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The fantasy baseball season is in full swing, and it's never too early to start improving your team. The best way to improve your team is by finding those gems on the waiver wire or making trades. Either way, though, championships are not won on draft day.
Last week was the first edition of the fantasy baseball trade targets piece for the season, and it featured some prominent names. Players like Julio Rodriguez and Evan Carter made the buy-low list, while Garrett Crochet and Ke'Bryan Hayes made the sell-high list.
Those are players I am still looking to trade for or away in fantasy baseball heading into Week 3. But for the sake of this article, I will list five more players that you should be looking to buy or sell in fantasy.
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Undervalued Players to Trade For
OF Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
There's a lot of panic around Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll in the early going. With most fantasy managers spending a first-round pick on the 2023 National League Rookie of the Year, they are likely upset with his performance at the plate over the first two weeks of the season.
Carroll is hitting just .224 with one home run, two RBI, and three stolen bases across 12 games to begin his 2024 campaign. On top of that, there is some concern about his potential power numbers due to his shoulder. The five-tool outfielder underwent shoulder surgery in 2021 to repair his labrum and then sustained two shoulder scares in 2023. That led to him hitting just seven HRs across 72 games after his shoulder scare on July 6. Before that shoulder scare, he totaled 18 HRs in 83 games.
Corbin Carroll's first HR of the season is an oppo LASER 😯
(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/qOjM2Yx28u
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) April 10, 2024
There's not a lot working in Carroll's favor to begin the year. But the talent is surely there, and it's fair to assume he will pick it up as the season progresses. It might not be the easiest to acquire the Diamondbacks outfielder in fantasy, though it's worth a shot with his value being as low as it is.
Just one year ago, he hit 25 HRs, 76 RBI, 30 doubles, and stole 54 bases. Carroll can do it all for your fantasy team, and he's someone you should be looking to trade for. The 23-year-old has also had a great eye at the plate through the first two weeks, leading to an 8.8% strikeout rate and a 14% walk rate. Even if it takes him a little bit to get going at the plate, his ability to draw walks and steal bases should still lead to some solid fantasy days.
1B/OF Cody Bellinger, Chicago Cubs
Like Carroll, Chicago Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger has not gotten off to a strong start in 2024. Don't forget, though, Bellinger had a shortened spring after signing with the Cubs on February 25. That could be a large reason for his slow start. He's hitting just .191 with two HRs and 10 RBI across 12 games.
However, as he continues to make up his missed at-bats from spring training, expect Bellinger to get hot at the plate in the coming weeks. The left-handed slugger also got off to a slow start in 2023 and hit just .205 after 10 games. He was a player, though, who finished the year with 27 HRs, 97 RBI, and 29 doubles. Now, he finds himself in a Cubs offense that has been better in the early going than last year.
They are more disciplined at the plate from top to bottom, and with Bellinger hitting behind Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki, that should lead to more RBI chances in 2024. The 28-year-old slugger should start to heat up at the plate, so now is the perfect time to buy him before his bat and the weather warms up.
DH Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies
It's the same song and dance with Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber. He struggles in April and then heats up in the summer. While he will still strike out a ton and hit for a low average, his home run and RBI numbers should come in bunches once he gets hot. That's why now is the perfect time to buy him before those home run bunches come.
Schwarber might be hitting just .212 with two HRs and five RBI through the first 13 games, but there should be no panic about his fantasy value. Last year, he totaled six HRs and 12 RBI in the first month of the season before hitting 20 total HRs in August and September. His value might never be lower, and if you're looking for a power hitter in your fantasy lineup, he is a player to target.
Kyle Schwarber only hits balls 500 miles-per-hour pic.twitter.com/a6ViUSQxpV
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) April 4, 2024
He has 45-plus home runs in back-to-back seasons while driving in over 195 combined runs in 2022 and 2023. There might be some rough stretches from him throughout the year because of his high strikeout totals. However, Schwarber will be a total difference-maker in the later months, especially in the fantasy playoffs.
Overvalued Players to Trade Away
1B/3B/OF Spencer Steer, Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds utility specialist Spencer Steer could not have started the 2024 season any better. He has a .372 batting average, three home runs, and four doubles through the first 12 games. He's also tied for the league lead with 15 RBI. Steer has surprisingly been a top-five fantasy player through the first two weeks of the season.
With that in mind, you should be looking to trade away Steer in fantasy. There are not many negative things to say about the 26-year-old at this point of the season, except that his average exit velocity (89 mph) doesn't particularly rank very high. However, it would be a complete shock to see him keep up this pace over the entire season. As a result, now is the perfect time to trade him away while his value will never be higher.
Just NL Player of the Week things. @spenc__er pic.twitter.com/4JO3yS5yx8
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) April 8, 2024
Steer is surely a talented player and is coming off a solid rookie campaign in 2023. But, if you can somehow package Steer with another player to get Rodriguez or Carroll -- two players off to slow starts -- that could be a league-winning move. Even if you can't get one of those superstars, see what you can get for the Reds utility specialist.
SP/RP Ronel Blanco, Houston Astros
Houston Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco came out of nowhere. He made just seven starts with the Astros last season and had a 4.74 ERA in those outings. Nonetheless, in his first start of the year in 2024, he threw a no-hitter. Blanco gave up no hits, walked two, and struck out seven across nine innings against the Toronto Blue Jays to secure the first no-hitter of the year.
If fantasy managers weren't impressed by that outing, they likely were when he followed that performance up with another gem. Blanco threw another six shutout innings against the Texas Rangers on April 7. He allowed just one hit and four walks to go with four strikeouts in that outing. He has been nothing short of spectacular in his first two starts of the 2024 campaign. His expected ERA (1.30) and expected batting average against (.111) also rank among the best in the league.
Nevertheless, it's time to cut bait with the right-hander and trade him while his value is this high. Maybe Blanco turns out to be a reliable rotation arm for Houston this year, and maybe he is the fantasy waiver wire pickup of the year. However, there's also a strong chance he will come back down to earth in his next start.
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