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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 3 of the 2024 season?
Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups
Jackson Holliday steals the headlines of the recently called up prospects this week. In all honesty, I am not sure I remember a more buzzy call up than Holliday's. It seems like Wednesday, April 10, might be a day people remember for a long time.
A strong 10 games in Triple-A earned him the call, and while there are many conspiracies as to why the Orioles are deciding to call him up now, what matters is that Holliday is now a major leaguer at 20 years old.
In the early going of 2024, Holliday had a .333/.482/.595 slash with two home runs in 56 plate appearances. This followed up a 2023 season where between four levels as a 19-year-old last season, Holliday slashed .323/.442/.499 with 12 home runs, making it to Triple-A by season's end.
Having such a high floor to hit, Holliday feels like the type of player who will hit the ground running, despite his young age.
Jackson Holliday turns two for his first play in MLB 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zhwS89mL5D
— MLB (@MLB) April 10, 2024
Spencer Arrighetti is a Houston Astros' right-handed pitching prospect who really began to take off in 2023. Between Double-A and Triple-A, Arrighetti posted a 4.40 ERA across 124.2 innings, which is relatively unimpressive on the surface. The good news is he struck out 141 batters and had stretches where he looked like a high-end starting pitcher.
From May 2023 through August 2023, he posted a 2.71 ERA across 76 innings with 99 strikeouts. His first four starts of the season led to an 11.05 ERA across 14 innings. But by pitching in two hitter-friendly environments in the Texas League (AA) and the Pacific Coast League (AAA), inconsistencies should be expected from pitchers.
In his two Triple-A starts in 2024, Arrighetti has a 2.16 ERA across 8.1 innings pitched. While it is easy to want to rush out and grab every prospect called up, I would probably hit the brakes a bit with Arrighetti. There is still some development to be had and when Justin Verlander is ready to return, Arrighetti might be sent down.
Wenceel Perez, a second baseman and outfielder in the Detroit Tigers system, got the call after eight Triple-A games in 2024. Spending time in both Double-A and Triple-A in 2023, Perez slashed .274/.368/.417 with nine home runs and 26 stolen bases.
He is currently serving in a bench role, and I don't see a big-time fantasy impact here. You can sit this one out.
Dynasty Trends to Watch
What in the world do we do about all these pitcher injuries? Every day, it seems like another one bites the dust and it has all fantasy managers on edge. A pitcher throws one pitch below their usual velocity band and social media is scared that pitcher is about to blow out.
In reality, there have not been that many more injuries this year than usual. The injuries are just happening to bigger-name pitchers. Regardless, how do you navigate those landmines in a dynasty league? Some of you out there likely have several high-end pitchers who are done for the year.
The nice thing is that being active on the waiver wire can help. Championships are won on the wire and while you likely won't be able to replace the Striders and Coles of the world, you can find arms to help you win. Be sure to read our weekly Waiver Wire column at RotoBaller to help.
From a general strategy standpoint, my pitching strategy will be changing moving forward. I was already pretty risk-averse with pitchers early in drafts and preferred to stack hitters in dynasty startup drafts, but that may be even more true in future drafts.
It will be interesting to see if this trend of pitching injuries will cause people to push pitchers they trust even higher up in drafts, or if all arms will just be faded. I guess we will see come the offseason, but there is a lot of baseball to be had before then.
Great 4½ minutes from Justin Verlander on all of the pitcher injuries we are seeing and well worth the listen.
What do you think?pic.twitter.com/jihZzaSwUW
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 8, 2024
Dynasty Buys and Sells
Whose hot starts are we buying and which are we selling? Is Christian Yelich back? It certainly looks like it as he mashed his fifth home run of the year in just 10 games and is currently slashing .343/.425/.800 with two stolen bases. Yelich is hitting the ball hard, but more importantly, lifting it.
Yelich's sweet spot percentage is the highest that it has been at any point in his career at 44.4 percent. The highest since 2020 that Yelich has posted is 32 percent. This has led to one of the best barrel rates in all of baseball at 18.5 percent.
The data supports the performance. I am buying Yelich as a top-20 player for 2024.
YOU CAN'T PITCH TO HIM @ChristianYelich https://t.co/PWuCbNaxUy pic.twitter.com/ruM7q34ziI
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 11, 2024
Oswaldo Cabrera is off to a scorching hot start to the 2024 season, slashing .333/.389/.545 through 36 plate appearances. He is in a strict platoon and with the Yankees facing more lefties recently, Cabrera has seen less playing time.
The expected stats also are not in Cabrera's favor as he has not hit the ball hard and has a well below average 4 percent barrel rate. While Jon Berti is playing against left-handed pitching, there is also Oswald Peraza and DJ LeMahieu looming when they return from injury. Cabrera could be out of a spot within the next month and if you can sell him, I would do so.
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