I know, I know, it is too early to draw any conclusions and it is silly to extrapolate much from Spring Training numbers, but I’m excited for baseball and I’m following everything so closely anyway so why not write about it. I did yesterday’s Rundown in podcast form which you can find the link to below. Here is the Dynasty Baseball Rundown: 3/2/21:

-Halp’s Dynasty Baseball Podcast: 3/1/21 Dynasty Rundown
-Top 1,000 2021 Dynasty Baseball Rankings

Nate Pearson TOR, RHP – Pearson was dialing the fastball up to 99.9 MPH en route to 1 IP with 2 K’s, 1 BB and 1 unearned run. I’m expecting the WHIP to be on the high side early in his career, but so will the strikeouts.

Austin Martin TOR, OF – 0 for 1 with a walk and stolen base. Martin is the type of all around player who can contribute and produce even when the hits aren’t falling.

Anthony Alford PIT, OF – Smacked a dinger, going 1 for 2 with a strikeout. Alford got a relatively late start on focusing solely on baseball as a two sport athlete, so he has late career breakout written all over him. He’s a great athlete with an above average power/speed combo and a wide open centerfield job in Pittsburgh. He is shaping up to be an interesting late round flier.

Thomas Szapucki NYM, RHP – 1 IP with a hit and strikeout. It looks like he is going to work out of the pen at least early in his career. He knows how to strike guys out and is someone who could really pop in one inning stints.

Sandy Alcantara MIA, RHP – 2 IP with 2 hits, 1 BB and 0 K’s. The average strikeout rate is what made me hesitant to move Alcantara too far up in my dynasty rankings.

Brent Rooker MIN, OF – Knocked a dinger. All the focus is on Kirilloff for that open OF job, but Rooker is in the mix too with his monster power.

Garrett Mitchell MIL, OF – Crushed a 109.7 MPH single with a 4 degree launch angle in his only at bat of the game. That shows the raw power and impressive overall upside if he is able to raise his launch angle.

Corbin Burnes MIL, RHP – Pitched a clean inning with 2 K’s. Looked to be in mid-season form, ramping his sinker up to 98.2 MPH.

Bryson Stott PHI, SS – Ripped a 108.7 MPH groundball single. Stott was the 14th overall pick in 2019 and is 6’3”, 200 pounds, so while he hasn’t shown truly impact power yet,  there could be more in the tank.

Austin Hays BAL, OF – 2 for 2 with a pair of singles in his first game action. He’s competing with Cedric Mullins for the CF job.

Jameson Taillon NYY, RHP – In his first game action since undergoing Tommy John surgery, Taillon was able to hit 93.4 MPH on the fastball. The pitch has averaged about 95 MPH in his career, so it is something to watch.

Josh Lowe TB, OF – 1 for 1 with a walk and stolen base. He’s been getting underrated since he had a rough 2017 and 2018, but he broke out in 2019 and is capable of putting up high OBP’s with a plus power/speed combo.

Riley Greene DET, OF – 1 for 1 with a stolen base. He is such a good all around hitter that if he gets the green light on the base paths it could take his fantasy value to the next level.

DJ Stewart BAL, OF – Ripped a homer, going 1 for 3 with 0 strikeouts. His power and patience exploded in 2020, and his upside is probably not getting enough respect in drafts.

Nick Yorke BOS, 2B – Drafted 17th overall on the back of his plus hit tool and advanced plate approach and he didn’t disappoint in his first game, going 1 for 1 with a walk. He looked like a seasoned vet at the dish.

Carter Kieboom WASH, 3B – He’s going to get another shot at the 3B job and started the spring off well going 2 for 3.

Robert Hassell SD, OF – Crushed a double off the centerfield wall. I was skeptical about how much power he was going to get to, but if he keeps hitting bombs like that I might have to reconsider.

Bobby Bradley CLE, 1B – Bradley is competing for 1B at bats, and there is no question he can hit for power as he knocked his first homer of the Spring yesterday.

Yasel Antuna WASH, SS + Freudis Nova HOU, SS – Antuna and Nova are two of the most talented prospects from the 2016 international class, and while they haven’t broken out yet, 2021 could be setting up to be their coming out parties in their age 21 year old season. They didn’t have huge games or anything, Antuna went 1 for 2 with a K and Nova went 0 for 2 with a walk and a K, but they are worth keeping tabs on this spring.

Gavin Lux LAD, 2B – Lux will have to perform well to carve out a role on LA’s crowded roster, and he got off to a good start going 2 for 3. Winning the 2B job outright is not out of the question.

Andy Pages LAD, OF – One of my favorite slightly under the radar prospects for a few years now, Pages started the spring off well going 1 for 1. He’s a high OBP power hitter who is set up for the hype to explode in 2021. Try to get in now if you can.

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