We've reached a point in the season where comparing some of this year's breakouts -- guys like Carlos Quentin and Edinson Volquez -- to some of its slow-starting studs -- guys like Prince Fielder and Curtis Granderson -- can get a bit tricky. On the one hand, you don't want to give up on the studs too early. On the other hand, you don't quite trust the breakouts. What do you do?
You ask Mr. Fantasy, of course.
Scott -- trade question for you. My hitting is solid, but my pitching is rocky. I could potentially deal Prince Fielder and receive Carlos Quentin and John Lackey. I'm close to pulling the trigger. My offense has done well apart from Fielder's power outage. Quentin is on fire, and Lackey would help my pitching. But is giving up Fielder too much in a keeper league? I want to win this year since I'm on top right now, but I don't want to mortgage my team's power. Help! -- Ed, Portland, Ore.
SW: If you need pitching, you obviously have to make this deal. Look, I have as much confidence in the return of Fielder's power as anybody. He entered Tuesday with four homers in his last nine games, already showing signs of a turnaround. But I have just as much confidence in Quentin's breakthrough. His minor-league numbers and scouting reports pointed to it, and we probably would have seen it last year in Arizona if not for his shoulder injury. And really, Quentin has just as much keeper potential as Fielder. He's less than two years older and doesn't have all that excess body weight to wear out his knees. I wouldn't balk at trading Fielder for Lackey straight up, depending on need, so getting Lackey and a hitter potentially as good as Quentin is an easy call.
There is a Fantasy owner who offers a trade at least once a day for Chase Utley. I have offered him Utley and Jacoby Ellsbury for Josh Hamilton and Brandon Phillips, but he keeps trying to offer Dustin Pedroia or several variations instead of Phillips, and I reject it. Am I being too hard on him, and is my deal a fair one? -- Mark Caissey
SW: The deal you proposed is certainly fair. Phillips doesn't rate far behind Utley, but Pedroia sure does -- too far to justify any potential gain from exchanging Ellsbury for Hamilton. That said, your opponent has every right to reject the trade, regardless of fairness. Maybe he thinks having both Utley and Phillips is his whole key to winning, meaning he won't include Phillips in the deal under any circumstances. I could see that. Of course, if you've already told him you won't trade Utley unless he includes Phillips and he just keeps badgering you with unwanted trade proposals, you could always just stop answering them. I personally hate when people don't respond to trade proposals, but if a pest won't listen to reason, you don't have much choice.
Would you trade Scott Kazmir or Edinson Volquez for Ian Kinsler or Brandon Phillips? If so, what's the best possible combination? -- Don Burgess
SW: Sure, a near-elite starting pitcher for a near-elite second baseman -- if you have a need, why not? Ideally, you'd send Volquez for Phillips -- I trust Kazmir's slow rise to acedom more than Volquez's sudden explosion, and Phillips has more of a track record than Kinsler -- but I wouldn't nix any particular combination.
I currently have Ryan Franklin, Brian Fuentes and Dan Wheeler. Do you think Franklin will hold on to his job? Will Fuentes get traded? How long until Troy Percival comes back? Who should I sell high on? Who will give me the best value the rest of the season? -- Dave, New York
SW: And the award for most efficient line of questioning goes to Dave. Let's see if I can make my answers just as succinct.
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Some owners are trying to cash in on Jay Bruce's fast start.
(AP)
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No, I don't think Franklin will remain the closer. He's proven himself capable of handling the role in short spurts, but
Jason Isringhausen deserves a second chance when he gets off the DL and will likely thrive once he gets it. With the Rockies falling out of contention and Fuentes one of the better left-handers in the league, I suppose a trade is possible, but I couldn't even begin to predict one just yet. The Rays talk like Percival will return by the end of the week, so Wheeler is quickly running out of appeal. Of the three pitchers you listed, I think only Fuentes keeps closing, making him the one you want. As for selling high, you might as well try shopping Franklin just to see if you can find a non-believer in Isringhausen. You don't have much time, though.
I am in a 16-team Head-to-Head league with some other quality owners, so for the most part, the best juice has already been squeezed. I was lucky (or wise) enough to pick up Jay Bruce earlier this year and held on to him long enough to see him blossom. I had an owner offer me Brandon Webb and Michael Cuddyer for Bruce and Ken Griffey. Should I pull the trigger on this one? -- Dan O'Neil, Louisville, Ky.
SW: It depends somewhat on need, of course, but I pretty much always want the side of the deal that lands the best player. Webb is clearly that. Bruce has crazy upside but also a lot of learning to do at age 21. He's already begun to come back down to earth, entering Tuesday batting .231 (6-for-26) over his last six games. Meanwhile, Webb looks like he'll capture his second Cy Young award this year and is currently our No. 1 ranked Fantasy starting pitcher. Don't turn down the best pitcher in baseball for an unproven 21-year-old. As for Cuddyer and Griffey, I prefer Griffey, but not by enough to ruin the deal.
I am in a quite psychotic, cutthroat 20-team keeper league. I have Wandy Rodriguez, John Danks and Armando Galarraga. Of the three, who is the best option to keep and the best to trade? -- Corey
SW: I love Rodriguez. I want him on any and all of my Fantasy teams that have a bench, even the 10-team ones. Of course, my fondness has more to do with predictability than talent. Since the beginning of the 2007 season, Rodriguez has a 2.48 ERA at home and a 6.01 ERA on the road, meaning you know exactly when to start him and when not to. He's as idiot-proof as pitchers come and worth owning for that reason. And who knows? He might go Ervin Santana on us and learn how to pitch on the road. As for the pitcher to trade, I'd shop Galarraga. Because of Jeremy Bonderman's injury, he gets to keep his spot in the rotation, which might generate some buzz and allow you to "sell high" on him, in a way. Also, I like Danks' upside more.
I'm in a 12-team Head-to-Head mixed league and don't know which outfielders to start. I have Matt Holliday, Josh Hamilton, Hunter Pence, Carlos Gomez and J.D. Drew and can start four of them. -- Kyle Sullivan, Healdsburg, Calif.
SW: In a Head-to-Head league, I have hard time believing Gomez is doing anything for you, considering the diminished value of steals. And even if your league awards two points for steals, he's stolen only one base since May 11. Holliday, Hamilton and Pence are obvious must-starts, so don't even mess with them. For your fourth outfield spot, ride the hot hand of Drew and Gomez the rest of the way, meaning Drew for now.
I am currently sitting in fourth place and need help with my batting average, ERA and WHIP. I have tried to trade for pitching help, but nobody bites. I just dropped Chien-Ming Wang and added Josh Banks. Good or bad move? I also have Jay Bruce on my team. What should I expect in return for him as far as starting pitching goes? -- Mark R. James, Gibbsboro, N.J.
SW: Well, let's look at precedent. In this very same column, we've seen someone willing to trade Brandon Webb for Bruce. In an office league here, presumably a credible one, I know someone recently traded John Lackey for Bruce. So if you play your cards right, Mark, and find a prospect hound with a gaping void in his outfield, you could pretty much get any pitcher you want. As for your recent waiver transaction, let's not get silly. Wang has struggled of late, but he's also won 19 games each of the last two seasons. Banks has had a nice two-start run, but he's not Tim Lincecum or anything close to a top prospect. If Wang somehow went unclaimed after you dropped him, go back and undo what you did.
I currently own Edinson Volquez and Jacoby Ellsbury, both claimed off waivers, and am thinking of trading them for a stud bat. Do you think either of them will keep up his ridiculous pace? If not, I'd love to bundle them together for a top-tier hitter, such as Prince Fielder or someone else off to a slow start. -- Matt Fahlman, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
SW: Granted, it depends somewhat on your scoring format, but I don't think you'd even need to bundle them together. Whether you have your doubts about him or not, Volquez has entered the elite class of starting pitchers -- how could he not with a 1.56 ERA through the middle of June? -- and Ellsbury isn't exactly waiver fodder. You might overpay if you package the two for anything less than a legitimate first rounder, like Chase Utley or Hanley Ramirez.
I have been offered Hideki Matsui and Curtis Granderson for Jason Bay and Ian Kinsler. Is this a trade I should even consider since I think I have a stacked team already? -- Jason Soderholm
SW: Nothing wrong with improving an already good team, Jason, but you have the right idea in one respect. When you have a strong team, you have to approach trade offers with a higher level of scrutiny. You don't want to mess it up, after all. Fortunately, in this case, your opponent made your decision easy for you. By giving up Kinsler and Bay, you'd give up the best two players in the deal, and I can't think of a set of circumstances where you'd want to do that.
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