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Eric Cross' Dynasty Notes - Andrew Abbott, Spencer Steer, Sebastian Walcott, and More!

Andrew Abbott - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Eric Cross' fantasy baseball dynasty news and notes analysis for Week 15 (2023). Notable prospects and risers/fallers for longer-term fantasy baseball dynasty leagues.

In the dynasty world, news and notes articles take on a whole new meaning. Not only are we discussing short-term value with these players, but we need to look long-term as well. A good dynasty manager is like Crazy Eyes from the movie Mr. Deeds. You have to have one eye on the present and one eye on the future. "I wasn't talking to you, Deeds. I was talking to that squirrel over there. [points at a goat]."

So that's what I'm going to do each week with this Dynasty News and Notes article here on RotoBaller. I'll be going around the league, discussing all the notable storylines and players both from a short-term and long-term perspective. Let's get to it.

In this week's report, I'll be discussing even more Cincinnati Reds players, recent promotions, low-level standouts, and more.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

Fantasy Baseball Dynasty News and Notes

Last week's Dynasty News & Notes was centered around plenty of exciting players in Cincinnati and Baltimore. Well, we're not done talking about the Cincinnati Reds this week as Andrew Abbott has been highly impressive since debuting in early June. In seven starts overall, Abbott has posted a 2.38 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 8.4% walk rate, and a 28.9% strikeout rate. That line looked even better before he allowed six earned runs in four innings against the Brewers yesterday. Abbott has been missing bats consistently and has a whiff rate above 28% on all three of his offspeed pitches so far, including 42.6% on his changeup.

However, there are some red flags in the profile too that I just can't ignore. Abbott is allowing plenty of hard contact (11.5% BRL, 43.3% HH) and a whopping 69.2% of his batted balls allowed have been fly balls or line drives. That's certainly concerning when Abbott pitches half his games in the most pitcher-friendly venue in baseball. Long-term, I'm very much a believer in Abbott being an impact arm for fantasy, but now might be a decent time to at least see what you could get for him via trade given his hot start.

Let's keep it in Cincinnati for one more player and discuss Spencer SteerWhile Steer might not be the shiny new toy in Cincinnati, his performance this season has him currently inside my top-10 dynasty first base rankings, right in the same tier as Triston Casas and Nathaniel Lowe. In 368 plate appearances, Steer has racked up 14 home runs, nine steals, and a .284/.375/.489 slash line along with an impressive 11.4% walk rate and 18.2% strikeout rate.

Steer's quality of contact metrics, while solid, won't blow you away. However, he's able to maximize his power output and home ballpark given his optimum 18.9° launch angle. Steer is also displaying above-average plate discipline metrics with an 83.2% zone contact rate, 20.9% chase rate, and 22.5% whiff rate. And to wrap it all up, Steer's sprint speed is in the 77th percentile. I'm seeing no reason to believe that Steer can't remain a top-100 caliber fantasy player moving forward and a top-10 first baseman for dynasty leagues.

Moving to another National League Central team, St. Louis' Nolan Gorman has been in a major funk lately. Entering play on June 4th, Gorman had an impressive .276/.364/.564 slash line. but since then, he's slashing only .151/.232/.279 with a massive 40% strikeout rate in 95 plate appearances. Gorman's quality of contact metrics are very good with a 13.6% barrel rate and 49.4% hard-hit rate, but when you're running a 74% zone contact rate and 34.4% whiff rate, inconsistency will usually rear its ugly head throughout a full season.

Even if Gorman is more of a .240ish hitter moving forward, his ability to swat more than 30 homers annually keeps him in the top-10 overall discussion at the second base position long-term. So if you're fine with that, he makes for a decent buy-low right now. If you roster him and don't want to deal with the inconsistency, wait for him to heat back up then explore trade options.

Who knows how long he'll be up for, but it was exciting to see Dominic Canzone finally get the call to Arizona. If you've been following my Top 25 Prospects to Stash article every Tuesday here on RotoBaller, you'll know that Canzone has been a mainstay near the top of those rankings. And even though he's excelled in the minors over the last few seasons, Canzone still feels a bit underrated and undervalued to me.

Season Levels PA Slash Line HR SB BB% K%
2019 RK/A- 195 .281/.318/.535 8 5 4.6% 14.9%
2021 A+/AA 339 .302/.375/.522 14 19 9.4% 20.9%
2022 AA/AAA 436 .300/.367/.541 22 15 8.5% 19.0%
2023 AAA 304 .354/.431/.634 16 2 12.8% 13.2%

Canzone isn't running as much this season, but the rest of his offensive profile has been incredible, hitting for average and power while showing an exceptional approach at the plate. Yes, those numbers get inflated by the league and home ballpark he was in, but Canzone is absolutely legit. My only area of concern right now, and it's a minor one, is that he only has one home run in 84 plate appearances against southpaws. But again, that's minor as he's still hitting .271 against them. Long-term, I could see a Bryan Reynolds type of player here with Canzone if everything clicks at the Major League level.

The other notable promotion over the past week was Baltimore promoting outfielder Colton CowserIn 56 games for Triple-A Norfolk this season, Cowser slashed .330/.459/.537 with 10 doubles, 10 home runs, and seven steals. He's always been an elite source of OBP and even dropped his strikeout rate from 27.8% to 23.3% this season. With above-average to plus power and average or better speed, Cowser has top-50 overall upside and is basically Canzone with more speed and higher OBP upside. He's going to cost a lot more to acquire though as Cowser has been considered a top-20 fantasy prospect for a while now. But it should be worth it.

It's been around a month since rookie leagues started up and one of the most impressive bats so far has been Texas Rangers shortstop prospect, Sebastian WalcottIn nine games for Texas' Complex Level squad, Walcott has already racked up eight extra-base hits, five home runs, and three steals. The upside here is massive and Walcott's dynasty stock is already beginning to skyrocket. Given his big and projectable 6'4 frame along with the power and athleticism he's already displaying, Walcott could be a top-10 dynasty prospect by this time next season. This is a player that could cause major FOMO.

Another teenage prospect shooting up rankings this season is Gabriel Gonzalez from the Seattle Mariners. While he was already rising up rankings given his performance last season, he's taken his game to the next level this season in Lo-A, slashing .350/.402/.529 in 71 games with 19 doubles, nine home runs, and eight steals. Scouts have long praised his power and strong throwing arm, but Gonzalez has made strides in the hit tool department as well, now projecting as at least an average hitter with the potential for plus power. Don't expect a ton of steals from him as he's a fringe-average runner, but the all-around offensive profile is exciting for fantasy purposes and could have him flirting with the top-25 in my prospect rankings by the end of the season.

Out of all the impressive rookie arms this season, the one that isn't getting talked about enough is Seattle's Bryan Woo. On the surface, Woo has a 4.08 ERA which isn't overly impressive by itself. But this is why surface stats can be misleading. When you dig deeper, you see that Woo has an impressive 2.72 xERA (94th percentile), 6.7% walk rate, 32.8% strikeout rate (94th percentile), 33.2% chase rate, and a 29.1% whiff rate. If you take out Woo's Major League debut against the offensive juggernaut Texas Rangers, he would have a 2.36 ERA and 0.94 WHIP.



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REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Logan Gilbert

Leaves Friday's Start With Forearm Tightness

Vikings Select Tai Felton To Finish Day 2

Seahawks Select Quarterback Jalen Milroe With The 92nd Pick Overall

Browns Select Dillon Gabriel 94th Overall

Packers Pick Savion Williams At No. 87 overall

Steelers Snag Kaleb Johnson In Round 3

Broncos Select Wide Receiver Pat Bryant With The 74th Overall Pick

Texans Select Jaylin Noel With 79th Pick

Lions Select Wide Receiver Isaac TeSlaa With The 70th Overall Pick
Jack Leiter

To Start On Sunday

Patriots Add Wide Receiver Kyle Williams In Round 3

Browns Draft Harold Fannin Jr. With 67th Pick
Garrett Mitchell

Makes Early Exit
Luke Keaschall

Removed Early On Friday
Blake Snell

Likely Avoids Major Injury
Cole Ragans

Dealing With Mild Groin Strain

Broncos Add RJ Harvey To Backfield With 60th Pick

Raiders Select Jack Bech With 58th Pick

Chargers Add Wide Receiver Tre Harris In Round 2
Detroit Lions

Lions Acquire 57th Pick From Broncos

Seahawks Draft Elijah Arroyo 50th Overall
Carolina Panthers

Panthers Acquire 51st Pick From Broncos
Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals Snag Will Johnson At No. 47

Jets Add A Pass-Catcher With Mason Taylor At No. 42

Rams Select Terrance Ferguson With 46th Pick
Houston Texans

Texans Acquire 48th Pick From Raiders, Draft Aireontae Ersery

Saints Snag Tyler Shough At No. 40
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Out For Personal Reasons On Friday
Brandin Podziemski

Not On Injury Report For Game 3
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Warriors Optimistic About Jimmy Butler III Playing Saturday
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To Remain Out Saturday
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Unavailable For Game 3
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Out On Saturday
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Ruled Out For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Orlando
Kevin Love

To Miss Saturday's Game
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Available For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Magic
Gary Payton II

Iffy For Saturday's Action
Jayson Tatum

Officially Available On Friday For Game 3 Against Magic
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Back From Injury On Friday
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Questionable For Game 4 On Saturday
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To Miss Game 4 On Saturday
Rui Hachimura

Available For Game 3 In Minnesota
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Available To Return Saturday
Erik Swanson

Ryan Burr Progressing
Daulton Varsho

To Return On Tuesday At The Latest
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Takes Positive Step On Friday
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Questionable For Saturday
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To Start Game 3 For Oilers
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Resting For First Time This Year
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To Play Limited Minutes In Game 3
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Red Sox-Guardians Game Postponed On Friday
Luke Hughes

Remains Out On Friday
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Tigers-Orioles Postponed On Friday
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A Game-Time Decision Friday
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Out On Friday Against Royals
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Ivan Herrera Hopes To Start Rehab Assignment Next Week
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Sitting Out For First Time This Season
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Questionable For Game 3 On Friday
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Back In Action On Friday
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Could Miss Game 3 On Saturday
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Starting Rehab Assignment On Saturday
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Set For UFC Kansas City Main Event
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Collects Double-Double In Loss
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Drops 30 Points In Game 3
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Leads All Scorers In Game 3 Victory
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Scheduled For Co-Main Event
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Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
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An Underdog At UFC Kansas City
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A Favorite At UFC Kansas City
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Set To Open Up UFC Kansas City Main Card
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Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
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Shuts Out Lightning In Game 2
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Finishes Thursday's Win With Five Points
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Posts Four Assists In Game 3 Win
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Celebrates Hat Trick During Four-Point Performance
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Battling An Illness
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Exits Early Thursday
Aleksander Barkov

Hurt In Game 2
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Tagged As Questionable For Friday
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Likely Out Again On Friday
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Good To Go Thursday
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Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2
Rasmus Ristolainen

To Miss Training Camp
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Returns To Practice
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Traveling With Capitals
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Still Out On Thursday
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Set To Join Maple Leafs Lineup For Game 3
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Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

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A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
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Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
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In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
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A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
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Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
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Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
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Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
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Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
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Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
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Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
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