You have to ask.
My wife is more attractive than me. In fact, she’s not close. And it’s not me being modest about my appearance. If you showed 100 strangers a photo of me and my wife, all 100 would say she should get back into the dating scene. I’m not putting myself down, as I bring a few things to the table, like a good sense of humor and a strong work ethic. But none of these characteristics were evident when I initially asked my future wife to spend time with me.
So how did I get that crucial first date with my wife? Well, I asked. Which brings me to today’s point about the fantasy trading market. You will never get anywhere if you don’t ask. You need to make offers. And don’t beat around the bush when you’re making them. I didn’t ask my wife to maybe, maybe, eventually consider going out with me. I invited her to dinner on Friday. That simple.
Get out there this week and make some deals. Some of them will be rejected. But you won’t get anywhere without trying. Ignore the part of your brain that says, “don’t bother sending the offer, they’ll just say no” and put yourself out there. And when the time comes to make a deal, here are some players who should be at the center of trade negotiations.
Who to buy low
Francisco Lindor (SS, New York Mets)
Players with an average below .200 often draw the ire of their managers, which is currently the case with Lindor. But a look behind the scenes reveals plenty of reason for optimism, as the veteran has one of the biggest gaps of any player between his batting average (.198) and xBA (.263). Lindor’s xSLG shows the same reasons for excitement as it is 99 points above its actual mark. With seven home runs and six steals, Lindor isn’t far off from the 30-30 player we saw last season, and there’s a good chance he’ll soon be collecting counting stats at a much higher rate.
Pablo Lopez (SP, Minnesota Twins)
Buying low from a struggling startup is easy now. There are many starters who are exceeding expectations, which provides many trade options for those looking to improve their pitching staff. Upstarts like Lopez, who failed to live up to expectations, became unattractive commercial candidates. The right-hander has a bloated ERA of 4.72, but the rest of his stats are encouraging, especially his K:BB ratio of 63:9. Acquiring Lopez for less than the typical return for a fantasy ace is a smart move.
Who sells low
Cedric Mullins (OF, Baltimore Orioles)
There is good reason to be concerned about Mullins’ ability to remain in the lineup. The speedy outfielder is hitting just .190, and his .200 xBA shows he didn’t deserve a significantly higher mark. His strikeout and walk rates are noticeably worse than his career marks, and his batted ball profile is concerning because of Mullins hitting a lot of fly balls without a high average exit velocity. But the biggest reason for concern with Mullins is the loaded Orioles farm system. The 29-year-old’s failure to turn the season around could see him replaced by a younger player mid-season.
Who sells high
Elly De La Cruz (SS/3B, Cincinnati Reds)
I don’t see Elly as a candidate for massive regression. However, I can see some reasons to try to get him an actual rescue now. First, the sophomore was much worse in May (.645 OPS) than in April (.982 OPS), which is going unnoticed due to her massive contributions in steals. And speaking of those 30 steals, De La Cruz managers in the roto leagues may already be ahead of the rest in that category thanks to their incredible impact. For these managers, exchanging De La Cruz for a superstar with a more balanced profile may make sense.
Who to buy at the top
Teoscar Hernandez (OF, Los Angeles Dodgers)
In short, everything that is happening with Hernandez makes perfect sense. The 31-year-old is regularly hitting right behind the stars on baseball’s highest-scoring team, which puts him in a perfect position to use his significant power skills against struggling pitchers. All of the stats expected of him via Statcast resemble his real-life marks, and he should continue to be an R+RBI machine thanks to all the opportunities afforded to him. Add in the fact that he should quietly contribute more than 10 steals, and Herandez becomes a five-category contributor who won’t be treated like a star on the trade market.
