And we’re back! Thanks to overwhelming fan support, some fuzzy math, and my editor successfully using the trade chart to execute a fair trade in one of his leagues, we’re making this a weekly thing.
In my weekly closer report, I rank the 30 closing situations in a chart, showing the ranking from the previous week versus this week, and discussing any significant changes. Because I lack creativity and only know how to make one kind of chart, I’m going to stick with the same format here. If you hate that format, I’m really sorry, and I advise you to come over to my house to teach me how to use the interwebs. No, seriously, can you? I’m in a lot of trouble, here.
Anyway, one note before we get going. I consider myself to be an “under-reactor” in terms of fantasy assessments. The way we in the fantasy community feel about a player pre-season is usually based on tons of research and analysis, so I’m less inclined to react significantly to a bad start or a hot/cold streak. I think we all have a tendency to put too much stock into short-term events, which is probably due in part to DFS and how important it is to analyze every player on a day-to-day basis.
So, if your favorite player hasn’t moved up enough, or the guy who destroyed your team last week hasn’t dropped like a stone, the reason is not that I hate you or your fantasy team. Except if you’re in one of my leagues. In which case, that’s definitely the reason.
Ok, enough chatter. Let’s roll.
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Rank | Player | Current Value | Previous Value |
1 | Paul Goldschmidt (1B – ARI) | 66 | 66 |
2 | Bryce Harper (OF – WAS) | 65 | 65 |
3 | Mookie Betts (OF – BOS) | 65 | 65 |
4 | Jose Altuve (2B – HOU) | 63 | 63 |
5 | Clayton Kershaw (SP – LAD) | 62 | 62 |
6 | Nolan Arenado (3B – COL) | 60 | 60 |
7 | Kris Bryant (3B – CHC) | 60 | 60 |
8 | Charlie Blackmon (OF – COL) | 59 | 59 |
9 | Manny Machado (3B – BAL) | 56 | 56 |
10 | Joey Votto (1B – CIN) | 56 | 56 |
11 | Anthony Rizzo (1B – CHC) | 56 | 56 |
12 | Chris Sale (SP- CWS) | 54 | 54 |
13 | Max Scherzer (SP – WAS) | 51 | 51 |
14 | Corey Seager (SS – LAD) | 50 | 50 |
15 | Francisco Lindor (SS – CLE) | 44 | 46 |
16 | Nelson Cruz (OF – SEA) | 43 | 43 |
17 | Daniel Murphy (2B – WAS) | 43 | 43 |
18 | Trea Turner (SS – WAS) | 43 | 43 |
19 | Giancarlo Stanton (OF – MIA) | 40 | 40 |
20 | Carlos Correa (SS – HOU) | 39 | 39 |
21 | Josh Donaldson (3B – TOR) | 39 | 37 |
22 | Miguel Cabrera (1B – DET) | 38 | 38 |
23 | Wil Myers (1B – SD) | 37 | 38 |
24 | Edwin Encarnacion (1B – CLE) | 37 | 37 |
25 | George Springer (OF – HOU) | 37 | 37 |
26 | J.D. Martinez (OF – DET) | 37 | 37 |
27 | Xander Bogaerts (SS – BOS) | 36 | 36 |
28 | Corey Kluber (SP – CLE) | 35 | 32 |
29 | Yu Darvish (SP – TEX) | 33 | 33 |
30 | Jacob deGrom (SP – NYM) | 33 | 33 |
31 | Stephen Strasburg (SP – WAS) | 33 | 33 |
32 | A.J. Pollock (OF – ARI) | 33 | 33 |
33 | Dallas Keuchel (SP – HOU) | 33 | 32 |
34 | Mike Trout (OF – LAA) | 32 | 32 |
35 | Chris Archer (SP – TB) | 32 | 32 |
36 | Brian Dozier (2B – MIN) | 31 | 31 |
37 | Miguel Sano (3B – MIN) | 31 | 31 |
38 | Jose Abreu (1B – CWS) | 31 | 31 |
39 | Billy Hamilton (OF – CIN) | 31 | 31 |
40 | Christian Yelich (OF – MIA) | 30 | 30 |
41 | Robinson Cano (2B – SEA) | 30 | 30 |
42 | Jon Lester (SP – CHC) | 28 | 31 |
43 | Jake Arrieta (SP – CHC) | 28 | 28 |
44 | Buster Posey (C – SF) | 28 | 28 |
45 | Zack Greinke (SP – ARI) | 27 | 27 |
46 | Johnny Cueto (SP – SF) | 27 | 27 |
47 | Kenley Jansen (RP – LAD) | 26 | 26 |
48 | Matt Carpenter (1B – STL) | 26 | 26 |
49 | Aaron Judge (OF – NYY) | 26 | 26 |
50 | Lance McCullers (SP – HOU) | 26 | 26 |
51 | Carlos Carrasco (SP – CLE) | 25 | 25 |
52 | Carlos Gonzalez (OF – COL) | 24 | 24 |
53 | Matt Kemp (OF – ATL) | 24 | 24 |
54 | Ian Desmond (OF – COL) | 24 | 24 |
55 | Eric Thames (1B – MIL) | 23 | 23 |
56 | Craig Kimbrel (RP – BOS) | 23 | 23 |
57 | Justin Upton (OF – DET) | 23 | 23 |
58 | Justin Verlander (SP – DET) | 23 | 25 |
59 | Marcell Ozuna (OF – MIA) | 23 | 23 |
60 | Dee Gordon (2B – MIA) | 22 | 22 |
61 | Rougned Odor (2B – TEX) | 22 | 22 |
62 | Anthony Rendon (3B – WAS) | 22 | 22 |
63 | Jonathan Villar (2B – MIL) | 21 | 21 |
64 | Hanley Ramirez (1B – BOS) | 21 | 21 |
65 | Chris Davis (1B – BAL) | 21 | 21 |
66 | David Price (SP – BOS) | 21 | 20 |
67 | Michael Conforto (OF – NYM) | 21 | 21 |
68 | Carlos Martinez (SP – STL) | 20 | 20 |
69 | Kyle Seager (3B – SEA) | 20 | 20 |
70 | Khris Davis (OF – OAK) | 20 | 20 |
71 | Gary Sanchez (C – NYY) | 20 | 20 |
72 | Ryan Zimmerman (1B – WAS) | 20 | 20 |
73 | Carlos Santana (1B – CLE) | 20 | 20 |
74 | Michael Brantley (OF – CLE) | 20 | 20 |
75 | James Paxton (SP – SEA) | 19 | 17 |
76 | Adam Jones (OF – BAL) | 19 | 19 |
77 | Yoenis Cespedes (OF – NYM) | 19 | 19 |
78 | Mark Trumbo (1B – BAL) | 19 | 19 |
79 | Jose Bautista (OF – TOR) | 19 | 19 |
80 | Gerrit Cole (SP – PIT) | 19 | 20 |
81 | Jean Segura (SS – SEA) | 19 | 32 |
82 | Jose Ramirez (3B – CLE) | 18 | 18 |
83 | Masahiro Tanaka (SP – NYY) | 18 | 18 |
84 | Wade Davis (RP – CHC) | 17 | 17 |
85 | Andrew McCutchen (OF – PIT) | 17 | 17 |
86 | Ryan Braun (OF – MIL) | 17 | 17 |
87 | Lorenzo Cain (OF – KC) | 17 | 17 |
88 | Michael Fulmer (SP – DET) | 17 | 17 |
89 | Madison Bumgarner (SP – SF) | 17 | 17 |
90 | Adam Duvall (OF – CIN) | 17 | 17 |
91 | Gregory Polanco (OF – PIT) | 17 | 17 |
92 | DJ LeMahieu (2B – COL) | 16 | 16 |
93 | Alexander Colome (RP – TB) | 16 | 16 |
94 | Kyle Hendricks (SP – CHC) | 16 | 16 |
95 | Greg Holland (RP – COL) | 16 | 16 |
96 | Jake Lamb (3B – ARI) | 16 | 16 |
97 | Jonathan Lucroy (C – TEX) | 15 | 15 |
98 | Roberto Osuna (RP – TOR) | 15 | 15 |
99 | Adrian Beltre (3B – TEX) | 15 | 14 |
100 | Cody Allen (RP – CLE) | 15 | 15 |
101 | Kenneth Giles (RP – HOU) | 14 | 14 |
102 | Aroldis Chapman (RP – NYY) | 14 | 14 |
103 | Jason Kipnis (2B – CLE) | 14 | 14 |
104 | Trevor Story (SS – COL) | 14 | 14 |
105 | Cody Bellinger (OF – LAD) | 14 | 14 |
106 | Jose Quintana (SP – CWS) | 13 | 13 |
107 | Rick Porcello (SP – BOS) | 13 | 13 |
108 | Evan Longoria (3B – TB) | 13 | 13 |
109 | Odubel Herrera (OF – PHI) | 13 | 13 |
110 | Eric Hosmer (1B – KC) | 13 | 13 |
111 | Salvador Perez (C – KC) | 12 | 12 |
112 | Kelvin Herrera (RP – KC) | 12 | 12 |
113 | Marcus Stroman (SP – TOR) | 12 | 12 |
114 | Todd Frazier (3B – CWS) | 12 | 12 |
115 | Freddie Freeman (1B – ATL) | 11 | 11 |
116 | Mark Melancon (RP – SF) | 11 | 11 |
117 | Seung-Hwan Oh (RP – STL) | 11 | 11 |
118 | Justin Turner (3B – MIA) | 10 | 10 |
119 | Corey Dickerson (OF – TB) | 10 | 10 |
120 | Michael Pineda (SP – NYY) | 10 | 10 |
121 | Andrew Benintendi (OF – BOS) | 9 | 9 |
122 | Yasmany Tomas (OF – ARI) | 9 | 9 |
123 | David Robertson (RP – CWS) | 9 | 9 |
124 | Julio Teheran (SP – ATL) | 9 | 9 |
125 | Kyle Schwarber (OF – CHC) | 8 | 8 |
127 | Alex Bregman (3B – HOU) | 8 | 8 |
128 | Kendrys Morales (1B – TOR) | 8 | 8 |
129 | Matt Bush (RP – TEX) | 8 | 8 |
130 | Mike Moustakas (3B – KC) | 7 | 7 |
131 | Cole Hamels (SP – TEX) | 7 | 7 |
132 | Rich Hill (SP – LAD) | 7 | 7 |
133 | Marco Estrada (SP – TOR) | 7 | 7 |
134 | Ervin Santana (SP – MIN) | 7 | 7 |
135 | Ian Kinsler (2B – DET) | 7 | 7 |
136 | Elvis Andrus (SS – TEX) | 7 | 6 |
137 | Edwin Diaz (RP – SEA) | 6 | 5 |
138 | Aledmys Diaz (SS – STL) | 6 | 6 |
139 | Jay Bruce (OF – NYM) | 6 | 6 |
140 | Nomar Mazara (OF – TEX) | 6 | 6 |
141 | Corey Knebel (RP – MIL) | 6 | 6 |
142 | Addison Reed (RP – NYM) | 6 | 6 |
143 | Robbie Ray (SP – ARI) | 6 | 6 |
144 | Brandon Kintzler (RP – MIN) | 6 | 6 |
145 | Alex Wood (SP – LAD) | 5 | 6 |
146 | Danny Duffy (SP – KC) | 5 | 5 |
147 | Stephen Piscotty (OF – STL) | 5 | 5 |
148 | Brandon Belt (1B – SF) | 5 | 5 |
149 | Dellin Betances (RP – NYY) | 5 | 5 |
150 | Sean Manaea (SP – OAK) | 5 | 5 |
151 | Drew Pomeranz (SP – BOS) | 5 | 4 |
152 | Koda Glover (RP – WAS) | 5 | 3 |
153 | Luis Severino (SP – NYY) | 5 | 4 |
154 | Dustin Pedroia (2B – BOS) | 4 | 4 |
155 | Willson Contreras (C – CHC) | 4 | 4 |
156 | J.T. Realmuto (C – MIA) | 4 | 4 |
157 | Yasmani Grandal (C – LAD) | 4 | 4 |
158 | Eduardo Nunez (3B – SF) | 4 | 4 |
159 | A.J. Ramos (RP – MIA) | 4 | 4 |
160 | Raisel Iglesias (RP – CIN) | 4 | 4 |
161 | Tony Watson (RP – PIT) | 4 | 4 |
162 | Brad Brach (RP – BAL) | 4 | 4 |
163 | Justin Wilson (RP – DET) | 4 | 4 |
164 | Sonny Gray (SP – OAK) | 4 | 4 |
165 | Albert Pujols (1B – LAA) | 4 | 4 |
166 | Maikel Franco (3B – PHI) | 4 | 4 |
167 | Felix Hernandez (SP – SEA) | 4 | 4 |
168 | Ender Inciarte (OF – ATL) | 4 | 4 |
169 | Jeff Samardzija (SP – SF) | 4 | 4 |
170 | Matt Shoemaker (SP – LAA) | 4 | 4 |
171 | Jake Odorizzi (SP – TB) | 4 | 4 |
172 | Jose Peraza (2B – CIN) | 4 | 4 |
173 | Jose Berrios (SP – MIN) | 4 | 4 |
174 | Jim Johnson (RP – ATL) | 4 | 4 |
175 | Dylan Bundy (SP – BAL) | 4 | 4 |
176 | Eduardo Rodriguez (SP – BOS) | 3 | 6 |
177 | Starlin Castro (2B – NYY) | 3 | 3 |
178 | Addison Russell (SS – CHC) | 3 | 3 |
179 | Ben Zobrist (2B – CHC) | 3 | 3 |
180 | Eugenio Suarez (3B – CIN) | 3 | 3 |
181 | Jedd Gyorko (3B – STL) | 3 | 3 |
182 | Tanner Roark (SP – WAS) | 3 | 3 |
183 | Aaron Sanchez (SP – TOR) | 3 | 3 |
184 | Kole Calhoun (OF – LAA) | 3 | 3 |
185 | Andrew Miller (RP – CLE) | 3 | 3 |
186 | Aaron Nola (SP – PHI) | 3 | 3 |
187 | Jackie Bradley (OF – BOS) | 3 | 3 |
188 | Victor Martinez (DH – DET) | 3 | 3 |
189 | Welington Castillo (C – BAL) | 3 | 3 |
190 | Zach Britton (RP – BAL) | 3 | 3 |
191 | Matt Holliday (1B – NYY) | 3 | 3 |
192 | Domingo Santana OF – MIL) | 3 | 1 |
193 | Michael Wacha (SP – STL) | 3 | 3 |
194 | Fernando Rodney (RP – ARI) | 3 | 3 |
195 | Noah Syndergaard (SP – NYM) | 3 | 3 |
196 | Nick Castellanos (3B – DET) | 2 | 2 |
197 | Jimmy Nelson | 2 | 0 |
198 | Jonathan Gray (SP – COL) | 2 | 2 |
199 | Matt Harvey (SP – NYM) | 2 | 2 |
200 | Ryon Healy (3B – OAK) | 2 | 2 |
201 | Steven Matz (SP – NYM) | 2 | 2 |
202 | Dexter Fowler (OF – STL) | 2 | 2 |
203 | Jonathan Schoop (2B – BAL) | 2 | 2 |
204 | Cesar Hernandez (2B – PHI) | 2 | 2 |
205 | Hunter Pence (OF – SF) | 2 | 2 |
206 | David Dahl (OF – COL) | 2 | 2 |
207 | Josh Bell (1B – PIT) | 2 | 2 |
208 | Mitch Haniger (OF – SEA) | 2 | 2 |
209 | David Peralta (OF – ARI) | 2 | 2 |
210 | Kevin Pillar (OF – TOR) | 2 | 2 |
211 | Kevin Gausman (SP – BAL) | 2 | 2 |
212 | Justin Bour (1B – MIA) | 2 | 2 |
213 | Brian McCann (C – HOU) | 2 | 2 |
214 | Scott Schebler (OF – CIN) | 2 | 2 |
215 | Avisail Garcia (OF – CWS) | 2 | 2 |
216 | Joe Ross (SP – WAS) | 2 | 2 |
217 | Hector Neris (RP – PHI) | 2 | 2 |
218 | Bud Norris (RP – LAA) | 2 | 2 |
219 | Brad Hand (RP – SD) | 2 | 2 |
220 | Lucas Duda (1B – NYM) | 2 | 1 |
221 | John Lackey (SP – CHC) | 1 | 1 |
222 | Troy Tulowitzki (SS – TOR) | 1 | 1 |
223 | Ivan Nova (SP – PIT) | 1 | 1 |
224 | Jerad Eickhoff (SP – PHI) | 1 | 1 |
225 | Josh Harrison (3B – PIT) | 1 | 1 |
226 | Lance Lynn (SP – STL) | 1 | 1 |
227 | Mike Leake (SP – STL) | 1 | 1 |
228 | Yasiel Puig (OF – LAD) | 1 | 1 |
229 | Carlos Beltran (OF – HOU) | 1 | 1 |
230 | Travis Shaw (3B – MIL) | 1 | 1 |
231 | Evan Gattis (C – HOU) | 1 | 1 |
232 | Keon Broxton (OF – MIL) | 1 | 1 |
233 | Josh Reddick (OF – HOU) | 1 | 1 |
234 | Taijuan Walker (SP – SEA) | 1 | 1 |
235 | Matt Wieters (C – WAS) | 1 | 1 |
236 | Joey Gallo (3B – TEX) | 1 | 1 |
237 | Aaron Altherr (OF – PHI) | 1 | 1 |
238 | Byron Buxton (OF – MIN) | 1 | 1 |
239 | Steven Souza (OF – TB) | 1 | 1 |
240 | Santiago Casilla (RP – OAK) | 1 | 1 |
241 | Ian Happ (2B – CHI) | 1 | 1 |
242 | Justin Smoak (1B – TOR) | 1 | 1 |
243 | Danny Salazar (SP – CLE) | 1 | 1 |
244 | Charlie Morton (SP – HOU) | 1 | 1 |
245 | Junior Guerra (SP – MIL) | 1 | 1 |
246 | Adrian Gonzalez (1B – LAD) | 1 | 1 |
247 | Brett Gardner (OF – NYY) | 1 | 1 |
248 | Brandon Crawford (SS – SF) | 1 | 1 |
249 | Chris Owings (SS – ARI) | 1 | 1 |
250 | Jameson Taillon (SP – PIT) | 1 | 1 |
251 | Kevin Kiermaier (OF – TB) | 1 | 1 |
252 | Julio Urias (SP – LAD) | 1 | 1 |
253 | Joc Pederson (OF – LAD) | 1 | 1 |
254 | Gio Gonzalez (SP – WAS) | 1 | 1 |
255 | Jacoby Ellsbury (OF – NYY) | 1 | 1 |
256 | Brandon Phillips (2B – ATL) | 1 | 1 |
257 | Yadier Molina (C – STL) | 1 | 1 |
258 | Melky Cabrera (OF – CWS) | 1 | 1 |
259 | Max Kepler (OF – MIN) | 1 | 1 |
260 | Mark Reynolds (1B – COL) | 1 | 1 |
261 | Hunter Renfroe (OF – SD) | 1 | 1 |
262 | Carlos Gomez (OF – TEX) | 1 | 1 |
263 | Javier Baez (2B – CHC) | 1 | 1 |
264 | Devon Travis (2B – TOR) | 1 | 1 |
265 | Jason Vargas (SP – KC) | 1 | 1 |
266 | Tim Anderson (SS -CWS) | 1 | 1 |
267 | J.A. Happ (SP – TOR) | 1 | 1 |
268 | Starling Marte (OF – PIT) | 1 | 1 |
269 | Yonder Alonso (1B – OAK) | 1 | 1 |
270 | Neil Walker (2B – NYM) | 1 | 1 |
271 | Logan Forsythe (2B – LAD) | 1 | 1 |
272 | Matt Moore (SP – SF) | 1 | 1 |
273 | Vincent Velasquez (SP – PHI) | 1 | 3 |
274 | Manuel Margot (OF – SD) | 1 | 1 |
275 | Curtis Granderson (OF – NYM) | 1 | 1 |
276 | Mike Napoli (1B – TEX) | 1 | 1 |
277 | Tommy Joseph (1B – PHI) | 1 | 1 |
278 | Brad Miller (SS – TB) | 1 | 1 |
279 | Ian Kennedy (SP – KC) | 1 | 1 |
280 | Jason Heyward (OF – CHC) | 1 | 1 |
281 | Greg Bird (1B – NYY) | 1 | 1 |
282 | Jarrod Dyson (OF – KC) | 1 | 1 |
283 | Didi Gregorius (SS – NYY) | 1 | 1 |
284 | Zack Cozart (SS – CIN) | 1 | 1 |
285 | Adam Wainwright (SP – STL) | 1 | 1 |
286 | Russell Martin (C – TOR) | 1 | 1 |
287 | Yulieski Gurriel (3B – HOU) | 1 | 1 |
288 | Cameron Bedrosian (RP – LAA) | 1 | 1 |
289 | Jharel Cotton (SP – OAK) | 1 | 1 |
290 | Mitch Moreland (1B – BOS) | 1 | 1 |
291 | Rajai Davis (OF – OAK) | 1 | 1 |
292 | Taylor Motter (SS – SEA) | 1 | 0 |
293 | Hernan Perez (3B – MIL) | 1 | 1 |
294 | Andrew Triggs (SP – OAK) | 1 | 1 |
295 | Shin-Soo Choo (OF – TEX) | 1 | 1 |
296 | Chris Devenski (RP – OAK) | 1 | 1 |
297 | Dansby Swanson (SS – ATL) | 1 | 1 |
298 | Alex Cobb (SP – TB) | 1 | 1 |
299 | Bradley Zimmer (CLE – OF) | 1 | 1 |
300 | Matt Adams (1B – ATL) | 1 | 0 |
The Injury Movers
Josh Donaldson, Corey Kluber, David Price, Adrian Beltre, and James Paxton. What do all of these guys have in common? They had all just returned or were on the verge of returning from injury when the last trade chart was published, they have all been fully healthy since returning, and each of their names can be rearranged to form a different Pink Floyd song.
Fine, I made that last one up, but the first two things are true. Each of these guys would have ranked higher on the trade chart had they been fully healthy, and so they begin the long and arduous process of inching up with their first week or two of good health. Some may rise significantly higher, while others have already reached their ceiling. But 1) return from injury and 2) appear healthy, then 3) your value automatically moves a little higher.
On the flip side, poor Jean Segura tumbles down the list, and he’s in the awful zone where we just don’t know how bad the ankle injury is. Will he seriously miss two months, or do we believe him when he says he feels better and expects to be back quickly? Until we have more information, he slides down, but not to the point where you’ll pass on him if the price is relatively minimal.
Justin Verlander takes a minor dip with the groin injury, but his MRI came back clean and he may make his next start. Still, if you’re trading for him, you can’t possibly give full value in return. I wouldn’t be overly concerned yet, but it’s enough to move his value down a peg.
Eduardo Rodriguez also takes a small tumble with his knee injury (literally!), as the latest reports have him needing to rest the knee between three and four weeks. Rodriguez was on the verge of a breakout season, so you don’t want to drop him or give him away for absolutely nothing if you can help it. Vince Velasquez also takes a drop to near-irrelevant status with his arm injury, but his previous value wasn’t high enough to give him his own paragraph anyway.
The Performance Movers
Francisco Lindor moves down a bit in value, but not the overall rankings. With his slump showing that his crazy April was likely more of a hot streak than a wholesale change in him as a player, it was a bit unfair to have him significantly above that next group of players. More of a correction of my assessment, rather than anything Lindor did or did not do.
I’m finally slightly concerned about Jon Lester. I’ve largely given him the benefit of the doubt, but the slight dip in strikeout percentage, the corresponding jump in walk percentage, and the significant dip in velocity are enough to move him down a peg. I’m not jumping off the ledge or close to it – his hard-hit rate is actually lower than in either of the past two seasons – but I’ll acknowledge that he’s a tier below some of the other guys.
Edwin Diaz and Koda Glover raised their value a bit, as they both cemented themselves as their respective team’s closer. And don’t worry about that Glover blowup on Sunday. It’s not his fault that he sat for four hours between innings, lost his edge, and had all his inherited base-runners score when Shawn Kelley gave up a grand slam.
Anyone else notices what Elvis Andrus has been doing? He’s already nearly matched his career-high in home runs (I mean, that’s only eight, but still), is on pace for 40 steals, and is destroying his career marks in both hard-hit percentage and pull percentage. This all looks like a concerted effort to hit the ball harder and get away from the slap hitting version of himself that fantasy owners despise. I’ll give him a one-point bump in value, but keep your eyes open here.
Drew Pomeranz and Luis Severino both take a minor jump forward with their continued excellent production. Both, especially Severino, have a case to be made for moving much higher than they are now. But, as I said, I move at glacier speed. I’m watching, though.
Finally, Domingo Santana and Lucas Duda also get a little bump in value, with Santana’s the most significant. Let this be a lesson to you – if you @ me on Twitter to tell me you think someone’s value is too low, I will take a deep dive into him. So, to the guy who noted that Santana was too low, you were correct, sir. He’s quietly been having an excellent season, and I glossed over it a bit. And yes, there’s an argument to push him higher, but I’m not quite in love with all the underlying metrics. And Duda is on fire and homered twice when I took my kid to his first baseball game on his birthday. #automaticonespotbump.
The Newcomers
Kyle Schwarber jumps into the chart for the first time! Remember how I told you guys there might be a few glitches when we first started? Yeah, somehow Schwarber was omitted from the final version of last week’s trade chart. I’ve kept his value as is from where I had him in my draft version last week. It may seem high to some, but most of the underlying metrics on Schwarber seem fine, and if the Cubs weren’t scuffling, they’d just let his bad BABIP luck normalize. They’ll play better, his luck will even out, and he’ll have plenty of value going forward. I’m still buying.
I can’t really explain Jimmy Nelson’s performance right now. Sure, the strikeouts are up and the walks are down, but everything I see suggests he’s pretty much the same pitcher he’s always been. Nevertheless, he deserves to have SOME value, right? Jimmy, you’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and doggone it, people like you.
Taylor Motter joins us on the trade chart with Jean Segura’s injury. He’s nothing special, of course, but he’s eligible all over and has some pop. So, I mean, sure, if you want to throw him into a deal, it might move it from just fair to . . . still fair. But he makes the cut!
And Matt Adams, yeah, I dunno. I have been a Matt Adams defender forever and he is en fuego with the Braves. But, I mean, it’s Matt Adams. You could throw a dart out the window and find a first baseman with plenty of fantasy value. Still, I know that Adams’ personal goal in life was to get on this chart. So, congratulations, Matt. It’s all downhill from here!
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Dan Harris is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Dan, check out his archive or follow him on Twitter at @danharris80.