Buy or Sell: American League All-Star Edition

With the All-Star game this Tuesday, July 11, I thought it would be a great idea to look at the rosters and see if the fantasy values for the players should continue, or if owners should be looking to sell.

American League

Starters

C: Salvador Perez, Royals
Since joining the big leagues, Perez is a .283/.313/.470 hitter in the 1st half of the season. This drops to .263/.293/.410 in the 2nd half. This has been a consistent trend with Perez throughout his career. To make this worst, Perez has a .233 average in the month of July and a .255 average in August. As the season goes on, Perez wears down. I don’t see any indication this will be bucked this season.
Verdict: Sell

1B: Justin Smoak, Blue Jays
Smoak is a surprise pick here. No Miguel Cabrera, no Albert Pujols, no Chris Davis. Smoak has great stats to start the year. A .300 average and on pace for over 40+ HR and 100+ RBI. The problem is, he hit .223 and averaged around 15 HR a year his 1st 7 years in the majors. I have my doubts that a 30 year old can change his career this drastically. I’d sell him for a top 15 first baseman.
Verdict: Sell

2B: Jose Altuve, Astros
3B: Jose Ramirez, Indians
SS: Carlos Correa, Astros
OF: Aaron Judge, Yankees
OF: George Springer, Astros
OF: Mike Trout, Angels Mookie Betts, Red Sox
Verict: All of these players are top 30. Hold tight.

DH: Corey Dickerson, Rays
After a miserable 1st season with Tampa Bay (.245 AVG .469 SLG), Dickerson is now a starter in the All-Star game. He also owns a .558 slugging percentage, good for top 10 in the AL. For a more detailed look, The Tampa Tribune posted a great article on what Dickerson has improved. I’m a believer and the Rays as a whole are a rather underrated team in terms of fantasy potential.
Verdict: Buy

Pitchers

Chris Sale, Red Sox
Corey Kluber, Indians
Yu Darvish, Rangers
Verdict: Top 10 SP. Hold tight

Luis Severino, Yankees
Lance McCullers Jr., Astros
Dallas Keuchel, Astros
Michael Fulmer, Tigers
Verdict: All of these players have moved inside the Top 20 SP. Buy

Craig Kimbrel, Red Sox
Andrew Miller, Indiands
Verdict: Top 10 RP. Hold tight

Ervin Santana, Twins
Past 301.2 innings for Santana, 3.22 ERA. He also has a 1.16 WHIP and just 7.2 K/9. This season he has a FIP of 4.68, last year it was 3.81. He is clearly pitching way above his head. Use the ERA stat and SELL!
Verdict: Sell

Jason Vargas, Royals
Vargas has 12 wins in 17 starts with a 2.62 ERA. He also has a 3.79 FIP and a career 4.05 ERA. This is fun right now. As a Vargas owner in a few leagues, I have enjoyed it. This is going to end badly though. Sell for a top 20-30 SP if you can. The SP landscape is ever changing, especially this season. Vargas could be serviceable all year, but his value is higher now than I expect it to be come August, or late July for that matter. Sell now.
Verdict: Sell

Dellin Betances, Yankees
He’s a top 30 RP who is 1 injury away from being top 5. Only sell him if you get a great return. He’s a huge asset for in leagues with IP or starts limits.
Verdict: Buy

Reserves

C: Gary Sanchez, Yankees
3B: Miguel Sano, Twins
SS: Francisco Lindor, Indians
DH: Nelson Cruz, Mariners
Verdict: All Top 50 players. Hold tight

1B: Yonder Alonso, Athletics
Prior to 2017, Alonso had never hit 10 or more HR in a season. He is now at 19 and it is July 6. He has been in a bit of a slump lately though. After batting .303 with 10 HR in May, Alonso had just 3 homers and a .267 average in June. He is also hitting just .213 against lefties for the season. At such a deep position of 1B, Alonso needs to have more months like May going forward or he will slip in the rankings.
Verdict: Sell

2B: Starlin Castro, Yankees
I’m a big fan of Castro. I have him as a top 10 2B in my Top 250 and a top 80 overall player. He is currently injured with a hamstring issue, but I don’t see it extending far, if at all, past the All-Star break. He has a career high slash line of .313/.348/.486. A friendly reminder that he is still only 27 years old. His team around him has improved far faster than anticipated and this has helped his counting stats.
Verdict: Buy

2B: Jonathan Schoop, Orioles
I thought Schoop last season was a best case scenario for him. This year, the 25 year old has shown the best has yet to come. On pace to have a career year across the board, Schoop is not only the #7 2B in fantasy but also a top 50 overall hitter.
Verdict: Buy

3B: Mike Moustakas, Royals
Moustakas made the All-Star game as part of the Final Vote. His 25 HR and .570 slugging percentage backs up this selection. Moustakas seems to be flying under the radar at 3B. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Although it’s unlikely he will finish the season with north of 50 homers, he might be the dark horse to reach 40 that no one is talking about. He’s well on his way to having his best season yet.
Verdict: Buy

OF: Michael Brantley, Indians
Of all the selections, Brantley is probably the least ‘deserving’ All-Star. His manager is the manager for AL squad though. Brantley was a top 10 fantasy star in 2014 and followed it up with a solid 2015. Since then he’s been battling injuries and the criteria of being an elite fantasy hitter has changed. His average and steals are fine but the power just doesn’t measure up to today’s standards Sell if someone still sees top 20 OF upside in him.
Verdict: Sell

OF: Avisail Garcia, White Sox
Garcia was a preseason favorite of mine. Just 26 years old, Garcia was in a good spot to have a breakout season. Hitting .313 with near career highs across the board, I think it’s safe to say this is his breakout. The bad news is that the underlying numbers seem to indicate this won’t continue, at least not to this extent. He has a rather high BAbip. Everything seems to be going right for him right now and his luck might run out.
Verdict: Sell