Welcome back to another edition of Top Dynasty Keepers. This week we are going to focus on rookie pitcher Bryce Miller of Seattle and Josh Jung, a young third baseman for the Rangers.
Both players are currently trending up in ESPN leagues, as Miller is now rostered in 40 percent of leagues, an increase of 31% over the last week. Meanwhile, Jung has seen a 9.2% jump in ESPN leagues he is rostered in and now sits at 31.9%.
Texans Making Their Mark
Miller, who is from Mount Pleasant, Texas, was drafted in the 38th round out of high school. Wisely, he decided to not sign with Miami and instead attended Blinn Junior College for a year before heading to Texas A&M.
His first season with the Aggies was spent pitching out of the bullpen and he made eight appearances out of the bullpen in 2020 before COVID ended the college season. In 2021 he appeared in 13 games and made 10 starts, striking out 70 hitters in 56.2 innings of work.
Miller battled control problems while at Texas A&M, walking 4.6 batters per nine innings and 5.9 per nine innings his last season on campus. However, the Mariners liked what they saw from Miller and drafted him in the fourth round of the 2021 June draft.
Jung, who hails from San Antonio, ventured to Lubbock after high school to attend Texas Tech where he starred for the Red Raiders. During his three-year career, he slashed .348/.455/.577, leading the Rangers to draft him with the eighth overall pick in the 2019 draft and giving him a $4.4 million signing bonus.
Jung would have likely been with Texas in 2021 but suffered a stress fracture in his left foot and then went through COVID protocols, leaving him to finish his year in the minors. He would have likely been the starting third baseman on Opening Day last year but suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder while lifting weights in February, thus delaying his debut with Texas to late in the season.
Monthly Archives: May 2023
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JP France Can Be Your Ally
May 13, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes | 29 Commentsby: Dan Pants
So you missed out on the rookie pitcher sweepstakes, or you just grabbed one of the wrong ones? Pfaadt? Gavin Stone? Eury Perez long gone? Enter J.P. France, whose initials I can only assume stand for Jacques Philippe, who pitched six and two-thirds innings of one-run baseball Friday night with three strikeouts and his first career win. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Razzballerz, it is another low-injury week, and I do not have enough hot gnarly gossip for you. So, we are going to talk about the passage of time: the pitch clock!
There is no argument the pitch clock has had an impact on the game. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Encarnacion-Stranded On A Desert Buy Land
May 12, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell, Featured | 307 Commentsby: Grey
(NOTE: THIS POST WAS RELEASED EARLY THIS WEEK ON OUR PATREON. IT’S $10/MONTH)
Welcome to CES, the biggest electronics trade show in the world! In year's past, I've debuted many different mind-altering products, and that was just the year I showed up with peyote! You might remember our booth from last year where we debuted the first Ay-I. It was AI, but it added a thick Italian accent to all its answers.“What is Death Valley?” “Ay-I suppose it’s-a desert! But it could be anywhere me and my buddies did an impromptu burial-ay-oh!” Then there was the year I debuted my chopsticks that attached to the end of fingers so you could get to the bottom of any snack bag! Pringles, you no longer defeat me! Then there was the year I debuted giant leafs. Now, instead of picking up after your dog, you just camouflage it! All ingenious products, to be sure, but this year we have something that's only available in minors. Naïveté to believe in Santa? No! Christian Encarnacion-Strand! Maybe I'll be shocked, like after sticking my finger in this plug, but I think there's only one big minor league promotion left, bat-wise, and it's CES. Maybe it will be Elly De La Cruz, but, because of his age, I think Cincy drags their heels with him. Maybe I'm wrong on that. Would love to be! If Cincy wasn't so good as a park, CES's insanely low walk rate might bother me. It doesn't because he's going to hit for so much power. He could be a top 20 overall power bat when he's called up. There's a chance here for a guy who hits 25+ homers in only three-quarters of the season. It might come with a .240 or lower average, but the power is going to be special. I've already stashed him in a few leagues, because it feels like it's only a matter of time, and I know he's a winner! Like that year I debuted pill compartments, but for clothes! (This seriously is a good idea. Hit me up on my mobile and let's chat about emerging markets.) Anyway, here's some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:
Mid-May greetings, deep league friends! I hope the fantasy baseball gods are treating you and your teams well as we navigate yet another week of injuries and demotions. As we all know, in the deep league world there is often little to no waiver wire relief to fill the holes when we lose a Jose Miranda to the minors or a Kyle Wright to the IL. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Give up some love for your pets. They're usually the only members of your family who can stand your addiction to fantasy sports, and will always listen to you rant about Kevin Gausman's lack of run support without dying of disinterest.
DFS: The Bats Are Alive With The Sound Of Coors Field
May 12, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, DFS, DraftKings |by: DtepDC
Happy Friday, RazzBallers! It’s another colossal slate today that includes a Coors game and several other high-scoring matchups. Did I mention the weather? No? There are many warm-weather games (PHI/COL is not one of them, but Coors, so ‘nuf said), including TB/NY, PIT/BAL, NYM/WAS, and STL/BOS. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Did Eovaldi Change Something Or Was It In Nate?
May 12, 2023 | Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes, Featured | 290 Commentsby: Grey
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You sign enough 30+ injury-prone right-handers from former Northeast clubs and one's gotta work out, right? To make sure that joke made sense I went to look at Nathan Eovaldi's player page to see if he would be considered injury-prone. He has 1300-ish IP in his career in 11-ish years. That's 118-ish innings per year. Is that ish good or ish bad? I haven't the ishiest. We've reached the point where I don't even know if 118 IP per year is a lot or a little innings. What's a healthy amount per year? 150? So, only 30 less innings than a healthy amount? Okay, this is likely pedantic, and last thing I wanna be known as is a peda. *intern whispers in ear* No, I didn't say that. I said peda. With an "a." It's totally fine. So, Nathan Eovaldi (8 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 12 Ks, ERA at 2.70) is a top 15 starter this year. Real or not real? We shall explore! 9.5 K/9, 1.2 BB/9, and 2.89 xFIP. His homers are crazy suppressed but what is clearly helping is being out of Fenway and its BABIP-rich environs. By the way, don't ever say "environs" out loud or someone will have the right to punch you. Eovaldi looks like he's capable of a 3.50 ERA in 120-ish innings. That ish ain't bad. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
One Man’s Trash: Duran Is Hungry Like The Wolf
May 11, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, One Man's Trash | 17 Commentsby: Son
Wolves hunt in packs and do not rely on the element of surprise when attacking their prey. Each wolf has their role, as some chase while others surround. The end goal is to eat. The Rangers are one of the top offenses in MLB, being second in runs scored, eighth in home runs, second in RBI, sixth in batting average, sixth in SLB and fourth in OPS. Oh, they eating all right. Over the years, they have brought in hitters with excellent plate discipline (Corey Seager and Marcus Semien) but they still get googly eyes for the wild child, power/speed combo players. Think Adolis Garcia. For transparency, I wrote a piece earlier this season to fade Garcia. I'm not a smart man. Garcia has made massive improvements in the plate discipline and could the same trajectory be in store for one Ezequiel Duran, who has been scorching hot and possesses a similar profile to the Garcia of the past?
What’s The Point: Hottie Alert
May 11, 2023 | 2023 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues |by: Butters
Did anyone else watch the Opening Day action, blink and then suddenly realize that we're in May? I've been watching baseball and even I feel like games have flown by, maybe the pitch clock is getting to me more than I thought. The sample size still isn't huge but it's big enough to get an idea of who is who and what is what. I'll toot my own horn when I'm right, but I like to think that I can also acknowledge my misses as well. Anyhoo, let's see who's hot and what not. Mostly who's hot. Oh wait, I always like to check out the hotties.
As a first-generation, wholesome Pennsylvanian man, I am a sucker for a name like Colton Cowser. Maybe it's the mooing I hear in the back of my mind every time his name is uttered, or perhaps it's Colton's efficient stroke that stays on plane so well through the baseball that has me hooked. When I was a child, my parents used to drive me past cow pastures to help put me to sleep. A lot has changed since then. Now, my wife drives me past cow pastures to help put me to sleep. It's comforting. So is having a prospect like Cowser in your Minor League system when the likes of Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Ryan Mountcastle and more already producing in the bigs. Cowser has the chance to make a Rutschman-like impact in 2023. That could be for the Orioles, for your fantasy team, or both. Let's get into just how much of a boost Cowser could provide for your squad this season, as well as when he can be expected in Baltimore with the Birdies.
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Hey, what’s this red thing? *touches flame* Ow! Brandon Pfaadt! Hey, what’s this yellow part of the flame? *touches fire again* Ow! Gavin Stone! Hey what’s giant inferno? *touches a building that’s on fire* Ow! Drey Jameson! Hey what’s this flaming hot ball? *touches the sun* Ow! Grayson Rodriguez! *steps on a rake labeled Tanner Bibee and falls into fiery pit* Ahhhhhhhhh noooooooo I just wanted to pick up Eury Perez! So, guess what, we have a new rookie pitcher to make you want to rip your eyes out. Here's what I said previously about this new Marlins' call-up, "Eury Perez for 2023 fantasy baseball is going to come down to when Eury Perez debuts for the Marlins. Once he debuts, he’s going to be the top FAAB guy that week and he’s going to be a game-changer for all mixed leagues. Wanna know some numbers to make you drool a little? Okay, let’s do it: In 17 starts, he threw a 12.7 K/9 at Double-A. His command was at a 3 even, but he’s got 70-grade command, so, yeah, we could see a 12 K/9 and a 2.2 BB/9 in the majors. Ya know, just your standard run-of-the-mill ace. You can’t hit a 97 MPH fastball coming off a 87 MPH change and vice versa. It’s just not happening if my man’s tunneling, and, yeah, he could be a future Hall of Famer." And that's me quoting me! He might be booted when Trevor Rogers returns, but I would grab him everywhere, just in case he sticks. I'm a moth and these rookie pitchers are my flame! Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
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