Fantasy 5 Up 5 Down: 25% Complete – Mission Stabilising

We’re almost exactly a quarter of the way through the season, and most stat-lines are normalising. Miguel Cabrera looks like he’s ready to repeat for the triple crown, whilst some familiar faces sit atop the ERA standings – well except for Pat Corbin. Now is a good time to take a look at your league’s standings and decide on areas of improvement.

If you’re running away with the saves category, maybe you can trade a closer for a slugging outfielder. If you’re in desperate need for speed, take a look at who’s been dominant the steals category. You don’t always have to ‘win’ a trade. As long as you’ve got the player, or the stats you needed, don’t be concerned that the guy you’ve traded away was drafted higher than the one you received.

1. Mike Trout

When Mike Trout started the season ‘just’ hitting .270, he drew wide criticism, particularly from Miguel Cabrera fans who believed his slow start justified the MVP award Cabrera received last season. Fantasy owners may have been a little disappointed, especially in the lack of speed, but he certainly wasn’t killing you. Fast forward two weeks and Mike Trout is once again the hottest player in baseball, with a .287 average, eight home runs and seven steals, as well as plenty of runs and RBI. The Angels team is almost embarrassingly bad at the moment, but Trout continues to be one of the best players in the Major Leagues. If his owner is still a little wary, I’d be happy to break the bank to acquire Trout’s services.

2. Paul Goldschmidt

When looking at the pre-season rankings, I was a little surprised to see Goldschmidt so high on draft boards. He crushes left-handed pitching, but had always been susceptible to right-handers without much ability to go the other way. So far this season, he has done nothing but prove me wrong, hitting .338 with twelve homers and plenty of counting stats. Throw in the fact he has elite speed for a first baseman, and you’re looking at a fantasy stud. If you own him, I’d think about listening to trade offers, because he won’t hit .330 all season, but make sure you are selling high if at all.

3. Chris Sale

Plenty of baseball pundits were wary of Chris Sale entering the season, as his low arm slot and violent delivery appeared to make him a prime injury candidate. So far this year, he’s been nothing short of exceptional, especially in his last six starts as he’s allowed just 7 earned runs in 45 innings, whilst striking out 44. He is now a must start every time he takes to the hill, and whilst there are still some worries about injury, his performances will be leaving fantasy owners very happy indeed at the moment.

4. Manny Machado

The 20 year old third baseman enjoyed an excellent debut last season as he helped the Orioles into the play-offs, and so far this season he has looked like their best player, hitting .339 with five homers, four steals and plenty of runs and RBIs. He’s been especially hot over the past six games, going 15-for-30, and establishing himself as one of the best options at his position. The power potential isn’t as big as it will be in a few years, but he could still hit 15-20 homers with an excellent batting average and a decent number of steals. If you own him, especially in a keeper league, you have to be ecstatic with this start.

5. Mariano Rivera

It’s almost a tragedy that it’s taken me this long to find a spot for Rivera, who has been lights out all season at the back-end of the Yankees ‘pen. Forget that he’s 43 years old playing in the final season of a glittering career, and you still have a dominant closer who’s one of the best in the business. His 16 saves lead the Majors, and 20 years later, teams still haven’t figured out how to hit his cutter. He likely won’t have a sub-two ERA all season, but there’s no chance you’re selling high on Rivera (unless you’re a truly cold-blooded fantasy player) as he continues to rack up the saves.

1. Ike Davis

It took Davis a long time to get going last season, but after the all-star break he was a premier slugger, with plenty of power and he looked primed for a big season at the heart of the Mets order. So far, he has been a profound disappointment, hitting way below the Mendoza line without much power at all. He has one hit in his last 26 at bats, and has been a strikeout machine. He needs to be dropped in pretty much all formats, and whilst he could turn this slow start around again, he’s been so frustrating for his owners that it’s simply not worth the gamble.

2. Jacoby Ellsbury

I wasn’t high on Ellsbury to start the season because I felt his 2011 power surge was a fluke, and whilst the speed has been electric this season (13 steals) I’m not regretting not drafting him. The .247 average is way below what we expect from him, whilst just the single home run doesn’t bode well for another 30 homer campaign. He’s a threat to steal every time he gets on base, and he should up that average, but he’s not the every-category threat some made him out to be.

3. Cole Hamels

Hamels hasn’t been the fantasy ace he was billed to be, with just a 4.61 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. The 1-6 record isn’t indicative of how well he’s pitched, but he’s still been very disappointing for his owners. Most worrying may the number of walks, as he’s allowed 24 already this season, including 13 in his past four starts. Despite this slow start, I’m not worried though. The strikeouts are there, and I think Hamels will begin twirling more quality outings from this point forward, so he’s a prime buy-low candidate in my opinion.

4. Jeremy Hellickson

Hellickson had always been viewed as somewhat of an anomaly in the pitching world, as he had put up two straight seasons of abnormally low BABIP and strand rates that allowed him to combat a pretty ordinary WHIP. This season, perhaps, his luck has caught up with him. He owns a 5.82 ERA and 1.29 WHIP and whilst the K rate is up, he’s still allowing a lot of hits. He should be more of a 3.5-4.5 ERA guy than 5.5, so he should be due a few good outings, but the seasons of sub-3 ERA may be behind him.

5. Fernando Rodney

Rodney got off to a rough start to the season, but after putting together three consecutive dominant outings last week, I was confident he had turned it around. However, he allowed three runs to score in a blown save against the Red Sox on Thursday, as the control issues of the past seem to be coming back to haunt him. For now, he owns the closer’s role in Tampa, but with Peralta pitching well in the eighth inning he may not have a long leash whilst that ERA is above 5 and the WHIP is in the high 1’s. This goes to show how volatile saves can be, as Rodney’s 2012 season seems a distant memory now.

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