What a great trade (and fight) last night. This trade has so many moving parts that I’m going to focus on those players seeing their in-season fantasy value changing enough for owners to act. I’m not going to touch keeper/dynasty values as league rules will determine much of the player’s valuation. I’ll try to get past the main characters and find those players who need to be picked up or dropped.

While I’m supposed to provide instant analysis on this blockbuster trade, the true fantasy value gainers and decliners aren’t going to be 100% known for a few days. Owners will keep sticking Trevor Bauer and Yasiel Puig in their lineup. While the park factors and league context will change their value a bit, it’s non-actionable. They aren’t going to be dropped or added so the trade doesn’t affect their value.

The exact gain rankings aren’t known yet as who replaces Puig and who Bauer pushes out of the Reds rotation. Owners in weekly FAAB leagues will have time to make a decision and see who the MLB teams use for replacements. In the wild, wild west of quick-click leagues, hopefully, I can provide the correct replacements, but I’m guessing what the Reds and Padres will do which isn’t the easiest. With the disclaimers out of the way, it’s time to get to the winner and losers.

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Me when people say they don’t like the trade deadline:

Amir Garrett's charge sounds a lot better with LEEROY JENKINS pic.twitter.com/KHWLqc6SYz

— Jon Berti Enjoyer (@yankees6432) July 31, 2019

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7/30/19

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• @sporer – Host
• @justinmasonfwfb – Co-Host/Producer

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES/RUMORS ()

• Marcus Stroman to NYM
• Jordan Lyles to MIL
• Jason Vargas to PHI
• Corey Kluber throwing sim gm on Saturday
• Danny Salazar to debut Thursday
• Catcher Will Smith ROS value

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Every year we struggle with what to do in April as fantasy baseball players. We all try not to overreact while also making sure we don’t bypass potential breakouts who are out front with small samples. A big issue with April numbers is that there can be an anchoring effect that impacts how we view players several months later. April matters, it obviously counts, but it’s often given too much credence as a sort of “foundation” for player’s season. Not every big breakout starts in April and a good April doesn’t prevent a player from having poor season.

Let’s look at a group of the biggest risers since April and see what’s going on with them:

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The Roto Riteup nominates this tweet for the “Tweet of the Season.”

I'm not a Trevor Bauer guy, but this incident didn't bother me at all. It did bother me that Angel Hernandez called it a strike, though. https://t.co/QiNfyZSARg

— scott pianowski (@scott_pianowski) July 28, 2019

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After the Andrew Cashner and Homer Bailey moves, I thought the floodgates would open for deals and prepared to write several trade write-ups. Things are starting to heat up with a big move on Sunday and already a pair of starters getting moved by Monday afternoon.

Marcus Stroman to the Mets

This was a shocker! Not that Stroman was traded, but rather where he was traded. The Mets weren’t expected to be buying anyone, but I guess they felt that Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods Richardson was too good of a price to pass up. Stroman does get out of the AL East, but the Mets aren’t exactly the defense that can maximize Stroman’s major groundball lean. There’s still a benefit of switching from the AL-to-NL, but overall this feels like a neutral move.

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The Prospect Stock Watch has been taking a tour around the minor leagues while reviewing rising prospects. These are prospects that likely won’t be on Top 100 lists or on your fantasy rosters just yet but they could become targets in dynasty leagues over the next year or two. We finish up the series today with a look at the American League West.

Previous Articles:
NL East
NL Central
NL West
AL East
AL Central

Seattle Mariners

Jake Fraley, OF (AAA): Fraley was an astute pick-up by the Marines in a trade last year with the Rays. Injuries kept the 2016 draft pick to 96 games combined between 2017 and 2018 so he didn’t get a full opportunity to show what was capable of with consistent playing time. Fraley’s breakout began in Double-A ball this year and he was recently promoted to Triple-A. Between the two levels, he has 16 home runs and 20 steals, making him a legit threat to become a 20-20 (HR-SB) player. He’s a left-handed pitcher who hangs in well against southpaws and can play all three outfield positions; he looks like a future regular at the big league level. ETA: 2020

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I know what I am asking Santa for this year:

Oh my god
pic.twitter.com/6wWEG65lWp

— Cut4 (@Cut4) July 27, 2019

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There is a ton of value changes this week with some players getting hurt (Braves), called up (Will Smith), or playing full-time (Luis Arraez). Just spend a few minutes looking for some adds. Probably more important, look for some players who should be dropped or benched. It’s not a week to half-ass your FAAB.

The projection guidelines:

• The ownership rates are from CBS since they have some quickdraw waiver wire leagues where players can be picked up at any time.
• The FAAB estimates are based on the 2018 15-team mixed NFBC leagues which used a $1000 FAAB budget. Owners are going to need to convert these values to their own league.
• The ownership values were taken from Saturday and lots can happen in between when they publish and FAAB bids run.
• Only players owned in 50% or fewer of CBS leagues are examined.

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