I’m going to be running down all of the latest happenings in the dynasty baseball world every Monday morning (check out my Patreon for a ton more of this content all week). Here is the Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (3/15/21):
Byron Buxton MIN, OF, 27.3 – Cracking his tooth on a steak wasn’t in vain, as eating all that protein is starting to pay off with Buxton jacking a 111.4 MPH homer yesterday, and is definitely looking a little more built up to my eye. The plate approach and how much he runs are still questions, but the power looks unquestioned as he gets deeper into his 20’s.
Alex Kirilloff MIN, 1B/OF, 23.5/Brent RookerMIN, OF, 26.5 – The competition is heating up for the LF job. Kirilloff launched a 420 foot lefty on lefty homer to dead center for his first spring homer on Thursday, and Rooker counter struck with a 3 for 3 day with a double and 0 K’s yesterday. Minnesota is a very smart team who understands the value of depth, so while great for real life, not so much for fantasy.
Tyler O’Neill STL, OF, 25.9 – Tyler O’Neill was one of the first players I ever wrote a sleeper post for in February 2016, and when I did, I did not expect for him to still be a sleeper in 2021! But here we are, and he is. O’Neill went 3 for 3 with a double and 0 K’s yesterday and is now hitting .476 with 2 homers and 5 K’s in 21 at-bats. He looks locked into a starting job. I told you he was a sleeper in 2016, and there is still time to buy! 😉
Lance McCullers Jr. HOU, RHP, 27.7 – Some of the best value in dynasty drafts/trades comes from targeting talented, established MLB pitchers who are out with Tommy John surgery. I was high on McCullers coming into last season, and it paid off in 2020 with a solid season. He could take it to another level in 2021, as McCullers looked excellent yesterday, going 4 IP with 3 hits and a 6/0 K/BB. Luis Severino is the player to target this season that fits that category, and he just got positive reviews in his 1st bullpen session post Tommy John (Sale and Thor are good targets too).
Carlos Martinez STL, RHP, 29.6 – Velocity was down early in spring, so it was great to see it back up at 93.9 MPH. The results weren’t great with 5 hits, 1 BB, 2 ER, and 3 K’s in 4 IP, but the stuff ticking up is the more important takeaway.
Alek Manoah TOR, RHP, 23.3 – Manoah couldn’t have been happy with his relative lack of prospect hype, so he went out and struck out 7 Yankees in a row en route to 3 perfect innings. The fastball averaged 95.3 MPH and he showed off some nasty secondary pitches (slider, change).
Simeon Woods Richardson TOR, RHP – Richardson followed up Manoah’s performance with 3 excellent innings of his own, giving up 2 hits with a 3/0 K/BB. He doesn’t have the eye popping fastball (92.4 MPH), but the man knows how to pitch.
Odubel Herrera PHI, OF, 29.3 – Continues to make his claim for the CF job with a 444 foot blast at 105.8 MPH. Mickey Moniak did his best to keep pace with another double, while Scott Kingery continued to struggle with an 0 for 3 day.
Shea Langeliers ATL, C, 23.5 – Drafted 9th overall in 2019 for his plus defense, Langeliers showed off some offense with his first homer and 2nd hit of the spring in 11 at bats. Most of his fantasy value stems from the fact he is a lock to stick behind the plate and is the likely catcher of the future in Atlanta.
Dean Kremer BAL, RHP, 25.3 – I’ve been recommending to take a shot on Dean Kremer late in drafts (obviously “late in drafts” is relative to league size), and he is becoming more and more attractive with his fastball velocity averaging 94.1 MPH yesterday, which is a 1.3 MPH bump from last season. He went 3 IP with 1 ER, 3 hits and a 4/2 K/BB.
Tejay Antone CIN, RHP, 27.4 – Left the game with an injury, putting a screeching halt to the hype train for a few moments, but it turned out to be a mild groin strain and he is hoping to be able to make his next scheduled start.
Yusei Kikuchi SEA, LHP, 29.8 – Went 3.1 IP with 0 ER, 2 hits, 1 BB, and 6 K’s. Heater sat mid 90’s and the slider was on point. He’s an obvious breakout/sleeper pick with his 3.51 xERA in 2020 looking much better than his 5.17 ERA.
Bobby Witt Jr. KC, SS, 20.10 – The coming out party is in full force with Witt ripping a deep pull side homer off Julio Urias. He’s now 11 for 32 with 3 homers and an 8/4 K/BB on the spring. Any reasonable buy window that was available has been slammed shut.
Brady Singer KC, RHP, 24.9 – The buy window for another Royal might still be open, as Singer went 4 IP with 1 ER, 4 hits, and a 6/1 K/BB. He had a solid MLB debut on the back of his plus sinker/slider combo, and a continually improving changeup could take his game to the next level.
Gavin Lux LAD, 2B, 23.4 – Lux’s push for the starting 2B job is going quite well with a 2 for 2 day. He is now hitting .381, although it comes with 0 walks and only one extra base hit. Maybe it is better that he is not going absolutely ham, as he could still be had at a reasonable cost.
Luis Campusano SD, C, 22.6 – Could work his way into an expanded role to start the year after Austin Nola fractured the ring finger on his left hand. He’s been rock solid this spring going 5 for 16 with a 4/2 K/BB.
CJ Abrams SD, SS, 20.6 – Sliced an impressive homer to left centerfield that didn’t happen yesterday, but was just too good not to mention. He hasn’t gone all Bobby Witt on us this spring (7 for 27), but has had some really eye opening moments.
Kohei Arihara TEX, RHP, 28.8 – After getting blown up in his first start, Arihara settled down in his last 2, going 4 IP with 2 hits, 0 ER, and a 3/0 K/BB yesterday. The strikeouts won’t be there (5 K’s in 9 IP), so it puts a ton of pressure on the ratios to help your fantasy team.
Tyler Soderstrom OAK, C, 19.4 – Picked up another hit and is now 3 for 6 with 2 doubles. The reports about his mature bat at the alt site do not seem to be overstated as he is off to a strong start this spring as well.
Bubba Thompson TEX, OF, 22.10 – Knocked a dinger for his first hit of the spring in 6 at-bats. He was a former favorite of mine who hasn’t been able to turn his elite athleticism into refined baseball skills. He’s moved into the watchlist category, because the talent is too good to ignore if he starts to figure it out in his mid 20’s.
By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)