As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
Director of Dynasty Content - Canadian born and raised, moved to Arkansas with my wife and two sons Ezra and Ari. Followed and played baseball my whole life; played dynasty for 25+ years.
Let’s put it out there, Crews has been a disappointment thus far in his career. For such a highly touted prospect, his .209/.283/.351 line over his first 360 plate appearances is pretty ugly. No doubt, injuries have played a huge role in his struggles, but even when he’s been healthy and on the field, he hasn’t resembled the player he was at LSU. The only fantasy category he’s been proficient in is stolen bases; he now has 26 for his career with his two on Friday night. We don’t expect a ton of power from Crews, but we do expect a better all-around hitter. His contact rates are good enough (82.8% Zcon, 70.7% Overall) and he has a good barrel rate (11.4%), but he’s not hitting the ball hard consistently enough (38.9% hard hit rate). He’s had some poor batted ball luck (.246 BABIP in 2025 when he’s been well above .300 as a professional) which makes his overall line look worse. Crews had two batted balls over 106 mph Friday night, so here’s hoping he can get on a run the last month of the season and recoup some value.
It was another dominant outing for Peralta on Friday night against the Blue Jays as he shut down an offense that has been rolling along for a few months. Peralta has performed like an ace all season providing great ratios (2.58 ERA, 1.07 WHIP), strikeouts (26.7% K-rate) and wins (16). He has outperformed his ERA indicators by over a run (FIP 3.60, xFIP 3.99) so we may see some regression coming. But even if it comes, he will still be a tough pitcher to face.Peralta has a solid four-pitch mix and limits damage on his 4Seam (.305 wOBA), changeup (.242), curveball (.216) and slider (.195) making it difficult for hitters to zone-in on specific pitches. Even with the Brew Crew managing his innings slightly, Peralta is still one of the best starting pitcher options out there with great team context.
It’s not the Red Sox M.O. to call up a pitcher like Tolle this quickly in their development. But Tolle is a different animal, and he truly gives them as good a chance to win as any of their current starting pitchers. Tolle is an extremely unique pitcher and gives hitters a look they haven’t seen before. Tolle’s low-release/high-extension from the left side allows his very good stuff to play up even more. Tolle averaged 96.2 mph on his fastball Friday night and with 7’ 6” of extension on the pitch, it gets on the hitter quicker than expected with excellent carry. Tolle generated 14 whiffs throwing predominantly 4Seam/Cutter (83.3%) sprinkling in a few changeups and curveballs. He entered the 6th inning having allowed zero runs on one hit. The Pirates strung together a few hits in the 6th to knock him out of the game. Tolle is going to be a problem for opposing hitters and he’s most likely here to stay.
I had written off Polanco as a fantasy contributor after his horrendous 2024 season (.213/.296/.355). It now appears I was incorrect as he has turned things around in 2025. Polanco hit his 21st home run and stole his 6th base on Friday night and now holds a .255/.318/.465 line which is in the realm of a typical season for him. He has mostly DH’d this season, but will have second base eligibility for 2026 (22 games played). Polanco is actually hitting the ball harder than he ever has (90.5 average EV, 111.9 Max EV are both career highs) and dropped his K rate 14%(!) from last season. He’s been sneaky-good this year and helped a lot of you dynasty owners get through the dog days.
I’ve written about Lopez multiple times for the Saturday Daily Sheet, but when I look at his overall line, I wonder why. His .681 OPS rates as an 89 wRC+ meaning he’s well below average offensively. I’m starting to think Lopez loves playing on Friday nights. In deep leagues, his 12 home runs and 12 stolen bases help raise the floor in those categories, but his production has steadily declined over the course of the season. As the Marlins work through their rebuild, we might see them look to others for help (namely this year’s first round pick Aiva Arquette). Ride this out for the rest of the season, but don’t count on Lopez to be a full-time contributor beyond 2025.
I was excited to see Tong get the call for his first major league start on Friday night; he was one of my favorite interviews at the Future’s Game this summer. Tong told me that his dream MLB park to play in was Citi Field, and with his family on hand, he delivered an excellent first start in Queens. Tong has relied heavily on his fastball-changeup combo this season to great effect as he currently leads the MiLB in strikeouts (179). He’s dialed back his curveball and slider usage as he hasn’t needed them to be successful. No doubt, he will need to be more of a four-pitch pitcher as major league hitters adjust to his unique over-the-top delivery. He’s previously shown the ability to spin the ball effectively and threw 13 curveballs in his debut getting three of his seven whiffs including his first MLB strikeout. Tong is another elite extension arm; he averaged 7 feet of extension on Friday night giving the hitters less time to pick up the baseball. To me, Tong is not close to being a finished product because he has the ability to improve his secondaries to the point where he can be a true four-pitch pitcher. I trust the Mets to work with him and develop the curve and slider to be trustworthy offerings. Until then, we might see some inconsistent outings, but Friday night was a glimpse of what Tong can be.
Alonso has performed very well for the Mets after an underwhelming 2024 season that led to very little interest on the free agent market. Alonso is now up to 31 home runs on the season and still has a shot at 40 with a strong finish. Alonso has actually drastically improved his quality of contact metrics averaging 93.4 mph on his batted balls with a 19.4% barrel rate and 54.3% hard hit rate (easily career-highs). Alonso’s current deal is two seasons, but he has an opt-out after 2025. There is a good chance he will opt-out to see if the market has changed in his favor, but a renegotiated Mets deal/extension is also a possibility. Alonso is a top option at first base moving forward.
Since I don’t own Nimmo anywhere, it was a little eye-opening for me to see his season line and how he’s evolved as a player. Since he isn’t hitting leadoff anymore, Nimmo has changed his approach to become a more aggressive hitter. Nimmo was previously one of the most trustworthy OBP plays, and repeatedly delivered OBP’s more than 100 points above his batting average. He did this by being selective at the plate, zoning in, and attacking “his” pitches. Over the last couple of seasons, Nimmo has ramped up his swing rate since he is hitting in the middle of the Mets lineup (mostly 3rd and 5th recently). Earlier in his career Nimmo averaged 41-42% swing rates, but this season he has it up to 46.7%. Nimmo is looking to do damage more often and drive in runs instead of trying to set the table for the big boppers. He’s still a productive hitter, it’s just a different version of productivity. With his new approach, he’s a much better RBI option now, but his on-base output has been reduced.
In one of my home leagues I needed an SP to replace one of my many injured starters and I was choosing between Javier and Tanner Bibee. Despite Javier’s superior upside, I went with Bibee because he’s been consistently delivering 5+ innings. Javier had delivered just 3 and 2 innings in his last couple of starts. The Astros are closely watching Javier’s workload coming off injury and they do not want to stress him too much as they approach the playoffs. I might have made a mistake, because Javier was unhittable on Friday night. Averaging just 93.0 mph with his heater, Javier gets great results due to his excellent ride and carry. Javier can also spin a breaking ball with anyone in baseball. This combination allows all of his pitches to play up in a manner you might not expect if you had only velocity readings. Javier may not get to 6 IP very often due to his circumstances, but expect solid, per-inning, results for a playoff contending team.
It’s been a tough contract-year for Gallen, easily the worst season of his career. Friday night concluded what was a great August for the UNC alumni. Over six starts, Gallen delivered 35.0 innings of 2.57 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with a 28:9 K:BB ratio. Friday’s start was against the Dodgers, and he mixed and matched his six-pitch arsenal to great effect allowing just two hits and zero runs. Gallen had some bad luck early in the season with home run to fly ball, and strand rates spiking a little. With normalization, he’s been a lot better, but please understand that Gallen will always be a pitcher that walks the line of dominance and disaster due to his lack of velocity. When he isn’t pinpoint with his command, the wheels can come off quickly; when he’s on, he has the ability to mow hitters down.
Grisham is another hitter I had written off due to multiple seasons of poor performance. This provides a valuable lesson for all dynasty players (including myself); try not to let bias creep into your analysis because with small adjustments, players can regain value quickly. With his slam Friday night, Grisham now has 28 home runs batting at the top of the Yankees lineup vs RHP. He dominates 4-seam fastballs (16 run value, .462 wOBA) and does not chase pitches out of the zone (16.8% chase rate). He’s actually the perfect type of bat to put in front of Aaron Judge and he’s taking advantage of the opportunity.
Swanson will probably never live up to the public perception of his contract, but he’s truly done exactly what he’s been asked to do: make the plays at SS (although this season hasn’t been quite as good), provide some pop, and lengthen the lineup. With two home runs (108.1 and 104.4 mph) and a triple (102.9 mph) he energized the Cubs offense on Friday. He’s what some would consider boring, but he’s still a top-12 SS and provides decent power and adequate speed at the six.
Happ has had an inconsistent season for the Cubs, alternating monthly OPS scores between the .600s and .700s all season. Happ has seen a drop in his exit velocities and hard hit data and it stems mostly from results vs 4-seam fastballs. Last season, Happ had a .486 SLG and .383 wOBA vs 4-Seamers while this season, he has a .257 SLG and .277 wOBA against them. His bat speed is down one mph from last season which doesn’t help, but I wonder if he’s been playing hurt. He had oblique soreness earlier this year and a deep shin bruise after fouling a ball off it more recently. It’s difficult to say, but Happ owners are waiting for that higher ceiling to manifest itself; maybe Friday night’s game is the start of a strong run.
Another choice I had before this week in another home league was Lars Nootbaar vs Luis Matos. I think I made the wrong decision again! Matos has been excellent in his last eight games; he has 14 hits with three home runs and four stolen bases during this run. He’s a difficult player to provide analysis because these results are out of the blue. Frankly, he’s been awful the entire season. One thing he has always been good at is putting the ball in play; it’s his bankable skill. With the Giants mostly out of the playoff race, it looks like Matos will get most of the LF reps in September.
Like Otto Lopez, Adames has been a staple on the Saturday Daily Sheet. I don’t know if I can provide any more unique analysis on him other than he’s much like Dansby Swanson with what you can expect. A lower BA/OBP with good power and modest speed while playing nearly every day. Adames remains a top 12 shortstop you can count on.
I think Rodriguez as the backup to Patrick Bailey is the duality of catchers. One is a great defender who can't hit on a consistent basis (Bailey), and Rodriguez is a bat-first and -second sort of catcher. Rodriguez provides a ton of contact and some power. I do slightly worry about the power ceiling because of the way the Giants' ballpark hurts power.
Rada Rada - Schnitzel. Nelson Rada has been awesome since being promoted to the PCL. Yeah, he doesn't hit the ball hard, and yeah, it is maybe a fourth outfield look for any other team not named the Los Angeles Angels. Rada could be a sneaky 10-12 homers with 25+ stolen bases during his peak years. Plus, we get to do the whole Leody Taveras thing again, where we wonder what he would look like against age-appropriate competition, so that will be fun.
I still think this is an interesting organizational fit, but Jordan has a better chance at playing time with the Cardinals, especially if Contreras ever does get traded... he won't, but what if?
Crawford is someone I think the Phillies should seriously contemplate bringing up when rosters expand. He provides some versatility in the outfield and can be a good pinch-running option late in games. Oh, and the power taking a massive step forward is one of the better developments going on in the Phillies organization.
Jensen has been on a heater, and if you have seen some of the offensive options the Royals are rolling out there, Jensen could be their DH, or they could mix and match with him and Salvador Perez at catcher. The power is undeniable, and I thought when Fermin got traded that would open a spot for Jensen, but alas, it did not. Let's play a game: who is the Royals' backup catcher? If you guessed Luke Maille, you would be correct. Jensen is a better option right now for the Royals.
A down-under double. Bazzana should be up in the majors over Rocchio, who just isn't major league caliber, and you could argue he never was. Bazzana provides more offensive upside than a lot of the Guardians' options that are up, but for some reason, the Guardians want to give Rocchio as many opportunities as they can.
Does he go on a power binge to end the season? Do we see him break camp with the Mets in 2026? Do you think my parents like my prospect ranks? These are all questions I ask myself. Benge might be a top 25 prospect this offseason, so if you don't value him there, I would say now is a great time to sell high if you don't think he is all that and a bag of chips.
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
