Welcome back to Buy & Sell! I’m still having a bit of a hangover as my best teams took big injury hits and now I don’t know if any of my 13 leagues will finish 1st this year, but there’s still time to advance, and there’s hidden value to be found in the trade deadline aftermath… and if you’re reading this instead of looking at football, you’re in the right place and in better shape than many. On to the list!
Max Clark (OF, Detroit Tigers)
Maybe the Tigers can finally have a new Mad Max, though the only thing notable about his eyes is his batting eye. Clark helped to quell early concerns about his MLB power output with two doubles in his first MLB game and a homer in his second. While six Ks in 16 AB is a bit concerning for a player whose biggest fantasy attribute is his contact ability, it’s clear that he has the talent to at least be a viable fantasy contributor in the mold of A.J. Ewing, but I do think the ceiling is higher if the power clicks.
Cole Young (2B, Seattle Mariners)
Hey, remember when Young was hitting moonshot after moonshot in Spring Training? Well, it seems that he’s finally back from the moon, and he’s got presents for everybody. He’s hit .343 with threehomers in 67 AB over the past three weeks as the M’s have been rewarded with their mostly unwavering commitment to him. And since I traded him to my brother’s team about a month and a half ago, he’s hit .280 with nine homers. And yes, that does sting. While he does only have 14 dingers on the year, I expect him to surpass the 20 homer mark at this pace, and he’s no longer at any risk of being overtaken by any M’s top prospect like we thought was inevitable in April. Now the team’s future is forever Young.
12-team
George Lombard, Jr. (SS, New York Yankees)
He must love chopping down trees and eating huge pancake and meat breakfasts, because he debuted with a Lombardjack. I’ll admit to being a bit more bearish than some as I think he’s too passive at the plate, but he certainly earned some trust with a great first game, and if he does unseat Caballero as the team’s full-time shortstop and leadoff hitter, he has a very clear path to fantasy value even if he doesn’t contribute much more in power.
Angel Genao (SS, Cleveland Guardians)
Genao, Genao, here what I say now, hitting goodness is just around the corner. The prospect bus is coming, and everybody’s jumping, as now the Guardians have two Angels (that’s a double boom), and I think he’s been underrated but could have a very Cooper Pratt-esque fantasy impact… but I do also think he has more power, given his superior minor league numbers with double-digit homers last year. An injury last season derailed his rapid ascent up prospect lists a bit, but he’s just gotten hotter and has a great balanced package of high contact, good max power, speed, and defense (to keep him playing). In leagues where I need lightning in a bottle, I’m taking a chance on him, and think he’s a high floor prospect.
Joe Mack (C, Miami Marlins)
I know that Agustin Ramirez was recalled, but the biggest threat to his playing time, Liam Hicks, is now off the team, which seemed to be a clear signal that Mack is here to stay. It seems he’s doing exactly what savvy fantasy sharks hoped for, hitting for good power despite low average and playing every day.
15-team
Spencer Jones (OF, New York Yankees)
Are ya feeling lucky, punk? You might already be chasing dragons if you had him on your bench like most teams before his 3-homer week, but if you’re a team needing a high-upside play because you are stuck in the middle, what’s there to lose? I do like that while he was striking out in nearly half his at-bats early on, he’s cut that down with only 9 Ks in his last 31 AB (34 PA). If he can maintain that kind of sub-30% K% over a larger sample, the fantasy upside is enormous, since when he makes contact, he demolishes the ball and has some speed too. He’s more a 15-teamer guy now, but I’d consider him as a spec play in 12-teamers where I need more variance.
Agustin Ramirez (C, Miami Marlins)
I have no idea what his role will be and how long he’ll be up for. I’m not sure the Marlins really know either. But I know he was great last year, and while his minor league numbers this year were surprisingly disappointing, some of that could be mental. Given how good he was when he was clicking last year, I think you need to hold and see what happens if you have the roster space.
Deep Leagues
Abimelec Ortiz (1B, Washington Nationals)
With Luis Garcia Jr. shipped to the Bronx, it’s worth seeing if their older prospect can add a spark and be Abimelectric. I’m not so optimistic, because he hit 18 homers with 25 doubles in Triple-A, but with a .244 AVG, so this could look a bit Coby Mayo-like… and I still prefer Andres Chaparro. But it’s a pretty good hitting park, and he should have solid deep league runway.
Elias Diaz (C, Texas Rangers)
It’s very far from sexy. But with Higashioka and Jansen both down, Diaz is playing, and with 5 homers in just 125 AB, the theory that leaving the Rockies would leave him completely punchless is looking wrong. Sure, he’s one of the worst catchers with regular playing time, but a few catchers just lost theirs, and he’s better than most part-timers.
SELL
10-team
Vlad Guerrero Jr. (1B, Toronto Blue Jays)
He’s rostered in almost every league, so I know this could start an abstract messy war like Picasso’s Guerrnica. I think you can look at statcast sliders all day, but you really have to take a glance back into the real world and realize that with 6 homers on the year, he has fewer homers than Michael Massey. What the Blue Blazers is going on?
Well, for one, we know he’s been dealing with and probably playing through some kind of injury, and a hitter who is already groundball-prone certainly isn’t fixing that while not feeling at his best. And he’s showing no sign of reversing that trend, with his rolling xwOBA for 250 PA, 100 PA, and 50 PA all down, as he’s hitting .325 over the past 250 PA, .306 over the past 100 PA, and .296 over the past 50 PA. And that’s just plain bad. Like, below Jacob Gonzalez, and Nate Eaton.
Hypothetically, it could turn around right away. But like, this is August. And the opportunity cost is higher at 1B than any other position, with so many quality hitters. And as crazy as it sounds, given the current trends and peripherals, if I had to take a bet on who would be better ROS, Guerrero Jr. or Ty France… I might actually lean France (though a lot more likely if I won more from lower odds). He might prove he’s macho playing out the string in a semi-broken state, but I don’t want a macho man; I want to snap into a slugging first baseman. I’d definitely try to trade first, though, since odds are someone in your league is a believer.
Xander Bogaerts (SS, San Diego Padres)
I got my cranberries, but no sugar, and I’m time of wading in this Xander Bog. The rest of the offense has taken off, but Xander hasn’t homered in the past 3 weeks while hitting just .228, and his main contribution has been stealing bases with 16 bags to go with his 9 homers. He has been hitting .304 this week, but I think if you’re stuck in the middle of the pact, this is a time to target the much higher upside of the recent shortstop call-ups.
12-team
Luis Lara (OF, Milwaukee Brewers)
Lara hasn’t exactly been raiding the tombs, but he has been nearly underground. His launch angle of 7 is pretty close to Yandy Diaz territory, and after hitting just .245 with 0 HR and 2 SB in his first 63 PA, he’s looking a bit too much like Alejandro Osuna for my liking. That might be too harsh, but the point is he surged up prospect lists after a short-lived May power surge that seems to have dissipated as soon as it came, and in the majors has hit a poor MaxEV of just 106 mph.
Perhaps I’m burying the lede on Lara, though, since the real issue has been his inconsistent playing time. For a contending Brewers team, it makes sense why they want to mix and match, but it’s maddening for fantasy teams taking unexpected hits from empty stat lines, and there’s no real indication that this will end soon, especially as he hasn’t forced the issue. I still think he’s a solid bat, but I’m glad I flipped him in most of my leagues shortly after his call-up fearing this would happen.
Heliot Ramos (OF, New York Yankees)
This, on paper, looks amazing, no? A power hitter going from the Giants’ extreme pitcher’s park to the Yankees’ bandbox, right? The problem is, while a lot with the roster is up in the air, this is the Yankees, and it’s entirely possible they’ll be content with Ramos in a part-time role once people come back healthy… especially with Lombard’s arrival pushing Caballero to the OF.
15-team
Paul Goldschmidt (1B, New York Yankees)
Well, this one is easier. Luis Garcia is playing first base this year, and Goldschmidt was already playing his way out of a regular role once he made it clear that really he can only hit lefties. Ignore his season line; you don’t want a small-side platoon bat.
Brenton Doyle (OF, Chicago White Sox)
Speaking of small-side platoon bat… I really do understand why you wouldn’t want to give up on him in the deepest formats, but a hitter who couldn’t hit even in Colorado is probably not going to be fixed by this. Unless Chicago-styke Pizza gives him Samson-like strength.
Tristan Peters (OF, Chicago White Sox)
What, drop an All-Star? Yes, when he might be the most undeserving All-Star of recent memory. Maybe they were hoping he’d pull off a Savannah Bananas routine. But did you realize that he’s hit just .094 in 56 AB over the past three weeks? There’s no appeal to that, so make like ATP and discharge Tristan Petassium.
Deep Leagues
Nick Fortes (C, Tampa Bay Rays)
Boring, but necessary, especially as Fortes was starting to generate some deep league buzz. Hicks still can play 1B from time to time as Fortes is still the better defender. But I’d assume his part-time role is now a smaller role, so he’s more like Nick Pianissimos.
Bryan De La Cruz (OF, Philadelphia Phillies)
We got a sample that we liked before the Phillies acquired more bats and everyone shuffled, but if you want more playing time, you have to unlock the Bryan DLC.
