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Welcome back, RotoBallers, to my Week 21 fantasy baseball news, notes, and buys/sells for dynasty leagues. Let's rock and roll with new dynasty news and notes!
Today's article will look at recent prospect call-ups like Zebby Matthews, Will Wagner, and Andres Chaparro 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 21 of the 2024 season?
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Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups
Zebby Matthews got the call to the majors after a stellar minor league season, which saw him rise from High-A to the majors in a matter of months. Between the three minor league stops, Matthews posted a 2.60 ERA and an impressive 0.86 WHIP. Matthews has added multiple ticks to the fastball this year, sitting in the mid-90s more often than not, and has added a sweeper. The new sweeper and increased velocity have allowed the entire arsenal to play up, and Matthews has not sacrificed any command in the process.
Matthews has a durable 6-foot-5 frame and has shown the ability to be efficient and pitch deep into games. He stepped right into the major league rotation and tossed five innings of two-run ball, which made Bobby Witt Jr. look silly for his first career strikeout.
The command gives Matthews an incredibly high floor as he rarely walks a batter, having a minuscule sub-two percent walk rate. The concern is that Matthews may live into the zone too often for MLB hitters, but he can adjust.
I would roster Matthews in nearly any fantasy format.
Zebby's first K 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/FB5Cb9uwTh
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 13, 2024
Will Wagner came to Toronto in the Yusei Kikuchi trade and after a short stint with Triple-A Buffalo, got the call to join the Blue Jays. Wagner looks to fit a strong-side platoon bat and should get regular reps at second base against right-handed pitching.
In Triple-A this year across 77 games, Wagner slashed .315/.432/.44 with six home runs and 23 extra-base hits. Wagner hits the ball hard, having exit velocities that are quite respectable. The contact rates were also plus or better, and the 22 percent chase rate is extremely good.
The biggest issue is that Wagner is not a flashy profile for fantasy purposes despite hitting the ball hard. He hits the ball on the ground too much and goes the opposite way more often. The OBP skills are good, and Wagner likely ends up a better real-life player than in fantasy.
Andres Chaparro made his long-awaited MLB debut with the Nationals after spending time with the Yankees, Diamondbacks, and Nationals' Triple-A affiliates over the last two years. He stepped right in with Washington and collected three hits in his first game.
In the minors, Chaparro posted an impressive .328/.405/.572 with 23 home runs and 51 extra-base hits in 105 games. From an underlying data standpoint, Chaparro posted a 90th percentile exit velocity north of 105 mph and an average exit velocity of 90 mph. Both marks show plus power. Chaparro hits the ball at ideal angles and posted contact rates near the league average at 73 percent overall and 83 percent in-zone. Sure, he is aggressive and can get chased happily, but the profile is pretty interesting and he should get a chance to play every day in Washington.
8 years and 627 games in the minors turned into this...
Andrés Chaparro has his first big league hit 👏 pic.twitter.com/1fCG4t11YO
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 13, 2024
Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Trends: Hot and Cold Pitchers Since the All-Star Break
Hot Pitchers
| Player | IP | ERA | K | BB |
| Blake Snell | 33.1 | 1.35 | 49 | 11 |
| Chris Sale | 24.2 | 2.19 | 37 | 6 |
| Hunter Greene | 33 | 1.09 | 36 | 8 |
| Michael King | 24.1 | 2.22 | 32 | 5 |
| Ryne Nelson | 31 | 3.19 | 36 | 9 |
| Hunter Brown | 29 | 2.48 | 34 | 10 |
| Tarik Skubal | 33.1 | 2.97 | 40 | 8 |
| Dylan Cease | 27.2 | 0.98 | 32 | 9 |
| Bryan Woo | 23.1 | 1.93 | 21 | 2 |
| Bailey Ober | 28 | 1.29 | 31 | 7 |
Blake Snell has struck out 9 through 5 innings ... and allowed 0 hits. pic.twitter.com/oyrhlIBWbK
— MLB (@MLB) August 13, 2024
Cold Pitchers
| Player | IP | ERA | K | BB |
| Kutter Crawford | 24 | 9.75 | 19 | 6 |
| Chris Bassitt | 26.2 | 7.43 | 29 | 7 |
| Nestor Cortes | 26 | 6.58 | 23 | 7 |
| Cristopher Sanchez | 28 | 6.11 | 17 | 6 |
| Tanner Houck | 23 | 5.48 | 12 | 12 |
| Freddy Peralta | 28.1 | 4.13 | 29 | 13 |
Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Buys and Sells
Jake Burger feels like a great buy right now, as he has picked things up as of late, but the overall line still looks pretty bland. This could net you Burger on the cheap. Since July 1, he has an impressive .311/.377/.704 with 16 home runs in just 151 plate appearances.
Sure, Burger is still striking out a bit too much, but the zone contact has been good, and Burger's rolling chase rate and ground-ball rates have plummeted. That is a good thing for fantasy production and Burger is reminding us he has immense power. It was just a season ago he hit 34 home runs in 540 plate appearances. Now, he likely will eclipse 30 again after a slow start to the season.
I think it may finally be time to cash out on Trea Turner in a dynasty. I have been hesitant to do so, but I finally moved Turner down a decent margin in my dynasty rankings. On the surface, things still look good, as Turner has 13 home runs and 14 stolen bases in 356 plate appearances, which is pacing right at where he was last year. Factor in a .297/.342/.462 slash line with a sub-20 percent strikeout rate, and all appears well.
Turner is 31 years old and now and I often worry about how speed profiles age. Think back to Whit Merrifield and Starling Marte and how quickly they fell off. Turner brings more to the table than those guys, but still, where does his value land right now?
Hitting the ball on the ground much more often than in past seasons, Turner has one of the worst sweet spot rates in baseball, and all of his quality of contact metrics are below league average. His contact rates also rank below the league average, with the chase rate being in the 29th percentile among MLB hitters.
Since the All-Star break, Turner has 100 plate appearances, a .168/.210/.253 slash, and just two home runs and stolen bases apiece. I still think there is a lot of name value here, so I would cash out and see if you can get a top-30 player.
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