Remember when it was July and we were all watching Stranger Things for the first time and getting Covid for the fourth time and I mentioned that a lot of fantasy baseball leagues were a matter of weeks away from the playoffs? Hey Siri, tell me what I said a few weeks ago. Weird thing is, Siri could actually do that, but Siri just doesn’t want you to know they could do that. Just like I could tell you that Grey has been wearing the same pair of “lucky” socks since 2007, but he doesn’t want you to know that. ENYWHEY.

As we look into crystal ball that reveals the pitchers of the future, let’s take a special look to see which pitchers might take a breather along the way and become less useful for fantasy managers in the playoffs. Before we get too far, it’s worthwhile to note — this kind of discussion isn’t an exact science. However, there are factors that clue us in to which pitchers will be less or more useful to fantasy managers in the playoffs.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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See all of today’s starting lineups

# MLB Starting Lineups For Mon 8/4
ARI | ATL | BAL | BOS | CHC | CIN | CLE | COL | HOU | KC | LAA | LAD | MIA | MIL | MIN | NYM | NYY | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | TB | TEX | TOR | ATH | CHW | DET | OAK | SEA | WSH

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This Jacob deGrom (5 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 baserunners, 12 Ks, ERA at 2.53) is among the best pitchers ever. I don’t know what’s changed for him in recent years, but he’s gone from one of the best pitchers in the league to one of the best pitchers ever. He’s Walter Johnson in color. He’s Bob Feller on the back of a motorcycle doing 101 MPH, holding out a four-seamer. He’s “Aw Shucks” Bob Gibson. The last time Jacob deGrom carried a perfect game into the 6th, it was broken up by Clint Barmes, who was an all-world sleeper who could hit anyone. Yesterday, the Braves were deer meat without a Clint Barmes to turn to. DeGrom now has the most strikeouts in his first 200th career games (1,523). The problem, of course, deGrom looks gassed at 70 pitches. He is the Icarus of pitching. One of the best ever for just a moment in time. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another week of Top Dynasty Keepers.

Earlier this week we saw the trade deadline come and go, and when the dust settled a host of big-name stars were traded for some big-name prospects. When  it comes to Dynasty Leagues, we all love the top prospects. These the the players we all know and follow and try to build our teams around.

But as is often the case, a lot of these top prospects never quite live up to the billing once they reach the majors. If you are a fantasy owner who relies only on taking the top prospects to build your team, then your team could be struggling in the standings.

FINDING THE HIDDEN GEMS

If you really want to succeed in your dynasty league, you must look at young players who may not have ever been a top prospect but have nonetheless been successful in the minors and early in their major league careers. This week we are going to look at one of those players – Cristian Javier of the Houston Astros.

The Astros signed Javier out of the Dominican Republic at the age of 15. Now 25, Javier worked his way through the team’s minor league system before making his major league debut in 2020. Javier never appeared in any Top 100 Prospect lists, and he wasn’t even rated as a top prospect in the Astros system.

Despite not ever reaching top prospect status, Javier has become a key member of the Astros rotation and on fantasy teams everywhere as he is rostered in 85 percent of Yahoo leagues and 89.5% of ESPN leagues.

The success he is having on the mound this year makes it easy to understand why he is rostered on so many teams. The question, however, is should he be a player everyone should keep on their dynasty teams moving forward.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Last week’s article was frustrating, but that’s common in the trade deadline week. Our top hitter was actually part of the most significant trade of the season, while our favorite pitcher landed on the IL. You can’t predict those things, but the process has been on point, and I’m ready to keep the streamers rolling […]

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Here’s where the introductory words would go, if I thought any of us really wanted to see some introductory words. 

1. OF Corbin Carroll | Diamondbacks | 21 | AAA | 2023 

2. SS Gunnar Henderson | Orioles | 21 | AAA | 2023

3. OF Jackson Chourio | Brewers | 18 | A+ | 2024

4. 3B Jordan Walker | Cardinals | 20 | AA | 2023 

Corbin Carroll lived alone in his own tier at the top early in the process, but the other three have such strong cases for the top spot I had to include them.

Gunnar Henderson quickly found his rhythm after a rough start at Triple–A and has been arguably the best player at the level since the break. 

If you want to rank Jackson Chourio first, don’t let me stop you. He’s slashing .333/.396/.476 with a home run and a stolen base in 10 games at High-A. He’s also posting a 10.4 percent walk rate and 16.7 percent strikeout rate, shushing the whispers around his 28 percent K-rate in Low A.

I had Jordan Walker in the tier below at one point, but you can only watch so many multi-homer games from a 20-year-old in Double-A without moving a dude up the list, even if he’s already at the summit. Is this ETA light on Jordan Walker? The Cardinals added pitching at the deadline and moved an outfielder. Lars Nootbar is playing well, but Walker would be following a long tradition of elite players joining their clubs late in the season to push for the playoffs. 

Please, blog, may I have some more?

This must be one of the most exciting trade deadlines in history.  We had established closers switching teams, gold gloves moving to greener pastures and some young 23 year old demanding one of the biggest prospect hauls we have ever seen.  The trade deadline is always an interesting lottery for our fantasy game.  For forward looking owners, there is an opportunity to prospect into new values or simply get some dumb luck.  Either way, the deadline is certainly a delight for viewers and owners alike.  This week our Top 100 Hitters takes a shuffle thanks to the deadline and beginning of the seconds half as we stare down the last two weeks of the 2022 fantasy baseball season.

Please, blog, may I have some more?