The Major League Baseball trade deadline is almost here as teams need to make any moves prior to 6 p.m. EST on Aug. 2. The fantasy baseball world already had a big move occur as the Reds traded starting pitcher Luis Castillo to the Mariners.
Castillo is having another strong season, as he’s pitching to a 2.86 ERA and 1.07 WHIP while averaging 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings. At first glance, I thought maybe going from the NL Central to the AL West would be a downgrade, but it shouldn’t be that big of an impact. There’s always a transition going to a new team and league, but Castillo’s talent should win out. He should continue to be a strong fantasy contributor.
Three Up:
1. New York Yankees Outfielder Aaron Judge — Another week and another huge performance by Judge. I debated if I should even put him on this list, but when you’re the best hitter in baseball, you need to be mentioned. Judge went off again, hitting five home runs with 10 RBIs and a stolen base. Judge is batting .297 with 42 home runs and 91 RBIs. The slugger is on pace to hit 66 home runs this season and win his first MVP in a contract year.
2. Toronto Blue Jays Third Baseman Matt Chapman — The infielder is still underperforming overall after being traded from the Athletics to the Blue Jays prior to the season. I really believed we would see the old Chapman who hit 36 home runs in 2019. However, there are signs of life as Chapman finished this past week hitting .471 with four home runs and eight RBIs. Also, Chapman’s best two months have occurred in June and July. Overall, Chapman is batting .249 with 20 home runs, 57 RBIs. If he can continue this pace, he will approach 30 home runs and fantasy owners will be more than happy with that.
3. Arizona Diamondbacks Starting Pitcher Merrill Kelly — The right-hander is low key having an amazing season for fantasy owners. Kelly did not allow more than two earned runs in any of his July starts. Kelly struck out 15 and allowed no runs in 15 innings across his last two starts. For the season, Kelly is pitching to a 2.87 ERA and 1.13 WHIP.
Three Down:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers Infielder Max Muncy — The 31-year-old has littered the “Three Down” portion this season. It’s amazing that the Dodgers are as good as they are given the struggles of Muncy and teammate Cody Bellinger. It continued for Muncy this past week, as he struck out eight times and only collected four hits. For the season, Muncy is batting .161 with a horrendous .303 slugging percentage. Not counting the shortened 2020 season, Muncy has hit at least 35 home runs in three consecutive years but is only at nine in 2022. There are no signs that the power will return.
2. Chicago Cubs Catcher Willson Contreras — The trade rumors may be impacting Contreras, and a resolution needs to come quickly so he can get back to being a strong fantasy contributor. The catcher collected only four hits while striking out seven times this past week. Overall, Contreras is batting .252 with 14 home runs, 38 RBIs and will help any contender if the Cubs decide to move him.
3. St. Louis Cardinals First Baseman Paul Goldschmidt — The first baseman never struggles, so when he has a bad week it pops off the page. Goldschmidt finished the week collecting only two hits and also had to sit out the series in Toronto because he is not vaccinated. It’s not often we can say Goldschmidt literally did not help fantasy owners, but that was the case this week. If Goldschmidt had a full amount of plate appearances he may not have been on this list, but we’re entering the stretch run of the fantasy baseball season and he didn’t perform. That needs to be spotlighted.