Fantasy Baseball 2026 trade advice: Which early over-achievers are we buying and selling

But he might be! The physical tools have always been there, and the question here is whether he has truly leveled up for good or has just had a very well-timed hot streak. I'm inclined to be skeptical, but I'll give him this: Walker looked like he was turning back into a pumpkin in late April, but now he enters play in Week 8 with a .429 xwOBA over the past 50 plate appearances. What I love seeing from a breakout is how they respond when things go wrong, and Walker has responded incredibly well. That bodes well, though I do still think I'd be open to selling high if someone is valuing him like a top-20 outfielder.

Brandon Marsh - Current value: $19 - Pre-season Projected value: -$3

This is the first one I think we can dismiss as just a random hot streak. Marsh is 28 years old, with an established track record, and nearly all of his value is coming from running an unsustainable batting average. He's not without his merits as a hitter – and he is playing more regularly this season than in the past, which helps – but he's also clearly not a .353 hitter. He hit .280 last season, which was a great outcome, and he had 102 combined runs and RBI. He's not a big source of power or steals, so if he's hitting .280, you're talking about a fringe starting outfielder even in five-outfielder leagues. Especially since the extra playing time against left-handed pitching might have the effect of dragging that batting average even further down in the long run. He looks like the most obvious sell-high candidate from this cohort.

Drake Baldwin - Current value: $40 - Pre-season Projected value: $19

This is one where I think Baldwin probably slows down a bit – though I will not, his .395 wOBA is actually right in line with his .393 xwOBA – and I think he'll likely still blow past his preseason expectation. Because what the projections systems couldn't (and wouldn't, in all likelihood) account for is the outrageous amount of playing time Baldwin is getting. He has yet to sit out a single game for the Braves and he has yet to hit lower than second in the order. This might be unsustainable simply from a physical standpoint – he's on pace to blast past 700 PA – but if he can hold up, Baldwin is going to give us some outlier counting stats from a catcher, and it might be enough for him to end up as the top option at the end of the season.

Chase DeLauter - Current value: $12 - Pre-season Projected value: -$8

It makes perfect sense why DeLauter would be underrated by a projections system. He entered the season having played just 173 combined games since being drafted in 2022. He was generally very good when he played, hitting .302/.384/.504 in the minors, but projections systems are going to heavily discount production in small sample sizes. Plus: It's perfectly reasonable to assume that all of that missed development time would hamper DeLauter, even if the injuries didn't sap his physical tools (which would also be a reasonable assumption).

But DeLauter is just a freaky talent. All of those assumptions were reasonable, but he's just good enough to overcome it. He combines exceptional plate discipline with good enough in-game power, and the result is both surface-level production and underlying metrics that make him look like a well above average hitter. And I'm buying it – it's what he's been any time he's been on the field. The Guardians are going to continue to be proactive about giving him time off, which will make it harder for DeLauter to hit some truly high-end results for Fantasy. But even with the time he's likely to miss, I think we're looking at a .280-.290 hitter with 20-plus homers, and 160-plus combined runs and RBI. The injury risk makes him a reasonable sell-high candidate, but I fully believe in the production.