MLB Barometer: Fantasy Trade Deadline Targets

With the real MLB trade deadline now past, most fantasy leagues have their own trade deadline rapidly approaching. If you're still in the hunt for a title or a spot in the money/postseason you're going to be looking to make some impact moves to shore up your squad. "Impact" doesn't necessarily mean "brand name", however. At this time of year, the best trades that get made are often seemingly minor ones that are designed to address specific roster weaknesses or bolster strengths. If a category is tightly bunched, or you can double the value of a move up by stealing a standings point or two directly from a fellow contender rather than a second-division team, adding the right player instead of the biggest name can make all the difference. Of course there's always the reverse trade too, where you send a player you don't need due to a surplus in the area(s) where they contribute most to a team well below you in the standings who might catch one of your rivals in those categories. Knowing which players are best suited for these types of moves can help you focus your efforts at the deadline, as well as supplying you with a list of potential "throw-in" players in a blockbuster who might turn out to be anything but afterthoughts.

Below is a quick list of exactly such players, broken down by standard fantasy hitting category plus strikeouts and wins. The other pitching categories are either too volatile (ERA/WHIP) or too obvious (saves) for such an exercise to be worthwhile. Happy hunting!

Batting average

Eddie Rosario, OF, Twins: The 24-year-old has yet to come close to recording the kind of batting averages in the majors that he has in the minors, but that could be changing. He's hitting .372 (29-for-78) over the last month and with Robbie Grossman fading back to irrelevance and Byron Buxton unable to stay healthy or effective, Rosario's playing time down the stretch should be secure for the rebuilding Twins. As a bonus he rarely walks, giving him extra ABs and allowing him to carry a little more weight in batting average.

Ender Inciarte, OF, Braves: It's been a tough, injury-plagued year for Inciarte, but after finally getting healthy he's hit .362 (34-for-94) over the last month and is working on a 19-game hitting streak. Like Rosario he doesn't walk much plus he hits leadoff, so the ABs add up quickly. He also hit .303 last year so his current run isn't out of character for him. Atlanta's been a fantasy wasteland this season, but Inciarte could be a valuable piece for you as you make your playoff push if you're in need of BA and steals.

Home runs

Mike Napoli, 1B, Indians: Incredibly, Napoli leads the major leagues in home runs over the last 30 days with 10. There's a stat that can win you a lot of bar bets. The Indians remain one of the top offenses in MLB and Napoli has been an important part of their march towards an AT Central title. He's just two HR shy of matching his previous career high of 30, so look for him to blow past that mark very quickly.

Jedd Gyorko, SS, Cardinals: In shallower leagues, you might not even need to trade for Gyorko and can just scoop him off the waiver wire. His MI eligibility makes his power surge (eight homers in the last 30 days) all the more useful and with Aledmys Diaz having not yet resumed baseball actvities and appearing to be weeks away from a return to the lineup, Gyorko should remain in the Card's starting lineup for at least the rest of August.

RBI

Starlin Castro, 2B, Yankees: Castro's 15 RBI in the last 30 days isn't necessarily among the league leaders, but like Gyorko he represents a big upgrade in this category over your typical middle infielder. He's also hitting fifth in the Yankees' lineup right now, which should allow him to continue getting plenty of opportunities with runners on base.

Martin Prado, 3B, Marlins: The perennially-undervalued Prado will also give you a boost in batting average, but with Dee Gordon now back in the lineup hitting ahead of him he should also see plenty of at-bats with a runner in scoring position after Gordon swipes a bag or two. Hits plus opportunity equals RBI, which is exactly what's Prado's done over the last month, collecting 20 of them.

Runs

Logan Forsythe, 2B, Rays: The Rays don't exactly feature a potent offense, but Forsythe's back in his 2015 form and hitting leadoff for them, which has resulted in him scoring 19 runs over the last month. The multi-position eligibility helps too, as you can use him to replace whoever your biggest disappointment is.

DJ LeMahieu, 2B, Rockies: Colorado hitters typically come at a premium, but LeMahieu is one of the few exceptions due to his lack of power. His steals are also down this year too, further shrinking his price tag, but if you need help in BA and runs he's your man, hitting .307 (31-for-101) over the last 30 days while crossing the plate 18 times.

Stolen bases

Paulo Orlando, OF, Royals: Quietly, Orlando has entrenched himself as the Royals' starting center fielder. Even the return of Lorenzo Cain didn't dislodge him, as Cain now finds himself in left field. Orlando's still offers more pure athleticism than he does baseball skills, but he's swiped four bags over the last month and has the raw speed to continue growing that total as he gets more comfortable with his role and the majors in general.

Travis Jankowski, OF, Padres: Long term Jankowski might be the Padres' fourth outfielder once Manuel Margot and Hunter Renfroe get their shot, but right now he's tearing up the basepaths for them as a starter, stealing 10 bases over the last month. He'll certainly come a lot cheaper on the trade market than the likes of Billy Hamilton, Gordon or Starling Marte.

Wins

J.A. Happ, Blue Jays: Chasing wins is a fool's errand, but sometimes you just have no other choice. In that case all you can do is look for a starting pitcher with a great offense at his back who usually lasts long enough to quality for a win. Right now the poster boy for that approach is Happ, who's won an incredible nine of his last 10 starts (the Jays have won all 10, with Happ getting a no-decision in the other game) while averaging just over six innings a start and getting a mammoth 8.6 runs per game of support.

Tanner Roark, Nationals: In a rotation littered with bigger names, Roark has been arguably the Nationals' most consistent starter. He's won six of his last seven decisions and nine of his last 11, and hasn't lasted less than six innings in a start since early June. Bar bet winner number two for this column: he leads the majors in starts with seven or more scoreless innings (he's done it seven times), which is certainly one way to ensure you get a W.

Strikeouts

Ian Kennedy, Royals: He likely won't do your ERA and WHIP any favors, but if you can withstand some damage in those categories Kennedy can still be a useful source of K's, posting a 9.4 K/9 over the last month (29 strikeouts in 27.2 innings). His current owner is probably a motivated seller at this point too.

Robbie Ray, Diamondbacks: So the current leaderboard for the last month in strikeouts features most of the expected named (Madison Bumgarner, Jose Fernandez, Stephen Strasburg, Yu Darvish) with the occasional young gun like Danny Duffy to spice things up. Ray's name sticks out like a sore thumb on that list, especially considering his 4.83 ERA and 1.50 WHIP on the season, but he's working on an amazing streak where he's struck out at least seven batters in nine straight starts and at least six in 13 straight. In fact, the Arizona left-hander has only struck out less than five batters in a start once this season, and that was back in his first start of the year. If all you want is the K's, Ray is arguably your best, cheapest trade target.

RISERS

Andrew Benintendi (OF, BOS)

One of the biggest winners at the trade deadline had to be Benintendi. The Red Sox failed to add a big bat for left field and instead decided to hand at least part of the job over to their 2015 first round pick, who's rewarded them by hitting .385 through his first five games and prompting manager John Farrell to question whether he even needs a platoon partner. The kid must be making some kind of impression on the coaching staff. The 22-year-old is still probably a couple of years away from growing into whatever power he's going to have and in fact is still looking for his first MLB extra-base hit, but once he learns to start playing wall ball off the Green Monster like the rest of his teammates his SLG will rise. Plus his last name starts with a B, so the Boston media can fit him right in to the "Killer B's" thing they've had going with Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley and Xander Bogaerts. It may have started a little sooner than anyone expected, but all signs point to Benintendi having a long and fruitful career as the Red Sox's best home-grown left fielder since Mike Greenwell.

Denard Span (OF, SF)

Span's first season in San Francisco has been a rough one but he finally seems to be finding his old form again, hitting .326 (31-for-95) over the last month and providing the Giants with the steady leadoff man and center fielder they were hoping to get when they signed him. I could just as easily have mentioned him in the first section of this article as a batting average target but with the team still hanging on to the top spot in the NL West in an even-numbered year, Span's contributions are likely to have a bigger impact on the field than in your fantasy leagues as the Giants look for their fourth title in seven years. A healthy Span is the kind of unheralded sparkplug who can easily become a postseason hero if everything falls into place.

Dan Straily (SP, CIN)

Straily has bounced through four organizations in three years and was increasingly looking like that rarest of breeds -- a Quadruple-A pitcher, someone who can put up big numbers in the PCL or International League but whose stuff just wasn't quite good enough to cut it as a regular big league starter. The 27-year-old has done his best to dispel that notion recently though, reeling off seven straight quality starts for a Reds rotation that desperately needed some consistency and posting a 2.56 ERA 0.83 WHIP over that stretch. His 6.1 K/9 during that seven-game run is still less than ideal, but nobody expected Straily to become an ace. If he can simply be a consistent mid-rotation guy, both he and the Reds would consider it a win.

Justin Verlander (SP, DET)

Never count out an old warrior. With the Tigers trying to push their way into the AL playoff picture, either by catching the Indians in the AL Central or breaking the AL East's stranglehold on the two wild card spots, Verlander has turned back the clock by winning five straight decisions over seven starts while ringing up a 1.85 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 10.5 K/9 during that stretch. Considering that he hasn't had a full-season K/9 over 9.0 since 2012, that number is especially impressive. His fastball is still a couple of ticks slower than it was in his heyday but the 33-year-old is getting the job done and is the unquestioned veteran ace of a staff that is increasingly relying on youngsters like Michael Fulmer, Matt Boyd and Daniel Norris to get them across the finish line. With about 10 starts left, Verlander is a long shot to win the eight more games he'd need to record his second career 20-win season, but you try telling him he can't do it. Heck, with no obvious leader heading into the stretch run, I wouldn't put it past him to dominate for the next seven weeks and challenge for another Cy Young award.

FALLERS

Michael Conforto (OF, NYM)

The Jay Bruce trade was going to cost someone at-bats and right now it looks like that someone will be Conforto. Already struggling through a sophomore slump, the 23-year-old is still getting regular playing time with Yoenis Cespedes on the shelf, but once Cespedes returns from his quad injury the corner outfield spots for the Mets will be set, which leaves Conforto battling with Curtis Granderson to see who can be the lesser liability defensively in center field. (Bonus faller for this column: the entire Mets pitching staff, which ranks 17th in the league in GB-rate at 44.6 percent). It won't take much for manager Terry Collins to decide that veteran moxie is what will get his team to the postseason and leave Conforto cooling his heels on the bench.

Brandon Drury (3B, ARI)

Back in May, Drury was one of the hottest free agents on the fantasy market. My, how times have changed. Yasmany Tomas' recent homer binge has pushed Drury into a part-time role lately but his own prolonged malaise at the plate had left him unusable in shallower formats long before that. It's been over a month since his last home run and his batting average has dropped from .275 to .258 since he was called back up in late June after a brief trip to Triple-A due to a roster crunch. With A.J. Pollock set to return before the end of the month, creating even more competition for outfield at-bats, Drury just doesn't seem likely to have a large role down the stretch. It's time to start wondering if a change of scenery in the offseason might be the best thing for his future.

Andrew Miller (RP, CLE)

Well, that didn't last long. The Aroldis Chapman deal gave Miller the closer job for the Yankees for about a week until he himself was shipped off to Cleveland, where his new job is... well, we don't know yet. Terry Francona has been very coy so far about whether Cody Allen or Miller, or both, would be his closer and so far his usage pattern has offered few clues. One night, Miller gets used in the middle innings to get the Indians out of a tough jam. A few days later, he doesn't get used at all in case the team rallies on the road and he's needed for a save chance. The lefty will probably get some saves as well a supplying his usual excellent ratios and K's, but it won't be as many as it might have been if he'd stayed in the Bronx.

Aaron Sanchez (SP, TOR)

Much as the Nationals did with Stephen Strasburg in 2013, the Blue Jays are publicly expressing concern with Sanchez's workload and trying to cap his innings while still staying in the playoff hunt. Unlike the Nats however, the Jays are willing to be a little more creative when it comes to ways to limit stress on the 24-year-old's arm. The trade for Francisco Liriano gave them a veteran arm they're now using to run with a six-man rotation, which means more rest between starts for Sanchez. It also means he'll lose a start or two over the next two months and that doesn't even consider the possibility that the team begins to skip him entirely if they think they need to. The 24-year-old has thrown 145.1 innings so far in 2016 after tossing 102 across all levels last year and 133.1 in 2014, but there may be more to the Jays' concern than just raw innings. After posting an 8.2 K/9 through the first three months and 105.1 IP, Sanchez's K/9 has plummeted to 5.6 in July and his first start in August. Toronto's going to need the Sanchez of the first half if they want to make another postseason run, but it might take a lot more than just a bit of extra rest to get that guy back.