1. Dodgers RHP Roki Sasaki
He’s alone in this year’s class. I saw the 1.1 pick get traded for Logan Gilbert in a 15-team dynasty league. Other pieces were involved, but nothing to make the previous sentence untrue. Seems like a bit much for me. I prefer Gilbert by a long way and struggle to see how Sasaki could get even close to Gilbert’s 208.2 innings from 2024, never mind his 0.89 WHIP. This kind of trade is what makes dynasty leagues go round: sex v. substance. Door number three v. a car you could drive on the autobahn right now. Shop Sasaki if you have the chance to do so, is what I’m suggesting.
2. Guardians 2B Travis Bazzana
3. Athletics 1B Nick Kurtz
4. Angels 2B Christian Moore
5. Astros 3B Cam Smith
6. Cardinals SS JJ Wetherholt
In a perfect world, each of these ready-soon college hitters would become impact fantasy players. In reality, they’re simply the safest bets to lock down a dynasty starting spot for the long term.
Cam Smith’s eligibility seems destined to change as Houston installs Paredes and continues to converse with Alex Bregman’s camp. He might break into the starting lineup early if it looks like he can handle a corner outfield. Moore has an even better chance to contribute real roto stats early in 2025. I think Kurtz will join the middle of the MLB lineup by midseason. Bazzana’s path is a little clearer today than it was when Andres Gimenez was under contract forever. I like Juan Brito though, so I’m less aggressive on Bazzana’s timeline. Wetherholt is the farthest away in my opinion or he might be higher.
7. Reds RHP Chase Burns
8. White Sox LHP Hagen Smith
I like both these guys: college arms who can contribute this season. Their contexts are questionable, but the Reds and White Sox have developed solid fantasy pitchers over the past few seasons. Wins might be scarce, but I’d be happy to have either guy in the seven or eight spot.
9. White Sox OF Braden Montgomery
10. Pirates SS Konnor Griffin
11. Rockies 3B Charlie Condon
12. Royals 1B Jac Caglianone
13. Tigers SS Bryce Rainer
14. Giants SS Josuar De Jesus Gonzalez
Condon and Caglianone would be interesting picks at these spots, but they’ll both probably go top five in most drafts. JDJG is a vibes pick with huge upside as a switch-hitting shortstop who signed for almost $3 million and looks like an NFL safety at 17 years old.
15. Mets OF Carson Benge
16. Brewers OF Braylon Payne
17. Nationals SS Seaver King
18. Giants OF James Tibbs
19. Twins SS Kaelen Culpepper
20. Blue Jays RHP Trey Yesavage
21. Mets SS Elian Pena
In this group, one realizes the value of the previous tier. Don’t get me wrong, I like these guys. I mean, Fangraphs has Payne as a 35+ future value, and I certainly like him more than that, but generally speaking, the buzz is behind us now. I like Tibbs, too, but he’s in San Francisco, and left-handed hitters who aren’t Barry Bonds struggle to produce fantasy value there.
22. Orioles RHP Tomoyuki Sugano
23. Mariners P Jurrangelo Cjintje
Want an old pitcher who doesn’t get many strikeouts?
Well, yeah, actually. I’ve liked Sugano for a long time and thought his game would work against MLB hitters. I think he’ll get quite a few more strikeouts here than he ever did in Japan, just by the nature of the different leagues and Sugano’s ability to adapt and command his off-speed pitches.
How about a young pitcher who gets a ton of strikeouts?
Well, duh, of course, but Cjintje seems to be falling in the drafts I’ve done.
24. Brewers 1B Blake Burke
25. Mariners OF Yorger Bautista
At this point of most first-year-player drafts, I’m in the free agent pool. I might take a Jorge Lopez type looking at some save opportunities or a Griffin Conine type power hitter with a chance to lock down a lineup spot. I just feel like the return on investment of scouring the waiver wire far surpasses the potential boon of hitting on an under the radar guy who has barely played pro ball, even for a conversation like Conine v. Blake Burke, a big left-handed bat I like a lot but who has little defensive value and a lot of levels between him and the majors.
Thanks for reading!
