This year, The Dynasty Guru will provide a weekly report every Saturday. The weekly report will link to TDG articles for the past week, touch upon notable player developments, and preview upcoming TDG articles for the next week.

This Week at TDG

Baseball

TDG Weekly Report, April 28-May 4, 2018 – last week’s report

The Dynasty Guru’s Triple Play- Pittsburgh Pirates! – analyzing Josh Bell, Nick Kingham, and Austin Meadows

Top 200 Fantasy Prospects, May 2018 – updating the top 200 based on developments over the last two months

Statcast Primer: What Do I Need to Know? – explaining the value of statcast data, why you should consume this information, and what it can begin to help you learn

Struggling 30-Somethings: Five Quick Evaluations – evaluating whether to hold or move on from several slow-starting veterans

The Worst Trade I Ever Made: Trout for Dahl, Moncada, Rodgers and Pomeranz – lesson: do not trade Mike Trout, ever

Nick Castellanos Is One Tweak Away From Being Elite – Jim continues to sing the praise of Nick Castellanos, who need to pull more balls in the air

Statcast Data Primer For Diagnosing Player Performance – analyzing Francisco Cervelli as an example of using statcast data

Football

Post NFL Draft Rookie Positional Rankings – updating positional rankings following the NFL Draft, a must-read for dynasty/keeper leagues with rookie drafts

Notable Player Developments

Major Leagues

• In a trade of disappointing former stars, the Mets sent Matt Harvey to the Reds for Devin Mesoraco. Neither carry much value in most formats; however, Mesoraco should garner attention in two-catcher formats.
• Major League Baseball placed young, star closer Roberto Osuna on administrative leave following his arrest Tuesday morning in Toronto for assaulting a woman. This is very serious, and likely will involve a suspension and lengthy absence. Often, such investigations take months.
• Rougned Odor and Yasiel Puig are on rehab assignments and should return later this week. In addition, Greg Bird is beginning what should be a more lengthy rehab assignment.
• The Giants transferred Johnny Cueto to the 60-day disabled list with a right elbow sprain. The diagnosis is ominous and may require surgery. For now, Cueto is out until mid-July.
• The Nationals placed Adam Eaton on the 60-day disabled list after he underwent ankle surgery on Thursday. He is expected to miss a significant portion of the 2018 season.
• The notable DL returnees: Anthony Rendon, D.J. LeMahieu, Adrian Beltre, Jonathan Schoop, Rich Hill, Corey Knebel, Byron Buxton, and Keynan Middleton.
• The notable injuries: Yoan Moncada (left hamstring tightness); Clayton Kershaw (left bicep tendonitis); Jacob deGrom (hyperextended right elbow); Yadier Molina (pelvic injury); Yu Darvish (flu); Todd Frazier (left hamstring strain); David Price (carpal tunnel syndrome); Carlos Martinez (right lat strain).

Minor Leagues

• Check out the updated Top 200 Fantasy Prospects listed above!
• Nate Pearson has a non-displaced fracture of the ulna bone in his pitching arm and will be re-evaluated in four to six weeks.
• Mauricio Dubon suffered a torn ACL on Saturday and is out for the season.
• Jake Burger re-tore his Achilles tendon, setting his recovery back approximately 10 weeks.
• Jay Groome will undergo Tommy John surgery and is out for the season.
• The notable call ups: Carson Kelly, Luiz Gohara, Dustin Fowler, and Anthony Banda. In shallow formats, owners can ignore Kelly, Gohara (relief), and Banda. Meanwhile, owners in all formats should consider Fowler, who can provide some pop, speed, and hit for average.
• The Nationals promoted Juan Soto for a second time a month; this time to Double-A. Soto continues to trend toward the top 10 overall.

Next Week at TDG

Baseball

• TDG’s Triple Play
• Holds The Door: Adam Cimber & Tayron Guerrero

Please feel free to post comments, questions, or your own observations!

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