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! With the Complex League well underway now, we’re starting to see who might be legit, and we’ve even seen a few promotions from the level for names who were dominating the level. In this week’s article, I highlight five prospects so under the radar that none were ranked in our recent update to the Top Prospects list or by our scouts for any of the top 20 lists. We’ve got a few complex standouts that Alex Jensen has hyped up recently (two bats and one arm), a hitter recently promoted to High-A, and an arm who looks destined for a promotion to Double-A shortly. Now, let’s get into this week’s recommendations.*Note: all stats current through Friday, May 23/25 and all minor league Statcast data is sourced from TJ Stats unless otherwise stated
The Brewers drafted Dinges in the fourth round of the 2024 draft just a year after he had been hospitalized due to a rare immune deficiency disorder called hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), which occurs when the immune system overreacts to infection or illness, causing enlarged/inflamed organs, and high fever. Severe cases can lead to organ failure and death, and while Dinges had to fight for his life in hospital for almost six weeks, he overcame HLH, got back on the field, and hit his way to a 112 wRC+ with 15 HR for Florida State before being drafted by the Brewers. His pro debut in 2024 was fine, but what he’s done so far in 2025 has been very impressive. His swing decisions are solid, even a touch passive, but he’s made good contact as his 21.4% whiff rate was 83rd percentile in Single-A before he was promoted. He’s pulled the ball north of 40% to start the season, though he could benefit from lifting it a touch more, but his 38.8% ground ball rate overall this year isn’t terrible by any means. On top of his four home runs, he’s also hit eight doubles and one triple in the early going, helping push his ISO well above .200. According to the Brewers Player Development Page on X (@BrewersPD), Dinges had a 90th percentile exit velocity of 108 mph in April.
Final Thoughts
Some have questioned Dinges’ ability to stick behind the plate, probably partly because he was purely a DH in his draft year after returning from his illness. Still, he’s impressed defensively so far. He really excels in cutting down the running game, and while our scouts haven’t graded his tools yet, Fangraphs highlighted that fact when they recently gave his arm a double-plus 70 grade. Moving back to the offensive side, his BABIP (.378) implies some regression on the horizon, but everything else indicates that the numbers won’t dip too far. I’m no scout, but in the video I’ve seen, I like his swing - he seems to employ a relatively simple setup, effectively coiling into his back leg to help generate power before exploding through the zone with the barrel while keeping his head on plane. He’s shown power to all fields and should continue to impress as the season progresses. Smada recently mentioned Dinges as an unranked hitter of note in his last PLive+ update article, and I couldn’t agree more that you need to take note, though I wouldn’t expect him to remain unranked the next time we update the list.
Where to pick up: Two catcher leagues with 250+ prospects rostered, or single catcher leagues with 350+ prospects rostered
Nichols' most recent outing, on Wednesday, May 21, was rough as he gave up five earned runs on four hits and four walks in 3.2 innings, but he did strike out six batters. The fact that he still has a sub-3.00 ERA, sub-1.00 WHIP, and a 30.4% K-BB% after that performance is a testament to just how good he’s been, and I believe that performance was more of an outlier than the start of a new trend, especially with regards to his command and control. He had some walk issues early on in 2024, as he walked three or four batters in four of his first six appearances last year. Still, in his following 12 appearances, he walked more than one batter only once, and this is the first time in eight appearances this year that he has walked more than one batter. He also gets ground balls at a near 50% clip, and all his peripherals align with his surface numbers. Looking at his repertoire, it’s easy to see why he’s having so much success, as he might be working with three above-average or better pitches. According to Chris Clegg, his pitch mix includes a fastball that averages 95-97 and tops 99 with a bit of sink, a good two-plane slider that averages 84-87, and a changeup with good depth and fade that averages 86-88.
Final Thoughts
Nichols is the one player in my article who should have been ranked in our last update, but the age-to-level context is likely holding people back. At 22 years old, with his pure stuff, he really should be dominating in High-A. He did spend all of last year in Single-A as a 21-year-old, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he gets the same treatment from the Rays and is asked to stick out the whole season in High-A this year, but I think he needs a challenge and I think he’s deserving of a bump to Double-A sooner rather than later. If he gets that bump, his stock will likely soar, so while I’m recommending him to more medium-depth leagues right now, that could quickly change by midseason.
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.
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!
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!
