Spring Dynasty Baseball Rundown (4/4/22)

Michael Halpern — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 13:56:08 +0000

The regular season is right around the corner, but there are still jobs to be won and last minute fantasy drafts to prepare for. I’ll be running down the action all spring and all season long on my Patreon (free posts on my site are usually on Monday’s). Here is the Spring Dynasty Baseball Rundown (4/4/22):

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-OBP TOP 600 2022 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
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Spencer Torkelson DET, 3B/1B, 22.7 – The baseball gods work in mysterious ways, as they tooketh Riley Greene from us for the next 2 months with a broken foot, but they gaveth us Spencer Torkelson as it was announced he will crack the Opening Day roster. Tork celebrated by taking Aaron Nola deep off a well placed pitch on the inside corner. It was the only hit Nola gave up in 5.1 IP. This guy can rake off anybody.

Jeremy Pena HOU, SS, 24.5 – Who needs Carlos Correa when you have Jeremy motherloving Pena?!?! Pena went deep twice yesterday off Josiah Gray for his first 2 homers of the spring, and now has a 1.199 OPS with a 4/1 K/BB in 19 PA. I ranked him 250th overall in my Top 1,000 Dynasty Rankings, and while I’m not expecting him to light the world on fire in his rookie year, he can be a solid across the board contributor.

Byron Buxton MIN, OF, 28.3 – Buxton’s hot spring continued as he went 2 for 3 with 2 doubles, and now has a 1.485 OPS in 33 PA. The doubles were ripped at 114.2 MPH and 109.2 MPH. The power gains he’s made over the past few seasons are very real, so now we just gotta hold our breath for good health … or on second thought, breathing is quite important for health, so maybe we should be focusing on our breath for good health.

Julio Rodriguez SEA, OF, 21.3 – Rodriguez refuses to let Seattle send him down without making them look like cheap idiots, going 3 for 4 with this screaming liner of a dinger to right centerfield. He’s now slashing .419/.471/.839 with 3 homers, 3 steals, and a 9/3 K/BB in 34 PA. Please don’t rob baseball fans of seeing this man play on the highest level.

Jarred Kelenic SEA, OF, 22.8 – Kelenic is so yesterday’s news, collecting dust in the corner while everyone plays with the new shiny toy, but he did his best to not be forgotten by ripping a homer off a lefty to deep centerfield. He’s struggled this spring with a .648 OPS, but I still think the breakout is coming this season.

Akil Baddoo DET, OF, 23.7 – Baddoo done did it again, taking a lefty deep to the opposite field. He was just getting started in 2021.

Noah Syndergaard LAA, RHP, 29.7 – On the surface it looks like Thor might have gotten his hammer back, going 5 IP with 2 hits, 1 ER, and a 7/1 K/BB against most of the Dodgers real starting lineup. It’s not as pretty looking at the underlying stats though with his stuff down about 3 MPH on all of his pitches, and his slider and curve didn’t illicit a single swing and miss. It’s nice to see he can be effective with the diminished stuff, and I’m sure it will tick up over time, but I’m hesitant to buy in.

Mitch Keller PIT, RHP, 26.0 – 3.2 IP, 8 hits, 4 ER, 5/2 K/BB. The juiced up stuff was still there with a 96.4 MPH heater, and he put up a respectable 26% whiff% and 88.2 MPH EV against, so the underlying numbers look better than the surface stats. I definitely gave Keller a bump after seeing his stuff tick up, but I’m still not exactly going out of my way to get him.

Drew Rasmussen TBR, RHP, 26.8 – Rasmussen doesn’t get the respect he deserves, but that might not last long if his final spring start is any indication, going 3.1 IP with 5 hits, 1 ER, and a 6/0 K/BB. His fastball sat 97.1 MPH and he put up a 30% whiff% overall. He’s not likely to go deep into games, so ding him a bit in QS leagues, but in wins leagues I would be all over him.

Wander Franco TBR, SS, 21.1 – 3 for 3 with 3 doubles. Nice to see him rounding into form with Opening Day around the corner.

Keibert Ruiz WAS, C, 23.8 – Ruiz did what he does best, which is get the bat on the ball, going 4 for 5 with 0 K’s, including his first spring homer. He’s not going to be a huge power threat early in his career, but a catcher that can actually help you in batting average ain’t too shabby.

Josiah Gray WAS, RHP, 24.3 – 4.2 IP, 7 hits, 5 ER, 6/1 K/BB. The K/BB numbers have been strong all spring with a 13/1 K/BB, but he’s getting hit up when guys do make contact with a 9.31 ERA in 9.2 IP. He’s going to need to improve his command to take the next step.

Sonny Gray MIN, RHP, 32.5 – Gray made his spring debut and went 4 perfect innings with 6 K’s. His velocity was down about 2 MPH on his 4 most used pitches, but at this point you have to assume he is easing himself into things, and considering the 43% whiff%, this start was certainly more of a positive than a negative.

Casey Mize DET, RHP, 24.11 – Mize wasn’t able to keep up the whiff gains he’s shown earlier this spring, going 4.1 IP with 7 hits, 3 ER, and a 1/0 K/BB. It’s only one start, but it would have been nice to see him head into the season on a high note.

Clarke Schmidt NYY, RHP, 26.1 – Schmidt went against Toronto’s vaunted real starting lineup and pitched pretty damn well again, going 4.1 IP with 2 hits, 2 ER, and a 5/1 K/BB. His sinker sat 94.3 MPH and he put up a 38% whiff% overall. He’s becoming one of the more interesting 6th starters if you are looking for pitching in deeper leagues.

Nick Lodolo CIN, LHP, 24.2 – 4 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, 3/1 K/BB. Whiff machine Nick Lodolo just keeps missing bats, racking up whiffs with a 31% whiff%. He’s fighting for the last rotation spot, and I’m not sure this start really moved the needle in either direction.

Sean Murphy OAK, C, 27.6 – Murphy has been red hot this spring, and he absolutely decimated a Dinelson Lamet fastball that legitimately landed in the parking lot. He’s now slashing .520/.567/1.000 with 2 homers and a 3/4 K/BB in 30 PA. I loved him as a breakout in 2021, and while I cooled on him a bit this year after it didn’t happen, I’m still relatively high on him.

Ezequiel Duran TEX, 2B/SS, 22.10 – Watching Duran’s swing just gets me excited every time, and he used that explosive swing to jack out his 2nd spring homer. He now has a 1.345 OPS in 14 PA. If he can keep his strikeouts in check, he’s going to explode this year in the upper levels of the minors.

Alexander Canario CHC, OF, 21.11 – The 21 year old Canario already looks the part, smashing his 2nd spring homer out to left center. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say his listed weight of 165 pounds is a tad light.

MacKenzie Gore SDP, LHP, 23.1/Sean Manaea SDP, LHP, 29.2 – The Manaea trade takes Gore out of the running for the opening day roster, although it was already a long shot that he was going to make anyway. Manaea was solid in his debut, going 3.2 IP with 6 hits, 1 ER, and a 4/1 K/BB. Gore closed out the game, going 3 IP with 4 hits, 4 ER, and a 5/2 K/BB. He’s better off at Triple-A anyway as he isn’t a finished product yet.

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

Drew Rasmussen – Imaginary Brick Wall

Spring Dynasty Baseball Rundown (4/4/22)