The Dynasty Digest: The Big 30 Edition
Chris Clegg is back to run down everything you need to know for dynasty leagues from the previous days action.
Sorry if this is a bit later than normal. I usually try to have this out first thing in the morning, but I took Friday afternoon and evening off. Its rare for me to take any time, but my wife and I went out and enjoyed time together without our son for my birthday. It was nice to relax for an evening and not focus on baseball for a short time.
But anyway, we are back! I woke up this morning and hit the grind to get the reports done! Let’s discuss everything you need to know from Spring Training yesterday.
Spring Training Standouts From March 8
Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, PIT
This feels like we were just copying and pasting all spring with Hayes, but he did it again: another home run and a hit ball. This time, Hayes left the yard with a 108.4 mph home run and added another single. The good news is both balls had ideal launch angles of 18 and 15 degrees.
With more pulled flyballs, Hayes could break out in 2024. It is has pretty much been the same song and dance for most of his career, but there is still the possibility Hayes puts it all together to be a 20 home run bat who can steal ten bases with a respectable batting average.
Louie Varland, RHP, MIN
Varland continues to make a push for the Twins rotation with a three-scoreless inning performance on Friday that continues his scoreless streak this spring. He needed just 34 pitches and allowed two hits and no walks while striking out one.
His changeup velocity has remained up and is playing off the fastball better and Varland has also changed the shape of his slider, showing more depth and less sweep. It is something to watch moving forward as it is possible that Varland spends most of the season in the Twins rotation.
He finished the day on Friday with a 24 percent whiff rate and CSW.
Ranger Suarez, LHP, PHI
Suarez struck out five batters across 3.1 scoreless innings in which he did now allow a walk only allowing two hits. He has only made two starts this spring but has not allowed a run or walk in either of them, which has totaled 6.1 innings.
The interesting thing is that Suarez's arsenal has not looked great to this point, as his velocity has been down a tick, and the movement profile has changed on a couple of pitches. The changeup is showing much less fade than it has in past seasons but is also showing more drop. The curveball is also showing less depth and sweep.
The performance has been good so far, but I am watching the pitch data closely with Suarez.
Get all 15 reports plus a ton of other great resources to win in dynasty by subscribing below.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Dynasty Dugout to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.