The Dynasty Digest: April 17, 2024

Chris Clegg breaks down all the MLB and MiLB action that you need to know.

The digest is all about bringing you what you need to know from yesterday’s action. It is hard to know and write up detailed reports on everything notable, but what I hope to do is give you solid breakdowns on about 20 players from the lowest levels of the minors all the way up to the majors. This can help you stay ahead in dynasty leagues.

Let’s get to the report, the Wednesday, April 17th edition of The Dynasty Digest.

The Dynasty Report

MLB Hitter Standouts

Mookie Betts, OF, LAD

Mookie just doing Mookie things on a fine Tuesday night, collecting five hits in five tries. While it was three singles and two doubles, Betts made a big impact on the Dodgers win, and four of the five hits were north of 98 mph exit velocities.

Betts is now up to a .388/.490/.700 slash line with six home runs and three stolen bases on the year. If you thought his 2023 season could not get much better, well he might just be doing it even bigger in 2024.

Ian Happ, OF, CHC

In a day where no individual player stood out a ton at the plate, Ian Happ collected three hits, including a home run, scored three times, and drove in four. He was the Cubs’ offense and had batted balls of 93, 101.8, 110.2, 114 mph.

While it has been a slow start to the season for Happ, hopefully, getting that first home run is the kickstarter he needs to get going. After Tuesday’s game, Happ is hitting .263 with a .754 OPS.

Fernando Tatis Jr., OF, SD

2024 seems like the year where Tatis puts the elite season together and takes home the NL MVP honors. While it was all singles on Tuesday, Tatis collected three hits with exit velocities of 97, 104.4, and 107 mph. He is seeing the ball exceptionally well and has seen a big jump in contact rate, and the strikeout rate is down nearly eight percentage points from 2023.

Tatis currently has five home runs and two stolen bases while slashing .299/.379/.519. The crazy thing is the expected numbers thing that he has underperformed. A big year is coming, and 40/40 is a real possibility.

Jesse Winker, OF, WSH

It is getting really hard to ignore what Winker is doing these days, as he blasted another home run on Tuesday, his second in the last five days. Winker added a double and a hard line out, having exit velocities of 87.1, 96.4, and 105.8 mph on the day. His slash line currently sits at an impressive .373/.500/.608.

Winker is making plenty of contact, getting on base, hitting the ball hard, and stealing bases. His biggest issue right now is the ground ball rate, which is sitting at 58 percent. The good news is that a huge outlier in his career and could come back down toward his career marks with time.

Buy Winker in a 15 team or deeper formats. There could become a point where he is 12-team viable.

Tyler Freeman, OF, CLE

I will be the first to admit that I have been a bit skeptical of Tyler Freeman being a solid fantasy asset. For real life? Sure, I can see the value there. But what kind of power and speed will Freeman bring to the table for fantasy has been my biggest question.

He blasted a home run on Tuesday that traveled 418 feet with a 106 mph exit velocity and added a double that left the bat at 97 mph. Four of Freeman’s 11 hardest-hit balls of his career have come in 2024, which is a good sign, and he now has two home runs and two stolen bases on the year.

While the overall results so far this year have not been great, Freeman does have a career-best barrel rate, hard-hit rate, average exit velocity, and sweet spot rate in the early going.

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