Trader’s Corner: Shut Your Hole
We are three weeks into the season now. Chances are you already know what your team’s biggest hole is by now. It may not have been so obvious before the season started, but now that each MLB team has played 20 games it is apparent which players are going to get to play and which are going to ride the pine. We know who the big breakout players are (Trevor Story, Vincent Velasquez, Aledmys Diaz, Eugenio Suarez, Drew Smyly). The flukes have started to fade (Jeremy Hazelbaker). The bounceback players have bounced back (Wil Myers, Jay Bruce, Dexter Fowler, Mat Latos, Gio Gonzalez, Matt Moore). And some stars have already signed up for long stints on the Disabled List (Kyle Schwarber, Carlos Carrasco, A.J. Pollock).
If your team has a gaping hole in your starting lineup then shut it! Don’t delay. Every week you wait means critical production from that slot will be lost. Most fantasy leagues end up being close at the end. You don’t want to finish a close second in October and come to the realization that if you had just plugged that glaring weakness a bit earlier you would have won. Be aggressive. Find a trade partner that can help you optimize your lineup for maximum production all season long. Don’t wait until it’s too late. The season will move more quickly than you think.
Let’s take a look at some teams who are shutting their holes. Lots of good trades to vote on this week. Addison Russell is a popular trade target, can’t blame people for that one. It looks like a lot of owners are cashing in Trevor Story while the offers are sweet. There is also a plethora of Trout-for-Harper package deals to vote on.
You can join in the action two ways: 1) Vote on these trades to make your opinion count. 2) Submit your own trades for us to vote on in the next Trader’s Corner. Use the form below to submit your trade.
Vote for the players you would rather have.
I will let Andy give you the low-down on his trade. “Looking for trade feedback (hopefully to combat Seller’s Remorse). 10 team dynasty league, no cost of ownership, 30-man rosters, roto with: OBP/Total Bases/Runs/RBIs/Steals and QS/K-per-9/ERA/WHIP/SVHD as the categories. Team A has a significant need for starting pitching, and had more prospects/young players as a result of a 2015 rebuild (new owner). Team B was 3rd overall in 2015 but in the doldrums to begin 2016.”:
[polldaddy poll=9398414]
Plenty of value for both sides. I think Cole is the best player in the deal and is the only Grade A player in the bunch. The others will provide solid value but are not stars by any means (no, I am not buying into Story’s historic start).
Nolan plays in a 12 team H2H league with 6×6 scoring.:
[polldaddy poll=9398416]
If you want to get a stud like Machado you’d better pay up. If you are going to trade Machado you’d better get a package like this one. I love this deal.
Matt sent in four trades from his 16 team dynasty league:
[polldaddy poll=9398382]
McMahon’s bat in Colorado would be very enticing, but he is blocked by a superstar and is likely to be traded. I’m not a fan of Tucker’s prospect stock as I don’t think he possesses an impact bat. Vogelbach gets some love in prospect circles for his bat but I am not sold on a DH prospect who hasn’t put up big numbers even in the minors. He can be obtained cheaply in most leagues. Papelbon is the only proven fantasy producer here.
[polldaddy poll=9398384]
Seager is the consensus #1 prospect in the land and is off to a good start in the majors. I have no faith whatsoever in Chris Tillman. Hanley used to be a superstar but is a shell of his former 1st round self and isn’t very enticing as a first baseman rather than a shortstop like he used to be. Russell is an elite young player in real life but will he hit enough to be a fantasy stud? I think so eventually. Jungmann is a toss-in.
[polldaddy poll=9398386]
That was two excellent fantasy prospects for a mediocre veteran first baseman. I love De Leon’s ceiling and chances of reaching it.
[polldaddy poll=9398389]
Harper vs. Trout is like choosing between ice cream and donuts. Both are awesome. Liriano is a long-time fantasy workhorse. Eickhoff is a good solid young pitcher. Blackmon is a 5 category stud in his own right. I really like Ross’ ratios so far in his young career.
Paul sent this one in and included his thoughts for our consideration. “I’m in a pretty standard 5×5 keeper league. I was feeling pretty good about this trade initially since I really needed a 2nd closer if I wanted to stay competitive in the Saves category (I previously just had Rosenthal). Keepers can be had for 4 seasons A/B/C/D with increases as follows +3/+4/+7. $260 draft budget. After his big Spring I assumed Leake would thrive in the Cardinals system, now I’m not sure. Also Ross and Santiago have been just money so far, and Cubs cant get Rondon any saves. Thoughts?”:
[polldaddy poll=9398391]
Escobar is boring. How many league championship fantasy teams have Escobar on their roster? Not many I imagine. I like Ross’ chances of being a good fantasy starter for a few years. Santiago is solid if not stellar. The Cubs will get Rondon plenty of save chances. He is a good pitcher but Joe Maddon is not shy about shuffling roles in his bullpens. Mike Leake should be solid enough to get plenty of Wins for a good Cardinals squad..
He who shall not be named submitted this one from a 13 team H2H points league:
[polldaddy poll=9398393]
Joshua Reid sent this one from his 20 team roto dynasty 6×6 league. “I’m in a 20 team roto dynasty 6×6 with OPS and Holds. I’ve collected A LOT of young shortstops: Corey Seager, Addison Russell, Francisco Lindor, Trea Turner and Machado (qualifies in Yahoo). I have Betts and Mazara in the outfield, Piscotty at 1B (qualifies) but not much beyond that. My team is young and I’ll probably compete in a season or two. Moncada is my future 2B. I think I like Freeman and Myers future, but I like my players too. Is this a good trade for me?:”
[polldaddy poll=9398394]
Turner is likely to be a good but not great fantasy player starting in a couple months. I still have a lot of faith in Freddie Freeman despite his terrible start to the season. I think Wil Myers is a pure, natural hitter but not a superstar as we once thought. Thornburg is waiver fodder even in a 20 team league.
Eric L wants our opinion from his 12 team AL-only roto keeper league.
[polldaddy poll=9398396]
I am high on Dillon Tate even though he doesn’t get much hype yet. Mondesi has a famous name and has been ultra-young for his level throughout his minor league career, but he has never put up good numbers yet. That is a steep price for Jones but he is still worth it. Semien at that price is a very bad deal.
Durgin checks in from his 5×5 dynasty league with 30 man MiLB rosters:
[polldaddy poll=9398399]
I have no faith in Segura. I like Zimmer’s package of skills that should allow him to be a good all-around fantasy contributor. Walker has a ton of talent but it remains to be seen if he will ever learn how to harness it. I like to stay away from injured young arms like Wheeler. Very few of them ever get healthy enough to reach their ceilings.
Mark M plays in an ESPN 8 team H2H league where you can keep your entire 33 man roster, and players that are kept take up that round’s draft pick. 8×8 with SVHD (OBP,BB,K & QS,H,L).
[polldaddy poll=9398402]
That is a lot of talent changing hands. Richards is a guy I like to bounce back to his 2014 form. Machado is by far the best player in the deal and it is usually wise to take the side with the best player in it. I still think Puig will put up a monster season or two in his career, although some very disappointing seasons are likely as well. Wong is decent but not league championship quality. Wacha is a guy I am avoiding due to his ratios.
EJ sent this one in. 24-team dynasty league with 9 hitters and 9 pitchers. Categories: HR/TB/SB-CS/OBP and ERA/QS/SVHLD:
[polldaddy poll=9398403]
Goldschmidt is a superstar. Stroman is good but I think his trade value exceeds his true value. I really, really like Giolito but he is still a pitching prospect, and I don’t overpay for pitching prospects. Park is a wild card. Hoffman is a Rockies pitcher so run away as fast as you can.
Hoppy wants our opinion. He plays in a 15 team mixed 5×5 roto dynasty league (keep forever). 30 man MLB rosters and 20 man MiLB rosters.:
[polldaddy poll=9398404]
Sale is a great pitcher who can help any fantasy team win a championship. Moncada is an elite prospect but can he live up to the Boston hype? Reyes has a great arm but a not-so-great head in my opinion. Players like that usually fail to live up to their promise.
Kev lays it all out here “I’d like to get everyone to vote on a trade that I did prior to the season starting. The trade isn’t looking good for me at the moment but it may be better for me in the long term. 16 team H2H points. I traded Harper and Starlin Castro for Mookie Betts and Corey Seager. I’m banking on a breakout year from Betts and I wanted Seager for SS for next year because Castro will lose SS eligibility. Thanks!”:
[polldaddy poll=9398406]
It takes guts to let go of Bryce Harper. Castro is OK but nothing to fret about. Betts is really, really good and Seager might be some day soon. He better be if Kev is going to win this trade.
Chris plays in a 16 team dynasty 5×5 league with 23 man rosters and 12 minors slots:
[polldaddy poll=9398407]
Story is all the rage. Garrett is already a top 100 prospect and could be top 20 by season’s end if he is as good as I think he is. A healthy Latos is a good Latos. Snell is an elite prospect just now breaking into the majors. I am not a believer in Santana. I think even if he reaches his potential he will not be good enough to start for a top quality fantasy team.
Brent plays in a deep dynasty league with 50 man rosters:
[polldaddy poll=9398408]
Martinez was a teenage J2 signee last year. He is a loooong way from the majors and who knows how good he can be? Greg Bird is badly hurt and was a polarizing prospect before the injury.
Ken sent in this whopper:
[polldaddy poll=9398409]
Thor is awesome but not that awesome. Arrieta has taken over as the best pitcher in baseball, so…. yeah.
Joe plays in a 12-team 5×5 (R,TB,RBI,SB,OPS,K,QS,ERA,WHIP,SV) dynasty league.:
[polldaddy poll=9398410]
Story and Velasquez are the two biggest breakout players of the young season, but in my mind this trade comes down to the two proven superstars: Strasburg vs Stanton. I really love Strasburg and believe he is still underrated but I must go with Stanton here. If he is healthy he can carry a team on his back. Quit getting hit by pitches!
Robert posted this one for our voting pleasure. “It’s a 7×7 keep forever dynasty league where BB’s and OPS are the extra categories. I am borderline here and don’t really know which side to take. I never thought I would be dealing Harper, but then again, I didn’t know I would get an offer that would make me think this hard about it. Your thoughts?”
[polldaddy poll=9398418]
Here is the comment I posted beneath last week’s Trader’s Corner: You can’t go wrong either way. I love all those players. Trout and Harper are pretty much equal in fantasy value. They are the two best young hitters in baseball. So the decision comes down to Votto vs Freeman/Schwarber. Votto is very clearly the best side of that deal this year for certain. Next year the trade evens out. After that the Freeman/Schwarber side would prevail. So my advice is if you have a real chance of winning your league this year or next you should keep Harper and Votto. If you are rebuilding/reloading you should take the Trout, Freeman and Schwarber side. Anyone else want to chime in on this one?
Be sure to send in your trades to see how you did! Just use the form below to submit a trade you want us to vote on. Use the comments at the bottom of this page to discuss the trades above.
Submit trades here:
[contact-form to=’nick2doran@gmail.com’ subject=’Trader%26#039;s Corner’][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]
Check out last week’s Trader’s Corner: Your Trades, Your Votes.
Nick Doran also writes for Redleg Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BlazingFastba11.
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1 Comment
Stop hating on Reyes for his suspension, Nancy