This MLB off-season has seen a ton of player movement. Let’s take a look at the fantasy impact of three more big moves so far this offseason.
Fantasy Impact Of Juan Soto Trade To The Yankees
Soto is one of the premier hitters in MLB. He is a World Series Champion, a batting champion, a four-time silver slugger award winner, a three-time All-Star, and a three-time leader in walks. As good as Soto was earlier in his Nationals days and over the past year and a half with the Padres, this move to the Yankees sets him up to have the best season of his career. Not only is he looking for a massive payday while playing in the last year of his contract, but Soto joins a lineup that features Aaron Judge, one of the most feared hitters in MLB. He also will be playing half of his games in Yankee Stadium, a hitter’s paradise, particularly for left-handed hitting sluggers such as Soto. He set a career-high in HR in 2023 with 35 and could easily hit 40+ in 2024 with 100+ runs and 100+ RBIs. He hasn’t even had an AB with the Yankees, and he should already be considered a front-runner for AL MVP. He is a first-round pick this season in your standard fantasy baseball formats, and if you play in OBP leagues he is arguably a top-three or top-five pick.
Fantasy Outlook Of Sonny Gray On The Cardinals
Gray has been a very consistent pitcher throughout his career, with the exception of one awful season in Oakland and another terrible season with the Yankees. He has a career 3.47 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 8.7 K/9. In 2023, his final season with the Twins, Gray put together what was arguably the most complete season of his career. He made 32 starts for the Twins, posting a 2.70 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP, and led all of MLB in HR/9. Gray got his third All-Star nod and finished second in AL Cy Young award voting. He now heads to St. Louis, who desperately needed pitching help, and should fit in very nicely in a division that has no true powerhouse teams. Since December 1st, Gray has an ADP of 121 with a minimum pick of 87 and a maximum pick of 170. I think it’s unlikely that you can get him at that 170 range in your drafts. However, you should be able to get him in the 110-130 range, which is the seventh or eighth round of your 15-team leagues. He would be a low-end SP3 and high-end SP4 in that draft range and be a solid contributor to any fantasy team. The landing spot in St. Louis is great for him. Although they aren’t a small market like Minnesota and Oakland, they are not a big market like the Yankees, which should allow for Gray to be comfortable and perform at the level he has been over the past couple of seasons. He isn’t a great value by any means, but he’s reliable and comes at a great draft-day cost.
Fantasy Outlook Of Tyler Glasnow On The Dodgers
When healthy, Glasnow has proven to be a top-of-the-line caliber SP in both MLB and fantasy baseball. The problem with that is he is almost never healthy, and certainly not for an entire season. It might be hard to believe, but last season, at the age of 29, Glasnow set career highs in games started and innings. He made 21 starts for the Rays and threw 120 innings, helping a pitching staff that was in dire need of assistance after three of their top arms all underwent season-ending surgery. The upside that Glasnow possesses is outstanding; since joining the Rays in 2018, he posted ERAs under 2.00 twice, under 3.00 three times, and this past season was in the mid 3’s. He has a career 11.5 K/9, which is exceptional, and hasn’t posted lower than a 12.2 K/9 since 2019. The move to the Dodgers is excellent, and when Glasnow is pitching, he will provide your fantasy roster with SP1 production. If you are lucky enough to get another 120 innings out of him in 2024, then you are in good shape. If you happen to get somewhere between 50-90 innings from him, which is what he typically delivers, then you are going to be in trouble based on where you need to draft him. Since December 1st, Glasgow has had an ADP of 42, which means you are taking him in the third round of your 15-team leagues. He has a minimum pick of 26th overall and a maximum pick of 72nd overall. The minimum pick is outrageous and even the max pick makes me a little nauseous. This is a pitcher who before 2023 never threw more than 111 innings (2018) and never made more than 14 starts. As good as he can be when he is pitching, he just never pitches enough to warrant such a high draft pick. I am completely staying away from him at his current ADP and wouldn’t consider drafting him until around pick 90 overall, and at that point, he is likely going to be off the board.
