The time for giving players the benefit of the doubt is over.
The trade deadline is approaching in most fantasy leagues, and this is when championships are won. The right deal can give you just enough to get you over the top, while the wrong deal can end your miracle run.
Because every deal you make is so critical at this time of year, it’s time to forget about our preseason expectations. While a stud hitter may be in the midst of an unlucky year, there just might not be enough time for his luck to even out. So let’s take a look at where things stand as we hit the home stretch in the trading season.
Analyze any potential deal with our Trade Analyzer 
| Player | Current Value | Previous Value | +/- |
| Mike Trout (OF – LAA) | 69 | 69 | – |
| Paul Goldschmidt (1B – ARI) | 66 | 66 | – |
| Bryce Harper (OF – WAS) | 65 | 65 | – |
| Mookie Betts (OF – BOS) | 65 | 65 | – |
| Jose Altuve (2B – HOU) | 65 | 65 | – |
| Nolan Arenado (3B – COL) | 64 | 62 | +2 |
| Joey Votto (1B – CIN) | 60 | 60 | – |
| Charlie Blackmon (OF – COL) | 59 | 59 | – |
| Anthony Rizzo (1B – CHC) | 57 | 57 | – |
| Kris Bryant (3B – CHC) | 56 | 56 | – |
| Manny Machado (3B – BAL) | 54 | 54 | – |
| Chris Sale (SP- CWS) | 54 | 54 | – |
| Max Scherzer (SP – WAS) | 54 | 54 | – |
| Freddie Freeman (1B – ATL) | 53 | 53 | – |
| Josh Donaldson (3B – TOR) | 45 | 50 | -5 |
| Corey Seager (SS – LAD) | 45 | 45 | – |
| Corey Kluber (SP – CLE) | 45 | 45 | – |
| Daniel Murphy (2B – WAS) | 43 | 43 | – |
| Nelson Cruz (OF – SEA) | 42 | 42 | – |
| Giancarlo Stanton (OF – MIA) | 42 | 42 | – |
| George Springer (OF – HOU) | 41 | 41 | – |
| Edwin Encarnacion (1B – CLE) | 41 | 41 | – |
| Francisco Lindor (SS – CLE) | 40 | 41 | -1 |
| Aaron Judge (OF – NYY) | 40 | 40 | – |
| J.D. Martinez (OF – DET) | 38 | 39 | -1 |
| Jacob deGrom (SP – NYM) | 36 | 36 | – |
| A.J. Pollock (OF – ARI) | 36 | 36 | – |
| Wil Myers (1B – SD) | 35 | 35 | – |
| Yu Darvish (SP – TEX) | 34 | 33 | +1 |
| Chris Archer (SP – TB) | 33 | 33 | – |
| Miguel Cabrera (1B – DET) | 33 | 35 | -2 |
| Miguel Sano (3B – MIN) | 31 | 31 | – |
| Xander Bogaerts (SS – BOS) | 31 | 35 | -4 |
| Jose Abreu (1B – CWS) | 31 | 31 | – |
| Robinson Cano (2B – SEA) | 30 | 30 | – |
| Zack Greinke (SP – ARI) | 30 | 30 | – |
| Billy Hamilton (OF – CIN) | 29 | 29 | – |
| Buster Posey (C – SF) | 28 | 28 | – |
| Jon Lester (SP – CHC) | 28 | 28 | – |
| Brian Dozier (2B – MIN) | 27 | 28 | -1 |
| Jake Arrieta (SP – CHC) | 27 | 27 | – |
| Christian Yelich (OF – MIA) | 26 | 27 | -1 |
| Kenley Jansen (RP – LAD) | 26 | 26 | – |
| Craig Kimbrel (RP – BOS) | 26 | 26 | – |
| Madison Bumgarner (SP – SF) | 26 | 27 | -1 |
| Dee Gordon (2B – MIA) | 26 | 26 | – |
| Lance McCullers (SP – HOU) | 25 | 27 | -2 |
| Carlos Carrasco (SP – CLE) | 25 | 25 | – |
| Anthony Rendon (3B – WAS) | 24 | 23 | +1 |
| Justin Upton (OF – DET) | 24 | 24 | – |
| Andrew McCutchen (OF – PIT) | 24 | 21 | +3 |
| Gary Sanchez (C – NYY) | 23 | 23 | – |
| Marcell Ozuna (OF – MIA) | 23 | 24 | -1 |
| Dallas Keuchel (SP – HOU) | 22 | 22 | – |
| Hanley Ramirez (1B – BOS) | 22 | 22 | – |
| Eric Thames (1B – MIL) | 22 | 25 | -3 |
| Carlos Martinez (SP – STL) | 22 | 22 | – |
| Jake Lamb (3B – ARI) | 22 | 21 | +1 |
| Khris Davis (OF – OAK) | 21 | 21 | – |
| Michael Conforto (OF – NYM) | 21 | 21 | – |
| Cody Bellinger (OF – LAD) | 21 | 19 | +2 |
| David Price (SP – BOS) | 20 | 20 | – |
| Jean Segura (SS – SEA) | 20 | 20 | – |
| James Paxton (SP – SEA) | 20 | 20 | – |
| Carlos Santana (1B – CLE) | 20 | 20 | – |
| Ryan Braun (OF – MIL) | 20 | 23 | -3 |
| Matt Carpenter (1B – STL) | 19 | 27 | -8 |
| Kyle Seager (3B – SEA) | 19 | 19 | – |
| Justin Verlander (SP – DET) | 19 | 21 | -2 |
| Jose Ramirez (3B – CLE) | 19 | 19 | – |
| Starling Marte (OF – PIT) | 19 | 18 | +1 |
| Adrian Beltre (3B – TEX) | 19 | 19 | – |
| Aroldis Chapman (RP – NYY) | 19 | 21 | -2 |
| Mark Trumbo (OF – BAL) | 19 | 19 | – |
| Ryan Zimmerman (1B – WAS) | 19 | 20 | -1 |
| Jose Bautista (OF – TOR) | 19 | 19 | – |
| Gerrit Cole (SP – PIT) | 19 | 18 | +1 |
| Rougned Odor (2B – TEX) | 19 | 21 | -2 |
| Adam Jones (OF – BAL) | 18 | 18 | – |
| Matt Kemp (OF – ATL) | 18 | 18 | – |
| Michael Fulmer (SP – DET) | 18 | 18 | – |
| Roberto Osuna (RP – TOR) | 18 | 18 | – |
| Wade Davis (RP – CHC) | 18 | 18 | – |
| Yoenis Cespedes (OF – NYM) | 17 | 21 | -4 |
| Jose Quintana (SP – CWS) | 17 | 17 | – |
| Lorenzo Cain (OF – KC) | 17 | 17 | – |
| Mike Moustakas (3B – KC) | 17 | 14 | +3 |
| Johnny Cueto (SP – SF) | 16 | 17 | -1 |
| Alexander Colome (RP – TB) | 16 | 16 | – |
| Ian Desmond (OF – COL) | 16 | 16 | – |
| Michael Brantley (OF – CLE) | 16 | 17 | -1 |
| Greg Holland (RP – COL) | 16 | 16 | – |
| Justin Turner (3B – MIA) | 15 | 14 | +1 |
| DJ LeMahieu (2B – COL) | 14 | 14 | – |
| Eric Hosmer (1B – KC) | 14 | 14 | – |
| Adam Duvall (OF – CIN) | 14 | 16 | -2 |
| Corey Knebel (RP – MIL) | 14 | 14 | – |
| Chris Davis (1B – BAL) | 14 | 14 | – |
| Ken Giles (RP – HOU) | 13 | 13 | – |
| Carlos Gonzalez (OF – COL) | 13 | 15 | -2 |
| Alex Wood (SP – LAD) | 13 | 13 | – |
| Todd Frazier (3B – CWS) | 13 | 14 | -1 |
| Stephen Strasburg (SP – WAS) | 12 | 33 | -21 |
| Salvador Perez (C – KC) | 12 | 12 | – |
| Evan Longoria (3B – TB) | 12 | 13 | -1 |
| Masahiro Tanaka (SP – NYY) | 12 | 12 | – |
| Kyle Hendricks (SP – CHC) | 12 | 12 | – |
| Travis Shaw (3B – MIL) | 12 | 12 | – |
| Kelvin Herrera (RP – KC) | 12 | 12 | – |
| Marcus Stroman (SP – TOR) | 12 | 11 | +1 |
| Robbie Ray (SP – ARI) | 12 | 12 | – |
| Edwin Diaz (RP – SEA) | 11 | 9 | +2 |
| Rich Hill (SP – LAD) | 11 | 11 | – |
| Felipe Rivero (RP – PIT) | 11 | 10 | +1 |
| Cody Allen (RP – CLE) | 11 | 11 | – |
| Andrew Benintendi (OF – BOS) | 11 | 11 | – |
| Raisel Iglesias (RP – CIN) | 11 | 9 | +2 |
| Clayton Kershaw (SP – LAD) | 10 | 59 | -49 |
| Justin Smoak (1B – TOR) | 10 | 10 | – |
| Trea Turner (SS – WAS) | 10 | 16 | -6 |
| Corey Dickerson (OF – TB) | 10 | 10 | – |
| Cole Hamels (SP – TEX) | 10 | 11 | -1 |
| Jose Berrios (SP – MIN) | 10 | 10 | – |
| Elvis Andrus (SS – TEX) | 10 | 10 | – |
| Danny Duffy (SP – KC) | 10 | 10 | – |
| Luis Severino (SP – NYY) | 10 | 9 | +1 |
| Gregory Polanco (OF – PIT) | 9 | 15 | -6 |
| Trevor Story (SS – COL) | 9 | 9 | – |
| Ian Kinsler (2B – DET) | 9 | 9 | – |
| Jay Bruce (OF – NYM) | 9 | 9 | – |
| Yasmani Grandal (C – LAD) | 9 | 8 | +1 |
| Ervin Santana (SP – MIN) | 9 | 9 | – |
| Julio Teheran (SP – ATL) | 9 | 9 | – |
| Jonathan Villar (2B – MIL) | 8 | 14 | -6 |
| Kendrys Morales (1B – TOR) | 8 | 8 | – |
| Odubel Herrera (OF – PHI) | 8 | 8 | – |
| Willson Contreras (C – CHC) | 8 | 6 | +2 |
| Rick Porcello (SP – BOS) | 8 | 8 | – |
| Brandon Kintzler (RP – MIN) | 8 | 8 | – |
| Jeff Samardzija (SP – SF) | 7 | 8 | -1 |
| Sonny Gray (SP – OAK) | 7 | 7 | – |
| Felix Hernandez (SP – SEA) | 7 | 5 | +2 |
| Drew Pomeranz (SP – BOS) | 7 | 7 | – |
| Jonathan Schoop (2B – BAL) | 7 | 5 | +2 |
| Danny Salazar (SP – CLE) | 7 | 4 | +3 |
| Marwin Gonzalez (3B – HOU) | 7 | 1 | +6 |
| Aaron Nola (SP – PHI) | 7 | 4 | +3 |
| Alex Bregman (3B – HOU) | 6 | 6 | – |
| Jacob Faria (SP – TB) | 6 | 5 | +1 |
| Kyle Schwarber (OF – CHC) | 6 | 6 | – |
| Jackie Bradley (OF – BOS) | 6 | 5 | +1 |
| Yonder Alonso (1B – OAK) | 6 | 6 | – |
| Jimmy Nelson (SP – MIL) | 6 | 5 | +1 |
| Nomar Mazara (OF – TEX) | 6 | 6 | – |
| Wilson Ramos (C – TB) | 6 | 6 | – |
| Jon Gray (SP – COL) | 5 | 6 | -1 |
| Jason Kipnis (2B – CLE) | 5 | 5 | – |
| Steven Matz (SP – NYM) | 5 | 6 | -1 |
| Brandon Belt (1B – SF) | 5 | 5 | – |
| Sean Manaea (SP – OAK) | 5 | 5 | – |
| Jonathan Lucroy (C – TEX) | 5 | 8 | -3 |
| Eduardo Rodriguez (SP – BOS) | 5 | 5 | – |
| Dustin Pedroia (2B – BOS) | 5 | 4 | +1 |
| Mitch Haniger (OF – SEA) | 5 | 5 | – |
| Maikel Franco (3B – PHI) | 5 | 4 | +1 |
| Justin Bour (1B – MIA) | 5 | 5 | – |
| Evan Gattis (C – HOU) | 5 | 4 | +1 |
| Domingo Santana OF – MIL) | 5 | 5 | – |
| Andrew Miller (RP – CLE) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Kenta Maeda (SP – LAD) | 4 | 4 | – |
| J.T. Realmuto (C – MIA) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Marco Estrada (SP – TOR) | 4 | 7 | -3 |
| Eduardo Nunez (3B – SF) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Dylan Bundy (SP – BAL) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Zach Britton (RP – BAL) | 4 | 7 | -3 |
| Brett Gardner (OF – NYY) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Ender Inciarte (OF – ATL) | 4 | 4 | – |
| A.J. Ramos (RP – MIA) | 4 | 5 | -1 |
| Jake Odorizzi (SP – TB) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Jedd Gyorko (3B – STL) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Michael Wacha (SP – STL) | 4 | 3 | +1 |
| Chris Owings (SS – ARI) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Josh Bell (1B – PIT) | 4 | 3 | +1 |
| Matt Adams (1B – ATL) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Nick Castellanos (3B – DET) | 4 | 2 | +2 |
| Fernando Rodney (RP – ARI) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Jameson Taillon (SP – PIT) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Sean Doolittle (RP – WAS) | 4 | 2 | +2 |
| Carlos Correa (SS – HOU) | 3 | 48 | -45 |
| Eugenio Suarez (3B – CIN) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Justin Wilson (RP – DET) | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| Tanner Roark (SP – WAS) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Hunter Pence (OF – SF) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Albert Pujols (1B – LAA) | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| Bud Norris (RP – LAA) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Matt Holliday (1B – NYY) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Seung-Hwan Oh (RP – STL) | 3 | 8 | -5 |
| Ryon Healy (3B – OAK) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Josh Reddick (OF – HOU) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Jose Peraza (2B – CIN) | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| Yasiel Puig (OF – LAD) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Lance Lynn (SP – STL) | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| Mark Reynolds (1B – COL) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Mallex Smith (OF – TB) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Gio Gonzalez (SP – WAS) | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| Addison Russell (SS – CHC) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Ian Happ (2B – CHI) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Alex Claudio (RP – TEX) | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| Starlin Castro (2B – NYY) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Zack Cozart (SS – CIN) | 2 | 4 | -2 |
| Brad Brach (RP – BAL) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Scott Schebler (OF – CIN) | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| Ben Zobrist (2B – CHC) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Kole Calhoun (OF – LAA) | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| Jim Johnson (RP – ATL) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Tommy Pham (STL – OF) | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Dexter Fowler (OF – STL) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Stephen Piscotty (OF – STL) | 2 | 5 | -3 |
| David Peralta (OF – ARI) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Kevin Gausman (SP – BAL) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Brian McCann (C – HOU) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Gerardo Parra (OF – COL) | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| Marcus Semien (SS – OAK) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Ryan Madson (RP – WAS) | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Taijuan Walker (SP – SEA) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Yulieski Gurriel (3B – HOU) | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Avisail Garcia (OF – CWS) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Lucas Duda (1B – NYM) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Steven Souza (OF – TB) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Addison Reed (RP – NYM) | 1 | 6 | -5 |
| Alex Cobb (SP – TB) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Welington Castillo (C – BAL) | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| Noah Syndergaard (SP – NYM) | 1 | 1 | – |
| John Lackey (SP – CHC) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Jose Reyes (SS – NYM) | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Troy Tulowitzki (SS – TOR) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Ivan Nova (SP – PIT) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Jerad Eickhoff (SP – PHI) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Josh Harrison (3B – PIT) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Mike Leake (SP – STL) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Cesar Hernandez (2B – PHI) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Carlos Beltran (OF – HOU) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Victor Martinez (DH – DET) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Yasmany Tomas (OF – ARI) | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| Orlando Arcia (SS – MIL) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Matt Wieters (C – WAS) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Joey Gallo (3B – TEX) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Nick Williams (OF – PHI) | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Nick Pivetta (SP – PHI) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Amed Rosario (SS – NYM) | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Brandon Maurer (RP – SD) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Aaron Sanchez (SP – TOR) | 1 | 5 | -4 |
| Brandon Crawford (SS – SF) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Hector Neris (RP – PHI) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Joc Pederson (OF – LAD) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Keon Broxton (OF – MIL) | 1 | 4 | -3 |
| Anthony Swarzak (RP – CWS) | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Brandon Phillips (2B – ATL) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Yadier Molina (C – STL) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Kevin Pillar (OF – TOR) | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| Melky Cabrera (OF – CWS) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Max Kepler (OF – MIN) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Sam Dyson (RP – SF) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Santiago Casilla (RP – OAK) | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| Hunter Renfroe (OF – SD) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Javier Baez (2B – CHC) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Jason Vargas (SP – KC) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Tim Anderson (SS -CWS) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Mark Melancon (RP – SF) | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| J.A. Happ (SP – TOR) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Matt Moore (SP – SF) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Trey Mancini (OF – BAL) | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Vincent Velasquez (SP – PHI) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Curtis Granderson (OF – NYM) | 1 | 1 | – |
| David Robertson (RP – CWS) | 1 | 11 | -10 |
| Mike Napoli (1B – TEX) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Tommy Joseph (1B – PHI) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Brad Miller (SS – TB) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Ian Kennedy (SP – KC) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Rafael Devers (3B – BOS) | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Mike Zunino (C – SEA) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Luis Castillo (SP – CIN) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Jarrod Dyson (OF – KC) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Didi Gregorius (SS – NYY) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Matt Davidson (3B – CWS) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Chris Taylor (2B – LAD) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Dellin Betances (RP – NYY) | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| Russell Martin (C – TOR) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Clint Frazier (OF – NYY) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Cam Bedrosian (RP – LAA) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Jharel Cotton (SP – OAK) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Mike Clevinger (SP – CLE) | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Rajai Davis (OF – OAK) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Jeurys Familia (RP- NYM) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Hernan Perez (3B – MIL) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Shin-Soo Choo (OF – TEX) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Keone Kela (RP – TEX) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Tyler Clippard (RP – CWS) | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Bradley Zimmer (OF – CLE) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Whit Merrifield (2B – KC) | 1 | 1 | – |
The Injury Movers
You know when a beat writer has a game story all written up and then the team he/she covers blows the game and they have to rewrite the whole story? Yeah, well, 20 minutes ago, I was leading this section with Carlos Correa. But somehow, Sunday gave us a bigger fish to fry, and that bigger fish is Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw left his start on Sunday after two innings with lower back tightness. As of Sunday night, we don’t know the severity of the injury. What we do know is that Kershaw had a back injury last season that cost him substantial time. His velocity declined significantly in the second inning, and the Dodgers almost immediately put him on the disabled list. Dodgers beat writers reported that Kershaw did not sound upbeat talking about the injury, and the Dodgers are pretty much guaranteed to go to the playoffs. Add all that up, and it just feels extremely unlikely that we’d see Kershaw until September, don’t you think? The Dodgers should provide more information on Monday, but for now, Kershaw drops to a place where, at this moment, I’d deal him for someone of some value, but not for someone who is integral to my team’s success.
Two more Sunday injuries include Stephen Strasburg (arm stiffness) and Matt Carpenter (right quadriceps tightness). Strasburg made it seem like the injury stemmed from the All-Star break throwing off his routine and that he was just being cautious. But, as with Kershaw, we have to worry about his team knowing that it’s playoff bound and the pitcher’s injury history. Until we know more, Strasburg drops to around the Kershaw range, although his injury doesn’t yet sound as significant. And placing a value on Carpenter is incredibly difficult on a Sunday evening when our knowledge consists of “The Cardinals have announced that Matt Carpenter left the game with right quadriceps tightness.” Given that the Cardinals are unlikely to make the playoffs, there would seem to be no reason to rush Carpenter back, and the fact that he was quickly pulled from a nationally-televised game against a division rival doesn’t seem good. Nevertheless, if I was making an offer for Carpenter at this moment, I’d still consider him closer to his pre-injury value than either pitcher.
Not enough injury movement for you? Then let’s talk about Carlos Correa, who was in the midst of a fantastic season but will now miss several weeks with a left thumb injury. Correa underwent successful surgery this week (Note: Has a baseball player ever underwent unsuccessful surgery? I imagine that would be weird), and should be back sometime in September. A month of Correa is certainly worth something, but he’s not a guarantee to be back at the start of the month, and he’ll likely need some time to round into form. He retains a modicum of value, but that’s all. Note that Correa’s injury also guarantees Marwin Gonzalez steady playing time. Gonzalez is in the midst of a breakout year and, frankly, had not been getting his due here. He gets a major boost. Also, did you know that there are fewer than 1,627 people in the United States with the first name ‘Marwin?’ The more you know, man.
Similarly, after contemplating it for the past week, I think I may have been too aggressive with Trea Turner’s value. Absolutely, if he comes back in late August or early September, he could easily steal 20 bases. But we still don’t have a firm timetable for his return and, frankly, he may not want to run quite as much when he returns in order to avoid injury before the playoffs. He retains a decent amount of value, for sure, but just not quite as much as I had initially thought.
Some other injury movers include Gregory Polanco (on the disabled list with a hamstring injury) and Stephen Piscotty (on the disabled list with a groin injury). Ryan Braun and Yoenis Cespedes are “healthy,” in the sense that neither is actually on the disabled list. But both are going to be rested significantly for the rest of the season and, in the case of Cespedes, has been playing terrible since coming back from the disabled list anyway. They all drop a bit.
The Performance Movers
The big moves came in the injury department, so let’s run through some of the less significant, but still noteworthy, movers in the performance department. As always, movement in reliever values are better explained here, but the vast majority revolves around the likelihood of trades that may impact a particular reliever’s value.
In July, Josh Donaldson has a .570 OPS with a 29.7% strikeout rate and a 23.1% hard-hit rate. It could be a small sample size. It could be a slump. It could be that he’s not healthy. Without knowing for sure, there’s no way we can value him the same as we did just a few weeks ago. Not when the wrong deal torpedoes your season. He’s still quite valuable, but he drops down a peg.
Here are Xander Bogaerts’ on-pace numbers: .291-86-10-70-15. He got off to that weird start where he was great except for the lack of home runs, and then he just stopped hitting. Since June 1, he has just a .686 OPS with four home runs and one steal. We know Bogaerts has talent, so I’m still not willing to drop him that significantly, but he’s quietly had a pretty pedestrian season.
Over Mike Moustakas’ last 162 games, he has 47 home runs and 117 RBIs. I really felt like he’d slow down in the second half and then we could all have that whole “the home run derby ruins players’ swings” debate again. But, guess not.
Jonathan Villar steals a pretty good amount of bases. He also doesn’t play every day and is batting .223 with a 30.6% strikeout rate. Oh, and the Brewers are interested in Ian Kinsler. I know we all need steals but . . . only if you’re desperate, and don’t give up much.
I fought so hard not to move Danny Salazar up even higher. Sure, it was just one start, but one hit, no walks, and eight strikeouts over seven innings against the Blue Jays? Sign me up. Yes, Salazar had been awful this season, but we know the type of upside he offers. I remained relatively cautious, but I think he immediately jumps into that Sonny Gray range, with the potential upside to move even higher.
On the FantasyPros baseball podcast a few weeks back, one of my bold predictions was that Aaron Nola would be a top-five starter for the rest of the season. And while, yes, that remains a little too bold, if there are people still sleeping on him out there, see if you can make some buy-low offers. Since the calendar turned to June, he has a 2.49 ERA, 1 .06 WHIP, and a 10.0 K/9 rate. He’s legitimate.
Finally, there’s Tommy Pham. I think Tommy Pham should be valued higher than a 2. He’s got 13 homers, 13 steals, and over a .900 OPS. But here’s the thing. Pham is still unowned in a TON of leagues. I can’t exactly figure out why, but he is. And because of that, there’s no way to place any sort of significant trade value on him. But please, if he’s available, pick him up.
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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.
