Cardinals: Alex Reyes is the ultimate dynasty league stash

The Cardinals young pitcher Alex Reyes played catch before the game on Wednesday. If you are in a dynasty league, he is worth stashing for next year.

The 2017 baseball season is quickly coming to a close. Those in re-draft leagues are either gunning for a playoff spot or quit weeks ago when they were 20 games back. However, there is another group of fantasy owners still in the thick of things, the owners in dynasty leagues.

If you’re not familiar, dynasty leagues are a more long-term option. You keep most if not all of your team year after year and make improvements throughout the season with the waiver wire or trades. But, with the top 250 already rostered, the waiver wire is not deep at all.

Though, there are a couple of players not playing that many owners forgot about that can help you next season and beyond. The one player I’m focusing on his St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Alex Reyes.

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Reyes began a throwing program back on July 21. He’s making good progress and was seen throwing at Busch Stadium before the Cardinals game on Wednesday. While he is still months away from returning to the mound, it’s good to see him on a field.

Reyes has been out all season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery back in February. The young pitcher was expected to be an important part of the Cardinals rotation as they knock off division rival Chicago Cubs.

Unfortunately, that would not be the case. After he pitched in the World Baseball Classic, Reyes returned and was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament and would require surgery. This was a disappointment to Cardinals fans and fantasy owners around the world.

In just 12 games last year, Reyes posted a 1.57 ERA, 1.217 WHIP, 10.2 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9. The negative was his walk rate but with his high strikeout rate and ability to get out of many situations, you could have worked with that in your lineup.

Going back to the minors, Reyes allowed a lot of base runners and runs but continued the strikeouts. At just 21 years old, he will obviously take some time to adjust to the big leagues but that shouldn’t stop you from adding him.

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Reyes is owned in just 4.3 percent of ESPN leagues. I assume his ownership percentage is just as low on the other platforms. In a dynasty league, he is worth stashing especially if you are out of the playoff hunt. He could be a top-30 pitcher next year if he returns to 100 percent health.