The Dynasty Digest: March 29, 2024

Chris Clegg breaks down everything you need to know from MLB Opening Day with 20 detailed player performances.

Cover photo with image by David Richard / USA Today

Opening Day has come and gone in the blink of an eye, and it was a good one. You could feel the energy in the air as MLB is back, and it was a great day! There were a ton of great individual performances, plus a ton of wild games that were a blast to watch.

The Dynasty Digest is a daily report that will break down everything you need to know from the previous days MLB and Minor League action to keep you ahead of your league mates in a dynasty league. Today’s report is just MLB because Minor League ball starts tonight! Which is another reason to be excited!

But, enough small talk, lets get’s get the action.

20 MLB Opening Day Standouts

Shane Bieber, RHP, CLE

“It is just the Athletics.” “He faced a Minor League team.” At least, that might be what you saw on Twitter. But Shane Bieber was good, and who he faced does not change the fact that his stuff was back. After spending the offseason at Driveline, Bieber regained velocity and worked to refine his secondaries.

The results were exactly what we hoped for, as he struck out 11 batters across six scoreless innings. Bieber needed just 83 pitches to complete six innings and was very efficient, throwing strikes at a 66 percent rate and generating 18 whiffs.

The fastball velocity was up, averaging a tick higher than last season, and his turbo changeup was up two ticks. The cutter was excellent, missing bats on 10 of the 11 swings and sitting around 86 mph.

Savant misclassified several of Bieber’s curveballs, but both the curve and slider showed good shape and were missing bats. The arsenal was highly impressive, and Bieber ended the day with a 43 percent whiff rate and a 37 percent CSW.

I won’t sit here and say he is all the way back to ace-level Bieber, but the arsenal was good, and Bieber did some very impressive things.

Nick Martini, DH, CIN

Im sure everyone had this pegged. Martini put the Red's entire offense on his back and hit two home runs while driving in five. Some might not have known Nick Martini from Nick Markakis before today, but he seems completely deep-league viable at this point.

The 33-year-old should play most days in the designated hitter role and while the level of performance that we saw from Martini likely won’t be a regular thing, there could still be value in deep leagues. With the injuries and suspension putting a strain on the Reds offense, I am sure they were thrilled with what Martini did on Opening Day.

Corbin Burnes, RHP, BAL

Burnes looked like his vintage, ace-level self on Opening Day, striking out 11 batters across six innings. Yes, it was the Angels, but the only thing that kept him from throwing six perfect innings was a Mike Trout home run.

The velocity was up on every Burnes pitch except his changeup, and his cutter looked like the cutter that led to his ace ascension. Burnes’s curveball missed bats on six of the eight swings which led to a 33 percent whiff rate on the day, with an impressive 39 percent CSW.

With Gerrit Cole out with injury, Burnes could be a contender for the American League CY Young award. Last year, Blake Snell became just the seventh pitcher in MLB history to win a CY Young Award in both the American and National League.

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