With the 2010 MLB trade deadline now over, here is a look at which players are now rising or falling in terms of fantasy baseball value as a result of the moves.
Rising:
Brett Wallace - the trade of Wallace to Houston coupled with the expected trade of Lance Berkman to the New York Yankees should give Wallace value for the remainder of the season at first base. Wallace was hitting .301 in Triple-A with 18 home runs and 61 RBI in 385 at bats.
Daniel Hudson - while most scouts view him as a number four or five starter with decent stuff but no real one dominant pitch, the move to the National League can only help his numbers and strikeout rate going forward.
Adam Kennedy – not a sexy name for fantasy purposes, but the trade of Christian Guzman to Texas gives Kennedy a full-time grip on second base going forward. With 12 stolen bases on the season, he is a good target for the remainder of the year in your fantasy baseball team is looking for steals.
Thomas Diamond – Diamond gets first shot to replace Ted Lilly in the Chicago Cubs rotation. He was 5-4 with a 3.16 ERA in Triple-A with 104 strikeouts in 108 1/3 innings. It has been a slow climb up the minor league ladder for Diamond who was a first round pick back in 2004. Control problems had him repeating the same level for almost three years with much of 2009 spend in relief. He moved back to the starting rotation this season and his control is better than in years past but it is still not what you would like to see from a pitcher coming to the major leagues, with 46 walks on the season.
Chris Perez – the trade of Kerry Wood to the New York Yankees puts Perez pack into the closer role in Cleveland where he should remain for the rest of the season.
Chris Snyder – Snyder takes over as catcher in Pittsburgh after being traded from Arizona. It looks like Ryan Doumit will rotate between first base and the outfield when he returns from the disabled list.
John Jay – the three-team trade that sent Ryan Ludwick to San Diego moves Jay into a full-time role in the outfield. Jay holds a .301 career average in the minor leagues, with a season high of 12 home runs in 2008 and 20 stolen bases in 2009.
Falling:
Jon Rauch – Rauch looks to be the odd man out in the closer role in Minnesota with the addition of Matt Capps. Rauch has a 3.05 ERA, a 1.36 WHIP with a .283 batting average against and a 84% save percentage on the season. He has struggled in July with a 5.40 ERA and a 2.28 WHIP putting him second in line for saves in the Twins bullpen.
Everth Cabrera – the trade of Miguel Tejada puts Cabrera on the bench from time to time with Tejada at shortstop and Jerry Hairston Jr. moving over to second base with David Eckstein out of action. He could see time against left-handed pitching with Tejada moving to third and Chase Headley sitting since he owns a .194 average against southpaws.
Scott Podsednik – the trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers gives him playing time for now with Manny Ramirez on the disabled list, but in two weeks when Manny returns, Podsednik likely falls into a fourth outfielder role filling in as situations arise.
Jorge Cantu – the trade to the Texas Rangers will cut into Cantu’s value as it looks like he will serve as a platoon role at first base with Mitch Moreland for the time being against left-handed pitching.
Edwin Jackson – the trade to the American League will likely raise his ERA and WHIP ratio unless he is flipped back to the National League in a trade tomorrow.
Octavio Dotel / Kerry Wood - Dotel and Wood were both traded to teams where they go from being a closer to a set up man.
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