STOCK UP
Rougned Odor, Texas Rangers
It has been an awful season for Odor. He was likely dropped in many leagues, and it’s easy to understand. I only have one share of Odor in my 13 leagues, and I came close to cutting him before Chris Taylor had a hamstring injury causing me to hold Odor. He is batting .236 with 28 runs, four home runs, 22 RBIs and five stolen bases with a .669 OPS in 199 at-bats. While Odor has poor plate discipline, although his walk rate is up to eight percent, he had 33 home runs and 14 steals in 2016 and 30 home runs and 15 stolen bases last season. Odor has picked it up lately, going 12-for-47 with ten runs, two home runs, six RBIs and four stolen bases. Odor had a 40.5 percent hard-hit rate and a 43.6 percent fly ball rate. He has a 6.9 percent HR/FB rate, and that’s below his career mark of 13.4 percent. Odor should be added if he’s available.
Zach Wheeler, New York Mets
The overall numbers for the season aren’t impressive, but Wheeler has improved as the season goes on. He is 2-6 with a 4.36 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 22.5 percent strikeout rate and 8.6 percent walk rate. Wheeler has allowed nine home runs in 95 innings, a 28.7 percent hard-hit rate and a career-high 10.9 percent swinging strike rate. His fastball averages 95.5 miles per hour. In his last four starts spanning 26.1 innings, Wheeler has a 2.73 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and allowed 16 hits, walked nine and struck out 27. He has no wins since the Mets are one of the worst teams in the majors over the last couple of months. Wheeler had a 4.09 ERA in April, 6.43 in May and 3.26 in June. He’s building the trade value, and if he goes to a better team, it will only increase his chance to win games.
Avisail Garcia, Chicago White Sox
Since coming off the DL after missing two months, Garcia has been on fire. He is batting .338 (20-for-59) with 13 runs, six home runs, nine RBIs, an .818 slugging percentage and a 15:2 K:BB ratio. Garcia batted .330 with 75 runs, 18 home runs and 80 RBIs in 518 at-bats. He’s in the middle of a hot streak, and it’s not a bad idea to sell if someone believes this is going to last. Garcia has a 49 percent groundball rate and 29.6 percent fly ball rate. He has a 24.1 percent HR/FB rate, which is a number that is rare and seen more in elite power hitters and Garcia isn’t.
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STOCK DOWN
Adam Eaton, Washington Nationals
Eaton has struggled since coming off the disabled list. The other issue for Eaton is he’s losing playing time. With Juan Soto, Michael Taylor and Bryce Harper in the outfield, one is going to sit, and Harper won’t sit often. Soto has cooled off a bit, but he’s still a good bat. Taylor is a good defender in center field and Eaton hasn’t done much. He has eight hits in his last 34 at-bats (.235) with three runs, no home runs, three RBIs and no stolen bases. Eaton has been losing at-bats and now showing no power or speed.
Eric Hosmer, San Diego Padres
Hosmer is mired in a bad slump. He has eight hits in his last 48 at-bats (.166) with three runs, no home runs, four RBIs and a .182 slugging percentage. Hosmer is batting .264 with 38 runs, nine home runs, 37 RBIs and a .756 OPS. Hosmer is hitting the ball on the ground even more than usual with a 60.6 percent groundball rate. With a 17.5 percent fly ball rate, he’s not going to provide the power needed at first base.
Nick Pivetta, Philadelphia Phillies
Pivetta was having a good season until June arrived. After posting an ERA of 3.27 in April and 3.24 in May, Pivetta imploded in June. In 28 innings, Pivetta allowed 38 hits, 24 earned runs, walked 12 and struck out 36. He had a 7.71 ERA, 1.79 WHIP and .415 wOBA. He had a .390 BABIP and 2.57 HR/9, so there was some unfortunate luck. Pivetta’s last start was a disaster as he allowed seven hits, seven runs, two walks and three home runs in 1.2 innings against the Nationals. Pivetta is 5-7 with a 4.66 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 28 percent strikeout rate and 7.3 percent walk rate. This is the time to buy low on Pivetta. He’s capable of being much better.
