We are very lucky, we, fantasy managers.
The MLB teams are faced with an annual commercial deadline at the end of July (giving or taking a few days, depending on the day of the week of the week on July 31), which means that the important movements they wish to make to strengthen their lists for the stretch run must be completed with barely two -thirds of the season in books.
We are luckier in most fantastic leagues, but especially in standard ESPN formats, where our own commercial deadlines arrive on August 15 at noon. We still have nine days to improve our lists for a final championship push.
So … what You Do these next nine days to improve your team?
My a-no. 1 advice to a team seeking to make a big splash on the commercial front: Target high.
Again, 70% of the season is now in books – the league has successfully completed this threshold on Tuesday evening – which means that the roasted rankings are solidifying and much more difficult to change in the remaining time, while the hours in the leading leagues have only three or four weeks (three in ESPN standard, counting the current one in the regular season. If you intend to considerably shake the ranking, you will need a much more important impact player that you would need in May.
This week, identifying six proven finish that you must prioritize with your commercial proposals. Next week, I will offer my favorite pre-factch-stretch-stretch commercial objectives.
The historic stars at the end of the season to acquire
Getting the theme of “Go Large”, the story shows us that a handful of players generally intervene with their best performances in the last weeks of the season. Each of these six players will cost you a bonus, but if the requested commercial return still seems to be remotely reasonable (and check my ranking to help in this process), then conclude the agreement.
Julio Rodriguez, from, Seattle Mariners: Through the last 48 naval games of its first three MLB seasons (precisely the number of games that remain in 2025), Rodriguez has an average of 3.30 fantasy points, the seventh best rate among strikers with at least 50 games in total played during this specific calendar period. (Do you want to guess the six in front of him? Think about it, and we will give you the answer at the end of this column.)
Keeping in mind that Rodriguez was a historically better roasting that the fantastic player based on points, with three rankings of the top-30 players (including 2025) among his four seasons, but only once among the first 30 drummer Fantasy Point Total (2023, when he ranked 17th on this side), it is quite a review of the end of the season for him. “J-Rod” is already showing signs of a statistical increase, with nine circuits, six interceptions and. 295 / .340 / .648 in his last 21 games, his mariners have concluded important support agreements, and they are also confronted with one of the sweetest remaining hours in the League.
Blake Snell, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers: Ready for wild statistic? During the last 48 games of his teams in the last three seasons – once again, the number of games that now remain for Dodgers – Snell has scored 490 fantastic points, most of them among the launchers and the third in baseball (Shohei Ohtani, 609; Aaron Judge, 494). But that’s not all: 1,012 SNELL career points during this same calendar ranks third among the launchers (Gerrit Cole, 1,084; Justin Verlander, 1,049).
Yes, this is the period of the year of Snell, and he looked solid in his return from the IL last Saturday (95.0 MPH fast ball fastball, 36% price on non-employment, both within reach of its previous standards). It is the ultimate acquisition of risks / rewards: a launcher that you can reasonably allow yourself thanks to its history of checkered injury, but also to the precise type of the ceiling that you should wish.
Kyle Schwarber, DH, Philadelphia Phillies: If SNELL’s statistics do not impress you, it could. The Phillies Slugger has struck at least 10 home circuits in each of the last three September, making it one of the 12 players in history which can claim at least three months of recent months. The fact that Schwarber accomplished this feat in three consecutive September put it on an exclusive list with only Hank Greenberg (1937-40, four in a row) and Mark McGwire (1997-1999).
From a fantastic angle, Schwarber joins the judge as only players with at least 75 points in each of these same September three. Yes, competitive phillie baseball at the end of the season has been good for Schwarber, which will cost you a bonus because of its hot hot sequence (.282 / .378 / .755 with 15 circuits since July 1), but its hot assessment has made it a must for teams needing to be able. By the way, he plays for a contract this winter.
Max Fried, SP, New York Yankees: His Yankees are mired in a miserable crisis, in part because of his own recent contributions (5.81 ERA during his last six departures), but you could be able to use it to love his current manager to negotiate him at a reduced price. Fried will play an essential role in any Yankee rebound, and he has an amazing history of expandable tracet that fantasy owners must recognize.
Its 16.29 fantastic points by starting team No. 115 Forward (exactly where its Yankees are in the current calendar) during the last four seasons (2021-24) are second baseball behind the 17.50 of Snell. Fried played an important role in the propulsion of his brave Atlanta in the playoffs during each of these years, and his current team is in a brand position or similar rupture. Now hit while the perceived value of Yankees players is at a low point.
Matt Olson, 1b, Braves: A comrade “September M.”, the 616 fantastic points of Olson in the last 50 games of his teams in the last four seasons – this is the remaining amount of the brave – was third behind the 697 of the judge only and Juan Soto. Historically.
In 2017, 2021 and 2024 – All the seasons during which its teams missed the playoffs or supported their path in October – it has an average of 149 fantastic points per year and 3.18 per match. Perhaps the non-competitive status of the Braves of Olson could the price at a commercial discount.
Zac Gallen, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks: The joker on the list, Gallen is in circumstances similar to Olson in that his team is in the status of “Longshot”. But unlike Olson, Gallen launched badly for a large part of the year, his 7.48 fantastic points by start -up ranked 55th among 63 qualifications after. This makes him relatively easy to acquire and, given his status as an imminent free agent and his vast history of success at the end of the season, it is well worth it. From 2022-24, Gallen’s 424 fantastic points in the last 48 games of his team (the remaining total of Arizona) were the third best among the launchers (Snell, 490; Cole, 466).
* Oh, and the names of the six players who exceeded the Rodriguez level? Ronald Acuna Jr. (3.67), Ohtani (3.59), the judge (3.55), Alex Bregman (3.37), Yordan Alvarez (3.37) and Mookie Betts (3.31).
