Amazingly, we’re headed into the home stretch of the fantasy baseball season. For most leagues, the trade deadline is rapidly approaching, and we’re looking for one final deal to put us over the top. So let’s check in with the latest iteration of our weekly trade chart to see if we can’t work out some deals.
Here is your fantasy baseball trade value chart for Week 19.
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 | – |
| Jose Altuve (2B – HOU) | 66 | 65 | +1 |
| Bryce Harper (OF – WAS) | 65 | 65 | – |
| Mookie Betts (OF – BOS) | 65 | 65 | – |
| Nolan Arenado (3B – COL) | 64 | 64 | – |
| Charlie Blackmon (OF – COL) | 62 | 59 | +3 |
| Joey Votto (1B – CIN) | 60 | 60 | – |
| 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 | – |
| Corey Kluber (SP – CLE) | 48 | 45 | +3 |
| Corey Seager (SS – LAD) | 45 | 45 | – |
| Josh Donaldson (3B – TOR) | 45 | 43 | +2 |
| Daniel Murphy (2B – WAS) | 43 | 43 | – |
| Nelson Cruz (OF – SEA) | 42 | 42 | – |
| Giancarlo Stanton (OF – MIA) | 42 | 42 | – |
| Edwin Encarnacion (1B – CLE) | 41 | 41 | – |
| J.D. Martinez (OF – DET) | 40 | 40 | – |
| Aaron Judge (OF – NYY) | 38 | 40 | -2 |
| A.J. Pollock (OF – ARI) | 38 | 38 | – |
| Yu Darvish (SP – LAD) | 38 | 37 | +1 |
| George Springer (OF – HOU) | 37 | 37 | – |
| Jacob deGrom (SP – NYM) | 36 | 36 | – |
| Francisco Lindor (SS – CLE) | 36 | 36 | – |
| Chris Archer (SP – TB) | 33 | 33 | – |
| Wil Myers (1B – SD) | 31 | 35 | -4 |
| Jose Abreu (1B – CWS) | 31 | 31 | – |
| Miguel Cabrera (1B – DET) | 30 | 30 | – |
| 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 | 27 | – |
| Jake Arrieta (SP – CHC) | 27 | 27 | – |
| Madison Bumgarner (SP – SF) | 27 | 27 | – |
| Kenley Jansen (RP – LAD) | 26 | 26 | – |
| Craig Kimbrel (RP – BOS) | 26 | 26 | – |
| Dee Gordon (2B – MIA) | 26 | 26 | – |
| Miguel Sano (3B – MIN) | 25 | 31 | -6 |
| Christian Yelich (OF – MIA) | 25 | 25 | – |
| Carlos Carrasco (SP – CLE) | 25 | 25 | – |
| Andrew McCutchen (OF – PIT) | 25 | 25 | – |
| Justin Upton (OF – DET) | 25 | 24 | +1 |
| Anthony Rendon (3B – WAS) | 24 | 24 | – |
| Xander Bogaerts (SS – BOS) | 24 | 24 | – |
| Gary Sanchez (C – NYY) | 23 | 23 | – |
| James Paxton (SP – SEA) | 22 | 21 | +1 |
| Marcell Ozuna (OF – MIA) | 22 | 22 | – |
| Cody Bellinger (OF – LAD) | 22 | 21 | +1 |
| Carlos Martinez (SP – STL) | 22 | 22 | – |
| Michael Conforto (OF – NYM) | 22 | 22 | – |
| Jake Lamb (3B – ARI) | 21 | 22 | -1 |
| Khris Davis (OF – OAK) | 21 | 21 | – |
| Dallas Keuchel (SP – HOU) | 20 | 22 | -2 |
| Jean Segura (SS – SEA) | 20 | 20 | – |
| Justin Verlander (SP – DET) | 20 | 20 | – |
| Carlos Santana (1B – CLE) | 20 | 20 | – |
| Ryan Braun (OF – MIL) | 20 | 20 | – |
| Aroldis Chapman (RP – NYY) | 20 | 20 | – |
| Matt Carpenter (1B – STL) | 19 | 19 | – |
| Kyle Seager (3B – SEA) | 19 | 19 | – |
| Jose Ramirez (3B – CLE) | 19 | 19 | – |
| Starling Marte (OF – PIT) | 19 | 19 | – |
| Adrian Beltre (3B – TEX) | 19 | 19 | – |
| Ryan Zimmerman (1B – WAS) | 19 | 19 | – |
| Gerrit Cole (SP – PIT) | 19 | 19 | – |
| Rougned Odor (2B – TEX) | 19 | 19 | – |
| Hanley Ramirez (1B – BOS) | 18 | 20 | -2 |
| Adam Jones (OF – BAL) | 18 | 18 | – |
| Wade Davis (RP – CHC) | 18 | 18 | – |
| Stephen Strasburg (SP – WAS) | 18 | 18 | – |
| Yoenis Cespedes (OF – NYM) | 17 | 17 | – |
| Jose Quintana (SP – CWS) | 17 | 17 | – |
| Lorenzo Cain (OF – KC) | 17 | 17 | – |
| Mike Moustakas (3B – KC) | 17 | 17 | – |
| Alexander Colome (RP – TB) | 16 | 16 | – |
| Michael Brantley (OF – CLE) | 16 | 16 | – |
| Greg Holland (RP – COL) | 16 | 16 | – |
| Eric Hosmer (1B – KC) | 15 | 14 | +1 |
| Justin Turner (3B – LAD) | 15 | 15 | – |
| Corey Knebel (RP – MIL) | 15 | 14 | +1 |
| DJ LeMahieu (2B – COL) | 14 | 14 | – |
| Roberto Osuna (RP – TOR) | 14 | 18 | -4 |
| Adam Duvall (OF – CIN) | 14 | 14 | – |
| Eric Thames (1B – MIL) | 14 | 16 | -2 |
| Chris Davis (1B – BAL) | 14 | 14 | – |
| Luis Severino (SP – NYY) | 14 | 12 | +2 |
| Masahiro Tanaka (SP – NYY) | 13 | 13 | – |
| Zach Britton (RP – BAL) | 13 | 12 | +1 |
| Ken Giles (RP – HOU) | 13 | 13 | – |
| Justin Smoak (1B – TOR) | 13 | 10 | +3 |
| Kelvin Herrera (RP – KC) | 13 | 13 | – |
| Danny Salazar (SP – CLE) | 13 | 9 | +4 |
| Raisel Iglesias (RP – CIN) | 13 | 13 | – |
| Alex Wood (SP – LAD) | 12 | 13 | -1 |
| Evan Longoria (3B – TB) | 12 | 12 | – |
| Felipe Rivero (RP – PIT) | 12 | 12 | – |
| Cody Allen (RP – CLE) | 12 | 12 | – |
| Corey Dickerson (OF – TB) | 12 | 10 | +2 |
| Kyle Hendricks (SP – CHC) | 12 | 12 | – |
| Elvis Andrus (SS – TEX) | 12 | 12 | – |
| Travis Shaw (3B – MIL) | 12 | 12 | – |
| Marcus Stroman (SP – TOR) | 12 | 12 | – |
| Carlos Gonzalez (OF – COL) | 11 | 13 | -2 |
| Edwin Diaz (RP – SEA) | 11 | 11 | – |
| Rich Hill (SP – LAD) | 11 | 11 | – |
| Andrew Benintendi (OF – BOS) | 11 | 11 | – |
| Jimmy Nelson (SP – MIL) | 11 | 10 | +1 |
| Trea Turner (SS – WAS) | 10 | 10 | – |
| Cole Hamels (SP – TEX) | 10 | 10 | – |
| Danny Duffy (SP – KC) | 10 | 10 | – |
| Willson Contreras (C – CHC) | 10 | 9 | +1 |
| Trevor Story (SS – COL) | 9 | 9 | – |
| Ian Kinsler (2B – DET) | 9 | 9 | – |
| Jay Bruce (OF – NYM) | 9 | 9 | – |
| Jose Bautista (OF – TOR) | 9 | 9 | – |
| Jose Berrios (SP – MIN) | 8 | 10 | -2 |
| Robbie Ray (SP – ARI) | 8 | 8 | – |
| Yasmani Grandal (C – LAD) | 8 | 9 | -1 |
| Eduardo Nunez (3B – BOS) | 8 | 6 | +2 |
| Aaron Nola (SP – PHI) | 8 | 8 | – |
| Sonny Gray (SP – NYY) | 8 | 7 | +1 |
| Rick Porcello (SP – BOS) | 8 | 8 | – |
| Alex Bregman (3B – HOU) | 8 | 6 | +2 |
| Matt Kemp (OF – ATL) | 7 | 7 | – |
| Jeff Samardzija (SP – SF) | 7 | 7 | – |
| Ian Desmond (OF – COL) | 7 | 9 | -2 |
| Odubel Herrera (OF – PHI) | 7 | 7 | – |
| Kendrys Morales (1B – TOR) | 7 | 8 | -1 |
| Drew Pomeranz (SP – BOS) | 7 | 7 | – |
| Gregory Polanco (OF – PIT) | 7 | 7 | – |
| Mark Trumbo (OF – BAL) | 7 | 5 | +2 |
| Jonathan Schoop (2B – BAL) | 7 | 7 | – |
| Kyle Schwarber (OF – CHC) | 7 | 7 | – |
| Marwin Gonzalez (3B – HOU) | 7 | 7 | – |
| Michael Fulmer (SP – DET) | 6 | 18 | -12 |
| Clayton Kershaw (SP – LAD) | 6 | 6 | – |
| A.J. Ramos (RP – NYM) | 6 | 7 | -1 |
| Jacob Faria (SP – TB) | 6 | 6 | – |
| Lance McCullers (SP – HOU) | 6 | 8 | -2 |
| Sean Doolittle (RP – WAS) | 6 | 4 | +2 |
| Brett Gardner (OF – NYY) | 6 | 6 | – |
| Jonathan Villar (2B – MIL) | 6 | 8 | -2 |
| Jackie Bradley (OF – BOS) | 6 | 6 | – |
| Fernando Rodney (RP – ARI) | 6 | 4 | +2 |
| Jonathan Lucroy (C – COL) | 6 | 6 | – |
| Mark Reynolds (1B – COL) | 6 | 3 | +3 |
| Rafael Devers (3B – BOS) | 6 | 2 | +4 |
| Ervin Santana (SP – MIN) | 5 | 5 | – |
| Todd Frazier (3B – NYY) | 5 | 12 | -7 |
| Gio Gonzalez (SP – WAS) | 5 | 5 | – |
| Julio Teheran (SP – ATL) | 5 | 7 | -2 |
| Jon Gray (SP – COL) | 5 | 5 | – |
| Johnny Cueto (SP – SF) | 5 | 14 | -9 |
| Nomar Mazara (OF – TEX) | 5 | 5 | – |
| David Price (SP – BOS) | 5 | 5 | – |
| Maikel Franco (3B – PHI) | 5 | 5 | – |
| Salvador Perez (C – KC) | 5 | 12 | -7 |
| J.T. Realmuto (C – MIA) | 5 | 5 | – |
| Nick Castellanos (3B – DET) | 5 | 5 | – |
| Domingo Santana OF – MIL) | 5 | 5 | – |
| Kenta Maeda (SP – LAD) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Yonder Alonso (1B – OAK) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Brandon Belt (1B – SF) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Ender Inciarte (OF – ATL) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Lance Lynn (SP – STL) | 4 | 3 | +1 |
| Jake Odorizzi (SP – TB) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Jason Kipnis (2B – CLE) | 4 | 3 | +1 |
| Jedd Gyorko (3B – STL) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Trevor Rosenthal (RP – STL) | 4 | 3 | +1 |
| Michael Wacha (SP – STL) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Kevin Gausman (SP – BAL) | 4 | 3 | +1 |
| Josh Bell (1B – PIT) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Steven Souza (OF – TB) | 4 | 2 | +2 |
| Matt Adams (1B – ATL) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Jameson Taillon (SP – PIT) | 4 | 4 | – |
| Arodys Vizcaino (RP – ATL) | 4 | 1 | +3 |
| Carlos Correa (SS – HOU) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Sean Manaea (SP – OAK) | 3 | 5 | -2 |
| Eugenio Suarez (3B – CIN) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Tanner Roark (SP – WAS) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Hunter Pence (OF – SF) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Mark Melancon (RP – SF) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Ryon Healy (3B – OAK) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Josh Reddick (OF – HOU) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Gerardo Parra (OF – COL) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Yasiel Puig (OF – LAD) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Addison Russell (SS – CHC) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Ben Zobrist (2B – CHC) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Ian Happ (2B – CHC) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Alex Claudio (RP – TEX) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Marcus Semien (SS – OAK) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Logan Morrison (1B – TB) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Didi Gregorius (SS – NYY) | 3 | 3 | – |
| Lucas Duda (1B – TB) | 3 | 2 | +1 |
| Blake Treinen (RP – OAK) | 3 | 1 | +2 |
| Evan Gattis (C – HOU) | 2 | 5 | -3 |
| Wilson Ramos (C – TB) | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| Bud Norris (RP – LAA) | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| Steven Matz (SP – NYM) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Mallex Smith (OF – TB) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Jose Peraza (2B – CIN) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Albert Pujols (1B – LAA) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Dylan Bundy (SP – BAL) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Tommy Pham (STL – OF) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Marco Estrada (SP – TOR) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Bradley Zimmer (OF – CLE) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Justin Bour (1B – MIA) | 2 | 2 | – |
| David Peralta (OF – ARI) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Eduardo Rodriguez (SP – BOS) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Brian McCann (C – HOU) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Alex Cobb (SP – TB) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Taijuan Walker (SP – SEA) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Ivan Nova (SP – PIT) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Yulieski Gurriel (3B – HOU) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Cesar Hernandez (2B – PHI) | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Hector Neris (RP – PHI) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Melky Cabrera (OF – KC) | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Shin-Soo Choo (OF – TEX) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Yadier Molina (C – STL) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Ian Kennedy (SP – KC) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Whit Merrifield (2B – KC) | 2 | 2 | – |
| Felix Hernandez (SP – SEA) | 1 | 7 | -6 |
| Brandon Kintzler (RP – WAS) | 1 | 5 | -4 |
| Welington Castillo (C – BAL) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Noah Syndergaard (SP – NYM) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Scott Schebler (OF – CIN) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Manuel Margot (OF – SD) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Andrew Miller (RP – CLE) | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| John Lackey (SP – CHC) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Justin Wilson (RP – CHC) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Aaron Altherr (OF – PHI) | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| Jose Reyes (SS – NYM) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Stephen Piscotty (OF – STL) | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| Troy Tulowitzki (SS – TOR) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Avisail Garcia (OF – CWS) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Jerad Eickhoff (SP – PHI) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Brad Brach (RP – BAL) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Josh Harrison (3B – PIT) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Mike Leake (SP – STL) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Ryan Madson (RP – WAS) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Ketel Marte (SS – ARI) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Carlos Beltran (OF – HOU) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Victor Martinez (DH – DET) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Zack Cozart (SS – CIN) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Dustin Pedroia (2B – BOS) | 1 | 3 | -2 |
| Yasmany Tomas (OF – ARI) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Orlando Arcia (SS – MIL) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Dexter Fowler (OF – STL) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Matt Wieters (C – WAS) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Joey Gallo (3B – TEX) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Nick Williams (OF – PHI) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Starlin Castro (2B – NYY) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Nick Pivetta (SP – PHI) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Amed Rosario (SS – NYM) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Brian Goodwin (OF – WAS) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Luke Weaver (SP – STL) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Brandon Crawford (SS – SF) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Joc Pederson (OF – LAD) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Lewis Brinson (OF – MIL) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Brandon Phillips (2B – ATL) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Kevin Pillar (OF – TOR) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Kole Calhoun (OF – LAA) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Max Kepler (OF – MIN) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Sam Dyson (RP – SF) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Seung-Hwan Oh (RP – STL) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Santiago Casilla (RP – OAK) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Hunter Renfroe (OF – SD) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Jim Johnson (RP – ATL) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Javier Baez (2B – CHC) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Jason Vargas (SP – KC) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Tim Anderson (SS -CWS) | 1 | 1 | – |
| J.A. Happ (SP – TOR) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Matt Moore (SP – SF) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Trey Mancini (OF – BAL) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Vincent Velasquez (SP – PHI) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Mike Napoli (1B – TEX) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Tommy Joseph (1B – PHI) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Ozzie Albies (2B – ATL) | 1 | 0 | +1 |
| Brad Miller (SS – TB) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Mike Zunino (C – SEA) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Luis Castillo (SP – CIN) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Jarrod Dyson (OF – KC) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Matt Davidson (3B – CWS) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Chris Taylor (2B – LAD) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Jaime Garcia (SP – NYY) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Russell Martin (C – TOR) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Clint Frazier (OF – NYY) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Mike Clevinger (SP – CLE) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Rajai Davis (OF – OAK) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Mitch Haniger (OF – SEA) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Jeurys Familia (RP- NYM) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Hernan Perez (3B – MIL) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Keone Kela (RP – TEX) | 1 | 1 | – |
| Tyler Clippard (RP – CWS) | 1 | 1 | – |
The Injury Movers
Miguel Sano has been out of action since he was hit on the left hand by a pitch on Friday night, the second time he has been hit in the left hand in 11 days. Sano had both an MRI and a CT scan on Monday, both of which thankfully came back clean. He still has significant swelling in his hand, and chances are he will miss at least another game or two. But any sort of hand injury is no laughing matter and Sano has had just a .786 OPS since June 1, so his value had always been a little inflated based on his first big month anyway. But, given his dip in performance over the latter half of the season and his hand injury, he takes a bit of a fall.
Michael Fulmer hits the DL with something called right elbow ulnar neuritis, an injury that sounds like something my kids make up when we’re playing “veterinarian” and I bring in my sick puppy to their animal hospital. The team insists that it’s a precautionary move and that Fulmer has been bothered by elbow irritation for most of his career. But, I mean, pitcher plus elbow injury = danger. I would expect to see Fulmer back at some point this season but wouldn’t trade much for him right now.
Meanwhile, Johnny Cueto was just battling blisters when the dreaded “forearm tightness” reared its ugly head. Cueto has a “mild flexor strain,” and he did miss only one start with the same diagnosis back in 2015. But again, anything with the forearm and/or elbow with a pitcher has me running for the hills. That’s especially true when that pitcher throws for a last-place team which has no reason to rush him back. Like with Fulmer, I expect to see Cueto again this season, but I’m not willing to risk anything significant to find out.
Salvador Perez and his strained intercostal muscle also take a significant dive in value. Perez is one of the toughest players in the game, but I think even he can’t beat this one. Ned Yost is hopeful that it will be just a 10-to-14 day thing, but my guess is we’re looking closer to a month, which is the average time that players miss for oblique/side strains. That would leave Perez with the month of September to give fantasy owners some production and, given how he’s performed, that ain’t nothing. He retains some decent value, particularly for a catcher.
Other injury movers include Evan Gattis (concussion), Felix Hernandez (biceps), Dustin Pedroia (knee), Aaron Altherr (hamstring), and Andrew Miller (knee). Other than Gattis and Miller, I would not be relying on these guys for much production going forward.
The Performance Movers
11 days ago, Roberto Osuna had a 1.91 ERA. After three blown saves, it’s now at 3.47. Relievers, man. Relievers. There’s no word of any injury with Osuna and, other than a now-inflated ERA, his season-long numbers are still sparkling (0.88 WHIP, 12.3 K/9 rate). But given the inherently unreliable nature of relief pitching generally and Osuna’s battle with anxiety issues, combined with the Blue Jays being completely out of the playoff race, I’d have a little pause before dealing for Osuna. Just a little – all closers are a crapshoot anyway!
Danny Salazar since being recalled from the minors: three starts, 20 innings, 28 strikeouts, three runs allowed, 13 baserunners. I am trying to remember that this dude was truly terrible the first half of the season and perennially disappoints us, but it’s getting difficult. Personally, I’m completely buying this renaissance for this season. Next year, I’ll have the same concerns (walks and injuries) that will keep me from ranking Salazar too high. But for this year, he’s moving up in value, and quickly.
Man, Rafael Devers is good. Like, abnormally good. It’s one thing to totally dominate Double-A as a 20-year-old. It’s another thing to totally dominate Triple-A as a 20-year-old. It is unheard of to dominate the majors as a 20-year-old. Ok, so it’s a super small sample size, but in 11 games, Devers has three home runs, a steal, a .349 batting average, a 12.2% walk rate, and a 1.034 OPS. But you know what my favorite stat is? Dude has a minuscule 18.8% pull percentage. That means 81.2% of the balls he puts in play go to left or center field. And there’s this pretty awesome thing in Fenway Park called the Green Monster which, if you’re a lefty hitter that can hit the ball the other way, pretty much guarantees success. Small sample size? Sure. Incredibly mature and elite hitter? Yup, I think so. He should probably be higher in value, but since I’m not an old man, I’m totally biased against the youngsters.
Finally, let’s talk about Todd Frazier for a hot minute. I have been one of the biggest Frazier defenders out there. He’s having a terrible season, but I’ve always looked at his walk rate of 14%, a career high, and his strikeout rate of 21.9%, his career-norm and well below last season. I know he has “old man skills,” but those numbers, combined with him being just 31 years old, made me think this was all bad luck. But then I remembered something Bobby Valentine once said about players as they grew older. It was something to the effect of when a player’s bat speed starts to slow, he’ll often begin to lay off pitches he can’t hit, usually the high fastball, because when he swings at that pitch he’ll usually miss it or pop it up. That usually results in a slight decrease in strikeout rate but an increase in walk rate. And, considering that Frazier has a 19.3% infield fly ball percentage (career rate of 14%), my guess is that’s what is going on here. His bat speed has diminished, he can’t catch up to certain pitches, so he’s either laying off them or, when he does swing, he often pops them up. So, now that I have even the slightest bit of a reason to not stare at Frazier’s walk rate and scream “this isn’t a decline!!!!” I can now officially get off this whole Todd Frazier train. Abandon ship! (Note: That theory is all from memory from when I was a kid and obsessed with Bobby Valentine because he brought a team on which Timo Perez may have been the second best player to the World Series – I have tried to search for his comments and can’t find them. So, I may be making all of this up. Forgive me, Bobby V!).
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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.
