As we get closer to the MLB trade deadline, many fantasy managers also use this point as a time to evaluate their teams and prepare to make some trade proposals. Here are three players that you should feel confident in trading for (for the right price, of course):
Luis Castillo- Castillo has pretty much had two separate seasons so far. In April and May, the Reds pitcher was unrecognizable, and he was clearly not himself as he pitched to a 7.22 ERA through 11 starts. He wasn't going deep into games (he finished the 6th inning only one time), he wasn't getting as many strikeouts as expected (he struck out 8+ batters only one time), and he was giving up runs (six starts where he gave up 4+ earned runs). It was disappointing, to say the least, for fantasy managers who had drafted him in the top 15 pitchers and top 50 picks overall. However, those who were patient with Castillo were rewarded, for when the calendar flipped to June, Castillo returned back to his ace-level form. Since then, Castillo has accrued a 1.71 ERA, allowed a .180 batting average against (down from .325 in the first two months), and he's averaged over one strikeout per inning.
Meanwhile, over the past month in fantasy, he's been the SP6 on the ESPN Player Rater for rotisserie leagues, and he's tied with Walker Buehler for the most points among starting pitchers as well. This is the Luis Castillo we expected to see, and he should continue this production throughout the rest of the year. The thing is, Castillo's bad start has made his overall numbers pretty unappealing (4.20 ERA, SP65 in points leagues), so you might not have to pay full price for a pitcher who could have a top-10 quality August and September. Therefore, fantasy managers should feel extremely confident trading for him.
Corbin Burnes- After a breakout 2020, Burnes has kept his strong performance going with a great 2021. The Brewers All-Star is 6-4 with an NL-best 2.12 ERA and 198 ERA+ (98% better than a league-average pitcher), and a whopping 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings (also leads the NL). Furthermore, his 1.35 FIP is the lowest in the MLB, suggesting that Burnes' play should improve, and he's allowed only three home runs, and his 0.3 HR/9 leads the MLB. If you need more evidence of how great he is, according to Baseball Savant, Burnes is in the top 5% of all MLB pitchers in average exit velocity, hard hit percentage, expected wOBA (which is actually .209, 20 points lower than his outstanding .228 actual wOBA), expected batting average (.171, currently .198), expected slugging, barrel percentage, strikeout rate, walk rate, whiff percentage, chase rate, fastball spin, and curveball spin. That's nearly every statistic that they have available! Corbin Burnes is frequently overshadowed by fellow Brewers ace Brandon Woodruff, or his other teammate and breakout All-Star, Freddy Peralta, but Corbin Burnes may just be better than both of them. In fact, with Jacob DeGrom hurt and Kevin Gausman struggling, Burnes should be the NL Cy Young frontrunner right now.
As his amazing stats would suggest, Burnes has been great in fantasy, too. He is the SP9 on the full season Player Rater, as well as the SP5 over the last 30 days, and he has the exact same rankings in points leagues. While it may be hard to trade for Burnes at this point, I expect him to play like a top-10 overall player for the rest of the season, so if you can get him for less than that, Burnes will be the new ace of your staff.
Pete Alonso- Is it possible the Home Run Derby can fix players' swings? This year shows that maybe that could be a thing due to the performances of Alonso and one of the sluggers he beat, Juan Soto, as they rank 9th and 1st, respectively, among hitters on the Player Rater over the last month (and Pete is #2 over the last week). Overall, the Mets first baseman is hitting .265 with 22 home runs and 59 RBI, but that includes his slow start (similar to Castillo, but not as bad) to the season. In the nine games since the All-Star break, Alonso is hitting .365 with five home runs. And, extending back a little further, Alonso has hit half of his home runs (11) over his past 22 games (about 1/4 of his season). In addition, throughout the season, Alonso has been elite at hitting the ball hard and on the barrel of the bat, and that has allowed him to put up these insane numbers recently.
While Alonso isn't going to keep hitting five home runs per week, expect him to continue to rake and end the season in the top-5 first basemen (currently just inside the top-10 for primary-position first basemen). Trade for him with confidence because he can be the star slugger fantasy managers expected when drafting him in the top-50, and he can power your team to the playoffs. Plus, who doesn't love a player nicknamed the "Polar Bear"?
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