Welcome back to the second installment of the Fantasy Baseball Dynasty rankings. This week we cover players ranked 200-176.
A quick overview of the group produces these stats:
- 6 players are 30- or 31-years-old, but no one is older than 31
- 3 players are 24 or younger
- 3 players are infielders
- 10 players are outfielders
- 12 players are pitchers – five starters and seven relievers
The number of pitchers should not be surprising. I don’t have any relievers ranked in any future groupings because I can get closers and setup men pretty easily throughout the season. As for the starting pitchers, there is always the need for depth to cover for injuries or ineffective starts throughout the week.
And a reminder – if a top prospect hasn’t reached the majors yet, they won’t be in these rankings. Itch has been running down the top prospects per team and will continue his great work. No need for me to repeat what he says.
Now on to the Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Rankings: 200-176…
200-196
*Age as of April 1, 2024
Solid, but not Great
Joey Meneses burst onto the scene as a 30-year-old rookie in 2022 by slashing .324/.367/.563 with 13 homers and 34 RBI in 56 games. But the Nationals first baseman didn’t quite have the same success in 2023. In 154 games, he slashed .275/.321/.401 with 13 dingers and 89 RBI. The RBI total is nice, and with him hitting in the middle of the lineup, he will likely reach that total. It would be nice for him to hit more homers, but as the No. 200 player, he is a solid addition. But I would consider him a two-year player and not a long-term asset.
Be Careful
Emmanuel Clase is still a solid closer to have on your team. He had a great 2023 season when it comes to saves as he racked up 44 of them. But there are a few red flags as he had a 3.22 ERA (not horrible, but not close to the 1.29 and 1.36 ERAs he recorded in 2021 and 2022).
What worries me is the fact his WHIP jumped to 1.16 compared to 0.96 and 0.73 in ’21 and ’22 while his strikeout rate fell to 7.9/9 IP. That is a far cry from the 9.6 and 9.5 rates he had the previous two seasons. Maybe it is a blip and he returns to his previous form. But it is something to watch.
The Astros
Hunter Brown didn’t end his rookie season with the prettiest stats as he was 11-13 with a 5.09 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. But in his 31 games (29 starts) he had a 10.3 K/9 rate. His 26.8 K% ranked in the 75th percentile and his ground ball percentage ranked in the 87th percentile. He just needs to cut down on his 3.2 BB/9 rate. Should he do that, Brown has the skills to be a solid No. 2 starter.
You may be wondering why Bryan Abreu is ranked this high as the Astros still have closer Ryan Pressly on the staff. Well, Abreu will be the future closer, and it could come this year. If not, he will still get a lot of holds and help your pitching numbers across the board. His 97.6 mph fastball ranks in the 94th percentile, while his Whiff% ranked in the 99th percentile and his K% ranked in the 98th percentile. He does need to cut down on his 3.9 BB/9 rate, but I’ll live with that as his career K/9 rate is 12.0 and H/9 rate is 6.4.
Bright Future
Heston Kjerstad was the second overall selection in the 2020 draft but he didn’t hit the field until 2022 due to a heart condition. When he did return in June of that year he slashed .309/.394/.457 at A and High-A and then slashed .303/.376/.528 with 21 homers in 122 games at Double-A and Triple-A last year before earning a promotion to Baltimore.
In 33 plate appearances he hit two homers and slugged .467. While he had a 30.3% strikeout rate, it was only 19.8% during his minor league career and 18.7% during his college career at Arkansas. He has great power potential and I may have him ranked a bit low, to be honest. But I’m not sure if he hits his stride this year and so I have him valued here at this point.
195-191
Powerful Royal
After joining Kansas City after a trade with the Cubs, Nelson Velazquez showed off his power by hitting 14 homers in 40 games while slugging .579. For the season, he hit 17 homers in 53 games and slugged .586. Between the two teams, Velazquez had a 21.4 Barrel % (MLB average is 17.2%) and a 49.1 Hard-Hit % (46.3% is average). He will not continue to have a 9.5% home run rate going forward, but his home rate in the minors was 4.1%. If he just matches that rate going forward, he is a 25-homer player.
The 30 Somethings
Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Conforto are now 30 and 31 respectively. But they aren’t to be ignored.
Now with Arizona, Rodriguez is coming off a nice season in Detroit where he went 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 143 strikeouts in 152.2 innings of work. His StatCast numbers aren’t overwhelming, but he has a career 4.03 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with a strikeout per inning. That is a solid pitcher to have.
Michael Conforto returned to the field in 2023 after missing all of the previous season and slashed .239/.334/.384 with 15 homers and 58 RBI. That is a far cry from the days of his 27 to 33 homers he hit with the Mets, but he will be the starter for the Giants. For you that means plenty of at-bats and having a player who would be a solid No. 4 or 5 outfielder.
The Mid-20 Somethings
Daulton Varsho’s best value a couple of seasons ago was the fact that he could be slotted at catcher as well as in the outfield. Now that he is strictly an outfielder, his value has diminished. He has a career slash line of .229/.298/.416, numbers he was under across the board last year with the Blue Jays. But he still hit 20 homers and stole 16 bases, which is pretty much in line with his career average.
If you like your closers more than I do, then Alexis Diaz is ranked too low here. But since one can get a closer off the waiver wire or through a trade pretty easily, Diaz lands here in my rankings. No matter where you would rank him, there is no denying he is a great reliever to have. His Whiff% ranked in the 95th percentile last year and his K% ranked 90th. In two seasons he has an 11.9 K/9 rate and a 1.076 WHIP. He walks a lot of batters (4.7 BB/9 career average), but he has allowed only 5.9 H/9 in 131 career innings – offsetting the high walk rate.
190-186
The Three Pitchers
This grouping features three pitchers – two of whom are closers and then a young pitcher who battles consistency. The relievers are Camilo Doval and Edwin Diaz, the brother of Alexis. Doval has produced back-to-back solid seasons with the Giants. He recorded 27 saves in ’22 and upped that to 39 last year to pair with a 2.93 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. His fastball velocity, Whiff% and K% rank in the 92nd percentile or better. Like many of the closers already mentioned, he tends to walk too many hitters (3.5/9 last season) but he has a career K/9 rate of 11.3 and a H/9 rate of 6.9.
Edwin Diaz missed all of last year after suffering an injury during the WBC. In 2022 he had a career year, finishing ninth in the Cy Young voting after recording a 17.1 K/9 rate and a 1.31 ERA and 0.90 WHIP. He’s getting older, but there is no reason to believe he won’t be a top closer this season once again.
Starting pitcher Cristian Javier had a disappointing season after a breakout 2022 campaign. Last year he finished 10-5 but with a 4.56 ERA and a 1.265 WHIP. His K/9 rate dropped to 8.8 after posting a 11.7 rate in 2022. He really struggled in the second half, going 3-4 with a 4.84 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. He still has a lot of talent, but he took a step back last year and thus could be a sleeper this year.
The Center Fielders
Esteury Ruiz does one thing very, very well, and that is steal bases. He swiped 67 bags last season, ranking second in MLB. Ruiz is not a complete hack at the plate as he slashed .254/.309/.345 and added five homers and 47 RBI. But the reason he is valuable is those steals.
Cedanne Rafaela hit 20 home runs and stole 36 bases across two levels of minor league ball last season and then added two homers and three steals in 28 games with the Red Sox. He has a nice power-speed combo as a center fielder but he can also play second and short (but does not qualify there). The biggest question mark is how much time will he get? Jarren Duran is currently the starter in center. Masataka Yoshida is currently slotted for left (along with Tyler O’Neill) or O’Neill will be in right if Wilyer Abreu is not there. Then there was the trade for Vaughn Grissom, who plays second and short. Long story short – Rafaela will battle for playing time but should be a player to target.
185-181
Pitching as Expected
In his first full season with the Blue Jays in 2022, Jose Berrios fell short of expectations as had a 5.23 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. But 2023 was a different year for Berrios as he pitched up to expectations. He posted a 3.65 ERA and 1.19 WHIP with an 8.7 K/9 rate, a nice increase from the 7.8 rate he had in 2022. He will only be 30 when the season starts, so I believe he should be a solid pitcher for several more years.
From Youngest to Oldest
Jasson Dominguez has a bright future with the New York Yankees. But the problem is knowing when the future begins. Dominguez exploded onto the scene last year, hitting four homers, driving in seven runs and stealing a base in eight games. But where is he going to play? As of now, left field is for Alex Verdugo. Aaron Judge is going to be in center field and Juan Soto over in right. That moves Giancarlo Stanton to DH. How is Dominguez going to get ABs?
In 2022, Jeremy Pena slugged 22 homers, drove in 63 runs and slashed .253/.289/.426 to finish fifth in the ROY voting. In 2023, Pena actually improved his average and OBP (.263/.324), but his slugging dropped from .426 to .381 as he hit his last home run of the season on July 5. Pena did show improvement from his rookie season as his walk rate increased (3.9% to 6.8%) while his strikeout rate decreased (24.2% to 20.4%). The question however is this – is he a 22-homer player or a 10-homer player?
Lars Nootbar is a solid player. Not great, but not bad. He’s just a solid player who can play all three outfield positions, hit about 17 homers and drive in around 50 runs with 10 or so steals. The ability to be plugged into all three outfield spots gives him a little more value.
I like Stone Garrett. I’m not sure what his role will be going forward with the Nationals due to the upcoming outfield talent they have in Dylan Crews and James Wood, but Garrett hit nine homers in 234 at-bats last season while slashing .369/.343/.457. He hits the ball hard as his AEV is 91.6 mph (MLB average is 88.4) with a 9.7 barrel percentage (6.9 is average) and 49.3 Hard-Hit% (36.3 is average).
180-176
Nice Debut
There is always a bit of uncertainty when players from Japan or Korea come to the States. Will their production overseas carry over to the majors? Masataka Yoshida had a good debut with the Red Sox. He slashed .289/.338/.455 while hitting 15 homers and driving in 72 with eight steals. He may not really increase those numbers, but he should at least match them, which means he is a solid outfielder who won’t hurt your team.
Room to Grow
I was a little disappointed in Gabriel Moreno last year as he hit only seven home runs for the Diamondbacks. He had a 1.8% home run rate to rank way below the 3.0% MLB average. He did well at the plate, slashing .284/.339/.408 and he doesn’t strike out much. I’m just wanting a little more power out of him, yet his career 162-game average is 10 homers – so perhaps that is his ceiling.
The Top Closers
In case you need a reminder – I do not chase closers, especially in dynasty leagues. So my No. 1 through No. 3 closers are ranked here.
No matter when you choose to start grabbing closers, you can’t go wrong with Jhoan Duran, Josh Hader and Devin Williams.
After working mostly as a setup man in 2022, Duran became a wipeout closer for the Twins last season. He notched 27 saves but more impressive was the 12.1 K/9 rate. I’m not a big fan of the 3.6 BB/9, but he allowed only 46 hits in 62 innings. His xERA, xBA, Fastball Velo, Whiff%, K% and Ground Ball% all ranked in the 95th percentile or better.
When the Brewers traded Hader to San Diego, everyone was stunned. But Milwaukee obviously knew what they had in Williams. And since the trade, both pitchers have been outstanding.
Hader had 33 saves with a 1.28 ERA and 1.10 WHIP while fanning 13.6 hitters per nine innings for the Padres last season. For his career Hader has a 15.0 K/9 Rate and has recorded 33 saves or more each full season since 2019.
Williams has been outstanding since debuting in 2019. For his career he has a 1.89 ERA and 1.03 WHIP and 14.2 K/9 rate. This past season he had 36 saves with a 1.53 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. In 58.2 innings of work, he allowed only 26 hits while striking out 13.3 batters per nine.
Come Back Next Week
Thanks for reading and come back again next week for Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Rankings: 175-151.
If you didn’t catch last week’s Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Rankings: 300-201, you can catch up here.
