This week’s article is bittersweet, as it will be the final edition of the Fantasy Baseball Trade Tips series for 2024. It has been my pleasure to guide readers through the ups and downs of the Yahoo! Trade Market, which ends with the trade deadline on Thursday, August 8.
Attacking specific categories during the final stretch of the season is often the best plan in both roto and head-to-head categories leagues. For that reason, this week’s list of players will offer ideas for making significant gains in each of the standard categories via trade. The players listed today are not balanced contributors, which means that they will hold substantial value to some teams but less significance to others.
Batting Average
Luis Arráez (1B/2B, San Diego Padres)
There are two types of fantasy teams: those who need help with batting average and those who have no use for Arráez. The lifetime .322 hitter will always rank among the batting average leaders, but he offers minuscule totals in homers (3), steals (4) and RBI (29). Arráez’s unique skill set should cause him to be traded more often than any other player this week.
Home Runs
Cal Raleigh (C, Seattle Mariners)
Getting an impact player at the catcher position can give a fantasy team a huge lift, and Raleigh will fit the bill for those who need a power boost. The slugger leads all catchers with 23 homers; there are just two other backstops who are within five long balls of his total.
RBI
Vinnie Pasquantino (1B, Kansas City Royals)
Among the RBI leaders, no one is closer than Pasquantino to being a one-category contributor. The 26-year-old ranks seventh in baseball with 80 RBI, but his homer total (16), runs total (51) and batting average (.265) are mediocre marks. Also, Pasquantino has no speed component to his game.
Alec Bohm is another option, as he has 78 RBI but just 12 homers and 50 runs.
Runs
Corbin Carroll (OF, Arizona Diamondbacks)
Most Carroll managers will have reasonable expectations for a trade return, since he ranks among the most disappointing fantasy baseball assets this season. But even in a down year, the speedster has managed to tally plenty of runs. He has a chance to score 100 times this season.
Steals
Brice Turang (2B/SS, Milwaukee Brewers)
Managers can buy low on Turang right now. The speedster has been one of the worst hitters in baseball since the beginning of July, batting .173 with a .420 OPS. He has collected just four steals during the slump, but Turang has still done enough this year to rank second in baseball with 32 swipes. The infielder has dealt with a .215 BABIP during his slump, and a reversal of fortune could get him back on track in a hurry.
Wins
Seth Lugo (SP, Kansas City Royals)
Predicting pitcher wins is dangerous territory, but Lugo checks the key boxes. To win games, a pitcher should go deep into their starts, and Lugo leads the majors with 150.1 innings pitched. He has also been effective (2.57 ERA, 1.02 WHIP), and he pitches for a team with postseason aspirations. Finally, although Lugo is having a terrific season, he lacks the name value that drives up the trade return of some aces.
Strikeouts
Freddy Peralta (SP, Milwaukee Brewers)
Peralta ranks seventh in baseball with 149 strikeouts, which is not surprising when noticing his lifetime 11.5 K/9 rate. Among the top-12 hurlers in whiffs, the right-hander has one of the worst marks in ERA (3.89) and WHIP (1.19), which means that his manager may be willing to at least entertain the idea of trading him for a reasonable return.
ERA
Tyler Glasnow (SP, Los Angeles Dodgers)
Among high-end starters, Glasnow has one of the largest gaps between his ERA (3.54) and xERA (2.55). The right-hander ranks fourth in baseball in WHIP and second in strikeouts, and he could be as valuable as any starter down the stretch by moving his ERA closer to his expected mark. And of course, giving up fewer runs should lead to more wins for someone who pitches on one of baseball’s best teams.
WHIP
George Kirby (SP, Seattle Mariners)
Kirby walks so few batters that he is the safest source of WHIP in baseball. The right-hander has issued just 15 walks this season, and in his career, he owns a minuscule 3% walk rate. Kirby is a virtual lock to be a WHIP asset down the stretch, and he should also provide a helpful ERA and serviceable strikeout total.
Saves
Emmanuel Clase (RP, Cleveland Guardians)
Some managers may not realize how incredibly valuable Clase has been this season. The closer ranks second in baseball with 33 saves, but that category is just the tip of the iceberg, as he has also logged incredible ratios (0.69 ERA, 0.65 WHIP). Clase’s performance has been so good that he ranks as the second most valuable pitcher to this point in the campaign. Those who need saves should be comfortable trading an ace starter or elite hitter to secure Clase’s services.
