Welcome to the 2022 Dynasty Baseball Buy or Sell 4-22-22.
If you know me, you know I am all things Chicago sports. Currently, the Chicago Bulls are amid their first playoff appearance since 2016. The Bulls had a great season, including their first winning season since 2015. However, the Bulls faded down the stretch including losing four out of their last five games.
The good news is that the Bulls finished as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. The bad news is they drew the third seed and defending NBA Champions, the Milwaukee Bucks. As of right now, the series is tied 1-1, after a great game two in which DeMar "King of the Fourth" DeRozan exploded for 41 points. The Bulls did hold an 18-point lead at one point and somehow let Bucks back in the game as they were able to cut the lead to only five points.
"DeMar DeFrozen" with a FORTY PIECE 🥶 pic.twitter.com/rSQG6wp8a7
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 21, 2022
The Bulls also got an enormous defensive boost from Alex Caruso and would ultimately hold on and win. Now they are headed back to Chicago where they look to win in front of the home crowd in game three tonight. Let me know if there are any other basketball fans, and let me know who you think will make the NBA Finals as well as who will win the Championship. Leave a comment down below.
Now let's get into this week's Dynasty Baseball Buy or Sell.
Be sure to check out Dave's Dynasty Baseball Rankings which are updated monthly.
2022 Dynasty Baseball Buy or Sell 4-22-22
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Buy
Myles Straw, OF, Cleveland Guardians
Another week, another Cleveland outfielder, this time on the buy-side. After suggesting selling Steven Kwan last week, I am suggesting to buy Myles Straw this week. There are several reasons that I believe Myles Straw will continue his hot start in 2022.
After Myles was shipped out of Houston, he found a home in the Cleveland outfield and was afforded everyday playing time. He is making the most out of his at-bats. Since he joined the Guardians on July 29th, 2021, he is slashing 291/375/385. While the power numbers are less than desirable he makes up for it in the hit and speed department.
In his last 69 games played he has a hit in 51 of them and that includes 20 multi-hit games. Straw has an advanced eye at the dish, evidenced by his career 11% walk rate and a sub 20% strikeout rate.
Active players with 30 doubles & 30 stolen bases in their last 162 games played:
Starling Marte (55 SB, 34 2B)
Whit Merrifield (40 SB, 40 2B)
Trea Turner (35 SB, 35 2B)
Myles Straw (34 SB, 31 2B)Fernando Tatis & Ronald Acuna also both qualify but have yet to play in 2022.
— High Heat Stats (@HighHeatStats) April 20, 2022
The speed also really jumps off the page. He had 30 stolen bases last season between both Houston and Cleveland. However, half of those came during his 69 games with Cleveland. The speed is top-tier and his thievery is highly effective. During his career Straw has attempted 59 stolen bases and has only been caught nine times. Furthermore, he has only been caught just once since June 29th, 2021.
His advanced metrics also echo the advanced approach at the plate. His 18% walk rate to begin the season ranks in the top 8% of the league. He has lowered his whiff rate to a highly respectable 13% which ranks in the 95th percentile. He has also cut his chase rate by 8% to only 10%, which currently ranks third in the league among all qualified hitters.
So if you are looking for an outfielder that will score 80-100 runs a season, steal 30+ bags and also not hurt your ratios in both batting average and on-base percentage leagues, then I would highly recommend buying Myles Straw in your dynasty leagues.
Sell
Gleyber Torres, SS, New York Yankees
I know there is at least one person that is happy I am writing up a piece about how bad Torres has been. It is my On Deck Circle Podcast co-host, Nick. He is a die-hard Red Sox fan and he hates nothing more than the Yankees. But I am not writing this just for Nick.
There are other things to not like about Torres other than the fact that he is on the Yankees. First off, he can not make consistent contact. He holds a career 22% strikeout rate and a career 13% swinging-strike rate. His chase rate has also seen a steady increase and currently sits at a career-worst 38%.
Torres made a name for himself when he burst into the big leagues with 24 HR and then followed that up with 38 HR in the following season. However, since then the power has been non-existent. Since 2019, Torres has only managed to hit 13 HR in 180 games. Needless to say, the slugging percentage has also fallen off a cliff. Since his enormous 2019 season, his slugging percentage has sunk to an abysmal 366 in 2021.
He is also struggling to barrel up the ball, which would explain the power dip. His barrel rate has dropped to below league average, including a dreadful 3.7% in 2020 which ranked in the bottom 3% of the league.
Unless MLB decides it wants to ban the shift, Torres will continue to struggle. Every season since 2019 he has faced a shift 30+% of the time and has awful results. Torres has never had a wOBA above 300 when facing a shift.
Again the biggest attribute to Torres' game was his huge power numbers for a middle infielder and that has disappeared. I would be trying to sell Torres in hope of getting a serviceable return as fast as possible.
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