A Giants fan living in San Diego, been playing fantasy baseball since 2005 and dynasty since 2021. Started the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast in June 2023 and joined Prospects Live in March of 2024.
Now is one of my favorite, yet also most stressful, times of the year. Fantasy baseball playoffs have started, and fantasy football drafts are happening. If you are in as many leagues as I am, it can get chaotic this time of year, but I absolutely love the fantasy baseball playoffs, particularly in dynasty leagues. I love roto for redraft leagues, but for my money, nothing beats head-to-head (HTH) in dynasty. Every year, I enjoy matching up against the same rivals from the previous year or the upstarts emerging from their rebuilds. I'm actually in a couple of leagues that combine both season-long roto with HTH playoffs, and I feel like this is also a pretty cool way to do it. I also think that daily moves playoff matches are the peak of fun, as you can get very granular with your strategies and agonize over each start/sit decision, and aren't as susceptible to injuries derailing your matchup. So far, I've made it to two of the three possible league playoffs and am currently winning one of those. We'll see how it shakes out in the coming weeks.
Note: all stats current through Tuesday 8/19/25 and all minor league Statcast figures are sourced from TJ Stats.
2024 stats (A+): 18 PA .250/.380/.250, 0 HR, 0 SB, 11.7% BB, 22.2% K 2025 stats (A+/AA): 471 PA .297/.386/.438, 9 HR, 12 SB, 12.1% BB, 23.1% K
Why To Pick Up
Blake Burke was one of my FYPD sleepers coming into this season. The 34th overall pick in last year's draft, Burke had some of the best power in the class but some questions about the hit tool. This led him to being a late-round FYPD pick with an ADP average draft position of 47. That was right in line with where we had him ranked, as he landed at 48 in our offseason FYPD rankings. I picked him up in several leagues, thinking it was a value. However, I ended up dropping Burke in many of those leagues as he wasn't showing the power early on. Through 95 games at High-A this year, Burke had hit just 5 home runs and had a feeble .114 ISO. It was hard to imagine for a hitter whose plus power was his carrying tool coming out of the draft. On the plus side, the contact was seemingly better than expected with a 75.7% contact rate and a .289 batting average. The main culprit was a 52.4% ground ball rate.
On August 2nd, Burke was promoted to Double-A, and it's possible that the new coaching staff noticed something, as his ground ball rate has dropped to 43.2% in the 14 games since. Consequently, his power has increased. Since debuting at the level, Burke already has 4 home runs and an insane .340 ISO in those 14 games. All four homers have come in his last eight games, and during that timeframe, he has a ridiculous .452/.500/.968 slash line. He's not striking out anymore at the level with just a 23.7% rate, and both his batting average and walk rate have increased. Despite his lack of speed, he's also stolen 12 bases this season, showing that he may not be zero in that department down the road.
Why To Think Twice
While he's not striking out any more than he was at High-A, Burke has given back some of his contact to make more power. His contact rate has fallen 5% to 70.8% and his swinging strike rate has jumped from 11.9% to 15.6%. As a defensively limited first baseman, he'll have to keep up the increased power performance to justify future opportunities.
Final Thoughts
I may have given up too quickly on Burke when he struggled to lift the ball earlier this year. While it's a small sample, the expected game power is finally here. If he can marry the new approach with the contact he showed at High-A, there is a lot to like here. He should be snatched up in all medium-sized leagues at this point.
Where to pick up: Leagues with 200+ prospects rostered.
FAAB bid: Minimal (0-5%)
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A Giants fan living in San Diego, been playing fantasy baseball since 2005 and dynasty since 2021. Started the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast in June 2023 and joined Prospects Live in March of 2024.
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!
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.
