Been a baseball fan and player my whole life, played dynasty for 10 years. Co-host on the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast since mid-season 2023 and joined Prospects Live at the start of 2024.
Hello, and welcome to the new season of the Dynasty Baseball Pickups series! We are so excited to have baseball back and write about all the impressive players we think are worth picking up this year. As you may have heard on our podcast or seen in Taylor’s article earlier this week, we’re making a few tweaks to the articles and podcast this year with the additions of some big leaguers and some players we think are drop candidates (when applicable). I have the advantage over Taylor this week in that every level of full-season ball started this Friday, so I have a larger sample to pull from. However, with only one day of those levels in the books, this article will still lean heavily toward players either in the bigs or knocking on the door. In this article, we’ve got a couple of big leaguers who have impressed early on, an arm looking to bounce back after a rough 2024 season, another returning from injury, and a drop that pains my Canadian heart. But without further delay, let’s get into the year's first weekend pickups (and drop).
Sheets posted insane numbers this spring, including 6 HR in 59 plate appearances, and that’s carried over into the games that matter. To start the year, Sheets has been what I expected Pavin Smith of the Diamondbacks to be: a discount version of Joc Pederson. So far in 2025, he’s seen just one at-bat against left-handed pitching, but he’s made the most of his opportunities against righties with an insane and clearly unsustainable line that culminates in a 1.134 OPS and 224 wRC+. Scouts within the Padres organization, including their director of pro scouting Pete DeYoung, reportedly identified Sheets as a player to target, and it looks like those scouts need to be compensated well because he has been a new man since shedding his white socks in favor of Padres brown and gold. He’s always hit the ball hard and never struck out a whole lot (especially when you consider the power he possesses), and so far in 2025, he’s continuing that trend while lifting the ball a little more than usual with just a 31.3% groundball rate to start the year.
Final Thoughts
Will Sheets continue on this torrid pace as the year goes on? Certainly not, but he has the makings of a waiver wire steal to start the year. If Pavin Smith was the discount version of Joc Pederson this draft season, Gavin Sheets would look like the free version. At the very least, he’s a fun add while he’s hot and someone you can drop for the next hot thing when the time comes, but I believe he’ll become a mainstay in your lineup when the Padres square off against right-handed pitching. The crowds in San Diego have been chanting “Holy Sheets,” the internet has dubbed him Dairy Bonds, so make sure you’re strengthening your bones and fantasy lineups by adding Gavin Sheets before it’s too late.
Where to pick up: Leagues with 250+ players rostered FAAB bid: Moderate (5-10%)
Shane Smith - 24/P/CHW/MLB
Height/Weight: 6’3”/240 Throws: R Fantrax Rostership: 30%
The White Sox took Smith as the first overall pick in the Rule 5 Draft, and from what we’ve seen early on, it’s hard to understand why the Brewers let him go. He had a good spring, earning his way not only onto the White Sox roster but into their starting rotation on opening day, and made a strong impression in his big league debut, firing off 5.2 innings of two-run ball, giving up just two hits. He also struck out just three and walked four, but he still showed plenty to get excited about. He averaged 95 mph on his fastball while throwing a pair of solid breaking balls and a changeup that once looked below average but now has the makings of at least an above-average offering and could be his best pitch. It averaged 90.5 mph with a ton of movement and registered a 110 tjstuff+ score. He even threw one at 92 mph that fell off the table with -2 inches of induced vertical break and 19 inches of arm-side run for his first career strikeout that has been making its rounds on the internet lately. His command was a little shaky, but that isn’t something he’s typically had trouble with in his career, so I’ll chalk that up to nerves.
Final Thoughts
Smith might be a rare L for the Brewers pitching dev (only because they let him go), but he could be a big W for your fantasy team. He will have his ups and downs and is likely someone I’ll only be looking to start in favorable matchups (at least until he’s proven himself). Still, he’s well worth a roster spot in points leagues and even medium to deep category leagues, though you probably shouldn’t expect him to contribute too many wins or quality starts.
Where to pick up: Leagues with 350+ players rostered
Been a baseball fan and player my whole life, played dynasty for 10 years. Co-host on the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast since mid-season 2023 and joined Prospects Live at the start of 2024.
Watch Path to the Show on Bally Sports Live & Stadium! | Check out the On Deck Podcast! | Dynasty Team Writer/Podcaster | I love the Tennessee Volunteers, milk, pitchers, catchers, & you <3 P4:13
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.
Sophomore undergraduate student at Indiana University studying Sports Marketing & Management. Staff writer for Prospects Live covering MiLB prospects, MLB Draft, and 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!
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.
