Welcome back to Buy & Sell, where this week’s theme is gold found buried in your sock drawer! Because most of the hot names right now, unlike last week, aren’t flashy new arrivals to the bigs, but rather guys who were hanging around mostly ignored on rosters in April, but the production has made them undeniable. As far as the sells, it’s a mix of established vets who are crumbling inside and some trendy “must-add” players where I think you can take advantage of the hype being overblown. On to the list!
BUY
10-team
Casey Schmitt (2B/3B, San Francisco Giants)
It’s Casey flying in like a Bat out of Heck (Nick’s still watching). I’ll admit that I, along with most experts, didn’t expect his hot April to last, but he’s somehow cranked it up to another level. He’s not a good defender, but with a bat, who cares about his glove? Mitt Schmitt. He’s hit an incredible .333 with 6 HR and 13 RBI over the past 2 weeks, with 4 of those dingers and 10 RBI just this week, all for a guy who wasn’t guaranteed a starting role on the worst offense in baseball. With his very useful eligibility, he’s obviously an all-formats must roster, so it sure is a head scratcher that he’s still only rostered in 66% of Yahoo leagues.
Travis Bazzana (2B, Cleveland Guardians)
With how much he’s been running, he’s turning into Travels Bazzana. I don’t think I was alone in underrating the stolen base element of his game, as he was scouting much more for his bat than his wheels, and his aggressiveness in the minors didn’t clue in to anything (since typically stolen base numbers in the minors are elevated), and even then, he only stole 12 bags last year in 374 PA (84 games). But perhaps if we looked more to 2026, we could’ve seen it coming, as this year he stole 8 bases this year in Triple-A in only 117 PA (23 games) and kept that same pace in the majors with 7 bags in 113 PA (27 Games). Oh, and he’s doing things other than stolen bases, too.
While in that regard his bat didn’t blow the doors down in Triple-A, hitting just .287 with 2 HR there, everything looks better since the jump to the majors, hitting a studly .302/.407/.458 with 3 homers and the aforementioned 7 bags in under a month. While his bat will probably regress somewhat, given the minor league numbers and Statcast thinking he’s a bit over his skis, he’s basically become the player we were hoping Luke Keaschall would be as a table setter with high stolen base output, a high average, and enough pop to be useful even in shallow leagues. I don’t think there’s any risk right now of him getting sent back to the minors or even getting moved down in the lineup, and with his pedigree, it wouldn’t be the craziest thing for him to finish the season looking not all that far off from Trea Turner. He’s a play in all 10-team leagues and even 8-team viable in OBP formats.
12-team
Curtis Mead (2B/3B, Washington Nationals)
I wrote him up last week, and boy, I hope you listened. Because he’s no longer a deep play, now it’s a mad race like Need for Mead 9: Washington Drift. Though speed is maybe the least relevant part of his game, he’s suddenly on everyone’s radars after a bombastic 3-homer week, which leaves him at an impressive .236 with 7 HR and 3 SB, which looks better when you look under the hood. He has finally started to deliver on the power/average combo expectations, at least if you’re projecting forward, as he just keeps hitting better and is finally hitting the ball hard, instead of just showing the raw ability to hit the ball hard.
He’s 72nd percentile both in HardHit% and Barrel%. That combines quite nicely with impressively low strikeout rate, and draws a ton of walks, making him viable in 12-team OBP formats, and still is a relatively buy-low as I think he could easily hit .260 or even .270 with 15+ homers over the rest of the season, and the fact that he wasn’t even a regular before last week helps him seem more fungible, but I think the demotion of House also was a signal that Mead can entrench himself as an anchor. And don’t forget that nifty dual eligibility. I’d definitely rather have him at this point than other guys I had trouble quitting, like Colt Keith or Luis Garcia. I think he’s immediately a must-add in 15-team formats but due to the dearth of talent at 2B/3B and my belief he can keep improving, I think he’s also a fine spec add in 12-team OBP formats.
Honorable Mention: Carlos Cortes (OF, Athletics) – Okay, look, I’ve written him up so many times you might think he’s paying me by the word. I didn’t want to. I get that lately he’s been frustrating. But like, 16% rostered? Butler’s shelving helps Bolte more, but Cortes has been hitting well. He just hasn’t had a run-scoring impact, with only 3 runs and 4 RBI (along with 1 homer) over the past 3 weeks. But he IS still playing, his .382 rolling xwOBA over his last 50 PA is still good, and I think you’ll get burned being impatient with a player with this much contact ability in a park that will be a homer factory in the coming months.
Honorable Mention: Gabriel Moreno (C, Arizona Diamondbacks) – He was dropped in my 14-teamer, so it’s possible he was cut in your league too, but I think that impatience is imprudent. I still see a lot of what I liked in his 2025 changes, especially the barrels and launch angle, and his buy-low window is closing.
15-team
Jesus Sanchez (OF, Toronto Blue Jays)
Platoons are annoying, sure, but if you need batting average, don’t ignore how they can benefit you. Sanchez has been on a tear lately that Statcast thinks is more than a fluke, as he’s now rocking a .290 xBA and .473 xSLG that are both a bit above his actual also-solid .281 AVG and .456 SLG% with 6 homers on the year. The lack of homers has led to him slipping under the radar a bit, as he has only 2 dingers over the past 3 weeks, but with a .383 over that span, and he’s actually the biggest improver in rolling 50 PA xwOBA in the majors, leading me to think more homers will be shortly arriving. It’s worth noting that he’s not looking like a double-digit stolen base guy now as his sprint speed inexplicably dropped an entire foot per second, but I think he can still be an asset in batting average with a .275-.280 AVG and another 12-15 homers on the year.
Honorable Mention: Vaughn Grissom (2B/3B, Los Angeles Angels) – The surface stats make it look like he’s been mired in a slump or just regressing back to his mediocre recent past. But the underlying numbers tell of a league-average hitter who has just been unlucky and should keep getting chances to turn it around and be a useful all-around bat.
Honorable Mention: Chase Meidroth (2B/SS, Chicago White Sox) – The formerly punchless middle infielder who drew a scary comp to Nick Madrigal has been trying to sell out for power and it’s gone… not too bad? With 5 homers, he’s already hit the mark he reached last year, and the .273 AVG is actually better despite a higher K rate. If only he started running again, he could be in the 12-team conversation, but he still could have something like that one good J.P. Crawford year.
Deep Leagues
Bryan Torres (OF, St. Louis Cardinals)
I remember hearing his name from a preseason prospects podcast, and I was like, “Okay, but he’s 28, so why is he considered interesting”? Well, I get it now. The Redbirds outfielder is hitting a sanguine .316 with a homer in his debut, and it’s looking like, due to injuries, he has a starting outfield spot on the roster, with no platoons. I love that he’s rocking a 2/3 BB/K in those first 22 AB, and while I know better than to quote xwOBA in such a tiny sample, it’s worth noting they think he’s been unlucky, so the good start isn’t a fluke. He has some speed, and I think he’ll be a fine 10+ SB guy with a .270 AVG and at least a handful of homers, but maybe more if he can keep up his fantastic 31% Pull Air% that can help him still do damage despite puny 66 mph bat speed.
Honorable Mention: Owen Caissie (OF, Miami Marlins) – His 42% strikeout rate is still horrendous, don’t get me wrong. But at least from a batted ball standpoint, he’s starting to turn things around, hitting .375 with a homer this week, and xwOBA trending up, so some dingers could be coming.
Honorable Mention: Ryan Kreidler (3B, Minnesota Twins) – He’s a journeyman who disappointed me last year, but he’s been playing in spurts since Royce Lewis’s demotion and has handled capably, hitting .273 with 3 homers in 49 PA, which has been mostly backed by Statcast and has underrated 74 mph bat speed and LA Sweet Spot%, so more homers could be coming… and he also qualifies at CF in leagues with 1-game eligibility.
SELL
10-team
Seiya Suzuki (OF, Chicago Cubs)
Given my love of trading a big name when the peripherals show red flags, I should Sell ya, Suzuki. Yes, I know he was a top 100 ADP guy, I know it’s a long season, and I know that overall he’s been solid, hitting .240 with 7 HR (no SB) in 154 AB, which isn’t so far from his typical line. And while he has been in a pretty awful slump, hitting just .167 with no homers in 48 AB over the past two weeks, that’s a small sample. But I just get that uneasy feeling something ain’t right, and I think that something is health-related. Why? The power’s been shut off, and I don’t think there’s a circuit breaker.
The past few years, he’s been a beast in terms of raw power, actually improving every year, with an elite MaxEV of 116 mph last year. This year, it’s down to 112. 112 in a vacuum is still very good, but a 4 mph drop is concerning with this big of a sample. The bat speed is down by a full mile per hour, but the barrel rate drop is the worst, going from 12% in 2024 to 16% in 2025, down to just 6% in 2026. That is… not good. Now, sometimes power hitters trade off power for more contact (not a move I usually like), but that’s not what’s going on here… his whiff rate is actually notably worse. And his sprint speed is down too, which makes me think it’s no coincidence he hasn’t stolen a base yet, nor even attempted one.
Now, does that mean he’s toast? No, I wouldn’t go that far, but I think I could look at his most pessimistic rest-of-season projection (Steamer ROS) as the most likely outcome. And what does that call for? Hitting .247 with 15 homers and 3 SB over 400 PA going forward. Now tell me, if you agree that’s reasonable, forget about his ADP, is that really cutting it in a 10-teamer standard league? I don’t think so… and I think that despite that, it’s still early enough that he can net a fine return around 85% to 90% of his preseason value, when he’s more likely to produce at 70-75% of that. Sell the house now before buyers notice the rotting foundation (but like, don’t actually do that IRL, someone tried that on my sis, which reminds me always pay for a quality inspection).
Vinnie Pasquantino (1B, Kansas City Royals)
This Italian breakfast must be a stale cannoli, because wow, has he gone cold. He’s traditionally been a slow starter, but at a position like 1B, it’s just really rough to roster someone who currently is hitting .199 with 5 HR and 2 SB, and I’m less optimistic than with his previous slow start that it’s just bad luck likely to turn around soon. That’s because Vinnie’s quality of contact metrics have been terrible this year, and it seems there is a clear reason why. His bat speed, which was a cromulent 72.5 mph (58th percentile) in 2025, has been under 70 mph (18th percentile) this year, which is not where you want to be if you are relied upon for power. But why? Maybe he’s hurt. It wouldn’t be the first time a player trotted out a weak line like this while nursing an injury, and he’s dealt with a fair share of nagging maladies. Given that he’s actually also striking out more and the team has been a black hole for run prevention, I think you do a lot more damage waiting for him to turn it around than you would just streaming for now with guys like Nate Lowe or possibly better 12-team options until he shows something.
Luke Keaschall (2B, Minnesota Twins)
A “Nico Hoerner-type” has been a catch-all phrase, but apparently not a Keaschall phrase. That was the buy case going into draft day, and started in early drafts even as a top 100 pick! Now, none of that has gone quite according to plan, as he has stolen a perfectly acceptable 10 bags, but he’s hit just .235 with no homers. Now here is the good news: He has been .333 with just 1 strikeout in 15 AB this week, and that’s the 3rd consecutive week in which he raised his batting average. But he’s actually stopped stealing as much, with just 4 attempted stolen bases over the past 3 weeks, and 2 of those he was caught stealing (with both of those coming in the past 2 weeks).
But as dumb as it might sound, there’s a better reason to sell not just in 10-teamers who took their foot off the gas, but also 12-teamers. The dude is allergic to runs. I mean, I get that fewer homers means fewer runs/RBI, but he has just 3 RBI in the past 3 weeks, and on the season has just 23 R and 18 RBI in 187 AB. That’s doing almost as much damage as the lack of homers… honestly, I wouldn’t even fault you for considering cutting him in a 15-team format. The only Keaschall I want is K. Schall, because this draft day nothingburger makes me say “Geez, Louise!”
Dishonorable Mention: Carter Jensen (C, Kansas City Royals) – I’ll admit I hadn’t realized just how terrible he’d been in May, but it seems his high strikeout ways caught up to him… here’s your snooze alarm to realize he’s not 10-team material.
12-team
Zach Gelof (2B/3B, Oakland Athletics)
Zach is kinda like using too much IcyHot… At some point, you want to get the Gelof. Okay, I know that doesn’t really work because apparently his name doesn’t follow typical consonant-vowel rules, but whatever. I’m once again going against the grain here, as Gelof has been quite the popular FAAB add in the past few weeks, which is understandable given his useful dual-eligibility, sudden surge, and a 6/6 HR/SB that suddenly makes you realize he is definitely pacing for 20/20. But at first it seemed like he finally was a new man and overcame his bugaboo, but just like any good TV drama, ghosts of Gelof’s past are starting to haunt him. For one, his initially mighty barrel rate has dwindled to 9%, which is below his career average, and I think I see why.
See, he’s kept his K rate down this year to a previously unthinkable 24%, but he’s doing it the ugly way. Because while it seems supported by a vastly improved contact% of 74% (career 66%), almost all of that is from O-contact% (from 44% career to 59%), which isn’t what you want. And the Z-Contact% is only up from 75% to 78%, and as you may know, that’s still below the 80% Z-Contact% threshold for most hitters to last as a major leaguer. And all of that off-the-plate contact might explain why his launch angle sweet spot rate has plummeted. So despite the good speed and the favorable home park, I think there’s a hole in the engine room and the ship is taking on water, but the passengers are still gallivanting, I mean, Gelofanting, so don’t wait too long before selling high to someone who still thinks they’re buying low.
Dishonorable Mention: Ildemaro Vargas (2B/3B, Arizona Diamondbacks) – His overall line looked hale & hearty yesterday, typical health today, and Ildemaro. He’s hit .091 with no homers in the past week and only .218 with 1 HR over 78 AB the last 3 weeks. I’m happy for you if you got most of his April, but you can’t take that with you.
15-team
Colt Keith (2B/3B, Detroit Tigers)
This Colt is not ready to be one of my horses. I take the L on this as I preached patience with him, but he’s still at zero (0) homers, and without any power or speed, and on a team that is lost offensively, he’s worth moving on from for now. His xwOBA was very high in April but plummeted in May, and although it’s recovered some, not in a way that relieves the pain if you’ve been starting him. Just note that he hit 13 homers the past 2 years, and still could have a few multi-homer weeks in July.
Spencer Horwitz (1B, Pittsburgh Pirates)
The timing of this may seem weird, as his rolling xwOBA has been trending up and he’s hitting high in a suddenly competitive lineup, hitting .350 with 3 homers over the past 2 weeks. But if you’re in a trade league, this may be your best chance to actually flip him for some value, and I still think you should. He just doesn’t have the pop to cut it as a 1B without the dual 2B eligibility this year, and his expected stats suggest he’s been quite lucky, as his nifty .288 AVG and .462 SLG% are undermined by his ghastly .238 xBA and .357 xSLG. You can do better, so keep your Horwitz about you and flip him before you end up dropping him.
Dishonorable Mention: Daulton Rushing (C, Los Angeles Dodgers) – If you didn’t sell the past few weeks, you probably already missed your chance. Sure, he’s still talented, and still playing, but the more he does, the more pedestrian he starts to look, after crapping out to a hideous .083 with 0 HR over 24 AB the past 2 weeks. He doesn’t play enough to warrant 12-team consideration anymore, and single-catcher 15-teamers might do well to peruse the wire as well.
Dishonorable Mention: Daniel Schneemann (2B/3B/SS/OF, Cleveland Guardians) – Don’t look now, but as the weather is heating up, the German Snowman is melting. His xwOBA and his batting average have been in a tailspin since the start of May, but the temporary news of him batting leadoff buoys him from panic mode… but I doubt it lasts long. 15-teamers with shallow benches might still need an emergency roster spackle guy like him, though I think he’s nearing the chopping block there, too.
Deep Leagues
Lenyn Sosa (2B/3B, Toronto Blue Jays)
So much for “needing a change of scenery”. He’s historically been a slow starter, but maybe there is something else going on, because from the jump, it seemed a bit suspect that the White Sox seemed to hardly give a chance to one of their best 2025 hitters. This year, it’s been a putrid .195 with 1 HR in 113 PA, and the trade to the Blue Jays did nothing to help, as he’s hitting an even worse .095 over the past 3 weeks. I wonder if he’s facing a DFA soon.
Tyler O’Neill (OF, Baltimore Orioles)
If we find out in the next month that he’s been dealing with some kind of neck tightness, y’all owe me a soda. Something has clearly been wrong all year, as even when he was under the Mendoza line last year, it was still with excellent hard contact and elite barrel rates, leading me to believe he’d be a skills-over-role sleeper this year. But this year, he’s not even hitting the ball hard when he does make contact, and his bat speed is down from a sturdy 74 mph in 2025 to a mediocre 71.5 in 2026, with his whole Statcast page in blue besides drawing walks, and it keeps just looking worse. Not his year, at least not until he admits an injury and says he finally got healthy.
Dishonorable Mention: Luisangel Acuna (2B/SS, Chicago White Sox) – But he stole 8 bases! But the family name! But his ADP, his age, his aura! I don’t care. This offense keeps getting better, and it’s without him being more than a small-side platoon bat and pinch runner. I was intrigued by him the first couple of weeks, but that was just an April Fools’ prank.
Dishonorable Mention: Trevor Larnach (OF, Minnesota Twins) –More like Larnachtmusic because this melody is putting me to sleep. While his mediocrity has flown a bit under the radar because of his .265 AVG, it’s Platoons instead of tunes, and instead of tutti it’s just two taters.
