This week’s dynasty baseball buys consist of a young power hitter off to a stagnant start. And an underrated player, who may become one of the best middle infield prospects in the game. Among the dynasty sells is a rookie off to a torrid pace. The dynasty baseball sells also features one of the most highly regarded fantasy prospects. In case you missed it, you should check out last week’s edition of Dynasty Baseball Buys and Sells.
Dynasty Baseball Buys
Christopher Morel, 3B/OF, Chicago Cubs
Morel has had a quiet first half, slashing .202/.303/.387 in 396 plate appearances. His batting average hasn’t been above .228 since April 15. His slugging percentage has dropped 121 points from last season. Also his exit velocity has dropped 2.5 miles per hour. Morel’s barrel percentage is the lowest of his career.
Although he’s had his bumps in the road, it hasn’t been all bad for Morel. His expected slash line is .248/.354/.468, considerably better than his actual one, which gives hope he will rebound in the second half. Morel’s BABIP is .218, which is incredibly low and suggests he’s been one of the unluckiest hitters in the league.
He has also cut down on his strikeouts. Morel is striking out at a 23.5% clip this season, compared to 31% last year. His BB% has also increased this season. And even though he is slugging under .390, he has the third most home runs among all players age 25 or under, only trailing Gunnar Henderson and Juan Soto. Take advantage of this opportunity and look at him as a dynasty baseball buy.
Brayden Taylor, SS/3B, Tampa Bay Rays
Carson Williams is widely thought of as the best fantasy shortstop in the Rays minor league system, but Brayden Taylor may be close to earning that title. There is a chance Taylor ends up at third base, but he has played the majority of his games this season at shortstop. The Rays drafted Taylor 19th overall out of Texas Christian University in the 2023 draft. He was not ranked as a top-100 prospect by either Baseball Prospectus or MLB.com this preseason.
Taylor has been quite impressive in High-A ball, slashing .279/.396/.531 with 13 home runs, 43 RBI, 62 runs scored and 24 stolen bases in 351 plate appearances. He has exceptional on-base skills to go along with an intriguing combination of power and speed. If you’re a rebuilding team, it would be wise to consider Taylor a dynasty baseball buy or a priority pick-up. He should be rising up prospect rankings very soon and with a promotion to Double-A coming in the near future, he will start getting snatched up in dynasty leagues.
Dynasty Baseball Sells
Ethan Salas, C, San Diego Padres
It may seem crazy to be selling an 18-year-old, who was ranked as a top-10 prospect by Baseball America and MLB.com, but that’s my take at this point. He is ranked ahead of Coby Mayo, Samuel Basallo, and Jasson Dominguez, just to name a few players. This does not mean I don’t think Salas will be a solid player from a fantasy standpoint and have a decent career, but I do believe he could be a prospect who fails to live up to his lofty expectations.
He put up respectable numbers as a 17-year-old last season, slashing .248/.331/.421 across three different levels in the minors. Although at High-A this season it has been a much different story as he has slashed .197/.300/.280. Salas has hit just one home run with 26 RBI and 22 runs scored in 297 plate appearances. He is facing much older competition, but the Padres may want to consider demoting him to Single-A to get back on track. If you are out of playoff contention, it may be best to just to sit tight with Salas. However, if you are in the running for a championship, it may be wise to treat him as a dynasty baseball sell.
Rece Hinds, 3B/OF, Cincinnati Reds
Hinds is having one of the most historic starts to a career in recent memory. He is slashing .423/.464/1.192, which equates to a 1.657 OPS. He has slugged five home runs, driven in 11 runs, and has even chipped in two stolen bases in his first 26 at-bats. Hinds has already hit three home runs of 449 feet or longer this season. The only two players with more home runs of that distance or longer are Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge. However, those two have played in over 90 games, while Hinds has only played in seven games.
This has been quite an unexpected start for Hinds, which is why he is a strong dynasty baseball sell. He was slashing just .216/.290/.409 in Triple-A this season before his call-up. Hinds’ track record in the minors hasn’t been much better as he has slashed .244/.313/.476 for his career. This hot streak likely won’t last much longer and you should try to capitalize on his value while you still can in dynasty leagues. Obviously, many dynasty baseball managers will be skeptical of his scorching hot start, so you will need to temper your expectations in return for him. Nevertheless, if you can get some sort of decent value for Hinds, I would jump all over it.
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