Should You Trade For/Away Steven Kwan in Fantasy Baseball Leagues?

Approaching a hot hitter in a fantasy baseball league is always a tricky situation.

Do you ride the wave and hope that the hitter continues to deliver throughout the season? Or, do you cut bait and try to sell high on the hot hitter?

After the start that Cleveland Guardians’ Steven Kwan has gotten off to this season, I thought it was the perfect time to discuss just this - whether to target or keep Kwan on your team, or sell him away?

Let’s dive into things!

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Kwan’s Season/Career Numbers

Kwan does not qualify for the league lead in batting average because he missed extended time. But among players having appeared in 30 or more games, Kwan easily has the league’s best average of .392.

In 44 games played, Kwan also has a .450 on-base percentage, 10 doubles, two triples and four home runs. Kwan has 18 RBIs, 39 runs scored, three stolen bases, 17 walks and just 14 strikeouts.

Kwan has always been a high contact hitter, but he’s taken things to a new level in 2024.

Across the 2022-23 seasons, Kwan had a strong .282 average and .356 on-base percentage. He hit 61 doubles, 14 triples and 11 home runs among his 339 total hits. Kwan had 106 RBIs, 182 runs scored, 40 stolen bases, 132 walks and 135 strikeouts over those seasons as well.

Kwan’s Fantasy Outlook and Trade Options

It should come as no surprise that Kwan hits atop the Cleveland order, where the team can take advantage of all his hits and his high OBP. It leads to a bunch of runs scored, but not many RBI chances.

Of course, Kwan’s best fantasy asset is going to be his ability to get on base, and he’s doing that at an elite level right now. His career numbers suggest that he’s due for some regression here soon, but his recent showings tell a different story. Over the past five games, Kwan has 11 hits.

So it begs the questions: Is Kwan a player to keep on your fantasy team if you already own him? Or should you seek him out in a trade? Or should you try to sell high with him?

I roster Kwan in a couple of fantasy leagues, so I’ve thought about this a bunch since his return to the field at the beginning of June.

I’ve come to this decision: I believe Kwan’s average and OBP are definitely going to drop between now and the end of the season, but at the same time, I wouldn’t necessarily say you’d need to sell high with him right now. It really comes down to how your fantasy team looks and what it could gain if Kwan was dealt away.

If you are a fantasy owner who appreciates high averages and OBPs (like I do), you probably could afford to ship Kwan away for a big return. 

Maybe you drafted Kwan as one of your final outfielders, or have assembled a great combination of OFs, and that makes one of them expendable. Kwan would be the perfect trade candidate then because he’s hitting so well.

Kwan had an Average Draft Position mark of around pick 80 this spring, but is currently sitting 64th on the FantasySP Trade Value Chart. There’s a bunch of players who have similar stories right now, but not many missed as much time as Kwan - in other words, Kwan is probably even more valuable than 64th because when he’s been on the field, he’s been an elite fantasy option.

It’s possible Kwan moves up a few more spots on the Trade Value Chart over the next few weeks, but as his average falls off, so with his player rating. However, I also don’t expect the rating to drop a whole bunch. If I was going to ship Kwan away though, I’d do it now instead of waiting.

With that in mind, I’d also say that now is not the best time to actively go after Kwan. Fantasy owners can ask for a big return for Kwan, and would be perfectly content rostering him for a few more weeks if the return isn’t an overpay.

So to recap: If I rostered Kwan, I’d throw his name on the trade block and try to sell high before his average starts to fall, but if I couldn’t get an overpay, I’d also just hang on to Kwan; if I did not roster Kwan, I wouldn’t actively search him out in a trade, because it’s likely going to cost a bunch.

Before proposing or accepting a trade, be sure to run things through the FantasySP Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer to make sure you are making or getting a fair deal.