Up The Middle: It’s Trade Season!!!

Every year, millions of children around the country look forward to this time. Summer break is here! It’s time to not have homework! It’s time to sleep in! It’s time to get tan and play outside! Vacations! Camp! It’s all very exciting. Unless you’re a parent, where this hell looks to have no end, September can’t get here soon enough. However, this does usher in a time where people take an honest look at their teams and think about next year as well. And this is where you can get into the money with the right moves. Today, we will look at who to trade for. This won’t tell you who or what to give up. Obviously, there are different situations, and I don’t know your league or your scoring. But what I can tell you is my tenants for making a fantasy baseball trade:

– Do not trade for players. Trade for categories. A competitor may be ready to hang it up for the year and move Brandon Lowe. But if you don’t need power, you need speed, he won’t help you. See where you can make up the difference and move there. If you’re in a head-to-head league, this is going to require you to do some work and see where you’re losing each week, but the idea remains the same.

– Use your empathy. Make sure you evaluate the other guy’s team that you’re targeting. Ask yourself, “why would they make this move?” Are they going to need draft picks to put themselves in position to compete next year? Do you have a young guy who you can sell breaking out? Make sure you can answer the question for the other guy as well as yourself.

– Be selective in your targets. Baseball players have reputations. Some guys are known for their hot summers, others for their consistency. You want to make sure your target has a history of helping when you need it.

– Selling high is more important than buying low. Did your guy have a scorching first two months? Great! Make sure it isn’t luck. Baseball is a dumb game where great weeks/months happen. The good players can take advantage of those opportunities. The great players move on and cash in their value before they crash.

All that being said, here are my Trade targets and the situations where I am targeting them.

I need moar powah:

Fernando Tatis Jr.- He’s got 2b eligibility, and he’s sucked so far this year. You can likely find guys ready to give up on him. And now is the time. Historically, Tatis has had great Junes and Julys over his career, with adequate falls.

Jazz Chisholm Jr– Jazz woke up in May. But he’s still underperformed so far. But Jazz is designed to yank balls into the short porch at home.

Colson Montgomery- I generally don’t recommend 1 category players. But what a category it is for Colson. 135 games in to his career and 37 bombs already. If he can lift his average at all, you’re looking at a star.

I got a need. A need… For speed!!:

Travis Bazzana- In his short time up, Bazzana has already shown he is not afraid to be a thief. He could easily get you 20 more swipes before the campaign is out.

Trea Turner- His power is down, but he hasn’t stopped running. You can get him cheap now.

Nico Hoerner- Nico has been just like the rest of the Cubs offense and has been slumping for a month. This means his price is down, and you can get a hit who generally hits 280 and will swipe another 15-20 bags for you for a lot less.

And now, who to sell to maximize their value to you:

Otto Lopez- The Fish have gotten an amazing start from Otto, but cmon. His BABIP is 394. That’s an insane mark. His value as a top 30 player will fall as his luck normalizes.

Brandon Lowe- It pains me to put him here. But Griffin and now Cruz are out until at least August, and the Pirates have very little in the way of protection for Lowe now. I don’t like his odds to repeat his first half with this situation.