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Welcome back, RotoBallers, to my Week 15 fantasy baseball news, notes, and buys/sells for dynasty leagues. Thanks for bearing with me. Due to the birth of my daughter, I am much more sleep-deprived, but I am ready to rock and roll with new dynasty news and notes!
Today's article will look at recent prospect call-ups like Shane Baz and James Wood along with several other dynasty related news. This weekly series will take a look at various prospects, dynasty news, and discuss fantasy implications. If you enjoy dynasty baseball, you know it is a fast-paced game. Keeping up with the Joneses per se keeps you in the game and at the top of the standings. At the end of the day, we all want to build a dynasty team that sustains and lasts for the long haul. I am here to help you do so.
Keeping up with all the current happenings can help you stay ahead of your league mates. Call-ups, trends, and buying and selling players are all just small pieces to help you stay ahead. So, that's what we will do in this article each week, break down everything you need to know to be successful in dynasty. Let's get to it. What do you need to know for dynasty leagues in Week 15 of the 2024 season?
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Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups
Ladies and gentlemen, we got him! The top prospect in baseball made his long-awaited MLB debut. We have waited for some time for James Wood, and after an injury set him back, he has dominated his way to Washington. In Triple-A, Wood slashed .353/.463/.595 with 10 home runs and stolen bases apiece. While the home-run output doesn't jump off the page, Wood did hit the ball into the ground a bit more than we would like to see, but he also hit the ball harder than anyone in baseball.
Wood's average exit velocity of 95.1 mph would have ranked third in MLB behind Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. His 90th percentile exit velocity of 109.3 mph also shows his elite high-end power. Probably the most impressive thing is that Wood made substantial strides with his contact skills from last year and even as this year progressed.
After his first 85 plate appearances of 2024, Wood had a 67 percent overall contact rate with an 82 percent in-zone. From that point forward, an impressive 80 percent overall mark and 87.5 percent in-zone. Wood is big and has long levers, so he will be prone to swing and miss, especially against big league pitching. But you can't argue with how well he performed this year, earning his promotion. Wood should be rostered in all leagues.
James Wood with his first big league hit! pic.twitter.com/0BbM6M8wE7
— MLB (@MLB) July 1, 2024
Shane Baz is set to take Aaron Civale's rotation spot after his trade to Milwaukee. Baz last pitched in the majors in July 2022 before he underwent Tommy John surgery. He is back in action, though, making rehab starts in Triple-A, and has progressively gotten better with each start.
Since the start of June, Baz has looked like his dominant self, having 35 strikeouts in 23 innings with a 1.57 ERA. He has allowed just four earned runs over that span with 10 walks. If he can continue to pitch like he has over the last month, he will be a massive boost to fantasy rosters. Given that he has averaged nearly five innings per start, it seems like he is ready.
The fastball velocity is back and averaging north of 95 mph, and the slider has been his best pitch, sitting around 86 mph. It has a 16% swinging strike rate against it, and he is landing it for strikes well above the average slider strike rate.
Shane Baz is taking over the vacant spot in Tampa Bay's rotation and will start Friday.
Last 5 GS in AAA: 23 IP, 1.57 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 10.4% BB, 36.5% K
The Rays are going to be careful with him, but the upside is massive.#RaysUppic.twitter.com/yNw0AdXMjv
— Eric Cross (@EricCross04) July 3, 2024
Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Trends to Watch: June's Hottest Players
We are somehow in July, and half of the season is gone. If you are in contention in your leagues, keep your foot on the pedal. If not, there is still plenty of time to make up ground. Don't give up. Here were the best hitters and pitchers in the month of June.
Hot June Hitters
| Player | HR | SB | R | RBI | BA | OBP | SLG |
| Aaron Judge | 11 | 3 | 25 | 37 | 0.409 | 0.514 | 864 |
| Gunnar Henderson | 8 | 6 | 31 | 17 | 0.342 | 0.432 | 0.649 |
| Jarren Duran | 6 | 9 | 25 | 16 | 0.361 | 0.417 | 0.63 |
| Bryce Harper | 7 | 1 | 20 | 16 | 0.374 | 0.452 | 0.714 |
| Ketel Marte | 7 | 2 | 20 | 20 | 0.341 | 0.431 | 0.637 |
| Carlos Correa | 5 | 0 | 21 | 21 | 0.388 | 0.441 | 0.582 |
| Steven Kwan | 4 | 1 | 19 | 12 | 0.374 | 0.436 | 0.582 |
| Jackson Merrill | 9 | 2 | 17 | 20 | 0.32 | 0.346 | 0.65 |
Hot June Pitchers
| Player | IP | ERA | K | BB |
| Garrett Crochet | 37.2 | 1.91 | 56 | 6 |
| Cristopher Sanchez | 33 | 1.64 | 23 | 4 |
| Logan Gilbert | 35.2 | 1.51 | 31 | 1 |
| Tobias Myers | 31.1 | 1.44 | 24 | 8 |
| Hunter Brown | 31 | 1.16 | 36 | 8 |
| Paul Skenes | 30.1 | 1.78 | 40 | 5 |
| Gavin Stone | 32 | 1.97 | 29 | 8 |
| Chris Bassitt | 37 | 1.95 | 35 | 12 |
Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Buys and Sells
If you look on the surface or even go look at Zach Neto’s Baseball Savant sliders, you might think, okay, this guy is just fine. For the year, Neto has a .249/.300/.434 slash line with 11 home runs and 11 stolen bases. So far a pretty good season and in actuality, Neto is pacing for a 20/20 season, which is very solid. But I am not sure the value has caught up with him yet.
Over the last month, Neto has seen his average exit velocity and barrel rates improve while also making more contact. The results have not quite been there, but the underlying data suggests that Neto could be in for more of a breakout soon.
The most important thing to remember is that Neto is only 23 years old and has his development pretty much skipped completely, having just 201 minor league plate appearances before debuting. Now, with 633 MLB plate appearances, Neto seems to be finding himself as a hitter.
He is a great trade target and likely won’t cost you a ton, but he could give you a very solid return on investment.
Zach Neto hits the Angels' fourth home run of the game! pic.twitter.com/39xDkn4OFP
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 21, 2024
Steven Kwan might be worth trying to sell high if you can, especially if it is a roto league. In a points format, Kwan is gold and I would hold on to dear life there. But after slashing .374/.436/.582 with four home runs in June, maybe someone is buying the power outbreak. What if I told you Kwan did not have a single barrel in the month of June? Would you believe me?
His max exit velocity in June was just 104.3 mph and it came with a 26 percent hard-hit rate. Yes, Kwan does make elite contact and is going to be a huge plus for batting-average leagues. But you aren't likely to get many counting stats from him at all. In a points league, that is okay. But in a roto league, is the gain in batting average worth it? That is for you to decide.
I would shop Kwan around and see if you could get a top-100 dynasty asset in return.
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