Hello and welcome to what will likely be the FINAL Buy & Sell of the Year, where this week’s theme is: Are ya feeling lucky, punk? In two weeks pretty much anything can happen, so it really comes down to hot hand and matchups more than ever, but at the end of the day it’s almost gambling. Like, I don’t think anyone at any point this year would recommend starting Otto Kemp over Addison Barger in my league championships (especially since the Jays have 7 games) but guess what I did? And that’s not to mention the days off and short starts of the final week which is so hard to predict that I won’t even try (also for those in H2H, you’ve likely already finished your championship.)
Speaking of which, I did make it to the championship in my 30-team dynasty, but sadly this Monday I tied in my semifinals match, which eliminated me as the lower seed. Even though I did try to argue that with my team name of Blaze CanhaBliss, I should be higher than everyone. Oh well. On to the list!
BUY
Sal Stewart (2B, Cincinnati Reds) – 5%
If he’s on your wire, grab him and Sally forth into battle! Stewart vaulted his way up prospect charts with a .309 AVG, 20 HR, and 17 SB in 494 PA (118 G) to earn the call-up. What’s more impressive is that he managed to both keep a low K% (16%) and hit with elite exit velocity (114 mph MaxEV). What’s even more crazy is he managed this as a 21-year-old. While playing half his games in the Smallpark should have made him an obvious must-add weeks ago, they were juggling around with his playing time before coming to their senses. But after clobbering four homers in just 32 PA, you can’t sleep on him any more. It’s crazy but given what’s going on at the position, I’m calling him a 10-team, all formats add the rest of the way.
Tyler O’Neill (OF, Baltimore Orioles) – 31%
It’s true that he hasn’t done much in the 11 AB since his return, hitting .182 in those few games. But, he is exactly the kind of player who could go on a crazy homer barrage out of nowhere when he’s healthy, and he only needs two more weeks to find his stroke. You probably won’t find a more potent hitter on your wire, making him especially good for teams who need a miracle to win the HR category.
Gabriel Moreno (C, Arizona Diamondbacks) – 31%
If someone stole him from you off the waiver wire earlier this year, call MoReno 911. I’m glad I got in early on Moreno after noticing his improved launch angle with an excellent hard hit rate, and he’s been a man on fire this past month, hitting .340 with three home runs and 13 RBI the past three weeks and .375 with a homer and a stolen base this week. While he still doesn’t have the game-changing power of the elite options, his batting average and batting situation in the middle of the lineup makes him 10-team startable right now, and I ultimately decided to start him over similarly hot Dillon Dingler in my finals.
Otto Kemp (3B/OF, Philadelphia Phillies) – 22%
A big week has made Otto, who I did recommend last week, a hot add, and I was a bit surprised to see 22% when other hot players didn’t get the same bump. Still, I think his power/speed combo makes him 12-team viable right now… and likely an improvement over the underwhelming Alec Bohm.
Parker Meadows (OF, Detroit Tigers) – 8%
I kept getting confused with the other Meadows just because the next name on this list is Austin. Meadows had such a terrible start to the year after being a favorite sleeper pick that his return came with little fanfare… in fact he was dropped in my 30-team dynasty. But he’s been hot nonetheless, hitting .345 with two homers and six RBI in 29 ABs since his return, and the talent with power/speed upside that made him a popular pick is still there. The Tigers offense has been colder but is still talented, and he’s at least worth starting in all 15-team formats and makes a solid endgame spec play in shallow formats.
Austin Martin (2B/OF, Minnesota Twins) – 2%
Martin has flown completely under the radar despite the fact that he’s been getting hotter and hotter and hitting over .300. He’s hit .356 with five stolen bases over the past three weeks, and while he doesn’t hit homers (one on the year), he’s been sneaky valuable both in leagues that use OBP and that use SLG%. If you’re in a league that uses both, he’s a 12-team sleeper, otherwise he’s more 15-team territory for streaming.
Jared Triolo (2B/SS, Pittsburgh Pirates) – 26%
It hasn’t been flashy, but Triolo reeling off a bunch of multi-hit games from the leadoff spot is definitely enough to keep him there, and the leadoff role gives him the volume that is especially important as you’re grinding out your hitter production.
Zach Cole (SS/OF, Houston Astros) – 1%
If you need power out of nowhere, Cole is your King. The 25-year-old slugging prospect reminds me a bit of Matthew Lugo with his Statcast-breaking small sample expected stats and hard contact, but his 35% K% in Triple-A has me thinking he could flame out fast. But, for two more weeks? You could probably get a few homers and it’s worth the dice roll on Cole.
Brandon Marsh (OF, Philadelphia Phillies) – 9%
He’s been a bit forgotten after an extended midsummer slump, but Marsh has slogged his way out of it and has slugged .679 with a .393 AVG and 11 RBI in 56 AB over the past three weeks, and has earned regular playing time once more with 22 AB this week.
SELL
Brandon Lowe (2B, Tampa Bay Rays) – 81%
Him having a big slump when you need him most is pretty on-brand for Brandon. Although he has indeed been one of the very best second sackers in baseball with 28 dingers, with a little help from his home park, he has been whiffing on everything lately, with an awful .188 AVG and no homers with 21 K in his last 48 AB, and even worse this week with a .115 AVG and 13 Ks in his last 26 ABs. A 50% K%?! Did he switch bodies with Zach Gelof? If you still need homers, I get it, but given that he may still be playing hurt, I’d rather roll with a hotter option for the finale, especially in AVG leagues or those that penalize Ks.
Brenton Doyle (OF, Colorado Rockies) – 60%
He had really heated up and made me think his end-of-season line could look much more like 2024 than previously imaginable, but Doyle seems to have driven off a cliff. He’s hit just .059 this week and hasn’t hit a homer in three weeks, and the stolen bases have also been down with only one (with one CS) in the past two weeks.
Gleyber Torres (2B, Detroit Tigers) – 78%
I had him on my sell list a few weeks ago and not much has changed, but neither has his confusingly high roster rate. While he does have a pretty 15/14 BB/K over the past three weeks and a similar ratio every week, and has continued to find RBI, he’s also hit just .135 with one HR in 37 AB over the past three weeks, and his rolling xwOBA says that slide is deserved.
Ryan O’Hearn (1B/OF, San Diego Padres) – 32%
It’s easy to forget that halfway through the season, O’Hearn was hitting .300 and seemed to be on an easy path to his first 20 homer campaign. The bat simply dried up, especially after his move to San Diego where his playing time started to dwindle in turn. I just dropped him in my AL-only league to pick up Michael Helman, for reference. Don’t keep trotting him out there or he’ll O’Burn you.
Matt Wallner (OF, Minnesota Twins) – 9%
I call him Lucio because you’ll die out there if you don’t consistently use wallride. While he has managed a homer every week, everything else about him right now is very weak. He’s hit just .154/.267/.323 over the past three weeks, and while it was fun to see him steal four bases out of nowhere, I don’t expect that to continue. If you really badly need power though, then drop Trevor Larnach who hasn’t homered in the past three weeks and is just very meh.
Dylan Beavers (OF, Baltimore Orioles) – 5%
He’s somewhat similar to Gleyber Torres or Austin Martin in that he draws a ton of walks, but he doesn’t have Gleyber’s run production situation or Martin’s average. He’s a fine add for next year, but with only one SB and one CS and one HR since his debut a month ago, I think we were too eager for Beavers.
Victor Scott (OF, St. Louis Cardinals) – 8%
He was supposed to be a guy who could hit for average and steal bases, but the average has plummeted, and you can’t steal first base.
Kyle Karros (3B, Colorado Rockies) – 1%
He’s not quite the second coming of Warming Bernabel, is he? You can probably do better even in NL-only.
Dominic Canzone (OF, Seattle Mariners) – 1%
I’m putting him here just as a lesson to myself not to be too infatuated with batting average and Statcast, where he’s continued to look good, if the playing time situation isn’t in his favor. He’s been drop-worthy in even AL-only for a while now, but still probably made some people good money in DFS, for what it’s worth.
