Now that the NL DH looks all but official, I’ve updated my Top 1,000 2022 Dynasty Baseball Rankings to account for the extra at-bats. A bunch of good hitting catchers will fall into some extra at-bats too, but this write-up is about players I’m much more comfortable targeting with 15 full time jobs opening up. The rankings are on my Patreon and will be released for free at some point in March. Speaking of March, I’m betting on the owners and players coming to an agreement in early March, just in the nick of time to basically have a full, normal season of baseball. Here is the Long and Short Term Gainers with the NL DH:
Clint Frazier CHC, OF, 27.7 – Frazier being a poor defensive corner outfielder has always been the biggest knock on his game. Hitting was never an issue until concussion like symptoms tanked his 2021 season. If he hits well, which is a good bet assuming full health, he’ll have a job now, which you couldn’t necessarily say without the DH. He moves up from #546 to #362 on the Top 1,000 2022 Dynasty Baseball Rankings.
Seth Beer ARI, 1B, 25.8/Christian Walker ARI, 1B, 31.0 – Beer was basically the poster child for “if the NL had a DH.” He is a poor defensive first baseman who rakes. The surgically repaired shoulder is still a concern, but Arizona’s long term DH job is his to lose. It also creates far more job security for Christian Walker. He becomes a more interesting CI option or deep league 1B option.
Mike Moustakas CIN, 3B, 33.6/Nick Senzel CIN, OF, 26.8 – Moose simply didn’t have anywhere to play, and now he has the inside track for the DH job. I don’t think he is a slam dunk target though with his strikeout rate on the decline for a little while now, and he was out with planter fasciitis for much of last year. He’s a negative on the base paths too. There is a pretty solid chance he is in a real decline. As much as this does obviously help Moose, I think this sneakily helps Nick Senzel just as much, if not more. He’s too talented for Cincy not to want to give at bats to, and the DH gives them that opportunity. I’m getting suckered back in on Senzel.
Gavin Lux LAD, 2B, 24.4/Michael Busch LAD, 2B, 24.4 – It’s make or break time for Gavin Lux. He’ll get his shot now. Long term this will be very helpful for Busch. He was in no man’s land position wise, but a DH will get his bat in the lineup far more often down the line.
Rowdy Tellez MIL, 1B, 27.0/Tyrone Taylor MIL, OF, 28.2/Keston Hiura MIL, 1B, 25.8 – I was already targeting Tellez, but this makes me love him even more. I included Hiura, but path to playing time was never really his problem, performance was. Taylor could be the big winner here when it is all said and done. Here is what I wrote about him in my Top 1,000, “Taylor would be a really fun fantasy player if he had a full time job, but it doesn’t seem like Milwaukee is interested in giving him one. His exit velocity doesn’t jump out (88.6 MPH EV), but he gets the ball in the air (16 degree launch angle) and is in a great ballpark for homers, so the power production will be there. He also has a good feel to hit (21.8% K%) and some speed (28.6 ft/sec sprint speed). He’s an interesting bench piece in daily leagues when he gets the start.” He’s still far from guaranteed to get full time at bats, but he will be a real sneaky late round pick for me now. He jumps from #779 to #491 on the Top 1,000 Rankings.
Garrett Cooper MIA, 1B/OF, 31.3/ Lewin Diaz MIA, 1B, 24.4 – – There is still risk after surgery to repair a torn UCL ended Cooper’s 2021 season, but he now has the path to playing time to make me much more comfortable going after him. He’s been a damn good hitter for the last 3 years. He jumps from #696 to #563 on the Top 1,000 Rankings. Long term, Lewin Diaz gets the biggest bump. There is a high offensive bar you have to cross for 1B, so the DH will help get his bat in the lineup.
Jeff McNeil NYM, OF/2B, 30.0/Dominic Smith NYM, 1B/OF, 26.10/J.D. Davis NYM, 3B, 28.11 – As you can see, there is still a logjam here, but this obviously helps all three of these guys out a lot. There is also a chance Cano is completely washed, which would allow McNeil to play 2B full time, while Smith and Davis platoon at DH. Although neither Smith nor Davis really have platoon splits, so it could be a straight “let the best man win” situation.
Darin Ruf SFG, 1B/OF, 35.8 – I included Ruf in my Hitter Targets write-up, as he becomes one of my top targets for a win now team. Here’s what I wrote about him in my Top 1,000 Rankings, “A DH spot would do wonders for Ruf because he might be in the pole position to win that job for the Giants. He put up an eye popping 93.1 MPH exit velocity, 14.2% Barrel%, and 54.9% Hardhit%. It led to a 16 homers with a .904 OPS in 312 PA. He hit well in 2020 too (.887 OPS), so it is not like this came out of nowhere. He hits lefties better than righties, but he hits righties real well too, so he isn’t an automatic platoon guy.” He jumps from #695 to #401.
Elehuris Montero COL, 1B/OF, 23.7/Connor Joe COL, 1B/OF, 29.7/Raimel Tapia COL, OF, 28.2/Sam Hilliard COL, OF, 28.1 – Colorado has had a logjam in their outfield with fringy but talented outfielders for the last few years, and now there is opportunity for all of them to get at-bats. Unless of course Colorado signs some old vets, which if history is any indication, they will. Long term this might help Montero the most. I was already high on him, and this cements his ranking in my eyes. I feel much more comfortable going after him in prospect drafts. This helps Colton Welker too, but I would like to see his power breakout before really targeting him. Michael Toglia has another path to playing time, although he is a good defender at 1B, so his path to playing time was much easier to envision already.
Matt Vierling PHI, OF/1B, 25.6 – Philly will likely make additions once free agency opens back up, so I still think Vierling will have to fight for playing time, but the DH surely won’t hurt him. He hit the ball hard with speed and without any major strikeout issues in his MLB debut. Not a bad late round flier.
Michael Chavis PIT, 1B/2B, 26.8/Mason Martin PIT, 1B, 22.10 – Chavis is a poor defender, but he also hasn’t been all that hot with the bat, so while the DH will definitely help, he still has a lot to prove. Long term Martin gets the biggest boost.
Jurickson Profar SD, 1B/OF, 29.1/Ha-Seong Kim SD, SS/3B/2B, 26.5 – San Diego will likely rotate guys in the DH spot, but Profar and Kim are the biggest beneficiaries in general. I can see them DH’ing Tatis more with his shoulder issue, leaving an opening for Kim at SS. I haven’t given up on Kim yet, and this gives him a real shot to prove himself.
Juan Yepez STL, 1B/3B/OF, 24.0/Paul DeJong STL, SS, 28.8/Edmundo Sosa STL, SS/2B, 26.1/Lars Nootbaar STL, OF, 24.7 – Yepez is the big winner in the long run, and he could be the big winner in the short run too, so I’m not bumping up DeJong, Sosa, or Nootbar too much based on this. I will wait until Spring Training to see who pulls ahead for the job before making too many changes here, but all of them become more interesting.
By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)