Welcome back to another edition of Top Dynasty Keepers.
This week we are going to take a look at two youngsters recently promoted to the majors – Vaughn Grissom of the Atlanta Braves and Brett Baty of the New York Mets.
Grissom and Baty both earned their promotions to the majors thanks largely to the fact that the Braves and Mets were shorthanded at second base and third base due to injuries. The Braves have been without Ozzie Albies at second base while the Mets will be without Luis Guillorme into September and Eduardo Escobar has been banged up and not playing well.
Both players were having outstanding seasons in the minors, and both players were drafted in 2019, but that is about it when it comes to comparing Grissom to Vaughn.
DIFFERENT PATHS
Atlanta didn’t draft Grissom in 2019 until the 11th round as the 337th player selected. Unless you play in leagues with deep minor league rosters, you or most of the other players in your league likely didn’t have Grissom on your radar entering the season.
He certainly wasn’t on the radar of the people who put together rankings lists. Grissom wasn’t ranked as a Top 100 prospect by Baseball America, MLB or Baseball Prospectus entering the season before finally reaching 79th in the MLB midseason rankings.
As mentioned earlier, Baty was also drafted in 2019. However, he was taken off the board 325 picks ahead of Grissom as the Mets tabbed him with the 12th overall pick. Because of his draft slot, Baty has likely been on the radar of most fantasy players. He entered the season as the 39th best prospect by Baseball America, 27th by MLB and 13th by Baseball Prospectus. Before being recalled by the Mets, Baty worked himself up the MLB rankings to 19th.
FANTASY OWNERS FAVOR GRISSOM SO FAR
It could be a matter of timing as Grissom reached the majors first, but right now fantasy owners are favoring him more than Baty. Grissom is rostered in 38.5% of leagues while Baty is rostered in only 17.5% of leagues. In Yahoo, both players are getting a lot more attention. Grissom is getting a lot of love as he is rostered in 66% of leagues while Baty is rostered in 38% of leagues,
With Albies appearing to be closer to a return to the Braves and with Baty clearly in position to get a lot more playing time, perhaps more fantasy owners will turn their attention to Baty.
Right now, let’s shine the spotlight on both.
Please, blog, may I have some more?