Somewhere, someone is likely thinking, “Two Cardinals players in one month? This fool must be a Cardinals fan!” While the portion of the statement that proclaims that I am a Cardinals fan isn’t valid, it is true that Dylan Carlson is an outfielder for St. Louis and this is the second player on that team I have written about this month in the fantasy baseball player spotlight series. Carlson has gotten hot at the plate lately and is rising up fantasy baseball rankings and rest-of-season MLB projections. Is the Cardinals outfielder worth adding off of the fantasy baseball waiver wire or acquiring in trades? What is his fantasy baseball stock looking like ahead of the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline? Let's take a closer look at Carlson and his 2022 MLB statistics to make some decisions for your fantasy baseball lineups. 

 

 

Dylan Carlson Fantasy Baseball Player Spotlight

 

 

Though I am not a Cardinals fan, Carlson does hold some personal value to me when it comes to fantasy baseball. He's a player I recently traded away from my dynasty fantasy baseball team, which is part of a 30-team league (yes, I do occasionally indulge in these sadist-type activities). Much like any trade in fantasy, it is easy to feel spurned when the previously struggling player starts to play really well after you move on from them. You’re welcome, Dylan!

Over the last two weeks, Carlson has really started to heat up. In that time he has a triple slash of .286/.412/.607 while striking out just 20.7% of the time. The Cardinals outfielder also has five doubles, a triple, and a home run over the past two weeks of games. In particular, Carlson's triple slash numbers have recently seen a significant rise over his full-season numbers. His batting average is up 30 points, his on-base percentage is up 80 points, and his slugging percentage is up a whopping 180 points in that time span. 

On its own merits, you can easily attribute this to a hot streak for Carlson – and it very well may prove to be just that. Still, the other part (well, two parts) of this that makes it more interesting is that Carlson is a coach’s kid. His father, Jeff, was his high school baseball coach. It was a heck of a high school team, too, as it featured not only Carlson but Rowdy Tellez, Nick Madrigal, Dom Nuñez and Derek Hill – all of which have seen time in the major leagues. The younger Carlson is thought to be a student of the game, which could also lead you to believe that he is starting to piece things together with now over 1,000 major league at-bats under his belt. 

The second part of this that is also interesting and could lead to performance gain is that Carlson is healthy. In its own, more obvious, light is exciting as performing at the major league level is hard on a good day – let alone when you’re trying to play hurt. Carlson being healthy lately has obviously helped him be more productive at the plate for the Cardinals.

With all of this said, the real question here is, “Why do you care?” Carlson is available in 51% of Yahoo fantasy baseball leagues at this moment. He's out there on the fantasy baseball waiver wire for those in shallower leagues. His slugging percentage is good enough over the last two weeks to be in the top five among all outfielders. 

Plus, Carlson is hitting second in the Cardinals' regular lineup while also leading off a couple of times per week. If he can continue to hit at this pace, and maybe even add in a few more home runs, then you should be in a solid place with Carlson. His spot near the top the St. Louis lineup as a 23-year-old shows that the team believes in him. He is going to see a significant number of at-bats moving forward, which only grows his ability to impact your fantasy baseball lineup in a positive fashion. 

We will see regression in Carlson's slugging percentage, most likely, but there is still room for his batting average and OBP to grow. He should settle in somewhere close to a .270 hitter in the major leagues with the potential, in his best years, for higher numbers – especially as he starts to figure out hitting at the MLB level. If Carlson is available in your league, you should give him a good hard look in 12-team formats – where he is likely going to be mostly available. This is a move that could really pay off for you in the last 6-7 weeks of the fantasy baseball season. 

 

 

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