills. He has that little man leg kick (which Chicago toned down a hair in pro ball) that I absolutely love in the mold of a Alex Bregman, Spencer Steer, and Zach Neto. It seems to be working for these slightly undersized guys, and it’s certainly working for Shaw. He smashed 24 homers with 18 steals and a 1.142 OPS in 62 Big Ten games. He also impressed in the wood bat Cape Cod League with 5 homers, 21 steals, and a 1.006 OPS in 36 games. He then ran through pro ball like it was nothing, finishing the year at Double-A slashing .292/.329/.523 with 3 homers, 6 steals, and a 17.1%/4.3% K%/BB% in 15 games at the level. Shaw was my top draft target pre-draft (I actually pointed out Shaw as my top target back in February before the season even started), but now that he absolutely blew up in pro ball, there is no chance you get a great value on him. He’s worth his very high draft price though. 2024 Projection: 36/10/43/.253/.312/.432/11 Prime Projection: 85/25/89/.271/.337/.469/21

18) Ricky Tiedemann TOR, LHP, 21.7 – Tiedemann’s dominance in the AFL quieted some of the risk that was growing after an injured and mixed bag season in 2023. He had a 2.50 ERA with a 23/8 K/BB in 18 IP. He went 5 IP in 3 of the 4 starts after not reaching 5 IP the entire season. The stuff is elite with a mid 90’s fastball and two plus secondaries in his slider and changeup. He also looks the part at 6’4”, 220 pounds with an almost sidearm lefty delivery. If he stays healthy and throws the ball over the plate, he’ll be an easy ace, but those are the two areas that can trip him up. He pitched only 62 innings all year, including the AFL, because of a biceps injury that kept him out for almost 3 months. It will probably take 3 years to truly build up his innings fully, and we all know the injury risk with young flamethrowers like this. His 12% BB% is also nearing the danger zone where inconsistency can end up a part of the profile. The profile isn’t without risk, but when dealing in upside prospect flamethrowers, that is just the game. He’s an elite pitching prospect. 2024 Projection: 5/3.81/1.31/111 in 100 IP Prime Projection: 14/3.38/1.19/213 in 170 IP

19) Parker Meadows DET, OF, 24.5 – I know this ranking seems high, but Meadows is looking mighty similar to my Nolan Jones and Zack Gelof buy calls from mid-season, and if you look at redraft and dynasty rankings this off-season, those guys now get valued in the range that elite prospects get ranked, or even higher. Meadows has the potential to make that same jump from afterthought prospect to highly valued dynasty asset, and you should get in this off-season before it happens. He has a very fantasy friendly skillset with the build and athleticism to back it up, but he always got vastly underrated on prospect lists. And unlike Jones and Gelof who have played far too well to still be underrated this off-season, Meadows is setting up to be in perfect buy territory with a .699 OPS in 37 games. He had a 89.3 MPH EV, 18.3 degree launch, 29 ft/sec sprint, 24% whiff%, and 11.7% BB%. And to top it all off, his at least above average CF defense should keep him in the lineup. That is a recipe for tons of fantasy goodness, and you might be able to acquire him for barely anything this off-season. His 293 NFBC ADP shows his perceived value to fantasy upside could be as wide as anyone’s right now. He’s a major target. 2024 Projection: 79/23/76/.248/.328/.432/24

20) Colt Keith DET, 3B/2B, 22.8 – Keith more than hinted at a big breakout in 2022 with a 150 wRC+ in 48 games at High-A, but a shoulder injury cut the explosion short, and even though he made it back to dominate the AFL (1.004 OPS in 19 games), the hype was still relatively subdued last off-season. Well, the explosion continued right into 2023, and this time he did it in the upper minors with a 163 wRC+ and 14 homers in 59 games at Double-A, followed up by a 119 wRC+ and 13 homers in 67 games at Triple-A. He hits the ball very hard, he has a mature plate approach, and the hit tool is at least above average. He’s one of the most complete prospect hitters in the game, and he should break camp with the team in 2024. 2024 Projection: 74/24/81/.258/.329/.445/2 Prime Projection: 89/29/92/.276/.352/.480/3

21) Coby Mayo BAL, 1B/3B, 22.4 – My boldest prediction in last off-season’s Predicting the 2024 Top 50 Prospects Rankings was that Coby Mayo would explode to a Top 10 prospect, predicting that “Mayo will follow in Gunnar Henderson’s footsteps with an off the charts type season in the upper minors. He’ll put up a 150 wRC+ at Double-A and a 130 wRC+ at Triple-A. The K% will be under 25%, the power will be huge, and there will be some surprising speed too.” … Mayo put up a 178 wRC+ in 78 games at Double-A and a 127 wRC+ in 62 games at Triple-A. The power was huge with 29 homers in 140 games, and the K% was under 25% at 24.1%. I don’t think I could have nailed that more even if I was actually able to see into the future. The surprising speed didn’t really show up with only 5 steals, but better than nothing. The 6’5”, 230 pound Mayo is now a truly elite power hitting prospect, just as I expected. 2024 Projection: 31/11/35/.242/.319/.455/2 Prime Projection: 86/34/99/.265/.346/.535/6

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-A TOP 275 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2024 TOP 1,000 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-DEEP 2024 DYNASTY POSITIONAL RANKS: Top 78 C–TOP 101 1B–Top 129 2B–Top 133 3B–Top 161 SS
-TOP 130 2024 FYPD RANKINGS
–FYPD TARGET & STRATEGY GUIDE
-END OF SEASON 2023 TOP 476 DYNASTY RANKINGS
-END OF SEASON 2023 TOP 393 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP 10 EARLY OFF-SEASON DYNASTY TARGETS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Patreon: Top 130 2024 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings

It’s First Year Player Draft Week over on the Patreon, and we kick it off with the Top 131 2024 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings. Top 13 are free here on the Brick Wall. Analysis and Prime Projections for every player. The FYPD Target and Strategy Guide is coming tomorrow. Here is the Top 130 2024 Dynasty Baseball First Year Player Draft Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-A TOP 275 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2024 TOP 1,000 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-DEEP 2024 DYNASTY POSITIONAL RANKS: Top 78 C–TOP 101 1B–Top 129 2B–Top 133 3B–Top 161 SS
-TOP 130 2024 FYPD RANKINGS
-END OF SEASON 2023 TOP 476 DYNASTY RANKINGS
-END OF SEASON 2023 TOP 393 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP 10 EARLY OFF-SEASON DYNASTY TARGETS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST

Previous Dynasty Team Reports on Patreon

Arizona Diamondbacks–Baltimore Orioles (free)–Boston Red Sox (free)–Chicago Cubs (free)–Chicago White Sox–Cincinnati Reds (free)–Cleveland Guardians–Colorado Rockies–Detroit Tigers–Houston Astros–Kansas City Royals–Los Angeles Dodgers (free)–Miami Marlins–Milwaukee Brewers–Minnesota Twins–New York Mets (free)–New York Yankees (free)–Oakland Athletics–Pittsburgh Pirates–San Diego Padres–San Francisco Giants–St. Louis Cardinals (free)–Texas Rangers–Toronto Blue Jays–Washington Nationals

1) Wyatt Langford TEX, OF, 22.5 – I know that taking the ready made ace in Yamamoto is extremely enticing, but there is no better asset in dynasty baseball than the young, impact all category beast, and Langford has a very good chance to become that. Building your team around a young pitcher is so much more risky. Just look at Ohtani who already had 2 major elbow surgeries that will knock out 3 of his 7 MLB seasons, but he’s been able to hit like a beast through it all. Unlike Ohtani, Yamamoto doesn’t hit. Langford was selected 4th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft on the back of elite production in the SEC, slashing .373/.498/.784 with 21 homers, 9 steals, and a 44/56 K/BB in 64 games. He clearly separated himself from Dylan Crews in his pro debut, slashing .360/.480/.677 with 10 homers, 12 steals, and a 17.0%/18.0% K%/BB% in 44 games, and he was equally as dominant in the upper minors as he was the lower minors. He’s the total package. I have Chourio, Holliday, and Langford in a tier of their own atop my Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings. The only reason Langford is 3rd is because Chourio/Holliday have a longer professional track record and more impressive age to level production. But his power, speed, hit tool, plate approach, and production can rival anyone’s, and if you wanted to rank him 1st overall on prospects rankings, I wouldn’t argue with you. 2024 Projection: 81/26/77/.262/.338/.479/16 Prime Projection: 103/34/109/.277/.364/.535/20

2) Yoshinobu Yamamoto LAD, RHP, 25.7 – The Dodgers made Yamamoto the highest paid pitcher in history with a 12 year, $325 million contract (plus a $50 million posting fee). That is really all you need to know. He’s expected to be a true ace right from the get go, and signing with the best developmental team in the game also takes a lot of the risk out of his transition to a new ball, new country, new league etc … He’s been a true ace in Japan for years now, and that continued this year with a pitching line of 1.16/0.86/176/28 in 171 IP. He pitched 193 innings in both 2021 and 2022, so there also isn’t any concern of how many innings he can pitch. The fastball sits mid 90’s and regularly hits the upper 90’s. A nasty splitter is his most used secondary, and he also throws a very good curve, 2-seamer, and cutter. He has elite command over all of his pitches, and he has an unique, oddly athletic delivery which he varies constantly to mess with hitters timing. He’s a straight up nightmare to face, and looks like a ready made ace. 2024 Projection: 14/3.42/1.11/195 in 180 IP

3) Dylan Crews WAS, OF, 22.1 – Starting this blurb with anything other than the 73 wRC+ and 0 homers Crews put up in 85 PA at Double-A would be beating around the bush, and you know me, I don’t beat around the bush. The performance was bad enough to have Wyatt Langford clearly pass him for the top spot in first year players drafts (Wyatt’s dominance also had something to do with that), and also for me to prefer the newly minted highest paid pitcher in baseball history (Yamamoto), but that is where it ends. 85 PA isn’t enough to sour me on the 2nd overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. Crews is built like a solid rock at 6’0”, 203 pounds, and he swings the bat so fast and powerfully it almost looks like he’s using an illegally light bat (he’s not, at least I don’t think he is ha). The ball explodes off it on contact. He obliterated the SEC from the second he stepped on campus as a freshman, and he kept on improving through his junior year, slashing .380/.498/.689 with 58 homers, 23 steals, and a 146/152 K/BB in 196 career games. He also destroyed the lower minors with a 192 wRC+ in 71 PA at Single-A. His floor feels like a 30+ homer bat without the best BA or tons of steals, but the ceiling is that of a truly elite dynasty player. 2024 Projection: 62/20/71/.257/.329/.473/12 Prime Projection: 94/32/103/.274/.361/.518/16

4) Walker Jenkins MIN, OF, 19.1 – Selected 5th overall, the 6’3”, 215 pounds Jenkins has that sweet lefty swing that just oozes offensive potential. It’s athletic, quick, under control, powerful, smooth … I can go on and on. It’s hard to watch this guy hit and not completely fall in love. It has the potential for at least plus hit and plus power at peak, and he’s also a good athlete with above average run times. But we don’t have to only dream on the potential, as Jenkins’ showed it to us clear as day in his pro debut, slashing .362/.417/.571 with 3 homers, 6 steals, and a 12.2%/7.8% K%/BB% in 26 games split evenly between rookie ball (138 wRC+) and Single-A (182 wRC+). It’s the type of profile that can be an elite dynasty asset a la Kyle Tucker. Langford, Yamamoto, and Crews are locked in as my top 3 FYPD picks, and while there are good arguments for Skenes or even Matt Shaw at #4, I don’t think I can pass up on the truly “generational” (or maybe nearly generational would be more accurate) upside of Jenkins. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 94/31/102/.273/.345/.510/16

5) Paul Skenes PIT, RHP, 21.10 – Selected 1st overall, Skenes’ season was nothing short of jaw dropping with a pitching line of 1.69/0.75/209/20 in 122.2 IP in the SEC. His fastball sits in the upper 90’s and routinely hits over 100 MPH. His slider is elite, and while he didn’t go to his changeup as much, that pitch is also nasty. He also displayed plus control of his entire arsenal. He’s 6’6”, 235 pounds with a relatively athletic delivery and he’s a good athlete in general as evidenced by the fact he is also an excellent hitter. He had a career 1.121 OPS in 119 games in the Mountain West before transferring into the SEC. There were some whispers about poor fastball shape in his 6.2 IP pro debut, but I wouldn’t let that sour you on a generational type pitching prospect. He’ll still be just 21 years old on Opening Day, so plenty of refinement, tinkering, new pitches etc … are coming down the road. 2024 Projection: 8/3.80/1.27/133 in 120 IP Prime Projection: 15/3.28/1.06/237 in 190 IP

6) Matt Shaw CHC, 2B/SS, 22.5 – Selected 13th overall, Shaw is only 5’11”, but he’s a thick dude who has real power, and he combines that with above average speed and excellent base stealing skills. He has that little man leg kick (which Chicago toned down a hair in pro ball) that I absolutely love in the mold of a Alex Bregman, Spencer Steer, and Zach Neto. It seems to be working for these slightly undersized guys, and it’s certainly working for Shaw. He smashed 24 homers with 18 steals and a 1.142 OPS in 62 Big Ten games. He also impressed in the wood bat Cape Cod League with 5 homers, 21 steals, and a 1.006 OPS in 36 games. He then ran through pro ball like it was nothing, finishing the year at Double-A slashing .292/.329/.523 with 3 homers, 6 steals, and a 17.1%/4.3% K%/BB% in 15 games at the level. Shaw was my top draft target pre-draft (I actually pointed out Shaw as my top target back in February before the season even started), but now that he absolutely blew up in pro ball, there is no chance you get great value on him. He’s worth his very high draft price though. 2024 Projection: 36/10/43/.253/.312/.432/11 Prime Projection: 85/25/89/.271/.337/.469/21

7) Max Clark DET, OF, 19.4 –  Clark is the 2023 draft version of Pete Crow Armstrong and Corbin Carroll, two guys who I was the high man on in their first year player draft class, although Clark actually got the respect he deserved by getting selected 3rd overall. Maybe the success of those aforementioned players paved the way for a guy like Clark to get valued correctly. As you can tell from the comps, double plus speed with a plus hit tool and developing power is what you are buying. He’s a pretty thick and muscular 6’1”, 190 pounds, so I don’t think you have to squint too hard to see legitimate power developing down the line, even if he’s more a line drive hitter currently. After dominating rookie ball with a 146 wRC+ in 12 games, he got slowed down a bit at Single-A with a 73 wRC+ and 29.4% K% in 11 games, but he still had a .353 OBP, so it’s not like he was completely overmatched or anything. 5×5 BA leagues are going to be his bread and butter, but like Carroll, he can be a beast regardless of league type. He has elite dynasty asset upside. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 93/18/72/.278/.347/.433/33

8) Colt Emerson SEA, SS, 18.8 – Selected 22nd overall, the 6’1”, 195 pound Emerson had an electric pro debut, both statistically and visually. He slashed .374/.496/.550 with 2 homers, 8 steals, and a 17.5%/14.9% K%/BB% in 24 games at rookie ball (251 wRC+) and Single-A (147 wRC+). He has an athletic, lightning quick lefty swing that the ball absolutely rockets off of. It’s geared for both power and average. He’s not a true burner, but he has speed and he was perfect on the bases. He’ll also be 18 years old for most of the 2024 season. He checks off almost every box that you look for in a potential elite prospect coming out of the draft (size, power, average, speed, age, sweet swing, production). If you’re drafting in the mid to late 1st round, and all the buzzy names are off the board, you can confidently take Emerson knowing he can easily end up amongst the best in the class. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 93/26/86/.277/.356/.475/15

9) Jung Hoo Lee SFG, OF, 25.7 – San Francisco signed Lee to a 6 year, $113 million contract, which is definitely an eye opening amount, but he earned that contract for his real life baseball value, and not for his fantasy value. He had extremely high groundball rates in Korea with a 59.2% GB% in 2023, and he doesn’t hit the ball particularly hard. He hit only 6 homers in 86 games. He has speed, but he’s not a true burner, and he hasn’t been a good base stealer. He was 6 for 9 in 2023 and has a career high of 13 steals in 20 attempts. He also fractured his ankle in July which required season ending surgery, so that adds even more risk to his future steal projections. And to top it all off, he landed in one of the very worst hitter’s parks in the league. He’s truly elite at what he does well though, and that is hit for average. He had a 5.9%/12.7% K%/BB% in 2023, and he has a career .340 BA. He was a baseball prodigy with baseball bloodlines, dominating the KBO from the time he was 18 years old with a sweet lefty swing. He’s not a small guy at 6’0”, and there is most certainly room to tack on mass at a relatively skinny 171 pounds. He has a little bit of that Ichiro feel to him, where if he wanted to hit for more power, he would, and he did crack 23 homers in 142 games in 2022, so it’s not like he’s been some light hitter in his career. It’s also possible he runs a lot more with the new stolen base rules in MLB. It might take him a couple years to get fully acclimated like it has Ha-Seong Kim, but once he does, a .300/15/15 season looks well within reach, and it wouldn’t shock me if he got to 20/20. He might be more valuable in real life than fantasy, but that doesn’t mean he still can’t be a very good fantasy player. 2024 Projection: 81/11/51/.285/.341/.401/12 Prime Projection: 93/15/62/.305/.371/.437/15

10) Tommy Troy ARI, 3B/2B, 21.8 – Selected 12th overall, the first thing that pops out when watching Troy is his absolute vicious bat speed and rotation. It’s controlled violence at it’s finest. He used that explosive swing to have a monster junior year, slashing .394/.478/.699 with 17 homers, 17 steals, and a 42/35 K/BB in 58 Pac12 games. He’s not a huge tools guy at 5’10”, 197 pounds, so the power/speed combo might not be huge on the Major League level, but he at least proved it will transfer to wood bats in pro ball, slashing .247/.343/.447 with 4 homers, 8 steals, and a 26.3%/12.1% K%/BB% in 23 games at High-A. His hit tool is good, but there is still some swing and miss in his game which popped up in his pro debut. There is definitely a chance the upside might not end up being very high, but he does a lot of things well, and like I highlighted above, the swing is truly impressive to me. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 82/20/76/.255/.330/.441/20

11) Brock Wilken MIL, 3B, 21.10 – Selected 18th overall, the 6’4”, 225 pound Wilken is almost the exact definition of a lurking slugger. He quite literally lurks over the plate with an eerily calm and foreboding batting stance which he used to unleash 31 homers in 66 ACC games. He then stepped right into pro ball and raked with a .887 OPS in 47 games split between rookie, High-A, and Double-A. He has the huge EV’s to back up the power. The hit tool and plate approach made big jumps this year with a .345 BA and 58/69 K/BB in college, but he still isn’t expected to hit for much average, and a 36% K% in 6 games at Double-A hints at the hit tool risk. You are buying the monster power here. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 79/31/87/.247/.332/.495/3

12) Leodalis De Vries SDP, SS, 17.6 – Last year in the Felnin Celesten blurb, I wrote, “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.” … obviously Celesten didn’t have the opportunity to pop, but I nailed my observation that 2023 was the year to jump back into the international player pool market with Ethan Salas and Sebastian Walcott exploding (along with Joendry Vargas and others). But now that we are coming off that international prospect explosion, prices are going to be much higher this year. And that starts with the top player in the 2024 international class, Leodalis De Vries. He has almost everything you look for in a potentially elite prospect. He’s a switch hitter at projectable 6’2”, 175 pounds with an extremely quick, loose, and athletic swing. He’s known for his mature plate approach and good feel to hit, and there is certainly plus power potential in here at peak. He’s also an excellent athlete with above average speed. The plate skills give him as high of a floor as you can get for a 17 year old international prospect, and the upside is considerable as well. International prospects are definitely the most mysterious and risky class of prospect to shop in, but when they hit, they hit in a huge way. De Vries is worth taking on the risk. ETA: 2029 Prime Projection: 89/24/86/.276/.352/.462/18

13) Hurston Waldrep ATL, RHP, 22.1 – Pitcher’s don’t usually make big moves in either direction in their pro debut, but Waldrep bucked that trend. His double plus mid to upper 90’s fastball/splitter combo put up a 33.3% K% and 1.53 ERA in 29.1 IP spread across 4 levels (A, A+, AA, AAA). He also throws a curve and slider that both have plus potential. There is zero doubt about the strikeout ability with a 34.7% K% in 101.2 IP in the SEC in 2023 as well. The reason he only got selected 24th overall though, is that there is definitely some risk in his profile. The control is well below average with a 12.7% BB% at college and a 13.0% BB% in pro ball. He also had a mediocre college season with a 4.16 ERA and 1.40 WHIP, and the K/BB numbers weren’t quite as impressive in the upper minors with a 16/10 K/BB in 14.1 IP at Double-A and Triple-A. Ending up in Atlanta is a great landing spot as they know what they are doing when it comes to pitching, so I’m more apt to go after him now than I would have been if he went to a lesser organization. And if you go K chasing in fantasy, which I do, Waldrep is mighty enticing despite the risk. 2024 Projection: 3/4.13/1.35/75 in 70 IP Prime Projection: 11/3.71/1.28/185 in 165 IP

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-A TOP 275 SNEAK PEEK OF THE 2024 TOP 1,000 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-DEEP 2024 DYNASTY POSITIONAL RANKS: Top 78 C–TOP 101 1B–Top 129 2B–Top 133 3B–Top 161 SS
-TOP 130 2024 FYPD RANKINGS
-END OF SEASON 2023 TOP 476 DYNASTY RANKINGS
-END OF SEASON 2023 TOP 393 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP 10 EARLY OFF-SEASON DYNASTY TARGETS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST

Previous Dynasty Team Reports on Patreon

Arizona Diamondbacks–Baltimore Orioles (free)–Boston Red Sox (free)–Chicago Cubs (free)–Chicago White Sox–Cincinnati Reds (free)–Cleveland Guardians–Colorado Rockies–Detroit Tigers–Houston Astros–Kansas City Royals–Los Angeles Dodgers (free)–Miami Marlins–Milwaukee Brewers–Minnesota Twins–New York Mets (free)–New York Yankees (free)–Oakland Athletics–Pittsburgh Pirates–San Diego Padres–San Francisco Giants–St. Louis Cardinals (free)–Texas Rangers–Toronto Blue Jays–Washington Nationals

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Patreon Post: September 2023 Top 393 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings

We’re finishing out the season strong over on the Patreon with Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings Week. I was more lenient with these rankings, including everyone under 50 IP or 130 AB. Previous rankings are in parenthesis from August through the off-season, in that order. I’ll be going over 350 deep with blurbs for just about everyone. Top 30 free here on the Brick Wall. And just a reminder that there is tons of content coming all off-season with Team Dynasty Reports, deep positional rankings, Winter League updates, strategy articles, podcasts, and very, very early releases of the Top 100 FYPD Rankings, Top 500 Prospects Rankings, and Top 1,000 Dynasty Rankings. On that note, here is the September 2023 Top 393 Dynasty Prospects Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-SEPTEMBER TOP 476 DYNASTY RANKINGS
-TOP 54 2024 FYPD RANKINGS
-TOP 10 EARLY OFF-SEASON DYNASTY TARGETS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: SEPTEMBER MAILBAG! (9/22/23)
-Off-Season content includes team prospect lists, deep positional rankings, strategy articles, podcasts and very early releases of my Top 100 FYPD Ranks, Top 500 Prospects Ranks, and Top 1,000 Dynasty Ranks

1) (1) (1) (1) (2) (6) (13) Jackson Holliday BAL, SS, 19.10 – Finally met a level he couldn’t just dominate right off the bat with a 85 wRC+ in 12 games at Triple-A, but really he’s just getting unlucky with a 13.6%/16.9% K%/BB% and .250 BABIP

2) (2) (2) (3) (5) (4) (3) Jackson Chourio MIL, OF, 19.6 – Slashing .323/.380/.544 with 11 homers, 20 steals, and a 34/19 K/BB in 51 games with the regular ball

3) (3) (3) (2) (6) (3) (7) Jordan Lawlar ARI, SS, 21.2 – Made his MLB debut and is struggling with 8 strikeouts and a 9 wRC+ in 22 PA. He had a 20.6% K% in the upper minors, so I wouldn’t be too concerned. If this creates a buying opportunity this off-season, I would be all over it

4) (5) (5) (5) (11) (47) (92) Junior Caminero TBR, 3B, 20.2 – Plate approach actually managed to improve at Double-A with a 17.1%/9.1% K%/BB% in 81 games (25.2%/8.3% K%/BB% in 36 games at High-A). If you don’t care about steals, Caminero has a case to be the top prospect in baseball

5) (FYPD-1) (7) (8) Wyatt Langford TEX, OF, 21.9 – Langford just passed Crews in my 2024 Top 54 First Year Player Draft Rankings that dropped on the Patreon last week. The much superior Double-A production makes it a relatively easy call

6) (11) (11) (13) (14) (41) (30) Noelvi Marte CIN, SS, 21.10 – Remember when everyone called him fat and slow this off-season? Well, Marte has 6 steals with a 28.9 ft/sec sprint speed which is in the top 11% of the league. He’s also crushing the ball with a 92.4 MPH EV in 83 PA which has led to a .303 BA. Dude is going to be a fantasy beast

7) (4) (6) (6) (18) (23) (25) Pete Crow-Armstrong CHC, OF, 21.5 – 0 hits and 4 strikeouts in 10 MLB PA. Dynasty owners are notorious for running scared after poor small sample MLB debuts, so I would be licking my chops if a nervous owner makes Lawlar or Pete Crow available this off-season

8) (FYPD-2) (6) (7) Dylan Crews WAS, OF, 21.6 – 0 homers with a 73 wRC+ in 20 games at Double-A. He was also 4 for 10 on the bases in 35 games. It’s not a great pro debut, but it’s too small of a sample to get concerned. I’m still betting on him being a beast

9) (FYPD-3) Yoshinobu Yamamoto JPN, RHP, 25.1 – Yamamoto looks like a ready made ace. He has the filthy stuff, plus control, plus durability, diverse pitch mix, plus strikeout rates, lights out production, athletic delivery  … there is nothing he doesn’t have

10) (10) (10) (17) (15) (13) (34) Evan Carter TEX, OF, 21.0 – Electric pro debut with 1 homer, 2 steals, and a .864 OPS in 33 PA, but a 38.8% whiff% and 86.8 MPH EV says there could still be an an adjustment period coming

11) (8) (4) (4) (7) (14) (8) James Wood WAS, OF, 21.0 – 33.7% K% in 87 games at Double-A adds a healthy dose of risk to the very high upside profile

12) (12) (13) (14) (16) (15) (10) Jasson Dominguez NYY, OF, 20.8 – Was in the midst of a historic MLB debut with 4 homers in 8 games before going down with a torn UCL that required Tommy John surgery. He’s expected to miss 9-10 months which puts the 2nd half of 2024 as the target return date. Tommy John isn’t as big of a deal for hitters as it is for pitchers, so I wouldn’t be concerned long term, but short term, I would consider any contributions in 2024 gravy

13) (FYPD-4) (13) (16) Walker Jenkins MIN, OF, 18.6 – Meet the #1 prospect in baseball by this time next year

14) (FYPD-5) (9) (9) Paul Skenes PIT, RHP, 21.3 – Now everyone is talking shit about the fastball shape, but with the big velocity, command, and excellent secondaries, I wouldn’t sweat it too much

15) (23) (21) (35) (32) (70) (118) Ronny Mauricio NYM, SS, 22.5 – Profile is completely transferring to the majors with a 91.3 MPH EV, 3 steals, and a 23.5%/5.9% K%/BB% in 51 PA

16) (FYPD-6) (36) (43) Matt Shaw CHC, SS, 21.10 – Double-A production (3 homers, 6 steals, and a 17.1% K% in 15 games) puts him in Tier 1 of First Year Player Draft Rankings (unless you consider Langford in a tier of his own)

17) (28) (29) (134) (192) (232) (319) Roman Anthony BOS, OF, 19.4 – Called up to Double-A and is slashing .343/.477/.543 with 1 homer, 3 steals, and a 13.6%/18.2% K%/BB% in 10 games. He’s putting a cherry on top of a great season

18) (63) (84) (181) (212) (277) (249) Jackson Jobe DET, RHP, 21.1 – Made his debut at Double-A and was silly dominant, going 6 IP with 4 hits, 0 ER, and a 6/0 K/BB. He was already an elite pitching prospect, and that performance puts him in the conversation for the best pitching prospect in baseball

19) (17) (24) (50) (57) (67) (71) Jackson Merrill SDP, SS, 20.4 – Brought the GB% all the way down to 33.5% in 46 games at Double-A, although it still hasn’t turned him into a power hitting beast with 5 homers

20) (22) (NA) (12) (9) (32) (38) Colton Cowser BAL, OF, 23.3 – Failed hard in the majors with a .434 OPS in 77 PA, but nothing in the underlying numbers is setting off alarm bells, and he was definitely unlucky with a .226 wOBA vs. .302 xwOBA. He’s now back to raking at Triple-A

21) (30) (26) (38) (41) (53) (51) Spencer Jones NYY, OF, 22.4 – Double-A debut has been very encouraging with 3 homers, 8 steals, and a 28.2%/9% K%/BB% in 17 games. The fact the K% hasn’t skyed to like 40% is a good sign

22) (FYPD-7) (14) (14) Max Clark DET, OF, 18.8 – Single-A slowed him down with a 29.4% K% and 73 wRC+, but he still has Corbin Carroll/PCA 2.0 written all over him

23) (15) (33) (55) (135) (185) (265) Ethan Salas SDP, C, 17.3 – Promoting him to Double-A just seemed silly and unnecessary, but it doesn’t take away from his unprecedented season as a 17 year old in full season ball

24) (29) (22) (19) (17) (22) (48) Coby Mayo BAL, 3B, 21.9 – I ranked Mayo 8th overall on my Predicting the Top 50 2024 Prospects Rankings back in February on the Patreon and wrote, “Mayo will follow in Gunnar Henderson’s footsteps with an off the charts type season in the upper minors. He’ll put up a 150 wRC+ at Double-A and a 130 wRC+ at Triple-A. The K% will be under 25%, the power will be huge, and there will be some surprising speed too.” … I came pretty close to nailing that on the dot with a 178 wRC+ at Double-A, 123 wRC+ at Triple-A, a 23.8% K%, and 28 homers. The one thing that didn’t come to fruition was the speed with only 5 steals, but come on, not bad if I don’t say so myself

25) (27) (28) (43) (56) (42) (33) Emmanuel Rodriguez MIN, OF, 20.6 – Cracked 2 dingers yesterday in the High-A playoffs. Baby Bonds is clutch too

26) (26) (27) (22) (24) (46) (47) Harry Ford SEA, C, 20.5 – The still underhyped Ford has an electric power/speed combo (15 homers and 24 steals in 118 games at High-A), and it comes with an elite plate approach (19.4%/18.3% K%/BB%)

27) (32) (31) (51) (59) (54) (52) Termarr Johnson PIT, 2B/SS, 19.3 – I ranked Johnson 33rd overall on the Predicting the 2024 Dynasty Prospects Rankings back in February and wrote, “Johnson’s hit tool at Single-A won’t be as good as the hype with an over 20% K% and under .280 BA. The power/speed numbers will be good though, and he’ll still destroy the level with a 130 wRC+.” … nailed that one too as Johnson put up a .244 BA, 26% K%, 18 homers, 10 steals, and a 141 wRC+ in 105 games split between Single-A and High-A

28) (33) (32) (211) (251) (318) (320) Sebastian Walcott TEX, SS, 17.4 – 32.5%/6.4% K%/BB% in 35 games in stateside rookie ball is on the extreme side regardless of his age, but I’m still betting on the truly elite talent

29) (38) (73) (64) (38) (57) (335) Mason Miller OAK, RHP, 24.5 – Returned from the UCL injury and has gone 5 IP over 3 outings. The huge stuff is all the way back, but Oakland is going to be super careful with him to close out the season. The high upside/high risk profile is pretty self evident right now

30) (37) (46) (53) (120) (126) (171) Cade Horton CHC, RHP, 22.0 – 1.33 ERA with a 28.4%/10.1% K%/BB% in 27 IP at Double-A. The Double-A production has cemented his elite pitching prospect status

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-SEPTEMBER TOP 476 DYNASTY RANKINGS
-TOP 54 2024 FYPD RANKINGS
-TOP 10 EARLY OFF-SEASON DYNASTY TARGETS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: SEPTEMBER MAILBAG! (9/22/23)
-Off-Season content includes team prospect lists, deep positional rankings, strategy articles, podcasts and very early releases of my Top 100 FYPD Ranks, Top 500 Prospects Ranks, and Top 1,000 Dynasty Ranks

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (9/11/23)

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 (9/11/23):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON & OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-SEPTEMBER TOP 476 DYNASTY RANKINGS
-AUGUST TOP 379 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-7 END OF SEASON STRATEGIES AND THOUGHTS
-TOP 50 2024 FYPD RANKINGS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: AUGUST MAILBAG! (8/25/23)
-TOP 38 PROSPECTS TO STASH FOR 2023 IMPACT ONLY (8/15/23)
-TOP 17 DYNASTY BASEBALL TARGETS (8/3/23)
-Off-Season content includes team prospect lists, deep positional rankings, strategy articles, and very early releases of my Top 100 FYPD Ranks, Top 500 Prospects Ranks, and Top 1,000 Dynasty Ranks

Jasson Dominguez NYY, OF, 20.7 – It turns out even Martians have UCL’s, and they apparently aren’t that sturdy as the The Martian tore his UCL and will require Tommy John surgery that could keep him out through the first half of 2024 as well. Tommy John surgery isn’t as big a deal for hitters as it is for pitchers, but it feels like it came at the worst possible time with him in the midst of a historic MLB debut with 4 homers in his first 8 games. He checked in at #97 on the September Top 476 Dynasty Baseball Rankings that dropped on the Patreon last week, but with the injury, I might drop him more towards the 120 range.

Noelvi Marte CIN, SS, 21.10 – These rookies are dropping like flies. Marte broke his nose after getting hit in the face playing catch with Elly De La Cruz. I always hated getting paired up with the kid who threw a 90 MPH tailing fastball in warmups, but unlike Marte, I always managed to actually catch the ball. Score one for Halp. On the other hand, I did break my nose while playing basketball my freshman year of college, and the ER doctor just said, “yup, it’s broken,” and sent me back out there with nothing they could do for it. I sat out a few days of my volleyball class before getting bored and deciding to play through it. I’m assuming Marte will do the same. He was in the midst of shoving it in all the scouts faces who called him fat and slow this off-season with 6 steals and a 28.8 ft/sec sprint speed, which is in the top 14 percent of the league. I feel like speed grades are by far the least reliable from scouts. He was also crushing the ball with a 92.4 MPH EV. All signs point towards him being a fantasy beast.

Dylan Crews WAS, OF, 21.5/Wyatt Langford TEX, OF, 21.8 – In my 7 End of Season Strategies and Thoughts (Patreon) article, I wrote that your focus should be on 2023 draftees, because that is where the largest swings in value will occur this late in the season, and right now, the first swing in value could be happening at the very top of the FYPD rankings. Crews continues to surprisingly struggle hard at Double-A with a measly 39 wRC+ in 16 games, while Langford recently got the call to the level and keeps on rolling with a 142 wRC+ in 6 games. They were already 1A and 1B for me in the rankings, and their Double-A performance could be tipping the scales to Langford for that top spot. It’s still obviously a small sample, and I would be very happy with either, but if I were picking today, I’m going Langford.

Jackson Holliday BAL, SS, 19.9 – Holliday finally met a level he couldn’t just dominate right from the jump with a 64 wRC+, 0 homers and 0 steals in 6 games at Triple-A, but I’m sure the hot streak is coming as he went 2 for 3 with a double and 2 walks last night, and he has an elite 10%/16.7% K%/BB%. I mentioned in the August Top 379 Prospects Rankings that the one blemish (I wouldn’t even really call it a blemish, more of a smudge) on his profile is that the power/speed combo has slowed down in the upper minors with only 3 homers and 3 steals in his last 42 games. He has only 10 homers in 113 games on the season. He’s only 19, and the season he just had is ridiculous for his age, so it seems silly to even mention, but when there is another uber 19 year old in Jackson Chourio right behind him, it’s at least something to think about if you are choosing between the 2 in startup dynasty drafts this off-season.

Jackson Chourio MIL, OF, 19.6 – Speaking of Chourio, he hits dingers in his sleep, and he smacked his 22nd of the season at Double-A going the opposite way. It also comes with 41 steals. We got a couple of really fun debates coming up this off-season at both the top of first year player drafts (Crews vs. Langford) and at the top of prospect drafts (Holliday vs. Chourio).

Paul Skenes PIT, RHP, 21.2/Yoshinobu Yamamoto FA, RHP, 25.1 – The fun debates don’t end with the hitters, because we have one brewing with who should be the first pitcher off the board in First Year Player Drafts as well. While everyone is slicing and dicing Skenes fastball shape, Yamamoto is out there pitching no hitters in Japan on Friday. He’s having a spotless season with a 1.20 ERA and 152/24 K/BB in 150 IP. He has the filthy stuff, plus control, plus durability, diverse pitch mix, plus strikeout rates, athletic delivery  … there is nothing he doesn’t have, and I think he will make it very tough to pass him up in favor of Skenes. Right now, I have Yamamoto as the top dog.

Druw Jones ARI, OF, 19.8 – Look who finally decided to join us for the 2023 season. Jones is showing up fashionably late, or maybe at this point he’s just rudely late, but he finally showed up nonetheless. He went 3 for 5 with a stolen base yesterday and is now slashing .339/.438/.500 with 2 homers, 6 steals, and a 15/11 K/BB in his last 16 games at Single-A. It brings his season wRC+ at the level to an above average 104 in 29 games, which takes his season from a total disaster to just disappointing. Coming off the shoulder surgery and the myriad of injuries he suffered this year, it’s fair to write this season off as a lost year, and with him showing signs of life here, he might make for a good buy low this off-season.

Pete Crow-Armstrong CHC, OF, 21.5 – With every top prospect and their mother getting called up to the majors, Petey Crow must be feeling pretty lonely still at Triple-A, and he’s taking his frustration out on the baseball. He went 4 for 5 yesterday with a double and a grand salami. It’s his second grand slam in 6 games, and there is really nothing left for him to prove in the minors. His path to the majors isn’t exactly wide open, but he’s not really blocked either. I’m expecting a callup before the end of the season, but who knows really. Update: Literally minutes after publishing this article it was announced PCA will be called up to the bigs. Perfect timing ha

Jackson Jobe DET, RHP, 20.10 – Jobe got a late start to the season coming off a serious back injury, so you are forgiven if it slipped by you that he very well might have a legitimate case to be the best pitching prospect in baseball. He threw another gem yesterday, going 5 IP with 5 hits, 1 ER, and a 7/0 K/BB at High-A. Here is a highlight reel of the filth. He now has a 3.10 ERA with a 78/6 K/BB in 58 IP. He throws 3 at least plus pitches in his fastball, slider, and changeup. If his hype doesn’t explode this off-season like it should, he will be a major target.

Barrett Kent LAA, RHP, 18.11 – The 6’4”, 215 pound Kent was an 8th round pick in this year’s draft, but he signed for almost $1 million, so you know how much LA liked him. He’s now turning heads in pro ball after making his full season debut at Single-A yesterday, going 4 IP with 2 hit, 0 ER, and a 5/1 K/BB. The fastball sat low to mid 90’s and he broke off some nasty changeups. He’s shaping up to be a nice later round target if you stock up on hitters early.

Michael King NYY, RHP, 28.3 – The Yankees rotation is crumbling piece by piece, but one man has risen from the ashes, and we call that man King (because that’s his name). Michael King is becoming a very enticing target this off-season after being transitioned to the rotation, and he had another great outing on Saturday, going 5 IP with 4 hits, 1 ER, and a 9/1 K/BB vs. MIL. The sinker sat 94.8 MPH, the changeup notched a 71% whiff% and the sweeper notched a 43% whiff%. It’s his 3rd straight excellent start in a row, and as you can see, he most certainly has the stuff to back it up. He was a starter in the minors, and a damn good one at that with a 2.96 ERA in 392.2 career MiLB IP, so none of this is foreign to him. He could be legit.

Kevin Alcantara CHC, OF, 21.2 – Alcantara closed out his season with a bang, going 4 for 4 with a double, homer, and a play at the plate which showed off his flair for the dramatic. He got off to a slow start on the season, but he’s been a man possessed over his last 62 games, slashing .330/.401/.540 with 9 homers, 5 steals, and a 57/27 K/BB at High-A. He has an excellent 124 wRC+ in 95 games on the season. Don’t sleep on this 6”6”, 188 pound unicorn athlete, because the hype could explode when he takes on the upper minors in 2024.

Myles Naylor OAK, SS, 18.5 – Naylor 3.0 was drafted 39th overall in this year’s draft, and he’s off to an extreme start, both good and bad, in his pro debut. He went deep for his 6th homer in 34 games at mostly Single-A yesterday, but it comes with a brutal 39.6% K%. That is in Elijah Green cover your eyes territory. You have to love the bloodlines (Josh and Bo are his older brothers) and the power, but that K% has to scare you off at least a little.

Victor Scott STL, OF, 22.6 – Scott is an absolute machine on the bases as he once again nabbed 3 bags in a game. It’s the 8th time he’s done that this year. His contact/speed profile has had no issues at Double-A with a 14.3% K%, 43 steals, 6 homers and a .328 BA in 60 games at the level. Make no mistake, Scott is one of the top speed prospects in all of baseball. Easy Top 100 prospect.

AJ Vukovich ARI, 3B, 22.1 – Vukovich has very quietly put together a strong season at Double-A, and it got stronger yesterday with him cracking a dinger. It’s his 2nd homer in 3 games, 3rd homer in 6 games, 4th homer in 10 games, 5th homer in 19 games, 6th homer in 29 games, 7th homer in 37 games, 8th homer in 39 games, 9th homer in 40 games … you get the point, he has a lot of homers (24 homers in 110 games at Double-A to be exact) ;). He’s a big dude at 6’2”, 210 pounds, and he’s also an excellent athlete, evidenced by 17 steals. The plate approach is rough with a 28.3%/8.8% K%/BB%, so there is risk, but he’s a legitimately exciting prospect. He checked in at #234 on the August Top 379 Prospects Rankings (Patreon).

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON & OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-SEPTEMBER TOP 476 DYNASTY RANKINGS
-AUGUST TOP 379 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-7 END OF SEASON STRATEGIES AND THOUGHTS
-TOP 50 2024 FYPD RANKINGS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: AUGUST MAILBAG! (8/25/23)
-TOP 38 PROSPECTS TO STASH FOR 2023 IMPACT ONLY (8/15/23)
-TOP 17 DYNASTY BASEBALL TARGETS (8/3/23)
-Off-Season content includes team prospect lists, deep positional rankings, strategy articles, and very early releases of my Top 100 FYPD Ranks, Top 500 Prospects Ranks, and Top 1,000 Dynasty Ranks

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Patreon Post: August 2023 Top 379 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings

It’s Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings Week over on the Patreon, and as usual, I’m going about 350 deep with blurbs for everyone. Top 21 are free here on the Brick Wall. Only prospects currently in the minors were eligible for this list with the exception of the very recently called up players (Winn, Noelvi). Previous rankings are in parenthesis from July through the off-season, in that order. Here is the August 2023 Top 379 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON & OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-AUGUST TOP 477 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 17 DYNASTY BASEBALL TARGETS (8/3/23)
-7 END OF SEASON STRATEGIES AND THOUGHTS
-TOP 50 2024 FYPD RANKINGS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: AUGUST MAILBAG! (8/25/23)
-TOP 38 PROSPECTS TO STASH FOR 2023 IMPACT ONLY (8/15/23)
–TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS

1) (1) (1) (2) (6) (13) Jackson Holliday BAL, SS, 19.9 – I hate to even mention it but Holliday’s power/speed combo has been a little lacking at Double-A with 3 homers and 1 steal in 25 games. He has only 10 homers in 105 games on the season. He’s only 19 years old and he has a 164 wRC+ at the level, which is why it’s almost silly to mention, but there is another 19 year old at Double-A who is breathing down Holliday’s neck, and he’s a power/speed glutton …

2) (2) (3) (5) (4) (3) Jackson Chourio MIL, OF, 19.5 – Holliday and Chourio ranked 25th and 26th overall on the Top 477 August 2023 Dynasty Baseball Rankings, so it’s a literal coin flip for me. Holliday has the safety and hit tool edge, while Chourio has the power/speed edge (17 homers and 34 steals in 100 games).

3) (3) (2) (6) (3) (7) Jordan Lawlar ARI, SS, 21.1 – Called up to Triple-A and is unsurprisingly raking with 2 homers, 2 steals, and a 13%/17.4% K%/BB% in 5 games. He ranked 1st overall on my Top 39 Prospects to Stash for 2023 Only that dropped last week on the Patreon.

4) (6) (6) (18) (23) (25) Pete Crow-Armstrong CHC, OF, 21.4 – Called up to Triple-A and hasn’t slowed down at all, slashing .299/.397/.567 with 4 homers, 5 steals, and a 21.8%/12.8% K%/BB% in 16 games. I’ve been screaming from the mountaintops that Armstrong was going to be beast for years now, and it’s all coming to fruition

5) (5) (5) (11) (47) (92) Junior Caminero TBR, 3B, 20.1 – Caught fire at Double-A in his last 12 games, slashing .370/.420/.761 with 6 homers and a 7/3 K/BB. He’s the righty version of Rafael Devers

6) (7) Dylan Crews WAS, OF, 21.5 – Stupid good at Single-A with a 192 wRC+ in 14 games. It earned him a promotion to Double-A, and I’m not sure the Double-A competition will be much better at slowing him down

7) (8) Wyatt Langford TEX, OF, 21.8 – Having no issues at High-A with a 152 wRC+ in 14 games. He can’t be far behind Crews for his first crack at the upper minors

8) (4) (4) (7) (14) (8) James Wood WAS, OF, 20.11 – 33.1% K% with a .227 BA in 64 games at Double-A officially puts his hit tool in the danger zone, but I’m still betting on the talent and future adjustments

9) (9) Paul Skenes PIT, RHP, 21.2 – He’s been untouchable in his pro debut, going 4 IP with 1 hit, 0 ER, and a 5/0 K/BB over 3 short outings at rookie and Single-A. He’s an ace waiting to happen with a fire 4 pitch mix (fastball, slider, cutter, change).

10) (10) (17) (15) (13) (34) Evan Carter TEX, OF, 20.11 – 0 homers in his last 13 games after his little power binge … he might not be a power hitting beast quite yet

11) (11) (13) (14) (41) (30) Noelvi Marte CIN, SS, 21.9 – Marte’s speed has been questioned for over a year now, so he went out and stole third base in his MLB debut, and then hit a hustle double for his first MLB hit. I have no idea where everyone plays when India and Fraley get healthy, but I’m not sure how Marte’s contact/power/speed profile got so underrated.

12) (13) (14) (16) (15) (10) Jasson Dominguez NYY, OF, 20.7 – The hit tool has been much improved of late, slashing .333/.401/.494 with 5 homers, 19 steals, and a 44/21 K/BB in his last 42 games at Double-A. That was the last thing we needed to see to cement his elite fantasy prospect status

13) (16) Walker Jenkins MIN, OF, 18.5 – Slashing .340/.380/.574 with 2 homers, 3 steals, and a 14%/6% K%/BB% in 12 games in rookie ball. He’s going to be an elite prospect in no time

14) (14) Max Clark DET, OF, 18.7 – Slashing .268/.348/.561 with 2 homers, 2 steals, and a 21.7%/10.9% K%/BB% in 10 games in rookie ball. He’s right on track to become the next Carroll/Armstrong

15) (33) (55) (135) (185) (265) Ethan Salas SDP, C, 17.2 – Called up to High-A and put up a 36 wRC+ in 9 games, which somehow earned him a promotion to Double-A. He’s 17 years old. I’m scratching my head. Why?

16) (34) (72) (50) (48) (42) Masyn Winn STL, SS, 21.4 – Called up to the majors and is struggling with a 71.8 MPH EV and 27.3%/0.0% K%/BB% in 3 games. It’s obviously a super small sample, but I wouldn’t expect him to explode in his age 21 year old season. It might take a couple years for him to really hit his peak a la CJ Abrams.

17) (24) (50) (57) (67) (71) Jackson Merrill SDP, SS, 20.3 – The GB% has come all the way down to 36.9% in 31 games at Double-A, and he’s done it while maintaining the elite contact rates (10.6% K%). It’s resulted in 4 homers, 5 steals, and a .312 BA

18) (35) (63) (66) (73) (354) Tyler Black MIL, 2B/3B, 23.0 – Black was one of my first major buy calls all the way back in April, and he’s now on the verge of a call up after getting promoted to Triple-A. He plays 2B and 3B and Milwaukee is very weak at 2B and 3B.

19) (12) (42) (48) (119) (80) Everson Pereira NYY, OF, 22.4 – Christopher Morel 2.0. He’s wrecking Triple-A with 8 homers and 4 steals in 35 games, but the swing and miss could tank him in the majors

20) (15) (20) (19) (31) (31) Marcelo Mayer BOS, SS, 20.8 – Out since August 2nd with a shoulder injury. A .220 BABIP was really his biggest issue at Double-A

21) (17) (16) (13) (12) (16) Ricky Tiedemann TOR, LHP, 21.0 – Beastly stuff and huge K upside makes you want to completely ignore that he has a 6.35 ERA in 17 IP at Double-A

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON & OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-AUGUST TOP 477 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 17 DYNASTY BASEBALL TARGETS (8/3/23)
-7 END OF SEASON STRATEGIES AND THOUGHTS
-TOP 50 2024 FYPD RANKINGS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: AUGUST MAILBAG! (8/25/23)
-TOP 38 PROSPECTS TO STASH FOR 2023 IMPACT ONLY (8/15/23)
–TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS

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

Posted on by Michael Halpern

Patreon Post: Mid-Season 2023 Top 356 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings

We back for the Mid-Season Edition of the Top 356 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings over on Patreon. Top 20 free here on the Brick Wall. Only players currently in the minors were eligible for this list. The new draftees are included. Previous rankings are in parenthesis (from June through the off-season, in that order). Here is the Mid-Season 2023 Top 356 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Rankings:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR THE REST OF THESE RANKINGS & TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-UPDATED TOP 473 JULY DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 50 2024 FYPD RANKINGS
-TOP 25 PROSPECTS TO STASH FOR 2023 IMPACT ONLY (7/14/23)
-TOP DYNASTY BASEBALL TARGETS (6/29/23)
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: JULY MAILBAG! (7/28/23)
–TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS

1) (1) (2) (6) (13) Jackson Holliday BAL, SS, 19.8 – Got the call to Double-A and just continues to cement his top dog status with 1 homer, a 15% K% and 146 wRC+ in 9 games. He better keep it up though, because he has someone nipping at his heels …

2) (3) (5) (4) (3) Jackson Chourio MIL, OF, 19.4 – New ball, new Chourio … or should I say old ball, old Chourio. He’s back to tearing up the minors with a 1.367 OPS, 3 homers and 5 steals in 9 games at Double-A post break. I’m tempted to put him back over Holliday

3) (2) (6) (3) (7) Jordan Lawlar ARI, SS, 21.0 – Lawlar ranked 13th on my Top 26 Prospects to Stash for 2023 Only (Patreon). He’s been dominating Double-A for months now with a .979 OPS in his last 40 games, he’s already 21 years old, Perdomo is due for regression, and Arizona is fighting for a playoff spot.

4) (4) (7) (14) (8) James Wood WAS, OF, 20.10 – .208 BA with a 31.6% K% in 41 games at Double-A shows the hit tool risk is real, but I wouldn’t let it scare you off too much as the 6’6”, 240 pound Wood is the next head exploding, elite athlete that will make mainstream baseball fans go crazy when he does get the call

5) (5) (11) (47) (92) Junior Caminero TBR, 3B, 20.0 – The righty version of Rafael Devers

6) (6) (18) (23) (25) Pete Crow-Armstrong CHC, OF, 21.3 – The power is exploding with 12 homers in 68 games at Double-A, the speed is elite with 23 steals, and he’s never had any hit tool issues with a career .304 BA in the minors. He’s straight elite

7) Dylan Crews WAS, OF, 21.4 – Ranked 1st on my Top 50 2024 First Year Player Draft Rankings (Patreon): “Let’s cut right to the chase, if any pitcher would make me pass on the type of hitting talent Crews and Langford are, it would be Paul Skenes, so I have no issue going Skenes first, but with how an entire pitcher’s career trajectory can be changed on a single pitch, I just can’t take that risk. Selected 2nd overall, Crews is built like a solid rock at 6’0”, 203 pounds, and he swings the bat so fast and powerfully it almost looks like he’s using an illegally light bat (he’s not, at least I don’t think he is ha). The ball explodes off it on contact. The swing and hard hit ability are so impressive that I get shades of Bryce Harper when watching him (obviously not a direct comp). He obliterated the SEC from the second he stepped on campus as a freshman, and he kept on improving through his junior year, slashing .380/.498/.689 with 58 homers, 23 steals, and a 146/152 K/BB in 196 career games. His floor feels like a 30+ homer bat without the best BA or tons of steals, and the ceiling might look something like the aforementioned Bryce Harper. ETA: 2024 Prime Projection: 103/33/108/.278/.367/.531/14″

8) Wyatt Langford TEX, OF, 21.7 – Ranked 2nd on my Top 50 2024 First Year Player Draft Rankings (Patreon): “If you miss out on Crews, Langford not only isn’t a bad consolation prize, but he has a legit case to be taken over Crews.  He might actually have half a tick more power and speed than Crews, and he’s even more built up at 6’1”, 225 pounds. He used that tremendously powerful and athletic frame to destroy the SEC over the past 2 seasons, slashing .363/.471/.746 with 47 homers, 16 steals, and a 89/92 K/BB in 134 career games. Crews strikes me as a bit looser and more of a natural athlete to my eye, and his bat speed and swing just look next level to me, so I would still pick him first, but I would be happy as a clam to sit at #2 and take whichever bat fell to me. He was selected 4th overall. ETA: 2024 Prime Projection: 95/34/105/.271/.355/.523/16″

9) Paul Skenes PIT, RHP, 21.1 – Ranked 3rd on my Top 50 2024 First Year Player Draft Rankings (Patreon): “Selected 1st overall, Skenes immediately becomes the top pitching prospect in baseball who has yet to debut in the majors. If your offense is already stacked, and you are struggling to build up your pitching, I wouldn’t blame you for going Skenes over Crews and Langford, because Skenes is a generational pitching talent. His season was nothing short of jaw dropping with a pitching line of 1.69/0.75/209/20 in 122.2 IP in the SEC. His fastball sits in the upper 90’s and routinely hits over 100 MPH. His slider is elite, and while he didn’t go to his changeup as much, that pitch is also nasty. He also displayed plus control of his entire arsenal. He’s 6’6”, 235 pounds with a relatively athletic delivery and he’s a good athlete in general as evidenced by the fact he is also an excellent hitter. He had a career 1.121 OPS in 119 games in the Mountain West before transferring into the SEC. He’s as can’t miss as a pitcher can get. ETA: 2024 Prime Projection: 16/3.12/1.02/250 in 200 IP”

10) (17) (15) (13) (34) Evan Carter TEX, OF, 20.10 – He’s been a homer machine since returning from a wrist injury with 6 homers in 26 games at Double-A. The homer uptick is the last thing we needed to see with his mature plate approach and plus speed

11) (13) (14) (41) (30) Noelvi Marte CIN, SS, 21.8 – Called up to Triple-A and isn’t having any issues with a 112 wRC+, 1 homer, 3 steals, and a 19.5% K% in 17 games. He’s shaping up to be an above average contributor in every category

12) (42) (48) (119) (80) Everson Pereira NYY, OF, 22.3 – Called up to Triple-A and is rolling with 4 homers and a 23.7% K% in 13 games. He has a 92.9 MPH EV at the level. He’s in position for a call up with the Yanks scuffling offense, and he can make a legit fantasy impact if he does get the call

13) (14) (16) (15) (10) Jasson Dominguez NYY, OF, 20.6 – I’m going to keep buying a 20 year old at Double-A who is showing off a nasty power (12 homers)/speed (25 steals)/OBP (.348 OBP) combo. Don’t expect a high BA though with a .219 BA and 27.1% K%

14) Max Clark DET, OF, 18.6 – Ranked 4th on my Top 50 2024 First Year Player Draft Rankings (Patreon): Clark is the 2023 draft version of Pete Crow Armstrong and Corbin Carroll, two guys who I was the high man on in their first year player draft class, although Clark actually got the respect he deserved by getting selected 3rd overall. Maybe the success of those aforementioned players paved the way for a guy like Clark to get valued correctly. As you can tell from the comps, double plus speed with a plus hit tool and developing power is what you are buying. He’s a pretty thick and muscular 6’1”, 190 pounds, so I don’t think you have to squint too hard to see legitimate power developing down the line, even if he’s more a line drive hitter currently. 5×5 BA leagues are going to be his bread and butter, but like Carroll, he can be a beast regardless of league type. He has elite dynasty asset upside. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 93/18/72/.288/.346/.435/39

15) (20) (19) (31) (31) Marcelo Mayer BOS, SS, 20.7 – .221 BABIP is the only issue at Double-A. He was the Walker Jenkins of his draft class …

16) Walker Jenkins MIN, OF, 18.4 – Ranked 5th on my Top 50 2024 First Year Player Draft Rankings (Patreon): Selected 5th overall, the 6’3”, 215 pounds Jenkins has that sweet lefty swing that just oozes offensive potential. It’s athletic, quick, under control, powerful, smooth … I can go on and on. It’s hard to watch this guy hit and not completely fall in love. It has the potential for plus hit and plus power at peak, and he’s also a good athlete with above average run times. It’s the type of profile that can be an elite dynasty asset a la Kyle Tucker. If your dynasty league leans more towards power than speed, I can see scooping Jenkins over Clark. ETA: 2026 Prime Projection: 89/30/97/.270/.340/.514/14

17) (16) (13) (12) (16) Ricky Tiedemann TOR, LHP, 20.11 – Returned from biceps inflammation and looked healthy in his first rehab outing in rookie ball, going 2 perfect innings with 3 K’s. Injury risk is just part of the equation when you deal in pitching prospects

18) (NA) (27) (128) (328) AJ Smith-Shawver ATL, RHP, 20.5 – Sent back down to Triple-A after a solid MLB debut. The fact he even made it to the majors is incredible considering how fast he flew through the minors at only 20 years old

19) (30) (29) (49) (36) Tink Hence STL, RHP, 20.11 – Got called up to Double-A and has a 1.80 ERA with a 18%/6.6% K%/BB% in 15 IP, going 5 IP in each outing. The stuff is fire, he is starting to go deeper into games, and now he’s performing in the upper minors

20) (26) (31) (77) (247) Heston Kjerstad BAL, OF, 24.5 – One of the premier hit/power prospects in the minors with a .344 BA and 5 homers in 33 games at Triple-A

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