Early-August Stock Up / Stock Down Report
Early-August Stock Up / Stock Down Report
Some players throughout the season move up or down in value. Many times, these movements directly correlate towards a change in a team’s rankings. These posts will capture these value change in ALL 3 SPORTS. They’ll primarily focus on in-season players, but if injuries or player movement happens in off-season sports, that’ll be denoted as well.
STOCK UP Players
Luis Castillo (SP, Mariners) – $traight Cash Homie
Josh Bell (1B, Padres) – Win’s Up Doc
Tyler Mahle (SP, Reds) – Ornery Otters
Frankie Montas (SP, Yankees) – $traight Cash Homie
Jose Miranda (INF, Twins) – Wait ‘Til Next Year
Matt Carpenter (UTIL, Yankees) – Sporty Strauss
Juan Soto (CO, Padres) – Wait ‘Til Next Year
Austin Riley (3B, Braves) – $traight Cash Homie
Jonathan India (2B, Reds) – DTC Porkchop Express
Jorge Lopez (RP, Twins) – SG Choppers
Luis Castillo (SP, Mariners) – $traight Cash Homie
95th Overall Dynasty
88 points over the last month (29ppg)
When $traight Cash Homie traded for Luis Castillo early in the season, it might have seemed like an overpay at the time (and it still might be), but Luis Castillo has been ROCK solid on a poor MLB team. Still, Luis Castillo was probably the best player moved during the MLB League of Leagues season, and it only cost a 2nd round pick which is sure to be on the later side. For the real-life MLB transaction, the Mariners aren’t world-beaters but they’re sure as hell better than the Reds. Now, Castillo is a bonafide ace with the way he’s playing, for the MLB and for League of Leagues.
Josh Bell (1B, Padres) – Win’s Up Doc
73rd Overall Dynasty
64 points over the last month (2.9ppg)
Another player who changed MLB teams at the deadline that increased his value. Instead of hitting in the Nationals’ piss-poor lineup, Bell will not only be still be protecting Soto in the lineup, but also Manny Machado (and eventually Tatis). It’s a great landing spot for Josh Bell and Win’s Up Doc. Bell is now a bonafide keeper in any situation, but he is in the midst of his arbitration years which means that he could price himself out of the town of Whale’s Vaginas and land in a less opportune spot. But Win’s Up Doc should reap the benefits for now.
Tyler Mahle (SP, Reds) – Ornery Otters
168th Overall Dynasty
69 points over the last month (23ppg)
Mahle got traded to the hometown Twins, a boon for the Ornery Otters. Based on advanced statistics, Mahle had a Fielding Independing Pitching metric that was almost a full point higher than his ETA, meaning that the Reds’ poor fielding has added about a run to Mahle’s Earned Run Average this season. With Byron Buxton behind him, one would expect Mahle to start performing MUCH better, hopefully leading both the Ornery Otters and the MN Twins to playoff dubs.
Frankie Montas (SP, Yankees) – $traight Cash Homie
59th Overall Dynasty
21 points over the last month (7ppg)
The last pitcher moved on this list, Montas is the best of all of them. But because he was already very good, his value doesn’t change quite as much. He also has barely pitched recently as the A’s mostly shut him down before a trade. That being said, Montas went to the best team he could have at the deadline. If he gets back to pitching a full allotment of innings, he could be a clear X-factor in the LoL playoffs.
Jose Miranda (INF, Twins) – Wait ‘Til Next Year
132nd Overall Dynasty
76 points over the last month (4ppg)
Miranda has been absolutely balling for the Twins, one of four Twins on both of these lists. But notably, he’s played well enough to force himself into FIRM keeper territory. He’s ranked 132nd overall dynasty. As a #HUNK, that’s undoubtably a keeper for some team out there if he keeps performing. He’ll put Hamilton jams into your head regularly when he’s on your squad too. He’s an interesting trade target.
Matt Carpenter (UTIL, Yankees) – Sporty Strauss
Unranked Dynasty
38 points over the last month (3.8ppg)
What a find by the MN Moose Knuckles who traded him to Sporty Strauss at the height of his value. But he’s still producing, and could be a key cog in Sporty Strauss’ playoff run. He’s an ancient player and has no keeper value, but there’s value in win-now players too.
Juan Soto (CO, Padres) – Wait ‘Til Next Year
1st Overall Dynasty
84 points over the last month (3.8ppg)
Soto is the youngest, bestest MLB player right now. He still has significantly less value than top players of other sports, but he’s still been made more valuable by a trade to the Padres. He’ll be hitting behind or in front of Machado, Bell and Tatis… a murderer’s row of young talent. The trade to the Padres just further solidifies Soto as one of two names to want in MLB points-based scoring next to Ohtani.
Austin Riley (3B, Braves) – $traight Cash Homie
22nd Overall Dynasty
94 points over the last month (3.9ppg)
Austin Riley has become an MVP candidate for the Braves. As one three Homies players on this list, he could be responsible for delivering Jack from the last place penalty by helping him win Fhima’s Division and make a playoff run.
Jonathan India (2B, Reds) – DTC Porkchop Express
86th Overall Dynasty
82 points over the last month (3.9ppg)
Last time, India was on the Stock Down report.
Jorge Lopez (RP, Twins) – SG Choppers
Unranked Dynasty
45 points over the last month (5ppg)
With the looming Miles Bridges situation, both Hayward and PJ Washington jump up in value. Both players (and Chris Paul) are ranked in a similar position on the dynasty rankings sheet, and DTC Porkchop Express has a difficult choice between the 3. At least Hayward, particularly, looks like a solid win-now player who is a little bit younger than CP3. Washington is on Craig’s shit-list, so he might not get kept even if ranked higher than Gordon right now. Hayward should be able to be more of a scoring focal point at the wing while PJ likely just gets more playing time.
STOCK DOWN Players
Mike Trout (OF, Angels) – Sporty Strauss
Alex Kirilloff (1B/OF, Twins) – Las Cabras
Ryan Mountcastle (1B/CO, Orioles) – Las Cabras
Riley Greene (OF, Tigers) – Sporty Strauss
CJ Abrams (SS, Padres) – Cooper Troopers
Vinnie Pasquantino (1B, Royals) – MN Moose Knuckles
Josh Hader (RP, Padres) – The BamO’s
Lance Lynn (SP, White Sox) – Sporty Strauss
CJ Cron (1B, Rockies) – Wait ‘Til Next Year
Ronald Acuna Jr. (OF, Braves) – Ornery Otters
Mike Trout (OF, Angels) – Sporty Strauss
23rd Overall Dynasty
Injured
Usually, I don’t love putting injured players on the Stock Down list, especially if they are flukey, but Mike Trout’s weird injury diagnosis has long-term implications. Once the best player in the majors, Trout’s future is very much a question mark, though nobody will admit it. For fantasy, Trout could be a nightmare going forward, getting injured at random times for no reason because his rare back injury flares up. Strauss has a mess on his hands.
Alex Kirilloff (1B/OF, Twins) – Las Cabras
117th Overall Dynasty
Injured
Another long-term injury is Alex Kirilloff who had to get a bone shortened in his wrist. His career, like many of the Twins’ young players, is at a big crossroads – on the knife’s edge of being a complete bust. For Las Cabras, they are looking a tad Hunkless™ going forward into next year.
Ryan Mountcastle (1B/CO, Orioles) – Las Cabras
131st Overall Dynasty
28 points over the last month (1.3ppg)
That’s because one of their other #Hunks, Ryan Mountcastle, has been a disaster lately. Kirilloff and Mountcastle were both Hunkie players drafted in the auction, but they are falling out of keeper range. Las Cabras still have Seiya Suzuki as a #HUNK, but choosing between Kirilloff and Mountcastle is rough choosing… among many other unstellar keeper options for a team relatively bereft of talent.
Riley Greene (OF, Tigers) – Sporty Strauss
51st Overall Dynasty
44 points over the last month (1.8ppg)
Next on this list are three young, underperforming prospects. The first is Riley Greene of Sporty Strauss fame, one of the top prospects coming into the year. He’s ranked very high in dynasty rankings, but being on a hapless Tiggers team doesn’t help anything. He lost his prospect eligibility recently, and is now a #HUNK for a team that doesn’t have many good #HUNK options. Not all is lost, but Strauss now has some of the worst prospects in the league – literally, not metaphorically, of course.
CJ Abrams (SS, Padres) – Cooper Troopers
76th Overall Dynasty
17 points over the last month (1.8ppg)
Abrams is the next on this list, and he should be ranked worse than Greene after getting traded to the league-worst Nationals squad, but he has the slight possiblity of maintaining his prospect eligibility down the stretch. If he can be kept as a prospect and not make the Cooper Troopers have to make a difficult decision (or trade), then he really gains significant value going into next year. But right now, he’s trending down as a player.
Vinnie Pasquantino (1B, Royals) – MN Moose Knuckles
97th Overall Dynasty
45 points over the last month (1.9ppg)
Pasquantino was a mega prospect riser this season, but he’s not performing in the majors. Even still, this was a keeper option that the MN Moose Knuckles weren’t considering at the start of the season. Whether Vinnie plays well or not is all gravy.
Josh Hader (RP, Padres) – The BamO’s
109th Overall Dynasty
21 points over the last month (2.6ppg)
Hader is mostly on this list for his actual play. He’s been terrible lately, with performances that might have singlehandedly knocked The BamO’s out of the playoff race. But now he’s the closer on a great team, so this could turn around in a hurry.
Lance Lynn (SP, White Sox) – Sporty Strauss
197th Overall Dynasty
71 points over the last month (14ppg)
Lynn is a weirdly ranked player in most dynasty and season-long rankings. He’s always been much higher than his production has showed. And that production has been awful all season long. Putting him into his lineup is a roll of the dice for Sporty Strauss, because he still apparently has potential for good games but usually puts up stinkers. In the playoffs, he’s an impossible start/sit decision and he’s also lost all keeper value.
CJ Cron (1B, Rockies) – Wait ‘Til Next Year
89th Overall Dynasty
42 points over the last month (1.8ppg)
Cron is another possible keeper who is underperforming. Even worse, this might be more of a regression to the mean as an average player with good and bad stretches. He might not be worth keeping after all, though Kyle was currently banking on Cron to be one of his back-end boys.
Ronald Acuna Jr. (OF, Braves) – Ornery Otters
2nd Overall Dynasty
51 points over the last month (2.3ppg)
Contrary to Soto being on the Stock Up portion of this list, Acuna is on the Stock Down. There’s no real concerns here. It’s just interesting that Soto and Ohtani have been so dominant while Acuna is slipping. The Otters still made the playoffs, however, and now need Acuna to return to form and make him not regret passing on those other two players for the Braves superstar.