RADIO
Today's piece covers a set of players who either should not be available on waivers or will return back there soon. Most of the earlier editions of this recurring buy or sell article have included several universally owned players whose values have been manipulated enough by early-season performances. Unfortunately, as we get deeper into the year, the regression fairies come to ruin every savvy owner's fun.
If you need a win in H2H or a particular category filled in rotisserie, buy or sell what you must to get to where you need. The home stretch is dark and full of terrors. Injured and underperforming players can be let go if they are taking up a roster spot that could be filled by someone much more productive. Players mentioned in this piece, and coming editions as we wind the season down, are more "add/drop" candidates rather than "buy/sells" given that trade deadlines are either passed or passing. Evaluate wisely.
Anyway, these buys and sells are worth noting for this upcoming week. Best of luck.
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Undervalued Players - Week 23
Sandy Alcantara - SP, MIA
13% owned
Alcantara is not someone that I would typically recommend, particularly due to his poor peripherals and team context. However, his matchups this next week are too good to avoid. On Tuesday, he faces the Pirates in Pittsburgh and then Sunday he is at home against the Royals. Two-starts like this do not come along often. Alcantara has the potential to go pretty deep in both games and rack up some strikeouts with a potential quality start or win.
After this two-step, he gets a date with the Giants in San Francisco. There is a good chance that he might disappoint in one of these matchups due to the law of averages, but take that on the chin and move forward with the factors in his favor. Alcantara's recent string of success is fairly flukey, and the ceiling will crumble eventually. It just might have to wait until later in the season.
Jon Berti - IF/OF, MIA
32% owned
Who? Yeah, I am not too sure either. During this past offseason, I delved pretty deep into the prospect world and had never heard of Jon Berti until recently. He is apparently a 29-year-old rookie who got his first taste of major league action over the course of a few games last season but has mostly been a career Triple-A hitter generally. Berti was re-promoted to the bigs just a month ago and has been on a tear. He is slashing .291/.365/.495 over this span with four home runs and seven steals.
He's consistently scored runs and provided great fantasy value so far. The only issues are the track record and the fact that he is on a terrible team. It is typically harder to sustain success when the batters around you are not very good, and it also does not help that his home park is not conducive to hitting. Nevertheless, pick up Berti if you need a good utility bat who can fill-in multiple positions. Think of him as a Jeff McNeil-lite.
Overvalued Players - Week 23
Kyle Gibson - SP, MIN
56% owned
Not only is Kyle Gibson frustrating to own, his schedule finally includes some real offenses. His next three starts are @BOS, WAS, and @CLE. Not exactly the cake-walks he's used to, and if he is struggling to get through starts against the Tigers and White Sox, it's hard to imagine him succeeding in this upcoming stretch.
Although Gibson's peripherals are solid, he may just be at his limit with this season given that he had a strong first-half. Appreciate what he has provided thus far with his wins, strikeouts, and decent ratios, and move on. Find some waiver wire pitchers with plus matchups and try to win your playoffs with an optimal lineup.
Injured Players
This is a special category for any injured players taking up roster spots as we enter the playoffs. Sometimes, it is best to cut loose the dead weight and maximize what you can do with the roster spots available these last few weeks. If you don't have an IL or if it is full and as a result, a roster spot is taken up by an IL player, then consider letting go.
Players like Luke Weaver, Tyler Glasnow, and Brandon Woodruff are still fairly owned throughout leagues and even if they were to return this season, it would likely be as relievers. Middle-inning relievers are hardly useful in fantasy and those first few starts may be rough with the rust formed from being out so long. Just let go and move on if you're in a redraft league.
