Projo Fantasy Sports Blog

By David Ferris

You trade with your opponents, you trade with the waiver wire. For fantasy baseball owners it's basically a seven-month hitch of never-ending rankings and re-rankings, and our scouting notes below can help you keep the spreadsheet in order.

Batters

BUY

Mark DeRosa, Utility, Cubs: He's got a fly-under-the-radar offensive game, but there's no shame in 61 runs and 51 RBIs at this juncture of the year. DeRosa covers four positions in most leagues and he's tied to the top-scoring team in the NL, making him a perfect fit as your infield rover. Given the league-wide injury epidemic we've seen in 2008, the value of versatile types like DeRosa can't be understated.

Yadier Molina, C, Cardinals: No one is going to confuse him with Mike Piazza, but Molina makes consistent contact (just 17 strikeouts), plays two-thirds of the time, and actually helps your batting average -- a sneaky little thing to have in 2008, the year of the catching wasteland. Molina's excellent defense doesn't help you directly, but it keeps him on the field, and in Tony La Russa's good graces.

SELL

Mark Reynolds, 3B, Diamondbacks: His free-swinging ways have caught up to him in July (.179, 23 strikeouts in 56 at-bats), and the Snakes can't be thrilled with his spotty glove at third base (20 errors). Someone in your group probably overrates the power categories, which means you can probably find a good package in exchange for the surface stats here.

HOLD

Jose Reyes, SS, Mets: This club has rediscovered its joie de vivre in recent weeks, and Reyes is a major reason why. Some knee-jerk fantasy pundits hammered Reyes after a slow start to 2008, but he's raised his game back to an elite level over the last 10 weeks (.321, 53 runs, nine homers, 24 steals). If you were to redraft from the entire NL pool today, Reyes would belong in the Top 5. A happy Reyes is a productive Reyes, and as he goes, so goes this offense.

Brad Hawpe, OF, Rockies: He battled a bad hamstring earlier in the year and fell into some bad habits at the plate, but that's all been ironed out now. With a .624 slugging percentage over the last six weeks and the backdrop of Colorado to cover him, it's a fun time to be invested in this Misty Mountain Hawpe.

Pitchers

BUY

Joel Hanrahan, RP, Nationals: He's got the stuff to close (9.8 K/9) and the Nats have endorsed him, it's just a matter of the team holding a ninth-inning lead now and again. Hanrahan's control has been spotty at times this year, but it's just a matter of trusting his stuff a little more -- even when he pours his fastball right over the heart of the plate, a lot of NL batters won't be able to catch up to it. Get your FAAB wallet ready.

SELL

Damaso Marte, RP, Pirates: He's been steady as the Matt Capps stand-in, but the rebuilding Pirates are getting plenty of offers for the veteran lefty, and surely one of them will be too good to pass up. If you can scare up a trade offer that treats Marte like a bona-fide closer, move now before the stock collapses. If and when Marte heads to a contending city, he'll be working in the seventh and eighth innings again. There's no clear closer-in-waiting behind Marte on the Pittsburgh depth chart, but by process of elimination John Grabow looks like the best spec play.

HOLD

Jon Rauch, RP, Diamondbacks: His fantasy value takes a hit today with the move to Arizona, but keep in mind Brandon Lyon is no sure thing -- and he's also on a one-year contract. Rauch has an excellent chance to be closing in the desert next year, and it wouldn't surprise us at all if he overtakes Lyon at some point in the dog days of August. Don't overreact to this week's trade and drop one of the best power arms in the NL; Things have a way of working themselves out.

 Tags  baseball Brad Hawpe Damaso Marte David Ferris Joel Hanrahan Jon Rauch Jose Reyes Mark DeRosa Mark Reynolds NL Stock Watch Yadier Molina

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