Dynasty player of 10+ years. Helping you find the building blocks of your championship rosters as a co-host on the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast since mid-season 2023, joined Prospects Live at the start of 2024.
Hello and welcome to the Dynasty Baseball Pickups written series! We’re into the final month of many fantasy leagues’ regular seasons, which means it’s time to lock in for the stretch run, but that doesn’t mean you can forget about your future. With fantasy trade deadlines fast approaching, I’m here to help you reload your farm system after you make some moves to boost your big league squad. Now that we are further removed from the MLB trade deadline, I’ve taken a closer look at some of the moves and found a couple of prospects who were traded, one pitcher and one hitter, that I think are intriguing dynasty pickups. I’ve also got another arm that was traded in the off-season, a bat that Drew Wheeler has been the high man on since the FYPD season, and another arm with a triple-digit heater but a less-than-favorable development situation muddying the waters. Now, let’s get into the names you need to know this week.
*Note: all stats current through Friday, August 8/25 and all minor league Statcast figures are sourced from TJ Stats unless otherwise stated.
Yes, the Yankees have another intriguing OF prospect named Jones. Brendan is quite a bit smaller than Spencer and carries a very different profile, but one that still looks like it could provide fantasy value, just as Drew Wheeler predicted as he described the 107th overall player in our 2024/25 FYPD rankings:
“While the stolen bases may carry the profile, Jones is more than just a rabbit – he hit nine HR and slashed .303/.442/.500 in college before showcasing a strong ability to drive in runners (41 percent XBH, three HR) and walked at a stellar 27 percent clip as a pro. Admittedly, Jones’ speed scores are only ‘good’ (6.1) rather than stellar, and his sample size is not enormous. Still, Jones is being RADICALLY underrated in FYPDs and could return gargantuan value in round 5 or beyond.”
Jones has continued to do everything that Drew mentioned across two levels this year, as 35% of his hits on the year have gone for extra bases, including 11 HR in 93 games, he’s continued to walk a still stellar but more realistic 14.1% of the time, and he’s stolen 33 bases on 40 attempts. It’s also worth noting that the speed score Drew referenced has improved to 8.3 on the year (anything above 7.0 is considered “excellent”). His contact rates have predictably dipped a bit since being promoted to Double-A, but they are still strong with an 81.6% zone contact rate as well as a 24.4% whiff rate (68th percentile in Double-A) and 11.4% swinging-strike rate (65th percentile). He’s also gotten more aggressive - in a good way - as his swing rate has risen from just 39.3% (12th percentile in High-A) to a more palatable 46.6% (45th percentile in Double-A) and is still chasing just 26% of pitches out of the zone.
Why To Think Twice
As the 361st overall draft pick in 2024, Jones doesn’t come with much pedigree, and because of that, he might have a tougher time cracking a big league roster when he would first appear to deserve it. Additionally, despite the solid power production to this point in his career, Jones doesn’t typically garner better than fringe-average grades for his power. That would be fine if his lefty bat stuck around with the Yankees to take advantage of the short porch in right field, but given the Yankees' proclivity for trading prospects, there is a non-zero chance Jones makes his big league debut for another organization.
Final Thoughts
At just 1% rostered, I’m sure Drew would tell us that Jones is still being criminally underrated, and after diving in, I would completely agree. I called Jones my MiLB buy from the Yankees in our offseason preview of the AL East, but I’ve been slow to hop aboard the hype train. I am still a few cars back of where Drew is sitting because he ranked Jones 208 overall in our July update to the top 600, but I now view him as a top 300-350 prospect who you can get for free in the majority of dynasty leagues out there right now, and you absolutely should before his stock starts to rise.
Where to pick up: Leagues with 300+ prospects rostered
FAAB bid: Minimal (0-5%)
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Dynasty player of 10+ years. Helping you find the building blocks of your championship rosters as a co-host on the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast since mid-season 2023, joined Prospects Live at the start of 2024.
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.
Dynasty player of 10+ years. Helping you find the building blocks of your championship rosters as a co-host on the Dynasty Baseball Pickups podcast since mid-season 2023, joined Prospects Live at the start of 2024.
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!
