- Gary Sanchez, New York Yankees
El Gary has hit a tremendous stride at the plate recently, smashing six round trippers and driving in 12 runs since June 12th (nine starts). Gary has seemingly been on a four year long slump since his incredible rookie season, but right now he’s among the hottest hitters in baseball. In the span of a little over a month, he’s raised his batting average over fifty points from .186 to .240. Even when he gets out nowadays, he’s been making hard contact. Gary is in a rookie-year Gary type groove, which is certainly hard to sustain. He’s been a shell of himself since that aforementioned rookie year. During the shortened 60-game season last year, he hit a disgusting .147 over 156 at bats. The season before that he hit .232. in 106 games played. The season before that (2018) he hit a downright terrible .186 in 300+ at bats (323). That’s completely awful. For his career, that levels out to a .236 batting average. He’s struck out 516 times in 476 games. He’s been that bad for so long. This recent hot streak in 2021 may not mean he’s back to his 2016–2017, though stranger things have happened. If you want to hold onto him in hopes of that, you can, but the smart move would be to trade him while his value is this high before he goes into a prolonged slump that’ll span until the remainder of the season.
2. Jonathan Schoop, Detroit Tigers.
Schoop has long been a steady, if unspectacular fantasy option, but he’s quietly been having a career year at the dish. The eight-year veteran who debuted with the O’s back in 2013 had a couple of all star seasons with them, but his season with Detroit ranks among his best, if not the best. He’s been especially productive over the last month, where he’s been among the league’s very best hitters. Over his last 104 at bats, he’s batting a robust .365 with 12 homers and 26 runs batted in. He has ten of those home runs in the month of June (19 games) with a week of the month to spare. That’s a pace not even he thought he’d be on. He’s been a key cog for a Tigers team that has quietly exceeded expectations thus far, and has set himself up well for an all star selection in this year’s upcoming all star game. Schoop’s been one of those names you see in fantasy circles and think “meh”, but he’s been more than that this month. His value is peaking, and I wouldn’t blame you if you tried dishing him for/in a package of buy-low type players like Cincinnati’s Luis Castillo, San Diego’s Dinelson Lamet, or New York’s Francisco Lindor.
3. Kyle Hendricks, Chicago Cubs.
A season of two extremes for Kyle Hendricks. A player certainly on various “buy low” lists earlier this season is now on a “sell high” list. That went from 0–100 real quick. Hendricks started off the season 1–4 with an ERA well over five, and was on plenty of buy low lists being that he had a great year last season, pitching to the tune of a 2.88 ERA in 81.1 innings pitched. After appearing on those buy low lists, he’s absolutely slammed that “buy low” window shut. He’s turned his season around so flamboyantly that he now finds himself on a sell high list. Could you believe it? Hendricks has been the most consistent pitcher in all of baseball since that horrendous start to the season. That’s very high praise knowing there’s a pitcher by the name of Jacob DeGrom who’s looking like the best pitcher to ever step on a mound, but Hendricks is setting records right now. He’s won his last EIGHT decisions (appearances) dating all the way back to May 9th and went at least six innings in each of those starts (all eight starts were quality starts). He’s looked downright dominant and notched wins against quality lineups like Cleveland’s, San Diego’s, and the first place San Francisco Giants who own the best record in baseball. This historic pace isn’t truly sustainable, and Hendricks doesn’t even have electric stuff (he gets by with finesse, pitch location, working the counts, and change of speeds rather than being able to blow it by hitters for good strikeout totals) which makes selling high on Hendricks a smart, forward-thinking move.
4. Tyler Mahle, Cincinnati Reds.
Mahle’s career has gone similar to how Kyle Hendricks’ season has gone. From really, really bad to really, really good. Mahle started off his career 13–25 (including a 3–12 clunker in 2019 where he had a 5.14 ERA, and a 4.98 ERA the season prior), though now he looks like a totally different pitcher in 2021, amassing a 7–2 record with a 3.56 ERA with 98 punchouts in 78.1 innings pitched. Fantasy players may not want any part of Mahle in a trade since he’s had two years of awful play, though recency bias is attempting to paint him a totally new picture. The Cincinnati Reds are still within striking distance for a playoff berth, and Mahle is a huge reason why. His numbers are particularly off the charts in the last month, pitching to the tune of a 5–0 record with a 2.70 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP and 44 strikeouts in 33.1 innings. Not only are those elite numbers some of the best in baseball, they’re a far cry from his 3–12 days where he couldn’t buy a good outing. Now he’s putting them together in bunches. He’s never been this good before, which makes us worried that he’s already reached his ceiling. Furthermore, his floor is literally underground, which makes him an obvious “sell high” candidate.
5. Kyle Schwarber, Washington Nationals.
This one is obvious. Schwarber is hotter than fish grease at the dish right now. He’s up to 21 homers this season which puts him second in the National League, one behind San Diego sensation, El Niño (Fernando Tatis Jr). Nine of those home runs have come in his last six games. That is the most in a six game stretch in the history of Major League Baseball. So much for a player with a .232 career batting average who hit a measly .188 last season (191 at bats). Schwarber has always had good pop in his left-handed bat, but this torrid stretch is one that has never been done before, and one nobody saw coming. His recent hot stretch has catapulted the Nats to within four games of the National League East lead, leading his team to five consecutive victories. He simply cannot be stopped at the plate. As hard as it is, the smart move would be to move on to receive a haul of talented players for your roster. It’s impossible to be this good for that much longer. Schwarber is usually good for his 30–35 homers with 85–95 runs batted in, and not much else. As it stands, he’s already almost three-quarters there and the month of June hasn’t even concluded yet. He’s also hit safely in eleven of his past twelve games. This has never been him. Perhaps this is the start of something new for the seven-year vet, but the smart money is on this being little more than a historic hot streak unlikely to last for the remainder of the season. Sell now while his value is that of a top five player.
6. Akil Baddoo, Detroit Tigers.
The 22 year old rookie has never played ball higher than high-A (AA) before making it to the show with the Detroit Tigers, but you wouldn’t be able to tell with how hot he’s swinging the bat. He’s 15-for-his-last-36 (.417) with six runs scored and a couple of stolen bases in that span (eight games). Those stolen bases (now eight on the season) is a good complement to his five homers, which has him looking like one of the league’s up and coming 20–20 threats even though he’s never really faced MLB quality pitching before this season. Baddoo has been locked in despite those shortcomings, especially recently, riding an eleven game hitting streak in which he’s raised his season average from .242 to .282. A rookie season once looking bleak is looking more and more like a success story every single day. It’s crazy what one hot streak can do for you, the same way one “run” in a basketball game can get you right back in a game and change its entire tune. This streak seems to be more of an outlier than the norm for Baddoo, which makes him an obvious “sell high” candidate. He’s probably not enough of an established “name” in fantasy circles to be able to get a lot out of him in a single player swap, but he can definitely be moved in a package for a more proven, consistent commodity.