In dynasty leagues, information asymmetry leads to opportunity. Having the right information before the competition is how you gain an advantage. In this series, we highlight interesting high rising prospects, from the well-known to the lesser-known, based on our peak projections.  Our approach is based entirely on statistical and trend analysis and we have developed an assortment of tools that can help you make dynasty baseball decisions. To view the Leaderboards, many updated on a daily or weekly basis, please visit our website scoutthestatline.com! 

Once again, we have two new sections to the website I’d like to share:

• Predictive wOBA Leaderboard: See what batted ball data suggests player’s wOBA would be in neutral, luck free environments.
• Prospect Plate Dominance: In-depth metrics on prospect plate discipline, both from a hitting and a pitching perspective.

We have also changed the model update frequency of our Top Projected Hitters to a weekly basis (on Fridays, barring life obstacles). As always, we will continue to strive to make our site the best baseball resource center possible, specifically designed with dynasty baseball in mind. 

Now onto the highlights!

Player Highlights

How a player will receive a check for each category:

• Age/Level – Young relative to his competition for the level he is playing at.
• Approach – Low strikeout rate, high walk rate, and/or strong BB:K ratio.
• Popping Data – Something in the data is unusually appealing.
• Stock ▲ – This metric will evolve as I track past highlights. Is the player’s performance on the rise?
• Track Record – Demonstrated history of success.

Niko Kavadas (1B, BOS-A+)

Kavadas is one of Scout the Statline’s most controversial players at the moment. Reports are that scouts are not particularly fond of his swing and there are concerns with how it will translate to the professional level. Nonetheless, Kavadas just continues mashing.

After a senior season with Notre Dame that culminated in a .757 SLG and 1.240 OPS, Kavadas was selected by the Red Sox in the 11th round of last year’s draft. That’s beginning to look like a steal, as Kavadas has really ramped things up this year after a solid debut last season. In Single-A, Kavadas slashed .287/.453/.609. The eye-popping numbers (with a particularly notable 21.3% BB rate) earned Kavadas a promotion to High-A and the numbers have only improved. In 86 plate appearances since his promotion, Kavadas has slashed .323/.500/.790. His OPS on the season overall is 1.092 and he has clubbed 23 homers.

There is zero speed in Kavadas’ profile, he is limited to 1B defensively, and he is 23 years old doing his damage against much younger competition. However, the power certainly appears legit and the high OBP potential could be a difference-maker in league’s that value those categories. 

We’ve had some hesitancy promoting Kavadas too much due to the aforementioned scouting reports and concerns with him being an outlier in our models (Kavadas ranks #10 on our 2022 Leaderboard and #8 on our Top Projected Prospects list). However, he is beginning to receive some exposure, with James Anderson tweeting that he will debut within the top 100 of his next update. Keep an eye on this one!

✅ Approach

✅ Popping Data 

✅ Stock ▲

 

Christian Encarnacion-Strand (3B, MIN-AA)

I am well behind the eight ball on hyping Encarnacion-Strand and I’m not sure I can say anything better than what Drew Wheeler with SPStreamer had to say about him way back in April. However, I have taken note recently as Encarnacion-Strand has continued rising up our Top Projected Prospects list, and is now ranked #12 overall. Up to this point, the 22 year old third baseman has just been a bopper everywhere he has played. Feast on these aggregated slash lines over the last couple years:

-2021 NCAA: .361/.442/.661

-2021 Single-A: .391/.424/.598

-2022 A+/AA: .308/.379/.619

What more is there to say?

✅ Popping Data 

✅ Stock ▲

✅ Track Record

 

Ji-Hwan Bae (2B, PIT-AAA)

This certainly isn’t the most sexy highlight (from a numbers standpoint), but the recently turned 23 year old second baseman gets the spotlight on the strength of superior consistency. Bae hasn’t had a season where he has hit .300 since 2019 (though he is close this season in Triple-A at .297), he doesn’t hit gobs of homers, and while decent, his speed won’t turn your head like Esteury Ruiz’s. However, Bae’s career has been as steady as they come, with an overall .297/.374/.424 career slash across 1,242 minor league plate appearances. That bodes well for his future, and boosts him in our Top Projected Prospects list, where he has hung around in the mid-20’s of for most of the season (currently #28). You’re probably not looking at a perennial All-Star in the making here, but this is a player that can step in and help out your team with consistency, stolen bases, and numbers that don’t hurt!

✅ Track Record

 

Alec Burleson (OF, STL-AAA)

I have been obsessively looking back at all the articles I have written highlighting players, because I could swear I wrote about Burleson last season. Alas, nothing turns up. Now it’s time to right that wrong. At 23, Burleson, who I apparently just thought about writing up last season, has been making a mockery out of the highest level of the minor leagues, slashing .338/.380/.552 while showing no signs of letting up. His 2022 numbers aren’t entirely supported by his overall slash line from last season (.270/.329/.454), but I’m giving him the track record tag due to being highlight worthy earlier in the season before some aggressive promotions finally brought him back down to earth, and on the strength of his final two seasons in the NCAA at East Carolina (.972 OPS and .987 OPS, respectively). While he doesn’t have the looks of an extremely high OBP type of player, the bat looks like it could be a staple for most fantasy squads.

✅ Popping Data 

✅ Track Record  

 

Vaughn Grissom (SS, ATL-AA)

Yet another player I could have sworn I wrote up last year but can find no evidence of (my dog must have eaten that article). Grissom shares some in common with Bae in that his numbers are not particularly eye-popping, though he comes with a higher overall ceiling and a stronger overall profile. At 21 years old in Double-A, Grissom is flashing his solid power/speed capabilities with 12 HR and 24 SB so far on the season. Grissom’s plate approach deserves recognition, as he walked nearly as often as striking out last season and has mostly held up those ratios this season while growing his power output. Thanks to his consistency and steady improvement, Grissom is moving straight up prospect lists and is someone for you to pay attention to! He ranks #26 overall on our Top Projected Prospects list.

✅ Approach

✅ Stock ▲

✅ Track Record  

 

Yiddi Cappe (SS, MIA-A)

MLB’s Pipeline’s #10 ranked international signing from 2019, the 19 year old Cappe is starting to look like a success story. After slashing .270/.329/.402 during his debut in the DSL, Cappe has stepped things up in 2022, slashing .310/.369/.526 with 6 home runs at the Rookie level to earn a promotion to Single-A. A hot start there has boosted his overall season line to .331/.385/.528. Cappe brings a solid bat with decent power and speed to the table, and along with Adael Amador, Jasson Dominguez (who is starting to look pretty good…), and Jose Salas, is looking like one of the best signings of the class.

✅ Age/Level

✅ Popping Data 

✅ Track Record 

 

Name	Age/Level	Approach	Popping Data	Stock	Track Record
highlighted 5/5/2022
James Wood	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Adael Amador	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Ezequiel Tovar	✅		✅	✅	✅
Emmanuel Rodriguez	✅	✅	✅	✅
Anthony Garcia	✅		✅		✅
Kyle Manzardo		✅			✅
Carson Williams	✅		✅
Masyn Winn	✅		✅	✅
Jackson Merrill	✅	✅
Charlie Welch		✅			✅
highlighted 6/2/2022
Gunnar Henderson	✅	✅	✅	✅
Jay Allen	✅	✅			✅
Dru Baker			✅
Edwin Arroyo	✅			✅
Jake McCarthy			✅
Hao Yu Lee	✅				✅
Logan O'Hoppe		✅		✅
Hendry Mendez	✅	✅			✅
Jackson Chourio	✅			✅
Alejandro Osuna	✅			✅
highlighted 6/22/2022
Jordan Lawler	✅	✅		✅
Enmanuel Valdez	✅		✅
Esteury Ruiz			✅	✅
Elly De La Cruz	✅			✅	✅
Vaun Brown			✅
Werner Blakely	✅	✅
Junior Tilien	✅
John Rhodes		✅

 

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The Dynasty Guru: @DynastyGuru

Ross Jensen: @rossjensen12

Jordan Rosenblum: @rosenjordanblum

Scouting the Statline: statlinescouting.com