A slugger who hit more than 30 homers last season, but is still homerless this year, is featured as a dynasty buy. Also, a catcher you should buy before he’s widely recognized as one of the best at the position. The dynasty sells consist of a pitcher off to a red hot start and a former top fantasy player who finished top-5 in the MVP race within the last five years. In case you missed it, you should also check out last week’s edition of Dynasty Baseball Buys and Sells.
Dynasty Baseball Buys
Spencer Torkelson, 1B, Detroit Tigers
Many fantasy owners of Torkelson are at their wits end with the first basemen. He is currently slashing .219/.291/.298 with zero homers, 12 runs scored and 11 RBI in 128 plate appearances. Torkelson mashed 31 homers and drove in 94 runs in his sophomore season last year. Considering his struggles this season, it’s a perfect time to buy low on the 24 year old slugger in your dynasty league.
Last year, Torkelson experienced a similar power struggle out of the gate. At the end of April, he was sitting at only two homers. He only hit two more homers in the month of May for a total of four after the first two months of the season. On June 1oth of last year, he only had five long balls. So it’s not quite time to hit the panic button after his slow start this year.
In 2023, Torkelson hit 19 homers from July 18th to the end of the season (less than 2.5 months). When the calendar flipped to July, he was on a 40 homer pace. I would expect as the weather warms up, so will his bat. His strikeouts are down from last year too. His strikeout rate has come down from 25% last season to 21.9% this year. He is a strong dynasty buy right now before he goes on a home run binge.
Ryan Jeffers, C, Minnesota Twins
Jeffers is making a strong case to be considered one of the best dynasty catchers in fantasy. Last season was the first time the 26 year old managed to eclipse 90 games played in his career. He took advantage of the playing time by having the second highest OPS (.859) among catchers with at least 300 plate appearances. Jeffers really took off after the All-Star break last season, slashing .294/.379/.549 in 153 at-bats.
He has gotten off to a stellar start this year as well. He is slashing .300/.393/.556 through 27 games. Since the start of last season, he has a .282 AVG with 19 HR, 62 RBI and 62 runs scored in 376 at-bats. He is currently on pace to register over 500 at-bats this season. He has dramatically cut down his strikeouts this year by over 10% from last season. Jeffers has the potential to become a top-5 dynasty catcher, but his price tag is much cheaper. I would highly recommend him as a dynasty buy.
Dynasty Baseball Sells
Xander Bogaerts, 2B, San Diego Padres
Bogaerts used to be one of the top fantasy players in the game, but that is certainly not the case these days. He is only 31 years old, but his fantasy game has seem to hit a wall in the past couple years. Bogaerts has multiple seasons of 100 RBI and 100 runs scored in his career, but he’s simply not that player anymore. He is still a solid fantasy player, but I think it may be time to sell him in dynasty leagues before his value takes another massive hit in the next year or two.
There have been some troubling signs with Bogaerts for quite some time. Since 2019, his slugging percentage and OPS has dropped every season. Last year, his batting average was the lowest it has been since the 2017 season. His exit velocity and hard hit percentage are the worst of his career this year. Bogaerts could likely be headed for his worst fantasy season in a very long time. It would be wise to sell him as quickly as you can in your dynasty league.
Ronel Blanco, SP, Houston Astros
Blanco pitched a no-hitter in his first start of the 2024 season. He allowed only one hit over his first two starts (15 innings). He hasn’t allowed any more than two runs in any of his five starts this season. Blanco has been one of the best fantasy pitchers this year, compiling a 1.65 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 30 strikeouts in 32.2 innings. However, there might be trouble on the horizon.
Blanco was primarily used as a relief pitcher his entire career. Before this season, he had only made 22 starts in the minors and major league since the 2018 season. He didn’t find any success in his first two seasons in the majors. Prior to this year, Blanco had thrown 58.1 innings for the Astros and had a 4.78 ERA and 1.53 WHIP. This year his four-seam fastball velocity is down 0.8 MPH from last season. His FIP (3.50) is nearly double that of his ERA and his xFIP is 4.25. I expect a lot of regression for Blanco and for that reason he is a dynasty sell.
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