My prospect rankings are based on fantasy value, not real-life value. Considering such, hitters generally weigh a bit heavier for me due to the injury risk and higher volatility of prospect pitchers. Proximity does matter in these rankings to an extent but is not the end-all, be-all. The main goal of these rankings is to provide the highest return on investment as of early February 2024. Here are the top 10 undervalued dynasty baseball prospects to target. Below we dive into a few notable names.
I’m taking the biggest values or “sleepers” from my prospect rankings (starting outside of the top 100) against the consensus amongst prospect analysts on FantasyPros and we will dig in on five pitchers and five hitters I feel are undervalued in the market and are great buy lows. Anyone with a potential debut in 2024 will have an fScore attached.
My prospect rankings are based on fantasy value, not real-life value. Considering such, hitters generally weigh a bit heavier for me due to the injury risk and higher volatility of prospect pitchers. Proximity does matter in these rankings to an extent but is not the end-all, be-all. The main goal of these rankings is to provide the highest return on investment as of early February 2024. Here are the top 10 undervalued dynasty baseball prospects to target. Below we dive into a few notable names.
I’m taking the biggest values or “sleepers” from my prospect rankings (starting outside of the top 100) against the consensus amongst prospect analysts on FantasyPros and we will dig in on five pitchers and five hitters I feel are undervalued in the market and are great buy lows. Anyone with a potential debut in 2024 will have an fScore attached.
If you are curious about the fScore ratings you can check out my fScore rankings and information.
Unheralded Dynasty Prospect Trade Targets
NOTE: Rookie status is determined by 130 at-bats (ABs), or 50 innings pitched (IPs) at the major league level. I did opt to include foreign imports in this equation.
- 2023 AA: 58 1/3 IP, 69 Ks, 15 BBs, 4.63 ERA, 1.20 WHIP
- Age: 22
- ETA: Late 2024
- Tim’s Ranking: 47
- Consensus Ranking: 105
- fScores: 47 fPDurability, 119 fStuff, 107 fControl, 118 fERA
- Comp: Jose Berrios
Tekoah Roby looks like a future No. 2 starter in the majors with four plus pitches, above-average command and a good head on his shoulders mixing his pitches in nicely. He likes to throw his 95 MPH heater up in the zone and then go back down low with the curve – his best pitch. Some of his value has been sapped due to a shoulder injury that may have led to him getting traded from the Rangers to the Cardinals in the first place, but he looked great with the Cardinals’ AA team despite a rougher Arizona Fall League.
Roby pitched to a 25.6% K-BB over 10 starts with the Rangers in AA pre-shoulder injury. After he was traded to the Cardinals he came back and pitched even better with a 43.2% K-BB rate and a near 20% swinging strike rate in a small sample size of 12 innings. The fScores love him and he was pitching ridiculously well but the big question with Roby is going to be if he can make it through the 2024 season healthy. If he does, there’s a good chance we see him start for the Cardinals in 2024 if the need arises.
- 2023 A/A+/AA: .308/.393/.539, 23 HR, 22 SB
- Age: 23
- ETA: Late 2024
- Tim’s Ranking: 72
- Consensus Ranking: 109
- fScores: 96 fContact, 100 fDiscipline, 89 fPower, 115 fSpeed, 54 fDurability
- Comp: Anthony Rizzo, Zack Gelof mash-up
The Padres roster is so barren on depth that Graham Pauley has a shot at a good amount of playing time this year, either backing Manny Machado up at third if he isn’t fully healthy enough to play the field or playing in the outfield because Fernando Tatis Jr. is the only guy with game out there. Pauley has a good hit tool and is a good judge of the strike zone. He pushes toward doubles power more than high-end home run power but still should peak as a regular 20-25 homer corner guy who can add in 10-15 steals on the side.
Pauley also has the added benefit of being a guy who can play multiple positions, coming up playing second, third and the outfield. He had a killer year and a good Arizona Fall League, but as a guy without much pedigree, he’s still underrated even though he has a hit tool that should develop to be well above average. Pauley has a pretty high floor and is another guy with a good head on his shoulders. He’s a competitor who sees himself as a future All-Star.
- 2023 A+/AA: .288/.405/.502, 13 HR, 12 SB
- Age: 22
- ETA: Early 2025
- Tim’s Ranking: 63
- Consensus Ranking: 116
- fScores: N/A
- Comp: Mitch Haniger-ish with a righty Carlos Beltran stance
Tyler Locklear isn’t likely to come up in 2024 after missing a good chunk of 2023 with injuries and it’s easy to get blocked as a first baseman. The good thing is the only guys in front of Locklear on the major league depth chart are Ty France and Luke Raley, who both can play other positions and are not locked into the core of the roster. Hit tool, check. Power tool, check. Slight speed with improving plate skills, I’m in. Locklear is coming off an injury-shortened season so don’t take those counting stats for granted – he paces out as a 25-homer 15-steal guy in the future.
More Fantasy Baseball Prospect Advice
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