JT Ginn – Imaginary Brick Wall

Posted on May 19, 2026May 20, 2026 by Michael Halpern

Tuesday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (5/19/26)

I usually drop these on Monday here on the Brick Wall, but I’ve been doing my Target Series the last 2 Monday’s on the Patreon, so Tuesday it is for this week. The May Mailbag Podcast is coming this week and the Updated May Dynasty Rankings are coming next week on the Patreon too. But first, here is the Tuesday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (5/19/26):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-TOP MLB HITTER TARGETS FOR MAY 2026
-TOP MLB PITCHER TARGETS FOR MAY 2026
-TOP PROSPECT TARGETS FOR MAY 2026
-TOP 417 APRIL 2026 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKS (May Update coming next week)
-TOP 310 MAY 2026 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
–SPREADSHEETS
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: APRIL 2026 MAILBAG! (May Mailbag coming this week)

Anthony Volpe – NYY, SS, 25.0 – Volpe’s upgraded supercharged shoulder check … 50% Hard Hit% with a 92 MPH EV … HAHA … shut the fuck up hahah … this shit is wild. Dude has a 201 wRC+ in 5 games hahah … I’m dying. I mean, I told you if Volpe came back with the supercharged shoulder that I’m going under the knife. I gotta start looking up doctors now I guess hah

Colt Emerson – SEA, SS, 20.10 – Emerson got the call to the majors and it didn’t take him long to make his mark with a his first homer that really showcased his excellent feel to hit more than his power. It was impressive bat control and contact ability. He slowed the bat down to get it with a 65.1 MPH swing and only hit it 97.2 MPH, but that is a microcosm of his hit/power combo. We know he can hit it harder than that but even if he doesn’t he has the feel to hit to do stuff like that too. He wasn’t ripping up Triple-A with a 105 wRC+, but he got red hot in the 2nd half of 2025, and maybe we see the same thing this year. Just what Seattle needs, another 2nd half player.

Steele Hall – CIN, SS, 18.9, RK – We can now officially say that Hall is annihilating rookie ball after going 4 for 4 with a homer, double and stolen base. He’s slashing .282/.451/.641 with 3 homers, 7 steals, and a 19.6/21.6 K%/BB% in 11 games. The 26.5% whiff% isn’t bad and has been getting better. He’s lifting and pulling and he’s running a ton. He’s still only 18 years old and age appropriate for the level. While he has to show it at higher levels, that explosive true top level upside is clearly shining through. I thought he was getting faded way too hard in FYPD’s, predicting he would end the year in top 20 prospect land, and while he has a long to way to go to get there, this is step one. I would imagine he gets the call to Single-A pretty soon, and then if he keeps it up, the hype is going to hit hard.

Sam Antonacci – CHW, 2B/3B, 23.3 – Antonacci continues to do nothing but hit, going 2 for 3 with 0 K. He’s now hitting .298 with a 12.5% K%. Just call him Sam McAntonacci. The guy has a .400 xwOBA. He doesn’t hit the ball weakly or anything either with a 10.1% Barrel%, 88.6 MPH EV, and 36.3% Hard Hit%. He hasn’t been a big lift and pull guy in his career, so he’s probably not going to hit a ton of homers, but he should hit enough combined with his BA and steals. He’s getting a caught stealing a ton right now, going 3 for 7 on the bases, but he was a really good base stealer in the minors, and I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt right now. He’s potentially on track to be one of the best hit/speed/enough power combos in the game.

Xavier Edwards – MIA, SS/2B, 26.9 – Dude is a power hitter now after drilling his 5th homer at 101.2 MPH. And the power is most certainly up with an 88.5 MPH and 36.2% Hard Hit%, but he’s also clearly not this good. He doesn’t lift and pull enough with those still only decent hard hit numbers. With his contact and speed though, any uptick in power is a big deal. Just call him Xavier McEdwards.

Noah Schultz – CHW, LHP, 22.9 – 5.1 IP, 5 hits, 3 ER, 6/0 K/BB vs. SEA … not a bad outing but the 20% whiff% and 92.5 MPH EV are a bit less impressive. He really hasn’t been all that impressive in his MLB debut in general with a 4.93 ERA and 21.6/14.2 K%/BB% in 34.2 IP. The 25.1% whiff% is only average. It’s not great. If we are looking for silver linings, the 95.4 MPH 4-seamer is a really good pitch with a 27.7% whiff% and .299 xwOBA. His sweeper and change are also missing plenty of bats with a 34% and 40.7% whiff% respectively. He’s got 3 fastballs with the sinker and cutter. The ingredients are so obviously in here to breakout but it’s not quite there yet. Maybe he’ll get traded to Milwaukee and make it easy on all of us ;).

Shane McClanahan – TBR, LHP, 29.0 – 5 IP, 6 hits, 4 ER, 6/2 K/BB vs. BAL … not his best outing, but even in this one we see the old Shane starting to pop up more and more with a 33% whiff% and 95.8 MPH heat. His season line looks like the old Shane too with a 2.82 ERA and 25.8/9.3 K%/BB% in 44.2 IP. The K/BB really isn’t back to prime form, and neither is the 28.1% whiff%, so he’s still not the guy who was arguably the #1 pitcher in dynasty at one point, but he’s clearly re-establishing himself as an impact fantasy pitcher. I’ll put #2/3 borderline on him right now. After all of his setbacks and long road recovery, it’s just genuinely great to see him back to where he is.

Max Meyer – MIA, RHP, 27.2 – 6 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 6/2 K/BB vs. ATL … The excellent slider led the way as usual with a 43% whiff%, leading to a 27% whiff% overall. He now has a 2.85 ERA with a 26.7/8.4 K%/BB% in 53.2 IP. The 31.9% whiff% backs up the strikeouts. But I have to say that I’m still not willing to treat him as a young ace or near ace. The 4.28 xERA isn’t buying it at all. All of his pitches have been getting lucky according to xwOBA. Even in this outing the 93.8 MPH EV against showed luck was on his side. The other ERA estimators are kinder to him, but even those mostly have him as a mid 3’s ERA guy, which is where I land on him too. So more of an impact mid rotation guy is how I would value him in trades personally.

Junior Caminero – TBR, 3B, 22.9 – 2 for 4 with a 105.8 MPH homer for his 13th homer of the season and 7th homer at home. I didn’t have much doubt to begin with, ranking Caminero 12th overall on the Top 1,000, but if you did, I think we can put the minor league ballpark thing to rest now. It don’t matter what ballpark he’s in, he’s going to be one of the premier power hitters in baseball for a long time.

Sal Stewart – CIN, 1B/3B, 22.5 – Nice to see Stewart come back alive as he went the opposite way on a 77 MPH swing that cleared the fence for his 11th homer. He also tacked on a 106 MPH single. He now has 2 homers, 3 steals, and a .820 OPS in his last 11 games. He’s starting to stabilize. He’s still running a ton which I love. The only thing I would like to see is more pulling in the air, but I know he has that skill in him, so I’m not too concerned about. He also has the power and ballpark to be just fine hitting oppo field dingers (this one was in Philly). I was buying low through the struggles and it seems he’s now come out the other end of it.

Kendry Rojas – MIN, LHP, 23.5 – Rojas slowly worked his way into the starting rotation, and now that he’s in, he’s not letting the opportunity slip through his fingers, going 4 IP with 2 hits, 0 ER, and a 3/1 K/BB vs. HOU. He’s coming at you with 96 MPH from left side and it put up a 45% whiff%. The slider notched a 50% whiff% and the changeup notched a 40% whiff%. He had a 81.2 MPH EV against. It was utter domination. He wasn’t quite this good out of the pen, but the stuff is nasty and fastball/slider/changeup combo all miss bats. There is control risk and he can still be raw, but his upside is worth the pick up if you are a pitching needy team.

Michael King – SDP, RHP, 30.11 – 7 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER, 9/2 K/BB vs. LAD … This one was against the Dodgers and he both missed bats (29% whiff%) and induced weak contact (82.7 MPH EV against). He now has a 2.31 ERA with a 25.8/10.5 K%/BB% in 58.1 IP. He looks pretty much back to where he was when he was dominating last year. The only slight concern is that the walk rate is up and the K/BB isn’t great, but he wasn’t even really a great K/BB guy last year either. At the least, he’s a fully locked in #2 and that could be light.

Walbert Urena – LAA, RHP, 22.4 – 6 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER, 4/2 K/BB vs. ATH … he’s a weak contact machine with an 85.1 MPH EV against in this one and a 86.1 MPH EV against on the season. He also missed bats in this one with the changeup (50% whiff%) and sweeper (43% whiff%). The more he keeps it up, the more you gotta believe in him, but I’m still only treating him as a guy to ride until we see more. 1.35 WHIP isn’t good. The 20.7/13.1 K%/BB% isn’t good. The stuff is big, he can miss some bats and he induces weak contact, so again, I’m down to ride it, but I’m not paying up big for him or anything.

JT Ginn – SAC, LHP, 27.0 – 8 IP, 2 hits, 2 ER, 10/1 K/BB vs. LAA … it’s Ginn’s 3rd lights out performance in a row. He has a 94.3 MPH sinker that can keep the ball the ground. The slider and change can miss some bats. The cutter and 4-seamer give him the 3 fastball combo. Like Urena, it’s hard to buy in too hard with a mediocre K/BB (21.7/8.4 K%/BB%), and his 23.2% whiff% isn’t great either, so he’s just a guy I’m happy to ride but not pay up for.

Tatsuya Imai – HOU, RHP, 27.11 – 4.2 IP, 5 hits, 3 ER, 5/0 K/BB vs. MIN … yea, this sucks, but the guys still put up a 43% whiff%. The fastball sat 95.8 MPH. The slider and change missed a ton of bats. He’s been brutal, I know, but I would stay patient here. I think he’s going to figure it out.

Nick Becker – SEA, SS, 19.5, RK – Time for a Nick Becker check … and it’s not good. He’s a 19 year old in the rookie ball and has a 35.4% K% and a 41.8% whiff%. He’s actually hitting well with a 135 wRC+, but that swing and miss, especially at already 19 years old, just puts him in insane danger zone territory. It’s more or less exactly what we didn’t want to see. His value is on the decline.

Andrew Painter – PHI, RHP, 23.1 – 6 IP, 3 hits, 2 ER, and a 3/2 K/BB vs. CIN … solid outing but the 4-seamer put up a 0% whiff% and he had a 9% whiff% overall. He now has a 5.77 ERA with a 19.1/7.2 K%/BB% in 43.1 IP. The ship sailed on Painter being a true ace level pitching prospect last year, but nobody wanted to believe it. I get it. It’s sad when an injury diminishes such a great prospect. But if you didn’t believe then, you better believe now. He’s still talented with breakout potential down the line, but it’s just not the guy from 2022.

JR Ritchie – ATL, RHP, 22.11 – 4 IP, 6 hits, 6 ER, 4/1 K/BB vs. MIA … the 93.8 MPH 4-seamer didn’t get a single whiff and put up a 95.2 MPH EV against. He put up a 24% whiff% overall. Ritchie has just never been my guy, and that take is cementing with his MLB debut. He has a 4.91 ERA with a 18.4/14.0 K%/BB% in 25.2 IP. The 4-seamer isn’t that good and the whiffs are below average overall. I’ve never been impressed with the stuff. I do still believe he can become a solid MLB pitcher in time. I don’t hate him, but I didn’t see the big fantasy value to go after as a pitching prospect.

Nick Lodolo – CIN, LHP, 28.3 – 5.2 IP, 3 hits, 3 ER, 3/5 K/BB vs. PHI … he’s been rusty as hell since returning with a 7.20 ERA and 16.4/13.4 K%/BB% in 15 IP. Nothing to worry about though. It’s just all part of the plan. He’s not nicknamed the Eternal Target for nothing. He’ll get hot and start pitching well, but because of these early blowups and late start to the season the season line won’t look great, making him, yup, a legit Target going into 2027 for the 29th year in a row. You know something had to happen to keep him a Target. The Universe works in mysterious ways.

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

Posted on November 1, 2021December 26, 2021 by Michael Halpern

New York Mets 2022 Dynasty Baseball Report (Top 10 Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy Talk)

Along with a Top 10 Dynasty Baseball Prospects Ranking, I wanted to highlight some interesting MLB guys and talk some team specific strategy for every team to give a more complete Dynasty Team Report. Like during the regular season, I’m still going to be posting a few articles a month for free on my website. This is one of those articles. Here is the New York Mets 2022 Dynasty Baseball Report (Top 10 Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy Talk):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF CONTENT ALL OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
–A Top 18 Sneak Peek of my 2022 Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings with more early releases coming all off-season
-Dynasty Team Reports for every team (Top 10 Prospects/Interesting MLB guys/Strategy Talk)
–Positional Dynasty Rankings
-End of Season 2021 Top 466 Dynasty Baseball Rankings
-End of Season 2021 Top 322 Dynasty Prospects Rankings

Previous Teams on Patreon
Arizona Diamondbacks–Baltimore Orioles=Chicago White Sox=Miami Marlins–Milwaukee Brewers–Minnesota Twins–New York Yankees–Oakland Athletics–Philadelphia Phillies–Seattle Mariners–St. Louis Cardinals

Hitters

Francisco Lindor NYM, SS, 28.4 – Baseball players are human beings. When you’ve spent your entire career, from the time you were 17 years old, with one organization, it is going to take time to adjust to a new city, new fans, new teammates, coaches, expectations etc … And that goes doubly when that new city is New York. And even if you don’t buy into all that mumbo jumbo, his underlying numbers in 2021 were almost exactly in line with career norms. He just got a bit unlucky this year. One thing slightly outside of his career norms was that he swung and missed at a career worst rate (23.2% whiff%), but he offset that with a career best 11.1% BB%. Lindor is an easy buy this off-season. 2022 Projection: 93/29/85/.267/.344/.482/17

Pete Alonso NYM, 1B, 27.4 – Alonso quietly took a huge step forward with his contact ability, notching career bests in K% (19.9% vs. 25.5% in 2020) and whiff% (24.9% vs. 30.4% in 2020). He also had a career best 91 MPH EV. And while it led to an excellent season (37 homers and a 133 wRC+ in 152 games), there is now potential for him to put up some truly historic seasons as he enters his peak years. I would buy high on Alonso. 2022 Projection: 94/45/112/.268/.357/.561/2

Starting Pitchers

Jacob deGrom NYM, RHP, 33.9 – You almost have to do a double take when looking at deGrom’s season numbers. 1.08 ERA? 0.55 WHIP? 45.1%/3.4% K%/BB%? Give me a second to pick my jaw up off the ground. Of course, in this flawed universe we live in, there always has to be a yang to the yin. He put up those numbers in only 92 IP because of a partial tear in the UCL of his elbow. He already started to throw side sessions at the end of September, so the hope is that he will be 100% for 2022, but it certainly adds a healthy dose of injury risk. 2022 Projection: 13/2.48/0.93/258 in 175 IP

Tylor Megill NYM, RHP, 26.8 – Megill quickly cruised through the upper levels of the minors before immediately impressing in his MLB debut, putting up a 26.1%/7.1% K%/BB% and 3.87 xERA in 89.2 IP. He has the stuff to back up the numbers with an above average 3 pitch mix led by his 94.6 MPH fastball. His 4.52 ERA should keep the hype in check, and I’m planning on grabbing Megill for cheap in every size league I play in this off-season. 2022 Projection: 8/3.90/1.27/161 in 155 IP

Bullpen

Edwin Diaz NYM, Closer, 28.0 – Diaz’ ERA jumped to 3.45, but everything in his underlying numbers shows he is still elite with a 2.63 xERA. His 4 seamer and slider both hit a career high in velocity at 98.8 MPH and 90.6 MPH. His strikeouts did dip a bit, but with a 35.1% whiff% and 34.6% K%, he is still in rarified air. 2022 Projection: 3/2.76/1.10/94/34 saves in 61 IP

New York Mets Top 10 Dynasty Baseball Prospects

1) Francisco Alvarez NYM, C, 20.4 – Alvarez is a bulldog at the plate at 5’10”, 233 pounds with massive raw power and a precocious plate approach. He put up a silly 227 wRC+ with a 10.4%/22.4% K%/BB% in 15 games at the age appropriate Single-A before he went to High-A and bashed 22 homers in 82 games. This is a do it all, middle of the order bat who has a good chance of sticking at catcher. Rutschman is going to have some competition for that top spot in a couple years. ETA: 2023 Prime Projection: 78/30/92/.272/.355/.495/4

2) Mark Vientos NYM, 3B, 22.4 – Vientos is 6’4, 185 pounds and was a power breakout waiting to happen. It happened. He crushed 22 homers in 72 games at Double-A and then he cracked 3 homers in 11 games at Triple-A to close the season. His strikeout rate spiked with the power to 28.4% at Double-A (30.2% at Triple-A), so there is risk, but his power has true elite potential. ETA: 2023 Prime Projection: 76/32/88/.248/.327/.502/1

3) Brett Baty NYM, 3B, 22.4 – Baty personifies the proverbial “professional at-bat.” He slashed .292/.382/.473 with 12 homers and a 25.5%/11.9% K%/BB% in 91 games split between High-A and Double-A. There is some swing and miss to his game (39.3% K% in 13 AFL games) and while he has at least plus power, his groundball percentage is way too high to take advantage of it (61.2% at Double-A). He would rank #2 on an OBP Ranking. ETA: 2023 Prime Projection: 83/25/81/.269/.353/.477/4

4) Alex Ramirez NYM, OF, 19.2 – I fell in love with Ramirez the second I saw his Youtube international prospect hype videos a few years ago. He remains a high upside lottery ticket who the Mets thought enough of to send straight to full season ball for his pro debut. He managed to hold his own with a near average 96 wRC+ and a respectable triple-slash of .258/.326/..384 with 5 homers, 16 steals and a 31.1%/6.9% K%/BB% in 76 games. He’s a projectable 6’3”, 170 pounds with a wicked righty swing and a potentially plus power/speed combo. ETA: 2025 Prime Projection: 78/23/81/.263/.331/.452/17

5) Ronny Mauricio NYM, SS, 21.0 – The power breakout arrived for the 6’3” Mauricio as he ripped 20 homers in 108 games at mostly High-A (1 homer in 8 games at Triple-A). He also cranked out this bomb a few days ago in LIDOM (Dominican Winter League). The plate approach is still raw with a 24.7%/5.7% K%/BB%, but 2021 was a step in the right direction to reaching his considerable upside. ETA: 2023 Prime Projection: 74/24/81/.261/.323/.465/7

6) Matt Allan NYM, RHP, 20.11 – Allan underwent Tommy John surgery in May of 2021 which may keep him out until towards the end of the 2022 season. When healthy, he throws a mid 90’s fastball with a plus, high spin rate curveball and a changeup that was getting rave reviews at the alt site in 2020. He’s only pitched 10.1 professional innings in his career, and is now undergoing major arm surgery, so the risk is high, but so is the upside. ETA: 2024 Prime Projection: 12/3.83/1.25/175 in 160 IP

7) Khalil Lee NYM, OF, 23.9 – Lee has put up elite walk rates throughout his career and it hit a crescendo in 2021 with a career high 18.3% BB% in 102 games at Triple-A. It led to an impressive .951 OPS. He also has plus speed and plus raw power, but his high groundball rates (51.5%) and poor stolen base percentage (8 for 18 in 2021) makes it hard to project big homer and steal totals. His strikeout rates have also always been high with a 29.6% mark in 2021. It’s an interesting mix of tools and skills that has a very wide range of outcomes. 2022 Projection: 31/5/27/.222/.308/.391/4 Prime Projection: 77/18/74/.244/.333/.431/12

8) J.T. Ginn NYM, RHP, 22.10 – Ginn induces extreme groundball rates (64.1% at High-A) with a low 90’s, heavy sinking two seamer that generates a ton of drop and tail action. He combines that with a plus slider and developing changeup. It resulted in a strong season in the lower minors with a pitching line of 3.03/1.05/81/22 in 92 IP split between Single-A and High-A. He had also just undergone Tommy John surgery in March 2020, so he should only get stronger from here. ETA: 2023 Prime Projection: 10/4.06/1.28/159 in 165 IP

9) Carlos Rincon NYM, OF, 24.6 – The 6’3” Rincon has beastly raw power and he has been able to get to all of it his entire professional career with 94 home runs in 479 career games. It was more of the same in 2021 with 22 homers in 101 games at Double-A. He doesn’t have any problem keeping the ball off the ground and while his strikeout rates have always been high, a 26.8% mark in 2021 isn’t that bad. 2022 Projection: 6/2/11/.218/.291/.415/1 Prime Projection: 66/22/72/.243/.318/.475/3

10) Jose Butto NYM, RHP, 24.0 – Butto is the type of pitcher to work fast and throw the ball over the plate. A nasty changeup is his money maker and he combines that with an average slider and a low 90’s fastball that seems pretty hittable. He put together a strong year split between High-A and Double-A with a pitching line of 3.83/1.10/110/24 in 98.2 IP. He has a 4/5 starter profile with mid rotation upside if the fastball or breaking ball tick up. 2022 Projection: 1/4.52/1.35/27 in 30 IP Prime Projection: 8/4.24/1.31/153 in 160 IP

Just Missed

11) Joel Diaz NYM, RHP, 18.1

12) Calvin Ziegler NYM, RHP, 19.6

13) Dominic Hamel NYM, RHP, 23.1

14) Carlos Cortes NYM, OF, 24.5

Strategy Talk

It seemed like things were headed in the right direction when Steve Cohen took over as owner, but it’s been nothing but a hilarity of errors since then. They’ve been turned down by everyone with a pulse for their open front office job. And it turns out one of the people involved in that search is none other than noted baseball mind Chris Christie. Their former GM got fired for a DWI after attending a party at Cohen’s house earlier that night. And all of this just makes me think of a story of one of my favorite comedians, Chris Distefano, told about bombing in front of Steve Cohen at his birthday. He might be a good time to hang out with, but I’m not sure I would want him owning my favorite baseball team. What does all this mean for dynasty owners? Admittedly not much because we still don’t know who is going to be running the show, and the Mets haven’t had any major issues developing talent, except when it comes to pitcher injuries. Even with the circus like atmosphere, I wouldn’t shy away from Mets prospects.

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