The Dynasty Digest: March 14, 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: Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire

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 13

Jack Flaherty, RHP, DET

Maybe it is just a spring training thing, but Jack Flaherty has really caught my attention. His performance on Wednesday saw him post four-scoreless innings with just one hit allowed. Flaherty did not walk and a batter and struck out five.

The fastball velocity has consistently been up a tick, which has always been a big thing for him. When he sat north of 94 mph, the results were good. When the velocity has dipped, the results also dipped with it.

Several of his secondaries have also had slight shape changes, but nothing very large, and the fastball is getting more ride. Flaherty finished the day with a 42 percent whiff rate and a 37 percent CSW.

Carlos Rodon, LHP, NYY

While Rodon gave up a massive home run to Triston Casas, I thought overall his performance was improved. While his velocity was still down 0.7 mph on the fastball from last year, it was actually up from what it had been earlier in the spring.

While he was predominantly fastball and slider, Rodon did not miss bats, ending the day with just six whiffs on 36 swings and having a 21 percent CSW. There are still some concerns, but I will say for the most part I think there were some positives to take away from Wednesday’s start.

Chris Bassitt, RHP, TOR

Bassitt threw eight different pitch types according to Statcast on Wednesday, but his sinker, cutter, and curve were his most used pitches. The fastball velocity has been down a tick all season and that continued in his start. It did not hinder the performance against the Pirates though as he struck out nine over 5.1 innings with just one run allowed.

Generating 11 whiffs was good for a 31 percent rate and Bassitt added 12 more called strikes to finish the day with a 32 percent whiff rate. For a vet like Bassitt I am not overly worried about velocity yet as it something that he has done the last few years and slowly ramped up.

Over the last three seasons, Bassitt has a 3.41 ERA in 539 innings. Last year, he tossed 200 innings for the first time in his career. While not flashy, Bassitt feels like a lock to provide innings and solid ratios.

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