Buy & Sell - Stewy Time

Buy & Sell

By Matt "Hack" Hackenmiller

Note: Ownership is based in Yahoo! Leagues.

Adrian Beltre (.261/.293/.383, 57% Ownership)

The Seattle third baseman got off to a slow start the first couple of months of the season. But in the last few weeks, Beltre has begun to get it rolling as he has had fourteen hits in his last ten games and there are some positive signs ahead. For his career, Beltre has a .281/.336/.490 line after the All Star break and he is in a contract year. He won't reach the status that he reached in the contract year of 2004, but there is still incentive enough for Beltre to keep it going.

Ian Stewart (.222/.308/.488, 43% Ownership)

Stewart has taken over the third base job in Colorado after the benching of Garrett Atkins. It is always a good strategy to have a Rockies position player on your roster, but what makes Stewart the most valuable is that in the Yahoo! format, he is eligible at 2B and 3B. The batting average isn't all that appealing,, however, the Rockies will be playing more games at home this month, so that stat will be on the rise. To be able to put a player with a slugging percentage close to .500 in your middle infield slot will only make your roster that much better.

Javier Vazquez (4-6, 3.41 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 92.1 IP, 112 K, 92% Ownership)

The move from Cellular Field to Atlanta has agreed with Vazquez as his WHIP and ERA are considerably down this season. It seems like Vazquez gets lost every season when discussing the best pitchers in baseball, but he has thrown over two hundred innings the last four seasons and has struck out over 190 batters five different times in his career. His BABIP is a bit low, but nothing really that concerning since he has only walked 18 batters all season. His lack of name recognition may allow you to pilfer him from an unsuspecting owner.

Ben Zobrist (.310/.420/.678, 85% Ownership)

Where did this come from? Zobrist has gone from a utility player to possible All Star for the Tampa Bay Rays. Let's see, why don't I believe in this turn around? Here are a couple of reasons: his Isolated Power of .368 is higher than the likes of Ryan Howard, Mark Teixeira, and Raul Ibanez. Zobrist's HR/FB rate of 25% is higher than Albert Pujols and Ryan Braun. So we are talking about a fringe major league player producing stats equal to or better than some of the best in the game. Now might be the time to move Zobrist before he turns back into a pumpkin.

Justin Upton (.308/.391/567, 89% Ownership)

Upton has begun to live up to some of the lofty expectations that have been placed upon him the last few years. Although, I think he will still be productive the rest of the season, there are some warning signs that he may experience a drop off. He has an alarming strikeout rate of 27% and his .380 BABIP is way over the league average, so there will be an adjustment period ahead. I can understand why managers wouldn't want to trade away someone like Upton. He is considered one of the best young players in the game, but his production is bound to fall off at some point this year.

Matt Cain (9-1, 2.39 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 86.1 IP, 68 K, 93% Ownership)

Cain has been able so far this season. He has teamed with Tim Lincecum to form one of the best young pitching duos in baseball. However, there are many concerns as Cain's strike out rate has dropped from last season while his home run rate has risen. Also, he has a high strand rate meaning that he is allowing runners to get on base, but is getting out of some tough jams. Over the course of the season, more of those runners tend to score which will affect his ERA and possibly how many wins his receives. So far this season, Cain has produced like a number one starter after he was drafted to be a number two or three. Look for him to return to those draft predictions.

Name to remember...Andrew Miller, FLA.-SP. The highly regarded lanky left-hander has had some positive moments this season. The strike out potential is there, but control is still an issue as evidence by his 43/27 K/BB rate. The more that he gets to pitch at the major league level, though, the comfortable he looks as he has turned in three optimistic starts in a row. He is still a match up type pitcher and because of the control problems, those match ups can feel like a roller coaster at times. But he is still someone to target for later in the season and going forward into next year.

You may be wondering why Zobrist is on the "Sell" list so soon after a post the other day that encouraged readers to pick him up.  Well, the simple answer is Hack and Johnny Archive don't always agree, but we are both willing to support our positions.

-Johnny Archive