Fantasy Baseball Sell-Highs: Overachievers to Trade Away? (Week 17)

July 17, 2026

Joey's fantasy baseball sell-highs, overvalued players to consider trading away. These hitters and pitchers have overperformed early and may bust going forward.

Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another edition of overachievers to trade away. Each week of the fantasy baseball season, we look at which star players are sell-high candidates. Last week, we dove into players like Michael King, Emerson Hancock, and Liam Hicks.

For this week, we will look at four players fantasy managers should be looking to get rid of in all fantasy leagues. These four players are all rostered in over 70% of Yahoo! leagues and are major sell-high candidates in Week 17 of the fantasy baseball season. This list of candidates includes a first-time All-Star pitcher, two hitters who have been overperforming at the plate, and a pitcher due for some negative regression.

Let's dive into the best sell-high candidates and overachievers in Week 17 of the fantasy baseball season.

Eduardo Rodriguez, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez is having a career year on the mound. The 11-year veteran currently owns a career-best 2.29 ERA and a 1.167 WHIP across 114 innings pitched. After posting poor numbers in each of his first two years in Arizona, the southpaw is having a resurgent campaign in 2026.

Rodriguez has really been a consistent fantasy option throughout the year. He has thrown a quality start in 12 of his 19 starts and has allowed two runs or fewer in 15 outings this season. The Diamondbacks left-hander has also been untouchable on the mound as of late, with an impressive 2.08 ERA over his last 10 starts.

Some of his best performances during this stretch included a seven-shutout-inning gem against the Rockies on May 21 and a 6 2/3 scoreless-inning performance against the Cardinals on June 23. Rodriguez has even carved up the Dodgers twice in this span. He threw six innings of one-run ball against them on June 1 and threw six innings of two-run ball with five strikeouts against them again on July 10.

But despite how well Rodriguez has thrown the ball this year, he is due for some negative regression in the second half.

For starters, his expected ERA (5.06) is 277 points higher than his actual ERA (2.29). That 277-point difference between his expected ERA and actual ERA is the second-largest gap among all qualified starting pitchers. Even his FIP (4.11) and expected FIP (4.53) are much lower than his 2.29 ERA.

Additionally, Rodriguez ranks in the bottom half of the league in expected batting average against (.267), chase rate (28.6%), whiff rate (19.7%), strikeout rate (17.1%), barrel rate (9.6%), and average fastball velocity (91.9 mph). That's a clear sign that the 33-year-old got a bit lucky on the mound in the first half.

Make the smart move and trade away Rodriguez before his numbers start to decline.

Ozzie Albies, 2B, Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies put together a solid first half at the plate. The 2026 All-Star slashed .267/.320/.439 with 14 home runs, 21 doubles, 51 RBI, and one stolen base across 95 contests. These strong numbers come after Albies struggled to produce consistent numbers in back-to-back seasons in 2024 and 2025.

The switch-hitting infielder batted .251 with 10 home runs, 53 RBI, and eight stolen bases across 99 games in 2024 and hit .240 with 16 home runs, 23 doubles, 74 RBI, and 14 stolen bases across 157 games in 2025. Albies dealt with a fractured wrist during that 2024 campaign and never really got going last year before suffering a left hamate bone fracture in late September.

The Ozzie Albies game!

🌟: https://t.co/DZR0ZYbjhX pic.twitter.com/zIWUMoNoa2

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 20, 2026

While this has been a resurgent season for Albies so far, his numbers should drastically drop in the second half. He has clearly overperformed this season and won't be as valuable a fantasy option down the stretch.

His expected batting average (.241) is 26 points lower than his actual batting average (.267), and his expected slugging percentage (.368) is 71 points lower than his actual slugging percentage (.439). Those are two clear signs that Albies might see his overall numbers drop a bit over the final 2 1/2 months of the season.

He also ranks in the 18th percentile in xwOBA (.292), 17th percentile in barrel rate (4.1%), fifth percentile in hard-hit rate (27.6%), 15th percentile in chase rate (36.4%), and 14th percentile in bat speed (69.1 mph). These poor metrics do raise some red flags that Albies could go through some pretty rough stretches after the All-Star break.

That all makes Albies a major sell-high in Week 17 of the fantasy baseball season.

Trevor Rogers, SP, Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Trevor Rogers was a league winner down the stretch last season. He had a 1.94 ERA and a 24.5% strikeout rate in his final 12 starts. Those strong numbers made Rogers a potential value pick at his late-round ADP in 2026 fantasy baseball drafts. The southpaw had an average draft position (ADP) of 149.6 across multiple platforms.

Unfortunately, that same pitcher from last year didn't show up in the first few months of this season. Rogers had a whopping 6.84 ERA across his first 10 starts and also spent some time on the injured list due to an illness.

However, something has turned for Rogers as of late. He has looked like a completely different pitcher on the mound since the beginning of June and has returned to being that top fantasy pitcher. The Orioles left-hander has allowed two runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts while giving up one run or fewer in four consecutive outings. Rogers' 1.73 ERA since June 1 shows that he might finally be back.

Coming off his dominant outing at Dodger Stadium last Saturday, Orioles starter Trevor Rogers looks dialed in early again tonight vs. the Nationals.

Rogers has retired the 1st 6 Washington batters in order, 3 by strikeout. He already has generated 8 whiffs. pic.twitter.com/isTZBYUa3f

— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) June 26, 2026

Instead of riding him, though, fantasy managers should be looking to sell him high in all fantasy formats. There's no doubt that Rogers has thrown the ball well recently, which included throwing seven shutout innings against the Dodgers back on June 20. But it's hard to imagine the 28-year-old maintaining this level of success in the second half.

He still owns a poor 4.27 expected ERA, a .255 expected batting average against, a 22.8% whiff rate, a 20.8% strikeout rate, and a 39.5% hard-hit rate this season. The biggest concern with Rogers moving forward is his lack of swing-and-miss stuff.

The southpaw has just a 19.1% strikeout rate over his last seven outings and had over a 24% whiff rate on just one of his pitches in the month of June (four-seam fastball). His offspeed stuff still isn't fooling hitters at this point in the year, considering his -3 Offspeed Run Value ranks in the bottom 10% of the league.

So, now's a good time to get rid of Rogers amid this nice stretch on the mound.

Jose Altuve, 2B/OF, Houston Astros

Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve has been a more productive fantasy option recently. He has hit six home runs and driven in 14 runs over his last 25 games and is slashing a solid .250/.318/.550 with three home runs, five RBI, and one stolen base in 10 games this month. Those numbers are a step up for Altuve, especially since he had just five home runs and 13 RBI in his first 48 games this season.

It appears that the former American League MVP is starting to turn a corner at the plate. He's hitting more home runs, getting on base more, and really delivering solid numbers in several categories in Roto formats. Altuve has doubled his home run total on the season in just the last month.

Jose Altuve goes deep off Jacob deGrom to lead off the inning! pic.twitter.com/dm66RBBB1X

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 16, 2026

But if you own Altuve in your fantasy league, it's best to trade him now while he has some fantasy value.

It has been a miserable 2026 campaign for Altuve. Although his fantasy numbers have been better recently, there are several warning signs that he will return to being a below-average fantasy option in the second half. His xwOBA (.287), expected batting average (.228), expected slugging (.342), average exit velocity (85.8 mph), hard-hit rate (33.6%), and barrel rate (6.5%) all rank in the bottom 35% of the league.

Fantasy managers should use his recent nice stretch to sell him in all fantasy leagues.

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