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Welcome back, RotoBallers, to my Week 20 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 Coby Mayo, Zach Dezenzo, and Adrian Del Castillo, along with several other dynasty-related news. This weekly series will take a look at various prospects and 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 a dynasty. Let's get to it. What do you need to know for dynasty leagues in Week 20 of the 2024 season?
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Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups
Coby Mayo got his much-anticipated call up to the Majors and no surprise, things have not gone overly well. I say no surprise because most prospects come up and struggle out of the gate. If a prospect comes up and performs right away, they typically get insane helium. In five games and 15 plate appearances, Mayo does not have a hit. Am I concerned? Not a bit, the track record is too good.
Mayo was arguably the best hitter in the minors, and all the underlying data supports it. In 302 plate appearances, Mayo hit 20 home runs with a .301/.375/.586 slash in Triple-A with 44 extra-base hits.
He is striking out 24 percent of the time but the contact skills are solid at 73 percent overall and 83 percent in-zone. Mayo chases at a low 25 percent clip, which helps him play up in an OBP format.
The power is undeniable as Mayo has a 107 mph, 90th-percentile exit velocity, which is 65-grade power, and Mayo has an impressive 91 mph average exit velocity. He lifts the ball with ease, having a solid 23 percent line drive rate and a 46 percent fly-ball rate. He pulls the ball at a 46 percent clip, which is much higher than league average.
If Mayo continues to struggle, look at Jackson Holliday. Buy low on him in dynasty.
Huge tank from Coby Mayo for his first of the year. 111.3 MPH off the bat on a cutter inside is stupid power and barrel maneuverability.
Just a matter of time before he’s a regular in Baltimore. pic.twitter.com/dxLm9G8vGH
— Beck (@Upper_Beck) March 31, 2024
Zach Dezenzo got a late start to 2024 due to a wrist injury but did not miss a beat upon his return to the Minors and has now stepped into a starting role with the Astros big league club. In Triple-A, Dezenzo got hot in a small sample of 53 plate appearances, slashing .391/.472/.739 with four home runs and three stolen bases.
The underlying data has been quite good since he debuted as a professional, especially with the hard-hit numbers. In 2023, Dezenzo posted a 108 mph 90th percentile exit velocity during the regular season while hitting the ball at ideal angles, shown by a 41 percent sweet spot rate. The average exit velocity was also pretty elite, clocking in north of 92 mph.
Step into 2024, and the results are pretty similar, even coming off a wrist injury. He hits the ball hard and makes enough contact to make it work. I love the aggressiveness of the Astros, and it seems like they found a gem in the 12th round of the 2022 MLB Draft.
First MLB hit for @Astros No. 4 prospect Zach Dezenzo! pic.twitter.com/gkkPTUp0GQ
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 7, 2024
Adrian Del Castillo finally got the call after Gabriel Moreno hit the IL. After mashing 24 home runs in 100 games in Triple-A and a .319/.403/.608, Del Castillo finally gets his chance to prove he can hit big-league pitching.
His exit velocities are quite strong, with an average exit velocity of 90.5 mph and a 90th percentile of 105.3 mph. The contact numbers are reflective of his batting average as well as Del Castillo has a 77 percent overall contact rate and an 85 percent in-zone clip. The chase rate is a modest 25 percent, showing quite a well-rounded profile.
Does he catch long-term? Maybe not. Regardless, the skills are really good, and Del Castillo can hit for plenty of power and make enough contact to stick.
🚨 BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK HOME RUNS 🚨
Adrian Del Castillo sends his second homer of the day and third in the last three at-bats 4️⃣6️⃣3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/RS9pVyqjfr
— Reno Aces (@Aces) July 9, 2024
Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Trends: Hot & Cold Hitters Since the All-Star Break
Hot Hitters
| Player | HR | SB | AVG | OBP |
| Bobby Witt Jr. | 6 | 3 | 0.481 | 0.518 |
| Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | 9 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.573 |
| Tyler Fitzgerald | 10 | 3 | 0.351 | 0.415 |
| Aaron Judge | 7 | 0 | 0.403 | 0.57 |
| Juan Soto | 5 | 0 | 0.351 | 0.455 |
| Matt Chapman | 6 | 3 | 0.311 | 0.414 |
| Jarren Duran | 4 | 5 | 0.329 | 0.382 |
| Kyle Schwarber | 8 | 1 | 0.329 | 0.467 |
| Jackson Chourio | 5 | 5 | 0.408 | 0.432 |
| Ketel Marte | 10 | 0 | 0.31 | 0.386 |
Cold Hitters
| Player | HR | SB | AVG | OBP |
| Spencer Steer | 0 | 4 | 0.159 | 0.194 |
| Will Smith | 0 | 0 | 0.096 | 0.203 |
| Jeimer Candelario | 2 | 0 | 0.169 | 0.221 |
| Luis Robert Jr. | 1 | 6 | 0.141 | 0.176 |
| Brice Turang | 0 | 3 | 0.164 | 0.2 |
| Alec Burleson | 2 | 0 | 0.218 | 0.262 |
| Adolis Garcia | 1 | 2 | 0.194 | 0.25 |
| Trea Turner | 2 | 1 | 0.177 | 0.226 |
| CJ Abrams | 2 | 5 | 0.165 | 0.212 |
| Noelvi Marte | 2 | 2 | 0.175 | 0.23 |
Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Buys and Sells
Anthony Volpe's season has looked somewhat like a rollercoaster ride, with a lot of ups and a lot of downs. Through the first few weeks of the 2024 season, it seemed like Volpe was in full breakout mode. After some pretty down lows, Volpe is seemingly picking it up again after the All-Star break.
In 19 games since, Volpe is slashing .317/.325/.582 with five home runs, six doubles, and five stolen bases. The hard-hit data is relatively unimpressive, but I do believe that Volpe has made some strides as a hitter that would lead me to want to buy him in dynasty, especially if looking long-term.
It is important to remember that Volpe just turned 23 years old and is playing with the pressure of being the shortstop in the Bronx. In the midst of that, Volpe has improved his contact rate by six percentage points and the in-zone contact rate is up two percentage points.
Ground balls have been an issue, but the rolling ground ball rate has actually been improving in the last month. He is also pulling the ball more, leading to more home runs and extra-base hits. If you have someone just looking at the surface slash line, that may be underwhelmed. Buy Volpe in a dynasty.
Garrett Crochet might be past the point of being traded in some leagues, but there are certainly people in some leagues that you could cash out. On the surface, things look great for Crochet, having a 3.19 ERA and 162 strikeouts in 118 innings this year. The Baseball Savant page is full of red sliders, which people love to see. Plus, his fastball, cutter, and sweeper all have whiff rates north of 30 percent. The fastball and cutter have run values of 12 each, both highly impressive marks.
When you start to look under the hood, you will see that Crochet has not pitched more than four innings since June. His 118 innings this year is more than he has pitched combined dating back to May of 2019 until the start of 2024.
The White Sox are planning to limit Crochet down the stretch, and a shutdown has not been ruled out. Crochet is a great arm and has long-term appeal, but if you can cash out and get a return that helps you win now in dynasty, I would.
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