As fantasy baseball managers, it is our job to put our fantasy teams in the best position to win. Whether it’s a start/sit, add/drop or trade – decisions need to be made. Each week, I take a deeper look into certain players who are trending in opposite directions that you should consider in fantasy baseball trades.
Here are some buy-high and sell-low trade targets for Week 9 of the fantasy baseball season.
- Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Advice
- Fantasy Baseball Trade Advice
- Fantasy Baseball Start/Sit Lineup Advice
- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Baseball Trade Advice (Week 9)
Let’s dive into some fantasy baseball trade advice.
Buy High
Bryson Stott got off to a rough start in March and April but has heated up throughout May. Since the calendar turned, he’s slashing .352/.523/.569 with 15 runs scored, two home runs, 15 RBI and seven steals in 15 games. The second baseman’s plate discipline has been exquisite all year long. He has career-bests in strikeout and walk rates at 14.1% and 14.7% on the season.
Stott moves around quite a bit in the lineup but mostly bats somewhere from fifth to eighth, giving him a decent RBI total. His biggest fantasy asset is his speed, as he’s seventh in MLB in steals and has a 91.4% success rate in stolen bases since his rookie season. Coming off a 15-homer/31-steal season last year, Stott seems ready to take the next step.
If you didn’t buy Tarik Skubal already, it’s probably too late, but let’s take a look at what he’s done so far. He’s 6-0 with a 1.80 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 10.8 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9 in 55 innings pitched. All of his ERA estimators back up what he’s doing so far. He has a 1.94 FIP, 2.08 xERA, 2.50 SIERA and 2.51 xFIP.
Skubal is third in K-BB% among pitchers with at least 40 innings pitched and in the top 15 for the least number of homers given up. He’s limiting hard contact and not hurting himself with extra baserunners. The 27-year-old lefty had a lot of hype heading into drafts this spring and has been even better than anticipated.
Sell Low
Jorge Polanco is off to a dreadful start in his first season away from the Minnesota Twins. He’s slashing .192/.298/.308 with 15 runs scored, five home runs, 13 RBI and one steal in 41 games played. He was batting third for most of the season before getting dropped in the order. He’s currently dealing with a hamstring injury, which is the same injury that limited him to 80 games in 2023. He’s striking out at a career-high rate and his usual great barrel rate is the lowest since 2019.
Polanco still has an impressive walk rate (12.5%), but by every other measure, he is hurting fantasy teams. He’s only played in 130+ games three times in his 11-year career, and this hamstring injury isn’t a good sign for the rest of the season.
Reid Detmers started the season on fire through his first four starts. His last five starts since then have been the exact opposite. Detmers’ season line now sits at 3-4 with a 5.19 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 10.0 K/9 through 50.1 innings pitched. He gave up zero home runs and seven walks through his first 22.2 innings before it all went downhill.
After that, he has given up seven home runs and 11 walks in 27.2 innings. The walks have always been a problem for Detmers and the home runs make them that much more impactful. He should continue to be a solid source of strikeouts, but the inconsistency and team he pitches for make him risky for wins and ratios.
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