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 Would you drop Alex Gordon to add Marcell Ozuna?
@AFsports09

Per 162 games for his career Gordon’s average fantasy season has been .268-18-74-86-12. Nothing great, but solid across the board. He’s also the owner of a .348 OBP. Things have started slowly for him but the 32 year old has been very consistent the past five seasons. There is also this. (1) Over his last 136 games, back to the start of last season, he’s hit 16 homers with 55 RBI and 56 runs scored with five steals. Note that he’s already stolen three bases this season after dealing with injury last season. (2) He’s finally hitting. Gordon has a hit in 7-straight games. Given his consistency I’m willing to look past the massive K-rate of 32.0 percent he currently owns. The mark has been under 23 percent every year of his career.

Ozuna, the 25 year old outfielder of the Marlins, has been on fire of late and that has pushed his average up to .294 with six homers, 17 RBI and 16 runs scored. Ozuna is not a .294 hitter. His career mark is .267, so he gains nothing on Gordon there. He’s also not going to steal bases with just 10 thefts to this point of his big league career. He’s also the owner if a .314 career OBP though he is up at .344 this season. He has more power than Gordon though, no dispute there.

I would say this. I would take Gordon unless my main goal was the home run. I know Ozuna is younger and more sexy, but I also have concerns about Ozuna’s batting average and his ability to be a 25 homer bat.

Need saves and way up in runs and homers. Should I trade Adam Eaton and Joc Pederson to get Jason Heyward and Zach Britton?
@ADrellilch

I would say that Eaton and Heyward are pretty darn close in terms of outlook. A bit more average for Eaton (easy to call that given that he’s hit .294 his last 309 games), a bit more steals from Heyward. I would argue that Eaton is the guy I would want at this point since Heyward is seemingly always either (A) hurt or (B) underperforming. Very close.

Pederson is batting .274 with a .374 OBP. He’s way better than you give him credit for as he’s also gone deep six times with a .560 SLG. That effort leaves Pederson with a .933 OPS which is a direct match for Giancarlo Stanton and well ahead of Paul Goldschmidt’s .870 mark.

Britton had 37 and then 36 saves the last two years. He’s dealt with an ankle issue this season, but it seems like he is fine moving forward. Britton is 8-for-8 in save chances this season with 17 strikeouts in 13.1 innings with a 5.67 K/BB ratio that would be a career best. He’s an elite closing option.

So does it make sense to then deal Pederson for Britton if your goal is to get saves? Absolutely you can do this deal.

My Michael Conforto for his Hanley Ramirez in a 12-team, H2H Keeper OPS league. Your thoughts?
@ClosetWWEFan

Conforto has been the tale of two months. Check it out.

April: .365/.442/.676
May: .091/.167/.182

He’s been an unmitigated disaster in May with 15 punchouts in 33 at-bats.

The second point is that he’s also hitting .162 with a .367 OPS against lefties to this point of his big league career. Small sample size, but as Todd Zola pointed out (correctly on Twitter), Conforto reminds him a lot of Andre Ethier. Through 86 big league games Conforto has hit 15 homers with 45 RBI, and he has displayed an impressive power bat with a .238 Isolated Power mark resulting in an impressive .857 OPS. Warts? Yes. But still some really strong work.

HanRam has the background of a star, and he’s also able to qualify at dual positions (1B, OF) to add a boost to his value. He’s healthy, for now (he hasn’t appeared in 130 games in three years), and hitting with a .301/.348/.455 slash line, right in line with what he has done the last two seasons.

I would really like to go against Conforto because I believe that HanRam is more talented, but with Hanley’s issues staying healthy, and given that this is a keeper league, I would want Conforto on my squad.

Jacob deGrom has lost his velocity on his fastball this year. Alex Wood’s K/9 rate is high over his last three outings. Hector Santiago has lost his fast ball. See this Big 3 Video.  

Points H2H league... could use some starting pitching. Drop Byung-ho Park and pickup McCullers?
@joberg44

Park has performed as expected to this point of the season. He’s hitting a mere .244 with huge strikeout totals, 31 in just 90 at-bats, and there’s no let up in sight there. As for the power, he’s got legit oomph with seven homers to this point, but note that it’s exceedingly unlikely that he will be able to hold on to the 28.0 HR/FB ratio he owns.

If you have the need on the hill, then drop Park to add McCullers who returns this Friday against the Red Sox. Missing the first month plus of the regular season might actually not hurt Lance too much since he wasn’t going to be allowed to throw 200-innings this season anyway (this makes it more likely that he will be at full strength when the H2H playoffs begin). McCullers dominated last season with a 9.24 K/9 mark with a 1.19 WHIP and 1.46 GB/FB ratio. He’s an impressive talent.

When Glen Perkins off DL do I drop Jose Berrios, Carlos Rodon or Luke Gregerson?
@DaveEmerich

Perkins, who has been out since April 13th, is working his way back from a shoulder issue. He’s thrown four days in a row and things look good – for now. However, he’s not throwing his first official bullpen session until May 23rd, so the first time we are likely to see him back on the hill is early June. Obviously, that’s if he’s healthy, and there are obvious concerns about his ability to succeed because of a lack of health going back to last season.

But since you asked…

You never drop a closer. Gregerson cannot be cut.

I wrote about Rodon in For the Love of Rookies.  

I wrote about Berrios in his Player Profile.

If I had to drop one it would be Rodon, but realize that you’re giving up an impressive arm, and I bet you have a worse one that you could drop.

Byron Buxton raking in minors… hope doesn't mean he's a quad a player.
@MartyMarSince89

1 - Buxton is, according to all sources, one of the top-3 major league prospects. Period.

2 – Not all players star as rookies (Mike Trout hit .220 in his first season).

3 – Buxton is just 22 years old (Conforto is about 11 months older).

4 – Buxton has sucked eggs as a big leaguer with a .195/.239/.316 slash line over 63 games. He’s also failed to go deep with only four steals.

5 – In 29 games at Triple-A, this year and last, he’s posted a .344/.394/.533 slash line. That effort includes a .359 batting average, three homers, seven RBI and 10 runs scored his last 10 games as he’s pushing to get back to the big leagues.

He’s too young, too talented, and too inexperienced for anyone to suggest he’s a AAAA player – a guy that is too good for the minors but not good enough for the majors. It’s WAY too early to come to that conclusion.

 

We forgot how good Addison Russell really is. Rubby De La Rosa is pitching like an All-Star. J.A. Happ is being called the best lefty in the American League… but, is he? Check out the Daily Dive Video. 


Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday, 7 PM EDT and Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 6 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).