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 (6/2/25):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–MAY 2025 TOP 443 DYNASTY RANKS (5/30/25)
–MAY 2025 TOP 323 PROSPECTS RANKS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: MAY MAILBAG!
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS

Addison Barger – TOR, 3B/OF, 25.6 – Three weeks ago here in the Monday Rundown I ran to the town tower to ring the Buy Bell on Addison Barger, writing, “It’s time to target Barger everywhere. He actually has a positive 2.6 defensive value, which is getting me pumped, because his bat is no joke. He has an elite 76.3 MPH swing with a 13.6% Barrel%, 96.1 MPH EV. 13.5 degree launch, and .362 xwOBA in 59 PA. The plate skills are taking a big jump forward too with his K% all the way down to 16.9% (26.7% in 2024) and his Chase all the way down to 20.2% (31.5% in 2024). Barger is a major target right now. Go after him.” … and now the true star explosion is happening with him homering in 3 straight games. Yesterday’s was a 112.3 MPH piss missile. As I already gave you the heads up on weeks ago when not a peep was being whispered about this man, he looks like a true superstar. I’m not going to repeat all of those top of the scale metrics again, but all of them are still shining. I’ve seen the hype grow already as more people are noticing, so it could be too late, but I know if you read my work, you’ve had him for weeks already.

Jacob Wilson – OAK, SS, 23.0 – 4 for 4 with 4 singles … dude is a hit machine with a .357 BA and 5.8% K%. He also stole his 5th bag to go along with 7 homers in 57 games. And I really, really, really hate to do this, because he’s so fun, but I gotta pour just a little cold water. His .324 xwOBA is much much lower than his .393 wOBA. And he’s not the type of lift and pull hitter who generally outperforms Statcast. The 63.4 MPH swing is bottom of the scale, the 26.8 ft/sec sprint is well below average, and the 2.8% Barrel% is very weak. I’ve been seeing him valued like one of the elite up and coming dynasty players in the game, and if you can sell high on a valuation even close to that, I would be all over it. Now having that, I wasn’t buying Wilson this off-season, and that was clearly miss. So after doing a ton of victory lapping in this one below, let me take a walk of shame up top on Wilson. He’s a special contact hitter with enough homers and steals to be an impact fantasy player. He’s good for sure. He’s just not this good … I don’t think.

Hayden Birdsong – SFG, RHP, 23.7 – I knew it was only a matter of time before Birdsong found his way into the rotation, and he’s now solidifying that spot with another strong outing yesterday. He went 5.1 IP with 5 hits, 1 ER, and a 5/0 K/BB at MIA. The 4-seamer sat 95.9 MPH and put up a strong 24% whiff%. The slider was excellent with weak contact (83 MPH EV) and whiffs (26% whiff%), the curve was a whiff machine with a 40% whiff%, and the changeup induced weak contact with a 74.7 MPH EV against. And most importantly, the control was on point with 0 walks. His fastball is a double plus pitch, the 30.1% whiff% on the season is near elite, and he has a diverse pitch mix with 3 good secondaries (the changeup has been his best secondary thus far). He was a major target for me this off-season, and he just ranked 181st overall on the Updated Top 444 Dynasty Baseball Rankings that dropped on the Patreon last week. His come up has only begun.

Ryan Weathers – MIA, LHP, 25.4 – Speaking of off-season targets who we had to wait a little bit on for the breakout, Weathers returned from his forearm strain looking no worse for the wear. In fact, he looks better than ever, going 6 IP with 5 hits, 4 ER, and a 7/3 K/BB vs. SF. Not his best outing, but this was coming off 3 gems to start his season, and he still so clearly flashed that true top of the rotation upside. The 4-seamer sat 97.5 MPH, the changeup racked up 9 of 12 whiffs, the sweeper induced weak contact with a 67.8% EV against and a 25% whiff%, and the slider notched a 60% whiff%. It was good for an elite 36% whiff%. He now has a 2.49 ERA with a 25.3/8.0 K%/BB% in 21.2 IP. The 28.6% whiff% is double plus, the 87.3 MPH EV against is well above average, and all of his pitches are working for him. I loved Weathers this off-season, and I’m even more all in now.

Kris Bubic – KCR, LHP, 27.7 – Not to take away from myself in previous years, but I think I’m having a Target career year. I say this in all humility, it’s kinda nuts how many target hits I’m having this year, and Bubic is huge one. The cat’s already long out of the bag on him though, and he just keeps on dominating, going 7 IP with 4 hits, 1 ER and a 9/1 K/BB vs. DET. The 93 MPH fastball dominated with a 40% whiff% and the changeup dominated too with a 60.3 MPH EV against and 55% whiff%. The sweeper and slider performed well too, leading to a 33% whiff% overall. He’s been lights out all year with a 1.43 ERA and 26.9/7.5 K%/BB% in 75.1 IP. In my 18 teamer, I cashed him in for Jazz Chisholm back in mid April, and I can’t deny that trade has been eating at my guts ever since. I still have Jazz ranked higher, but man, Bubic is untouchable. I’m sick over it, and I’m not even kidding. Let me move on to the next blurb. I don’t want to think about it anymore …

Denzel Clarke – OAK, OF, 25.1 – Okay, so it hasn’t exactly been perfect with a 60% K% … to say the least, but give this man a second to get comfortable. And he has gotten slightly better of late. He went 1 for 3 with 2 steals yesterday, and yes it came with 2 K, but he didn’t strikeout once the day before that, and he only struck out once the day before that one. The 42.1% whiff% actually isn’t as horrific as the K%, and that’s been coming down too. We’ve seen Clarke make improvements to his contact in the minors too. And of course, that huge talent which I saw coming a mile away is shining through. He cracked a 106.5 MPH dinger on Saturday, showing that his power is huge enough to overcome a low launch. His 30.2 ft/sec sprint makes him the 3rd fastest man in baseball behind only Bobby Witt Jr and Byron Buxton (damn, even with all the injuries, and being 31 years old, Buxton is still an elite talent). We also saw the double plus defense with one of the most beastly home run robberies I’ve seen. I was all over the Bleday fade this off-season, writing in his Top 1,000 blurb, “Bleday is a low ceiling player with little speed, a below average BA, and above average homer power at best. I also think there is risk too, because he’s a below average outfielder, and Denzel Clark and Colby Thomas are charging hard to compete for those open OF jobs. He’s actually getting valued pretty highly, so if you can sell high here, I would go for it.” … even with Clarke’s deficiencies, his talent is too big, and his glove is too good to not give him a shot in fantasy. I’m still buying.

Jacob Melton – HOU, OF, 24.7 – Melton was a FYPD favorite of mine in his draft year, and I’ve been relatively high on him ever since, so I’m pumped to see him getting his shot in the bigs. And he most certainly deserved this promotion with a 95.6 MPH EV, 17 degree launch, 21.1% whiff%, and 23.5% Chase% in 17 games at Triple-A. That is special across the board domination, and what made me love him so much in his draft year is that he’s a special athlete at 6’3”, 208 pounds. He went 1 for 3 with a 102.3 MPH single off Taj Bradley and 2 K in his debut. I’m not 100% sure how the playing time is going to shake out, but this is an extremely fantasy friendly profile whose hit tool should be good enough to let those skills shine. He ranked 61st overall on the May 2025 Top 323 Dynasty Prospects Rankings (Patreon).

Xavier Isaac – TBR, 1B, 21.6, AA – The explosion is here for Isaac as he just can’t stop hitting dingers. He cracked his 7th homer in 24 games at Double-A with a shot out to dead center, and he did it with a smooth and explosive lefty swing. That thing really is a thing of beauty, and it’s made to hit dingers. It’s also made to strikeout with a 28.9% K%, but he mitigates that a bit with a 20.6% BB%, and it’s been better of late with a reasonable 25% K% in his last 19 games. So at least it’s headed in the right direction. He’s going to live up to his promise as a power hitting beast, the only question is if it will come with a .250 BA, or like a .220 BA.

Jhostynxon Garcia – BOS, OF, 22.3, AAA – One of my top prospect targets this off-season, Jhostynxon is going bonkos since getting the call to Triple-A, smoking his 4th homer in just 11 games at the level. What made me love him this off-season is that he proved the hit tool would play in the upper minors when he got his shot at the end of last season, even if he didn’t hit particularly well, and now he’s locking that in with a 21.5/10.8 K%/BB% in 44 games split between Double-A and Triple-A. And of course, I also love the legit plus power, athleticism (4 steals), and glove. My only plea, is that Boston doesn’t repeat the mistakes of Baltimore. Look at what happens when you let your great depth rot. You need to trade these guys while the iron is hot. Please don’t put Garcia in blocked prospect hell. Trade this man.

Luis Pena – MIL, SS/3B/SS, 18.4, A – Everyone’s favorite prospect, Luis Pena, was another named target for me this off-season. I’m sorry. I know I’m victory lapping a lot, but as I said it in the Bubic blurb, it’s a career target year for me. Not saying I’m not good in other years 😉 but it’s just wild this season. I named him a target because when I watched him swing, I saw an absolutely explosive bazooka that did not do his 1 homer last year justice, and now that swing is producing even more power, drilling his 5th homer in just 30 games at Single-A. When you combine that real power with elite contact (10.4/9.7 K%/BB%) and speed (22 steals), you have a legitimately elite prospect, and that is exactly how I ranked him in the Updated Top 444 Dynasty Rankings, putting him in the elite tier at 87th overall. Damn is he exciting.

 Jonathon Long – CHI, 1B, 23.2, AAA – Okay, last lap for today, I promise, but I was the only man alive to call Jonathon Long a FYPD target. He was a 266th overall draft pick college bat, but when I watched that swing, I just saw a real prospect, writing, ““Long makes for an interesting late round target in deeper leagues … He has a very quick and powerful swing that looks relatively legit to me, and he hits the ball hard. Obviously don’t expect a league winner, but I think he’s a real prospect.” And he’s now far beyond a real prospect after cracking one 453 feet for his 9th homer in 52 games at Triple-A. He’s now slashing .344/.419/.561 with 9 homers, 2 steals, and a 23.6/11.1 K%/BB% in 52 games. He has a 93.3 MPH EV with a solid 26.1% whiff% and 26.9% Chase%. His bat is way beyond “real,” it has the potential to be truly impact on the MLB level. The problem is that he’s a 1B and there isn’t a path to a full time job right now, but if does get his shot, I’m still betting on his bat.

Emmet Sheehan – LAD, RHP, 25.6, AAA – Sheehan is making his return from Tommy John surgery, and in his first start back at Triple-A, he looked like fire, going 3 IP with 2 hits, 0 ER, and a 5/0 K/BB vs. a pretty decent lineup that featured JJ Bleday, Colby Thomas, Seth Brown, Darrel Hernaiz, and Max Muncy. The fastball sat 96.9 MPH and dominated with 9 of 17 whiffs. The slider was excellent too with a 73.3 MPH EV against and 33% whiff%. And he mixed in a changeup too which put up a 33% Called Strike+Whiff%. That is basically the formula which made him a near elite prospect a few years ago, and the one that showed so much promise in his 2023 MLB debut. While it’s unclear when he will get another shot in the majors, make sure he’s back on your radar. He’s healthy and looks great.

Joe Boyle – TBR, RHP, 25.8, AAA – I was singing Boyle’s praises in the May Mailbag Podcast (Patreon), and he went out yesterday and threw a gem at Triple-A, going 5 IP with 3 hits, 0 ER, and a 9/1 K/BB. The fastball sat 97.6 MPH and put up a 28% whiff%. The slider and splitter were whiff machines too, leading to a 28% whiff% overall, and of course, the control was on point. That is the big factor in what is making me love him right now. The 11.1% BB% is actually reasonable considering his level of stuff. It’s also a career high by far. Tampa done did it again. You have to trust them, and they very well might turn Joe Boyle into a high K, mid rotation starter.

Taj Bradley – TBR, RHP, 24.1 – 7 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 10/2 K/BB at HOU. The 97 MPH fastball put up a 85.6 MPH EV against and a 24% whiff%. The splitter was dynamite with a 86% whiff% and 62.2 MPH EV against. In fact, all 4 of his pitches induced an insane amount of weak contact with an 82.7 MPH EV overall. That is the definition of turning the other team’s bats into noodles. Like those pool noodles you used to beat the crap out of your of your friends with in the pool when we were kids. Bradley has been sitting in the breakout waiting room for 3 years now, and while we’ve seen stretches of this, this does seem like he’s quietly leveling up. His 3.24 xERA is actually excellent, even if I can’t quite buy it with a 22.0/9.3 K%/BB% and 24.3% whiff%. I can’t take him out of the breakout waiting room quite yet, but we are seeing some signs that just maybe he’s getting close.

Chris Paddack – MIN, RHP, 29.4 – 8 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 10/1 K/BB at SEA. Let’s be honest, is there a more perfect ballpark for Paddack than Seattle with that elite control, fastball heavy approach? I feel like if Paddack was on Seattle, his entire career would be different. He would be like Bryan Woo out there. But we don’t live in that timeline, and he’s on Minnesota, but it’s time to show him some respect as he now has a 3.58 ERA with a 18.7/7.5 K%/BB% in 65.1 IP. Sure that K/BB is rough, but in this latest outing the whiffs were there for him with a 30% whiff% overall. All 4 of his pitches were missing bats. I can’t really say I’m buying here, as the upside is probably more solid than truly standout, but Paddack is clearly stabilizing his career right now, and solid is a lot better than what he’s shown previously. And if he keeps getting outings in Seattle, he would be a true ace 😉

Cal Raleigh – SEA, C, 28.4 – Cal hits dingers. We knew this already. But this season, he’s taking it to another level with his 23rd homer last night. That gives him the league lead in homers. The 24.3% Barrel%, 92.6 MPH EV, 24 degree launch, 27.3% K%, 14.6% BB%, and .408 xwOBA are all career highs by far. He’s so easily the top dynasty catcher in the game right now, and I gave him his due respect in the Updated Top 444 Dynasty Baseball Rankings that dropped last week on the Patreon, ranking him 46th overall. Even that might be too light.

Coby Mayo – BAL, 3B, 23.6 – Called back up and the misery continues. He went 0 for 4 with 2 K yesterday. He had just about the worst attempt at drawing interference on the basepaths I’ve ever seen the day before that. I don’t think any player has made themselves more at home on the Bottom of the Rundown than Cody Mayo … well, that’s not true, Jarred Kelenic exists, and he’s now descended to even lower than the Bottom of the Rundown … Off the Rundown … not even worth discussing anymore. So there’s that at least for Mayo. At least we are still discussing his ineptness …

Brailyn Antunez – MIL, OF, 17.6 – Here is your reminder that the DSL kicks off today, and while I’m excited about so many players in the incoming class, none are getting me as excited as Braylin Antunez. Here was my blurb for him this off-season, “At 6’0”, 194 pounds, Antunez’ build, movements and type of athleticism remind me of an NBA point guard. He has present power, he’s fast, and he has a good feel to hit. There might not be as much projection as some of the other long and lean builds in this class, but there is some Jasson Dominguez vibes in the sense he might be pretty filled out already, but it’s the type of athleticism that he will maintain. Some of these guys could fill out and slow down considerably, while Antunez has already proven he can do both. I like him a lot, and how can you not trust Milwaukee after Chourio and Made.” I then named him a major target in the Target Articles. And now we will see if he can hit a lick and live up to my hype …

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
–MAY 2025 TOP 443 DYNASTY RANKS (5/30/25)
–MAY 2025 TOP 323 PROSPECTS RANKS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: MAY MAILBAG!
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE TOP 50 2026 PROSPECTS RANKS
–SPREADSHEETS

By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)