Fantasy – Bet The Farm

A team of breakout prospects poised to build value in dynasty leagues

- By Matt Eddy

Acquiring prospects before they go mainstream is a key to dynasty league sustainability.

Each season, a number of prospects graduate into big leaguers or lose value with substandard minor league performance. New breakouts rise to take their place as Top 100 Prospects.

Members of the following breakout prospect team are positioned to do just that. None ranked as preseason Top 100 Prospects, but all are candidates to join the club with strong 2021 seasons. Prospects who made major league Opening Day rosters, such as the Royals’ Kyle Isbel, the Reds’ Jonathan India or the Astros’ Chas McCormick, were not considered.

Every member of this breakout prospect team lost game repetitions in 2020 when the pandemic canceled the minor league season. That doesn’t mean all player development was halted. Read on to learn how these prospects met the challenge of a challenging 2020 and why you should be paying attention in dynasty leagues this season.

C GABRIEL MORENO, BLUE JAYS

DOUBLE-A NEW HAMPSHIRE • AGE: 21

The Venezuelan catcher burst on the prospect scene in 2018 by compiling a .970 OPS at a pair of Rookie-level stops. He kept raking in the Midwest League in 2019 and popped on Phil Goyette’s ranking of hitters with the highest estimated barrel rates at Low-A that season. Moreno drew praise for his hitting acumen at the Blue Jays’ alternate training site in 2020 and then wrapped the year by hitting .373/.471/.508 with more walks than strikeouts in 18 games in the Venezuelan League.