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 (4/28/25):
CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–APRIL 2025 TOP 437 DYNASTY RANKS
–UPDATED TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS COMING SOON
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS
–TOP 10 2026 FYPD RANKINGS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL MAILBAG!
Hunter Barco – PIT, LHP, 24.4 – I gotta seriously consider using my psychic abilities for something other than baseball prospects. After listening to 10 hours of “Awaken Your Psychic Abilities” YouTube music and tones video this off-season, I predicted that Hunter Barco would be the 32nd overall ranked prospect in baseball by next off-season in my Predicting the 2026 Top 50 Prospects Ranks, and I think I even undersold him. He could be the top pitching prospect breakout in the minors this year, and his dominance continued yesterday, going 3 IP with 1 hit, 0 ER and a 8/0 K/BB at Double-A. He now has a 0.00 ERA with a 40.0/5.3 K%/BB% in 20.2 IP. The velocity has ticked up into the mid 90’s, he has two bat missing secondaries in his slider and splitter, the control is solid, he’s 6’4”, 235 pounds and he has that funky lefty delivery that I just love. I mean, that is checking all of the boxes. I already jumped him up to 195th overall on the Updated Top 437 Dynasty Baseball Rankings that just dropped on the Patreon last week. If he can truly keep this up at Triple-A, and we’ve seen more than a few top pitching prospects struggle with that jump (Brandon Sproat and Quinn Mathews), we could be looking at a truly elite pitching prospect.
Arjun Nimmala – TOR, SS, 19.6 – Sticking with guys on that Predicting the 2026 Top Prospects list, Nimmala checked in at #39, and he’s right on track to end up in that area after homering in his 3rd straight game at High-A. This one was out to dead center. With Single-A now becoming a sort of glorified rookie ball, High-A can be considered the first real test for these youngsters, and Nimmala is passing it with flying colors, slashing .289/.349/.539 with 5 homers, 1 steal, and a 21.7/8.4 K%/BB% in 18 games. Seeing the K rate all the way down in the low 20’s is huge. He’s blowing up.
Bryce Rainer – DET, SS, 19.9 – Rainer didn’t crack that Predicting the 2026 Prospects list, but he clearly should have as his pro debut has been damn impressive. He went the opposite way for his 2nd homer in 10 games at Single-A, and he’s now slashing .226/.381/.484 with 2 homers, 2 steals, and a 11.9/19.0 K%/BB%. He’s crushing the ball with a 93.7 MPH EV, the plate skills are elite, and he’s running. He also most certainly looks the part at a powerful 6’3” with a smooth and quick lefty swing. This looks like an elite prospect waiting to happen.
Jacob Misiorowski – MIL, RHP, 23.0 – 5 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 9/0 K/BB at Triple-A. Is Misiorowski finally starting to take that step forward with his control? He didn’t walk a single batter in this one, and in the start before, he only walked one guy. His 11.5% BB% in 29.2 IP is actually starting to resemble a semi-reasonable walk rate, and it comes with a 1.82 ERA and 33.6% K%. It also comes with some of the best stuff in the minors. The fastball sat 97.4 MPH in this one and notched a 29% whiff%. The slider, curve and change were all whiff machines too, leading to a 38% whiff% overall. This is the type of stuff that can thrive with a 10+ BB%, and it looks like we might be finally entering that range. We need to see it over a larger sample as the walk rate sat 14%+ last year, but another start or two with solid control and Mis will be among the very best pitching prospects in the game.
Jonah Tong – NYM, RHP, 21.9 – Speaking of 14%+ walk rates, Tong currently has a 14.9% BB% in 17.1 IP at Double-A, but when it comes with a 40.5% K%, I think we can partly overlook that. He had his best outing of the season yesterday, going 4 IP with 1 hit, 0 ER, and a 10/1 K/BB. Here are the highlights of the absolute filth. The curveball is just silly, the changeup was making lefties look foolish, the slider in the dirt induced terrible swings, and the mid 90’s fastball was blowing guys away. He’s obviously having some issues controlling his truly filthy stuff, but he was able to harness it in this one, and if he’s able to build on this, his stock is set to sour. I was a big fan this off-season, and that love continues to grow.
Dylan Crews – WAS, OF, 23.1 – I preached patience with Crews’ early season struggles, as we saw both Chourio and Langford struggle in 2024 before their epic breakouts, and now Crews looks to be headed on that same path. He crushed a 104.8 MPH homer with a 78.7 MPH swing off Tylor Megill, and he’s now slashing .364/.391/.705 with 4 homers and 3 steals in his last 12 games. The underlying numbers looked good even when he was slumping, and he’s now rocking a 14.9% Barrel%, a 90.2 MPH EV, a 29.4 ft/sec sprint, a 73.1 MPH swing, and a .344 xwOBA. He’s coming.
Agustin Ramirez – MIA, C, 23.7 – Ramirez has taken the major leagues by storm after drilling 2 homers at 108.7 MPH and 105.1 MPH last night. He’s been straight unstoppable since getting the call, slashing .474/.524/1.158 with 3 homers, 1 steal, and a 9.5/9.5 K%/BB% in 21 PA. The 17.5% Barrel%, 92.9 MPH EV and .504 xwOBA backs up the surface stats. He wasn’t even this good in at Triple-A before getting the call with a 113 wRC+ in 19 games, so obviously he’s not this good, but at the least, he’s quite clearly proving his big time power bat is no joke. He’s not a good defensive catcher, and Joe Mack is right behind him and crushing the minors, but his bat is clearly going to be good enough to even DH if it will have to. How can you not be buying after this debut?
Anthony Volpe – NYY, SS, 23.11 – 2 for 3 with a 105.3 MPH double and 103.6 MPH homer. Volpe is doing his best to marry his extreme lift and pull profile from his rookie year, with his more all around hitter approach of 2024, and so far, it’s working with 5 homers, 3 steals, and a 123 wRC+ in 28 games. Or maybe he’s just getting stronger and swinging harder with a career high 71.9 MPH swing and 90.7 MPH EV. The underlying numbers back up the surface stats with a 13% Barrel% and .337 xwOBA. I pushed Volpe up my Updated Top 437 Dynasty Rankings to #71 overall despite his low BA, because for fantasy, it’s all about that power/speed combo, and he’s back to gunning for homers.
Ceddanne Rafaela – BOS, SS/OF, 24.7 – 2 for 4 with a 108.4 MPH homer and 100.5 MPH double. Rafaela’s .644 OPS is almost exactly the same as last year’s 664 OPS, which is discouraging on the surface, but when you look under the hood, you are seeing improvements everywhere you wanted to see them. The Barrel% is up to 11.3%, the EV is up to 89.6 MPH, the whiffs are down to 25.7% and the BB% is up to 6.3%. The .332 xwOBA vs. the .273 xwOBA from 2024 tells the story much better than the surface stats. Rafaela is leveling up.
Nolan Jones – CLE, OF, 26.11 – Here’s what I wrote about Jones in the Updated Dynasty Rankings, “He’s been terrible, but he has a 95.2 MPH EV with a .329 xwOBA, 27.2% whiff%, 22.9% Chase% and an 11.8 degree launch. He’s also stolen 2 bags. I mean, this should really be working. I don’t want to give up yet” … and then he went out yesterday and jacked a 109 MPH dinger. He already has a big MLB season under his belt, and this man now has a 96.2 MPH EV on the season! Don’t give up on him yet.
Hunter Brown – HOU, RHP, 26.8 – 6 IP, 7 hits, 1 ER, 9/1 K/BB at KC. Brown shot up to 60th overall on the Updated Dynasty Rankings, and he just keeps on proving he’s a young ace with a 1.22 ERA and 29.9/5.2 K%/BB% in 37 IP. The fastball sat 96.7 MPH with a 27% whiff%, while the changeup notched a 42% whiff%. The only thing keeping him from ranking even higher is that the 26.9% whiff% on the season is more in above average range than truly plus, and even this outing with 9 K’s, it came with a 26% whiff%. It’s just nitpicking, but I think it’s worth mentioning. Either way, he induces weak contact, the control is taking a step forward into plus territory, and the stuff is huge. It’s just a continuation from what he did in the 2nd half of last off-season. He’s a beast.
Nick Lodolo – CIN, LHP, 27.3 – 7 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 9/1 K/BB vs. COL. The only thing missing from Lodolo’s excellent start to the season were the strikeouts, and they showed up in a big way in this one with a 29% whiff% led by the curve which put up a 50% whiff%. He now has a 2.25 ERA with a 18.9/3.5 K%/BB% in 36 IP, and those strikeout are on the way up. As long as he stays healthy, this could finally be the blow up year we’ve been waiting for.
Tylor Megill – NYM, RHP, 29.8 – 6.1 IP, 3 hits, 3 ER, 9/1 K/BB at WSH. We’ve all been waiting for this Megill breakout for years now, and while we’ve been faked out before, I so want to buy this. The fastball sat 95.8 MPH and put up a 26% whiff%, while the slider notched a 55% whiff%, leading the way for a 28% whiff% overall. He now has a 1.74 ERA with a 29.8/9.2 K%/BB% in 31 IP. I couldn’t help but fly him up my Updated Top 437 Dynasty Rankings last week to #251 overall, and while that maybe wasn’t even high enough, I did want to have some restraint due to the fact he has faked us out year after year in the past. Regardless, there is always so much to love about Megill, and he might be putting it together.
Kaelen Culpepper – MIN, SS, 22.3 – An injury has limited Culpepper to only 9 games at High-A, but he’s been sneakily really strong in those games, and it got less sneaky yesterday with him blasting a no doubt dinger with an athletic and powerful righty swing. He’s now slashing .344/.432/.563 with 1 homer, 0 steals, and a 13.5/13.5 K%/BB% in 9 games at High-A. The groundball rate is high and he’s not running yet, but I thought he was a sneaky good pick in last year’s First Year Player Draft, and he just keeps on hitting.
Jared Thomas – COL, OF/1B, 21.9 – Speaking of underrated college bats that I liked a lot in last year’s FYPD class, Thomas was another one of those guys, and he’s exploding on another level. He went the opposite way for his 4th homer of the season, and he’s now slashing .366/.480/.561 with 4 homers, 4 steals, and a 21.0/15.0 K%/BB% in 21 games at High-A. He’s done nothing but rake in pro ball with a 148 wRC+ in his pro debut last year. He looks the part at an athletic 6’2”, 190 pounds with a strong across the board profile. Will Colorado ever give him a real shot? Who knows. They are a total wild card, but Thomas looks legitimately exciting.
Wilfred Veras – CHW, OF, 22.4 – If you’re looking for a fun upside proximity play with almost no hype, Veras is your man. Just watch him jack out this homer yesterday. He’s 6’1”, 240 with that vicious righty swing and he loves to run. He now has 4 homers, 7 steals, a 125 wRC+ and a 31.5/13.5 K%/BB% in 20 games. Plate approach was a major issue for him coming into this year, so it’s great to see the high walk rate, although the 31.5% K% is obviously too high. The risk is most certainly high, but Chicago is eventually going to give a guy with this much talent a shot, and the fantasy upside is worth taking a chance on him.
Noelvi Marte – CIN, 3B, 23.6 – Marte must have taken my advice and gotten back on the juice ;), because he’s been a man possessed this season, and it continued yesterday with a 3 for 5 day. He hit a 103.8 MPH double, a 103.2 MPH single and a 99.6 MPH single. His sprint speed is back up to 29.3 ft/sec, which is a career high, and the bat speed is back up too with a 74.2 MPH swing. That is double plus range. He’s definitely been on the lucky side with a .353 xwOBA vs. .458 wOBA, and a 12.8% K% vs. a 25% whiff%, but it’s clear whatever mental and physical issues caused Marte’s horrific 2024 is behind him. He’s back on track to being an exciting all category young dynasty asset.
Andy Pages – LAD, OF, 24.5 – The Dodgers stayed patient with Pages through his slow start, and what a smart move that was, because he’s been on fire of late, culminating with a 4 for 5 day yesterday, punctuated by a 105.1 MPH homer. He now has 5 homers with a .861 OPS, and while the .303 xwOBA isn’t as impressive, the dude is a launch machine with a very respectable 22.4% whiff% and 8.3% Barrel%. The .277 BA might be coming down, but he’s going to rip dingers.
Geraldo Perdomo – ARI, SS, 25.4 – I had absolutely zero faith that Perdomo was going to be an impact major leaguer, even when Arizona showed all signs of loving him, and Arizona was clearly correct. They put their money where their mouth was this off-season, and he’s delivered. He went 1 for 4 with a 102.6 MPH homer yesterday, continuing to lock in the power gains with a career best 89.4 MPH. Combine that with a 15.4 degree launch, 9.4/16.5 K%/BB% and base stealing ability, and you get a really solid across the board fantasy contributor (4 homers, 6 steals, and a .361 xwOBA in 28 games).
Payton Tolle – BOS, LHP, 22.5 – 4 IP, 1 hit, 0 ER, 9/1 K/BB at High-A. The 50th overall pick in the draft got blown up in his first outing of the season, which is bringing his season line down, but this was his 2nd excellent outing in a row. This is a big boy at 6’6”, 250 pounds with a three quarter arm lefty delivery, the fastball has continued to tick up into the mid 90’s now, and he has multiple bat missing secondaries (change, slider, curve). He currently has a 6.52 ERA with a 37.8/11.1 K%/BB% in 9.2 IP at High-A, but like I said, it was really just one bad outing. He’s got high K mid-rotation starter upside.
Gunnar Hoglund – OAK, RHP, 25.4 – After undergoing Tommy John surgery in May of 2021, Hoglund is just now starting to look like his old self. He was on track to be an easy Top 10 pick in the 2021 MLB Draft until he went down with the injury, and teams thought so highly of him that he was still selected 19th overall. But Tommy John recovery is not always super smooth, and while it’s been a bumpy road, he’s slowing starting to look like his prime self. He went 5 IP with 3 hits, 0 ER, and a 5/1 K/BB at Triple-A. The fastball is back up to 94 MPH, which is great to see, and the curve notched a 38% whiff%. He throws a legit 5 pitching mix (4-seamer, curve, change, sinker, slider) with plus control, and it’s resulted in a 2.43 ERA with a 26.1/6.1 K%/BB% in 29.2 IP. He’s not missing quite enough bats to really fly him up the rankings, the stuff is good but not great, and he has a terrible ballpark waiting for him, but Hoglund is definitely taking a big step forward this year and is firmly putting himself back on the fantasy radar.
Logan Evans – SEA, RHP, 23.10 – Evans made his MLB debut and it was pretty unimpressive, going 5 IP with 2 hits, 2 ER, and a 3/3 K/BB vs MIA. The sinker and 4-seamer only sat 92.9 MPH and he put up a lowly 10% whiff%. The stuff and whiffs weren’t that impressive at Triple-A either before getting the call. He has gotten some hype these past 2 off-seasons, but I’m not sure it’s warranted at the moment. He just doesn’t look that special right now.
Matt Shaw – CHC, 3B/2B/SS, 23.4 – Triple-A Matt Shaw homers just don’t hit the same after his struggles in the majors, but he got ahold of his first dinger at Triple-A with a frozen rope out to left field. The crazy batting stance and leg kick has been sorta toned down, but honestly, not really as he still has the pointed in batting stance with the extreme leg kick. Again, it’s not as crazy as it was earlier in the year, but it’s still a weird batting stance. Even though I’m not a fan of the stance, I’ll trust that he knows what he’s doing, and I don’t want to move off him because of it. Plenty of great players struggle in their first taste of the bigs, and I’m staying patient.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–APRIL 2025 TOP 437 DYNASTY RANKS
–UPDATED TOP 300+ PROSPECTS RANKS COMING SOON
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS
–TOP 10 2026 FYPD RANKINGS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL MAILBAG!
By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)