Spring Training Dynasty Notes: March 10
Chris Clegg breaks down all the action from Friday, March 10th from a dynasty perspective.
Thank you for all the great feedback on the dynasty Spring Training reports. I have enjoyed providing content that hopefully you provide helpful each day. If you missed any of the reports, go back and check them out. What was discussed a week ago, is likely still applicable today! Check out yesterday’s post below for info on Michael Conforto, Christian Yelich, Josh Lowe, and more!
Jeffrey Springs, LHP, TB
Jeffrey Springs looked like an ace against the Braves on Friday. He pitched 3.1 perfect innings, striking out six batters. He generated 11 whiffs on 22 swings, equating to a 50 percent whiff rate! Evewn more impressive he added 10 called strikes which led to a 53 percent CSW. Everything about Springs start was impressive.
Last year, Springs seemingly came out of nowhere to post a 2.46 ERA across 135.1 innings pitched. Some seem to doubt that Springs could repeat anything close to his 2022, especially looking at his 2023 ADP. But, Springs is showing he is capable of being a solid starting pitcher. Im buying in both redraft and dynasty at the current cost.
Jay Groome, LHP, SD
Jay Groome is making a strong case to make the Padres roster out of Spring Training. Groome threw four scoreless innings on Friday, allowing three hits and striking out three. The downfall was that he walked three batters. Groome did show the ability to get out of jams when he needed to and pitched well with runners on base.
Groome looks like the arm the Red Sox hoped he could be when they drafted him in the first round of 2016. He is now up to 10.2 scoreless innings this spring. His changeup is working well, and he is mixing his cutter and fastball well. The added cutter should aid his reverse platoon splits against lefties.
Whether Groome is a starter out of the gate or not, there could be some fantasy intrigue there.
Lucas Giolito, RHP, CHW
It has been a roller coaster of a career for Lucas Giolito. He went from being one of the top pitching prospects in the game, to worst pitcher in the Majors, three seasons of dominance, to a highly disappointing 2022. Giolito finished the year last year with a 4.90 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP.
On Friday, he struck out six Cubs across three innings, allowing zero earned runs. He did walk two, but limited the damage by not allowing an earned run.
One of the bigger things beyond his performance is watching his fastball velocity. Giolito saw his four-seam average velo drop from 93.8 mph in 2021 to 92.6 in 2022. The batting average against his fastball jumped 30 points and he allowed ten home runs on it. While his velocity was not all the way back on Friday, his fastball worked 91-94 mph. We just need to consistently see it in the 93-94 range by the time the season rolls around. Giolito could be a decent buy low target in dynasty.
Joe Ryan, RHP, MIN
Joe Ryan had an impressive rookie season, posting a 3.55 ERA and 151 strikeouts in 147 innings. He was not satisfied though. There were some rough stretches in the second half which left Ryan to want to make a change. He headed to Driveline during the offseason.
While there Ryan added a split-changeup and a sweeper. The early returns have been positive. On Friday, Ryan threw three scoreless innings, striking out four. With a new and improved arsenal, there is a strong chance that Ryan could be in for a breakout sophomore year, not a sophomore slump.
Elehuris Montero, 3B, COL
Elehuris Montero hit a ball a mile today as he continues to push for the third base job in Colorado and prove that the team does not need Mike Moustakas. Montero went 1-for-2 with a walk on Wednesday but hit a monster home run that came off the bat at 113.1 mph. He almost added another home run that fell just shy off the wall.
It makes it back to back days with a home run for Montero who is starting to swing a hot bat. There has never been any questioning the power, it is more what kind of batting average Montero would hit for. The good news is that he crushes pitches in the zone and posted an 84 percent zone contact rate last year. He will have to chase less pitches out of the zone. But, Coors should help him run higher BABIP’s considering how hard he hits the ball plus the park. Im taking a lot of chances on Montero in deeper dynasty leagues.
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