Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer: James Paxton for Christian Yelich, Ketel Marte for Framber Valdez and More

Discussing some of the more popular 1-for-1 trades on the FantasySP Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer.

I love pursuing the FantasySP Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer. As we have already this season, I decided to take a look at some of the one-for-one trades that are featured in the popular trades section of the analyzer.

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James Paxton for Christian Yelich

We’ll start with a deal involving a pitcher and hitter, which are always fun to break down.

Paxton has been a surprise standout for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season. In eight starts, Paxton is 5-0 with a 2.84 earned run average. He’s only got 24 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings, while also walking 24 batters over that span.

Yelich missed some time, but has been one of the top hitters for the Milwaukee Brewers when on the field. In 22 games, Yelich has a .321 average and .409 on-base percentage. He’s got nine extra-base hits (including five home runs), 18 RBIs, 13 runs scored, six stolen bases, 12 walks and 19 strikeouts. 

I was a little surprised to see a trade with these two particular players in it. My initial thought was that Yelich was the far superior fantasy asset (even with Paxton’s strong season in mind). The trade analyzer agrees, with Yelich 5.5 points ahead of Paxton.

A fantasy owner should not trade Yelich away for Paxton under any circumstance. If you want Paxton, you definitely could get another player in the deal if Yelich is the return price. 

With that said, I want to offer some additional thoughts on Paxton. His ERA and win-loss record are great, but his walks are extremely concerning. He’s worked out of trouble so far, but that’s hard to sustain over a full season. Eventually, those walks will catch up to him, and I think his fantasy value will drop as a result.

So, if you’re sending away Yelich and getting Paxton in the deal, make sure the second player coming with Paxton is a pretty solid fantasy option with a good-to-high floor.

Ketel Marte for Framber Valdez

Here’s another batter-for-pitcher deal that was among the most popular trades on the analyzer.

Arizona Diamondbacks’ Marte is enjoying one of the best seasons in his career, hitting .289 with a .339 on-base percentage so far. He’s got 23 extra-base hits (nine homers), 26 RBIs, 34 runs scored, one stolen base, 16 walks and 43 strikeouts.

Valdez has made seven starts for the Houston Astros. He’s 3-2 with a 4.32 ERA so far. Valdez has 34 strikeouts over 41 2/3 innings. If you feel Valdez’s strikeouts are down, they are so far this season (down from 9.1 Ks per nine innings to just 7.3 this year).

Valdez was drafted before Marte on average this year, but Marte has clearly been the better fantasy player so far. This is almost a sell high with Marte, buy low with Valdez situation, and it makes a lot of sense if your team is in need of a hitter/pitcher.

A little digging showed that these two players finished extremely close in points leagues a season ago. Marte might have the leg up this season, but that also doesn’t mean that Valdez couldn’t match Marte the rest of the season.

As a fantasy baseball owner, my own personal preference is favoring hitters over pitchers, so I like Marte a little bit more. The season stats have a lot to say in this, but the trade analyzer heavily favors Marte right now.

With that in mind, I would try to expand this deal. Most fantasy owners might think they can deal a hitter/pitcher and not get one back and be fine, and while sometimes they can, most times it burns them in the end. So, I’d try to add a second player on each side of this deal, giving up a pitcher with Marte and hitter with Valdez.

Check out the FantasySP Trade Value Chart and see what you can come up with!

Juan Soto for Jose Ramirez

Soto and Ramirez are two of the biggest names in fantasy baseball, but are they equal in trade value?

Soto has a .309 average and .408 on-base percentage, while Ramirez has a .258 average and .305 OBP. However, Ramirez leads the way in home runs (12), RBIs (44) and stolen bases (7), with Soto at 11 homers, 37 RBIs and four steals. Soto has the edge in total hits, 59-52 as of this publication.

Both were drafted on average inside the top 10 and are really performing quite well this season. Soto barely has the edge in points leagues right now.

While Soto had the better fantasy value most of the season, Ramirez has been gaining on him. They are separated by a little more than three points right now, with the trade analyzer liking Soto for the time being.

Given where both players were drafted, and being that they are at different positions, this trade would make a lot of sense in many situations. I personally like Soto a touch more, but that’s because I favor players with higher averages. I do expect Ramirez to improve his numbers as the season goes on, while I expect a little dropoff from Soto, so that’s also something to keep in mind.

I’d do this trade if it helped solidify a fantasy position for me, but would also want to be fairly set at the position I’m giving up before hitting accept. Maybe expanding the deal to include an outfielder and third baseman to replenish the ones lost would be the way to go and would ease my mind of making a deal in both situations.

Seiya Suzuki for Bryson Stott

The last trade I want to discuss today is between two more hitters.

Stott has the advantage in most stats this year because he’s played in nearly double the games as Suzuki. We still need to discuss their numbers though.

Stott has a .273 average and .384 OBP, and that’s after a pretty rough start to the season. He’s got 38 total hits and five home runs, along with 30 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Stott is a pretty well-rounded fantasy hitter, and is definitely trending up right now.

Suzuki has played in 24 games, with a .253 average and .321 OBP so far. He’s homered four times among his 24 total hits, drove in 16 runs and stole one base.

While Stott has the better season numbers, their trade values are actually pretty close, with Stott only less than three points ahead of Suzuki according to the analyzer.

I also like Stott more in this deal, even though it’ll likely be Suzuki who hits more home runs by the end of the season. Suzuki’s injury history is another concerning thing for me, so if I was offered Stott for him, I’d take the deal almost instantly. It might create a hole in the outfield for my fantasy team, but I’d find a way to make it work (just like I’d have to with Suzuki injured).

Your fantasy team might be in need of more homers, and Suzuki should be the better option in that department, so I can also see wanting to make this deal with him coming to your team. Assess what your fantasy team needs most and respond accordingly.

Happy trading!

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