Welcome back to Buy & Sell, where this week’s theme is: It’s tradin’ season, giddyap! Buy low, sell high is the name of the game, but keep in mind that we all know that and are trying to play the same game. So let’s try to see things that maybe our opponents don’t see. Also, there are some previously completely lost players who seem to be finding themselves, so don’t wait too long before your league rivals find them too. On to the list!
BUY
Jacob Wilson (SS, Athletics)
It’s the Summer of Jacob, and everyone else is Less than Jake. Fun fact: Apparently the ska band of the same name got its name because the drummer’s dog Jake was so pampered that everyone else in the family felt inferior. And as we enter the dog days of the summer, Wilson’s high contact approach is likely to let lots of Sacre Verde cheapie homers, as the combo of heat and elevation there lets even punchless scrubs like Jeff McNeil still pop some homers. You won’t like him much if you let Statcast guide your decisions too much (I admit this is a personal weakness) as his bat speed is still 1st percentile, but he is the kind of player who benefits most from the Sacramento Summer, and he has the momentum on his side.
Since he’s come back from the IL, he’s hit a studly .356 with 3 homers, and all of those homers coming just this week with a .391 AVG. He had been struggling a fair bit prior to his injury, but at this point in the season you can target by category, and there are few better players for batting average if you need it. Shortstop is a weird position this year, so if you’re crossing your fingers on Witt or rolling with a weaker option at the position, let Wilson the volleyer be your trusty companion.
Honorable Mention: Heriberto Hernandez (OF, Miami Marlins) – The playing time is perhaps a bit too unreliable for this, and I know his roster rate is still pretty low even in some deeper leagues, but I consider him a flag plant player who I think could have a huge second “half” with his combo of excellent contact quality and speed.
12-team
Kody Clemens (1B/2B/OF, Minnesota Twins)
I’ll admit I’d been sleeping at the wheel in noticing just how good Kody has been for fantasy teams at his post-300 ADP, and I shouted his name from the rooftops last year, but haven’t yet recommended him to you this year. Mea culpa, I hope you’ll grant me Clemens-y. Kody has cooled down a bit from earlier this month, but still has an impressive .241 with 18 HR and 6 SB, after hitting 5 dingers over the past 3 weeks. The triple position eligibility is incredibly useful in most leagues, and I underrated his run production, with an impressive 47 R and 48 RBI.
It seemed reasonable to be skeptical of an age 29 breakout, especially since there have been a long string of other such flameouts (Frank Schwindel and more recently Joey Meneses, for example), but everything I loved about him last year just got better, as his strong AVG EV and Barrel% went even higher, and his K% improved. I will say that his whiff rate is notably worse this year, so maybe it’s some lucky regression from an unlucky 2025, but the point is, he’s playing every day now, he’s on a contending team that’s finally back at full strength, so he should continue to be a productive 25+ homer bat who will drive in runs and be great shallow league spackle with his positional flexibility.
Lane Thomas (OF, Kansas City Royals)
Get in my lane, it’s time to buy back into Thomas the Tank engine. He’s actually returned to most of the things that made him a strong fantasy asset a few years ago, with league average contact quality, and improved K rate, and has hit .311 with 4 tanks, 1 SB, and 11 RBI in 61 AB the past 3 weeks. Hitting leadoff, even for Kansas City’s anemic offense, gives him a lot of volume, and he doesn’t look likely to relinquish it anytime soon. There could be another level to unlock if he ran more, as he still shows his elite 92nd percentile sprint speed, which is the same as he had in 2024 when he stole 32 bags. But for what it’s worth, he’s never been a great stealer because he still gets gunned down too much, and with 3 CS to 5 SB, the percentage is bad. But then again, it’s Kansas city, why are they being so stingy with the green light this year for anyone not named Tolbert?
One other thing I love that Thomas is doing this year is hitting a high percentage of pulled flyballs again, which is exactly what he needs to do as a medium power player to go on big power binges, and maybe in this warmer weather, the more hitter-friendly dimensions of the new Kaufman Stadium will finally start to show up in games. At worst, he should be a strong accumulator or SOMETHING. At best, he could basically play like the 20/20 guy we used to know before he got off-track. Choo choo!
Honorable Mention: Steven Kwan (OF, Cleveland Guardians) – He’s not meant for all of you, but if your team is in a good position and wants batting average and high floor, he’s your guy, as he’s hitting .400 (no homers) over 45 AB the past 3 weeks and .500 this week. But, with 1 homer on the year, the batting average safety comes with a cost.
15-team
Jacob Gonzalez (1B/2B/SS, Pittsburgh Pirates)
Although he scuffled upon his call-up. I never called for Jacob to beGon. You wouldn’t think a hitter moving to Pittsburgh’s pitcher-friendly confines would boost his value, and yet, it has. One big perk is that he’s now one game from SS eligibility in most leagues, and his one game at 3B gives him eligibility there in Yahoo leagues. But it seems that the bat, which again, was thunderous at Triple-A prior to his call-up, is roaring back to life. Sure it’s just been a week since he was demoted prior to the trade, but he’s hitting .364 with a homer, and all of his Statcast metrics are sliding upwards. Pittsburgh seems inclined to let the hot young bats play, and it’s a still-somehow underrated lineup for run production. His roster rate even in 15-team leagues is quite low, but I’d add now and target in dynasty.
Thomas White (3B, Oakland Athletics)
This may be campy, but looks like it’s a White Hot American Summer. For those prospect hounds who were dreaming of Thomas White getting called up to the majors by midseason, I have good news and bad news. No relation to the talented pitcher of the same name, but I like this guy. Even though his physical appearance sadly changed over the past few years from a long-haired tatted-up college cult hero to a straight-laced guy who looks like he’ll take your order at Starbucks and actually make sure he spells your name right (he’ll confirm it’s not an alternate spelling). But “Tommy Tanks” is actually now “Tommy Shanks” as he’s definitely no longer clubbing the ball, but making lots of contact while spraying it around.
That said, the recent injury to Joshua Kuroda-Grauer (thoughts and prayers to his poor family jewels) further opens up playing time at the hot corner for white, and he’s been great, hitting .438 in his first 17 AB (no HR or SB). He’s already hit a ball 108 mph which is solid, but the thing is, similar to fellow prospect Henry Bolte, White still possess strong raw power, as he hit 112 mph MaxEV in the minors this year… the problem is it’s always on the ground, with a 50%+ GB% in the minors and 63% in the majors so far. But working in his favor is that he makes a ton of contact, though his current elite 94% Z-Contact% and insane 17% CSW% I do expect to regress more towards their minor league rates. But it’s a good sign he’s not overmatched in terms of making contact, and he could basically be a clone of Kuroda-Grauer production-wise, expect with a bit less eligibility but more perfect-world upside.
Honorable Mention: Dane Myers (OF, Cincinnati Reds) – He deserves his flowers as a player with solid all-around peripherals, and I think has been unlucky given his friendly home park combined with an elite LA SweetSpot%, and a whiff% that’s much better than his K rate.
Honorable Mention: Joey Ortiz (3B/SS, Milwaukee Brewers) – Earlier in the year he looked truly lost, but it seems Joey has kangaroo-hopped back to life, with a strong .355 rolling xwOBA over his past 50 PA, and has hit .296 with 3 HR and 2 SB over the past 3 weeks.
Deep Leagues
Jimmy Crooks (C, St. Louis Cardinals)
He may seem toothless, but I still think he has a New Fang, so don’t leave him for dead like the Jim Crooked Vultures. In my fictional 1920’s old-timey player screenplay, Jimmy Crooks is the mob boss who hires hitman Petey Halpin, but I think he can still right himself. Although he’s hitting just .169 with 3 homers, which led him to even be dropped in my deepest 30-team dynasty (and I was happy to scoop him), he’s actually been crushing the ball with a 55% HardHit%, an elite 43% SweetSpot%, and a solid 10% barrel rate. Sure, the 33 K% is a problem, but remember, he’s a catcher, and I’m more encouraged to see his impressive minors power was real and so were the contact issues than to find out the power was a mirage.
But what’s even more exciting? He actually hit a ball harder in the majors, at 110 MPH, than he did at any point in the minors this year (108 MaxEV), and he still managed a 150 wRC+ and .305 ISO there. While the sporadic playing time hasn’t helped, I think he has a real opportunity to play more as Ivan Herrera has been in a massive slump, and Crooks is in fact listed as the strong side platoon at catcher, with Pedro Pages only having 2 AB this past week and 16 over the past 3 weeks, with only 2 hits and 0 RBI over that span. I think Crooks could produce going forward similar to Joe Mack, a defense-first catcher who is mediocre but not terrible in batting average but hits enough homers to be worth it. And I actually think between the two, Crooks has better potential. Wait, Joe Mack needs to also be in on the Roaring Twenties MLB remake, he can be Joe Mack the Knife.
Honorable Mention: Tyler O’Neill (OF, Baltimore Orioles) – Well, the good news, is he seems to be healthy again, popping off with a 3 homer week and rolling xwOBA calling him one the second-biggest xwOBA improvers over 50 PA. Given the dearth of better options with mediocre Beavers still around, I’m hoping he earns more reps vs righties.
Honorable Mention: Hao-Yu Lee (2B/SS, Detroit Tigers) – If the Tigers do indeed sell off as expected, Lee will garner more playing time, and he’s been cromulent when playing, hitting .256 with 4 HR and 1 SB in 164 AB, and hitting .292 with just 3 strikeouts in 24 AB the past 2 weeks.
SELL
Esmerlyn Valdez (OF, Pittsburgh Pirates),
PLEASE READ: TRADE HIGH, DO NOT DROP. Valdez has been incredible, but keep in mind that word also can technically mean “not credible”. This may seem to be a strange reversal, as I called him a buy from deep leagues a month ago up to the top. But it’s lonely at the top, and at some point, you want to sell the hype and not get greedy. Like when I sold OKLO stock at $117 in 2025, then kicked myself when it kept climbing to $163… and now it’s down to $44. In dynasty, it’s a different story, but in redraft, right now with his crazy homer barrage, he might be able to net you a top 20 starter, or a different top 20 outfielder, and I think I’d definitely cash in and do that.
But why? Well, Esmerlyn has a lot in common with Munetaka Murekami, and I’m talking less about Mune’s gargantuan power, and more about his horrific contact rate. Although he’s currently masking it with his incredible .306 AVG to go with his tantalizing 13 HR in 122 PA, he’s also rocking a 37% K%, and there are simply not many major leaguers who can strike out that much and still be great, or even good. And it’s not looking like bad luck: his contact rate of 65% is poor, but even worse is his in-zone contact of just 71%. Justin Mason likes to talk about the required Z-Contact% threshold to be a major leaguer, and that rate is 80%.
Maybe if Esmerlyn had truly eye-popping power, like Aaron Judge or Oneil Cruz level, he can still be a stud despite that, but at least so far, it doesn’t seem like it completely. I mean, the 28% is fantastic and insane, but the maxEV on the year is 114 mph, which is excellent, but not on their level (117-120 mph). And in the minors, his barrel% was a great but still more normal 14%. So he could certainly hit more homers… but I do think this is his peak value, and it’s peak trading season. And given the volatility of high K players, once he slips, it could be an ugly tumble. So float out some aggressive offers now.
Brandon Marsh (OF, Philadelphia Phillies)
If you bought in expecting his .400 BABIP to continue, you’re probably feeling pretty swampy. While he did stay red-hot for a while, things have taken quite a tumble in the past month, as he’s hit just .153 with 2 HR and only 2 RBI over 59 AB the past 3 weeks, and it’s quite possibly you assumed he’d been chugging along as normal. So now suddenly has a much more mortal .290 with 16 HR and 8 SB, and it’s looking like this could be a case of “He is (mostly) who we thought he was).
You may remember that you don’t have to go back too far (say 2025) to remember that Marsh was just a platoon bat, and it’s quite possible that after his big hot stretch, on a team that is very much fighting to contend and entering the trade deadline, a new arrival could push Marsh into a similar role. I mean, he’s already sitting sometimes now, with the crafty Derek Hill siphoning off some PT. Long story short, the best time to flip him was a month ago, the second best time might be today.
Dishonorable Mention: Mickey Moniak (OF Colorado Rockies) – It might seem unfair after Moniak had such a strong spring, but his peripherals are down from 2025, and I worry that with the Rockies OF logjam, he could be traded out of Coors, where he wouldn’t play nearly as well.
12-team
George Springer (OF, Toronto Blue Jays)
Given his post-100 ADP this season, I thought he was a major sleeper. But it seems that his bat is still sleeping, and it’s not going to have a Springer Awakening. Though leaving him in my shallow league lineups has left me feeling naked. Springer has been annoying as he teases with the random hot week before turning back into a pumpkin, but the season line tells you what he’s really been, with a putrid .228 AVG to go with just 10 HR and 7 SB and 25 RBI in 272 AB on the year. Sure, since his return to the IL it’s been slightly better with 2 HR and a .286 AVG in 28 AB over that span. But Statcast thinks it’s been mostly smoke and mirrors, with no indication in terms of xwOBA that he’s been getting any better from his mediocre level at any point.
There is also the point that the entire Toronto offense, which was expected to be a powerhouse, has actually been the worst in the league, with the post-World Series malaise infecting many of their best bats including Vladito, Varsho, Kirk, and more. And with him now often hitting lower in the lineup, the argument that at least he’s a strong run producer also isn’t working. It hurts, and of course it’s hard to forget Springer’s incredible summer run just last year, but also, he’s 36, and I can tell ya, at that age, things can take a hard turn for the worse quickly. Cut in 12-team AVG leagues, unless you can get something for him in a trade given his good week.
Dishonorable Mention: Ivan Herrera (C, St. Louis Cardinals) – Do I know what’s wrong with him? No. Do I know something is clearly wrong with him? Yes. He’s hit just .167 with no homers and 1 RBI over the past 2 weeks, and he has a rancid .221 xwOBA over his past 100 PA, the biggest decliner over that span in baseball.
15-team
Luis Lara (OF, Milwaukee Brewers)
I’ll preface this by saying that Lara could be a buy or sell depending on how he’s valued in your league. If you’re in a league with people who stay up-to-date and get hyped on prospects though, I’d sell. Why? It’s simple, it’s just playing time, or the lack thereof. His Statcast page shows he’s been pretty unlucky to hit just .240, as he has a .283 xBA, but he’s also showing only 1 SB in the majors. He could be a lot like former diminutive Brewers OF Lorenzo Cain, but if he can’t get more aggressive, maybe it’s more like late-career 10-15 Cain, and that’s assuming full playing time he currently lacks. In dynasty, however, it might be a solid time to buy the dip.
Noelvi Marte (3B/OF, Cincinnati Reds)
The Reds already have several valid reasons to not be his biggest fan, but he sure isn’t helping himself after hitting just .160 with 1 HR and 1 SB in 25 AB over the past 2 weeks, and his rolling xwOBA over his past 50 PA is the 3rd-worst drop in the MLB, at a mark of .171 that is the worst of any currently active major leaguer I could find, and worse than the likes of Tristan Gray and James Outman. Sheesh. Maybe another demotion is in his future. And if he’s dealt, it’s going to mean he’ll be away from the hitter-cozy confines of Great American Smallpark, and if he can’t make it there, odds are he can’t make it anywhere. Well now I’m kind of hoping he goes to New York, New York.
