Early Season Fantasy Baseball Trades: Ronald Acuna Jr. for Mookie Betts, Tarik Skubal for Zac Gallen, Elly De La Cruz for Anthony Volpe and More

Discussing some popular fantasy baseball trades early in the MLB regular season.

It’s still very early in the MLB regular season, but many fantasy baseball owners are chomping at the bit to make some trades to hopefully improve their teams. Some fantasy owners are looking for help after losing a highly-drafted player, while others simply are looking to improve in areas they might be struggling in so far. 

Let’s dive into the FantasySP Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer and assess some of the popular trades.

Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including waiver pickups, projections, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant. Use our fantasy baseball trade analyzer and trade value charts to break down trade scenarios and weekly projections to find the best fantasy options.

Ronald Acuna Jr. for Mookie Betts

Let’s start out with an absolutely massive trade.

Betts has been the fantasy baseball MVP so far (although he had the Seoul Series to add a couple more games of stats to his numbers). He’s hitting a cool .375 and getting on base at a .508 clip. Betts has 18 hits across 61 plate appearances, including five home runs. He drove in 11 runs and stole two bases.

Acuna is off to a bit of a slow start, with a .222 average and .333 OBP across 42 plate appearances. He’s delivered just eight hits, and no home runs yet. Acuna has driven in four runs and stolen one base.

It’s far too early in the season to make season-long judgments on players, but the numbers don’t lie - Betts is off to a way better start. These were the top-two drafted players in most fantasy drafts before the season, but the early results make it look like the wrong guy was taken at No. 1.

I fully expect Acuna to get things going soon, at which point he’ll be one of the top fantasy hitters in the game again. The way Betts is playing right now though, I also can’t say that he won’t be the top fantasy hitter by the end of the season, even when his numbers dip a bit.

So while I wouldn’t advise anyone to trade Acuna for Betts, I also think this trade makes more sense now than it did before the regular season started up. The thing that makes Betts more valuable is his position versatility, which could be massive for a fantasy team that’s lost a big hitter or two. These could be the top-two fantasy hitters in the game in 2024, and even if Acuna eventually passes Betts, the position flexibility he offers fantasy owners could make Betts the more beneficial fantasy player in the long run.

It really comes down to what your fantasy team needs, because both of these players are as good as it gets and can power fantasy teams to titles.

Jonah Heim for Luis Campusano

The second most popular trade is Heim for Campusano. Heim was the much higher draft pick, going around pick 170, while Campusano went around pick 260.

Campusano is off to a much better start at the plate, although he’s played three more games and had seven more plate appearances.

Campusano has 14 total hits, including one home run, and eight RBIs. He sits with a .350 average and .366 on-base percentage. Heim had eight total hits, no home runs yet, and four RBIs. He’s got a .235 average and OBP.

Capusano’s fantasy value has definitely improved since the start of the season, but I still view Heim as the better season-long asset. Campusano has struggled with injuries over his career, which is why he was drafted so late despite a good career average. Heim has back-to-back strong seasons (with 16 and 18 home runs) and has proven to be a good fantasy hitter despite somewhat lower averages. The injury risk still scares me off Campusano, even after his hot start at the plate. 

So if these guys are being viewed as your top fantasy catcher, I like Heim in the long run, even though I’d want Campusano right now. I’d try to add an additional player to each side of the deal to even things out some more.

If they are a backup option, but going to be a utility starter nearly everyday for you, then that changes things a bit. I still like Heim more, but would be more inclined to accept a trade - again, probably adding a second player to each side of the deal. Use the FantasySP Trade Value Charts to locate some possible players to add.

Tarik Skubal for Zac Gallen

Let’s add some pitching into the article here. Gallen was taken around pick 25, while Skubal went around pick 55. Gallen has made three starts already, while Skubal has made two.

Gallen is 2-0 with a 2.25 earned run average across 16 innings pitched. He’s struck out 19 batters, while walking five.

Skubal is 1-0 with a 2.92 ERA across 12 1/3 innings pitched. He’s struck out 15 batters already, while walking only two.

Looking back at their ADPs this year, it’s hard to justify trading Gallen straight up for Skubal. They were separated by three rounds, and while Skubal could absolutely finish as the better fantasy pitcher by the end of the season, I’d do my best to expand this deal, most likely adding an additional player to each side of things.

Skubal is definitely trending up, but it’s not like Gallen has started poorly on the hill. Adding a better second player with Skubal would ease my mind about making this deal.

Elly De La Cruz for Anthony Volpe

This is another hitter-for-hitter trade that caught my eye today. De La Cruz went around pick 75 in fantasy drafts, while Volpe didn’t go until pick 155 or so.

Volpe is off to the better start at the plate, although it’s not by much. He’s collected 15 total hits, including two home runs, across 42 plate appearances. Volpe has driven in six runs and stolen three bases while owning a .417 average and .488 OBP.

De La Cruz has 11 total hits, including two homers, across 41 plate appearances. He drove in five runs and stole six bases. De La Cruz has a .297 average and .366 OBP.

If we were later in the season and these two players’ numbers still pretty much lined up, I’d probably consider the deal a little more, but given their ADPs, it’s hard for me to justify moving De La Cruz for Volpe right now. There’s some injury concerns with De La Cruz, while Volpe has already shown he can make it through a full season, so that probably also plays a little role, but I’m still a fan of the De La Cruz side of the deal by quite a bit.

This is yet another deal that probably needs an additional player tacked on to each end, with a better player being added on the Volpe side of things. They both play shortstop, but De La Cruz should also have third base eligibility, which is just another plus for that side of things.

Dylan Cease and Michael Conforto for Anthony Santander and Logan Webb

Let’s discuss a fun four-player deal to wrap this story up. Cease had an ADP of around 70, while Conforto didn’t even make the list (but is now owned in 85% of leagues). Santander’s ADP was around 100, while Webb was around pick 30. Quick thinking probably has you saying the Santander and Webb side of things comes out ahead, and the FSP Trade Analyzer and I agree on that.

Webb has started three games and has a 0-1 record with a 4.86 ERA so far. He’s struck out 13 batters over 16 2/3 innings. Cease is 0-1 across his two starts and 10 2/3 innings pitched. He’s struck out 13 batters already and has a 3.38 ERA.

Conforto has been one of the better hitters so far, so it’s no surprise he tops Santander in most stats. Conforto has a .351 average and .415 OBP across 41 plate appearances, tallying 13 total hits (three homers), and 10 RBIs so far. Santander has a .216 average and .231 OBP, collecting eight hits (two homers) and 10 RBIs.

While Conforto and Cease have been the better players so far, the MLB season is a long one, and over time, I expect Webb and Conforto to get back on track. It’s possible Webb and Cease are similar fantasy players, but history says that Santander will greatly outperform Conforto by the end of the season - Santander also doesn’t carry an injury risk like Conforto does.

Instead of adding another player to each side of the deal to even the trade up, I’d prefer to replace Conforto with another player. I’m not big on trading for guys that were waiver wire pickups, and would try to avoid trading a near top-100 pick (Santander) for him. Check out the trade value charts and come up with something that’s a little less risky.

Good luck trading!

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