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.
Steer launched a couple of homers on Friday evening to help keep the Reds alive in the Wild Card chase. They remain 2 games back of the Mets with 8 to play. Steer has now hit 20 home runs for the third consecutive season, but his value as a fantasy hitter has diminished due to his dramatic drop in steals (25 in 2024, 7 in 2025) and also his relegation to being a 1B-only profile. Steer plays in a great home park and maximizes his batted balls (26.2% AIRPULL), but doesn’t hit the ball hard enough often enough to push into the top 12 at the position.
Elder has now made a team-leading 27 starts for the Braves, and this tells you all you need to know about the Braves' season. Two seasons ago, Elder made 31 starts with a 3.81 ERA, which was a huge win for the Braves, but this season it hasn’t gone nearly as well. Elder currently holds a 5.36 ERA and 1.42 WHIP with an 11.2% K-BB rate. This is hardly fantasy-worthy of a roster spot in most formats. He’s still just 26, so there could be some usable innings in the future, but only in the deepest of leagues.
Rogers is on an incredible run for the O’s down the stretch. He has allowed 2 runs or less in 16 of the 17 starts he has made! Rogers was acquired at the 2024 trade deadline for Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby in a deal that looked very lopsided in the Marlins' favor earlier this season. But Rogers is providing so much value for his dynasty owners; he’s pitching like an ace. His ERA indicators point to regression, and he’s closer to a 3.00 true ERA, but this is still a great SP option moving forward. He’s lost a tick on his fastball since his Marlins debut, but his slider/sweeper and changeup are such good pitches that it hasn’t affected him at all. With his gains in control (68.1 Str% this season compared to his 64% career average), this is a very safe mid-rotation option in all formats.
If any of you had Soto with 34 steals on your bingo card before the season, I hope you put your money where your mouth was. Soto has a 13th percentile sprint speed, so even with the enhanced stolen base environment, it would have been hard to project this. We know Soto might be the best all-around hitter in the league, and with his added SB prowess, he needs to be in consideration for number 3 or even number 2 in dynasty rankings behind Ohtani.
Diaz continues to be an incredibly valuable supplementary bat to a competitive dynasty roster. He won’t steal bases, and he has never hit the ball in the air very well, but he does everything else at an elite level. Even with his 53.8% ground ball rate, Diaz’s home run on Friday was a career-high 25th, and combined with his .300 average and .365 OBP, you have yourself as good a ratio-stabilizing bat as you can find. Díaz is 34 years old, but he shows no signs of slowing down.
The player who impressed me most at the Future’s Game had to be Carter Jensen. The way he confidently spoke about his game and the batting practice he put on has given me confidence that he can be a top-12 catching option as soon as next season. Jensen has started off his career white-hot, posting a 100.1 mph average EV, 24.0% barrel rate, and 72% hard hit rate. His three doubles on Friday night were 106.7, 105.6, and 108.3 (he also had a 101.8 mph flyout, 98.7 mph ground out, and two other batted ball events over 90 mph in his 7 PA). It’s effortless power, and we can’t leave out his advanced approach, which includes a 15.8% BB rate and a 25.6% chase rate. We might be looking at a future top 3 catching option; he’s a confident buy-high in the offseason for me.
Vinnie P has elevated his game in 2025, combining his great contact ability with added bat speed. He’s now up to 30 HR and 100 RBI; the last Royal’s first basemen (by my research) to reach these two marks was John Mayberry in 1975! This is a high-floor bat who is now reaching his ceiling. He lifts and pulls, he hits all pitch-types at an above-average rate (minus splitters), and he doesn’t strike out. Another Royal to confidently invest in.
Massey was a popular breakout pick before the season (I was in this camp), but it just hasn’t clicked for him in 2025. Massey is an elite bat-to-ball hitter (87.1% ZCon and 81.8% overall contact) and actually does a great job lifting and pulling the baseball (24.2% AIRPULL). This is where the profile takes a turn for the worse. Massey gets eaten up by fastballs (-10 run value vs 4Seam) and doesn’t hit the ball very hard (87.1 average EV, 32.2% hard hit rate); his bat speed is in the bottom third of the league. If he wants to be an everyday player, some bat speed training might be in order for the offseason. Trading a little contact for power would go a long way toward providing more production for Massey. Of note, he played 2B and LF in this one and with his 13 appearances might have OF eligibility depending on your league settings. As it stands, he’s a part-time player who can fill in when injuries hit.
Lorenzen delivered a great outing for the Royals on Friday evening in the blowout win against the Jays. He truly is what he is at this point in his career, an innings-eating veteran SP. He will only provide value in 20+ team leagues as a back-end option. His $12 million mutual option will likely not be exercised, but I could see a scenario where they renegotiate at a lower number to bring him back. That would be huge because KC is a great place to pitch. His landing spot will determine his value more than most pitchers.
The Marlins employed a college-style strategy on Friday night, calling pitches from the dugout, and it worked to perfection. Junk used his junk-ball attack to stymie the Rangers' offense over seven strong innings in an eventual extra-innings victory. Junk’s 14.1% K-BB won’t win you any strikeout categories, but he provides a great WHIP due to his low walk rate (3.0%). He’s a deep-league option (15+) heading into 2026.
The QS streak ended late last month, but Woo just continues to dominate. In a season where he should get some serious Cy Young consideration, Woo has risen to the top of the M’s rotation. Because he’s around the plate so much, he does give up some hard contact (9.4% barrel rate), but since there aren’t many baserunners (.198 BAA, 4.9% BB rate) on, he limits damage. His low slot, high ride fastball sets up his five-pitch arsenal, leaving the hitters guessing. Woo is approaching top 10 SP territory in dynasty.
Who knew that one of the best acquisitions at the deadline would be Harrison Bader? Bader is now up to 17 HR on the season to go with 11 steals and a .287/.358/471 line. His second half numbers are eye-popping, .330/.394/.516 with 6 HR and 3 SB. The rest of the Phillies' offense has followed his lead, with players like Brandon Marsh and Bryson Stott increasing their production to complement the likes of Schwarber and Harper. Bader has reverse splits this season (.314 vs RHP and .230 vs LHP), so he’s an everyday option depth OF carrying into next season.
The top dynasty 2B continues to produce elite numbers as he hit his 26th homer on Friday night. There is no advice or strategy here, as you can trust his production going forward. Marte holds a .279/.375/.508 line with his 26 homers and 4 chip-in steals.
Saving the best for last, it wasn’t his best start of the season, but it was his last regular-season home start, so I just wanted to highlight the illustrious career of the greatest LHP we have seen this century. Kershaw could have easily gone out as a World Series champion last year, but he wanted to prove to himself that he could be a productive starter one more time after a toe injury cost him much of the 2024 season. Kershaw has delivered a solid season (3.55 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 9.8% K-BB rate). There is an outside chance we’ve seen the last of the 3-time Cy Young and 2014 MVP award winner as the Dodgers have four SP’s ahead of him on the depth chart (Yamamoto, Glasnow, Ohtani and Snell), but he’s still a productive pitcher and could very well be included on a playoff roster as a bulk reliever and the Dodgers could conceivably start him one more time on the road before the end of the season. Regardless, he’s 5th all-time in BWAR for left-handed pitchers, which should be a unanimous, first-ballot HOF. He’s my all-time favorite and will be missed on the field.
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.
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!
Watch Path to the Show on Bally Sports Live & Stadium! | Amateur and Dynasty Team Writer/Podcaster | I love the Tennessee Volunteers, milk, pitchers, catchers, & you <3 P4:13
