May 9, 2021
Brandon Woodruff has quietly been one of the better pitchers in the National League since the start of the 2019 season. In 42 starts comprising 237 innings, the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander has 285 strikeouts to go with a 3.11 ERA and a 2.93 FIP. The last of those numbers is equal to Shane Bieber’s mark over the same period.
A big reason for Woodruff’s success is a repertoire adjustment he made midway through the 2018 season. As he explained in an article that ran here at FanGraphs last April, he began throwing both two- and four-seam fastballs. Neither is anything to write home about movement-wise, but paired together and sequenced well they’re a formidable combo. As Woodruff told me at the time, “It’s hard for the hitter to distinguish which one is going to be coming.”
The MLB debut of Joey Bart in 2020 didn’t quite go according to plan. The powerful backstop struggled mightily and is still looking for his first home run 33 games later. A lackluster .233/.288/.320 slash line, 2.7% walk rate, and 36.9% strikeout rate accompanied that home run goose egg. Yeah, not good. But hey, the silver lining here is that his struggles have opened a solid buy-low window in dynasty leagues.
Bart might not have the same hit tool as Adley Rutschman or even close, but the power is similar and easily grades as plus long-term with the upside for 25-plus homers annually. While the swing can get a tad long at times, Bart has shown good bat speed with a swing path geared for driving the ball in the air. If Bart can clean up his approach and become a bit more patient, he has the upside to develop into a top-5 fantasy catcher. Following his sluggish MLB debut, now is a great time to trade for him in dynasty leagues as his value might never be lower. Expect him back up so