Fantasy Baseball Trade Targets For Week 17
Week 17 represents the first full week after the All-Star break, where players will be looking to turn their disappointing seasons around or carry over their success from the first half. The MLB trade deadline is also a little over a week away, which means most fantasy trade deadlines are approaching quickly, too. There’s still time to make those last chance improvements to your team, so here are five players who you should be looking to trade for or trade away.
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Buy-Low Candidates
Corey Seager, SS, Rangers
Corey Seager is having a fine season but isn’t quite living up to the potential MVP numbers many expected. He is slashing .265/.356/.469 with 18 home runs so far in 2024. Those certainly aren’t numbers to complain about, but his underlying metrics suggest that he might be getting unlucky. His expected batting average is .281 and his expected slugging percentage is .548. He has a hard-hit rate of 49% and a barrel rate of 15.2%, which shows that he’s having no issues making elite-quality contact. His current numbers seem to be his floor, so there’s only room for improvement from here on out. He still has the upside to be one of the best shortstops in fantasy.
Pablo Lopez, SP, Twins
Pablo Lopez is no stranger to being labeled as a buy-low candidate, thanks to his season of constant struggles. Even when he starts to get things going again, he seems to be hit with another very rough outing. That was the case three starts ago against the Astros, when he gave up six runs in five innings. He has made two good starts since then, but his season stats are stuck in a very bad place thanks to the blowup starts that he typically has once a month. He has a 4.86 ERA, despite an xERA of 3.41 and an xFIP of 3.16. He still looks like one of the most dominant pitchers in the league in most of his starts; it’s just a few bad apples that continue to tank his value. I’m still betting on the talent here and believe he can figure things out and cut back on the amount of bad starts that he has. I view him as a top-15 starting pitcher for the rest of the season.
Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Yankees
Giancarlo Stanton has been injured with a hamstring strain since June 23rd, which isn’t shocking considering his extensive injury history. Injuries and a horrible batting average have defined Stanton’s recent seasons, but it actually looked like he was having a nice bounce-back campaign in 2024. Before going down, he was hitting .246 with 18 home runs in 69 games, which is a much better outlook than his .191 and .211 batting averages of the past two years. Stanton has recently begun running the bases, and a decision will be made later this week on a potential return date for him. Aaron Boone has mentioned that he might skip a rehab assignment all together, which means he could potentially be back early next week. You should be able to get him for pretty cheap in a trade right now, and he would be a perfect fit for your fantasy team if you have ground to make up in home runs.
Sell-High Candidates
Garrett Crochet, SP, White Sox
Garrett Crochet is a player that I’ve talked about as a sell-high player before, mostly due to workload concerns. It is still the same story now, as his 107.1 innings in 2024 has already doubled his previous career high in innings pitched in a season. The White Sox are already trying to get ahead of the issue, as his final start before the break lasted only two innings. However, there’s no denying that he is a true ace when he takes the mound, as seen by his 3.02 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 35.2% strikeout rate. I wanted to highlight him as a sell-high candidate again due to the upcoming trade deadline. The White Sox are reportedly shopping Crochet, with the Dodgers particularly very interested in him. A trade to a contender would instantly boost his trade value in fantasy, and that might overshadow the very real innings limit concerns that he would still have with his new team. Don’t sell him at a discount, but if you can get a return equivalent to a top-15 starting pitcher, I think it’s a no brainer.
Josh Smith, 3B/SS/OF, Rangers
Josh Smith has put together an excellent season so far, but he is one of the biggest overperformers of his expected stats. He has a mere .238 xBA (compared to .286 BA) and a .349 xSLG (compared to a .458 SLG). Nothing looks particularly appealing under the hood, such as a 3.5% barrel rate (9th percentile), 87 mph average exit velocity (17th percentile), and 35.1% hard-hit rate (25th percentile). The triple eligibility is helpful, especially in deeper leagues, but expect to see a step back in the second half. I think he’s closer to a waiver wire bat than a fantasy stud.
