Now we're 3 weeks into the season, and owners are finally starting to buy into hot starts and panic at cold starts. And for some players, we have enough information to make significant changes to their preseason values. Still, “It's only April” should be a meditation mantra to prevent nervous fantasy owners from going overboard. With that in mind, here are the players putting that mantra to the test.
BUY
Mitch Haniger (OF, Mariners) - Mariners fans who bought into offseason hype must be feeling pretty good. Haniger's been a jack-of-all-trades, hitting .293 with 4 Home Runs and 2 SB to boot, with 12 R and 11 RBI to boot. Despite his sleeper status, perhaps too much was made of his batting average risk, as he has solid patience (19.6% O-Swing) and Z-contact rates (90.4%) to maintain a .260-.270 average. He could also go up to 25-10 with plenty of runs produced, so buy into him as a viable mixed league outfielder, even in 10-team formats.
Swanson plays for the Braves.
It sounds like you are saying to sell Cozart but he is on the buy list.
That’s my fault, I misled Ben a bit with what the goal of the article was.
A few names have been swapped around, should be clear now!
Ok Nicky, live up to your promise from the other day. I expect to see Vargas, considerably up there on the totem pole. The breakout is undenieable.
What about Freddie Freeman? Was on a tear hitting .321 in the second half last season but I was skeptical coming into the season as it seemed like a bit of a fluke to me. He’s picked up right where he left off it seems and with Kemp coming back, should have even more RBI opportunities. I know his value is high right now but should he be bought regardless?
There was no reason to doubt. Freeman was tops in LD% or some similar stat last season.
Freeman is absolutely legit, could be a top 3 1st baseman here on out. Here I was focusing on guys lower down on the totem pole who are actually possibly available on the wire.
so 6 Buy-High’s, 4 Sell-Low’s, and 2 Sell-High’s (but players that no one really believes in anyway)
yeah that works for add/drops, but come on man! you have to be able to SELL guys like haniger and thames to win a league. they look like they can do no wrong, but that’s the point! that’s how you get huge value back in a trade.
Here on out, the article is going to be more buys than sells, since this is more geared towards who you should pickup if they’re on your wire. I disagree and WOULD NOT recommend selling on Thames and Haniger unless you’re getting a really good return package, since nobody is expecting them to maintain they’re current supa hot fire pace, but they should both still be great the rest of the way.
In fact, I’d inquire to a Thames or Haniger owner after their first cold streak looking to see if they will “sell high” on them to you.
Eric Thames never even approached this level of production in Korea. I don’t know what that means long-term, but it is very fluky production.
It’s true he’s currently eclipsing his season rates in Korea, but he did manage averaging a 1.165 OPS and a .340-.350 AVG w/ 40+ HR a year, and do that he had to have stretches similar to this.
So no, Thames won’t hit .400 with 70 Homers, and even his biggest backers don’t say that. But he still may hit .290 with 30+ homers and excellent OBP, and you probably won’t get return value of that ilk in a trade. If you’re offered an ace or borderline ace, sure, trade him. But he’s not Tyler White 2.0
“Tims like the river” lol what?
That’s how Marcus Thames’s last name was pronounced, like the Thames River in England, which is pronounced like “Tims”. Obscure, I know.
It really, really isn’t. It’s pronounced temz. Not obscure at all.
the river I mean =)
please tell me I can drop Bautista, PLEASE!
As a Bautista owner myself… I would bench him if possible, but not drop him in anything but a 10-team. He’s been brutal but it’s probably unwise to give up on an early-round OF after just a few weeks, since his swing rates have remained steady at least and power stats can change dramatically with a couple of homers. It’s tempting to stick a fork in him due to his advanced age and injury history, but if you drop him, especially in an OBP league, you may soon regret it, so I’d wait a bit longer.