Fantasy Baseball Mailbag: Connor Norby, Geraldo Perdomo, Shohei Ohtani

Welcome back to the Fantasy Baseball Weekly Mailbag. The mailbag is an opportunity to ask a FantasyPros analyst anything about the ongoing season to make the best and most informed decisions possible. Questions from fantasy managers this week can be seen below.

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Fantasy Baseball Mailbag

Trade Juan Soto for Shohei Ohtani in dynasty?

We have an interesting deal here. These are the trades that one side always seems to look back on with regret.

If this is the hitter/pitcher version of Shohei Ohtani, do it. There isn’t anyone more valuable. Not even Juan Soto.

The batter Ohtani makes this more interesting. Ohtani looks to be on pace for his third MVP in four years, this time just as a batter. That speaks for itself. He became the sixth player in MLB history to have a 40-40 season. Ohtani has contributed to every category this year.

We all know Ohtani is special. So is Soto. There isn’t anyone with better plate discipline than Soto and he hits for a deadly power-average combo. But who hits for a deadlier power-average combo? Ohtani, at least in the past three years.

The only main thing Soto wins in this debate is age. He is 25 with a decade of great baseball ahead of him. Ohtani just turned 30 and has a lot of mileage from his days playing in Japan. His unique style of play seems like the kind that deteriorates the body over time.

At the very least, Ohtani’s record-breaking contract says he will be with the Dodgers until 2034. Healthy or not, this is a constant to build your dynasty team around. Soto, on the other hand, is surrounded by question marks regarding his upcoming free agency this winter.

I would trade Soto. Soto will be good for longer, but Ohtani is considered the best player of this generation for a reason. He is most likely going to win an MVP solely as a batter. Soto is yet to do that. Plus, Ohtani is such a fun player to roster in fantasy. Having Ohtani in a dynasty will make the down years less bad.

I’d do the trade.

I placed the top seeding in my league and want to boost my lineup before the playoffs. Should I drop Heliot Ramos, Jorge Polanco or Paul Goldschmidt to claim someone off waivers?

Congrats on the number one seed. You probably don’t wanna shake anything up too much. There are always moves to make, though.

I’m a Heliot Ramos believer. He’s been great and you can never have too many good outfielders. I don’t feel as good about Jorge Polanco. There are two ways to look at his season — his .254 batting average and three homers this month could be his .219/.308/.367 2024 slash line catching up to his career .264/.332/.438 numbers. Or, Polanco’s recent numbers could be a washed-up player getting lucky. I think it’s probably a mix of the two.

Speaking of washed-up, you might want to drop the nearly 37-year-old Paul Goldschmidt. He was disappointing in 2023. Disappointing is an understatement for his .227/.286/.384 slash line this year. Polanco has been bad but at least he is doing well lately. Goldschmidt has been bad all year and even worse this month.

Geraldo Perdomo is having a nice year and the Diamondbacks are hot. You should target him to help your middle infield. He only has three homers this year, but two have come this week. Don’t expect this power surge to continue, but Perdomo hits for average with wonderful plate discipline. If not Perdomo, try Connor Norby. He has gotten a hit in all seven games since his call-up. Spencer Torkelson has been another hot batter since his recent call-up.

Cut Brandon Lowe or Tyler Fitzgerald?

Tyler Fitzgerald is currently batting .293 on the month. He’s been batting leadoff for the Giants, so he is getting plenty of opportunities. Fitzgerald also had a recent power surge and launched five homers this month.

Brandon Lowe, on the other hand, is batting .196 in August. He’s ice-cold headed into the playoffs. If you need to drop one of the two, it’s simple — drop the colder one. Drop Lowe.

Keep One: Riley Greene, Michael Harris, Taylor Ward

There’s no need to keep Taylor Ward into next year. It’s a good idea to keep him in September if you have him lying around. Ward has a career .290 batting average and an OPS of .836 in 304 September plate appearances.

This becomes a contest between Riley Greene and Michael Harris. Harris has disappointed since winning Rookie of the Year in 2022. His OPS+ has decreased in both years following his award as health has also been an issue this season.

Greene has been the opposite. His OPS+ has increased in both years since his 2022 debut. He looks to be getting better. 2024 has seen a decrease in average but a towering increase in power and on-base percentage (OBP).

I would keep Greene.

Articles MLB Weekly Advice Juan Soto Shohei Ohtani Heliot Ramos Jorge Polanco Paul Goldschmidt Geraldo Perdomo Connor Norby Spencer Torkelson Brandon Lowe Tyler Fitzgerald Riley Greene Michael Harris Taylor Ward