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.
Vladdy played the role of facilitator in Friday night’s victory over the Orioles, as he reached base in all five of his plate appearances. This Toronto lineup is sneaky deep and they grind out at bats up and down the order. Vladdy is not afraid to pass the baton (career-high 12.9% BB rate) and let his teammates drive him in. A healthy, slugging Anthony Santander could add even more depth to this first place ballclub. Vladdy is on another level right now hitting .359/.424/.619 with 11 HR in the second half.
Before Friday evening, this season had been a struggle for Bibee. His world-class cutter has just not been the same pitch in 2025 (7 HR allowed this year vs just 1 all of last season). The velocity on the pitch has been similar, but he’s lost a little bit of the bite it’s previously exhibited. An inch here or there on the bat can mean more barrels and damage for the hitter. Friday night, Bibee had everything working, inducing 14 whiffs leading to a season-high tying 10 strikeouts. With the Guardians playoff hopes fading, they will need Bibee to string together a couple more of these starts.
Alcantara’s re-acclimation back to the big leagues has been rocky to say the least. His season-long numbers are ugly due to several blowup starts. Since July 15th he’s been a much better version of himself with a 3.34 ERA and 15.8% K-BB in 11 starts (70.0 IP). Alcantara has always been an accumulator, so seeing him go deep into starts is encouraging. The Marlins made a calculated decision to keep him instead of dealing him (maybe to build up value for an offseason trade) and they hope their decision will pay off in one way or another. Alcantara generated 16 whiffs and is averaging over 97 mph on his fastball which is almost all the way back to his pre-surgery velocity. If you own Sandy in a dynasty league, you will also need to make the same decision the Marlins will have to make; do you hold, or do you deal him in the offseason for younger talent. It will all depend on where your team is in its competition window.
The Yankees opened up a huge series at Fenway on Friday and needed a good pitching performance from Gil; he delivered. This series could decide home advantage for a playoff matchup between the longtime AL East rivals in which the young right-hander would play a huge role. This is a typical Gil start, limiting hits with his wicked stuff, but walking multiple batters to make up for it. He’s a frustrating, white-knuckle watch most of the time; his stuff is so tantalizing, and you see the immense potential. But he erases all of the great things he does by handing out free passes. This season, he’s down a tick on his fastball, which has led to a reduction in strikeouts (19.2%), and his walks have also gone in the wrong direction (15.3%). He’s not quite back to where he was prior to his injury. He’s still a must-start in all matchups down the stretch.
What a debut for Cole! A home run on the first pitch he saw as a big leaguer, followed by two more hits for a dream evening. Cole was hot as a firecracker in the minors leading up to his promotion, posting a .916 OPS over 416 PA at Double-A and Triple-A. His Triple-A numbers were especially impressive (1.204 OPS in 61 PA) forcing the Astros to give him an opportunity. Will there be enough playing time for the young outfielder? The Astros have been particularly stingy with playing time for rookies recently, but a hot start for a team that has struggled with their outfield production will make the Astros think long and hard. He’s worth a flier on most league formats and sizes down the stretch.
Walker has performed much more like himself in the second half after a slow start with his new team. He slugged nearly 100 points higher in the second half hitting 8 homers in August. Walker is now 34, so there may only be a few more productive seasons left, but for now he remains a back-end, top ten first base option.
I could gush about Perdomo, he’s one of my favorite players because he does so many things well. He’s held onto his elite contact ability while growing into significantly more power this season. Perdomo has doubled his barrel rate (3.1% to 6.2%) and raised his hard hit rate (+5.4% to 31.2%) while somehow improving his walk (+4.0% to 13.3%) and strikeout rates (-3.7% to 11.2 %). Perdomo also remains an elite defender at SS, and as a switch-hitter he should be in the lineup nearly every day. I think he remains a very underrated player that you can confidently target this offseason.
Moreno is another undervalued player and it’s really only because he’s missed time with injuries each of the last two seasons. Moreno has excellent contact skills (87.0% Zcon and 81.5% overall) and hits all pitch types well. This season he’s shown an increased ability to lift and pull (14.9% AIRPULL) so we may be starting to see the beginning of a power breakout. It’s a small sample, but his second half SLG is 200 points higher (.414 to .614) and he’s hit four home runs in just 65 PA as compared to five in 188 first half PA. He’s on the rise and a target for me in my offseason drafts.
Clemens is up to 19 home runs this season after his “Throng of Dongs” performance on Friday evening. The Twins seem to love their slugging, platoon bats and Clemens absolutely fits the Larnach/Wallner mold. Clemens is a deeper league option and would best fit in daily lineup formats. He is a "power play" only as his average and OBP leave a lot to be desired. For those of you who benefitted from his performance Friday, kudos!
Is Gordon like a right-handed version of Kyle Freeland? The numbers are very similar, especially the strikeout (or lack thereof) and walk rates. We’re all aware Rockies arms are incredibly risky and Gordon is no different (6.14 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 2025), but in four of his last five starts he’s limited his opponents to two runs or less over at least six innings (including two starts in Denver). He’s only a streaming option in the best of matchups at this point.
If you look at Castillo’s season-by-season numbers over the last three years, it's hard not to see the steady decline in skills for the 32-year-old right-hander. His K-BB rates over the last three years tell the tale (20.3%, 17.8% and 14.7%). On Friday night he used his four-pitch mix to induce 18 whiffs and guide the Mariners to victory. Adjust your expectations for Castillo moving forward to more of a high-3’s/low 4’s ERA starter, but he showed on Friday he can still have dominant outings like this.
Prior to his bounceback on Friday, Kikuchi’s most recent performances have been a dumpster fire for fantasy managers. In his previous three starts, Kikuchi had a 14.46 ERA and 2.22 WHIP with a 10:8 strikeout to walk ratio. It’s tough to know which version of Kikuchi you will be getting and a pitcher you can’t trust is almost the worst thing you can have in fantasy. Walks have been an issue with Kikuchi in the past and they seem to have crept back into his game over the last couple of months. When he is on, he’s trusting his stuff, because his stuff is solid; 19 whiffs on Friday tells you that. If you’ve held on this long with Yusei, you might as well finish it out.
If you are a fan of Jurrangelo Cijntje, you will be a fan of Carlos Cortes! Cortes is a utility player who plays the infield positions as a right-handed thrower and the outfield as a left-handed thrower! So far in his major league career he’s played just one inning at third base and 137 innings as an outfielder, but what a unique player! Cortes has never been a noted prospect, but in Triple-A this season he posted a 1.017 OPS (139 wRC+) with 17 home runs. He’s now 28 years old, but has hit the ground running in his first 70 major league plate appearances. Cortes boasts a .910 OPS with 10 of his 22 hits going for extra bases. It hasn’t shown yet in the big leagues, but Cortes is also adept at taking walks thanks to his diminutive 5 '7 frame. This is a fun deep league name for 2026.
Yamamoto was at it again on Friday night; he was nearly unhittable again allowing just a first-inning double to Willy Adames over his seven innings. Yamamoto had 16 whiffs and now sports a 21.3% K-BB rate in 2025. Yamamoto has quickly become the Dodgers ace and will most likely start game one of the playoffs for them. The Dodgers are in danger of relinquishing their division lead to the Padres if they continue to play like they have the last several weeks (the Dodgers lost this game despite Yoshi’s dominance). Yamamoto is as trustworthy an option as there is for fantasy at this point.
Verlander took a no decision in this one and remains 35 wins short of the immortal 300 number. It’s incredible what he’s doing at the age of 42, averaging 94.0 mph on his heater. He has been especially good in the second half with a 2.95 ERA in his 11 starts. Verlander’s skills have understandably deteriorated; he has a 13.1% K-BB and 1.37 WHIP for the season. Can he pitch 2-3 more seasons and reach 300 wins and 4000 strikeouts? The odds are stacked against him, but he remains a decent SP option at the back end of your rotation when he’s healthy.
I don't disagree with the idea Rada could hit for more power, and I am not going to fight with my Canadian cousin's Roboscout (I would be a moron to do so, and I am not going to fight with a robot unless it is my Roomba “Rosie” shudders). I just am the low guy on Rada's power after seeing him a few times over the years in person and in video. This is a speed play in a bad organization for developing well, anything. Rada has been rushed to the majors when there was no need to do so. Sometimes these prospects aren't given a full chance to reach their potential with normal player development practices, like, I don't know, playing in High-A and being given the developmental runway they need, not what ownership mandates. But I digress. If Rada hits 12-15 homers, I would be incredibly excited because that, paired with his feel for playing center field, a surprisingly solid approach considering he hasn't been developed in a normal manner, and speed on the basepaths, that screams low-end OF 3 in a 12-teamer.
This was an interesting outing for Abel as we got a chance to see how he wants to attack left-handed batters, as 58 of his 79 pitches were thrown against opposite-handed batters. He mostly throws fastball sliders to left-handed batters, and while the whiffs weren't there, Abel's command was. He only walked a single batter on his way to a solid outing. I would imagine next year he gets a chance to be a full-time Twin, where maybe the command can just be good enough to be an interesting late-round option in fantasy baseball.
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!
