Buy Low and Sell High: Trade and Waiver Targets for Week 14

June 28, 2013

Click here to get RotoBaller's fantasy baseball advice on early-season trade and waiver wire targets. Exercise the buy-low sell-high strategy with our advice!

Are you looking to trade?  If your answer is “yes”, then the RotoBaller.com Buy/Sell Weekly Article is where to find five players of the week to Sell High and five players to Buy Low.

You trade for one of two reasons:

1. You need a shortstop, have an extra third baseman and someone has as extra shortstop.  You trade a third baseman for a shortstop.  Done.
2. You have a player who is exceeding expectations.  He is unlikely to keep it up, so you trade him for a position you need. Done

In this week’s edition of Buy/Sell we will look at players that could start the season hot, that you should consider placing on your trading block:

BUY 'EM 

1. Neil Walker – At second base, Walker will have substantial value come the second half of the season.  For many overachieving players batting well over .300, you know that a slump is coming, and conversely for many slumping players, you know a streak is coming.  Walker hasn't batted below .273 since his 17-game rookie campaign.  He is batting .255 and is way more talented than his batting average shows.  This is a positive regression situation, and you should try to take advantage.
2. Yoenis Cespedes – His .225 batting average is extremely ugly. Cespedes missed some time in April due to injury, but his stat sheet is still solid including 15 HR, 41 RBI and 42 R.  If you can buy him low, right now is the time to do it.  Last July, he bat .344 with 5 HR and 19 RBI.  The stolen bases might not be there like last year, so 20/20 could be a stretch, but 30 HR is still well within reach for the Cuban slugger.
3. Ryan Zimmerman – June has historically been Zimmerman's least productive month, by a wide margin.  July and August, on the other hand, have been his best.  His current .355 OBP exceeds his career .353 mark, and it speaks volumes to Zimmerman being one of the best-hitting third baseman around.  Bet on a strong second half.
4. Eric Hosmer – Hosmer racked up 18 R, 1 HR, 16 RBI and 3 SB in April and May.  In June, he managed 17 R, 3 HR, 13 RBI and 4 SB.  If his first two months were anything close to June that’s makes him one of the better 1B around, at a really deep position.  It's worth noting that he leads in stolen bases at the position.  We could finally be seeing Hosmer put it all together-- it might be too late to buy low on him, but it can't hurt to send an offer to his owner.
5. R.A. Dickey – You can’t expect the Cy Young numbers Dickey put up last season in the National League.  But the Blue Jays are starting to come together as a team, stringing together some wins in bunches and doing so when Dickey pitches.  Of the last nine games Dickey has pitched, the Blue Jays have won six.  The best sign Dickey has shown is his June WHIP which is 1.09, compared to the season mark which sits at 1.31.  Dickey can provide above-average  rate stats, with the occasional K/IP start as well, but you should also expect the occasional junker from the knuckleballer, as in six of his starts this season he has given up six or more earned runs.

Be sure to check out Reid Contiti’s Week 13 Undervalued Starting Pitchers for additional potential Buy Now players

SELL 'EM

1. Pedro Alvarez – The Pirates' third baseman currently has 19 HR and, at the always thin third base, this is huge for your fantasy team.  However, he sits on the sell list for a reason: Alvarez was a former second overall pick in 2008, and appears to have figured it out entering his third season in the league.  Over his past 219 games he has 49 HR.  But he is such a streaky player, and he has shown in the past that he can go cold for very long stretches.  And since baseball is all about the averages and the long haul, I'm betting that the first half HR total of 19+ will come down in the second half, and Alvarez will touch around 30.  Sell high while the selling is still good.
2. Adam Lind – Lind hasn't hit over .255 since the 2009 season, in which he belted 35 HR.  He is batting.322 and through 64 games has 11 HR.  The bottom line is Lind is not a .300+ hitter.  He has 7 HR in June and now is the time to make a move.  Find the owner of Mark Teixeira and see if he or she will pull the trigger.
3. Jhonny Peralta – His shortstop eligibility is going to make him a hard player to move, because it’s unlikely that you have any other serviceable options.  While Tulo on the DL, Reyes has 15 hits on the season, Castro is hitting .231, and shortstops struggling all over, you can easily find a taker for Peralta’s services especially while he is hitting .320 and one of the few shortstops NOT hurting you week in and week out.  If you have a replacement, move him.
4. Shelby Miller – I know what you are thinking. First, if you are in a keeper league, just skip right over to the next player. The 6’3’’ righty is unhittable right now.  He holds a 2.35 ERA and a cool 1.00 WHIP.  Again, as I stated above with Alvarez, it’s going to be very hard for Miller to maintain the numbers he is putting up now.  If you can move Miller for a top-of-the-rotation pitcher and offensive help, assuming you need it, it might be worth the move.
5. Hyun-jin Ryu – In his first season in Major League Baseball, Ryu has been fantastic. His ERA is going to rise a bit as players figure him out a bit more.  A sub-3.00 ERA for the balance of the season is unlikely, and with that said, sell while he is still sporting a very attractive 2.85 ERA.
6. Daniel Nava – While he is not by any stretch tearing it up, he has provided his owners with steady production.  He is a streaky though, and if you can move him after he puts a solid week together with perhaps a few consecutive multi-hit games (which by the way he hasn't done since the middle of May), you might be able to sell higher than you otherwise could and get back a nice haul for the deep-league outfielder.

Do you have someone going on the DL?  Did you do a 2 for 1 trade?  Do you have someone you need to drop?  And are looking for someone to pick up? Check out the Rotoballer.com Ultimate Waiver Wire Watch List. The Waiver Wire Watch List provides in depth analysis on players that may currently be available for you to pick up free of charge.  One of the best fantasy baseball features currently on the world wide web!

==========

If you want this article and other high-end fantasy baseball analysis delivered to you on a daily basis, sign up for our daily newsletter.