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 Dynasty Baseball Pickups written series! Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there; I wanted to take a moment to talk about my dad because I wouldn’t be where I am without him, either in the baseball world or in general. He was an amazing baseball player, but more than that, he is an amazing man. He instilled a love for the game in my siblings and me very early on - he was still playing himself when I was born, and he never failed to take the opportunity to coach at least one of us every year. Coaching was a second full-time job for him, as he also coached at least one of us in hockey every winter. Year after year, he taught us and our teammates valuable lessons both about sport and life, and I couldn’t ask for a better coach and father. There’s no natural transition from talking about my dad to discussing the players I will discuss today, so I’ll jump right into it. This week, I cover a pair of arms making waves in the lower levels of the minors, another early DSL standout, a bit of a forgotten name from the 2023 draft class, and a Pirates bat putting up impressive numbers (no, not that one). Now, let’s get into it!
*Note: all stats current through Friday, June 13/25 and all minor league Statcast data is sourced from TJ Stats unless otherwise stated
As the Pirates second-round pick in 2024, Wyatt Sanford has been living in the shadow of first-round pick Konnor Griffin. Rightfully so, but the Pirates could end up with an interesting shortstop battle in the next couple of years thanks to Sanford’s plus defensive ability and increasingly potent bat. In our off-season Top 20 ranking of Pirates prospects, Sanford landed at number nine, with Max Ellingsen having this to say:
“The bat speed is promising, and a slight alteration to his setup may help him get to more thump in the game. With a frame that has plenty of physicality left to add, I’m bullish on Sanford’s power potential and expect him to grow into more pop as he continues to put on muscle. Sanford’s strongest skill set is on the dirt, as the consensus sees him as a pure shortstop who should have little trouble excelling at the position. He’s a lock to stay up the middle defensively as a professional…he could see his stock skyrocket after an offseason of professional strength training and instruction. It’s far from a certainty, but there’s enough in his profile to get excited about.”
I also happened to be the one who wrote up his fantasy spin for the article, and I still feel pretty good about what I added:
“Sanford’s defense and speed will keep him on the field, but whether or not you keep him on your fantasy roster will depend on the development of his power. There is still some value in a plus runner with the potential for strong ratios, even if it comes with only 10 or so home runs.”
So far this year, Sanford is doing precisely what Max and I said he needed to do to see his stock take off, especially since getting to Single-A, where he already has three home runs in nine games while stealing five bases on six attempts. Overall, he’s swiped 18 bases and has only been caught twice. He’s also making a solid amount of contact, 84.7% in-zone and 72.4% overall in Single-A, while pulling the ball just over half the time on the year.
Why to Think Twice
While the surface-level numbers look great from a power standpoint, the under-the-hood metrics tell a different story. As the graphic below shows, he’s been finding plenty of barrels but isn’t hitting the ball all that hard overall.
In addition to the lack of high-end exit velocities, Sanford’s hyper-aggressive approach leads to too much chase, and he hits the ball on the ground too much, with a near 50% ground-ball rate.
Final Thoughts
Sanford’s 90th and max exit velocities in Single-A, being barely more than one full mile per hour apart, emphasize that this is a tiny sample, and we shouldn’t draw too many conclusions. Seeing the power output on the surface is encouraging, but he will need to start producing better exit velocities to get us excited. Ideally, his approach will improve, too. The good news is that the contact and speed are still there. He performed well enough in the Complex to earn a quick promotion to full-season ball, and he still has plenty of time and room to grow. I finished Sanford’s fantasy spin by saying he wasn’t a bad pick if your FYPD goes beyond 60 players but was someone to keep an eye on after the draft. I may have been too low on him, but he has risen significantly up my ranks. I now consider him a strong add candidate in any league with 250+ prospects rostered.
Where to pick up: Leagues with 250+ prospects rostered
In a 2023 draft class that brought Max Clark (first round) and Kevin McGonigle (competitive balance round A) to the Tigers organization, second-round selection Max Anderson has been a forgotten man, but that stops here. Aside from a five-game sample in his first taste of Double-A last year, Anderson hadn’t posted a wRC+ below 110 at any level, and he has more than righted the ship in Double-A so far this year with a spectacular 178 wRC+. The main difference this year is the power he’s bringing to the plate - his 11 HR in 52 games already match his career-high set in 126 games last year, and his .239 ISO is more than 80 points higher than any mark he’s posted. Pair the newfound power with a 74th-percentile whiff rate of 23.4% and a well-above-average 83.8% zone-contact rate, and it's not hard to see why he’s having a career year.
Why to Think Twice
Anderson has a very aggressive approach, swinging at 55.6% of pitches he sees, which is good for the 93rd percentile in Double-A. It’s worked well to this point, thanks to his strong Z-contact, but it could become a problem with his worse-than-average chase rate of 32% coupled with just a 56.8% O-contact. Neither mark is terrible, but both are below average for the level. His lack of track record hitting for this kind of power makes it difficult to trust, and although it has improved, his 42.9% ground-ball% is still higher than you would like to see.
Final Thoughts
Anderson was on the June 4th Daily Sheet earlier this month with Brandon Hacker saying, “I’m still not 100% sure what the upside is, but I’m taking Max a lot more seriously,” and I think that is the perfect way to sum up the season Anderson is having. His hit and power look above average this year, but his approach, speed (just four career stolen bases, one so far this year), and defense may not currently be better than fringe-average. He’ll need to continue hitting and hitting for power to crack an increasingly strong Tigers lineup in a not-so-hitter-friendly home ballpark. Still, if he continues the pace he’s on now, he could soon get a bump to Triple-A and might be in line for a cup of big league coffee at the end of the year; the more likely outcome is a 2026 debut. His aggressive approach makes him a much more valuable asset in average leagues than OBP, but he won't hurt you in OBP if he can keep hitting for enough average. He deserves a much higher roster rate than just 3% and is worth a look in any league with at least 350 prospects.
Where to pick up: Leagues with 300+ prospects rostered
FAAB bid: Minimal (0-5%)
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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.
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.
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
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
