The Dynasty Digest: March 15, 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.
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 14
Paul Skenes, RHP, PIT
Skenes stole the show on Friday as expected as he struck out two over a perfect inning of work. In a small sample, with all these pitchers in spring breakout are going to have their velocity up. That was the case for Skenes who fastball averaged over 100 mph. He threw a dirty changeup to get Jackson Holliday swinging right after a cutter.
Having elite stuff, it is just a matter of time before we see Skenes in the Majors, but there is still development that needs to be had for him in the minors. The arsenal and past performance suggests that ace status is possible but Skenes will need to effectively sequence and establish his changeup as a professional. The fastball/slider combo were so deadly against collegiate hitters he could often get by with missing his spots. Still, the upside here is tremendous.
Rhett Lowder, RHP, CIN
It was very encouraging to see Lowder on the mound pitching in a game for the first time as a professional, and he looked really good. Lowder tossed two perfect innings with two strikeouts against a really solid group of Rangers prospects. According to JJ Cooper of Baseball America, Lowder was sitting 95 on his fastball on the stadium gun, which is solid.
Lowder went 15-0 last season at Wake Forest with a 1.87 ERA and 143 strikeouts to just 24 walks in 120 innings. His fastball sits around 93-94 mph, averaging 17 inches of arm side run in 2023, and he locates it well in the zone. Not only does Lowder command his fastball well, but he also gets a ton of strikes with his slider and changeup. Lowder’s slider sits in the mid-80s, averaging nearly 2800 rpm of spin in what is more of a traditional slider shape.
Like many Wake Forest arms, Lowder’s changeup is his best pitch, as it tunnels well with his fastball and dives off the map. Sitting between 86 and 87 mph on the regular with 10 inches of IVB separating it from the fastball while also averaging 17 inches of arm side movement like the fastball.
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