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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 6 of the 2025 season.
Welcome, RotoBallers, to our weekly fantasy baseball frauds and buys/sells article. Each week of the fantasy baseball, we will identify which players are coming off a strong week. These players could be hitters who had an excellent week at the plate or pitchers coming off a nice outing on the mound. We will then determine if these players are worth adding in most fantasy leagues.
All five players featured on this week's list are available in plenty of leagues. Most of these players are rostered in under 45 percent of Yahoo! leagues and could be solid pickups heading into Week 6 of the fantasy baseball season. However, fantasy managers should act quickly because all five players continue to see their rostership climb.
So, should fantasy managers be buying or selling these players coming off a solid week? Let's dive in and find out.
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Maikel Garcia, 2B/3B, Kansas City Royals
Rostered 57% of Yahoo! leagues
Many fantasy managers thought Kansas City Royals infielder Maikel Garcia was a breakout candidate early last season. He had a .270 batting average with five home runs, 12 doubles, and 13 stolen bases in his first 53 games in 2024. However, Garcia was not a strong fantasy option in the final four months after he hit .207 with two home runs during that span.
This year, though, Garcia is looking like a prime breakout player. He is slashing .319/.379/.496 with four home runs, nine doubles, 14 RBI, and seven stolen bases in 34 games this season. The 25-year-old also just had his best game of the season on Sunday, in which he went 3-for-5 with two home runs and two RBI against the Baltimore Orioles.
Maikel Garcia crushes his second homer of the game!
WE'RE TIED AGAIN 😅 pic.twitter.com/8TI0Mx5Xew
— MLB (@MLB) May 4, 2025
Given the way Garcia is swinging the bat in the early going, there is no way he should be on any waiver wires at this point in the season. If he still is, rush to the waiver wire to pick him up. The Royals infielder is coming off a strong week at the plate, and there are reasons to believe he can keep this up for most of the year.
His expected batting average (.316), hard-hit rate (53.1%), average exit velocity (93 mph), squared-up rate (36.6%), and whiff rate (14.9%) all rank in the 90th percentile or better to begin the season. Therefore, Garcia should be added in every league heading into Week 6.
We are witnessing a potential breakout campaign for the 25-year-old.
Tony Gonsolin, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
Rostered 37% of Yahoo! leagues
It has been a long road to recovery for Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin. He missed the final month of the 2023 season and the entire 2024 campaign due to Tommy John surgery.
However, Gonsolin made his first start of the season last week and looked solid in his return. He tossed six innings of three-run ball with no walks and nine strikeouts against the Miami Marlins.
Seeing the right-hander pitch well in his season debut is definitely a nice sign for him moving forward. Although Gonsolin struggled a bit during the 2023 season, let's not forget what he did during his All-Star campaign in 2022. He finished that year with a 16-1 record, a 2.14 ERA, and 119 strikeouts across 130 1/3 innings pitched.
It remains to be seen if the 30-year-old can reach those numbers again this season. He's coming off Tommy John surgery, and his spot in the rotation isn't necessarily guaranteed.
When healthy, the Dodgers will likely roll with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Dustin May, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani as their six-man rotation.
Nevertheless, Gonsolin is worth an add in most 12-plus team leagues, considering he'll face the Marlins again on Tuesday. That makes him at least a streaming option for the time being.
Kyle Stowers, OF, Miami Marlins
Rostered 37% of Yahoo! leagues
When the Miami Marlins traded pitcher Trevor Rogers to the Baltimore Orioles at the 2024 trade deadline, outfielder Kyle Stowers was one of the main pieces going back to Miami. Even though Stowers struggled in his first 50 games with the Marlins last season, he has been a different player for the team to begin the year.
Stowers is currently hitting .321 with six home runs, 25 RBI, and two stolen bases across 31 games this season. The left-handed slugger is also coming off a strong week at the plate, where he went 4-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI against the Dodgers on April 30 and 2-for-5 with two home runs and six RBI against the Athletics on May 3.
In that game against the Athletics, the outfielder hit a walk-off grand slam.
WALK-OFF GRAND SLAM 🚨
KYLE STOWERS SENDS 'EM ALL HOME 🔥 pic.twitter.com/em550A2b1j
— MLB (@MLB) May 3, 2025
As a result, Stowers is definitely worth an add in most leagues heading into Week 6. His power has been on display in the early going, and he has the potential to hit over 25 home runs in 2025. His xwOBA (.408), barrel rate (20.3%), hard-hit rate (51.4%), and launch angle sweet-spot rate (44.6%) all rank toward the top of the league through the first month.
Some fantasy managers might be hesitant to pick up Stowers because he hasn't really shown much in his previous four major league seasons. The 27-year-old hit just .208 with six home runs and 35 RBI in his first 117 games. But this could be the season that the 27-year-old finally puts it all together.
So, ride the hot streak and see where it takes your fantasy team.
Javier Baez, SS/OF, Detroit Tigers
Rostered 34% of Yahoo! leagues
Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez has had a couple of rough years in the majors. He hit just .222 with nine home runs, 59 RBI, and 12 stolen bases during the 2023 season and followed those numbers up by hitting .184 with six home runs, 37 RBI, and eight stolen bases in 80 games in 2024.
However, this season has been a different story for Baez.
The two-time All-Star is currently hitting .309 with three home runs and 14 RBI through his first 28 games in 2025. Baez is also coming off a solid week at the plate, where he hit a home run in three consecutive games. With this recent hot stretch, his rostership continues to climb entering Week 6.
Is Javier Baez’s turnaround the biggest turnaround in Detroit sports history? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/QOXwjEoUs8
— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔦𝔱 𝔗𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 📰 (@the_det_times) May 3, 2025
However, he is someone fantasy managers should not be picking up. Baez is due for some regression in the coming weeks, and it's unlikely he will keep up these strong numbers for most of the year. His expected batting average (.239) is 70 points lower than his actual batting average (.309), and his hard-hit rate (32.8%), whiff rate (28.9%), and chase rate (39.6%) all rank extremely poor.
So, it's best to leave him on waivers or sell him high to a fantasy manager who might believe in him. Baez has been one of the luckiest hitters to begin the season.
J.P. Crawford, SS, Seattle Mariners
Rostered 15% of Yahoo! leagues
Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford got off to a slow start this season. He was hitting just .178 with one extra-base hit and one RBI across his first 17 games. Crawford, though, has really turned things around at the plate over the past two weeks.
The 30-year-old is batting .367 with three home runs and 16 RBI over his last 15 contests.
This recent hot streak has pushed Crawford's rostership to 15 percent heading into Week 6. He has been seeing the ball well lately, and this Mariners offense has become one of the better ones in baseball. Nevertheless, the veteran shortstop is not worth adding in most fantasy leagues.
His hard-hit rate (35%) and squared-up rate (19.9%) both rank extremely poor, and Crawford has never really been known as a solid option in most rotisserie leagues. He hit just .202 with nine home runs, 37 RBI, and five stolen bases in 105 games last season. Therefore, he should be left on waivers.
Other Standout Performers
- Jake Meyers (sell)
- Dane Myers (sell)
- Tomoyuki Sugano (sell)
- Nathaniel Lowe (buy)
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