Fantasy Baseball Week 5 – Buy Low Hitters

With the temperature starting to heat up hopefully some cold bats will start to heat up as well. As a fantasy manager, you want to always target good players who are off to slow starts. Some fantasy managers are quick to move a struggling star for a hitter who is off to a hot, but not likely sustainable start.

We try to buy low and sell high whenever possible.  Sometimes we win a trade and sometimes we lose but that’s all part of fantasy baseball. Let’s take a look at three players to buy low. 

Trea Turner

Trea Turner has gotten off to a slow start hitting only .263 with nine runs scored, one home run, 18 RBIs, four stolen bases, and a .315 on-base percentage. He is underperforming in home runs and batting average, despite being a career .302 hitter coming into this season. He hit 28 home runs last season.

According to Baseball Savant, his launch angle is 2.6 which is super low. His launch angle last season was 11.4. I think if he’s able to raise his launch angle to where it was last season then more home runs and a higher average are coming. In redraft leagues, try to offer someone like Anthony Rizzo who is off to a hot start but will probably regress some. 

Ozzie Albies

Ozzie Albies has had an up and down start to the season, hitting six home runs and stealing two bases. That’s a solid start, but he’s only hitting .205.  According to Baseball Savant, his Hard Hit % is only 21.1 which is down from 37.2 last season. His expected batting average is .265. He’s getting a little bit unlucky with balls in play and he’s not hitting the ball as hard as he did last season.

Albies should have positive regression coming. Try and offer someone like JP Crawford who is hitting for more power than previous seasons and I believe will regress a bit.

Whit Merrifield

Whit Merrifield is ice cold right now. He’s hitting .159 with a .213 OBP with four runs scored and three stolen bases. According to Baseball Savant, his Weighted On-Base Average is .192 which is a career-low for him. His career wOBA is .326. That’s a huge discrepancy. The rest of his numbers look similar to 2021. I think better days are ahead and his value is at an all-time low. Try and offer someone like Eric Hosmer who will not hit .382 for the rest of the season. 

Keep in mind we are only about 1/6 of the way through the fantasy baseball season. There is plenty of time to make up ground in the standings. It’s important to try and buy some players low. Always check the waiver wire to see who has been dropped. Good Luck!

Sign up for BetUS today with the promo code FACEOFF and get a 125% match on your first deposit! Join here.