X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Buy or Sell - Underowned and Overowned Players for Week 3

After two weeks, we're starting to get a sense of which players had a couple of good games early on and who is legitimately off to a hot start in 2017. I'm all in on the Reds at the moment, but since I've already advocated for Eugenio Suarez and Jose Peraza plenty, I'll look for some other names here.

Scouting players who may be undervalued and re-assessing players who may be overvalued is a weekly exercise that you should pursue. Fortunately, I have you covered. Here are a few players who are good buy or sell candidates based on their current performance compared to ownership levels. This could mean scooping them off waivers if possible or actively seeking a trade to acquire or discard certain players in order to maximize value.

Early in the season, my values will be based more on ADP than performance due to small sample size. I will include at least one player at each key position group (Infield, Outfield, Starter, Reliever). Ownership levels are taken from Yahoo! Fantasy Sports.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

Underrated Players - Week 3

Brandon Phillips (2B, ATL) 23% owned

The Reds had been trying to trade Phillips for years and fantasy owners had gotten into the habit of ignoring him outright since 2014 when he had a disappointing showing. All he did was hit .294 and .291 the last two seasons with double-digit totals in homers and steals, along with 60+ runs and RBI. At age 35, his best years are well behind him, but Phillips still retains a fairly high floor. We don't know what Atlanta's new stadium will be like for hitters just yet, but it's unlikely to be as hitter-friendly as the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. That shouldn't stop Phillips from posting strong OBP numbers and contributing across multiple categories as usual. He's already got an 0.67 BB/K, which would be the best of his career by far. He hasn't gone deep yet, but seeing him near the top of the stolen base leaders with three in just two weeks is a very good sign. Phillips is a great MI option in 12+ team leagues and should be added in all such leagues.

Marcell Ozuna (OF, MIA) 89% owned

When you see Marcell Ozuna's name at the top of the leaderboard for RBI with 16, you may think this is a great time to sell high. Not so fast, my friend. Ozuna was an All-Star last season based on the strength of his outstanding first half in which he hit .307 with 17 HR, 47 RBI, and 52 R. He wasn't nearly the same in the second half, hitting almost 100 points lower with just six homers the rest of the way. Despite logging 607 at-bats and never seeing the DL, he may have been bothered by a nagging wrist injury, according to reports. Ozuna's hot hand shouldn't be dismissed - if anything this may be the time to field offers from an Ozuna owner who thinks he's netting a profit by unloading him.

Gerrit Cole (SP, PIT) 96% owned

It's funny how quickly some people were ready to write off Cole after one rough start at Fenway Park. It was an ugly game to be sure, as he gave up five ER in five innings on Opening Day, striking out just two batters. After the first inning of his next start, the Twitter world seemed ready to outright Cole back to Indianapolis, when he allowed two runs, including a homer to Dansby Swanson. He settled down to earn a quality start, if not a victory. His third start went even better, as he held the defending champion Cubs (I'll never get used to saying that) to two runs, six hits and one walk over six IP. He's never been an elite strikeout pitcher, but he can get to 200 over the course of a full season and he's shown a characteristically low BB/9 (2.12) as usual. Put out some feelers for Cole because his stock won't get much lower than it is at the moment, considering he's the #1 arm on a fairly good team.

Cam Bedrosian (RP, LAA) - 74% owned

If not for Mike Scioscia's stubbornness, Bedrock would have been a top-15 closer candidate before the season even started. Skepticism over Bedrosian's role has kept his ownership just below three-fourths, but we have to take the long-term approach when evaluating this situation. Huston Street has no business pitching in the ninth inning these days. He is yet to recover from a Grade 1 lat strain and even when he returns he will have to prove that last year's horrible ratios (6.45 ERA, 1.92 WHIP, 1.17 K/BB) were an aberration. Bedrosian, by contrast, has been flawless in his three appearances this season and has raised last year's 31.5% K% up to 41.7%. When all is said and done, Bedrosian should outperform many mid-tier closers that were drafted several rounds earlier.

 

Overrated Players - Week 3

Javier Baez (2B/3B/SS, CHC) 87% owned

To be clear, I am a big fan of Baez as a player and a person, just not in fantasy. On any other team, Baez would have a chance to show off his power, along with the accompanying strikeouts, on a regular basis. In Chicago, he is simply a utility player that sees about two AB per game. The bottom line is that his upside is limited to his power potential and he won't possibly hit as many as 20 HR in his current role. He's a .243 hitter in the majors, he whiffs on nearly 30% of his at-bats and he's only stolen as many as 20 bases once in his career, which came in Single-A. To think that he was taken before Jake Lamb and a full 150 picks before Eugenio Suarez or Yangeris Solarte in NFBC drafts should make you realize that the big market bias affects us all, and not for the better.

Joc Pederson (OF, LAD) 83% owned

Last week, I compared Pederson unfavorably to Nomar Mazara in an effort to show how Mazara would provide better value in every category other than homers. Pederson went off in an Opening Day rout of the Padres, jacking his first homer early on and driving in five. Since then, he has one RBI in eight games and more strikeouts (eight) than hits (five). Pederson isn't quite Chris Carter, but he does remind one of Rob Deer far too often, providing barely more than double the RBI total per home run. His current .250 average is higher than he's hit during his Major League tenure, so there isn't much more to look forward to. If you can keep him as a third or fourth outfielder in a deep league and offset his low average with the rest of your squad, by all means keep him. If you'd rather get more bang for your buck across other categories, you might want to deal him to another owner who still thinks his best is yet to come.

Zack Greinke (SP, ARI) 97% owned

I've been selling Greinke since Spring Training and will continue to do so. Greinke's first couple starts had his owners breathing a sigh of relief and many proclaiming last year was just an outlier. Then, he slipped in his showdown against Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers, allowing five ER in five innings. It's true that Greinke's velocity is down at least half a mile per hour and he wasn't even clocked as high as 90 in the spring. His slider has seen an even bigger dip at four MPH less than 2015, before he came to the desert. Here's visual proof, courtesy of Brooks Baseball:

That alone may not be enough to avoid him, but the fact that opposing hitters keep making higher contact rates and Chase Field seems to be the new Coors should be.

Joaquin Benoit (RP, PHI) 49% owned

Few people expected that the 36-year old Benoit would be one of the hottest adds in the early part of season. In one of my leagues, someone went so far as to spend $40 of FAAB to acquire him (a keeper league no less!). As it turns out, the Phillies decided to bequeath the closer role to Benoit rather than young flamethrower Hector Neris once Jeanmar Gomez imploded. The problem is that Benoit won't be good for more than two months of value, max. The club is likely trying to increase the reliever's value in order to get a better return once he is flipped before the trade deadline. Neris should then take over permanently. Even so, you should temper expectations with what Benoit can deliver. He has delivered better ratios in the later years of his career, but be warned that he walked 4.5 per nine innings last season and is on his fourth team in three season for a reason.




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Christian Vázquez18 mins ago

Christian Vazquez Moves Past Hand Injury
Willi Castro26 mins ago

Remains Sidelined With Oblique Injury
Austin Wells37 mins ago

Back In Action On Saturday
Gabriel Arias46 mins ago

Lane Thomas Sitting On Saturday
Josh Smith59 mins ago

Back In Action On Saturday
Martín Pérez1 hour ago

Martin Perez Hits 15-Day Injured List
Jordan Beck1 hour ago

Recalled From Triple-A
Ezequiel Tovar1 hour ago

Placed On 10-Day Injured List
Vaughn Grissom2 hours ago

Swinging A Hot Bat At Triple-A
Pedro Pagés2 hours ago

Jordan Walker, Pedro Pages Sitting On Saturday
A.J. Puk2 hours ago

Hits 15-Day Injured List
Brandon Marsh2 hours ago

Remains Sidelined On Saturday
Ryan Mountcastle2 hours ago

Not In Saturday's Lineup
Chandler Simpson2 hours ago

Batting Leadoff In MLB Debut
John Brebbia3 hours ago

Placed On 15-Day Injured List
Julio Rodríguez3 hours ago

Julio Rodriguez Sitting On Saturday
Irv Smith3 hours ago

Houston Re-Signs Irv Smith Jr.
George Soriano3 hours ago

Patrick Monteverde Promoted To Major Leagues, George Soriano Optioned
MJ Melendez3 hours ago

Optioned To Triple-A
Mark Canha3 hours ago

Activated Off Injured List
Jake Cronenworth7 hours ago

Targeting Earlier Return
Liam Hendriks7 hours ago

Set To Return On Saturday
Ja Morant18 hours ago

Cleared To Play Friday
Brandon Williams18 hours ago

Available Against Grizzlies
Anthony Davis18 hours ago

Will Play Friday Night
Gary Trent Jr.19 hours ago

Available For Game 1 Against Pacers
Taurean Prince19 hours ago

Returns To Bucks Lineup Saturday
NFL19 hours ago

Justin Hardee Sr. Waived With Non-Football Injury
Isaiah Stewart19 hours ago

To Return For Game 1
Ausar Thompson19 hours ago

Available For Game 1
Rui Hachimura19 hours ago

On Track To Play Saturday
Austin Reaves19 hours ago

Ready To Go For Game 1
NFL19 hours ago

Bills Release Armani Rogers, Branson Deen
Luka Dončić19 hours ago

Luka Doncic Removed From Injury Report
LeBron James19 hours ago

Listed As Probable For Game 1
Ben Sheppard19 hours ago

Probable For Saturday's Game 1
NFL20 hours ago

Kolton Miller Absent From Raiders' Voluntary Offseason Program
Kevin Durant20 hours ago

To Houston Already Losing Steam
Lauri Markkanen20 hours ago

Wants To Stay With The Jazz
NFL20 hours ago

Ross Blacklock Let Go By New York
Bennedict Mathurin20 hours ago

Expected To Play In Game 1 Saturday
Pascal Siakam20 hours ago

Available For Playoff Opener
Tyrese Haliburton20 hours ago

Returning From Two-Game Absence Saturday
Cade Cunningham20 hours ago

Available For Game 1 Against Knicks
Josh Hart21 hours ago

Back In Knicks Lineup Saturday
OG Anunoby21 hours ago

Good To Go For Game 1
Jalen Brunson21 hours ago

Available For Saturday's Game 1
NFL21 hours ago

Raiders Considering Drafting A Quarterback
Irv Smith21 hours ago

Sticking With Texans
Ryan Lindgren22 hours ago

Set To Return Saturday
NFL22 hours ago

Texans Expected To Draft Wide Receivers
Greg Dortch22 hours ago

Returning To Cardinals
Josh Manson22 hours ago

Available For Game 1
Mark Andrews22 hours ago

Could Be Traded Soon
Ondrej Palat22 hours ago

To Return For Start Of Playoffs
David Savard22 hours ago

Will Retire After Playoffs
NFL22 hours ago

Raiders, Falcons Could Have Interest In Jalen Ramsey
Robert Thomas22 hours ago

Good To Go Saturday
Matthew Tkachuk22 hours ago

Expected To Return For Game 1
22 hours ago

Raiders Are High On Ashton Jeanty
Jason Robertson22 hours ago

Considered Week-To-Week
Rome Odunze23 hours ago

To Hopefully Get More Involved
NFL23 hours ago

Dolphins Could Draft A Quarterback
James Cook23 hours ago

Could Stay Away From Voluntary Workouts
Leon Draisaitl1 day ago

Wins First Rocket Richard Trophy
Nikita Kucherov1 day ago

Bags Third Art Ross Trophy
Bryan Rust1 day ago

Scores Twice In Season-Ending Win
Igor Shesterkin1 day ago

Shuts Out Lightning With 27 Saves
Dylan Cozens1 day ago

Picks Up Three Points In Regular-Season Finale
Matvei Michkov1 day ago

Caps Off Rookie Campaign With Three-Point Effort
Brady Tkachuk1 day ago

Makes Early Exit For Precautionary Reasons
Jake Tonges2 days ago

Signs Exclusive-Rights Tender
Denver Broncos2 days ago

Broncos To Focus On RB Position In Next Week's Draft
Drew Lock2 days ago

Sam Howell, Drew Lock Expected To Compete For Backup Job
New York Giants2 days ago

Giants Leaning Toward Taking Best Player Available At No. 3
New Orleans Saints2 days ago

Ryan Ramczyk Announces His Retirement
Buffalo Bills2 days ago

Tre'Davious White Reunites With Buffalo
Jakob Chychrun2 days ago

Returns Against Penguins
Rasmus Andersson2 days ago

Out Against Kings
Jonathan Huberdeau2 days ago

Sits Out Regular-Season Finale
Ryan Pulock2 days ago

Out On Thursday
Jake Sanderson2 days ago

Back In Action Thursday
Thomas Chabot2 days ago

To Be Rested Against Hurricanes
Claude Giroux2 days ago

Active On Thursday
Lucas Glover3 days ago

Looks To Rebound After Poor Performance
Daniel Berger3 days ago

Looking To Continue Solid Play At RBC
Sepp Straka3 days ago

Looking To Bounce Back At RBC
Justin Thomas3 days ago

Looking To Shake Off Poor Masters At RBC Heritage
Xander Schauffele3 days ago

Still Looking For Year's First Win At RBC Heritage
Maverick McNealy3 days ago

Is An Intriguing Play At RBC Heritage
Shane Lowry3 days ago

Looks To Shake Off Poor Masters Sunday At RBC Heritage
Will Zalatoris3 days ago

Eyes A Bounce-Back At RBC Heritage
Gary Woodland3 days ago

Could Add Some Surprise At Hilton Head
Sam Burns3 days ago

Hoping For Better Times At RBC Heritage
Sahith Theegala3 days ago

Still Trying To Put It All Together
Aaron Rai3 days ago

Might Be That Guy For Hilton Head
Robert MacIntyre3 days ago

All Or Nothing At RBC Heritage
Tom Hoge3 days ago

Still Playing Solid Heading To Hilton Head
Nick Dunlap3 days ago

Continues To Have Rough Stretch
Keegan Bradley3 days ago

Looks To Move On From Masters Performance
Matt Fitzpatrick4 days ago

A Boom-Or-Bust Option At RBC Heritage
Patrick Cantlay4 days ago

A Strong Play At RBC Heritage
Jordan Spieth4 days ago

Targets Another Strong RBC Heritage Showing
Collin Morikawa4 days ago

Eyeing Victory At RBC Heritage
Max Homa4 days ago

Breaks Through At The Masters
Alexander Volkanovski4 days ago

Reclaims Featherweight Title
Diego Lopes4 days ago

Drops Decision At UFC 314
Paddy Pimblett4 days ago

Remains Undefeated In The UFC
Michael Chandler4 days ago

Suffers TKO Loss
MMA4 days ago

Patricio Freire Gets Dominated In His UFC Debut
Yair Rodriguez4 days ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Bryce Mitchell4 days ago

Gets Submitted At UFC 314
Jean Silva4 days ago

Gets Submission Win At UFC 314
Dominick Reyes4 days ago

Wins Third Fight In A Row
5 days ago

Austin Dillon Nabs His First Top-10 Finish Of The 2025 Season At Bristol
5 days ago

Ryan Blaney's Bold Strategies Fall Flat, Still Musters A Top-Five Finish At Bristol
5 days ago

Christopher Bell Finishes In The Top 10 After Falling Back Midway At Bristol
5 days ago

Ty Gibbs Earns His First Top-Five Finish Of The 2025 Season At Bristol
5 days ago

Chase Briscoe Quietly Scores First Career Top-Five Finish At Bristol
5 days ago

Denny Hamlin Cuts Into William Byron's Points Lead
5 days ago

William Byron Makes Best Of His Mediocre Qualifying Run With Sixth-Place Finish
5 days ago

Despite Engine Failure, Alex Bowman's Improved Speed Looks Promising
NASCAR5 days ago

A.J. Allmendinger Enters Playoff Picture With Surprise Bristol Top-10 Finish
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF