Dylan Carlson

Dylan Carlson

26-Year-Old OutfielderOF
Tampa Bay Rays
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Just a few short years ago, Carlson was regarded as a promising, up-and-coming big leaguer, but his shine has taken a considerable hit on account of his .230/.316/.364 batting line over the past two seasons (743 plate appearances). He injured his left ankle in mid-May of last year and battled the ankle throughout the campaign before ultimately undergoing surgery in September. The outfielder was cleared for running and baseball activities in December, but he will still be brought along slowly in spring training. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol once considered Carlson his leadoff hitter of the future, and his optimism was justified after a 2021 season in which Carlson had 53 extra-base hits and a .343 OBP at the age of 22. Now 25, Carlson figures to bounce back with better luck on the health front, though he is not assured a regular role out of camp and may in fact open the year as the Cardinals' fourth outfielder. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#412
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $2.35 million contract with the Cardinals in January of 2024. Traded to the Rays in July of 2024.
Ends season with three hits
OFTampa Bay Rays
September 30, 2024
Carlson went 3-for-4 with an RBI on Sunday against the Red Sox.
ANALYSIS
Carlson has started only 12 of 27 games in September while working as a depth outfielder, but he ended his season on a strong note. He hit only .219 with a .615 OPS after being dealt to the Rays, so he could remain a bench bat for the team heading into 2025.
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Batting Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
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2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
3
2
1
8
7
2
3
2
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
4
1
3
4
13
2
1
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+25%
OPS vs LHP
2024
 
 
+13%
OPS vs LHP
2023
 
 
+30%
OPS vs LHP
2022
 
 
+33%
OPS vs LHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .747 342 38 6 31 3 .265 .351 .396
Since 2022vs Right .600 666 64 10 64 7 .204 .287 .313
2024vs Left .603 116 9 1 9 0 .212 .310 .293
2024vs Right .533 149 10 2 17 2 .206 .268 .265
2023vs Left .771 85 8 2 7 1 .268 .376 .394
2023vs Right .592 170 19 3 20 2 .196 .288 .304
2022vs Left .845 141 21 3 15 2 .305 .369 .477
2022vs Right .633 347 35 5 27 3 .207 .294 .339
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+17%
OPS at Home
2024
 
 
+24%
OPS at Home
2023
 
 
+2%
OPS at Home
2022
 
 
+22%
OPS at Home
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home .702 491 60 10 55 7 .238 .320 .382
Since 2022Away .600 517 42 6 39 3 .211 .298 .302
2024Home .628 121 11 2 13 2 .241 .298 .330
2024Away .505 144 8 1 12 0 .179 .278 .228
2023Home .657 140 18 3 16 2 .220 .307 .350
2023Away .643 115 9 2 11 1 .219 .330 .313
2022Home .771 230 31 5 26 3 .249 .339 .431
2022Away .631 258 25 3 16 2 .226 .295 .336
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Dylan Carlson compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.29
 
BB Rate
8.3%
 
K Rate
28.3%
 
BABIP
.288
 
ISO
.068
 
AVG
.209
 
OBP
.287
 
SLG
.277
 
OPS
.563
 
wOBA
.259
 
Exit Velocity
86.8 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
26.4%
 
Barrels/PA
1.5%
 
Expected BA
.200
 
Expected SLG
.281
 
Sprint Speed
23.1 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
41.0%
 
Line Drive %
20.5%
 
Fly Ball %
38.5%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Dylan Carlson See More
Weekly Hitter Rankings: Last Ups
45 days ago
Ryan McMahon and the Rockies finish the season with six straight home games.
Weekly Hitter Rankings: The Playoff Push
52 days ago
Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers are one of 14 teams with a seven-game schedule from September 16-22. Todd Zola highlights the matchups and unveils his weekly hitter rankings.
Weekly Hitter Rankings: Scoring is Way Down
59 days ago
The Cleveland Guardians are one of six teams with seven games the week of September 9 to September 15. See how they and the rest of the MLB rank in Todd Zola's weekly hitter rankings.
Lineup Lowdown: American League
63 days ago
Parker Meadows has locked down the Tigers' leadoff spot against righties and has started making contact at a high clip for the first time in his career.
The Z Files: What It Takes
63 days ago
Todd Zola provides some data to help you determine whether even Aaron Judge is capable of slugging your team into contention over the season's final stretch.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
Carlson's own manager was driving the hype train last spring, predicting big things for a player he envisioned as his leadoff man. That train went off the rails in a hurry as Carlson mostly struggled before landing on the injured list in May with a hamstring strain. A thumb sprain put him back on the shelf in September and the outfielder couldn't really get going in between. In the end, Carlson slashed .236/.316/.380 across 488 plate appearances. After popping 18 home runs in 2021, Carlson managed eight long balls last season to go along with five steals in seven attempts. If there's a silver lining it's that Carlson trimmed his strikeout rate five percentage points to 19.3%. Keep in mind too that Carlson is still only 24 years old and will be for the entirely of the 2023 season. While far too young to give up on, the switch hitter had dramatic platoon splits and the Cardinals may be forced dial back his playing time slightly if his struggles against lefties continue.
Many prospects cruising through Double A and Triple A when they're 20 years old are overmatched in the majors if they debut the next season. Such was the case for Carlson in 2020 before he picked things up down the stretch. Carlson's follow-up was much better as he demonstrated many of the skills earning him top prospect status. Specifically, Carlson improved his plate discipline by walking more and fanning less. His overall average exit velocity was only 29th percentile, but it was closer to league average on flyballs, supporting power. A low exit velocity on grounders combined with 73rd percentile sprint speed and a little good fortune yielded a .250 BABIP on groundballs, 11 points above average. It all added up to a 113 wRC+, impressive for a 22-year-old. Carlson has 25-15 upside, just temper expectations this season. Pay for moderate growth, likely from continued improvement with his plate discipline.
The best Cardinals hitting prospect since Oscar Taveras, Carlson was a spring training standout and would have spent the bulk of the year in the majors under normal circumstances. He eventually got the call in mid-August when the Cardinals resumed play following a team-wide COVID-19 outbreak. He struggled and was demoted in early September. While it's damning with faint praise, Carlson was the Cardinals' best hitter after getting recalled Sept. 18. Including three playoff games, he hit .288/.389/.533 over his final 54 PA. Strikeouts were still an issue over that stretch (27.8 K%), but he got a lot more patient (13.0 BB%) as he settled in against big-league pitching. He doesn't have eye-popping exit velocity readings or blazing speed (74th percentile), but the 22-year-old switch hitter projects to be good at every aspect of the game. He should open the year with a prime lineup spot and everyday role.
In just one season, Carlson went from an interesting sleeper in the Cardinals' system to a top-10 prospect in all of baseball, and he is now knocking on the door of the majors. He was the second-youngest player and second-best hitter (142 wRC+) in the Texas League, and his 10.8 BB% and 20.3 K% are marks we would expect from a player several years older. Carlson's 33.3 Oppo% and 25.9 LD% on that circuit were also elite marks and his above-average speed led to 18 steals on 25 attempts. The switch hitter posted the best statistics of his career in 18 games at Triple-A, but there was obviously a lot of noise in those numbers. Carlson has a chance to be a plus contributor in all five roto categories, but it's his high floor that makes him so appealing in dynasty and redraft leagues. Regardless of who the Cardinals open the year with in the outfield, Carlson should force the issue sometime in the first half.
More Fantasy News
At DH, batting second Monday
OFTampa Bay Rays
September 9, 2024
Carlson will start at designated hitter and bat second in Monday's game versus the Phillies.
ANALYSIS
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Idle Wednesday
OFTampa Bay Rays
August 21, 2024
Carlson isn't in the Rays' lineup for Wednesday's game against the Athletics, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
ANALYSIS
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Out of Tuesday's lineup
OFTampa Bay Rays
August 20, 2024
Carlson is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game at Oakland, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
ANALYSIS
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On bench Sunday
OFTampa Bay Rays
August 18, 2024
Carlson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
ANALYSIS
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Collects homer, steal in win
OFTampa Bay Rays
August 16, 2024
Carlson went 2-for-4 with a solo homer, a stolen base and an additional RBI in Friday's 5-4 victory over Arizona.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Three teams showing interest
OFSt. Louis Cardinals
July 29, 2024
Carlson is drawing trade interest from the Guardians, Angels and Nationals, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Carlson is a change-of-scenery candidate, having slashed just .212/.303/.300 while being limited to only 135 games due to injury since the start of the 2023 season. The switch hitter is still just 25 and under team control through 2026, and there appear to be some clubs interested in buying low.
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