We have made it through another week of the MLB season and have some early results to overreact to. Based on their recent performances and a full-season outlook, I will break down some players to buy or sell in the coming weeks. Some are just hot streaks, and some are worth buying into, so we are here to help make the right decisions for your fantasy teams.
Let’s look at a handful of players you should buy high or sell low after Week 8.
Fantasy Baseball Players to Buy High & Sell Low
Buy High
Seiya Suzuki (OF – CHC)
After missing the start of the season due to injury, Seiya Suzuki is finally finding his offensive stride. This past week, Suzuki hit .364 with three home runs and a stolen base. In addition, Suzuki had a 25% barrel rate and 83.3% hard-hit rate on his way to his monster week.
Suzuki is now hitting .283 with six home runs and a stolen base. He has a .213 ISO and .866 OPS while batting fourth for the Cubs. Suzuki was a draft-day deal based on starting the season injured, but he’s healthy now. And that makes Suzuki someone worth rostering for the rest of the season.
Josh Lowe (OF – TB)
It may be a season late, but Josh Lowe is showcasing the prospect skills many thought he’d portray with the Rays. Lowe continued his breakout season this past week by hitting .381 with two home runs and three stolen bases. In addition, his 17.6% barrel rate and 1.197 OPS were outstanding.
Lowe is now hitting .307 with 11 home runs and nine stolen bases with a .983 OPS. He plays nearly every day for the Rays, lately even leading off with Yandy Diaz injured. Lowe is showing no signs of slowing down, and he’s on pace for 30+ home runs and nearly 30 stolen bases. He should not be platooned a ton as long as he continues to hit, which means plenty of fantasy production.
Corbin Carroll (OF – ARI)
This past week Corbin Carroll hit safely in five of six games for a .333 batting average. He hit two home runs while stealing three bases. Yet more impressively, he walked 28.6% of the time. In addition, Carroll had a monster .389 ISO and 1.258 OPS. He is now hitting .287 with seven home runs and 17 stolen bases as he’s on his way to completing a rookie-of-the-year season.
Lance Lynn (SP – CWS)
It has been a rough start to the season for Lance Lynn, but there were signs that he was ready to break out of his funk. This past week, Lynn did just that: He made two starts, threw 13 innings, allowed three earned runs, struck out 13 and collected two wins. Lynn now has a 6.28 ERA and a 3.,69 xFIP with a 19% K-BB. Better days are ahead for Lynn, so buy off this solid two-start week.
Charlie Morton (SP – ATL)
Charlie Morton has had his usual performances more often than not this season, where he throws five-six innings while allowing three-four runs and collecting a fair share of strikeouts. Well, this past week, he faced off with one of the best offenses in baseball, and he was outstanding. He threw 6.2 shutout innings while striking out 10. Morton now has a 3.61 ERA, 4.10 xFIP and a 23.5% strikeout rate. He will not be an ace, but he will be much more reliable than many pitchers this season, making for an excellent trade target.
Sell Low
Taylor Ward (OF – LAA)
The struggles for Taylor Ward continued in a big way this past week as he collected three singles for a .136 batting average. He did not collect a walk, had a .000 ISO and struck out 30.4% of the time. Ward is now hitting .231 with four home runs and a steal. Ward has a .098 ISO on the season with a .636 OPS. He is even losing playing time to Mickey Moniak. Try selling Ward while others still think he is a top-100 draft pick.
Ramon Laureano (OF – OAK)
Ramon Laureano performed poorly this past week as he collected two hits, both home runs, while hitting .077. He did not walk once while striking out 46.2% of the time. Laureano is hitting .212 on the season with five home runs and three stolen bases. He is injured occasionally while not producing consistently enough for fantasy managers. The A’s outfield is getting crowded, and eventually, the lack of production could affect Laureano’s playing time.
Brice Turang (2B – MIL)
Brice Turang hit .263 this past week with a .053 ISO and two stolen bases. He had zero barrels with a 31.3% hard-hit rate and .579 OPS. Turang is hitting .235 on the season with three home runs and seven stolen bases. His lack of production has caused a loss in playing time to Owen Miller, and that may get worse as Miller continues to produce.
Alek Manoah (SP – TOR)
Alex Manoah made two starts this week, and the slide continued. He threw 9.2 innings last week while allowing seven runs with three home runs, eight walks and eight strikeouts. Manoah had a 6.52 ERA and 6.41 xFIP, so the dip was real. Manoah now has a 5.15 ERA and 5.88 xFIP with a 3% K-BB. Manoah is not the ace he once appeared to be and is better off on someone else’s roster than yours.
Jameson Taillon (SP – CHC)
Jameson Taillon made two starts this past week, which were disastrous for him. He only threw seven innings while allowing 10 earned runs with four walks and only striking out two. In addition, his -5.3% K-BB was horrible, allowing a 12.9% barrel rate and a 45.2% hard-hit rate. As a result, Taillon now has an 8.10 ERA, 4.83 xFIP and 13.4% K-BB. He once seemed like a reliable late-round pick, but he’s better left for another team or the waiver wire.
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