We highlight and scout the top minor-league, college and high-school prospects ahead of draft season and project outward.
Let Garrett Crochet (LHP, White Sox) serve as an example of how paying attention to the MLB Draft and its prospective college/high school prospects can pay off short-term as well as long-term in a dynasty league. Crochet went from being drafted 11th in June of 2020 to blowing hitters away at the big-league level by September! Now, this is super rare - a by-product of an odd year - and is much more commonplace in the NFL or NBA. What helped catapult Crochet was 62.5% of his fastballs hitting triple-digits (100+ mph). Serious cheddar! To give you insight into how serious I’m talking, only three other pitchers have such a rate since pitch tracking was instituted - Aroldis Chapman, Jordan Hicks and Mauricio Cabrera.
Now, not all prospects pan out so quickly as Crochet. Some may even take years to come to fruition. But you’re in a dynasty league, so where you goin’? One of my main objectives is snipping off young talent before they become a thing. Whether this looks like grabbing these young gentlemen in a rookie draft or adding them via the waiver wire at the tail end of a lost season, the result is gaining young talent for pennies on the dollar. Taking a leap of faith now can pay off handsomely later when your team is LOADED with 22 to 28-year-olds who rake/dish. Allow me to give you an example of long-term planning for dynasty leagues from my personal vault...
