*I posted this on my Patreon a few days ago, but I wanted to post it here too to let you guys know I’m back after my one month break. Much more content coming (some free here on the Brick Wall and most of it over on the Patreon). Let’s have a big 2nd half!
Pete Crow-Armstrong – CHC, OF, 24.0 – I slowly start to open my eyes. I hear a nurse yell out “he’s awake!” I look up to see my friends and family looking down on me. “You’ve been in a coma for one month, Mike.” My lips are cracking. My mouth is sand paper. I’m barely able to lift a finger to indicate for someone to come closer. “He wants to say something!” …. a coughing fit starts … “it’s not important, rest up” … but I grab my friends collar in a burst of energy, and I manage to croak out … “how is PCA doing?” … and oh man did they have news for me, because PCA turned into the best fucking player alive in my absence. When I went to sleep, he was barely scratching a .700 OPS, and after yet another dinger last night, he’s now up to a .888 OPS. He’s slashing .395/.478/.798 with 12 homers, 8 steals, and a 25.4/12.7 K%/BB% in his last 28 games. His Chase% is down to a pretty reasonable 36.6%. His walk rate is in double digits at 10.4%. He’s crushing the ball with a 50.9% Hard Hit%. It’s everything I dreamed of this off-season when I doubled down on him while everyone else was jumping ship after his 2025 2nd half. I don’t think there are doubters anymore though. But that’s okay, because there is room on this party boat for everyone. He’s arrived. This is a top 10 dynasty asset. Let’s goooo …
Ethan Conrad – CHC, OF, 22.0 – … the nurse steps in … “that’s enough, he needs his rest,” … no, I yell, as I start to regain my strength and push her out of the way ;). I need to know how Ethan Conrad is doing!!! Surely he returned from his injuries and has cracked 5 homers this month … well, not exactly, but at least he finally got back on the field to make his pro debut yesterday. And it was a good debut as he ripped a 105.1 MPH single in his first AB. He finished the day 2 for 3 in rookie ball. And while there is no video of it, there is video of him ramping up in late June, and boy oh boy does he look even more jack diesel than before. Dude is an animal, and here he is crushing a 458 foot homer in BP. Absolutely can’t wait to see what he does in the 2nd half.
Kody Clemens – MIN, 1B/OF/2B, 30.2 – … the nurse recovers from my shove, “sir, you need to lie back down right now or I’ll be forced to sedate you!” … I ignore her … Kody Clemens … you have to tell me how Kody Clemens is doing! … and the answer is damn well. After going 2 for 4 last night he now has a .852 OPS with 9 homers in his last 31 games. He was my favorite true blue sleeper this off-season. I doubled down on his Target call in my May Hitter Targets, and he now looks cemented as an impact fantasy player. All of the underlying stuff I loved about this off-season is back. I’m pumped.
AJ Ewing – NYM, OF, 21.8 – … I start to rip the IV’s out of my arm. I rip the catheter out of my peni …. OHHHHHWEEEEEEE … okay, that was a big mistake!!!! But the adrenaline is running through me now. AJ Ewing I yell out through the intense pain! … he had a .614 OPS when I went out. What happened? Good things happened. Very good things happened as he went 1 for 4 last night and is now slashing .314/.394/.500 with 3 homers, 4 steals, and a 18.2/11.1 K%/BB% in his last 26 games. The 22.2% whiff% shows the hit tool is transferring. The 88.8 MPH EV and 42% Hard Hit% is more than solid. The 12.1 degree launch looks good. He now has a .352 xwOBA with a 121 wRC+ in 46 games. The Mets might have made a huge mistake when they traded PCA, but at least they held onto PCA-lite. And now Ewing is starting to live up my PCA/Carroll ceiling comp on him way back when he was drafted 134th overall with a mere $675,000 signing bonus. He’s going to be a fantasy beast.
Griffin Jax – TBR, RHP , 31.7 – … the nurse runs out of the room in a huff … finally some peace and quiet … Griffin Jax I ask? When we left off I named him a target in May once he got into the rotation. He got the start last night and went 6 IP with 5 hits, 3 ER, and a 5/0 K/BB vs. KCR. The fastball sat 96.3 MPH and put up a 44% whiff%. The sweeper put up a 38% whiff%. He now has a 2.79 ERA with a 24.3/5.9 K%/BB% in 42 IP since being stretched out as a starter. The 30.5% whiff% looks even better than the K%. The walk rate looks great. The control looks great. He looks really good.
Jac Caglianone – KCR, 1B/OF, 23.2 – How about Jac I ask? When we left off I said in his Target blurb, “I’m starting to see people give up on Jac. I’m starting to see the mediocre start wear on people. I’m starting to see people lose patience. So now it’s time to take advantage of those impatient people. Patience is a virtue, so the unvirtuous don’t deserve him ;)” … He didn’t do anything yesterday, but he had a .685 OPS when I left. And since then he’s slashed .309/.387/.649 with 9 homers, 2 steals, and a 29.2/9.4 K%/BB% in his last 25 games. His OPS is now over .800 at .806. His launch is coming up with a 10.1 degree launch in June. He’s still utterly destroying the ball. His biggest weakness, Chase, isn’t even that bad at 35.1%. I would say the buy low window is closed.
Sal Stewart – CIN, 1B/3B, 22.4 – Sal Stewart? Did he fall off a cliff since I ranked him 12th overall? Does everyone still hate me? He stabilized. He went 2 for 4 with a 107.3 MPH homer last night. He has 4 homers and a .832 OPS in his last 19 games. He has a .809 OPS on the season with 16 homers and 11 steals in 84 games. Is he 12th overall good? No. I definitely got too excited. But I mean, he’s still really good. And maybe more Top 30 range would have been more reasonable. Which is still awesome.
Kahlil Watson – CLE, OF, 23.2 – My friend who is in my dynasty league leans in and asks, “I need to know, did you get any visions of the next still under the radar breakout?” … Yes, I say … but why would I tell you? I need to pick him up first in my leagues where he is still available hah … just playing, the visions are of Kahlil Watson. I know, I know, the hit tool risk is very real with a 33.3% K% in his 12 game MLB debut, but the 34.3% whiff% really isn’t that bad. Especially when we are talking about the truly uncommon upside he has. This dude crushes the ball. He has a 93.3 MPH EV. He had a 91 MPH EV with a 50% Hard Hit% at Triple-A. He lifted and pulled a ton. He’s a great athlete who ran a ton. I feel he is still sliding so far under the radar compared to what his upside is. That kind of low 30’s whiff rate isn’t even that bad when we are talking about a guy this talented and who hits the ball this hard. The risk is high, yes, but I’m all over his upside right now and for a super cheap price.
Gage Wood – PHI, RHP, 22.7 – I had visions of Gage Wood making a major 2nd half impact as well. He had his longest outing of the season yesterday, going 5 IP with 3 hits, 2 ER, and a 6/2 K/BB at Double-A. They are stretching him out. He’s only thrown 52 IP so far this season, and while he hasn’t thrown many career innings, it sure seems like they are preparing for him to make an MLB impact in the 2nd half as they battle it out for the division. Maybe it will be a pen role, but they have an opening in the rotation, and I think Wood might just kick the door down and take it eventually. He has a 3.86 ERA with a 32.7/8.4 K%/BB% in 25.2 IP at Double-A. And he’s doing it in the known hitter’s bandbox of Reading. The elite fastball is slicing through upper minors hitters. You can watch the filth here. I loved him as an FYPD Target, and I love him even more now.
Jackson Chourio – MIL, OF, 22.4 – Chourio might have made the leap that we were all expecting. He went 2 for 4 with a 107.8 MPH homer last night for his 11th homer in his last 29 games since dropping into a coma (12 homers in 49 games overall). He’s hitting the ball a lot harder, which is really the main thing we needed to see for the leap with a 92.8 MPH EV and 48.1% Hard Hit%. It’s no surprise as he debuted so young. He’s lifting more too with a 12.5 degree launch. The 22.8% whiff% is a career best by far. If this is his final form, that would be awesome, but he’s still just 22 years old. This might only be leap #1. There is a reason everyone, including me, still ranked him as an elite to near elite dynasty asset, and now he’s doing it.
Santiago Solarte – MIA, SS, 17.4 – I’m now standing up on the bed! I’m dancing like I’m Grandpa Joe from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! The DSL I call out! I need to know how everyone is doing! How about my boy Santiago Solarte? Is he James Wood 2.0 yet? Well, getting there. He’s slashing .275/.390/.435 with 2 homers, 16 steals, and a 31.7/11.0 K%/BB% in 20 games. I mean, that is pretty much the James Wood starter pack. Yes, the swing and miss is still way too high, but it’s actually been coming down of late. The 45.2% GB% isn’t bad at all. He’s running a ton. I’m encouraged. I’m still all in on this.
Angeibel Gomez – KCR, OF, 17.4 – How about Aneibel Gomez who I ranked right next to the more hype Francisco Renteria and wrote, “He’s very clearly a truly elite international prospect who checks just about every box you want to see checked. You could put his profile against anyone’s from this class.” And that proved to be true as his performance is one the most impressive, if not the most impressive from the class, slashing .379/.519/.672 with 3 homers, 8 steals, and a 7.8/19.5 K%/BB% in 18 games. The 26.5% GB% and 56.6% Pull% is just disgusting, in a good way. My goodness I’m dreaming of that fantasy upside when the man muscles come in. He’s on a beeline for elite dynasty asset.
Diego Frontado – MIL, SS, 18.0 – I gave you the heads up on Frontado before I conked out in the On the House Dynasty Baseball Rundown, and since then it’s just been more destruction, slashing .298/.474/.579 with 4 homers, 11 steals, and a 13.9/21.5 K%/BB% in 17 games. And almost more important than the numbers, is that he has Milwaukee at his back for his development journey. The whiff rate is still high if you can fully believe it (which I kinda don’t believe those whiff rates as I’ve talked about before), but this is a guy and team I just want to bet on.
Cleiner Ramirez – NYM, OF, 17.4 – I gave you the heads up on Cleiner too, and he also kept on raking, slashing .316/.388/.618 with 5 homers, 6 steals, and a 11.8/5.9 K%/BB% in 20 games. This is a full on little man discount situation. I don’t think he’s going to get major hype quickly because of his size (5’9”), but this dude can pack a punch and he’s proving it. He’s making contact, he’s lifting/pulling and he’s running.
Ricki Moneys – MIL, SS, 17.9 – Ricki “he’s so money and he clearly knows it” Moneys is living up to the greatest name of all time, slashing .263/.406/.513 with 3 homers, 10 steals, and a 16.8/17.8 K%/BB% in 21 games. Yup, Milwaukee got themselves another one. Here is what I wrote about him in his Top 1,000 blurb, “He has an open righty batting stance with a quick swing that is looking to do real damage. He already did real damage in the Amateur Scouting League, putting up a 1.723 OPS and winning MVP. Good feel to hit, growing power at a projectable 6’0”, good athlete, and a history of production. Pretty Money(s).” … so he already crushed the Amateur Scouting League. And now he’s killing the DSL. Plus Milwaukee. Plus that name. He’s rising.
Shane Drohan – MIL, LHP, 27.6 – … the nurse storms back into the room and plunges the needle into my arm … I start to get woozy … “wait, Shane Drohan I barely slur out” … and as I start to doze off, I hear, “he starts tonight. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Get your rest, we got a big 2nd half to prepare for ….”
By Michael Halpern (@MichaelCHalpern)
Email: michaelhalpern@imaginarybrickwall.com
Twitter: Imaginary Brick Wall (@DynastyHalp)
Blue Sky: Dynasty Halp (@ImaginaryBrickWall)