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Before we get started, I just wanted to provide an update on last week’s column in regard to the new “Prospect Promotion Incentive” from MLB.
Details have been slow to leak out in regard to the specifics, but Matt Eddy of Baseball America was able to gather some more pertinent information. We know that teams can secure an extra draft pick if a player wins the Rookie of the Year Award. However, players are still eligible even if they don’t make the Opening Day roster. That was a bit unclear previously.
And so, a player like Pirates prospect Oneil Cruz would still be eligible if he gets called up in May and ends up winning the Rookie of the Year Award. Of course, it might help a player’s case to get those extra few weeks of stats, so there’s an advantage to putting a player on the Opening Day roster, but there’s some nuance to these new rules. It will be fascinating how teams try to play it.
DYNASTY LEAGUE STARTUP BREAKDOWN
As for this week’s “Dynasty Dispatch,” I wanted to give you all a look at what a dynasty start-up league looks like. And this is no normal dynasty league. In fact, it is stacked with some of the most knowledgeable dynasty league managers (and writers) I have come across. It’s called the Highlander Dynasty Invitational. You can follow the league on Twitter here.
Please note that we started the draft in late-March and it wrapped up just prior to Opening Day. Below you’ll get a look at my picks, as well as some of my strategy.
To start with, here’s a full list of the participants in order by draft position as well as their first round picks. Not all dynasty leagues are created equal, so keep in mind that this draft order was determined by a private bidding process where managers give up a certain number of keeper spots for the following year. For the record, I gave up three spots to pick seventh overall.
1) Jesse Roche - Juan Soto OF, Nationals
2) Eddy Almaguer - Ronald Acuña Jr. OF, Braves
3) Alex Sanchez - Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1B, Blue Jays
4) Jordan Rosenblum - Fernando Tatis Jr. SS, Padres
5) Andrew Spurling - Bo Bichette SS, Blue Jays
6) Chris Clegg - Trea Turner SS, Dodgers
7) D.J. Short - Kyle Tucker OF, Astros
8) The Itch - Luis Robert OF, White Sox
9) Bret Sayre - Wander Franco SS, Rays
10) Ken Balderston - Rafael Devers 3B, Red Sox
11) James Anderson - Ozzie Albies 2B, Braves
12) Akeem Glaspie - Shohei Ohtani SP/UTIL, Angels
13) Kevin Hasting - Jose Ramirez 3B, Guardians
14) Chris Fargis - Bryce Harper OF, Nationals
15) Chris Maher - Yordan Alvarez UTIL, Astros
16) Eric Cross - Bobby Witt Jr. SS, Royals
17) Smada - Mike Trout OF, Angels
18) Drew Wheeler - Gerrit Cole SP, Yankees
19) Michael Waterloo - Julio Rodriguez OF, Mariners
20) Geoff Pontes - Mookie Betts OF, Dodgers
You can see the entire draft board here.
It should be noted that most everyone is putting up a competitive/respectable roster for the first season of the league. James Anderson is the only manager who went predominantly prospect-heavy. I employed what I call a “now and later” approach. If I’m actually close to the top of the standings as the season moves along, I would consider flipping some prospects for win-now pieces. Winning is the whole point, right? But I mostly want to see how this all shakes out in Year One.
If you clicked on a dynasty league column, chances are you are going to want to know where some of the top prospects in the game (beyond Witt and Rodriguez) were selected. I got you covered.
36th overall - Spencer Torkelson - 1B, Tigers (Andrew Spurling)
51st overall - Riley Greene - OF, Tigers (James Anderson)
58th overall - Adley Rutschman - C, Orioles (Drew Wheeler)
65th overall - Anthony Volpe - SS, Yankees (Eric Cross)
72nd overall - CJ Abrams - SS, Padres (Bret Sayre)
73rd overall - Oneil Cruz - SS, Pirates (The Itch)
74th overall - Noelvi Marte - SS, Mariners (D.J. Short)
94th overall - Corbin Carroll - OF, Diamondbacks (Chris Maher)
102nd overall - Grayson Rodriguez - SP, Orioles (Michael Waterloo)
110th overall - Triston Casas - 1B, Red Sox (James Anderson)
118th overall - Brennen Davis - OF, Cubs (Alex Sanchez)
123rd overall - Josh Lowe - OF, Rays (Alex Sanchez)
And now, for my selections...
1st round: Kyle Tucker OF, Astros
2nd round: Sandy Alcantara SP, Marlins
3rd round: Corey Seager SS, Rangers
4th round: Noelvi Marte SS, Mariners
5th round: Jose Berrios SP, Blue Jays
As for the Tucker selection, I was curious if Tatis might fall with the news of his broken wrist keeping him out until June. He didn’t last long. I was somewhat glad that Trea Turner was picked right before me, as that would have been a conundrum. He’s my No. 1 fantasy player with Tatis sidelined, but he’s going to be 29 years old in June and speed is a major part of his appeal. Yes, it’s largely nitpicking at the top of the board. Luis Robert was on my mind with this pick, but Tucker just felt safer to me.
Alcantara and Berrios fit the perfect balance between “now and later” to lead my rotation. Alcantara is still just 26 years old and Berrios will be 28 in May, so it’s easy to imagine them being fantasy workhorses for the next few years if they can remain healthy. Seager doesn’t get much respect among fantasy shortstops because he doesn’t offer any speed, but he’s a fantastic and consistent hitter. He’s turning 28 later this month, so he’s surprisingly young for how long he’s been around. Marte was my first foray into the top prospect pool. Even if he doesn’t stick at shortstop, he’s a potential five-category dynamo.
6th round: Jake Cronenworth 1B/2B/SS, Padres
7th round: Ryan Mountcastle 1B/OF, Orioles
8th round: Robert Hassell OF, Padres
9th round: Chris Bassitt SP, Mets
10th round: Francisco Alvarez C, Mets
At this point, I was looking for position players south of 30 years old with some versatility. I managed to get that done with Cronenworth and Mountcastle. Many are fearful of Mountcastle this year because of the dimension changes at Camden Yards, but I’m optimistic that his power will continue to play well to all fields. Bassitt is the oldest player I have selected so far (he turned 33 in February), but he’s one of the game’s most underrated starters. Hassell is one of my favorite dynasty prospects and Alvarez might be forcing his ETA to move up a bit.
11th round: Ian Happ OF, Cubs
12th round: Blake Treinen RP, Dodgers
13th round: Alec Bohm 3B, Phillies
14th round: Mitch Garver C, Rangers
15th round: Michael Brantley OF, Astros
Here’s where it gets messy. The Treinen pick came before the Dodgers had traded for Craig Kimbrel. There’s still a chance that this pick could end up being useful down the line, but obviously it doesn’t look so great now. Bohm is a tough situation. He’s a terrible defender at third base, but has actually looked pretty good at the plate so far this season. A change of scenery might be the best thing for him, but for now he’s a bit of an enigma. The 34-year-old Brantley might not have many years left, but odds are he’ll be productive for as long as he continues to play.
16th round: Hyun Jin-Ryu SP, Blue Jays
17th round: AJ Pollock OF, White Sox
18th round: Nick Senzel OF, Reds
19th round: Matthew Liberatore SP, Cardinals
20th round: Elehuris Montero 3B, Rockies
Pitching *really* started to thin out at this point, so I took a chance on Ryu getting back on track. That hasn’t looked good so far (he’s hurt now). The same goes for Pollock’s hamstring. You can’t count on Senzel to stay on the field, but he’s a decent flier at this point, especially with speed options flying off the board. Liberatore is the first prospect pitcher I took in this draft. Montero is nearly major-league ready and it never hurts to get some exposure to Coors Field.
21st round: Zack Greinke SP, Royals
22nd round: Anthony Bender RP, Marlins
23rd round: Sal Frelick OF, Brewers
24th round: Rowan Wick RP, Cubs
25th round: Wilmer Flores 2B/3B/1B, Giants
At 38 years old, Greinke is officially the elder statesman on my squad. Maybe he still has a little bit left to pad his Hall of Fame resume. Bender and Wick were purely speculative plays for saves and maybe not very good ones. Flores provides some depth all around the infield and Frelick is another potential well-rounded fantasy outfielder.
26th round: Brad Miller 1B/3B, Rangers
27th round: Matthew Boyd SP, Giants
28th round: Austin Gomber SP, Rockies
29th round: Diego Castillo RP, Mariners
30th round: Nico Hoerner SS/2B, Cubs
Because of the various prospect selections throughout the draft, many managers were simply looking for position players with semi-promising roles at this stage. Miller and Hoerner both fit the bill and offer a bit of versatility too. Boyd isn’t going to be ready for a couple of months after surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon, but the Giants apparently have a magic touch with pitchers these days.
31st round: David Peterson SP, Mets
32nd round: Chad Pinder OF, Athletics
33rd round: Quinn Priester SP, Pirates
34th round: Trevor May RP, Mets
35th round: Khalil Lee OF, Mets
Young pitching depth was the priority here. Peterson is a bit off the radar at this point, but he’s still just 26 years old and posted some promising numbers as a rookie in 2020. Priester is another near major-league ready arm. Lee looked overmatched in his first opportunity in the majors last season, but he posted a .451 on-base percentage in Triple-A last year and offers some interesting pop and speed.
36th round: Austin Slater OF, Giants
37th round: Jose Salas SS, Marlins
38th round: Brayan Bello SP, Red Sox
39th round: Michael Fulmer RP, Tigers
40th round: James McCann C, Mets
As far as the major leaguers here, they might not last long on my roster. I’ll continue to look for ways to improve around the majors. Salas is super young, but is getting some rave reviews early on in his pro career. Bello has some great stuff and could be ready as soon as this season.
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Early Waiver Wire Pickups
We’re a couple of weeks into waiver claims. I have mostly stood pat as far as that is concerned, but I moved Matthew Boyd into an IL spot and picked up White Sox prospect outfielder Yoelqui Cespedes in the first week. This past weekend, I moved Nick Senzel and A.J. Pollock into IL spots and picked up Cubs left-hander Brailyn Marquez and Twins prospect third baseman Christian Encarnacion-Stand.
Have you seen what Encarnacion-Strand has been doing so far this season? Goodness gracious. He’s one of the hottest hitters in the minors in the early going. The 22-year-old was a fourth-round pick last year and slashed .391/.424/.598 with four homers over 22 games with Low-A Fort Myers, but there were some concerns about the approach. The right-handed hitter had a 26/5 K/BB ratio and a 28.3 percent K-rate. Those concerns still exist, but he’s already mashed five homers with a 1.390 OPS through his first eight games at High-A Cedar Rapids this season. Let’s see where this one goes.
