Tanner Bibee – Imaginary Brick Wall

Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (5/15/23)

Michael Halpern — Mon, 15 May 2023 13:46:52 +0000

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 (5/15/23):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON, INCLUDING:
-UPDATED TOP 433 MAY DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-UPDATED TOP 324 APRIL PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP DYNASTY BASEBALL TARGETS (4/28/23)
-HALP’S DYNASTY BASEBALL PODCAST: MAILBAG! (5/16/23)
-TOP 25 PROSPECTS TO STASH FOR 2023 IMPACT ONLY (5/19/23)
–TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-PREDICTING THE 2024 TOP 50 PROSPECTS RANKS

Christopher Morel CHC, 2B/OF, 23.10 – They say good things come to those who wait, and the Morel owners who waited are now enjoying good things as he jacked his 3rd homer in 21 PA. He has a 1.238 OPS with a 92.4 MPH EV, 1 steal, and most importantly, the whiff% is all the way down to a reasonable 28.9%. He was one of my favorite targets this off-season, and I sure as hell waited while bad vets got the nod over him even while he was destroying spring pitching and destroying Triple-A. Come to think of it, the people who say “good things come to those who wait” are usually the ones screwing you over, but Morel refused to be held down for long, and his fantasy owners are now reaping the benefits. He checked in at #227 on the Updated May Top 433 Dynasty Baseball Rankings that just dropped on the Patreon last week, and that number will keep rising if he keeps performing and locks in playing time.

Jordan Walker STL, 3B/OF, 21.0 – Jordan Walker owners were given immediate gratification with him making the team out of camp and look how that worked out for them. He had mediocre results and then very quickly got sent back to down to Triple-A to work on his launch angle. Let’s check in to see how that launch is looking after a 3 for 5 day yesterday: 28.6% FB%. Not great, and it’s led to a 60 wRC+ in 15 games at Triple-A. He’s still crushing the ball and the plate approach is good, so I wouldn’t be worried, but the Cardinals very publicly announced what they wanted to see from him, and they quite clearly haven’t seen it yet. I’m guessing they will call him back up eventually regardless of his launch, but it would have been easier if he was able to successfully make that adjustment.

Alex Kirilloff MIN, 1B/OF, 25.7 – Kirilloff owners have been waiting for damn near 4 years, and quite frankly, you have the patience of a saint if you kept him on your roster all this time, but now that saintly patience is paying off. He went 2 for 6 yesterday and now has a 1.309 OPS with 2 homers, a 93.1 MPH EV and a 17.9%/21.4% K%/BB% in 28 PA in the majors. He looks healthy and as long as he stays that way, he’ll likely keep raking. I’m buying.

Brandon Pfaadt ARI, RHP, 24.7 – Tom Petty said the waiting is the hardest part, but he obviously never owned Pfaadt in dynasty, because watching him get shelled once he did get the call has surely been the hardest part. The waiting was the easy part in hindsight. But he had his best MLB outing yesterday, going 5 IP with 1 hit, 1 ER, and a 5/3 K/BB vs. SFG. The fastball sat 93.4 MPH and he induced weak contact with an 83.5 MPH EV against. It’s still been super rough overall with an 8.59 ERA in 14.2 IP, and all of his pitches are getting destroyed. I can’t lie, it’s a little concerning as he doesn’t necessarily have stuff, but really nothing you can do but keep waiting.

Zach Neto LAA, SS, 22.2 – Fuck waiting. Sometimes you have to take what you want, and that is why Neto was my 3rd ranked FYPD prospect, because I knew he would be fast tracked to the bigs. But even I didn’t expect it to happen so fast, and considering the rush job LA put on him, he’s been pretty damn good. He went 1 for 3 with a 100.6 MPH double off none other than a 98.9 MPH Emmanuel Clase fastball. He now has a 15.7% K%, 89.3 MPH EV, 7.9% Barrel%, and a .326 xwOBA. He’s setting a very strong foundation, and the best is almost certainly yet to come.

Matt McLain CIN, 2B/SS, 23.8 – Strand and Elly owners will have to keep waiting, because Yippee-ki-yay, it’s McLain time. He’s been out of his mind at Triple-A, slashing .348/.474/.710 with 12 homers, 10 steals, and a 19.7%/16.8% K%/BB% in 38 games, earning every bit of this callup. And I don’t see him going anywhere as long he performs decently well. He’s shown some hit tool issues in the past and he’s not a huge raw power guy, but he’s a pick up in all league sizes if he happens to still be out there on your wire.

Tanner Bibee CLE, RHP, 24.2 – Can I shoehorn this waiting theme into one more player … hmmmmmm … I got nothing. Bibee owners waited the appropriate amount of time and he’s been impressive from the get go. He went 7.2 IP with 2 hits, 1 ER, and 7/2 K/BB vs. LAA. The fastball sat 95.2 MPH and he put up a 29% whiff% overall. Bibee is well on his way to becoming a Top 100 dynasty asset with a 3.22 ERA and 25%/4.5% K%/BB% in 22.1 IP. He currently sits at #165 on the Updated Dynasty Rankings.

Louie Varland MIN, RHP, 25.4 – 6.1 IP, 4 hits, 3 ER, 7/1 K/BB vs. CHC. Varland was my first “full breakout alert” in the Dynasty Rundowns back in early April, and there wasn’t much waiting after that as he quickly got called up to the majors. He hasn’t necessarily exploded with a 4.30 ERA in 23 IP, but the stuff looks great led by a 95.1 MPH fastball, and so does the 28.4%/6.3% K%/BB%. I still think he’s a bit underrated.

James Wood WAS, OF, 20.7 – Wood went 3 for 3 with 2 doubles, a dinger, and a 0/2 K/BB at High-A as he’s now officially destroying the level with 5 homers, 5 steals, and a 137 wRC+ in 31 games. The one quibble is that the K% is all the way up to 29%. Strikeouts were always going to be a part of his game at 6’6”, and he can thrive even with a high K rate, but it does add risk, and it will be interesting to see if he can keep it in check when he gets to Double-A.

Spencer Jones NYY, OF, 22.0 – Jones is the older version of Wood. He went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, 1 steal, and most importantly, 0 K’s. He’s crushing High-A with 6 homers, 9 steals, and a 143 wRC+, but that 32.2%/5.8% K%/BB% is pretty rough. He just turned 22 yesterday (Happy Birthday, Spence), so he’s a young 22, but he’ll likely need to make legitimate hit tool and plate approach improvements if he wants his power/speed combo to shine in the majors. He was my 5th ranked FYPD prospect, and I still love him, but we can’t completely ignore those K/BB numbers as much as I want to.

Jacob Melton HOU, OF, 22.9 – Melton cracked his 5th homer at High-A and is doing what an advanced college bat is supposed to do in the lower minors. Along with the 5 homers, he has 12 steals with a 26%/19% K%/BB% and a 136 wRC+ in 22 games. We just gotta watch that K%, but the power/speed combo is very legit. He’s exciting.

Gavin Cross KC, OF, 22.2 – Cross is doing whatever the opposite of “doing what an advanced college bat is supposed to do in the lower minors,” as he’s looked terrible at High-A even after going 2 for 4 yesterday. He has a 62 wRC+ with a 32.8%/7.3% K%/BB% in 31 games. The hit tool was the one iffy part of his game coming out of the draft, and that’s playing out right now. We saw him molten hot last year to start his pro career, so I wouldn’t completely overreact to the still small sample, but it’s simply not what you want to see.

Marco Luciano SFG, SS, 21.7 – Lucky Luciano launched his 2nd bomb in 10 games at Double-A, but it came on a 1 for 5 with 3 K day. He now has a 50 wRC+ with a 40% K% at the level, and it just feels like the shine continues to come off that formerly pristine prospect hype. He’s still a good prospect, but I’m not sure he really stands out anymore, although maybe we have to give him some more time to shake the rust off as he’s coming off a stress fracture in his back this off-season.

Kyren Paris LAA, 2B/SS, 21.5 – Paris was a named target for me this off-season, and he’s been a beast all season at Double-A. He went 2 for 3 with his 9th homer on a beautiful swing yesterday. He’s now slashing .239/.390/.487 with 9 homers, 10 steals, and a 31.9%/17.7% K%/BB% in 31 games. The power has taken a major step forward, which is huge to see considering his double plus speed. The hit tool is still a major concern which prevents his hype from truly exploding, but this is an extremely high upside fantasy player who still gets almost no love. I’m still buying despite the risk.

Justyn-Henry Malloy DET, 3B/OF, 23.4 – 1 for 2 with a homer and 3 walks. The hard hitting Malloy is now slashing .323/.455/.526 with 7 homers and a 24.2%/17.6% K%/BB% in 38 games at Triple-A and I can’t imagine it is much longer before he gets the call. I think he’s likely to be a better real life hitter than fantasy, but that doesn’t mean he can’t make a fantasy impact too. He’s a great stash in any league.

Luis Matos SFG, OF, 21.3 – Matos drilled his 3rd homer and he did it with a swing that looks ready made for the majors. Quick and powerful. He’s bouncing back in a big way from a down 2022, slashing .304/.398/.443 with 3 homers, 9 steals, and a 9%/12.8% K%/BB% in 31 games at Double-A. A few more bombs like that and his formerly elite prospect hype could sneak back up on us. He’s a major riser this year regardless.

Ryan Bliss ARI, 2B/SS, 24.5 – Bliss has lived up to his name and then some with his performance at Double-A. He went 3 for 6 with a double, homer, and 2 steals yesterday, and is now slashing a blissful .406/.433/.672 with 6 homers, 11 steals, and a 20.1%/4.5% K%/BB% in 29 games. He’s a particularly small guy at only 5’6”, but check out this swing on yesterday’s dinger, he definitely has some pop in there. The plate approach is mediocre and so is the power, which makes it hard to buy in too hard, but how can you argue with that performance.

Spencer Arrighetti HOU, RHP, 23.5 – 7 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 9/2 K/BB at Double-A. Arrighetti was a target of mine this off-season, and while he struggled to start the year, he now has a 0.53 ERA with a 19/6 K/BB in his last 17 IP. He sure looks like he’s finding his rhythm, and like most Astros pitching prospects for some weird reason, he flies way under the radar.

Jackson Rutledge WAS, RHP, 24.2 – 6 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 5/0 K/BB at Double-A. Rutledge has been performing rock solidly all year with a 2.72 ERA in 39.2 IP, and he has the big stuff to back it up. I still don’t love the 23.7%/9% K%/BB%, he’s been injury prone in his career, and that ERA probably has some good luck involved, but there is a clear path to a rotation spot with Washington’s depleted roster. Not the worst stash if you missed out on the more hyped recently called up pitching prospects.

Cory Lewis MIN, RHP, 22.7 – Lewis was drafted in the 9th round last year, but he’s performing like anything but a 9th rounder after throwing 5.2 perfect innings with 7 K’s. He has a 2.43 ERA with a 33.3%/6.8% K%/BB% in 29.2 IP at Single-A. He throws a low 90’s fastball, but it has plus spin, and at 6’5”, 220 pounds, it gets great extension too. He rounds out of the repertoire with a power breaker he throws in the dirt, a slower one he can throw for strikes, and a lesser used changeup. Definitely an intriguing pop up pitching prospect to at least keep an eye on.

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

Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (9/12/22)

Michael Halpern — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 14:57:08 +0000

I’ll be running down everything that caught my eye in the Dynasty Baseball world on most Mondays throughout the season. Here is the Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (9/12/22):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ALL SEASON AND OFF-SEASON, INCLUDING:
-TOP 360 SEPTEMBER 2022 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP 455 AUGUST 2022 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 10 TRADE NEGOTIATION TACTICS (one of my favorite things I’ve ever written)
-MID-SEASON OBP TOP 447 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-MID-SEASON POINTS/6+CATS/OPS “UNIVERSAL” TOP 430 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 40 2023 FYPD RANKINGS
-TONS OF DYNASTY RUNDOWNS
-OFF-SEASON CONTENT: Team Prospect Lists, Positional Dynasty Rankings, and early access to the Top 1,000 Dynasty Baseball Rankings

Corbin Carroll ARI, OF, 22.1 – Don’t you do it. Don’t you dare do it. I know you’re getting that wandering eye. You love baseball, but damn, football is looking so sexy rolling up to the party all fresh faced with nothing but hope and potential. But just you wait. Soon half your roster will be out with a high ankle sprain, your favorite team’s O-Line will be a sieve, and you’ll be spending 75% of your FAAB on some 3rd string running back. Then you’ll be begging to come back. Your old ball and chain, baseball, is even willing to meet you halfway. They’re willing to bring new people into the bedroom! So many of the games top prospects have gotten the call, none more exciting than my #1 fantasy prospect, Corbin Carroll. He went 1 for 4 with a 101.3 MPH single that he hit into the ground at a negative 48 degree launch angle. That’s been the story of his MLB debut as he has a respectable 88.5/93.7 MPH AVG/FB EV, but he hasn’t been lifting the ball with a negative 1.3 degree launch. He’s the fastest man in baseball with a 30.6 ft/sec sprint speed, but he’s 0 for 1 on the bases in 11 games. He has some swing and miss in his game, and while a 29.5% K% is high, the 26% whiff% shows it likely won’t be a major issue. He’s done enough to hang onto the top spot, but he has someone right on his tail …

Gunnar Henderson BAL, SS, 21.2 – The #2 ranked prospect on the Updated Top 360 Dynasty Prospects Rankings that just hit my Patreon last week, Henderson went 0 for 1 with a 1/1 K/BB coming off the bench. The game here is to bench these guys enough for them to maintain their rookie status for 2023. Like Carroll, he’s been solid in his pro debut with nothing setting off alarm bells. He has a 89.9 MPH EV, 9.2 degree launch, and a 20%/8.9% K%/BB%. His speed also might have been undersold as a 28.8 ft/sec sprint speed is damn fast.

Josh Jung TEX, 3B, 24.6 – Jung had to earn this MLB debut, coming back from shoulder surgery, and he blew his load early with a homer in his very first at bat on Friday. It hasn’t been as good since, putting up the golden sombrero yesterday (0 for 4 with 4 K’s). A golden sombrero literally does sound like a quite disgusting sex act (no judgement if that’s your thing). I looked up the origin of golden sombrero, thinking it would be some super cool story (also worried that it might have been a little racist), but turns out there is no story. According to Wikipedia, baseball thought calling 3 goals in hockey a “hat trick” was cool, “and since four is bigger than three, the rationale was that a four-strikeout performance should be referred to by a bigger hat, such as a sombrero.” Pretty uninspiring. Jung has a 83.8 MPH EV with a 44% whiff% in his 3 game debut.

Triston Casas BOS, 1B, 22.8 – Cases went 0 for 3 with a K yesterday, and his MLB debut has been similar to Jung’s with 1 homer and not much else. The 35.7% whiff% in 7 games will be something to keep an eye on as the hope was for Casas to be an excellent all around hitter, not just a low average slugger.

Michael Harris ATL, OF, 21.5 – Atlanta didn’t wait until September to call up their young studs, and Harris rewarded them majorly for their boldness. He homered twice yesterday and the cement is now starting to dry on his status as an elite dynasty asset. He ranked 42nd overall on the August Top 455 Dynasty Rankings (Patreon), and he might be pushing Top 20 status when I update the rankings for September next week.

Julio Rodriguez SEA, OF, 21.8 – Speaking of the cement drying on an elite dynasty asset, Rodriguez’ dried so long ago it even has an imprint of my hand with “Halp was here, April 2022” etched into it for eternity. He went 3 for 4 with 2 bombs yesterday, and if you told me you wanted to take him 1st overall in a new dynasty league this off-season, it would be hard for me to argue against it. Ohtani might still be my top choice, but I think Julio could be a close 2nd.

Luis Patino TBR, RHP, 22.8 – Let’s keep the excitement going with Patino who is getting another crack at the rotation and … yikes. He gave up 9 earned in 1.1 IP and the stuff didn’t look all that good either with a decent 94.6 MPH fastball and relatively low spin rates on all of his pitches. He’s still young, but I’m starting to sour on him a bit.

Grayson Rodriguez BAL, RHP, 22.10 – Rodriguez returned from a lat strain and he definitely has some rust to shake off. He went 2.2 IP with 1 hit, 4 ER and a 7/3 K/BB at Double-A. You can never relax when you are banking on pitching prospects to carry the future of your dynasty team. Just look at the ghost of Forrest Whitley who has a 7.07 ERA in 28 IP at Triple-A this year. Or Daniel Espino disappearing into thin air so completely that it would make David Copperfield jealous.

Spencer Torkelson DET, 3B/1B, 22.11 – Torkelson returned to the majors and he’s trying to make us forget about the struggles that got him sent down in the first place. He went 1 for 3 with a 107 MPH double and now has a 1.030 OPS with a 5/3 K/BB and 97 MPH EV in 8 games since returning. He just might be able to rekindle those new love butterflies we all had earlier in the season if he keeps killing it down the stretch.

Michael Massey KCR, 2B, 24.4 – Massey is someone I am going to be grabbing a ton of this off-season. He went 1 for 3 with a homer and 1/1 K/BB yesterday. The underlying numbers look great to me with a 90.5 MPH EV, 16.8 degree launch angle, 15.5% barrel% and 22.7% K%. He’s not super fast, but he’s proving he has some real stolen base skills (3 for 3 on the bases). He might not be a league winner, but I think he is going to be sneaky good next year.

Jonathan Aranda TBR, 1B/2B/3B, 24.0 – 1 for 3 with a 1/1 K/BB. Aranda is trying to wade his way through Tampa’s deep roster to get playing time, and when he does, he’s proving that he’s just a damn good hitter no matter what the level. He has a 94.4 MPH EV with a 15.4%/11.5% K/BB% in 26 MPH PA. Playing time is going to be an issue and he might not have super high upside, but it’s pretty clear this guy is going to hit.

George Valera CLE, OF, 21.10 – Valera might not join the top prospect brigade in the majors this year, but it probably won’t be too far into 2023 until he does. He drilled his 7th homer in 28 games since getting called up to Triple-A. He has a little Gary Sheffield bat wiggle, and that line drive homer is reminiscent of some of the frozen ropes Sheffield would hit. Valera isn’t as good as Sheffield, but his power and OBP profile is completely transferring to Triple-A.

Joey Wiemer MIL, OF, 23.7 – Wiemer got called up to Triple-A and became a new man. He went 2 for 4 with a dinger and is now slashing .275/.360/.533 with 6 homers, 6 steals, and a 20.9%/12.2% K%/BB%. What strikeout problems?

Adael Amador COL, SS, 19.7 – Amador laughs at strikeout problems as he’s maintained an elite plate approach all season (12.1%/15.7% K%/BB%), and he showed off the power yesterday jacking out his 15th homer in 115 games at Single-A. The power/speed combo may not be huge, but plenty of superstars have bubbled up from these elite plate approach guys even if they aren’t visually jaw dropping athletes.

Kevin Parada NYM, C, 21.11 – Parada got on the board with his first professional homer in 13 games. He’s walking a ton with a .463 OBP and 24.4% BB% at Single-A, but the 29.3% K% is on the high side.

Justyn-Henry Malloy ATL, 3B/OF, 22.7 – Malloy is getting some late season helium as he continued to handle his business since getting called up to Double-A. He cracked his 6th homer in 48 games at the level and is now slashing .291/.416/.459 with 6 homers, 0 steals and a 24.8%/17.3% K%/BB%. He always had very high walk rates throughout his career and he’s shaping up to a great low key target in OBP leagues this off-season.

Oswaldo Cabrera NYY, OF, 23.7 – Cabrera hit his first MLB homer with a 408 foot shot on a 1 for 4 day. He has a 86.7 MPH EV with a 28.8% whiff% and 27.3 ft/sec sprint speed in 88 MLB PA. I think he’s a heavily used utility player long term and isn’t really a target of mine.

Bubba Thompson TEX, OF, 24.3 – The 7th fastest man in baseball racked up 2 more steals to give him 13 steals in 33 games. He has a 2.8% barrel%, so his .298 BA is the result of good luck, but a 87.8 MPH EV and 29% whiff% isn’t hopeless. It’s not a bad MLB debut, and his elite base stealing ability is worth taking on the extra risk.

Brandon Pfaadt ARI, RHP, 23.10 – Pfaadt bounced back from his first bad start at Triple-A with a gem yesterday, going 8 IP with 4 hits, 2 ER, and a 11/0 K/BB. He threw a 5 pitch mix led by his high spin, 94.3 MPH fastball. His K/BB numbers have been elite all year and they barely dropped off at all at Triple-A with a 30.4%/6.3% K%/BB% in 50 IP.

Tanner Bibee CLE, RHP, 23.6 – The hard charging Bibee isn’t slowing down, going 6 IP with 3 hits, 1 ER, and a 5/2 K/BB at Double-A. He rose up all the way to #60 overall on the Updated Top 360 Prospects Rankings and I think his name value will remain subdued enough this off-season to get him at a very reasonable price.

Mitch Keller PIT, RHP, 26.5 – 7 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 6/3 K/BB vs. STL. Keller is doing just enough to close out the season to screw us all over again in 2023. He has a 2.51 ERA with a 49/19 K/BB in his last 61 IP. I’m not taking the bait though as the strikeout numbers just haven’t been impressive enough. Don’t get sucked back in.

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

Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (8/8/22)

Michael Halpern — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 14:19:50 +0000

I’ll be running down everything that caught my eye in the Dynasty Baseball world on most Mondays throughout the season. Here is the Monday Morning Dynasty Baseball Rundown (8/8/22):

CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY PATREON FOR TONS OF EXCLUSIVE CONTENT, INCLUDING:
-MID-SEASON TOP 314 2022 DYNASTY PROSPECTS RANKINGS
-TOP 437 JULY 2022 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 10 TRADE NEGOTIATION TACTICS (one of my favorite things I’ve ever written)
-TOP 10 MID-SEASON TRADE TARGETS
-MID-SEASON OBP TOP 447 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-MID-SEASON POINTS/6+CATS/OPS “UNIVERSAL” TOP 430 DYNASTY BASEBALL RANKINGS
-TOP 40 2023 FYPD RANKINGS

Jacob Berry MIA, OF/3B/1B, 21.2 – The 6th pick in this year’s draft, Berry has done nothing but struggle since entering pro ball. He went 0 for 3 yesterday at Single-A and is now 5 for 35 with 0 extra base hits and a 7/3 K/BB in 9 games split between rookie ball and Single-A. He’s not great on D, so the bat needs to really pop. It’s obviously too small of a sample to draw any conclusions, but I can’t help but have visions of JJ Bleday flash through my mind.

Ivan Melendez ARI, 1B, 22.7 – 0 for 3 with a 1/1 K/BB at Single-A. Talk about needing the bat to carry the day, Melendez is all bat as a 1B only prospect who got drafted as a college senior at 43rd overall. He’s 3 for 19 with 0 extra base hits and a 8/4 K/BB in 7 games split between rookie ball and Single-A. If he doesn’t start tearing apart the lower minors in short order, it will be hard for me to buy into him in off-season first year player drafts.

Peyton Graham DET, SS, 21.6 – One of my favorite targets from the 2022 draft class, ranking 17th overall on my Top 40 2023 First Year Player Draft Rankings (Patreon), Graham is showing off the wheels early in his career, snagging his 2nd bag yesterday in 2 games at Single-A. He’s 2 for 7 with a 2/1 K/BB in the early going. He got drafted 51st overall, so the value should be there in off-season drafts.

Samuel Zavala SDP, OF, 18.0 – It took only 10 games in stateside rookie ball where Zavala put up a 1.033 OPS for him to get the call to Single-A, and he made his mark at the level yesterday with his first homer in 5 games. He’s not overmatched against the advanced competition at all with a .793 OPS and 5/4 K/BB. His value has the potential to absolutely explode down the stretch.

Jacob deGrom NYM, RHP, 33.11 – 5.1 IP, 1 hit, 2 ER, 12/1 K/BB vs. ATL. The fastball averaged 99.1 MPH and the slider put up a 90% whiff%. There is a reason I refused to budge his dynasty ranking even with the injury (36th overall on the Top 437 July Dynasty Baseball Rankings that dropped last week on Patreon), because the level of dominance is just silly. I also don’t take age into account as much for pitchers as I do hitters because pitching is so volatile and risky no matter what the age, and younger pitchers are arguably more risky than older pitchers.

Jesus Luzardo MIA, LHP, 24.8 – 7 IP, 1 hit, 0 ER, 6/1 K/BB vs. CHC. The fastball velocity hasn’t been what it once was with it sitting 95.5 MPH, but I’ll take that tradeoff any day of the week for the improved control he’s shown. An 11/1 K/BB in 12 IP since returning from injury is very encouraging. His stock is on the rise.

Triston McKenzie CLE, RHP, 25.0 – 8 IP, 2 hit, 0 ER, 8/1 K/BB vs. HOU. McKenzie found his control again this season with a sparkling 6.7% BB% (11.7% in 2021). His fastball isn’t good enough (92.4 MPH with a 91.4 MPH EV against) to consistently miss his spots. He’s not as good as his 3.16 ERA indicates (3.89 xERA), but he’s picking up from where he left off in his excellent 2020 rookie season.

Matt Manning DET, RHP, 24.6 – 7 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER, 7/3 K/BB vs. TB. Don’t get suckered in. The fastball sat only 92.2 MPH and the spin rates on his breaking balls were still poor. Stay away.

Alex Kirilloff MIN, 1B/OF, 24.6 – Kirilloff just can’t shake this wrist injury as he’s set to undergo season ending wrist surgery. It’s sadly the last straw if you were on the fence about keeping him or not. In a shallow to medium size league, it could be time to move on if there is something enticing out there on the waiver wire.

Jorge Mateo BAL, OF/2B/SS, 27.0 – 2 for 3 with a cute little 355 foot, 95.5 MPH homer. Mateo is running up his fantasy numbers with 11 homers and 26 steals, but he’s taking advantage of Baltimore’s last season of rebuilding, because a 85 wRC+ is not going to get the job done when they promote all of their top prospect talent next season. I know Baltimore is 4 games over .500, but Mike Elias was smart to not get caught up in the fairy tale season of plucky underdogs. It won’t be long before they are the hated favorites. Be careful trading for Mateo expecting full time playing time beyond this season.

Brett Baty NYM, 3B, 22.8 – The only thing missing was homer power, and it ain’t missing anymore as Baty demolished his 19th homer at Double-A out to deep centerfield off Deivi Garcia. He now has a .950 OPS in 89 games. He still has only a 30.3% FB%, and a 25.2% K% ain’t great, so a 5×5 BA league might not be his bread and butter, but he’s easily a Top 20 prospect in any league that values good real life hitters (Pts, 6+ cats, OBP, OPS etc …). And even in a 5×5 BA league he’s a damn good prospect. It’s time for Triple-A.

Luis Matos SFG, OF, 20.4 – Look who decided to finally show up to the 2022 season. Matos homered for the 2nd time in 3 games and now has a .903 OPS in his last 5 games at High-A. Problem is that it comes with a 6/1 K/BB, which makes it hard for me to really buy back in. He’s still flirting with Top 100 prospect status for me, so I’m not giving up on him, but it’s been a disaster year.

Jordan Lawlar ARI, SS, 19.11 – Lawlar is starting to come alive at High-A, going 4 for 6 with a homer and double yesterday. The overall line at the level is still rough with a .700 OPS and 23/4 K/BB in 19 games, but after putting up a 1.051 OPS at Single-A, it’s likely just a slump that coincided with him getting promoted. He’s a top 10 prospect.

Corbin Carroll ARI, OF, 21.11 – 3 for 5 with a double, homer, and 2 K’s at Triple-A. People were starting to talk some smack about Carroll’s swing and miss, so of course not only did he improve that aspect of his game, but he did it after getting promoted to Triple-A with a 15/15 K/BB in 18 games. He’s the undisputed top prospect in the game, but he’s lucky Chourio went on a mini cold streak (1 for his last 14) because Chourio was charging hard for that top spot.

Tyler Soderstrom OAK, C/1B, 20.8 – Soderstrom got the call to Double-A last week and he now has a .857 OPS in 6 games after going 3 for 5 with a double last night. It comes with a 6/0 K/BB, which is basically exactly what he was doing at High-A with big power and a weak plate approach. He’s played more games at 1B than catcher this year, so at best you’re hoping for enough games behind the plate to qualify, but it’s not something I would bank on when planning the future of my team. I would assume he ends up 1B only and anything extra is icing on the cake.

Vaughn Grissom ATL, SS, 21.6 – Grissom unloaded for his 3rd homer in 21 games at Double-A. He’s had no problems at the level with a 137 wRC+ and 7 steals. He rose all the way to 33rd overall on the July Top 314 Dynasty Prospects Rankings (Patreon), and he will rise even higher on the August Rankings that drop tomorrow.

MJ Melendez KCR, C, 23.6 – 2 for 3 with a 406 foot bomb. Melendez is quietly having an excellent rookie season with a strong plate approach (25.9%/11.4% K%/BB%), a respectable whiff% (28.2%), and no doubt power (90.5 MPH EV). He’s one of the top young catchers in the game.

Tanner Bibee CLE, RHP, 23.4 – 6 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 6/0 K/BB at Double-A. Bibee’s value was already rising, and it’s set to take off now that he is dominating Double-A with a 1.71 ERA and 32/3 K/BB in 31.1 IP. The fastball has jumped up into the mid 90’s this year and he’s in one of the best pitching development organizations in the game. He’s a pick up in any size league.

DL Hall BAL, LHP, 23.10 – 5.1 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 8/3 K/BB at Triple-A. I hope you like your strikeouts with a side of walks because a 14% BB% is definitely worrisome.

Matthew Liberatore STL, LHP, 22.9 – 6 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER, 10/3 K/BB at Triple-A. Despite the great start, 2022 has been a step back for Liberatore with him struggling in both the majors (5.33 ERA) and the minors (4.77 ERA). He’s still a talented prospect, but if you can get good value for him based on his name value, I would jump on it.

Kerry Carpenter DET, OF, 24.11 – Carpenter hit a laser to the opposite field for his 2nd homer in 2 games and 29th homer in 95 games split between Double-A and Triple-A. His plate approach seriously improved when he hit Triple-A with a 17/17 K/BB in 33 games. Detroit’s entire roster is basically wide open, making Carpenter a good add if you need power down the stretch.

Wenceel Perez DET, 2B, 22.9 – Continuing the take a shot on fringy-ish Detroit prospects theme, Perez ripped his 5th homer in 35 games at Double-A. He’s had strong contact rates his entire career (13.4%/10/1% K%/BB% at Double-A), and his power is ticking up this year with his groundball percentage dropping all the way to 32.1% (51% in 2021). He’s fast, but his stolen base track record in the minors makes me hesitant to project 20+ steals for him (5 for 9 at Double-A). He’s likely a low upside solid across the board type.

Darick Hall PHI, 1B, 27.1 – 2 for 4 with 2 bombs off Cory Abbott. Hall has done nothing but destroy baseballs since getting called up with an elite 92.2/97.5 MPH AVG/FB EV, and it’s led to a .933 OPS in 109 PA. He looks like strictly a platoon bat, and a 27.5%/4.6% K%/BB% is going to make his BA a problem long term, but he’s proving he can mash with the best of them.

Peyton Burdick MIA, OF, 25.4 – 1 for 3 with a 108.6 MPH, 421 foot homer for his first MLB bomb in 3 games. He hit .229 at Triple-A, so he’ll tank your BA, but he has value in an OBP league with high walk rates his entire career. He’s worth a shot in a medium to deep OBP league.

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