How is everyone doing outside of baseball every day? I’m doing well! I went to Jersey Mike and I told them a story about Mike I knew in Jersey who owed me money, I told them that I will not pay my sub. They can take it out of the money Mike owes me. The police, who were called, had absolutely no sympathy for the lunch meat I owed! I want my cold wounds, I shouted! Then I cried for 45 minutes until the guy with the freshly cut roast beef fed me pieces from the back of a police boat to raise my blood sugar. Another player that has my blood boiling Manny Machado. I can’t say he is the same player he was last year. ARE YOU BETTER?! No, Mr. Reversal, and thanks for the heart attack. His first half was worse than last year, but by how much? He lost exit velocity, barrels and line drives. He seems to be selling hard. Boys can have a bad side; it doesn’t mean he will always be that bad. As my top 100 show for the 2nd half, I still believe. He is the third player to hit .250 for power. Even worse. That can be found elsewhere – says Curtis Mead – but what is here is the record of being the top scorer for 30 years for more than a decade. I would buy this year’s Manny with a chance for something else. Now, excuse me while I get back to this roast beef – put it right in my mouth! I like it juicy! Anyway, here are some players you can buy or sell this week in fantasy baseball:
PSYCHE! This post was released a week ago to Patreon members. It will be released year round on Patreons, so if people are jumping on you, it’s because they paid $10. Anyway, Fantasy Baseball Buy/Sell:
BUY
Francisco Alvarez – As it may already be clear from this post, unlike other Buy/Sell, this is for trading, because there were no games between last week and this week. Do I still think you should buy Kade Anderson and the other guys at Buy last Friday? Yes. Any hoo! Fran-Al is a 25-homer, .250 hitter – basically a top 10 catcher – he just needs to stay healthy. Will he stay healthy? Within that question is the meaning of life and we mortals cannot understand it.
Jonathan Aranda – What you don’t see (but now I’ll explain) is how many guys I look at before highlighting someone. I looked at all of Buys first basemen and I really wanted Buys to be Josh Naylor or Michael Busch, but their base stats couldn’t get me there. (A small 1B bonus to buy TJ Rumfield.) So, instead, I’m left with a guy like Aranda, who hits the ball hard, but has a very low ceiling because he stole zero bags in over 300 games. 25/.280 has value, not easily seen in a dream. He is actually a young Yandy Diaz. Call him Yandy Measured-In-Minutes-Instead-of-Diaz. (That’s Chris Berman’s prime trash.)
Brandon Lowe – The only thing I can come up with for a reason to stay away from Lowe is his penchant for injury, and, if you can’t say harsh words without sounding like Dr. Evil, you may be younger or better than me; maybe both, i think. Lowe is having a great season, and everything is going well. This is a high buy in some ways, like Aranda, but the problem with low buys more than halfway through the season is: There is a reason why you would buy a little guy, because he is nursing, and, if he sucks so far in the season, there may be a reason. So, buy low talk about buying high Lowe.
Dominic Canzone – I’m not sure if people understand that you hit the ball well. Open your eyes to the wonders of Canzone:
He has been doing this his entire career. This is the world of Canzone. Looking for something? Get in line! This image is sorted by Barrels/PA%, but you can see the top six and their average exit velocity. Canzone always hits the ball harder than Mike Trout. Now look at the swing percentage that produces Hard Hits. It’s Yordan, Wood and Canzone. You can’t fake this. At some point, people will reach for what Canzone did. It’s sad that talking about him all the time won’t help me keep him a secret. If you want, take the Razzball header and put a post under it about why Canzone sucks. Are we real people though? We know.
Jo Adell – His statistics are part of a minefield. Not all are good. He gets hit with a lot of contact, if you can believe it. (Not sure why you don’t believe me– hey, what kind of craziness is that?) Adell would do better at swinging strikes and not trash. Hello, will all the players? He’s not a big buy, but he looks like he’s a “field recognition” problem far from being as big as last year. It is Buy low. It’s okay, isn’t it? Such an attitude for you! The Rest of Season Player Rater has Adell as a top 20 outfielder, and I still like that call.
Matthew Boyd – There is a huge lack of pitchers who should be pitching better than they have been and are worth anything. Example: MacKenzie Gore is a better than 4.70+ ERA, but he’s more than a 4.20 ERA pitcher, so who cares? There are a lot of guys like that. Should Freddy Peralta be better? Of course, I am still very poor. Boyd, by the way, looks like he could be a 3.30 ERA pitcher or better and his ERA says he’s probably run worse than that. I think in a trade you can get Boyd as a throw in or nothing much. Unless Flavor Flav is in your league and his band name is, Yeah, Boyd!!! You don’t take Boyd away from him.
Gavin Williams – I just gave you my dream of Gavin Williams. He really tried to get him into the top 100 in the second half. I even featured him in the words of Hunter Greene, who was the player I wanted to cover for Gavin. I went back and forth like, “Gavin… Greene… Greene… Gavin… Greene… Gravin… Gane… Gaynor… Gloria…” Now you’re back. From space. And I get it here? With that sad look—Excuse me, where was I? That’s right! Gavin! If I were to do the ratings on real value versus upside, Gavin is better than Greene. Greene’s value is more than that he can do, and how it can be be a top five starter. Gavin plays well, and I get the sense that people might not realize it.
Kyle Finnegan – If I’m the Tigers, again, even if I think I have a legitimate shot at the playoffs, I’ll trade Kenley before the deadline, but who Kenley’s replacement will be is unclear. It could be Keider Montero, Drew Anderson, Finnegan or I think someone else. I don’t know. My gut says Finnegan due to previous close experience, but I just ate beef and this might turn Fannie-gas into Finnegan. (Stupidest thing I’ve ever written, you’re welcome.)
Garrett Whitlock – If I’m the Red Sox, I’d trade Aroldis for literally anything. Give me James Tibbs III? Absolutely! Give me the rights to James Tibbs IV! I don’t care.
Sell it
Jose Altuve – Can you find anything about Altuve? I’m not sure. He might be a thrower. Everything looked different for the Astros at one point. Wasn’t “Everything Disintegrated At Once” that Best Picture horror movie with Jamie Lee Curtis? Meanwhile, Jamie Lee Curtis has gone from being amazing in Trading Places to being the most unacceptable in anything. Any hoo! Unlike most guys in this trade column, I would trade Altuve for anything. The Rest of the Season Player Rater has Altuve as the 24th best outfielder, and, unlike Adell above, I don’t like that call.
Zach Neto – You mentioned this the other day, but his strikeout rate has gone up so much year after year that I was wondering if that was the biggest gain in K% for any player and I did a janky search that still turns up results for guys whose K% went way up. (Torkelson, Ian Happ were two outs. Bonus Sale! Ian Happ has been a bad hitter this year. He went from a very serviceable 25/10/.245 hitter to a 25/10/.215 hitter. Moving on!) So, while Neto wasn’t the worst hitter in baseball over a year he became the worst at hitting baseball. He’s still hitting homers, and he might go 30/20. That has a lot of value. He’s also sold with so much power (about 50% FB rate, Hayzeus Neto) that he’s prone to major breakdowns and has major display flaws. I wouldn’t trade him for a roll in the hay for a sheep, but I would go to the Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer and check out the options.
Max Meyer – Going into the break, the Marlins said they were skipping his Sunday start to limit his innings. [looks around to see if anyone else heard that] “Umm, so I was thinking my Max Meyer about your Oneil Cruz? What do you think? Cruz won’t be back for another two weeks, maybe.” You are the one who pulls the fastest. In general, Meyer looks good at number three, but he doesn’t have the ace juice and he’s traveling to have a baby. Hit the chest of the stinging trainer! I wouldn’t trade Meyer for breakfast at a restaurant where they serve you sneakers with waffle feet and the floor is covered in syrup, but I would go to the Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer and explore the options.
Chase Burns – There are many pitchers that he currently does without their statistics. They are easy to find. They are soldiers. Almost any pitcher under a 3 ERA. The thing about Chase Burns is about his whole appeal. I wrote him a preseason sleeper post; everyone loves him. If you don’t like Burns, you’re not paying attention or you’re falling asleep reading Firestarter by Stephen King. Because Burns is very popular, that’s why I think he has a sell value, because no one in his right mind thinks he’s this good. He is a 3.50+ ERA pitcher with a 2.54 ERA. He is a 1.21 WHIP with a 1.11 WHIP. Oh, and he might hit the multi-innings wall in August. I wouldn’t trade Chase Burns for a ticket to see Lenny Kravitz’s band, The Real Lenny Kravitz Is Already A Tribute Band, but I would go to the Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer and explore the options.
