🖥 CYBER MONDAY - TAP TO SAVE 50% WITH CODE CYBER
X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Buy or Sell - Underowned and Overowned Players for Week 5

Pierre Camus takes a look at players who may be overvalued or undervalued. These players could be buy or sell candidates for the 2017 fantasy baseball season.

The weather's warming up and so is the trade market in fantasy leagues. You've likely received a few unsavory trade offers by now that leave you wondering what people think before hitting the "Propose Trade" button. While you don't want to be that guy, there are opportunities to be had if you can figure out which players to flip and for whom.

Scouting players who may be undervalued and re-assessing players who may be overvalued is a weekly exercise that you should pursue. Fortunately, I have you covered. Here are a few players who are good buy or sell candidates based on their current performance compared to ownership levels. This could mean scooping them off waivers if possible or actively seeking a trade to acquire or discard certain players in order to maximize value.

Early in the season, my values will be based more on ADP than performance due to small sample size. I will include one player at each key position group (Infield, Outfield, Pitcher). Ownership levels are taken from Yahoo! Fantasy Sports.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

Underrated Players - Week 5

Jonathan Schoop (2B, BAL) - 76% owned

The fact that Schoop is owned is less leagues than Chris Owings (see below) is hard to fathom. Schoop has been criminally underrated since last season and I'm not sure why people refuse to buy into him. I even saw him outright dropped in two of my leagues this past week, even though he's picked up three home runs and 12 RBI in the last 12 games. He's raised his average to .294, lowered his K% this season to 15.8% and is fifth in RBI among all second basemen. He could stand to improve his 74.5% Contact% and 14% SwStr%, but he seems to be the type of player who makes the most out of his contact. If anything, his .278 BABIP shows that he could be faring even better. Schoop belongs in the conversation as a top-10 2B, not on the waiver wire in any format.

Avisail Garcia (OF, CHW) - 69% owned

What's it going to take, a season's worth of MVP-type numbers for people to believe in Garcia? It's understandable why fantasy owners are skeptical after Garcia hit just .245 with a wOBA of .302 last season. He was widely expected to prove his worth last season, but a slow start in the spring relegated him to part-time DH duties. He responded with a mediocre season that included a 25.4% K% and 68.6% Contact%. Garcia has only improved on those numbers slightly this season, but he's making much better contact within the zone (87% Z-Contact%). He's also pulling the ball much more and not settling for soft contact (12.5%). The concerns about his previously terrible plate discipline and the weak pitching he's faced so far are fair criticisms, but Garcia's ability to hit for power should at least be taken seriously for now as he's always had the hit tool to perform this way when it all clicks (it has).

Julio Urias (SP, LAD) - 75% owned

It won't be long before the ownership level for this star prospect skyrockets. Urias had a brief stint in his rookie season due to innings limitations, but he impressed for a 20-year old. Urias pitched to a 3.39 ERA and whiffed nearly 10 batters per nine innings. It will take some time for the walks to go away, as is par for the course for young pitchers, but Urias has shown the ability to strand runners at a high rate. His first start of this season was highly effective; he allowed one earned run over 5 2/3 innings. Even if you know he won't give you 200 IP this season, the upside is worth owning. If he's taken in your league, consider offering a more erratic young pitcher like Vince Velasquez, Taijuan Walker, or Kevin Gausman in exchange for Urias' talents.

 

Overrated Players - Week 5

Chris Owings (SS/OF, ARI) - 79% owned

It seems like just two weeks ago I was advocating for fantasy managers to add Owings off the waiver wire. Hopefully you did, because it's time to turn a profit. Owings is hitting .325 with four HR, 19 RBI, and six steals. For perspective, after one month he's driven in more runs than Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and Joey Votto. That's also more than Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Abreu combined. The steals aren't a surprise, but the power certainly is. Two more jacks and Owings ties his career-high for a Major League season; he would also be halfway to his minor league season-high. Not to take anything away from him, but two of those homers came against human pitching machine Jered Weaver, who is averaging two HR allowed per game and led the league last year with 37 dingers against him. His absurd 25% HR/FB rate will plummet soon. This is a classic example of a hot start from a young player making him appear much more than he is. If you can flip him for legit shortstp who is off to a slow start like Aledmys Diaz or Dansby Swanson, don't hesitate.

Lorenzo Cain (OF, KC) - 89% owned

Let's face it, Cain's 2015 season appears to be an outlier. That season he finished third in AL MVP voting after hitting .307 with 16 HR, 72 RBI, 101 R, and 28 SB. In every other Major League season, Cain has barely surpassed half those totals in terms of homers and runs scored. His next best RBI total is 56 RBI and last season his stolen base total was cut by 50%. Cain will still deliver a strong average and he's picked up the pace on the base paths this season with six steals already, but the power is non-existent. Those expecting him to put up numbers similar to his peak should prepare for a letdown. He's 31 now and his team is no longer a championship contender. Cain is a fringe third outfielder in mixed leagues and that's solely due to his stolen base production.

Mike Leake (SP, STL) - 80% owned

Here is your annual reminder that Leake is not as good as he looks early on in the year. He generally maintains decent ratios in the first half, but by August and September his career ERA is over 4.70 for each month. Even April-June aren't overly impressive - barely under 4.00 - which shouldn't be a surprise since he's only finished one season with an ERA under 3.50. A mediocre 6.59 K/9 that is actually higher than his 6.12 career mark and a low .250 BABIP should be enough to make you leery. There may not be much of a trade market for Leake, but it's worth a try so you don't have to suffer through those inevitable starts where his luck runs out.

 




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Zach Ertz

Leads Washington in Receiving in Overtime Loss
James Cook

Handles Career-High 32 Carries for 144 Yards in Win
Egor Demin

Available Against Hornets
Justin Herbert

Planning to Play Through Broken Bone in Left Hand in Week 14
Terance Mann

in Danger of Missing Monday's Game
Sauce Gardner

Likely to Miss a "Couple of Weeks" With Calf Strain
Noah Clowney

Considered Probable for Monday
Michael Porter Jr.

Listed as Probable for Monday's Matchup
Caris LeVert

Expected Back Monday
Duncan Robinson

Questionable to Face Hawks
Jalen Duren

Likely to Return Against Hawks Monday
Brock Bowers

Records Two Touchdown Grabs in Week 13
Alexandre Sarr

Iffy for Monday
Mark Williams

Available Against Lakers Monday
Ryan Dunn

on Track to Return Monday
Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Uncertain for Monday
Coby White

Returning to Bulls Lineup Monday
Paolo Banchero

Unavailable Monday
Larry Nance Jr.

to Miss 3-4 Weeks
Jarrett Allen

to Miss a Week of Action
Nikola Jokić

Nikola Jokic Listed as Probable for Monday
Anthony Davis

Likely to Play Against Nuggets Monday
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Considered Probable for Monday
Justin Herbert

Suffers Fractured Hand in Week 13, Will Have Surgery
Dennis Schröder

Dennis Schroder Won't Play Sunday
Kimani Vidal

has Season-High in Rushing Yards in Win Over Raiders
De'Von Achane

Looks Unstoppable on the Ground in Week 13
Davante Adams

has Another Two-Touchdown Game
Aaron Jones Sr.

is Questionable to Return With Shoulder Injury
Adonai Mitchell

has Career Day With 102 Yards, Touchdown in Win
Andre Drummond

Available Versus Atlanta
VJ Edgecombe

Cleared to Suit Up on Sunday
Bijan Robinson

Compiles 191 Total Yards, Touchdown in Loss to Jets
Shedeur Sanders

Will Start Again in Week 14 Against Titans
Mike Evans

Could Return in Week 14
Keon Coleman

Active for Week 13
Dalton Kincaid

Officially Inactive for Week 13
Kyren Williams

Returns in Week 13 After Injury Scare
Kyren Williams

Suffers Apparent Leg Injury in Week 13, Status Unclear
Woody Marks

Returns in Week 13 After Injury Scare
Sauce Gardner

Colts Rule Out Sauce Gardner With Knee Injury
Woody Marks

Questionable to Return With Foot Injury
CFB

Lane Kiffin to be Introduced as LSU's Next Head Coach on Monday
CFB

Florida Poised to Land Jon Sumrall as Next Head Coach
CFB

Alex Golesh Taking Over Auburn Head-Coaching Job
CFB

Arkansas Expected to Hire Ryan Silverfield as Next Head Coach
Joel Hofer

Shuts Out Mammoth
Owen Tippett

Amasses Three Points in Saturday's Win
Stuart Skinner

Bounces Back With Shutout
Brock Nelson

Notches Four Points in Big Win
Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Sustains Upper-Body Injury
Logan Cooley

Hurt in Saturday's Loss
Warren Foegele

Not Ready to Return Saturday
Simon Benoit

Won't Play Saturday
Henri Jokiharju

Lands on Injured Reserve
Zack Wheeler

Likely to Return in May
Pavel Zacha

a Game-Time Call Saturday
Ryan Helsley

Agrees to Two-Year Deal With Orioles
David Pastrnak

Out for Second Consecutive Game
William Nylander

Available Saturday
Kyle Palmieri

Out for 6-8 Months With Torn ACL
Jake Walman

Sidelined for Third Consecutive Game
Jack Roslovic

to Miss Two Weeks
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

to Return Saturday
Mattias Samuelsson

in Concussion Protocol
Kyle Palmieri

Sustains Lower-Body Injury
Lukas Dostal

Ruled Out for 2-3 Weeks
Kirill Marchenko

Misses Third Straight Game
Jaden Schwartz

to Miss Six Weeks
Dylan Cease

Agrees With Blue Jays on Seven-Year, $210 Million Deal
Anthony Rendon

Angels Could Buy Out Final Year of Anthony Rendon's Contract
Josh Hader

Says his Shoulder is "Back to Normal"
Ketel Marte

Diamondbacks "Actively Listening" on Ketel Marte
J.T. Realmuto

Red Sox Showing Interest in J.T. Realmuto
Sonny Gray

Red Sox Acquire Sonny Gray From the Cardinals
CFB

Jeremiah Smith, Makai Lemon, Skyler Bell Named Biletnikoff Award Finalists

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP