While talking with a few of my buddies over the past week, a few interesting things dawned on me. Through conversation, I was reminded that the average fantasy baseball fan doesn’t care about highly advanced statistics. FIP, contact rates, and even many other stats like BABIP and OPS are all just numbers on a page to most casual fans.
Maybe that’s what’s wrong with baseball. The average, run-of-the-mill fan no longer cares about the proven, important statistics of today’s age. But maybe what’s wrong with baseball is actually the exact opposite. In a crazy and chaotic world, the everyday fan might not necessarily want to be bombarded with numbers, shifts, pitching clocks, and advanced statistics. In fact, it seems quite the opposite. Most real-life and fantasy baseball fans alike want to kick back, relax, and casually enjoy a beer or hot dog while watching America’s pastime. And you know what’s wrong with that? Nothing.
It’s absolutely awesome that a select number of fans have embraced the age of shifts and advanced sabermetrics. If there’s anything we do know, it’s that those things aren’t disappearing anytime soon. But that’s great really only for three groups of people: MLB organizations trying to win baseball games, fantasy baseball analysts trying to make predictions, and the limited faction of fans who simply love the analyzation of stats. For everyone else? Well, they just get left in the dust. Baseball can’t forget the average fan. That’s on the MLB, us analysts, and everyone else who plays a role. Sometimes, it’s just our job to get you the knowledge without getting too over the top.
So for this week, it’s back to the basics for Burning Questions. Time for a nice, simplified look at some of the important issues around the fantasy baseball world. Enjoy.
Import your team to My Playbook for instant Waiver Wire advice
What are some trades likely to happen that will impact the fantasy baseball landscape?
Alex Colome (RP – CWS)
Look for Colome to get traded in the next month or so. The White Sox haven’t played exceptionally bad baseball this season, but they already sit 11.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins. Colome has pitched to a fantastic 1.52 ERA this season and would fit nicely on the back end of a contender’s bullpen. The Braves, Cubs, Brewers, and even a team like the Cardinals or Red Sox could end up in play for Colome. Looking at these possible destinations, it seems likely Colome could close on whatever team he is traded to, but that’s far from a given. As for the White Sox, Kelvin Herrera could be the next in line to close, but he has struggled mightily thus far.
Sean Doolittle (RP – WAS)
Doolittle seems like the most valuable reliever on the trade market. He’s great, cheap, and throws left-handed. The same list of teams interested in Colome might very well want Doolittle as well. The Cubs and Braves seem like real landing spots, while others could easily jump into the picture. Unfortunately, the rest of the Nationals’ bullpen is a disaster, and all this trade would probably do is knock one decent closer out of a job wherever Doolittle goes. Odds are, that won’t be Doolittle, and he will continue to close wherever he is traded.
Madison Bumgarner (SP – SF)
Talk about an interesting situation. Bumgarner has a limited, eight-team no-trade clause, and he purposefully included most real contenders. Notably, teams like the Twins and Rays aren’t on that list. Bumgarner doesn’t want to be traded, but it seems like a surefire bet to happen regardless. Whether he might waive his no-trade clause and head to another contender will be interesting to see. Either way, Bumgarner should soon go to a better team than the lowly Giants, and that will be music to fantasy owners’ ears. Even with a solid 4.01 ERA, he only has three wins on the year. Expect a much better second-half win total for Bumgarner.
Marcus Stroman (SP – TOR)
Like Bumgarner, Stroman hasn’t won as many games as he should have thus far. Except unlike Bumgarner, Stroman should have won a lot more games than just three. Stroman has pitched exceptionally, and while there might be a little bit of regression soon in store, a new team will only help him. Expect Stroman to get traded soon, and expect his win total to rise sharply after he does.
Mitch Haniger (OF – SEA)
Edwin Encarnacion (1B – SEA)
These two players both seem likely to get traded by the Mariners. The only reason they make this list, however, is that they’re both candidates for the Cleveland Indians to acquire. Haniger would probably come cheap both in a trade and cost wise, but the Indians could desperately use Encarnacion’s bat again as well. If either player were traded to Cleveland, maybe, just maybe, it could help ignite that entire offense again.
Is now the time to hop on the Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel train?
Let’s truly keep this one nice and simple. If Kimbrel or Keuchel sit on the waiver wire in your league, go ahead and pounce on them. Maybe your league missed the boat, but now that the MLB Draft has started, signing either player will no longer cost that team a future draft pick. Still, Kimbrel and Keuchel remain available in roughly 20% and 40% of leagues, respectively.
If Kimbrel and Keuchel are owned in your league, however, don’t throw the kitchen sink at a team trying to trade for them. I screamed from the mountain tops at the beginning of the season that these two pitchers weren’t worth rostering all year. Right now, Kimbrel may come back and effectively close for a team down the stretch. Maybe. Keuchel, on the other hand, reportedly hasn’t even looked effective in his simulated games. It’s easy to forget, but Keuchel was so-so last season. Yes, he registered a 3.74 ERA, but that also came with a subpar 6.73 K/9 and deteriorating slider. That doesn’t seem wise to trade for at what is probably Keuchel’s “highest” trade value all season.
Who are some teams trending up and down?
In fantasy football, a player’s team impacts everything and is always under consideration. In fantasy baseball, we often overlook the impact a team has on a player. Of course, individual performances greatly trump the team’s performance, but the team itself can greatly affect an individual player’s runs scored, RBIs, stolen bases, wins, saves, and even ERA and WHIP.
Trending Up
Minnesota Twins
Who knew Minnesota could get even better? The Twins are 8-2 in their last 10 games and have the most runs scored in the entire MLB, by far. Oh, and they have one of MLB’s easier schedules in the next two weeks.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Winners of their last five and nine of their last 10 games overall, the Dodgers are hot. With great pitching coupled with the fact they’ve had the best hitter on the planet in Cody Bellinger, it would be impossible for them not to be hot. It nearly doesn’t matter who it is; if you currently own a Dodger, life is good.
Colorado Rockies
See Nolan Arenado’s stat line. Afterward, see Trevor Story’s stat line. These two guys have mashed, and the Rockies’ lineup was a great place to be last week. Unfortunately, they embark on a short road trip this week, but with the way they have hit recently, it should translate anywhere.
St. Louis Cardinals
Boy, what a bad May it was for the Cardinals. But fresh off of a sweep of the rival Cubs, they are riding a four-game win streak into a home series against the Reds, a road date with the same Cubs they just swept, and a trip to the pitiful Miami Marlins.
Trending Down
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs can’t hit right now, and their bullpen is a mess. All of this has led them to lose eight of their last 10. While they do seem likely to make a couple of moves, they may continue to struggle and give fantasy owners headaches until they do so.
Seattle Mariners
The Mariners were the talk of the town a few weeks back, but they can hardly win a game anymore. Their pitching has been the second-worst in baseball, and their offense has been non-existent of late. Top that off with the fact that the Mariners are already beginning to sell pieces, sending Jay Bruce to Philadelphia, and maybe you should also think about selling your Mariners.
Toronto Blue Jays
Losers of nine of their last 10 games, the Blue Jays are soon-to-be sellers, too. Sadly, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hasn’t exactly been the savior everyone hoped for — or even been good, for that matter. It’s not a great time to own many Blue Jays.
Get free start/sit and waiver wire advice for your fantasy team
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | SoundCloud | Stitcher | TuneIn
Alex Altmix is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Alex, check out his archive or follow him @Altmix_23.