Welcome back to the final Buy & Sell of 2024, and this may not even be relevant for those of you in Head-to-Head formats! But for those of you with just days left in roto deadlocked in a white-knuckle brawl in the standings, every at-bat matters, so let’s get crazy and reckless because nothing that happened the previous five and three quarters months matters anymore, so let’s get onto the list!
BUY
Michael Harris II (OF, Atlanta Braves)
Given his high draft capital, it might seem crazy to even think he was ever dropped, but he was such a disappointment earlier this year that even a month of playing like a fantasy superstar still makes his overall line look merely decent. So for those of you in leagues where teams aren’t closely looking at weekly trends, or just pretty much checked out in August, you could still have an outfielder who should be a Top-10 option in the final week if not Top 5.
Victor Robles (OF, Seattle Mariners)
I guess the breakout was real after all. Aside from a mini-slump in August, Robles simply disrobed opposing pitcher and catcher tandems hitting a ridiculous .330/.532/.560 with 14 R and 10 SBs (more than his seven RBI) in 50 AB. Granted, this week it’s been a more modest .278 with three SBs, but he’s still showing the same impressive AVG and speed approach with a .307 AVG to go with 32 SBs and four SBs in just 241 AB. And since being acquired by the Mariners, he’s been a fantasy stud, hitting .397 over the month. Lots of ways to say you need him in all leagues as long as you don’t need power exclusively.
Ezequiel Tovar (SS, Colorado Rockies)
Look, he’s probably rostered in most leagues, but if he did happen to get dropped and left for dead in his mid-summer slump, scoop him back up as he’s hot and playing the next few games at Coors, okay?
Francisco Alvarez (C, New York Mets)
He seems to be the kind of player whose strikeout rate fluctuates wildly, but when he is making good contact starts to do big damage. He’s hitting .242 with five homers and 13 RBI in 33 AB over the past two weeks, and with only seven strikeouts over that span, good for a strong 21% K%. Although the upside is still sky-high, right now he resembles Shea Langeliers more closely, and he’s a guy you need to start when hot. And right now is that time.
Jonathan Aranda (1B, Tampa Bay Rays)
After years of failing to show more than small flashes of the talent he seemed to show from his minor league campaigns, he’s finally hitting his power stride. He’s hitting a splendid .324 with five homers in 37 AB over the past two weeks, although the fact that it comes with only seven R and eight RBI is a sign for how poor the surrounding cast has been. The superb 51% HardHit% and 19% barrel% suggest the power is legit, and the fact that it goes with above average chase% and whiff% suggests batting average and OBP upside as well. He’s entirely viable in 12-teamers right now, and I think he may still be enough of a sleeper that I’ll want to target him in 2025.
Jordan Westburg (2B/3B, Baltimore Orioles)
His injury stint was long enough that many teams had to cut him to make room, and the Orioles lineup, which had fallen dormant for some time, seems to finally be clicking again in the final week as they gear up for playoffs.
Jose Iglesias (SS, New York Mets)
The unfortunate injury issues plaguing Lindor and taking out McNeil open up a whole lot of playing time for Iglesias, and all he’s done is hit all season. He has a phenomenal .337 batting average, making you wonder why he was still sitting to the disappointing Jeff McNeil so often earlier in the year.
Ramon Urias (2B/3B, Baltimore Orioles)
He’s back from the IL, and hit a homer in his first game back. Not only does that signal he’s doing okay physically, but it also seems clear that the Orioles plan to keep playing him.
Sam Hilliard (OF, Colorado Rockies)
He’s hitting tanks with propane because he’s King of the Hilliard. Although RosterResource still listed Hilliard as a backup to Jordan Beck until yesterday, Hilliard has not only racked up more at-bats but also hit much better, hitting .278 with a homer and a stolen base in 18 PA this week. Oh, and his last few games are in Coors.
Eric Wagaman (1B/3B, Los Angeles Angels)
If you’re in the market for super deep league bats who play, know the supermarket shopping is good at Wagamans. Yes, I know that Wegman’s isn’t a nationally known chain, but that one’s to make my mom’s friends happy. The 27-year-old might be the organizational filler type who wouldn’t see the MLB on other teams, but it’s hard to argue with the results, showing above-average raw pop (111 mph max eV) with a strong launch angle sweet spot and average plate skills. I think he’s even 15-team viable as I’d rather roll him out than options like Noelvi Marte or even Kyle Manzardo (since they have one less game).
Gavin Lux (2B, Los Angeles Dodgers)
Well, I actually wanted to write about Miguel Rojas instead here, as he’s been criminally underrated for his batting average skill, but then he got hurt. That does help further secure Lux’s playing time, and he has an excellent matchup against Colorado that can let his fringy power play up.
Gio Urshela (3B/SS, Atlanta Braves)
In deeper leagues, playing time is king, and between that and many struggling hitter acquisitions suddenly heating up in Hotlanta, he’s a fine volume add.
SELL
Brenton Doyle (OF, Colorado Rockies)
Perhaps this is reckless, and perhaps this is overdue, as he struggled for a while but did just homer, but I’ll stand by it. Doyle has had an end-of-season to forget, and unfortunately, it’s one many people rostering him failed to notice due to the excellent numbers on the year. While he will be playing in Coors, he’s still going against elite Dodgers pitching, and I’d rather play the hot hand with someone like Victor Robles or even Byron Buxton right now unless you badly need speed.
Adley Rutschman (C, Baltimore Orioles)
His last initial, first name, reminds me of the recluse from “To Kill a Mockingbird” because the past few months O’s fans have been tempted to Boo Radley. Yes, that’s the kind of joke you get for sticking around this long.
Given how hot he had been, the assumption is Adley has “heroically” been playing while banged up, though it’s done the team no favors, as he’s hit just .183/.278/.283 with one HR in 60 AB over the past three weeks. Truly the slump has been not weeks but months, bringing his overall numbers to a surprisingly pedestrian .250 AVG with 19 homers. Imagine, you could’ve just waited another 125-150 picks or so for Tyler Stephenson for that kind of production.
I don’t see his offense picking up in the final days, and if anything he’ll be rested so that maybe he can recover to not be such an albatross in the playoffs. At this point he’s beyond just a 10-team but also a totally viable 12-team cut, and maybe even 15-team depending on who is out there.
T.J. Friedl (OF, Cincinnati Reds)
He’s failed to repeat his surprise 2023 breakout, and while the batting average lately has been decent (.297 with two homers in 37 AB over the past two weeks), it’s come with no stolen bases. Oh, and the Reds are playing one fewer game, which matters with so few left.
Michael Toglia (1B/OF, Colorado Rockies)
Yes, he’s on the Rockies and in Coors, but aside from facing some elite pitching, he’s been whiffing like crazy, and you can’t hit a homer without touching the ball. He’s been under the Mendoza line and has 20 strikeouts in 44 AB the past two week, and this week it’s been 11 Ks in 20 AB.
Kyle Higashioka (C, San Diego Padres)
His bat has been bone dry this month, hitting just .181 in 31 AB over the past three weeks without a single extra base hit. You’d likely be better off with an empty roster slot.
Bo Naylor (C, Cleveland Guardians)
He has a five-game week, and my preseason bets on him make me want to give my face a five-finger death punch. I’m not sure if that’s a real thing or just a band name.
Ty France (1B, Cincinnati Reds)
Not only are the Reds on the road, where France’s fringy power won’t play up, but they’re also one of the two Ohio teams that have a 5-game week. Au revoir!
Noelvi Marte (3B/SS, Cincinnati Reds)
Five game week too, and this year he’s also been far too weak. I’d drop him in all but the deepest of NL-only formats. And I’m calling him No EV Marte.
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@kurtwasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)