2013 Fantasy BaseballAlan HarrisonFantasy BaseballFront Office

2013 Fantasy Baseball, Week 10 Tools of the Trade: Targeting Max Scherzer

Max Scherzer

TheFantasyFix.com’s “Tools of the Trade” is a unique guide for owners to use while attempting to make an even trade with their league-mates in a standard 12-team mixed, 5×5 head-to-head or rotisserie redraft league.

The values present in this guide are simply the basis for a trade. A full-blown analysis of each team’s strengths and weaknesses are essential prior to proposing or accepting a trade offer.

How to use the guide: Ideally, owners will agree to a trade that will aid both sides and stay within $2-3 of each other in a one-for-one and $4-5 in a multi-player deal, according to our chart.

The Week 1 “Tools of the Trade” was free for all readers, but going forward, the “Tools of the Trade” will only be available to Front Office members. Learn the benefits of being a Front Office member here.

Without further ado, here is week 10′s trade value chart:

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Player Value Player Value Player Value
Miguel Cabrera – Det 3B $41 Zack Greinke – LAD P $12 Tim Hudson – Atl P $5
Mike Trout – LAA OF $40 Torii Hunter – Det OF $12 Josh Beckett – LAD P $5
Ryan Braun – Mil OF $39 Nelson Cruz – Tex OF $12 Scott Feldman – ChC P $5
Carlos Gonzalez – Col OF $38 Nick Markakis – Bal OF $12 Heath Bell – Ari P $5
Prince Fielder – Det 1B $37 Carl Crawford – LAD OF $12 Grant Balfour – Oak P $5
Justin Upton – Atl OF $37 James Shields – KC P $12 Marco Scutaro – SF 2B $5
Joey Votto – Cin 1B $36 Gerardo Parra – Ari OF $11 Mike Morse – Sea OF $4
Robinson Cano – NYY 2B $35 Mat Latos – Cin P $11 Mike Moustakas – KC 3B $4
Adam Jones – Bal OF $35 Patrick Corbin – Ari P $11 Ervin Santana – KC P $4
Clayton Kershaw – LAD P $34 Addison Reed – CWS P $11 Jason Hammel – Bal P $4
Bryce Harper – Was OF $34 Hanley Ramirez – LAD SS $11 Vernon Wells – NYY OF $4
Paul Goldschmidt – Ari 1B $33 Alejandro De Aza – CWS OF $11 Martin Prado – Ari 3B $4
Troy Tulowitzki – Col SS $33 Norichika Aoki – Mil OF $11 Corey Hart – Mil 1B $4
Chris Davis – Bal 1B $33 Jason Grilli – Pit P $11 Jon Jay – StL OF $4
Evan Longoria – TB 3B $33 Lance Lynn – StL P $11 Russell Martin – Pit C $4
Felix Hernandez – Sea P $32 Jered Weaver – LAA P $11 Jose Fernandez – Mia P $4
David Wright – NYM 3B $30 Anthony Rizzo – ChC 1B $11 Marco Estrada – Mil P $4
Justin Verlander – Det P $30 Matt Carpenter – StL 3B $11 Rafael Betancourt – Col P $4
Andrew McCutchen – Pit OF $28 A.J. Burnett – Pit P $11 Huston Street – SD P $4
Alex Gordon – KC OF $28 Jhonny Peralta – Det SS $11 Bartolo Colon – Oak P $4
Yu Darvish – Tex P $28 Alexander Cobb – TB P $11 Chris Tillman – Bal P $4
Shin-Soo Choo – Cin OF $27 Kris Medlen – Atl P $11 Michael Saunders – Sea OF $4
Adrian Beltre – Tex 3B $27 Jonathan Papelbon – Phi P $11 Kyle Lohse – Mil P $4
Adam Wainwright – StL P $27 Joe Nathan – Tex P $9 Justin Ruggiano – Mia OF $4
Carlos Gomez – Mil OF $26 Edward Mujica – StL P $9 Ernesto Frieri – LAA P $4
Jose Bautista – Tor OF $23 Josh Hamilton – LAA OF $9 Brandon McCarthy – Ari P $4
Edwin Encarnacion – Tor 1B $23 Desmond Jennings – TB OF $9 Jed Lowrie – Oak SS $4
Dustin Pedroia – Bos 2B $23 Mitch Moreland – Tex 1B $9 Dan Haren – Was P $4
Cliff Lee – Phi P $22 Kendry Morales – Sea 1B $9 John Buck – NYM C $3
Matt Harvey – NYM P $22 Justin Masterson – Cle P $9 Matt Joyce – TB OF $3
Yoennis Cespedes – Oak OF $22 Matt Wieters – Bal C $9 David Freese – StL 3B $3
Starlin Castro – ChC SS $22 Howie Kendrick – LAA 2B $9 Didi Gregorius – Ari SS $3
Jason Heyward – Atl OF $22 Jonathan Lucroy – Mil C $9 Chris Perez – Cle P $3
Jay Bruce – Cin OF $22 Asdrubal Cabrera – Cle SS $9 David DeJesus – ChC OF $3
Jordan Zimmermann – Was P $21 Brian McCann – Atl C $9 Julio Teheran – Atl P $3
Matt Kemp – LAD OF $21 Jake Peavy – CWS P $9 Jose Veras – Hou P $3
Alex Rios – CWS OF $21 Tom Wilhelmsen – Sea P $8 Todd Frazier – Cin 3B $3
Buster Posey – SF C $21 Hiroki Kuroda – NYY P $8 Jayson Werth – Was OF $3
Max Scherzer – Det P $21 Jeremy Hellickson – TB P $8 Andrelton Simmons – Atl SS $3
Carlos Santana – Cle C $21 Nate McLouth – Bal OF $8 Jose Valverde – Det P $3
Mike Minor – Atl P $21 B.J. Upton – Atl OF $8 Dan Uggla – Atl 2B $3
Chase Headley – SD 3B $21 Eric Hosmer – KC 1B $8 Tim Lincecum – SF P $3
Manny Machado – Bal 3B $20 Aramis Ramirez – Mil 3B $8 Carlos Quentin – SD OF $3
Chris Sale – CWS P $20 Kyle Seager – Sea 3B $8 Kenley Jansen – LAD P $2
Jeff Samardzija – ChC P $20 Domonic Brown – Phi OF $8 Jason Kubel – Ari OF $2
Pablo Sandoval – SF 3B $20 Hyun-Jin Ryu – LAD P $8 Adam Eaton – Ari OF $2
Albert Pujols – LAA 1B $20 R.A. Dickey – Tor P $8 Aaron Hicks – Min OF $2
Clay Buchholz – Bos P $20 Paul Maholm – Atl P $8 Miguel Montero – Ari C $2
Hisashi Iwakuma – Sea P $20 David Ortiz – Bos DH $8 Justin Morneau – Min 1B $2
Stephen Strasburg – Was P $20 J.P. Arencibia – Tor C $8 Neil Walker – Pit 2B $2
Brandon Phillips – Cin 2B $19 Coco Crisp – Oak OF $8 Brett Gardner – NYY OF $2
Jason Kipnis – Cle 2B $19 Daniel Nava – Bos OF $8 Daniel Straily – Oak P $2
Craig Kimbrel – Atl P $18 Ike Davis – NYM 1B $7 Phil Hughes – NYY P $2
Adrian Gonzalez – LAD 1B $18 Jedd Gyorko – SD 2B $7 David Murphy – Tex OF $2
Giancarlo Stanton – Mia OF $18 Angel Pagan – SF OF $7 Kevin Gregg – ChC P $2
Cole Hamels – Phi P $18 Jimmy Rollins – Phi SS $7 Fernando Rodney – TB P $2
Jean Segura – Mil SS $18 Rafael Soriano – Was P $7 Brandon Moss – Oak 1B $2
Ian Kinsler – Tex 2B $18 Jim Henderson – Mil P $7 Tom Milone – Oak P $2
Hunter Pence – SF OF $18 Yovani Gallardo – Mil P $7 Travis Wood – ChC P $2
Starling Marte – Pit OF $16 Josh Donaldson – Oak 3B $7 Edinson Volquez – SD P $2
Mark Trumbo – LAA OF $16 Shane Victorino – Bos OF $7 Jarrod Parker – Oak P $2
CC Sabathia – NYY P $16 Yasiel Puig – LAD OF $7 Brandon Beachy – Atl P $2
Dexter Fowler – Col OF $16 Evan Gattis – Atl C $7 Jason Vargas – LAA P $2
Anibal Sanchez – Det P $15 Casey Janssen – Tor P $7 Adam Dunn – CWS 1B $2
Mariano Rivera – NYY P $15 Brandon Belt – SF 1B $7 Omar Infante – Det 2B $2
Freddie Freeman – Atl 1B $15 J.J. Hardy – Bal SS $7 Yuniesky Betancourt – Mil 2B $2
Ryan Zimmerman – Was 3B $15 Aaron Hill – Ari 2B $6 Jarrod Saltalamacchia – Bos C $2
Matt Holliday – StL OF $15 Andre Ethier – LAD OF $6 Wil Myers – TB OF $1
Mark Reynolds – Cle 1B $15 Will Middlebrooks – Bos 3B $6 Rickie Weeks – Mil 2B $1
Matt Cain – SF P $15 Daniel Murphy – NYM 2B $6 Brandon Crawford – SF SS $1
Jacoby Ellsbury – Bos OF $15 Nick Swisher – Cle OF $6 Mike Leake – Cin P $1
Allen Craig – StL 1B $15 Jose Reyes – Tor SS $6 Rex Brothers – Col P $1
Carlos Beltran – StL OF $15 Salvador Perez – KC C $6 Victor Martinez – Det C $1
Adam LaRoche – Was 1B $14 Glen Perkins – Min P $6 Anthony Cingrani – Cin P $1
Billy Butler – KC 1B $14 Garrett Jones – Pit 1B $6 Mark Ellis – LAD 2B $1
Madison Bumgarner – SF P $14 Greg Holland – KC P $6 Cameron Maybin – SD OF $1
Michael Cuddyer – Col OF $14 Lorenzo Cain – KC OF $6 Jonathon Niese – NYM P $1
Matthew Moore – TB P $14 Jim Johnson – Bal P $6 Jason Castro – Hou C $1
Austin Jackson – Det OF $14 Bobby Parnell – NYM P $6 Alexei Ramirez – CWS SS $1
Jose Altuve – Hou 2B $14 Ryan Howard – Phi 1B $6 Zach Cozart – Cin SS $1
Everth Cabrera – SD SS $14 Pedro Alvarez – Pit 3B $6 Justin Maxwell – Hou OF $1
Shelby Miller – StL P $14 Josh Willingham – Min OF $6 A.J. Griffin – Oak P $1
Jon Lester – Bos P $14 James Loney – TB 1B $6 Brandon Morrow – Tor P $1
David Price – TB P $13 Derek Holland – Tex P $6 Nick Tepesch – Tex P $1
Aroldis Chapman – Cin P $13 Paul Konerko – CWS 1B $6 Denard Span – Was OF $1
Ian Desmond – Was SS $13 Trevor Cahill – Ari P $6 Nolan Arenado – Col 3B $1
Elvis Andrus – Tex SS $13 Homer Bailey – Cin P $6 Drew Stubbs – Cle OF $1
Wilin Rosario – Col C $13 Yonder Alonso – SD 1B $6 Brandon League – LAD P $1
Brett Lawrie – Tor 3B $13 Matt Garza – ChC P $6 Luke Gregerson – SD P $1
Gio Gonzalez – Was P $13 Alcides Escobar – KC SS $5 C.J. Wilson – LAA P $1
Sergio Romo – SF P $13 Andrew Bailey – Bos P $5 Vinnie Pestano – Cle P $1
Kelly Johnson – TB 2B $13 Chase Utley – Phi 2B $5 Dayan Viciedo – CWS OF $1
Curtis Granderson – NYY OF $12 Lance Berkman – Tex 1B $5 Wandy Rodriguez – Pit P $1
Michael Bourn – Cle OF $12 Andrew Cashner – SD P $5 Steve Cishek – Mia P $1
Ben Zobrist – TB 2B $12 Alfonso Soriano – ChC OF $5 Chris Carter – Hou OF $1
Yadier Molina – StL C $12 Ryan Doumit – Min C $5 Mark Melancon – Pit P $1
Mike Napoli – Bos C $12 Francisco Liriano – Pit P $5 Yunel Escobar – TB SS $1
Doug Fister – Det P $12 Melky Cabrera – Tor OF $5 Michael Young – Phi 3B $1
Johnny Cueto – Cin P $12 Ian Kennedy – Ari P $5 Seth Smith – Oak OF $1
Joe Mauer – Min C $12 Jeremy Guthrie – KC P $5 Mark Teixeira – NYY 1B $1

 

Trading isn’t easy. It’s fun, but not easy. Remember that you don’t have to “win” the trade in order to pull the trigger. If you’re improving your team, then you should make the deal.

Each-and-every week fantasy baseball owners send us their trade proposals and/or offers via our “Quick Fix” and Twitter to determine if the offer is fair and whether or not the trade should be proposed or accepted.

This week’s theme? Max Scherzer. The Tigers’ right-hander is 7-0 with a 3.42 ERA (2.45 FIP), 0.89 WHIP and a 31.4% K%. He’s inducing swinging strikes at a 12.0% (SwStr%) clip, so the strikeout rate is legit. And his 2.45 FIP indicates his 3.42 ERA should actually get better as the season wears on. The 29-year-old has really come into his own, and according to my rankings, is now a top-10 starter.

At any rate, let’s see some recent deals that went down involving Max Scherzer:

According to our chart, a $26 Carlos Gomez and a $4 Chris Tillman for a $21 Max Scherzer seemed to favor the owner receiving the duo. However, this could very well have been a “needs-based” swap considering there is a top arm and a top outfielder being exchanged. Either the Scherzer owner needed an arm back (Tillman) in the deal or it was the icing on the cake to persuade him to cough up the Tiger.

This could be a great deal for both teams if there were some sort of guarantee that Kinsler would return to the field soon. But the Rangers’ second basemen recently suffered a setback and will be sidelined for an additional two weeks before beginning baseball activities. At this point, there is no timetable for his return. The “no timetable” statement is concerning, so I wouldn’t make this deal for Max. However, I’d be willing to take a risk on Kinsler for a pitcher from the Shelby Miller, Patrick Corbin or Justin Masterson tier for sure.

The trade chart indicates there is an $8 difference in value with these players, so it’s “not exactly” equal. I’d much rather be getting back Max in this deal, but if the owner dealing the starter has a loaded staff, I could see this deal going down.

If you can find a way to pry Scherzer from his owner, do it. Use the chart to come up with a fair offer and don’t be afraid to overpay a little, it appears as if he’s only getting better. If you’re a Scherzer owner, hold on until you get a deal in your inbox that is too good to be true. Read Brett’s piece from last week for more reasons to hold/target Max.
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Have a question about our Week 10 Tools of the Trade? Leave it in the comments below.

The concept for the this trade value chart has been adapted from Dave Richard’s fantasy football work at CBS.

All of our statistics are courtesy of our friends at FanGraphs .

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5 Comments

  1. Tim
    June 12, 2013 at 5:00 am

    I’ve made good use of the weekly tools of the trade value charts. When will an updated chart be released?

    • Kyle
      June 24, 2013 at 8:29 am

      Is it time for a new one yet?

      • June 24, 2013 at 8:47 am

        Will be published at 10 PT, today.

        • Kyle
          June 24, 2013 at 9:41 am

          Cool…how often do you try and get one published

        • June 24, 2013 at 9:44 am

          Every week, but I’ve been on vacation with the family. My apologies.