The Best Trade Targets In Fantasy Baseball (Hitters)
The list of hitters I'm buying right now in all fantasy baseball leagues, and you should too
Two weeks ago, I covered some of my favorite bounce-back candidates on the hitter side of things. That list of guys included ones struggling to get started but had a great chance at bouncing back sooner rather than later. Those who, in theory, should have been at their lowest value point of the season, giving you the best deal.
This time around, instead of covering just bounce-back candidates, this list will be comprised of not only “buy low” options, but also guys seeing current success who I think can continue their production or be even better moving forward. This is sort of my catch-all article for guys who’ve really piqued my interest lately. Guys I’ve been going out of my way to make sure I can acquire as many shares of them as possible before the price gets too damn high.
Being a successful in-season manager is all about maximizing the value of your entire roster. Whether that be trading guys away as close to their peak as you can for guys with steadier value, nailing it on the waiver wire every week, or finding guys set to take off on another person’s roster who you feel you can get for a deal. Everyone thinks leagues can be won on draft day, when in reality they’re won in season. These articles are crucial to helping you make those key in-season moves.
Before I get into the list, I just wanted to remind you that paid subscribers get two day early access to all articles! That includes the weekly waiver wire, Aaron’s Piquing Prospects article, and whatever research-based articles like this that I put out throughout the week. If you want to be ahead of the game and have a leg up on your teammates, consider becoming a paid subscriber for just $5/month…the cost of one coffee on your way to work in the morning!
CJ Abrams - SS - Washington Nationals
As far as shortstops go, there are few I like
for the rest of the season more than CJ Abrams. If you remember back to 2024, Abrams proved that he has the ability to join the elusive 20/30 club. The downside was the weird series of events at the end of the season involving a late-night casino trip, which ended with Abrams being sent down to the minors. Those are things of the past, and to me, his value right now is as good as it’s going to get if you’re looking to trade for Abrams.
He recently returned from a hip flexor injury on the 24th and has picked up right where he left off. Abrams right now is one of only three shortstops in baseball to have at least four home runs and five stolen bases (at the time I wrote this). The other two on that list? Elly De La Cruz and Trevor Story. Both of which have 50+ more at-bats than Abrams this season. What makes this even more exciting, you may be asking? The fact that Abrams is actually performing BELOW average at the plate and still putting up these types of numbers.
Compared to his last two seasons, Abrams’ contact has declined drastically. Not his quality of contact, but the amount of contact in general. He’s making considerably less contact outside of the zone, which has his overall contact sitting at just 72.8%. Almost a full 5% below his previous career low in 2024. The plus side of this? His zone contact rate (84.1%) is actually higher than his 2024 number (83.5%). Combine that with his career-best 14.3% barrel rate (small sample size, so pump the brakes a bit), and we might be in the midst of seeing Abrams have a breakout season in the power department.
That excellent season Abrams was able to put together in 2024 was only marred by his abnormally low run and RBI numbers. Something that’s easily attributed to the terrible lineup the Nationals were running out there day after day. This season, the Nationals’ lineup looks drastically different and, dare I say…good. And who is the Nationals’ everyday leadoff hitter, you may ask? It’s Abrams.
Aside from his three upcoming games on the road against the Phillies, Abrams has a very juicy schedule for the foreseeable future. Three series on the road against the Reds, Braves, and Orioles. Also, three series at home against the Guardians, Cardinals, and Braves. All teams that are in the bottom half of the league in terms of team ERA. Outside of Cincinnati, but it’s always a juicy matchup for hitters when they get to play AT Great American Ballpark. By the time these next few weeks come to an end, it’s highly likely Abrams cements himself as a top-30 player.
Adolis Garcia - OF/DH - Texas Rangers
If you’re looking for a power bat to buy low on right now, look no further than Adolis Garcia. The absolute mountain of a human being has somehow come out this season and looked mortal. Not something those of you who drafted him were hoping to see. While he has looked like Father Time is catching up to him a bit, there are still plenty of reasons why I think he bounces back better than ever and cements himself as maybe the best “Buy Low” in baseball right now.
When looking at his profile, Garcia’s numbers are UP this season in every indicator I would look at to see if it were a reason for his struggles. Weirdly enough, none of them are down year over year. In fact, they’re all sitting at levels you’d expect to see from someone having a near career-best season.
Pulled Airball Rate - 28.6% (Career best)
Bat Speed - 72.1 MPH
Squared Up Rate On Contact - 40.9% (Career best)
Contact Rate - 71.7% (Career best)
Barrel Rate - 18.6% (Career best)
90th Percentile EV - 105.8 MPH
The Rangers gave Garcia the day off on Saturday, and honestly, that may have been for the best. All I can think of at this point is that he’s just not quite there yet on the mental side and needs a reset. Saturday was his first game off this season. While his production is down, the vibes around the rest of his season production should remain high. His .361 xwOBA should help reinforce that as well, as his current wOBA is 64 points lower and one of the largest gaps in baseball.
I’m targeting Garcia in every single league I’m in this season, where trades are an option. I want that future production on my team sooner rather than later. He’s going to be one of those guys we look at once the All-Star break rolls around and say, “Man, how did he start that poorly and still manage to make the All-Star team?”. Make the move.
Mark Vientos - 3B - New York Mets
Caveat to this, he homered before I could get home and finish the article. So that happened. Caveat to the caveat, though, he homered off of a position player, so it counts about as much as hitting a dinger off your nine-year-old son does.
While Vientos did get off to an unusually slow start at the plate, he’s picked it up as of late. Before going hitless Tuesday night, he had hits in 12 of his last 13 games. A stretch so good it raised his batting average a whopping 110 points. And while the power hasn’t necessarily been there yet this season, the power isn’t what we’re really worried about.
In his career, he was your prototypical lower end contact player with big power. In his first two big stretches at the major league level he had contact rates under 70% with barrel rates above 10%. This season it’s been the opposite. His contact rate is at a career best 72.2% (80.1% zContact), while his barrel rate sits at just 6.7%. If you’d have told me Vientos was going to improve his contact rate to start 2025 and be WORSE at the plate I’d have laughed. But here we are.
This recent stretch of games is why he’s on this list right now. In those 12 games, not only has Vientos kept up his improved rate of contact (72.8%), but he’s also seen a jump in both his SLG (.600), and hard hit rate (46.2%). In turn he’s put up seven XBH with 24 R+RBI. The barrels will come, and when they do Vientos’ value will skyrocket. It’s already on the way up at the moment, so it’s best to jump on that rocket before it takes off.
