The Dynasty Digest: April 2, 2024

Chris Clegg breaks down everything you need to know from Monday's MLB action.

No minor league action on Monday’s so today's coverage is strictly MLB players. The good news is there were a lot of fun things happening across the MLB, including a no-hitter!

The stars were hitting bombs; the top exit velocity board was full of all the players you might suspect, Jason Foley and Andres Munoz lit up triple digits on pitch velocity, and the Red Sox pitching continues to look elite.

Today’s edition will be a bit shorter due to dealing with a sick child, but I did want to get something out and talk about top performers.

Top Performances from April 1

Ronel Blanco, RHP, HOU

Who is Ronel Blanco and should we be interested in him that he just threw a no-hitter? Well, anytime a pitcher throws a no-hitter, there will immediately be a ton of interest in that arm.

In 2023, Blanco pitched 52 innings with Houston, making seven starts. He compiled a 4.50 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP with 52 strikeouts and 28 walks. To start 2024, zeros across the board for Blanco with seven strikeouts and two walks.

Has anything changed with Blanco to make him worth picking up? Well at first glance the pitch mix has changed completely. We are talking about one start, so how sticky it is, we don’t know.

Blanco threw his changeup 34 percent of the time after using it just nine percent last season. The changeup was one of his better offerings last year, as it had a 37 percent whiff rate and a good movement profile. Blanco used the changeup 25 times against right-handed batters after using it a total of 13 times against righties last year.

The four-seam, arguably the worst pitch in his arsenal, saw its usage drop from 40 percent to 29.5 percent, which is a positive change. The expectations are sky-high now for Blanco, but he should be added in nearly all formats to see if the arsenal changes stick.

Mike Trout, OF, LAA

A healthy Mike Trout is good for baseball, and for the time being, Trout is healthy. He unloaded on a ball last night that traveled 473 feet with an exit velocity of 113 mph. The two home run performance pushed his total to three on the season, which were all solo home runs. Trout has put the team on his back to this point and we just all hope he can stay healthy for the majority of 2024.

Fernando Tatis Jr., OF, SD

Tatis looks like a man on a mission to win the NL MVP award this season, and if there is any player who can have a season that resembles close to what Acuña Jr. did in 2023, it is Tatis.

He blasted a 113 mph home run that traveled 443 on Monday, his third of the season. Tatis has been scorching the baseball, having a 16.7 percent barrel rate and has already posted a new high max exit velocity, which was 3.3 mph harder than any ball he hit in 2023.

Obviously, it is going to be very hard to acquire Tatis in a dynasty league, but if you roster him, you should be very happy with his 2024 season if it continues like it has started.

Tanner Houck, RHP, BOS

Houck had a gem of a start on Monday, turning in six scoreless innings with ten strikeouts and zero walks. I could care less that it was against Oakland, and yes, I have been informed about X too many times. Facing the Athletics does not cause you to change your pitch mix and throw more strikes.

The Red Sox philosophy under new pitching coach Andrew Bailey is much more individualized and has an emphasis on less fastballs and more of using your best pitch.

Houck threw strikes at an impressive 76 percent rate, led with his slider, and threw more splitters. It was a recipe for success, as he had a 36 percent whiff rate and a 42 percent CSW.

Shota Imanaga, LHP, CHC

Imanaga pitched extremely well in his MLB regular season debut as he threw six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and zero walks. It was the Rockies, but again, facing poor offenses does not make you have a strong arsenal.

Using the fastball nearly 60 percent of the time, it sat 92.5 mph with high IVB, and Imanaga located it well at the top of the zone. The splitter generated an impressive 12 whiffs on 15 swings, good for an 80 percent whiff rate.

The sweeper also generated whiffs and helped Imanaga finish the day with a 36 percent whiff rate and a 33 percent CSW. Quite an impressive showing for your MLB debut.

Sean Manaea, LHP, NYM

The Mets may have taken the loss, but Manaea did everything in his power to keep them in the game as he tossed six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. Featuring a new cutter and an improved sweeper, Manaea actually was extremely fastball-heavy, throwing it 63 percent of the time.

Manaea generated the majority of his whiffs with the fastball, but his sweeper missed bats on three of the four swings it generated. A top-notch performance in what could be a big bounce-back season for Manaea.

Kyle Tucker, OF, HOU

It was a two home run night for Kyle Tucker, who drove in four runs and pushed his slash line to .350/.435/.700 through his first five games. The home runs left the bat with modest exit velocities of 98.8 and 101.3 mph, but they were still home runs.

Last season, Tucker came one home run shy of reaching the 30/30 club and many have suggested that Tucker could stop running, but I don’t see that happening this year. Tucker feels like he could be a safe 25/25 bet.