The Dynasty Digest: August 15, 2024

Chris breaks down all the action from the DSL to MLB.

MLB Performers

Jonathan India, 2B, CIN

India has had a streaky season but broke out of a five-game hitless slump in a big way on Wednesday with two home runs, three hits, and four RBI. He had four hard-hit balls in the game, including three north of 100 mph.

This pushed his home run total to 11 on the year to pair with ten stolen bases. India has gotten on base at a respectable .353 clip this year, but it comes with a .249 batting average and a sub-.400 slugging percentage.

It is interesting that India has taken a near two mph step back in average exit velocity this season, but the barrel rate is actually improved due to his elite 40 percent sweet-spot rate. His sub-19 percent chase rate ranks 98th percentile among hitters and the contact is good.

India is still 27 years old and has shown some intriguing skills to be valuable in OBP or points leagues. I could see him being a good buy this offseason.

Eugenio Suarez, 3B, ARI

Suarez is a certified second-half hitter and has been on a tear recently. After a three-hit, four-RBI day, Suarez now has 18 home runs on the year. In 108 plate appearances since the All-Star break, Suarez has eight home runs and a .298/.337/.649 slash line. He has cut the strikeout rate pretty significantly in the process.

After two straight 31 home run seasons between 2021 and 2022, Suarez hit just 22 last season in Seattle. This year, if the steak continues, Suarez should find himself back north of 25 after hitting just ten home runs in the first half.

Wyatt Langford, OF, TEX

I have seen it on Langford, and apparently, people are already writing off a 22-year-old who was still playing college baseball just over a year ago. I think you can actually argue Langford has performed well and held his own so far, considering he had less than 200 plate appearances in the minors.

On Wednesday, Langford had a big three-hit game, including a home run, his seventh of the year. Sure, it is uninspiring that in 393 plate appearances, Langford has just seven home runs and 11 steals. But the process has been good. He has a well above-average contact rate of 81.3 percent. The in-zone mark of 87.4 is also in the plus territory. Langford is lifting and pulling the ball with good bat speed.

Better days are ahead. I would encourage you if you are worried about Langford to go watch him. Look beyond the numbers and you’ll see he is doing a lot of the right things. There is still plenty of upside to dream on here and maybe it is a great time to buy low.

Bryan Woo, RHP, SEA

Woo turned in another strong start, giving him his third scoreless outing in his last four. On Wednesday, she struck out seven batters and did not issue a walk across seven scoreless innings. He continues his impressive season, lowering his ERA to 2.06 on the year in 74.1 innings with a stellar 0.85 WHIP.

The biggest question is how long Woo's success will be sustainable. His whiff rate ranks in the 12th percentile among all MLB pitchers, and his strikeout rate is below 20 percent.

Woo is living on weak contact and has had plenty of injury scares this year, which is concerning. He might be creeping into sell territory for me.

Adolis Garcia, OF, TEX

It has been a weird year for Garcia who was coming off a 39 home run season with an .836 OPS. This year, that mark has falling to .691 but it has come with 20 home runs and 10 stolen bases in just 479 plate appearances. Garcia is still pacing to hit 27 home runs which is encouraging but everything else looks a little rough.

On Wednesday, he did collect two home runs and added a third hit. It was his first home run since July 26 and hopefully is a catalyst to better performance moving forward.

Garcia is an interesting one to peg, as his barrel rate is still quite strong, and he hits the ball quite hard. His zone contact is actually the best mark of his career at 77.6 percent, and the overall mark of 66.5 is pretty close to where he has been his entire career. Sure, Garcia can be a bit aggressive, but his chase rate is the second-lowest mark of his career.

Garcia has had a tough year, but he might be a good buy low in dynasty leagues right now.

Get the full breakdown of Minor League hitters by subbing below. All our rankings are updated as well so go ahead and grab access to those too!