This is an updated version of an article originally posted in 2013 and then reposted in 2015, 2017, and 2018. It’s a vitally important exercise to perform, so I think it’s worthwhile to continue to resurface it each season around this time.

Heading into the final two months of the season, the effect any individual player will have on our place in the standings has continued to diminish, which means that this time of year represents one of the final chances to dramatically improve our teams. It probably doesn’t need to be stated, but it’s important to reiterate for those still clinging to preseason values (I usually cling to them far longer than most, but even I know to give them up at this point!) — right now, you need to essentially throw player values out the window and trade for needs based on your position in the various statistical categories. Don’t worry about overpaying if you still expect the trade to net you positive points. Obviously, you want to make a trade that brings back the greatest value in return and gain you the most standings points. However, if the best return offered to you is a player our auction calculator projects to earn $7 the rest of the way for your projected $13 player, it’s still absolutely worth accepting if you determine that accepting the trade would gain you total points.

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In a series of tweets, it was shared yesterday that the Marlins are calling up prospects Isan Díaz and Lewis Brinson from Triple-A.

Sources indicate the Miami Marlins are calling up Isan Diaz from New Orleans.

— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) August 4, 2019

Sources indicate the Miami Marlins are calling up Lewis Brinson from New Orleans.

— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) August 4, 2019

For the team with the worst record in the National League, you would have to imagine these two are going to be locked into starting jobs the rest of the season. It would be silly if even a several week slump pushes them to the bench. So let’s assume the playing time will be there and focus on their potential fantasy contributions.

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Every season as we head towards the July 31 trade deadline, we have a list of players we expect to be traded. Many of them end up staying put, but Nicholas Castellanos was one that was actually sent packing like we thought. Castellanos heads to the North side of Chicago to man right field for the Cubs, pushing Jason Heyward to center field, and the combination of Ian Happ and Albert Almora Jr. to the bench. So will the switch in parks boost his offensive output? Let’s check the park factors.

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It’s hard to publish a deep league waiver wire post right before the trade deadline, because so much can change in mere hours. But here we go anyway. The theme here is new opportunities for hitters on bad teams.

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Looks like we’ll have to wait a little while longer until the real exciting blockbuster trades are made. In the meantime, a pair of lower impact moves were completed involving starting pitchers Jordan Lyles and Jason Vargas. Unfortunately, the park factors suggest both are going to be hurt by their new home digs. Let’s get to the comparisons.

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In our first big trade of the non-waiver trade deadline season, Marcus Stroman joins the New York Mets, at which point Mets fans know all too well that he’ll turn into a pumpkin and never be effective again until he’s traded away. In all seriousness the knee-jerk reaction is that this move is fantastic for his fantasy value, given a more pitcher friendly venue and a switch to the National League. Let’s dive into the park factors to get more clarity on the change in home parks.

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We think we know that pitcher skills change more frequently than hitter skills do, so it pays to monitor pitchers whose skills have spiked over a relatively small sample, like the past 30 days. That’s typically around five starts and a significant change in skills could signal a new talent level. Since the pitcher’s overall season line still includes a lot of the previous skills baked in, fantasy owners might not realize the transformation that has been occurring. So let’s take a look at some of the surprise names that appear near the top of the leaderboard.

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Welcome to the final edition of the deep league waiver wire before next week’s non-waiver trade deadline!

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On Monday and Tuesday, I identified and discussed a slew of hitters who were underperforming or overperforming their xBABIP marks, a backwards-looking metric I developed to try cutting through the noise to determine what a hitter’s BABIP should be given various underlying skills I deemed important. One of those skills was speed. Obviously, a faster hitter has a better chance to beat out an infield grounder for a hit than a slower batter. The problem is, how do I know how fast a hitter is once he makes contact and exits the box en route to first base?

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Welcome to the first post-all star break edition of the deep league waiver wire! I hope you’re as enthused as I to follow the remaining two and a half months of baseball…perhaps, with these two hitters added to your roster.

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