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USATSI

If you want to make a buy-low trade for your Fantasy Baseball team, there's no shortage of options out there. It's always easier to say "buy low" than it is to actually pull it off, but it's something you should always be trying to do. 

But that doesn't mean you need to try to rob your league mates of their slow starters. Offering up Luis Castillo for someone like Eduardo Rodriguez might work -- anything is possible! -- but it's more likely to make the person you offered it to never want to trade with you again. Plus, if you could get Castillo for even slightly below face value, it would still be worth doing. 

Your opponent has already had to suffer through the part of the season where Castillo has struggled to the tune of a 6.29 ERA, with just 19 strikeouts in 24.1 innings on his ledger. That's baked into his team's performance. But it shouldn't change how you view Castillo too much. As I noted in our Week 5 survey earlier this week, Castillo is my favorite buy-low candidate right now, and I'm not particularly worried about his slow start; he had a similar start in 2018, with a 7.85 ERA in March and April before closing out the season with a 3.57 ERA the rest of the way. 

Castillo still ranks quite high in my trade values chart, which shows that I'm still quite confident he'll turn things around. I've moved him down, to be sure, but he's still very much in the second or third tier of starting pitchers, alongside the likes of Clayton Kershaw, Jack Flaherty, and Brandon Woodruff. I think Castillo is more likely to have a sub-3.50 ERA and an elite strikeout rate moving forward than not, and I'd be happy to trade for him right now, even at just a slight discount. 

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Let's say I could move Castillo for someone like Dustin May right now. I think May is an excellent pitcher, and I've moved him into my top 30 at starting pitcher based on his fast start, which has seen him combine his excellent quality of contact suppression with a bunch of strikeouts. He's been quite a bit better than Castillo so far, and I think you would be able to make that trade right now. You might not feel good about it, looking at what they've done so far, but I still expect Castillo to be better moving forward. Maybe they'll have similar ERA and strikeout numbers, but Castillo is likely to throw 20% more innings -- maybe more. 

Let's say both Castillo and May have a 3.30 ERA and 10.5 K/9 for the rest of the season, but Castillo throws 150 more innings, while May throws 125. It's not a huge gap, but Castillo would obviously provide more value to your team. But the effect is even greater once you account for the numbers you've already banked:

  • May so far + Castillo ROS: 171.1 IP, 207 K, 3.20 ERA
  • Castillo so far + May ROS: 149.1 IP, 165 K, 3.80 ERA

That's the benefit of the buy low. Maybe you don't believe in Castillo like I do. Maybe you think May will be better than him the rest of the way. That's reasonable, and you could find another fast starter to try it with: Julio Urias, Trevor Rogers, Tyler Mahle, Kevin Gausman. The point is to try to build on the advantage you've gotten from the fast start and turn that into an even bigger one moving forward. It's worth the risk. 

Here are my updated trade values for Week 5:

H2H Points Trade Values

Player Value Change From Last Week
Jacob deGrom, SP, NYM491
Shane Bieber, SP, CLE48
Gerrit Cole, SP, NYY47
Mike Trout, CF, LAA47
Juan Soto, LF, WAS46
Mookie Betts, RF, LAD46
Ronald Acuna, CF, ATL43
Jose Ramirez, 3B, CLE42
Freddie Freeman, 1B, ATL41
Bryce Harper, RF, PHI402
Max Scherzer, SP, WAS38
Trevor Bauer, SP, LAD38
Trea Turner, SS, WAS38
Yu Darvish, SP, SD38
Trevor Story, SS, COL37
Manny Machado, 3B, SD37
Christian Yelich, LF, MIL36-1
Aaron Nola, SP, PHI36
Lucas Giolito, SP, CHW35
Tyler Glasnow, SP, TB35
Corbin Burnes, SP, MIL34
Francisco Lindor, SS, NYM34
Cody Bellinger, CF, LAD33-2
Fernando Tatis, SS, SD333
Luis Castillo, SP, CIN32-2
Clayton Kershaw, SP, LAD32
Xander Bogaerts, SS, BOS32
Anthony Rendon, 3B, LAA32
Jack Flaherty, SP, STL321
Alex Bregman, 3B, HOU321
Corey Seager, SS, LAD31
Brandon Woodruff, SP, MIL31
Walker Buehler, SP, LAD28
Rafael Devers, 3B, BOS28
Marcell Ozuna, LF, ATL27
Kenta Maeda, SP, MIN27
Vladimir Guerrero, 1B, TOR27
Nolan Arenado, 3B, STL272
Blake Snell, SP, SD27
Lance Lynn, SP, CHW26-1
Ozzie Albies, 2B, ATL25
Bo Bichette, SS, TOR25
DJ LeMahieu, 2B, NYY24-2
Aaron Judge, RF, NYY24
Whit Merrifield, RF, KC24
Joe Musgrove, SP, SD243
Jose Abreu, 1B, CHW23
Zack Wheeler, SP, PHI232
Tim Anderson, SS, CHW22
Jose Berrios, SP, MIN22
Hyun-Jin Ryu, SP, TOR22
Kyle Tucker, LF, HOU21
J.T. Realmuto, C, PHI21
Zack Greinke, SP, HOU21
Kyle Hendricks, SP, CHC21
Sandy Alcantara, SP, MIA213
Ketel Marte, 2B, ARI20
George Springer, CF, TOR20
Charlie Morton, SP, ATL19
Pete Alonso, 1B, NYM18
Jose Altuve, 2B, HOU183
Nick Castellanos, RF, CIN17
Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, STL17
Yordan Alvarez, DH, HOU17
Ian Anderson, SP, ATL17
Austin Meadows, LF, TB17
J.D. Martinez, DH, BOS172
Nelson Cruz, DH, MIN16
Luis Robert, CF, CHW16
Josh Hader, RP, MIL16
Anthony Rizzo, 1B, CHC16
Charlie Blackmon, RF, COL15
Starling Marte, CF, MIA15
Gleyber Torres, SS, NYY15
Trent Grisham, CF, SD151
Michael Conforto, RF, NYM14-1
Giancarlo Stanton, DH, NYY14
Zac Gallen, SP, ARI14
Dylan Bundy, SP, LAA14
Jesus Luzardo, SP, OAK14
Randy Arozarena, LF, TB14
Liam Hendriks, RP, CHW14
Max Muncy, 1B, LAD14
Matt Olson, 1B, OAK14
Sonny Gray, SP, CIN14
Carlos Correa, SS, HOU14
Pablo Lopez, SP, MIA142
Julio Urias, SP, LAD142
Dustin May, SP, LAD146
Stephen Strasburg, SP, WAS8-5
Eugenio Suarez, 3B, CIN13-4
Max Fried, SP, ATL13
Dansby Swanson, SS, ATL13-1
Cavan Biggio, 2B, TOR13
Lance McCullers, SP, HOU13
Edwin Diaz, RP, NYM132
Kris Bryant, 3B, CHC134
Aroldis Chapman, RP, NYY12
Jeff McNeil, LF, NYM12
Kevin Gausman, SP, SF121
Tyler Mahle, SP, CIN122
Trevor Rogers, SP, MIA125
Lourdes Gurriel, LF, TOR11
Luke Voit, 1B, NYY11
Salvador Perez, C, KC10
Willson Contreras, C, CHC10
Eddie Rosario, LF, CLE10
Brandon Lowe, 2B, TB10
Mike Yastrzemski, RF, SF10
Alex Verdugo, RF, BOS103
Byron Buxton, CF, MIN107
Javier Baez, SS, CHC9-2
Teoscar Hernandez, RF, TOR9
Matt Chapman, 3B, OAK9
Wil Myers, RF, SD9
Raisel Iglesias, RP, LAA9
Mike Moustakas, 2B, CIN9
Rhys Hoskins, 1B, PHI91
Kenley Jansen, RP, LAD92
Carlos Rodon, SP, CHW93
Michael Brantley, DH, HOU8
Aaron Civale, SP, CLE8
Joey Gallo, RF, TEX8
Joey Votto, 1B, CIN8
Yasmani Grandal, C, CHW8
Carlos Santana, 1B, KC8
Jose Urquidy, SP, HOU82
Craig Kimbrel, RP, CHC83
Frankie Montas, SP, OAK7-3
Zach Plesac, SP, CLE7
Keston Hiura, 2B, MIL7-3
Yoan Moncada, 3B, CHW7-2
Shohei Ohtani, DH, LAA7-2
Eric Hosmer, 1B, SD7-1
German Marquez, SP, COL7
Gio Urshela, 3B, NYY7
Will Smith, C, LAD7
Tommy Pham, LF, SD7
Josh Donaldson, 3B, MIN7
Alec Bohm, 3B, PHI7
Marco Gonzales, SP, SEA7
Chris Paddack, SP, SD7
Freddy Peralta, RP, MIL72
Mark Melancon, RP, SD72
Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B, PIT72
Emmanuel Clase, RP, CLE73
Eduardo Rodriguez, SP, BOS73
Dylan Carlson, RF, STL74
Carlos Carrasco, SP, NYM6-1
Jameson Taillon, SP, NYY6
Dallas Keuchel, SP, CHW6
Max Kepler, RF, MIN6
Yusei Kikuchi, SP, SEA6
Jorge Soler, DH, KC6
Marcus Stroman, SP, NYM6
Patrick Corbin, SP, WAS5-2
Josh Bell, 1B, WAS5-2
Travis d'Arnaud, C, ATL5
Matt Barnes, RP, BOS5
Michael Pineda, SP, MIN5
Diego Castillo, RP, TB5
Ryan Pressly, RP, HOU5
Trey Mancini, RF, BAL5
Franmil Reyes, DH, CLE5
Christian Vazquez, C, BOS5
Marcus Semien, SS, TOR51
Hector Neris, RP, PHI51
Zach Eflin, SP, PHI52
Adam Wainwright, SP, STL52
Yermin Mercedes, DH, CHW53
Mitch Haniger, RF, SEA54
Jazz Chisholm, 2B, MIA5
Jake McGee, RP, SF52
Gary Sanchez, C, NYY4
John Means, SP, BAL4
Adalberto Mondesi, SS, KC4
Dominic Smith, 1B, NYM4
Sixto Sanchez, SP, MIA4
Ian Happ, CF, CHC4
Andrew Heaney, SP, LAA41
Will Smith, RP, ATL42
Jesse Winker, LF, CIN43
Alex Reyes, RP, STL4
Anthony Santander, RF, BAL3-2
Ramon Laureano, CF, OAK3
Griffin Canning, SP, LAA3
Tommy Edman, 3B, STL3
Jorge Polanco, SS, MIN3
Kyle Schwarber, LF, WAS3
Mark Canha, RF, OAK3
Nick Madrigal, 2B, CHW3
Jordan Montgomery, SP, NYY3
Kyle Lewis, CF, SEA3
Jared Walsh, 1B, LAA31
Alex Kirilloff, RF, MIN33
Kolten Wong, 2B, MIL33
Alex Wood, SP, SF33
Michael Kopech, SP, CHW33
Anthony DeSclafani, SP, SF33
Cesar Valdez, RP, BAL3
Dinelson Lamet, SP, SD2-11
Corey Kluber, SP, NYY2
Mike Soroka, SP, ATL2
Triston McKenzie, SP, CLE2
Clint Frazier, RF, NYY2
Tony Gonsolin, SP, LAD2-1
Brady Singer, SP, KC2
A.J. Pollock, LF, LAD2
Framber Valdez, SP, HOU2
Brad Hand, RP, WAS2
Justin Turner, 3B, LAD2
Yimi Garcia, RP, MIA2
Ryan Mountcastle, LF, BAL2
Austin Riley, 3B, ATL2
Ryan McMahon, 2B, COL2
Jed Lowrie, 2B, OAK2
J.D. Davis, 3B, NYM2
Kole Calhoun, RF, ARI2
Aaron Hicks, CF, NYY2
Jake Cronenworth, 2B, SD2
Nick Solak, LF, TEX2
Jarred Kelenic, CF, SEA21
Wander Franco, SS, TB21
Gavin Lux, 2B, LAD22
Drew Smyly, SP, ATL22
Domingo German, SP, NYY22

Roto Trade Values 

Player Value Change From Last Week
Ronald Acuna, CF, ATL42
Mookie Betts, RF, LAD42
Mike Trout, CF, LAA41
Juan Soto, LF, WAS41
Jacob deGrom, SP, NYM411
Shane Bieber, SP, CLE39
Trea Turner, SS, WAS39
Jose Ramirez, 3B, CLE38
Gerrit Cole, SP, NYY37
Trevor Story, SS, COL36
Bryce Harper, RF, PHI362
Fernando Tatis, SS, SD368
Christian Yelich, LF, MIL34-1
Freddie Freeman, 1B, ATL34
Manny Machado, 3B, SD32
Francisco Lindor, SS, NYM32
Max Scherzer, SP, WAS31
Yu Darvish, SP, SD31
Trevor Bauer, SP, LAD31
Lucas Giolito, SP, CHW29
Tyler Glasnow, SP, TB29
Corbin Burnes, SP, MIL29
Aaron Nola, SP, PHI28
Xander Bogaerts, SS, BOS28
Corey Seager, SS, LAD28
Cody Bellinger, CF, LAD27-2
Clayton Kershaw, SP, LAD27
Luis Castillo, SP, CIN26-2
Anthony Rendon, 3B, LAA26
Alex Bregman, 3B, HOU261
Jack Flaherty, SP, STL261
Tim Anderson, SS, CHW25
Walker Buehler, SP, LAD25
Bo Bichette, SS, TOR25
Brandon Woodruff, SP, MIL25
Whit Merrifield, RF, KC25
Vladimir Guerrero, 1B, TOR25
Byron Buxton, CF, MIN257
Kyle Tucker, LF, HOU24
Ozzie Albies, 2B, ATL24
Marcell Ozuna, LF, ATL24
Rafael Devers, 3B, BOS24
Luis Robert, CF, CHW23
Nolan Arenado, 3B, STL232
DJ LeMahieu, 2B, NYY22-2
Adalberto Mondesi, SS, KC22
Kenta Maeda, SP, MIN21
Jose Abreu, 1B, CHW21
Starling Marte, CF, MIA21
Blake Snell, SP, SD20
Aaron Judge, RF, NYY20
J.T. Realmuto, C, PHI20
Pete Alonso, 1B, NYM20
J.D. Martinez, DH, BOS202
Joe Musgrove, SP, SD203
Zac Gallen, SP, ARI201
Lance Lynn, SP, CHW19-1
Ketel Marte, 2B, ARI19
George Springer, CF, TOR19
Jose Altuve, 2B, HOU193
Zack Wheeler, SP, PHI193
Nelson Cruz, DH, MIN18
Hyun-Jin Ryu, SP, TOR17
Nick Castellanos, RF, CIN17
Austin Meadows, LF, TB17
Yordan Alvarez, DH, HOU17
Randy Arozarena, LF, TB17
Trent Grisham, CF, SD171
Sandy Alcantara, SP, MIA173
Josh Hader, RP, MIL16
Liam Hendriks, RP, CHW16
Kyle Hendricks, SP, CHC16
Zack Greinke, SP, HOU16
Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, STL16
Jose Berrios, SP, MIN16
Matt Olson, 1B, OAK16
Edwin Diaz, RP, NYM162
Gleyber Torres, SS, NYY15
Charlie Blackmon, RF, COL15
Lourdes Gurriel, LF, TOR15
Giancarlo Stanton, DH, NYY15
Kris Bryant, 3B, CHC154
Dustin May, SP, LAD156
Michael Conforto, RF, NYM14-1
Aroldis Chapman, RP, NYY14
Teoscar Hernandez, RF, TOR14
Charlie Morton, SP, ATL14
Eddie Rosario, LF, CLE14
Pablo Lopez, SP, MIA142
Trevor Rogers, SP, MIA145
Julio Urias, SP, LAD143
Javier Baez, SS, CHC13-2
Carlos Correa, SS, HOU13
Ian Anderson, SP, ATL13
Max Muncy, 1B, LAD13
Jeff McNeil, LF, NYM13
Anthony Rizzo, 1B, CHC13
Ramon Laureano, CF, OAK13
Alex Verdugo, RF, BOS133
Eugenio Suarez, 3B, CIN12-4
Yoan Moncada, 3B, CHW12-2
Dansby Swanson, SS, ATL12-1
Cavan Biggio, 2B, TOR12
Brandon Lowe, 2B, TB12
Matt Chapman, 3B, OAK12
Mike Moustakas, 2B, CIN12
Max Fried, SP, ATL12
Jesus Luzardo, SP, OAK12
Joey Gallo, RF, TEX12
Willson Contreras, C, CHC12
Salvador Perez, C, KC12
Kenley Jansen, RP, LAD122
Craig Kimbrel, RP, CHC123
Dylan Bundy, SP, LAA121
Lance McCullers, SP, HOU11
Raisel Iglesias, RP, LAA11
Sonny Gray, SP, CIN11
Luke Voit, 1B, NYY11
Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B, PIT112
Wil Myers, RF, SD10
Alec Bohm, 3B, PHI10
Brad Hand, RP, WAS10
Tyler Mahle, SP, CIN102
Dylan Carlson, RF, STL104
Keston Hiura, 2B, MIL9-3
Mike Yastrzemski, RF, SF9
Gio Urshela, 3B, NYY9
Tommy Pham, LF, SD9
Michael Brantley, DH, HOU9
Marcus Semien, SS, TOR91
Rhys Hoskins, 1B, PHI91
Freddy Peralta, RP, MIL92
Carlos Rodon, SP, CHW93
Eric Hosmer, 1B, SD8-1
Victor Robles, CF, WAS8
Ryan Pressly, RP, HOU8
Franmil Reyes, DH, CLE8
Will Smith, C, LAD8
Ian Happ, CF, CHC8
Aaron Civale, SP, CLE8
Joey Votto, 1B, CIN8
Kevin Gausman, SP, SF81
Mark Melancon, RP, SD82
Jose Urquidy, SP, HOU82
Zach Plesac, SP, CLE7-2
Alex Reyes, RP, STL7
Shohei Ohtani, DH, LAA7-2
Yasmani Grandal, C, CHW7
Jorge Soler, DH, KC7
Dominic Smith, 1B, NYM7
Josh Donaldson, 3B, MIN7
Trey Mancini, RF, BAL7
German Marquez, SP, COL7
Will Smith, RP, ATL72
Emmanuel Clase, RP, CLE73
Stephen Strasburg, SP, WAS6-8
Carlos Carrasco, SP, NYM6-1
Travis d'Arnaud, C, ATL6
Gary Sanchez, C, NYY6
Tommy Edman, 3B, STL6
Christian Vazquez, C, BOS6
Dylan Moore, LF, SEA6
Ryan Mountcastle, LF, BAL6
Diego Castillo, RP, TB6
Nick Madrigal, 2B, CHW6
Max Kepler, RF, MIN6
Kyle Lewis, CF, SEA6
Jared Walsh, 1B, LAA61
Jake McGee, RP, SF62
Kolten Wong, 2B, MIL63
Mitch Haniger, RF, SEA64
Matt Barnes, RP, BOS5
Didi Gregorius, SS, PHI5
Chris Paddack, SP, SD5
Justin Turner, 3B, LAD5
Jazz Chisholm, 2B, MIA5
Jameson Taillon, SP, NYY5
Jarred Kelenic, CF, SEA51
Andrew Heaney, SP, LAA51
Eduardo Rodriguez, SP, BOS53
Jesse Winker, LF, CIN53
Alex Kirilloff, RF, MIN53
Yermin Mercedes, DH, CHW53
Buster Posey, C, SF41
Frankie Montas, SP, OAK4-3
Josh Bell, 1B, WAS4-2
Patrick Corbin, SP, WAS4-2
Anthony Santander, RF, BAL4-2
John Means, SP, BAL4
Michael Pineda, SP, MIN4
Clint Frazier, RF, NYY4
Marcus Stroman, SP, NYM4
Marco Gonzales, SP, SEA4
Mike Soroka, SP, ATL4
Triston McKenzie, SP, CLE4
Yusei Kikuchi, SP, SEA4
Nick Senzel, CF, CIN4
A.J. Pollock, LF, LAD4
Alex Colome, RP, MIN4
Kyle Schwarber, LF, WAS4
Ryan McMahon, 2B, COL4
Jake Cronenworth, 2B, SD4
Mark Canha, RF, OAK4
Nick Solak, LF, TEX4
Dallas Keuchel, SP, CHW4
Hector Neris, RP, PHI41
Wander Franco, SS, TB41
Gavin Lux, 2B, LAD42
Zach Eflin, SP, PHI42
Adam Wainwright, SP, STL42
Alex Reyes, RP, Cardinals 4#N/A
Carson Kelly, C, ARI31
Carlos Santana, 1B, KC3
Austin Riley, 3B, ATL3
Jorge Polanco, SS, MIN3
Miguel Sano, 1B, MIN3
Framber Valdez, SP, HOU3
Corey Kluber, SP, NYY3
Yimi Garcia, RP, MIA3
J.D. Davis, 3B, NYM3
Andrew Benintendi, LF, KC3
Drew Smyly, SP, ATL32
Cesar Valdez, RP, Orioles3#N/A
Tony Gonsolin, SP, LAD2-2
Wilson Ramos, C, DET2
Jurickson Profar, LF, SD2
Victor Reyes, CF, DET2
Yadier Molina, C, STL2
Ty France, 2B, SEA2
Jed Lowrie, 2B, OAK2
Brady Singer, SP, KC2
Jordan Montgomery, SP, NYY2
Elieser Hernandez, SP, MIA2
Eduardo Escobar, 3B, ARI2
Andrew Vaughn, 1B, CHW2
Aaron Hicks, CF, NYY2
James Karinchak, RP, CLE2
C.J. Cron, 1B, COL2
Sixto Sanchez, SP, MIA2
Andres Gimenez, SS, CLE2
Leody Taveras, CF, TEX2
Amir Garrett, RP, CIN2
Paul DeJong, SS, STL2
Raimel Tapia, LF, COL2
Brian Anderson, 3B, MIA2
Jean Segura, 2B, PHI2
Griffin Canning, SP, LAA2
Ha-seong Kim, SS, SD2
Kole Calhoun, RF, ARI2
Jo Adell, RF, LAA2
Domingo German, SP, NYY22