5 MLB Fantasy Trade Targets You Should Sell High

Sometimes you catch lightning in a bottle when you take a player that you don’t want, but end up drafting in your MLB Fantasy league due to circumstances that come up in a draft or auction. It’s important to identify those players on your team and to sell them high if they get off to fast starts. Here are five of those guys:

1. [the_ad id=”384″]Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks – One thing I have always admired about 33-year old righty starting pitcher Zack Greinke is his honesty!  Every time he has become a free agent, he has stated that he will pitch for the team that gives him the most money, period.  This time around it was the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2016, as they signed him to an amazing 6-year, $206.5 million dollar deal.  Greinke struggled in his first year with the D-Backs, as he worked in 26 games (all starts) in which he was 13-7 with a 4.37 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.  He was still pretty good on the road last year, but pitching at Chase Field proved to be a problem for him. He started 13 games at home last year for the D-Backs and he was 5-5 with a 4.81 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP.  Greinke has looked great in two of his first three starts so far this year, so it’s the opportune time to deal him right now.  He has started 3 games for the D-Backs so far this year and he is 1-1 with a 4.32 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP.  He has given up 19 hits and 5 walks while whiffing 14 batters in his first 16 2/3 innings this year.  Knowing that he will have to pitch half of his games at Chase Field, you can figure that he won’t be the same pitcher he was with the Dodgers (51-15, 2.30 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in four years there).  But, that is the way you would have to sell him right now as a pitcher that has his act completely back together.
2. Jayson Werth, Washington Nationals – 37-year old righty swinging outfielder Jayson Werth has had it rough the last couple of years with the Washington Nationals.  In 2015 and 2016, Werth played in a combined 231 games in which he was 201 of 856 (.235 avg., .726 OPS) with 135 runs scored, 33 homers, 111 RBI, and 5 stolen bases.  He looked like a guy that had very little left in the gas tank.  But so far this year, Werth is absolutely crushing the baseball!  He has played in 10 games for the Nationals so far this year and he is 11 for 36 (.306 avg., .931 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 3 homers and 7 RBI.  I don’t see Werth keeping this up much longer, so you should move him as soon as you can!
3. Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals –  32-year old righty swinging 1B Ryan Zimmerman is off to a blazing start with the bat so far this year.  He has played in 10 games for the Nationals so far this year and he is 14 for 37 (.378 avg., 1.155 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 3 homers, 6 RBI and 1 stolen base.  Zimmerman has had a hard time staying healthy the last few years.  He played in 271 games for the Nationals from 2014 to 2016 and he was 239 of 987 (.242 avg., .720 OPS) with 129 runs scored 36 homers, 157 RBI, and 5 stolen bases.  He hasn’t played in more than 115 games in a season since 2013 for the Nationals.  If Zimmerman starts to cool down at the plate even a little bit, he could start losing at-bats to 33-year old lefty swinging Adam Lind.  Lind has played in 8 games for the Nationals so far this year and he is 5 for 11 (.455 avg., 1.409 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBI.  Find the guy (or gal) in your league that is impressed with April stats and deal Zimmerman to them for something good while you can.
4. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners – 31-year old righty starting pitcher Felix Hernandez has been one of the best for a very long time, but it appears that he could be running out of bullets.  He doesn’t have the awesome fastball that he used to, and that was do to injuries last year that broke an 8-year streak in which he had pitched 200 or more innings per season!  Hernandez pitched in 25 games (all starts) for the Mariners last year and he was 11-8 with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.  Those are not bad numbers, but his 7.2 strikeouts per 9 innings in 2016 was a career low.  Hernandez has started 3 games so far this year and he is 1-1 with a 2.95 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.  Make sure when you attempt to trade him that you point to his 15 whiffs and 0 walks in his first 18 1/3 innings pitched this year, which could give the illusion that his fastball is back!
5. [the_ad id=”693″]Lucas Duda, New York Mets – 31-year old lefty swinging 1B Lucas Duda is off to a great start this year.  In his first 10 games this year for the Mets, Duda is 10 for 35 (.286 avg., 1.076 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 4 homers and 7 RBI.  Getting rid of Duda as soon as possible makes some sense, as a back problem kept him out of a lot of action in 2016.  He played in only 47 games for the Mets last year and he was only 35 of 153 (.229 avg., .714 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 7 homers and 23 RBI.  Another problem that could be lurking is 25-year old righty swinging infielder Wilmer Flores.  Flores is an absolute beast against lefty pitchers.  Last year, Flores was 34 of 100 (.340 avg., 1.093 OPS) with 11 homers and 28 RBI against lefty pitchers.  Duda is 132 of 579 (.228 avg., .678 OPS) against lefty pitchers so far in his career with 19 homers, 75 RBI, and 201 whiffs.  Trade Duda before he winds up platooning at 1B with Flores.