Fantasy Baseball Trade Advice Week 16: Players To Buy Low & Sell High
When you’re starting to look at making some trades, it can often be hard to figure out where to start. Who do you sell high on? Who do you buy low on? Which struggling players just aren’t worth buying at all? Besides me spending too much time looking at this stuff (more on that below), we have some great resources available to us.
As you may or may not know, we have a fantastic Trade Analyzer Chart here on the site that you can use to gauge players’ current values. You’ll notice a few outliers in there that the algorithm will catch up to as we go, but this tool is an absolutely fantastic way to look at sell-high and buy-low players.
I’ll let you explore the chart (and an amazing Trade Analyzer Tool if you’re a premium member) on your own in a minute, but if you’re short on time, here are some players who are sticking out to me as of July 19.
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Top Fantasy Baseball Buy Low Candidates
Cody Bellinger, OF, Chicago Cubs
As I wrote the other day, no one in baseball is hotter than Cody Bellinger right now. The 28-year-old is enjoying a renaissance season in Chicago after a couple of rough years and is now hitting .308 with 51 runs, 12 home runs, 35 RBI, and 12 steals. And he missed almost a month of action! He’s hitting .453 through July (yes, you read that right) and is probably at the peak of his value. Bellinger get traded to a better lineup before the deadline, but he’s not going to keep hitting at a .453 clip for the rest of the year so I think it’s worth seeing if you can cash in you trade chips to see what you can get.
Josh Naylor, 1B, Cleveland Guardians
If there’s anyone as hot as Bellinge, it’s Naylor. The 26-year-old is hitting .311 on the season with 39 runs, 15 home runs, 75 RBI, and six steals. Over the last week, he’s hit four home runs while hitting .400 and is up to .396 with five home runs in July. Considering Naylor’s career highs are 20 home runs and 79 RBI, it’s safe to say he’s on his way to a career season. I’m not saying you HAVE to sell on him, but I think it’s worth dangling him out there to see if you can get an elite return because he’s currently an elite player. Could he keep this up? Yes. Will he? I’d bet against it and see if you can get a more proven return.
Nick Pivetta, P, Boston Red Sox
Pivetta has a 4.44 ERA and 1.20 WHIP the season, so why am I saying you can even sell him for anything? Well, because he’s coming off back-to-back starts where he’s allowed two total runs and struck out 21 (yes, 21) batters in just 11 innings. I don’t think you can get THAT much for Pivetta, so it might just be worth holding onto him and seeing if he can keep this up, but I also think you can probably dangle him for a specialist (closer or steals guy) if you’re looking for help in a rotisserie league. He’s been absolutely lights-out lately and you might just find a league mate who wants in on that action.
Top Fantasy Baseball Buy Low Candidates
Nick Castellanos, OF, Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies are the hottest team in baseball and they’ve somehow accomplished that while Castellanos has been ice cold. After hitting .385 during June, Castellanos is currently hitting .185 in July and has struck out in almost a third of his at-bats during the month. While he’s not the 30-plus home run hitter he was two years ago, Castellanos is a much better player than he’s shown lately, so I think it’s worth seeing if you can buy low and get on board for when he eventually turns it around and starts raking. He’s a streaky player and it will come sooner or later.
Bryce Elder, P, Atlanta Braves
My neighbor is a Braves fan and I’ve been hearing about Elder all year. “He’s the next Maddux!” Well, I don’t think he’s the next Maddux, but he’s a good young control pitcher and currently has a 7-2 record, 3.31 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 84 strikeouts in 108.2 innings. That said, he’s fallen off over his last two starts and has allowed 12 earned runs in six total innings in those two starts. There’s a good chance this is the beginning of him falling off, but I also think he’s worth trying to buy low on as he’ll get some wins on a good Braves team and should turn things around as he’s a good player.
Lucas Giolito, P, Chicago White Sox
Giolito is one of the most frustrating players to have on your fantasy team. He’s 6-6 with a 3.96 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 122 strikeouts through 116.0 innings on the year. However, he’s coming off an absolute stinker (which isn’t his first on the year) during which he allowed eight runs in 3.2 innings. Giolito does this. He mixes in gems in between duds, and I guarantee anyone who has him on their fantasy roster is more or less fed up. Throw out a few offers and see if you can buy low – he’s worth it when he’s good.
