I just wrapped up the Prospects 365 Experts League, a 20-team roto league hosted by Ray Butler on Fantrax involving several of your regular content creators along with new faces you’ll want to know. As usual in startup dynasty leagues, I adopted a win-now mentality, taking advantage of depressed prices for guys like Josh Donaldson, Charlie Blackmon, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Paul Goldschmidt and more.
As one does when aiming for a championship in the inaugural season, prospects weren’t at the forefront. In fact, inside my first 400 picks I only drafted one: Sixto Sanchez with my 201st pick. I wanted to secure my starting roster and only then turn my attention into building my farm.
When it comes to startup drafts, there’s still a way to create a farm system that’ll serve you now and later. I split my picks into two camps: 1) Prospects that are going to help me in the inaugural year and 2) Lottery ticket prospects that will serve as good trade bait.
One thing to note that should be obvious: If you’re going this route, you can forget about owning any elite prospects and most anyone inside a top 50. Those players come at the expense of older but productive major leaguers like some of the aforementioned names.
So here’s a breakdown of the two camps from my team. While it doesn’t make a huge difference for any of actual prospects, it’s worth noting this league subs out AVG, SV and SB for OBP, SV+H and Net SB.
Below are the prospects I’ve deemed Win Now. They’re not in any particular order.
Win Now Prospects
Sixto Sanchez - If I spend an early-ish on a prospect, I usually like it to be pitcher with an ETA the same year of the inaugural year. Sixto Sanchez is on the 40-man roster, should begin the year at Triple-A and will be up some time around early June barring any setbacks. In a 20-team league, he serves not only as strong rotation depth, but also as my best trade chip should I go that route.
Jaylin Davis, Robel Garcia, Seth Brown, Yonathan Daza - This quartet is all about filling in the lineup when needed. The beauty of drafting prospects from Triple-A is that while they usually don’t carry a lot of name value, they need to be hot for only a little while to extract value from them. Worst case scenario: They end up being waiver fodder that didn’t cost me much. Best case scenario: They play their way into an everyday role and again give me the option to trade or use them. If they start everyday, they’re all of a sudden players in their mid-20s in a 20-team dynasty.
Daniel Johnson, Ka’Ai Tom, Jake Cronenworth - This is the trio I’m hoping can give me the most bang for my buck. Tom, who experienced a power breakout, was not added to the Indians’ 40-man which means there’s a chance he’s picked up in a draft an becomes a third outfielder for a rebuilding team. I’m crossing my fingers for that because PA=high chance of a return. Cronenworth, who also saw a power breakout (likely mostly thanks to the new ball) is the Rays’ type of player: a versatile, low strikeout player who can find his way on base. It’s not an easy lineup to crack so I’ll likely bide my time unless he gets traded. Johnson, a favorite of Alex Jensen, has the potential for 15 HR/15 SB in 500 AB with upside for more.
Shogo Akiyama - Akiyama is a 31-year-old outfielder who’s likely a 15 HR/10 SB outfielder if everything breaks right with a low strikeout total. The appeal here is pretty strtaightforward. I expect him to land an everyday job this offseason and with outfield a weirdly thin position, his playing time gives him a good floor.
Stuart Fairchild, Jose Garcia - I wouldn’t necessarily call this Cincinnati duo win now because one is about to enter the upper minors and one is already there, but they’re not lotto tickets either. I’m much, much higher on Garcia than Fairchild and think Garcia is in line for a true breakout this upcoming year after hinting at it in the end of 2019.
Alex Vesia - Last year I was crushing on James Karinchak all season long and now it’s going to be Vesia, the Marlins lefty who climbed three levels last year and should debut some time in 2020.
Lotto Tickets
Below are the players I felt were worthy of a dart throw. If I’m lucky, six or seven of them increase in value by midseason, at least to the point where they enter a top 150 list and are able to be actionable trade bait.
The majority are three or more years away from debuting and my plan is to trade them if they see a rise in value. If they rise meteorically, then I might hold on or be a little more judicious in a trade. With these players, you’re aiming for tools (hit, then power, then speed) and athleticism.
Many of these names have been covered in our Indians, Braves and Mariners Top 30s.
Luis Oviedo, RHP - Was a hot name entering 2019 but injuries derailed his season, hoping for a bounceback.
Jose Fermin, 2B/SS - High contact, low strikeout player that the Indians excel at developing.
Jairo Pomares, OF - Potential for three 50 tools (hit, power and speed) with good bat speed make him an intriguing dynasty own.
Jhon Diaz, OF - Rays swooped in and signed Diaz after Yankees were left with no international money. I trust Rays’ development.
Brayan Buelvas, OF - A deep dynasty name that is worth adding in leagues of 300+ prospects or more. Matt Eddy of Baseball America highlighted him recently.
Brewer Hicklen, OF - A-T-H-L-E-T-E. (and also very R-A-W)
Sam Carlson, RHP - Mariners’ righty with big upside after he joined the org and saw a big uptick in velo from high 80s to 93-95. Hasn’t pitched since 2017 thanks to Tommy John.
George Feliz, OF - Mr. Victor Robles comp, another Mariners special. He’s a 2019 J2 signee and one of the rare players not in Fantrax’s system.
Jose Salas, SS - A Marlins J2 signee, Salas shows a compact stroke with power/speed upside in the teens.
Bryce Ball, 1B - The giant slugger more than aced his professional debut at the plate, but position limitations force him to keep doing it at a higher level.
Alexfri Planez, OF - A Jason Pennini favorite, our usually cautious former colleague slapped a 55 FV on him in his AZL rankings and ranked him above guys like Daniel Espino, Gabriel Rodriguez and Brennan Malone.
Johan Rojas, OF - One of my favorite late season fliers, Rojas is athletic, has untapped raw power, good barrel control, and speed. I think he pops in 2020.
LuisAngel Acuña, 2B - B-L-O-O-D-L-I-N-E-S.
Simeon Woods-Richardson, RHP - One of my biggest pitching crushes, when SWR made it to High-A, he was just one of two teenagers in all of baseballs at that level. Already a top 100 prospect, in my opinion.
Carlos Rodriguez, OF - A high contact, 70 speed slap hitter that’s just 18 years old.
Mahki Backstrom, 1B - Another big Braves corner guy, he was 17 years old all of last year in the GCL and possesses big power.
This article is titled how to build a farm system to help you win now and later. My first group is set to help me accomplish the former. Acting as extra ammunition for my major league roster, I have a stable of ready bats (and Sixto) to fill any gaps that arise throughout the six month season.
The second group is the the most important. The goal is to hold all of these prospects through the offseason and likely through April and May for those that experience full-season ball. I’ll likely have to wait further into the season for rookie league and DSL debuts. If those lotto tickets have a strong debut, then I’m able to package them together or with a major leaguer to further improve my roster and elongate my contention window.
So when you start your next dynasty league, consider this strategy. Assuming that you’re on top of the ball and can pick up pop up prospects, you’ll have an immediate contention window and a never ending cycle of prospects to churn through to make sure that window stays open as long as possible to help secure a league title.