The Dynasty Digest: March 12, 2024

Grab a cup of coffee and read Chris Clegg runs down everything you need to know for dynasty leagues from the previous days action.

Cover photo with image by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images

Welcome to the Dynasty Digest! Baseball is back, and so are we, with our daily reports of everything you need to know from the previous days’ action for you to win your dynasty leagues.

Spring Training is always an interesting time, as box score stats don’t necessarily matter, but I am looking for other things of note. Has a pitcher seen an increase in velo or do they have a new pitch that compliments the arsenal well? Has a hitter simplified their approach, or did they post a new max exit velocity? The little things are much more important than box score stats for Spring Training, and we are going to talk about them. A slower day of games on Thursday, but let’s break them down.

Spring Training Standouts From March 11

Spencer Strider, RHP, ATL

We don’t need to spend much time on this one because Strider is elite. Another scoreless outing for Strider; this time, it was five innings of two-hit ball. He struck out nine and walked just one. He now is up to 14 scoreless innings this spring with 22 strikeouts.

Strider already had an elite fastball and slider combo, but has added a curveball this offseason and is throwing his changeup more. With Strider, it has always been about velocity and location. When the velocity dips to 96 mph or lower, sometimes it gets him in trouble, but when it sits 97-98 mph, he is hard to beat.

Considering he is just 25 years old, Strider is the easy dynasty SP1.

Will Warren, RHP, NYY

While Warren has stood a strong chance to pitch in the Bronx this year, that door may be slightly more open as Gerrit Cole is having an MRI on his elbow. We honestly hope that it is nothing serious for Cole, who is one of the best pitchers in the game.

Warren tossed three innings of one-run ball on Monday, striking out two but walking three. The results were mixed as Warren generated a 26 percent whiff rate and a 29 percent CSW while only throwing strikes at a 58 percent clip.

In 2023, Warren had one of the highest Stuff+ of any arm in Triple-A last year, according to Eno Sarris’s model. He posted a 3.91 ERA across 129 innings between Double-A and Triple-A and has proved to be ready for the MLB rotation.

The sweeper had up to 25 inches of sweep, and the changeup had up to 20 inches of fade the other way. The arsenal is good, and Warren is ready to pitch on the big stage in the Majors.

Luis Gil, RHP, NYY

The Yankees might have another option to pitch with the big league team this year in Luis Gil. Following a strong start from Clayton Beeter, GIl pitched 3.2 scoreless innings with one hit and walk a piece while striking out eight.

It took Gil just 49 pitches, 36 of them landing for strikes. Gil has not been known as a strike thrower in the past, and injuries have kept him from being on the mound. He has thrown just 29 innings since 2021.

The fastball sat 97 mph with nice carry and the slider velocity was up from what we have seen in the past. The shape did look much different with the slider though as it had much more carry and less sweep.

Gil finished the day with a 58 percent whiff rate and a 51 percent CSW. We will be watching closely the rest of this spring.

Subscribe to get the full article and a ton of tools to help you win in dynasty!