Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Risers, Fallers and Buys/Sells - Chris Clegg's Outlooks for Week 2

April 7, 2025

Chris Clegg's dynasty fantasy baseball buy lows, sell highs, and MLB news for Week 2 (2025). Notable prospects debuts and dynasty risers/fallers including Anthony Volpe, Jacob Wilson, Zac Veen, more.

Welcome back RotoBallers to my dynasty fantasy baseball risers, fallers and buys/sells for Week 2 of the 2025 MLB season. We are just one week into the MLB season and three games into most minor league levels, but there is still plenty of baseball to talk about. I mean, we have already had some prospects called up, which makes it extra fun.

Today's dynasty article will look at recent prospect call-ups like Chase Dollander, Thomas Harrington, and Zac Veen, along with several other dynasty-related news items. This bi-weekly series will take a look at various prospects and dynasty news and discuss fantasy implications. If you enjoy dynasty baseball, you know it is a fast-paced game. Keeping up with current events can help you stay ahead of your league mates.

Call-ups, trends, and buying and selling players are all just small pieces to help you stay ahead. So, that's what we will do in this article each week, break down everything you need to know to be successful in a dynasty. At the end of the day, we all want to build a dynasty team that sustains and lasts for the long haul. I am here to help you do so. So what do you need to know for dynasty leagues in Week 2 of the 2025 season? Let's dive in.

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Recent MLB Prospect Call-Ups

Chase Dollander is the biggest name among prospect call-ups not to make the Opening Day roster. He made his first start in a Rockies uniform on Sunday, firing five innings with six strikeouts. Dollander did give up two home runs and allowed four earned runs on seven hits, but he showed good bat-missing ability.

In fact, his first big league strikeout came against Jacob Wilson, who struck out for the first time this year, and it was also Wilson's first whiff on a swing in the zone all season.

Dollander’s fastball is a true 70-grade offering. Among pitchers who threw 500 fastballs in the minors in 2024, only four had a swinging-strike rate of 20 percent or higher; Dollander was one of them. He threw 1,200 fastballs, generating a 21 percent swinging-strike rate. It sat between 96 and 97, regularly touching triple digits.

It has an insanely flat -4 VAA with 16 inches of IVB from a 5-foot-5 release height. The pitch also gets good arm-side movement north of 10 inches, often with strong location.

The curveball showed high spin and a beautiful two-plane break, missing bats at a high rate, sitting in the upper 70s. Dollander also works as a slider/cutter that sits around 88 mph but can touch 90. Dollander’s changeup is underrated and plays well against left-handed hitters, showing up to 20 inches of horizontal fade.

Dollander also throws strikes at an above-average clip. Dollander has all the ingredients to be the best pitcher the Rockies have seen in a long time. He has the stuff to beat Coors Field. At this point, it is hard to imagine he gets sent back down unless things get really ugly.

Rockies top prospect Chase Dollander gets his first career strikeout. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/c1f4oK7X4a

— MLB (@MLB) April 6, 2025

Harrington also got the call, and while things did not go great in his first start, it appears he is sticking around. Making his first major league start against the Rays, Harrington gave up six earned runs and walked an uncharacteristic four batters in four innings of work. Considering Harrington walked just 19 hitters in 117 1/3 innings last year, it seems clear there were some first-start jitters.

Harrington posted a 2.61 ERA across 117 1/3 innings in 2024 with 115 strikeouts to just 19 walks. Having some of the best command in the minors, Harrington threw strikes at a rate near 69 percent and consistently hit his spots. While he posted a swinging strike rate just slightly above average, the command plus stuff is going to play.

Leading with his fastball, Harrington sits in the 92-93 range but has topped out near 96 mph. Having a 5-foot-7 release height, Harrington gets above-average IVB at 16 inches and gets north of ten inches of arm-side movement.

Having a deep arsenal of secondaries, Harrington uses his changeup and sweeper primarily, with the changeup sitting in the 83-85 mph range with late tumble and fading action. The sweeper consistently has 12 inches of glove-side movement while sitting around 82 mph.

Harrington also mixes a high-riding cutter that sits 87-88 mph and an 80 mph curveball with a ton of depth. Having negative 10 inches of IVB and seven inches of sweep, the curveball shows a nice two-plane break.

The plan is for Harrington to make his scheduled start on Tuesday, and I think there is a decent-sized leash here, as Carmen Mlodzinski has not pitched well. I expect a better outing from Harrington this time around.

Zac Veen had a torrid spring training and looked the best he has at any point in his pro career. It seemed like Veen was destined to make the Rockies roster out of camp, but instead, he was optioned to Triple-A, where he mashed in 32 plate appearances. The Rockies saw enough to call Veen up for his MLB debut on Tuesday, optioning Jordan Beck in the process.

Multiple injuries in 2024 caused Veen to miss month-long stints, and Veen accumulated just 270 plate appearances this year. Ending the year in Triple-A, Veen hit 11 home runs for the season with a .258/.346/.459 slash. He struck out in 25 percent of those plate appearances.

Veen has continued to add power over the years, setting a new max exit velocity of 110 mph in 2024. He hit the ball hard all spring and consistently showed good 90th-percentile exit velocities.

Veen ticked up as a runner after being drafted and has been a major threat on the base paths during his pro career. He stole 21 bases this year, but it is essential to remember that he was in just 65 games. He was only caught four times. In his only full pro season in 2022, Veen swiped 55 bases and was caught nine times.

If you are looking for speed on your fantasy roster, Veen is a solid add. The batting average should play up in Coors Field, and there is also sneaky power.

Dynasty Trends: Bat Speed Risers and Fallers

Despite what some people say on social media, bat speed stabilizes very quickly. Jordan Rosenblum found that it only takes 3-4 swings for average bat speed and hard swing rate to begin regressing, meaning it becomes reliable quickly. A study by Tom Tango found that it may only take two swings for bat speed to reach a strong reliability level.

Driveline found that for every one mph of bat speed gained, a hitter gained 1.2 mph of exit velocity on average.

Yes, it is still quite early. However, looking at bat speed and knowing how quickly it can stabilize can be helpful.

Bat Speed Risers(MPH)

Bat Speed Fallers(MPH)

Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Buys and Sells

Tyler Soderstrom is lighting the world on fire right now and is well worth buying high on. A smoked home run on Sunday off Chase Dollander pushed Soderstrom to four home runs in his first 10 games. After being labeled a major breakout candidate this offseason, Soderstrom has lived up to the hype in a small sample.

There has never been any denying his power, and it has been on full display this year as his bat speed is high-end, and Soderstrom is running a 54 percent hard-hit rate. Soderstrom's 109 mph 90th percentile exit velocity and his 111.4 max are both strong marks, and he is hitting it at ideal angles.

Soderstrom has raised concerns about his contact skills throughout his career while running consistently good zone-contact rates. His 85 percent zone contact rate is well above the MLB average, which is encouraging.

His cleaned-up approach is the most notable thing to take away from Soderstrom's performance. We have seen his chase steadily improve, and he is sitting at 25 percent. Soderstrom is also more aggressive on pitches in the zone, which is a good thing.

Buy high on Soderstrom. His stock is nowhere near peak.

Soderstrom's two-run blast gives the Green and Gold an early lead 💪 pic.twitter.com/ATz4JiUWvo

— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) April 6, 2025

Anthony Volpe checks in as a sell for me. Don't get me wrong, I like Volpe and stood by his side even when most were way down on him last year. He made a stance and swing change down the stretch of the 2024 season and saw improved results during the playoffs.

Now, Volpe uses a torpedo bat, and Volpe is off to a hot start to 2025, having four home runs and a 1.069 SLG.

So why sell? My advice is probably to only sell him if you really sell high. There might be a Yankees fan in your league who is willing to pay top dollar for their young shortstop. While the bat speed and exit velocities are up a tick, the contact has taken a step back on pitches in the zone. He is also struggling to pull the ball, with just eight percent of his batted balls in the air being pulled.

If you get a top-75 player in return, I would cash out on Volpe.

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