With the minor league season delayed until early May, these Monday Morning write-ups will be MLB focused this month, but normally they will be a mix between MLB and MiLB with a heavy lean toward prospects. Other content I’m planning this month for my Patreon members are FYPD rankings and updates to my Dynasty Baseball rankings (as well as these Dynasty Rundowns every day of the week). Here is the Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown:
Gio Urshela NYY, 3B, 29.6 – Cuomo might have snuck some extra Juice into Urshela’s Covid shot as he came back a new man, crushing a 453 foot, 108.1 MPH homer off Michael Wacha for his first of the year. He went 4 for 5 on the day and now has a 93.5 MPH exit velocity on the season.
Brent Honeywell TB, RHP, 26.0 – It’s been a long road with 4 elbow surgeries, but Honeywell persevered and made his MLB debut yesterday, going 2 perfect innings with 2 K’s. He threw a 4 pitch mix (4-seamer, change, cutter, screwball) with his 4-seamer averaging 94.1 MPH. He certainly looked to still have that advanced art of pitching down pat. He’s as high risk as they come, but that first outing makes it easy to buy back in.
Albert Abreu NYY, Setup, 25.7 – Abreu’s dynasty value fell off when it became clear he would be a reliever, but his MLB debut shows he has a chance to be a damn good one with a 98.3 MPH fastball and a swing and miss slider. He pitched a perfect inning with 2 K’s, and while he could get sent back down when the Yanks need a 5th starter, he is an interesting name to watch in relatively deep holds leagues.
Alex Verdugo BOS, OF, 24.11 – I was just recommending Verdugo to my Patreon members as a buy low/buy at a reasonable price early in the season, and that tiny window probably closed with a 400 foot shot for his first homer of the season. He’s raised his launch angle 9.2 degrees to 16.4 degrees which was the final piece to the breakout puzzle.
Randy Arozarena TB, OF, 26.1 – Snuck one over the fence going the opposite way for his 2nd dinger of the year. He’s backing up his 2020 breakout in the early going with a .314/.351/.514 triple slash, 2 homers, 1 steal, and a 100.8 MPH FB/LD exit velocity. Negative 2.7 degree launch angle and 41.8% whiff% aren’t great.
JD Martinez BOS, OF, 33.7 – I already saw the writing on the wall in my last Monday Morning Rundown that JD was back, and he has only solidified that stance since with 3 bombs yesterday. He has a 95.2 MPH exit velocity on the season.
Rafael Devers BOS, 3B, 24.5 – Boston feasted on Baltimore pitching and Devers got in the mix with 2 dingers. More important than the power (.625 SLG), his 26.5% whiff% looks better after dropping to 31.5% in 2020, and his 10.8% BB% is at a career best mark.
Trey Mancini BAL, 1B/OF, 29.0 – Drilled his 2nd homer of the year, showing the power is almost all the way back (88.4 MPH exit velocity), and while the 36.5% whiff% is high (26.9% in 2019), that should come down as he continues to shake the rust off.
Johan Oviedo STL, RHP, 23.1 – After Ponce de Leon got lit up for 7 earned in 1.1 IP, Oviedo came in and dominated in 4.2 shutout innings (2 hits, 4/2 K/BB) with a fastball that was up 1.6 MPH to 96.4 MPH and 3 secondaries that were racking up whiffs (slider, curve, change). Control is a still a major issue, but the stuff looked filthy.
Wilson Ramos DET, C, 33.8 – Cracked his 4th dinger and is just another example of waiting on catcher. I’ll pat myself on the back plenty in these write-ups, but I’m still kicking myself for letting the heat of the auction get to me and going way too high on James McCann in my 18 team dynasty ($15), while I could have waited and got Ramos for much less ($3). I didn’t stick to my own rules, and for that reason, I’m out (my bad, been watching too much Shark Tank lately).
Michael Kopech CHW, RHP, 24.11 – Looks more and more impressive after every outing as Kopech had his 3rd great multi-inning appearance in a row, pitching 2.1 perfect innings with 3 K’s. His fastball sat 97.3 MPH and his slider and curve dominated with a 50% and 67% whiff%, respectively. I don’t know when he will break into the rotation, but his dynasty value is on the rise.
Dylan Cease CHW, RHP, 25.3 – 4.2 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 6/3 K/BB. Still waiting on that improved control …
Taylor Trammell SEA, OF, 23.6 – Rocked a 421 foot, 109.1 MPH homer off Matt Shoemaker for his 2nd of the season. He also struck out twice in 5 at-bats and has a 47.1% K%, which is concerning.
Byron Buxton MIN, OF, 27.3 – Crushed his 5th homer with a 428 foot, 110.8 MPH bomb off Chris Flexen. He went 3 for 4 with 0 K’s on the day. More impressive than the power, he has a career best 22.2% whiff% at the moment.
Trent Grisham SD, OF, 24.5 – Grisham’s been shot out of a cannon since returning from a hamstring injury with his 2nd homer yesterday and 3rd extra base hit in 3 games.
Zach McKinstry LAD, 2B/SS, 25.11 – McKinstry is the Dodgers new unheralded jack of all trades who forces their way into the lineup. He swatted his 2nd homer and is now slashing .321/.355/.679. He’s not exactly smoking the ball with an 89.7 MPH FB/LD exit velocity, and I still question his power ceiling, but you can’t question the results.
Javier Baez CHC, SS, 28.4 – I mentioned in a Patreon Rundown last week that Baez is a sell for me, and after drilling his 3rd homer of the year yesterday, that is still the case. His 26.1 ft/sec sprint speed is way down and his 52.1% whiff% is way up. If you have a surplus at SS, now would be the time to cash in on that.
Luke Weaver ARI, RHP, 27.7 – 7 IP, 1 hit, 0 ER, 8/1 K/BB. He has seemed to almost completely given up on a third pitch, and when your changeup is notching a 56% whiff%, I get it. His upside is capped with only two pitches, but it’s better than getting rocked with his cutter and curve, which is what has happened for most of his career.
Jose De Leon CIN, RHP, 28.8 – 4.1 IP, 8 hits, 6 ER, 9/3 K/BB. The strikeouts are for real as he notched a 41% whiff%, but so are the homer problems as he let up 2 more in this start. With Sonny Gray set to return next week, De Leon could be on the outside looking in for a rotation spot.
Rhys Hoskins PHI, 1B, 28.0 – The new Hoskins is here whether you like it or not, and in OBP leagues especially, you probably don’t like it. He launched his 2nd homer of the year and has been crushing the ball with a 97.9 MPH FB/LD exit velocity and 22.6 degree launch angle, but he has yet to walk a single time in 9 games.
Ozzie Albies ATL, 2B, 24.3 – Smacked his 1st homer of the year and is only hitting .139, but the underlying numbers look much better with a 91.3 MPH exit velocity, 20.5% whiff% and .299 xBA. If you can buy low, which you likely can’t, but if you can, I would do so.
Ronald Acuna ATL, OF, 23.3 – 3 for 4 with 0 K’s and his 4th dinger. A high strikeout rate was the only thing even remotely slowing Acuna down, and the early returns in 2021 has him improving in that area with a career best 13.3% whiff%. He’s still murdering the ball (96.1 MPH exit velocity), and is as fast as ever (29.3 ft/sec sprint speed), so the improved swing and miss is scary for the rest of the league.
Didi Gregorius PHI, SS, 31.3 – Ripped his 2nd homer off Drew Smyly with a 106.1 MPH exit velocity. His 83.5 MPH exit velocity on the season is concerning, but he hit 10 homers in 60 games last year with an 83.8 MPH exit velocity, and has put up below average exit velocities for most of his career. He just might be the exception that proves the rule … whatever that means, but it sounds good.
By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)