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Anointing a streaking player as a legitimate breakout, complete with all the assurances of a proven stud, is one of the most difficult calls to make, especially when the context is the making of a trade.
You're directly responsible for the outcome of that call, and if you've made it prematurely, you'll suffer the repercussions for the rest of the season.
It's why I tend to be more conservative when moving players up my Trade Chart, preferring to elevate a Pete Alonso 20 spots at a time rather than catapult him straight into the top 50. But the way he has proven himself week after week has ultimately gotten him there -- or close enough, anyway -- moving him ahead of first base mainstays like Joey Votto and Jose Abreu.
Fernando Tatis, another rookie, has similarly climbed into the top 100, which is no small feat given the amount of star power at shortstop these days. Tyler Glasnow and Luis Castillo are verging on ace status, and their latest trade values clearly reflect it.
There is sometimes a case to be made for clinging to the upside play over someone with a more established value in anticipation of the former eventually leapfrogging the ladder. Was there a point this season when I would have traded Alonso for Abreu? My Trade Chart would have said yes, but realistically, I would have wanted to wait and see.
It's just a reminder that there are nuances to player evaluation that can't be expressed within a single number. Everybody brings their own biases and tolerances to the negotiation table, and sometimes a trade that looks OK on paper just doesn't feel right. When it comes to the exchanging of assets that I'm fairly certain I won't be seeing again, I want to be 80-90 percent confident that it's the right move for me. If I'm torn, the default answer is no.
Some additional reminders of how this thing works before diving into the values:
1. These values are tailored for standard CBS Head-to-Head points leagues, meaning 12 teams and 21-man rosters. The low-dollar players would be worth more in a deeper league, and the mid-dollar players would be worth less in a shallower league.
2. These values are intended only for 1-for-1 and 2-for-1 trades. Get into 3-for-1 or, heaven forbid, 4-for-1, and the impending roster crunch makes it near impossible to justify giving up the superior player (unless, of course, it's an obvious overpay).
3. These values are more of a rough guideline. In theory, if two players add up to more than some other player, you'll take the two over the one, but not every possible scenario has been vetted. And particularly with the lower-value players, perceptions are changing constantly. When in doubt, you'll want to stick with the better player.
Rank | Player | Position | Value |
1 | Mike Trout, LAA | OF | 51 |
2 | Mookie Betts, BOS | OF | 49 |
3 | Nolan Arenado, COL | 3B | 46 |
4 | J.D. Martinez, BOS | OF | 46 |
5 | Max Scherzer, WAS | SP | 46 |
6 | Christian Yelich, MIL | OF | 46 |
7 | Jacob deGrom, NYM | SP | 45 |
8 | Alex Bregman, HOU | 3B/SS | 43 |
9 | Jose Altuve, HOU | 2B | 42 |
10 | Jose Ramirez, CLE | 3B | 40 |
11 | Bryce Harper, PHI | OF | 39 |
12 | Paul Goldschmidt, STL | 1B | 39 |
13 | Justin Verlander, HOU | SP | 39 |
14 | Manny Machado, SD | 3B/SS | 39 |
15 | Ronald Acuna, ATL | OF | 39 |
16 | Trevor Bauer, CLE | SP | 38 |
17 | Corey Kluber, CLE | SP | 38 |
18 | Blake Snell, TB | SP | 38 |
19 | Gerrit Cole, HOU | SP | 38 |
20 | Freddie Freeman, ATL | 1B | 38 |
21 | Aaron Nola, PHI | SP | 37 |
22 | Anthony Rizzo, CHC | 1B | 36 |
23 | Cody Bellinger, LAD | 1B/OF | 36 |
24 | Anthony Rendon, WAS | 3B | 35 |
25 | Francisco Lindor, CLE | SS | 35 |
26 | Charlie Blackmon, COL | OF | 34 |
27 | Trevor Story, COL | SS | 34 |
28 | Chris Sale, BOS | SP | 34 |
29 | Noah Syndergaard, NYM | SP | 32 |
30 | Patrick Corbin, WAS | SP | 32 |
31 | Juan Soto, WAS | OF | 30 |
32 | Giancarlo Stanton, NYY | OF | 29 |
33 | Rhys Hoskins, PHI | 1B/OF | 29 |
34 | Javier Baez, CHC | 2B/3B/SS | 29 |
35 | Trea Turner, WAS | SS | 28 |
36 | Carlos Carrasco, CLE | SP | 28 |
37 | Andrew Benintendi, BOS | OF | 27 |
38 | Carlos Correa, HOU | SS | 27 |
39 | J.T. Realmuto, PHI | C | 27 |
40 | Khris Davis, OAK | DH | 27 |
41 | Zack Greinke, ARI | SP | 26 |
42 | Kris Bryant, CHC | 3B/OF | 25 |
43 | Whit Merrifield, KC | 2B/OF | 25 |
44 | Gary Sanchez, NYY | C | 24 |
45 | James Paxton, NYY | SP | 23 |
46 | Stephen Strasburg, WAS | SP | 23 |
47 | Xander Bogaerts, BOS | SS | 22 |
48 | Corey Seager, LAD | SS | 22 |
49 | German Marquez, COL | SP | 22 |
50 | Clayton Kershaw, LAD | SP | 22 |
51 | Pete Alonso, NYM | 1B | 20 |
52 | George Springer, HOU | OF | 20 |
53 | Matt Chapman, OAK | 3B | 20 |
54 | Joey Votto, CIN | 1B | 19 |
55 | Edwin Diaz, NYM | RP | 19 |
56 | Jose Berrios, MIN | SP | 19 |
57 | Walker Buehler, LAD | SP | 19 |
58 | Blake Treinen, OAK | RP | 18 |
59 | Jack Flaherty, STL | SP | 18 |
60 | Luis Castillo, CIN | SP | 18 |
61 | Tyler Glasnow, TB | SP/RP | 18 |
62 | Matt Carpenter, STL | 1B/3B | 16 |
63 | Joey Gallo, TEX | 1B/OF | 16 |
64 | Ozzie Albies, ATL | 2B | 16 |
65 | Adalberto Mondesi, KC | SS | 16 |
66 | Chris Archer, PIT | SP | 15 |
67 | Jameson Taillon, PIT | SP | 15 |
68 | Vladimir Guerrero, TOR | 3B | 14 |
69 | Tommy Pham, TB | OF | 14 |
70 | Jose Abreu, CHW | 1B | 14 |
71 | Eugenio Suarez, STL | 3B | 14 |
72 | Daniel Murphy, COL | 2B | 14 |
73 | Yoan Moncada, CHW | 2B/3B | 14 |
74 | Aaron Judge, NYY | OF | 13 |
75 | Yasmani Grandal, MIL | C | 13 |
76 | Willson Contreras, CHC | C | 13 |
77 | Lorenzo Cain, MIL | OF | 11 |
78 | Kenley Jansen, LAD | RP | 11 |
79 | Aroldis Chapman, NYY | RP | 11 |
80 | David Price, BOS | SP | 11 |
81 | Michael Brantley, HOU | OF | 11 |
82 | Madison Bumgarner, SF | SP | 10 |
83 | Zack Wheeler, NYM | SP | 10 |
84 | Shane Bieber, CLE | SP | 10 |
85 | Mike Foltynewicz, ATL | SP | 9 |
86 | Masahiro Tanaka, NYY | SP | 9 |
87 | Cole Hamels, CHC | SP | 9 |
88 | Charlie Morton, TB | SP | 9 |
89 | Eddie Rosario, MIN | OF | 9 |
90 | Wilson Ramos, NYM | C | 9 |
91 | Sean Doolittle, WAS | RP | 9 |
92 | Roberto Osuna, HOU | RP | 9 |
93 | Brad Hand, CLE | RP | 9 |
94 | Fernando Tatis, SD | SS | 9 |
95 | Kirby Yates, SD | RP | 9 |
96 | Felipe Vazquez, PIT | RP | 9 |
97 | Justin Turner, LAD | 3B | 9 |
98 | A.J. Pollock, LAD | OF | 9 |
99 | Mitch Haniger, SEA | OF | 9 |
100 | Michael Conforto, NYM | OF | 9 |
101 | Collin McHugh, HOU | SP/RP | 9 |
102 | Josh Donaldson, ATL | 3B | 8 |
103 | Edwin Encarnacion, SEA | 1B | 8 |
104 | Jon Gray, COL | SP | 8 |
105 | Joe Musgrove, PIT | SP | 8 |
106 | Nelson Cruz, MIN | DH | 8 |
107 | Carlos Santana, CLE | 1B | 8 |
108 | Yandy Diaz, TB | 1B/3B | 8 |
109 | Marcell Ozuna, STL | OF | 7 |
110 | Dee Gordon, SEA | 2B/OF | 7 |
111 | Max Muncy, LAD | 1B/2B/3B | 7 |
112 | Mike Clevinger, CLE | SP | 7 |
113 | Luis Severino, NYY | SP | 7 |
114 | Miles Mikolas, STL | SP | 7 |
115 | Starling Marte, PIT | OF | 7 |
116 | Andrew McCutchen, PHI | OF | 7 |
117 | David Dahl, COL | OF | 7 |
118 | Yu Darvish, CHC | SP | 7 |
119 | Matthew Boyd, DET | SP | 7 |
120 | Austin Meadows, TB | OF | 6 |
121 | Domingo Santana, SEA | OF | 6 |
122 | Wade Davis, COL | RP | 6 |
123 | Gleyber Torres, NYY | 2B/SS | 6 |
124 | Jonathan Villar, BAL | 2B/SS | 6 |
125 | Jean Segura, PHI | SS | 6 |
126 | Nicholas Castellanos, DET | OF | 6 |
127 | Paul DeJong, STL | SS | 5 |
128 | Elvis Andrus, TEX | SS | 5 |
129 | Jose Quintana, CHC | SP | 5 |
130 | Domingo German, NYY | SP | 5 |
131 | Caleb Smith, MIA | SP | 5 |
132 | David Peralta, ARI | OF | 5 |
133 | Ryan McMahon, COL | 1B/2B | 5 |
134 | Wil Myers, SD | 3B/OF | 5 |
135 | Yadier Molina, STL | C | 5 |
136 | Yasiel Puig, CIN | OF | 5 |
137 | Mike Moustakas, MIL | 2B/3B | 4 |
138 | Robinson Cano, NYM | 2B | 4 |
139 | Travis Shaw, MIL | 2B/3B | 4 |
140 | Miguel Andujar, NYY | 3B | 4 |
141 | Victor Robles, WAS | OF | 4 |
142 | Eloy Jimenez, CHW | OF | 4 |
143 | Buster Posey, SF | C | 4 |
144 | J.A. Happ, NYY | SP | 4 |
145 | Greg Holland, ARI | RP | 4 |
146 | Aaron Hicks, NYY | OF | 3 |
147 | Robbie Ray, ARI | SP | 3 |
148 | Kenta Maeda, LAD | SP/RP | 3 |
149 | Rich Hill, LAD | SP | 3 |
150 | Josh Hader, MIL | RP | 3 |
151 | Jose Leclerc TEX | RP | 3 |
152 | Ken Giles, TOR | RP | 3 |
153 | Raisel Iglesias, CIN | RP | 3 |
154 | Chris Paddack, SD | SP | 3 |
155 | Hyun-Jin Ryu, LAD | SP | 3 |
156 | Omar Narvaez, SEA | C | 3 |
157 | Luke Voit, NYY | 1B | 3 |
158 | Trevor Richards, MIA | SP | 3 |
159 | Enrique Hernandez, LAD | 2B/SS/OF | 3 |
160 | Trey Mancini, BAL | 1B/OF | 3 |
161 | Daniel Vogelbach, SEA | 1B | 3 |
162 | Jurickson Profar, OAK | 1B/2B/3B/SS | 3 |
163 | Brandon Lowe, TB | 2B | 3 |
164 | Gregory Polanco, PIT | OF | 3 |
165 | Marcus Stroman, TOR | SP | 3 |
166 | Marcus Semien, OAK | SS | 2 |
167 | Jorge Polanco, MIN | SS | 2 |
168 | Brad Peacock, HOU | RP | 2 |
169 | Craig Kimbrel, FA | RP | 2 |
170 | Marco Gonzales, SEA | SP | 2 |
171 | Sonny Gray, CIN | SP | 2 |
172 | Jordan Hicks, STL | RP | 2 |
173 | Kevin Gausman, ATL | SP | 1 |
174 | Kyle Hendricks, CHC | SP | 1 |
175 | Dansby Swanson, ATL | SS | 1 |
176 | Brian Dozier, WAS | 2B | 1 |
177 | Jesus Aguilar, MIL | 1B | 1 |
178 | Ryan Brasier, BOS | RP | 1 |
179 | Rick Porcello, BOS | SP | 1 |
180 | Eduardo Rodriguez, BOS | SP | 1 |
181 | Joey Lucchesi, SD | SP | 1 |
182 | Yusei Kikuchi, SEA | SP | 1 |
183 | Kyle Freeland, COL | SP | 1 |
184 | Jesse Winker, CIN | OF | 1 |
185 | Stephen Piscotty, OAK | OF | 1 |
186 | Jason Heyward, CHC | OF | 1 |
187 | Justin Smoak, TOR | 1B | 1 |
188 | Josh Bell, PIT | 1B | 1 |
189 | Clint Frazier, NYY | OF | 1 |
190 | Matt Olson, OAK | 1B | 1 |
191 | Cody Allen, LAA | RP | 1 |
192 | Max Fried, ATL | SP | 1 |
193 | Carlos Rodon, CHW | SP | 1 |
194 | Jon Lester, CHC | SP | 1 |
195 | Mike Soroka, ATL | SP | 1 |
196 | Pablo Lopez, MIA | SP | 1 |
197 | Jay Bruce, SEA | 1B/OF | 1 |
198 | Maikel Franco, PHI | 3B | 1 |
199 | Tyler Skaggs, LAA | SP | 1 |
200 | Mike Minor, TEX | SP | 1 |