Each week we here at Sports World News will be bringing you lists of players to buy low on, as well as sell high. We're not ones to overreact to hot or slow starts, but lots of other people are. Figuring out ways to take advantage of the impatience of your league mates is a major part of winning titles. Buying low is the essential ingredient to success. Opening Week is full of hype, so this is prime time for buying low.
Here are the Top 5 sell-high candidates.
Ben Revere, OF Philadelphia Phillies
Revere's lighting it up right now, picking up four steals in just one week while batting .286. Revere's lone value coming into the year was stolen bases, so you might be puzzled at his inclusion here. The reason is that although the steals can be expected to continue, he's too negative in other areas.
Revere brings zero pop to the plate, and even with the nice batting average he's posted an .OPS of .596. Yuck! His track record suggests a high .280 to .300 batting average with 30 steals is in play, but a lack of separation between .OBP and average suggest slumps will render him basically unusable. He's hot right now, so if you can trade him for some sustainable power you'll be happy. Trust me, pick up the steals later on the wire.
Justin Smoak, 1B Seattle Mariners
Don't be fooled! Justin Smoak's been a popular post-hype sleeper pick for years, but this hot start is a trick. Don't buy in, and don't sell off proven commodities for him. If you've got him, deal him for a big bat if you can, or for some underrated pitching. Smoak's never profiled as a big time masher in terms of the long ball (the perception is otherwise), and his past MLB work has borne him out as a batting average risk.
Yes, he's hitting .292 now but his BABIP is soaring at .333. He's getting lucky, and once the BABIP regression kicks in, he won't be worth much with Safeco Field sapping his power.
Josh Hamilton, OF Los Angeles Angels
The Angels slugger looks like he's turned around his downsliding career, batting .500 through Opening Week of the 2014 season. I say trade him now though, because of his superstar billing and unsustainable success.
Hamilton does have first-round pedigree, but his BABIP is at .643 right now, and he's making a ton of contact on pitches outside the zone. While it's true he looks to have improved his pitch selection a bit, the high contact on tosses outside the might encourage him to expand his zone again. Aging power guys with massive contracts don't trend up, so I'm wary of this elite start.
Mark Trumbo, 1B/OF Arizona Diamondbacks
If you have Trumbo right now, not only are you most likely in first place in your league, you have one of the most valuable fantasy commodities out there right now. Most people liked Trumbo's potential in Arizona's hitters haven, and kicking off the season with five homers in a week likely ramped up the excitement. Trumbo owners dreaming of the 2014 Chris Davis are mistaken however.
Davis hit 53 bombs yes, but he also hit for average and had over 40 doubles. Trumbo not only won't belt 50 tater shots, he's never been the hitter that Davis is. MLB failures aside prior to 2013, Davis was a .300-plus batter in the minor leagues, whereas Trumbo never approached that. People always, ALWAYS want more power. Trade Trumbo now, and sell him like Crush 2.0-you could get a potential ace.
Francsico Rodriguez, RP Milwaukee Brewers
K-Rod has been a surprise this season, assuming the closer role out of the gate without any prior warning and recording two saves. He's looked good in three appearances, but I'm not fooled.
His velocity is coming in at below 90 miles per hour these days, and manager Ron Roenicke has openly stated he prefers Jim Henderson to be the closer. K-Rod's days are numbered in this role, and his declining stuff will cause trouble while the role is his to begin with.
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