Nobody wants to trade away the best hitter in the world, which is exactly what Eric Thames looks like right now. The flip side is that everyone wants to trade for Eric Thames. That makes me giddy if I'm the Thames owner.
To be clear, I'm not doubting Thames' power or how it will translate to the majors any longer. I have moved him up considerably in this week's chart, into the top 100 overall. But his perceived value is so much higher. I ran a poll on Twitter asking if people would rather trade him for Jose Abreu, Carlos Santana or Chris Davis. The plurality (40 percent) voted for none of the above. That means there's a chance you could do even better in a trade.
Chances you didn't draft Thames as your starting first baseman or outfielder and have a need somewhere else. I could see trading Thames for a middle infielder like Jonathan Villar or an outfielder like Billy Hamilton if you need steals. You could very likely get an elite closer from the team that stockpiled them and now realizes they don't have enough hitting. Maybe target the Starling Marte owner in your league and see if you can get a top 20 starting pitcher.
Yes, if Thames is even a top 25 hitter the rest of the year you're going to regret these trades. The greater likelihood is that he cools off and/or the league makes adjustments that makes him more like a borderline top 12 first baseman. I would be surprised if his value is ever as high as it is right now.
Before we get to the trade chart, let's grade a few trades.
Now this is how you sell high on Eric Thames! As much as I love Solarte as an underrated player you need to add much more to Thames to equal Jose Altuve. The trade chart loves it and so do I. A+
The trade chart has this as a crushing defeat and I can't really argue. I don't mind the idea of selling Michael Brantley and his injury risk, but the three players you're receiving all feel risky themselves. You're giving up the best player in the deal and Brian McCann is a replacement level piece. D-
I'm on board with buying low on Edwin Encarnacion, but is this low enough? The trade chart says no, but as we discussed last time, the trade chart tends to have a bias toward the side with more players. Santana and Encarnacion are both better in the OBP format, with Encarnacion having a higher upside in every category but steals. I don't feel like that edge in upside is enough to make up for the inclusion of Cole, who still has top 15 upside. C-
Roto Trade Chart | ||||||||
Rank | Player | Team (Pos) | Value | |||||
1 | Mike Trout | LAA (CF) | 50 | |||||
2 | Nolan Arenado | COL (3B) | 45 | |||||
3 | Mookie Betts | BOS (RF) | 45 | |||||
4 | Jose Altuve | HOU (2B) | 45 | |||||
5 | Kris Bryant | CHC (3B) | 43 | |||||
6 | Paul Goldschmidt | ARI (1B) | 43 | |||||
7 | Bryce Harper | WAS (RF) | 43 | |||||
8 | Manny Machado | BAL (3B) | 43 | |||||
9 | Anthony Rizzo | CHC (1B) | 42 | |||||
10 | Clayton Kershaw | LAD (SP) | 40 | |||||
11 | Charlie Blackmon | COL (CF) | 39 | |||||
12 | Corey Seager | LAD (SS) | 39 | |||||
13 | Joey Votto | CIN (1B) | 39 | |||||
14 | Carlos Correa | HOU (SS) | 39 | |||||
15 | Josh Donaldson | TOR (3B) | 39 | |||||
16 | Max Scherzer | WAS (SP) | 38 | |||||
17 | A.J. Pollock | ARI (CF) | 37 | |||||
18 | George Springer | HOU (RF) | 37 | |||||
19 | Madison Bumgarner | SF (SP) | 37 | |||||
20 | Chris Sale | BOS (SP) | 37 | |||||
21 | Daniel Murphy | WAS (2B) | 35 | |||||
22 | Jake Arrieta | CHC (SP) | 35 | |||||
23 | Miguel Cabrera | DET (1B) | 32 | |||||
24 | Trea Turner | WAS (CF) | 30 | |||||
25 | Francisco Lindor | CLE (SS) | 30 | |||||
26 | Noah Syndergaard | NYM (SP) | 30 | |||||
27 | Brian Dozier | MIN (2B) | 30 | |||||
28 | Edwin Encarnacion | CLE (DH) | 27 | |||||
29 | Giancarlo Stanton | MIA (RF) | 26 | |||||
30 | Nelson Cruz | SEA (DH) | 26 | |||||
31 | Xander Bogaerts | BOS (SS) | 26 | |||||
32 | Robinson Cano | SEA (2B) | 25 | |||||
33 | Corey Kluber | CLE (SP) | 25 | |||||
34 | Yoenis Cespedes | NYM (LF) | 25 | |||||
35 | Ryan Braun | MIL (LF) | 25 | |||||
36 | Johnny Cueto | SF (SP) | 25 | |||||
37 | Jon Lester | CHC (SP) | 25 | |||||
38 | Jacob deGrom | NYM (SP) | 25 | |||||
39 | Wil Myers | SD (1B) | 25 | |||||
40 | Freddie Freeman | ATL (1B) | 25 | |||||
41 | Yu Darvish | TEX (SP) | 25 | |||||
42 | Stephen Strasburg | WAS (SP) | 25 | |||||
43 | Chris Archer | TB (SP) | 25 | |||||
44 | Carlos Gonzalez | COL (RF) | 25 | |||||
45 | Mark Trumbo | BAL (RF) | 24 | |||||
46 | Chris Davis | BAL (1B) | 24 | |||||
47 | Buster Posey | SF (C) | 23 | |||||
48 | Jonathan Lucroy | TEX (C) | 23 | |||||
49 | Andrew McCutchen | PIT (CF) | 22 | |||||
50 | Adam Jones | BAL (CF) | 21 | |||||
51 | Matt Carpenter | STL (3B) | 21 | |||||
52 | Christian Yelich | MIA (LF) | 20 | |||||
53 | J.D. Martinez | DET (RF) | 20 | |||||
54 | Gregory Polanco | PIT (RF) | 20 | |||||
55 | Kyle Schwarber | CHC (LF) | 19 | |||||
56 | Carlos Carrasco | CLE (SP) | 18 | |||||
57 | Carlos Martinez | STL (SP) | 18 | |||||
58 | Kyle Seager | SEA (3B) | 18 | |||||
59 | Cole Hamels | TEX (SP) | 18 | |||||
60 | Justin Verlander | DET (SP) | 18 | |||||
61 | Matt Kemp | ATL (RF) | 18 | |||||
62 | Justin Upton | DET (LF) | 18 | |||||
63 | Billy Hamilton | CIN (CF) | 18 | |||||
64 | David Price | BOS (SP) | 18 | |||||
65 | Khris Davis | OAK (LF) | 18 | |||||
66 | Willson Contreras | CHC (C) | 17 | |||||
67 | Wade Davis | CHC (RP) | 17 | |||||
68 | Aroldis Chapman | NYY (RP) | 17 | |||||
69 | Kenley Jansen | LAD (RP) | 17 | |||||
70 | James Paxton | SEA (SP) | 17 | |||||
71 | Danny Salazar | CLE (SP) | 17 | |||||
72 | Lance McCullers | HOU (SP) | 17 | |||||
73 | Aledmys Diaz | STL (SS) | 15 | |||||
74 | Lorenzo Cain | KC (CF) | 15 | |||||
75 | Odubel Herrera | PHI (CF) | 15 | |||||
76 | Craig Kimbrel | BOS (RP) | 15 | |||||
77 | Trevor Story | COL (SS) | 15 | |||||
78 | Rougned Odor | TEX (2B) | 15 | |||||
79 | Jean Segura | SEA (2B) | 15 | |||||
80 | Zack Greinke | ARI (SP) | 15 | |||||
81 | Gerrit Cole | PIT (SP) | 15 | |||||
82 | Jonathan Villar | MIL (SS) | 15 | |||||
83 | Dee Gordon | MIA (2B) | 14 | |||||
84 | Ian Desmond | COL (CF) | 14 | |||||
85 | Stephen Piscotty | STL (RF) | 14 | |||||
86 | Masahiro Tanaka | NYY (SP) | 14 | |||||
87 | Danny Duffy | KC (SP) | 14 | |||||
88 | Jeurys Familia | NYM (RP) | 14 | |||||
89 | Carlos Santana | CLE (DH) | 14 | |||||
90 | Mark Melancon | SF (RP) | 14 | |||||
91 | Cody Allen | CLE (RP) | 14 | |||||
92 | Eduardo Nunez | SF (3B) | 14 | |||||
93 | Alex Bregman | HOU (3B) | 14 | |||||
94 | Jose Bautista | TOR (RF) | 14 | |||||
95 | Miguel Sano | MIN (3B) | 14 | |||||
96 | Jackie Bradley | BOS (CF) | 13 | |||||
97 | Jose Abreu | CHW (1B) | 13 | |||||
98 | Eric Thames | MIL (LF) | 13 | |||||
99 | Roberto Osuna | TOR (RP) | 13 | |||||
100 | Kelvin Herrera | KC (RP) | 13 | |||||
101 | Edwin Diaz | SEA (RP) | 13 | |||||
102 | Seung-Hwan Oh | STL (RP) | 13 | |||||
103 | Nomar Mazara | TEX (RF) | 13 | |||||
104 | Anthony Rendon | WAS (3B) | 13 | |||||
105 | Justin Turner | LAD (3B) | 13 | |||||
106 | Jose Ramirez | CLE (3B) | 13 | |||||
107 | Andrew Benintendi | BOS (LF) | 13 | |||||
108 | DJ LeMahieu | COL (2B) | 13 | |||||
109 | Ian Kinsler | DET (2B) | 13 | |||||
110 | Dexter Fowler | STL (CF) | 13 | |||||
111 | Marcell Ozuna | MIA (CF) | 13 | |||||
112 | Hanley Ramirez | BOS (1B) | 13 | |||||
113 | Michael Brantley | CLE (LF) | 13 | |||||
114 | Felix Hernandez | SEA (SP) | 13 | |||||
115 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC (SP) | 13 | |||||
116 | Julio Teheran | ATL (SP) | 13 | |||||
117 | Addison Russell | CHC (SS) | 12 | |||||
118 | Kendrys Morales | TOR (DH) | 12 | |||||
119 | Jose Quintana | CHW (SP) | 12 | |||||
120 | Todd Frazier | CHW (3B) | 12 | |||||
121 | Evan Longoria | TB (3B) | 12 | |||||
122 | Maikel Franco | PHI (3B) | 12 | |||||
123 | Salvador Perez | KC (C) | 11 | |||||
124 | Aaron Nola | PHI (SP) | 11 | |||||
125 | Dallas Keuchel | HOU (SP) | 10 | |||||
126 | Adrian Beltre | TEX (3B) | 10 | |||||
127 | Albert Pujols | LAA (DH) | 10 | |||||
128 | Marcus Stroman | TOR (SP) | 10 | |||||
129 | Kenta Maeda | LAD (SP) | 10 | |||||
130 | Rick Porcello | BOS (SP) | 10 | |||||
131 | Matt Harvey | NYM (SP) | 9 | |||||
132 | Yasmani Grandal | LAD (C) | 9 | |||||
133 | Gary Sanchez | NYY (C) | 9 | |||||
134 | Jon Gray | COL (SP) | 9 | |||||
135 | Vince Velasquez | PHI (SP) | 9 | |||||
136 | Alex Colome | TB (RP) | 8 | |||||
137 | Tanner Roark | WAS (SP) | 8 | |||||
138 | Victor Martinez | DET (DH) | 7 | |||||
139 | Brandon Belt | SF (1B) | 7 | |||||
140 | Jameson Taillon | PIT (SP) | 7 | |||||
141 | Michael Fulmer | DET (SP) | 6 | |||||
142 | J.T. Realmuto | MIA (C) | 6 | |||||
143 | Jason Kipnis | CLE (2B) | 5 | |||||
144 | Travis d'Arnaud | NYM (C) | 5 | |||||
145 | John Lackey | CHC (SP) | 5 | |||||
146 | Jerad Eickhoff | PHI (SP) | 4 | |||||
147 | Robbie Ray | ARI (SP) | 4 | |||||
148 | Elvis Andrus | TEX (SS) | 4 | |||||
149 | Jose Peraza | CIN (SS) | 4 | |||||
150 | Adam Eaton | WAS (RF) | 4 | |||||
151 | Ben Zobrist | CHC (2B) | 4 | |||||
152 | Dustin Pedroia | BOS (2B) | 4 | |||||
153 | Dylan Bundy | BAL (RP) | 3 | |||||
154 | Sean Manaea | OAK (SP) | 3 | |||||
155 | Taijuan Walker | ARI (SP) | 3 | |||||
156 | Joe Ross | WAS (SP) | 3 | |||||
157 | Greg Holland | COL (RP) | 3 | |||||
158 | Lance Lynn | STL (SP) | 3 | |||||
159 | Zach Britton | BAL (RP) | 3 | |||||
160 | Mitch Haniger | SEA (CF) | 3 | |||||
161 | Steven Souza | TB (RF) | 3 | |||||
162 | Yasiel Puig | LAD (RF) | 3 | |||||
163 | Ken Giles | HOU (RP) | 3 | |||||
164 | Eric Hosmer | KC (1B) | 3 | |||||
165 | Andrew Miller | CLE (RP) | 3 | |||||
166 | David Robertson | CHW (RP) | 3 | |||||
167 | AJ Ramos | MIA (RP) | 3 | |||||
168 | Gio Gonzalez | WAS (SP) | 3 | |||||
169 | Jason Heyward | CHC (RF) | 3 | |||||
170 | Kevin Kiermaier | TB (CF) | 3 | |||||
171 | Adam Duvall | CIN (LF) | 3 | |||||
172 | Manuel Margot | SD (CF) | 3 | |||||
173 | Yasmany Tomas | ARI (RF) | 3 | |||||
174 | Michael Pineda | NYY (SP) | 3 | |||||
175 | Ian Kennedy | KC (SP) | 3 | |||||
176 | Rich Hill | LAD (SP) | 3 | |||||
177 | Evan Gattis | HOU (DH) | 3 | |||||
178 | Brian McCann | HOU (C) | 3 | |||||
179 | Aaron Sanchez | TOR (SP) | 3 | |||||
180 | Kevin Gausman | BAL (SP) | 3 | |||||
181 | Matt Shoemaker | LAA (SP) | 3 | |||||
182 | Carlos Rodon | CHW (SP) | 3 | |||||
183 | Steven Matz | NYM (SP) | 3 | |||||
184 | Drew Pomeranz | BOS (SP) | 2 | |||||
185 | Travis Shaw | MIL (3B) | 2 | |||||
186 | Randal Grichuk | STL (CF) | 2 | |||||
187 | Joc Pederson | LAD (CF) | 2 | |||||
188 | David Dahl | COL (LF) | 2 | |||||
189 | Nicholas Castellanos | DET (3B) | 2 | |||||
190 | Yangervis Solarte | SD (3B) | 2 | |||||
191 | Troy Tulowitzki | TOR (SS) | 2 | |||||
192 | Jason Hammel | KC (SP) | 2 | |||||
193 | Ervin Santana | MIN (SP) | 2 | |||||
194 | J.A. Happ | TOR (SP) | 2 | |||||
195 | Welington Castillo | BAL (C) | 2 | |||||
196 | Jake Lamb | ARI (3B) | 2 | |||||
197 | Cesar Hernandez | PHI (2B) | 2 | |||||
198 | Jay Bruce | NYM (RF) | 2 | |||||
199 | Aaron Judge | NYY (RF) | 2 | |||||
200 | Francisco Rodriguez | DET (RP) | 2 | |||||
201 | Cam Bedrosian | LAA (RP) | 2 | |||||
202 | Dellin Betances | NYY (RP) | 2 | |||||
203 | Tony Watson | PIT (RP) | 2 | |||||
204 | Greg Bird | NYY (1B) | 2 | |||||
205 | Ryon Healy | OAK (3B) | 2 | |||||
206 | Brandon Drury | ARI (LF) | 2 | |||||
207 | Keon Broxton | MIL (CF) | 2 | |||||
208 | Carlos Gomez | TEX (CF) | 2 | |||||
209 | Hunter Pence | SF (RF) | 2 | |||||
210 | Matt Wieters | WAS (C) | 1 | |||||
211 | Lucas Duda | NYM (1B) | 1 | |||||
212 | Cameron Rupp | PHI (C) | 1 | |||||
213 | Russell Martin | TOR (C) | 1 | |||||
214 | Kole Calhoun | LAA (RF) | 1 | |||||
215 | Stephen Vogt | OAK (C) | 1 | |||||
216 | Yadier Molina | STL (C) | 1 | |||||
217 | Jharel Cotton | OAK (SP) | 1 | |||||
218 | Julio Urias | LAD (SP) | 1 | |||||
219 | Marco Estrada | TOR (SP) | 1 | |||||
220 | Robert Gsellman | NYM (SP) | 1 | |||||
221 | Austin Hedges | SD (C) | 1 | |||||
222 | Josh Reddick | HOU (RF) | 1 | |||||
223 | Jim Johnson | ATL (RP) | 1 | |||||
224 | Alex Gordon | KC (LF) | 1 | |||||
225 | Trevor Bauer | CLE (SP) | 1 | |||||
226 | Adrian Gonzalez | LAD (1B) | 1 | |||||
227 | Mike Napoli | TEX (1B) | 1 | |||||
228 | Corey Dickerson | TB (LF) | 1 | |||||
229 | Alex Cobb | TB (SP) | 1 | |||||
230 | Kendall Graveman | OAK (SP) | 1 | |||||
231 | Michael Wacha | STL (SP) | 1 | |||||
232 | Luis Severino | NYY (SP) | 1 | |||||
233 | Amir Garrett | CIN (SP) | 1 | |||||
234 | Mike Leake | STL (SP) | 1 | |||||
235 | Ivan Nova | PIT (SP) | 1 | |||||
236 | Domingo Santana | MIL (RF) | 1 | |||||
237 | Logan Forsythe | LAD (2B) | 1 | |||||
238 | Brandon Crawford | SF (SS) | 1 | |||||
239 | Ryan Schimpf | SD (2B) | 1 | |||||
240 | Devon Travis | TOR (2B) | 1 | |||||
241 | Tim Anderson | CHW (SS) | 1 | |||||
242 | Dansby Swanson | ATL (SS) | 1 | |||||
243 | Javier Baez | CHC (3B) | 1 | |||||
244 | Raisel Iglesias | CIN (RP) | 1 | |||||
245 | Brandon Kintzler | MIN (RP) | 1 | |||||
246 | Neftali Feliz | MIL (RP) | 1 | |||||
247 | Hisashi Iwakuma | SEA (SP) | 1 | |||||
248 | Blake Snell | TB (SP) | 1 | |||||
249 | Zack Wheeler | NYM (SP) | 1 | |||||
250 | Matt Bush | TEX (RP) | 1 |