Buy Low and Sell High: Trade and Waiver Targets for Week 4

April 19, 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 make some fantasy trades?  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 an 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 have started the season RED HOT, that you should consider placing on your trading block:

Sell ‘Em:

1. Travis Hafner – “Pronk” is a hot player to own and on a hot team right now.  He is extremely unlikely to keep this up.  A slump or an injury is bound to come.  You likely picked him up off waivers and hopefully his 3 HR in the past 6 games helped you out a bit.  If you have a need, now is the time to move Hafner, as his value is likely to decline from here.
2. Chris Young – Young is a batting average killer. His combined 6 HR/SB make him an attractive piece to own, but with injury risk and uncertainty looming, you should see if you can acquire a more stable player in exchange.
3. Justin Masterson – This is tricky because Masterson has shown flashes of greatness.  Chances are you aren't going to get a better pitcher in return for the “ace,” so Masterson is probably best used as trade bait for another position.  He could end up having a decent season, but his value will never be as high as it is now even coming off a game in which he ponied up 4 ER in 5 IP.  He still owns a 1.67 ERA and has 3 out of 4 quality starts.
4. Allen Craig – Craig has struggled a bit, especially with the emergence of Matt Adams.  Craig's value is low, and the fact that he could lose playing time means that his value could dip even lower.  I know you are thinking, “Didn’t Mitchell rate Craig as one of the top first baseman preseason?” The answer is YES, but things change.  The Cardinals are in a tough division and Adams is forcing his way into the lineup at the expense of Craig.
5. Alex Rios – Rios is the definition of streaky.  He should be sold off if you have 1) a need and 2) you can afford to be risky.  He does have benefits including 90+, 25+, 90+, 25+, which are absurd numbers, but that's what you should be extolling to your potential trade partner, not yourself, because last year he set career highs in most fantasy categories and is starting off the season on fire.   In other words, he is bound to come down and when he does, you'll be happy you unloaded him.

Buy ‘Em:

1. Chris Davis – He is a great fantasy player and after only hitting 1 home run this past week now is the time to steal him away.  Davis hit 33 home runs last season and he could exceed that number in 2013.  If his owner is not a believer, now is the time to snag him.
2. Jason Heyward – He has 6 hits and 5 RBI on the season (which is 5 more than some top-tier OFs “cough, Giancarlo Stanton, cough, cough”).  Buy him while he is down and out, and pay value.  He is one player well worth it.
3. Jason Kipnis – He has less hits than Heyward, 4.  He is valuable at 2B and has potential to swipe 30+ bags and hit 20 homers.  Right now he has none.  If you are in dire need of a second baseman this is a player you should target.
4. Jordan Zimmerman – He will maybe get you 150 K and maybe get you 12 wins.  But he will definitely lower your ERA and WHIP, and if the Nationals could only provide him with more run support he would be a top-15 pitcher.  Zimmerman was 6^th in the majors in 2012 with 24 quality starts; the only pitchers with more QS were Verlander, Kershaw, Gallardo, Price, and Dickey.  That’s some pretty good company.
5. Chris Sale – Many don’t believe in his 2012 campaign, including me, but after watching his first two starts against subpar talent, Sale can definitely pitch.  Once he makes some adjustments he will be well worth the starts regardless of the opponent.