The playoffs are underway and teams are being bounced out left and right. Soon enough we’ll all know who the winners were in our leagues. However, there are many out there who refuse to go down without a fight and are continually trying to improve their team before their next big face off. This installment of
MLB Buy ‘n Sell consists of six players, three that had great weeks and three that had poor weeks. Each is placed in the category that best supports the type of week they had. It’s similar to the stock market. When a player’s value is very high and doesn’t seem like it’ll be too consistent for the next week, you sell in order to pick up other players that could help. As for those with low value, hopefully they’ll rebound and you make a ‘profit’. The season is winding down, but luckily there are owners out there who won’t go down without a fight.
Sell:
Roy Oswalt (SP - Houston Astros) - Oswalt has been absolutely terrific as of late. He looked finished earlier in the year and everything he threw seemed so hittable. That’s definitely not the case anymore. He just threw a one-hitter against the Rockies, at Coors field, and has only allowed 15 hits over his last 40.1 innings pitched. That is absolutely incredible. During that span he’s also only allowed four total runs. He’s far from done it seems, however, he’s been great in his last five starts, therefore he’s due to come down. He can’t keep it up forever and it seems like the best time to sell him because his value is sky high. Many will probably hang onto him, but if you could sell him right now, to a desperate owner, than you may be able to get a jackpot in return.
2 wins, 0 losses, 17.1 IP, 9 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.40 WHIP
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Derek Lowe (SP - Los Angeles Dodgers) - Lowe has really turned a corner as of late. He has pitched six straight quality starts. He’s now got 19 consecutive scoreless innings under is belt and is a big reason for the Dodgers taking over first place in the NL West (with assistance by Brandon Webb and Dan Haren). Lowe is a sinkerball pitcher and, when it’s working, he is absolutely terrific. However, he’s been riding a hot streak and the Dodgers aren’t exactly the most consistent team out there. It may be wise to sell Lowe while his value is high. It won’t get any higher than this and as of now some owners are insanely desperate in order to advance in the playoffs. He’s been great, but he isn’t worth taking a risk on anymore. Get something for him while you still can.
2 wins, 0 losses, 14 IP, 6 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.64 WHIP
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Brandon Morrow (RP - Seattle Mariners) - Morrow may only qualify as a RP for now, but he made his first start against the Yankees this week and he sure did look good. He was absolutely cruising until Wilson Betemit smacked a pinch-hit RBI double over Ichiro’s head. That was the only hit Morrow allowed in just under eight innings. He walked a few, but only one hit was allowed. A-Rod didn’t get the hit. Jeter didn’t get the hit. Damon didn’t get the hit. Out of everyone it was seldom used Wilson Betemit who was able to break it out. It really didn’t matter though because the Yankees still lost, but it showed what great stuff Morrow has. He can dial his fastball into the high 90’s, then make a batter’s knees buckle with a perfectly placed curveball. He’s extremely talented and the Joba Chamberlain comparisons are rightly deserved, as in the fact that each started off as a reliever and each can throw in the high 90’s and have wicked off-speed stuff. Morrow was absolutely terrific in his first start and hopefully this is the sign of more to come. However, his value hasn’t been any higher than it is right now and someone may over pay in hopes that he’ll repeat this in his next start. Morrow is good, but get something for him.
1 win, 0 losses, 7.2 IP, 8 K, 1.17 ERA, 0.52 WHIP
Buy:
Matt Holliday (LF - Colorado Rockies) - Holliday has been in a funk this week. He’s only got two hits in his last 25 at bats. His average is down to .326. In his last game before this slump started his average was at .339. Even that number was a bit low considering he was hovering around .347 most of the year. Holliday is in a major slump and it looks like the Rockies are out of it. He’ll probably wind up being traded, but this definitely hurts his value since the scouts will see the version that can’t do anything at all. Holliday has had an alright year considering he was hurt. However, it really can’t compare to last year’s numbers unless you count the stolen bases and OBP. He hasn’t been playing like a top 10 pick this week and his value took a hit. However, last year he hit 12 homeruns, 30 RBI, and had a .367 average in September. It was his best overall week and hopefully he can do that again. A desperate owner may be willing to sell him for cheap since he hasn’t been helping much. If you have the opportunity to pick him up then do so.
2/22, 2 runs, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, .091 AVG
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Lance Berkman (1B/RF - Houston Astros) - It was only a week or so ago that Berkman had an eight game hitting streak going. He was hitting over .400 and put up some great overall numbers. Things change quickly in fantasy baseball because he’s been in a big slump as of late. Don’t fret because he’s way too talented to continue being this bad. He was a first half wonder, but has had a very rough second half. The loss of Carlos Lee definitely hurt him, but he just hasn’t looked all too good at the plate at a consistent basis. Never fear. He showed last week that he’s still got some magic in his bat and hopefully he can regain some fantasy value and help owners out during these playoffs. Desperate times call for desperate measures and some owners may be very desperate after the numbers he accumulated this week. If he can be had for cheap then do it.
3/21, 3 runs, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 SB, .143 AVG
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Ichiro Suzuki (CF/RF - Seattle Mariners) - Ichiro has had a solid overall season, but it’s a huge disappointment compared to last year. His batting average is way down, his RBI total is way down, even his fielding doesn’t look as smooth as it did in the past. That’s not saying he’s washed up by any means, he just didn’t have a great season. Who could really blame him though? The Mariners have been pretty bad this year and Ichiro was the best player on a bad team, not including Raul Ibanez. Ichiro was a .500+ hitter against Sidney Ponson, but you know a player is slumping when they can’t even get a hit off of a guy they hit over .500 against. Ichiro also didn’t seem as fast in the field as he did last year. He’s probably just tired, physically and mentally, because he’s such a phenomenal player. However, even though he didn’t necessarily have a bad season, it was still a bit disappointing to owners who were expecting huge numbers that didn’t come. Ichiro could probably be had for a decent pitcher because he’s good, but he’s not great, and that’s what owners want out of Ichiro. Look for him to rebound.
6/28, 2 runs, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, .214 AVG