Should you sell high on Huston Street?

Over the next week, we will be going over the buy low and sell high options for each position. We will follow the positions the way that the powers that be in baseball decided, meaning pitchers are number 1.

The starting pitchers are here.  This one will focus on relief pitchers.

As with each baseball season, there are plenty of players that are well over or well under their career averages. Finding the players that will either shed their horrid slumps, or cool off after hot starts can be the difference between winning and losing your league.

How does one go about finding the overachievers and underachievers? Season numbers vs. careeer numbers are a good place to start. But everyone has to have a breakout season sometime. What if a players is in the midst of one of those? Sometimes you just have to go with your gut…….and hope you are reading the right column!

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Jason Grilli (39) pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers during the ninth inning. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Buy low candidates:

Jason Grilli, Pirates: Grilli is 5-5 in save opportunities since returning from the disabled list.  His owners may still be stung by his horrible outings right before his DL stint.  Other still may be afraid that Mark Melancon will steal more saves than other handcuff options.  At any rate, if you take away Grilli’s poor outings before his time on the DL, his ERA on the year would be 1.42, not 3.21.

Ernesto Frieri, Angels: Frieri had a dismal April in which he gave up nine runs, and lost his closer job.  He now seems to have it back with the recent struggles of Joe Smith.  Frieri has not blown a save since, and has given up just one run in a save situation since in 13.1 innings.  He seems to have righted the ship, and could be a sneaky source of saves down the stretch.

Trevor Rosenthal, Cardinals: Rosenthal had a rough April, giving up seven runs in the month.  Most of the damage to his ERA was done then as well.  He has given up just one run in his nine innings since May 21st.  He is just behind the league leaders with 16 saves on the season, and he appears to be in no danger of losing his job.  Try to buy the saves since his ERA is still at 3.99.  It will only get lower.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Koji Uehara (19) delivers a pitch during the ninth inning against the Tampa Bays Rays.Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Sell High Candidates:

Huston Street, Padres: He has a stellar 1.08 ERA and is second in the majors with 18 saves.  Playing for the Padres will likely keep his chances down going forward.  And his ERA has nowhere to go but up.  He is a great pitcher, but I expect a regression in ERA by about a run, and I think he will struggle to hit 40 saves on that team.   Plus, there is always a chance that he will be traded, likely ruining his standard league fantasy value. It wouldn’t hurt to trade him before then.

Rafael Soriano, Nationals: The 1.13 ERA is likely to rise, and with Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard both in that bullpen, any sign of weakness from Soriano will likely be met with swift action. His leash is probably not as long as most people’s would be with a stellar ERA like that.  All I’m saying is I don’t trust the situation.  And he has a lot of value right now.

Koji Uehara, Red Sox: Uehara has been nothing short of dominant so far this year, posting a 0.70 ERA and 0.78 WHIP.  He has not given up a run since May 1st.  He has always put up very good numbers, but I have my doubts that a 39 year old can keep up this level of dominance.  If you can get a little more than his actual value, it might not hurt to try.

Come back tomorrow where we will focus on catchers!