We have made it through another week of the season, so we have another set of players to Buy High or Sell Low based on their weekly performances. Based on their recent performances and a full-season outlook, I will break down some players to buy or sell in the coming weeks. With that said, let’s look at a handful of players that you should buy high or sell low.
Buy High
After a slow start to the season, Witt has turned into the fantasy stud so many expected. He finished last week on a five-game hitting streak. Witt hit .400 last week with three extra-base hits and two stolen bases. His contact quality was through the roof with a 13% barrel rate and 61% hard-hit rate. The ball was being put in play a lot as Witt only struck out an impressive 10.7% of the time. Witt is getting comfortable at the plate while also hitting third for the Royals. His fantasy value should continue to rise, so buy now before the price gets even crazier than it already is.
It was another slow start to a season for Tucker, leaving some fantasy managers nervous. Like last season, Tucker is getting locked in again and performing like the early-round draft pick he was this season. This past week, he hit safely in all six games with two home runs, two stolen bases, and a 209 wRC+. Tucker’s plate discipline was off the chart as he walked 11.7% of the time with a 7.7% strikeout rate. Tucker is now hitting .260 on the season with 11 home runs and 11 stolen bases. Tucker could get to 25/25 or even better this season while contributing nicely in the other counting categories on a good Astros team. Tucker is testing the fantasy manager’s patience again, but he will pay off significantly in the end.
Don’t look now, but Mr. 30/30 from last season is starting to put a strong season together. This past week, Mullins hit safely in four of five games with three extra-base hits and a stolen base. Mullins had a .227 ISO and 188 wRC+ to go with the other fantasy goodness. The power has been showing up for Mullins, and a big reason is the strong contact quality last week with a 10.5% barrel rate and 47.4% hard-hit rate. Mullins now has six home runs to go with 12 stolen bases. He likely will not go 30/30, but as the summer heats up, a run at 20/30 could be in play, and that would be great if you buy now.
Don’t look now, but Montgomery finally picked up a win this past week. It seems crazy when you pitch for the Yankees, but here we are. Montgomery threw seven shutout innings versus the cubs with no walks and five strikeouts. He has been outstanding this season with a 2.70 ERA and 3.46 FIP. He does not rack up a ton of K’s with a 19.2% strikeout rate, but a 3.8% walk rate is beautiful. Lastly, you would imagine strikeouts could improve when Montgomery has a 14.1% SwStr rate and 29.8% CSW on the season. If he can start finishing off at-bats, his value will go through the roof.
The bounce-back season of all seasons continued for Mikolas this past week. He went eight strong innings, allowing two runs and striking out nine versus the Rays. Mikolas has allowed three runs or less in 11 of 12 starts, suitable for a 2.93 ERA and 3.77 FIP. The best part is that Mikolas is striking out hitters, which was always an issue for Mikolas in the past. This season he has a 20.3% strikeout rate and a 26.6% CSW. As a result, Mikolas is a great buy-now option that will not require you to break the bank to add him to your team.
Sell Low
The rookie woes may be setting in for Gorman. The Cardinals keep playing him every day and even hit him second-most games, which is still a great sign. But the production has slowed down a ton, and there are still some significant concerns, at least for me. This past week, Gorman collected four hits, no extra-base hits, and only two runs scored. Gorman did not walk either but struck out 27.3% of the time with a nearly 40% O-swing and 17.2% SwStr. Strikeouts were always a significant issue in the minors, and so far, he is striking out 32.4% of the time in the bigs, which is not good. Gorman could figure it out, or he may see some more time on the bench on his way back to the minors. Either way, he is worth trading now while someone in your league may be very high on him.
Calhoun is doing what Calhoun does, be a very streaky hitter. Calhoun was one of the hottest hitters in baseball for a few weeks, but this past week reminded us of who Calhoun is more often than not. He struck out a ton and did that at a 37.5% rate last week. Calhoun had a crazy 40% O-swing rate and 22.3% SwStr. Those rates will lead to some significant slumps throughout the season, which is something I would look to avoid if you can. Try and sell off the strong weeks Calhoun just had before all the value disappears.
I’ve been anti-Bellinger for a while, so I am writing this to try and help others. Sell, sell, sell. There will be at least one person in your league that still believes in Bellinger. This past week he hit .174 with a 34.6% strikeout rate. Bellinger racked up a near 40% O-swing rate to go with a 62.5% contact rate and 19% SwStr. Bellinger has had massive holes in his swing this season, and he will do much more damage than good to your fantasy teams.
Some may think I am crazy, but I would sell Ray now. He had two starts last week, throwing 12 innings and only allowing three runs, which is nice, but he also only struck out seven. You did not roster Ray not to strike batters out. This past week he also had a 6.48 FIP with his 2.25 ERA, a 6% K-BB, and only an 8.9% SwStr. These numbers do not resemble the defending CY Young winner. His ERA on the season is 4.52 to go with a 4.60 FIP and 16.4% K-BB. I would cash in now and upgrade your team elsewhere as the dominating Robbie Ray is not there this season.
Oh, Mad Bum. How great you once were and how bad you now are. This past week he made two starts, throwing five innings each, and allowed seven runs. Bumgarner is not fooling anyone either, as he allowed a 90% contact rate and a minuscule 4% SwStr. On the season, he now has a 5.04 FIP, 8.4% K-BB, and 7.1% SwStr. Bumgarner has gone the way of Zach Greinke, so cut ties now while you still can.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy baseball, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Baseball Tools as you navigate your season. From our Lineup Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy baseball season.