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Joey's fantasy baseball buys and sells for MLB players currently on hot streaks. He looks at potential fantasy baseball frauds for Week 5 of the 2025 season.
Welcome, RotoBallers, to our weekly fantasy baseball frauds and buys/sells article. Each week of the fantasy baseball season, we'll analyze players currently on hot streaks at the plate and on the mound. After identifying these players, we'll then determine if they are buys or sells in most fantasy leagues.
In this article, we will look at five players coming off a strong week. All five players on this list are rostered in under 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues and should be available in most formats. However, you might need to grab them quickly because their rostership continues to climb heading into Week 5 of the fantasy season.
So, should fantasy managers be buying or selling these players coming off a strong week? Let's dive in and find out.
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Jose Quintana, SP, Milwaukee Brewers
Rostered 44% of Yahoo! leagues
The Milwaukee Brewers signed pitcher Jose Quintana to a one-year deal on March 5 in hopes of adding a reliable arm to their rotation. After four starts, it's safe to say Milwaukee is relatively happy with his performance on the mound. The left-hander currently owns a 1.14 ERA and 15 strikeouts to begin the season.
Quintana has been one of the more surprising pitchers in the early going and is coming off two strong performances in Week 4. He tossed six innings of one-run ball with two walks and three strikeouts against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday and then allowed one run across five strong innings with a season-high six strikeouts against the Cardinals on Sunday.
Jose Quintana's the first @Brewers pitcher to win each of his first four starts with the team since 2008 (CC Sabathia). pic.twitter.com/tR40btaqbW
— MLB (@MLB) April 27, 2025
Even though the southpaw has pitched well to open the season, he is a sell in most fantasy leagues heading into Week 5. Opposing hitters have an expected .299 batting average against him across his first four starts, and his 4.53 expected ERA currently ranks in the 33rd percentile.
With a start against the Cubs upcoming this week, Quintana should be left on waivers in most leagues.
He finished the 2024 season with a mere 18.8 percent strikeout rate, and it's only a matter of time until the left-hander gets hit hard on the mound. The 36-year-old ranks in the bottom half of the league in hard-hit rate (50 percent), whiff rate (15 percent), strikeout rate (12.9 percent), and average exit velocity (91.2 mph) in the early going.
Austin Hays, OF, Cincinnati Reds
Rostered 39% of Yahoo! leagues
Cincinnati Reds outfielder Austin Hays started the year on the 10-day injured list due to a calf injury he suffered toward the end of spring training. But since making his season debut on April 15, Hays has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball. He is currently hitting .388 with five home runs, three doubles, 13 RBI, and one stolen base across his first 12 games.
It has been a truly special start to Hays' season, and he is coming off a strong weekend at Coors Field, where he went 6-for-13 with two home runs, two doubles, and two RBI in that series.
Given that his xwOBA (.495), expected batting average (.357), hard-hit rate (51.5 percent), and launch angle sweet-spot rate (42.4 percent) all rank extremely well early on, he is someone to buy heading into Week 5.
It remains to be seen if Hays can keep up this strong start, but let's not forget that he was a former All-Star in 2023. During that campaign, he hit .275 with 16 home runs, 36 doubles, 67 RBI, and five stolen bases in 144 games. If the 29-year-old could get back to posting those all-around numbers, he could wind up being a really good waiver wire pickup.
Therefore, fantasy managers should ride the hot streak and pick up Hays in most fantasy leagues. His numbers to start the season are too good to leave on the waiver wire.
Jorge Polanco, 2B, Seattle Mariners
Rostered 35% of Yahoo! leagues
Seattle Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco has been limited by a side issue in recent weeks, which has resulted in the switch-hitter only batting from the left side. However, that side issue hasn't seemed to affect Polanco too much at the plate. He went 8-for-17 with three home runs, two doubles, and eight RBI this past week and immediately saw his rostership rise in several leagues.
That strong week offensively lifted Polanco's season numbers to .377 at the plate with seven home runs, 20 RBI, and one stolen base across 20 games. With the 31-year-old playing the field on Sunday for the first time since April 6, it appears that the veteran is close to being back to fully healthy.
As a result, the Mariners' second baseman is a sneaky add in most 12-team leagues.
How about another one 🤪 pic.twitter.com/0lzfZ3IViM
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 27, 2025
His xBA (.355), barrel rate (17.2 percent), launch angle sweet-spot rate (46.6 percent), and strikeout rate (12.9 percent) all rank in the 89th percentile or better to start the season, and Polanco has been known as a solid fantasy contributor in his career when healthy. So, he's another player fantasy managers should be riding with until the wheels essentially fall off.
Agustin Ramirez, C, Miami Marlins
Rostered 34% of Yahoo! leagues
What Miami Marlins catcher Agustin Ramirez has done to begin his major league career has been very impressive. In his first five major league games, Ramirez is 9-for-19 with three home runs, four doubles, and five RBI. Some of those performances included a 2-for-3 day with one double and one stolen base in his debut and a 2-for-5 game with two home runs and two RBI on Sunday against the Mariners.
Agustín Ramírez of the @Marlins is the second MLB player in the modern era (rookie or not) to have a .750+ OBP with 5+ XBH and no strikeouts over his first 3 games of a season.
The other was Barry Bonds in 2002. pic.twitter.com/ZDOhc51naE
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) April 26, 2025
There's no doubt that Ramirez has looked fantastic in a small sample size, and there's reason to believe he can be a strong fantasy option for the rest of the season. He is one of the few catchers in baseball who can hit over 20 home runs and steal at least 20 bases in a season.
That's what he accomplished in his last full minor league season back in 2024 when he hit 25 home runs, drove in 93 runs, and stole 22 bases.
Therefore, Ramirez is a must-add in every fantasy league heading into Week 5. It's always tough to find a consistent catcher in fantasy, and the Marlins' No. 4 prospect has the tools to be precisely that. He should definitely not be on any waiver wires at this point in the season, considering his red-hot start at the plate.
Noelvi Marte, 3B, Cincinnati Reds
Rostered 31% of Yahoo! leagues
The potential has always been there for Cincinnati Reds infielder Noelvi Marte. He was once a top-15 prospect in baseball and showed some encouraging things in his first taste of the big leagues back in 2023. Marte hit .316 with three home runs, 15 RBI, and six stolen bases across 35 games to end that season.
Unfortunately, Marte really struggled to make an impact in the majors last year. He was suspended before the 2024 season due to a PED violation and wound up slashing just .210/.248/.301 across 66 games upon his return. However, fantasy managers are starting to see why the Reds infielder was once a highly regarded prospect.
He has 15 hits over his last 32 at-bats to go with three home runs and 15 RBI during that span.
Marte is fully taking advantage of his playing time and should be added in most 12-team leagues. While this hot streak won't last forever, fantasy managers should roll with him for the time being. There's a chance he could turn out to be a reliable option for your fantasy team moving forward.
Other Standout Performers
- Andy Pages (sell)
- Jordan Beck (sell)
- Zach Neto (buy)
- Spencer Steer (buy)
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