Rest of Season Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Trade Deadline Fallout

My rest of the season rankings feature a bit more movement than usual. This is because the MLB Trade Deadline has come and gone. With it came plenty of moves with lots of fantasy implications. Oftentimes the trades that have the biggest fantasy impact are not the ones that grab the headlines. Bullpens are where you will usually see the largest fluctuations in fantasy value following a deal, and this year was no different. With that in mind, here are some thoughts on players who have risen or fallen in this week’s rankings.

Risers

Most of my biggest risers this week are pitchers who should expect an increase in save opportunities based on their teams trading their closers. This includes Rowan Wick of the Chicago Cubs and Felix Bautista of the Baltimore Orioles. I moved both pitchers up about 100 spots overall compared to last week. They should see the bulk of their team’s chances moving forward. Devin Williams saw a slightly lower week-over-week change, but that is because he already had standalone value before Milwaukee traded Josh Hader. Now that Hader is out of town, Williams has a chance to be one of the most valuable relief pitchers in the league over the final two months of the season.

Many starting pitchers were dealt in recent days, which is always cause for great excitement. For fantasy purposes, however, I think a lot of the moves were somewhat lateral. I gave former Cincinnati Reds Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle the biggest bump this week among starters on the move. Both have joined better teams which should increase their potential for wins. They will also now pitch in more pitcher-friendly ballparks. Castillo now comes in as my SP23 for the remainder of the year, with Mahle checking in at SP38.

The hitters who I moved up the most are less due to trades and more because of other circumstances surrounding them. Before Washington dealt Juan Soto and Josh Bell, they inserted Victor Robles atop their lineup. If Robles can hit enough to justify leading off, he could provide solid value the rest of the way. He may not have as many quality bats to drive him in, but that could result in him being more aggressive on the basepaths. The Cleveland Guardians recently activated Oscar Gonzalez from the Injured List and optioned Franmil Reyes to the minors. Gonzalez and Josh Naylor are among the hitters who I moved up the most in my rankings this week. Naylor should continue to be a borderline top-100 hitter, while I think Gonzalez can settle in near the top-200.

Fallers

Raisel Iglesias may be much happier getting a chance to contend with Atlanta than he was with the Angels, but his fantasy managers sure aren’t. Iglesias and A.J. Minter are among my biggest fallers this week. Iglesias could see some save opportunities, but Kenley Jansen still appears to be the closer. Iglesias pitched the eighth and Jansen the ninth in Atlanta’s Friday night win over the Mets. Minter was credited with the win in that game but entered in the sixth inning. He was a decent insurance policy for Jansen managers before the trade but now appears to be a distant third in the pecking order.

Taylor Rogers went from Major League saves leader in San Diego to likely setup man in Milwaukee. He could still grab the occasional save, but it doesn’t get much worse than that from a fantasy standpoint. I had been pretty high on the duo of Jhoan Duran and Emilio Pagan in Minnesota. But with their acquisition of Jorge Lopez, their respective paths to saves encounter a major roadblock. I dropped both Duran and Pagan over 50 spots overall in this week’s rankings compared to where I had them ranked a week ago.

It may seem odd that I lowered my ranking of Frankie Montas considering he went from the worst team in the American League to the best. But Montas has some pretty extreme home and road splits that could be an issue. To say that going from RingCentral Coliseum to Yankee Stadium will be an adjustment is likely an oversimplification. If Montas can navigate that minefield, he will still have to deal with some stiff competition in the AL East. In 22 innings against the Rangers and Angels this year, Montas allowed just 13 hits and struck out 33 batters. Most of his upcoming starts as a Yankee figure to come against tougher foes. I didn’t drop him too far, as I still value him as a top-30 starting pitcher. But I would not automatically assume his fantasy value increases as a Yankee.

Some hitters are also now on better teams but could see a dip in their fantasy production. Whit Merrifield and Brandon Drury are a couple of examples. They join better lineups and may produce more per plate appearance. However, they may see fewer trips to the plate than they are used to. Merrifield has been one of the game’s best compilers in recent seasons, so anything less than a full-time role could hinder his production. He is also likely to hit lower in the lineup barring injury. His presence could also adversely affect Santiago Espinal, who has been a pleasant surprise this season.

Drury is in a similar boat as Merrifield. The good news is that he has started three straight games as a Padre since coming over from Cincinnati. Like Merrifield, Drury offers some defensive versatility which could allow him to stay in the lineup on close to an everyday basis. Each of his three starts has come at a different position, including the designated hitter. As is the case with Montas, I did not drop Merrifield or Drury too far down in this week’s rankings. But I do think fantasy managers should expect each to take a slight hit in their new homes.

Rest of Season Fantasy Baseball Rankings