In the Week 18 edition of fantasy baseball 3×3, we’re rebounding from the MLB trade deadline and grabbing Daniel Norris, dumping Andrew Cashner, and staying with Troy Tulowitzki.

There are plenty of waiver wire columns out there that provide an exhaustive list of the most added players in fantasy leagues. This isn’t one of them. Here, we’ll run down a few of the most interesting players for fantasy owners, with perspective on who deserves your attention, who deserves your patience, and who deserves to go straight to bed without dessert.

Any questions, thoughts? Hit me in the comments or on Twitter.

3 TO CATCH

Players to be picked up; available in most standard leagues

Daniel Norris | Detroit Tigers | SP

In terms of fantasy value, nobody benefitted more at the trade deadline than Daniel Norris. After failing to gain a consistent foothold in the Toronto Blue Jays’ rotation, he moves on to Detroit, where there are literally no above average starting pitchers on the major league roster. The Tigers are still trying to contend this season, but with only the likes of Shane Greene and Alfredo Simon possibly standing in his way, Norris’ path to a rotation slot is free and clear.

We don’t have much data on Norris as a big leaguer, but there’s a reason he was a Top 25 prospect on just about every midseason list. Though his command is still developing, his weaponry is far more advanced than you’d expect from a pitcher who just recently turned 22 years-old. Norris has an excellent fastball, sitting around 92 miles-per-hour with outstanding life at the plate. That heater sets up a slider, changeup, and curve. Both breaking balls are already above average major league pitches and the change is just slightly below average, per FanGraphs. Norris certainly has to work on consistently throwing strikes and further developing all of his pitches, but with four pitches that can get big league hitters out, he’s more than ready to excel at the MLB level.

He showed that in a dominant outing in Baltimore on Sunday, a big accomplishment considering the Orioles are among the best offenses in baseball when playing at home. He fanned five and allowed only five baserunners in 7.1 innings; the only damage was a Chris Davis solo home run. It was a majestic blast, but that bomb was far from the most impressive athletic achievement of the game.

Daniel  Norris Dive

Nope, it wasn’t Norris’ web gem either. It was the way the Tigers rookie tied poor Jimmy Paredes in knots. Early in the game, Paredes tried to hit right-handed against Norris. He was unsuccessful.

Daniel  Norris Strikeout RH

The bat boy surely breathed a sigh of relief when Paredes chose to hit lefty against the left-handed Norris later in the game. Unfortunately for Paredes, he was once again helpless against Norris’ electric fastball.

Daniel  Norris Strikeout LH

In any leagues 12 teams and deeper, Norris is a must-add.

To pick him up, I’d drop: Nathan Karns, Erasmo Ramirez, Mike Montgomery

Eddie Rosario | Minnesota Twins | 2B/OF

Eddie Rosario isn’t the most heralded of Twins prospects, but with possible apologies to Miguel Sano, he’s been the best of the bunch this season. He’s been downright Sandovalian at the plate, attacking everything and dotting every inch of the outfield grass with a compact line drive stroke. And he’s been just as aggressive on the basepaths, swiping nine bags in just over 250 plate appearances.

With a hitter who’s this aggressive, the biggest worry is making contact with pitches against which he really can’t do damage, but that really hasn’t troubled Rosario. So far this season, few hitters have matched his combination of power and aggressiveness; only Adam Jones, Marlon Byrd, and Nolan Arenado have swung as often while maintaining a slugging percentage above .450. Though Rosario hacks at just about everything; there’s really not any area of the strike zone where he hasn’t done damage this season.

Eddie  Rosario Zone Profile

He’s avoided the roll-over grounders that often result from weak contact, lacing liners to all fields, especially against fastballs.

Eddie  Rosario Spray Chart

And oddly enough, pitchers seem to be challenging Rosario even more often. Contrary to the common rookie narrative, he’s seeing more and more heat as he settles in as a major league regular.

Eddie  Rosario Pitch Mix

Perhaps they just don’t believe that Rosario is capable of this kind of production. It’s true, he didn’t consistently show this kind of power in the minors, but there’s nothing about his performance so far that looks fluky. Per ESPN’s Home Run Tracker, three of his five home runs would’ve left any park in baseball.

That sort of fact is especially encouraging for Rosario, given that Target Field isn’t a great place for lefties to hit home runs. But even so, Rosario’s schedule moving forward actually sets up quite well. Eight of his ten road series will come in favorable parks; Toronto, Cleveland (twice), New York, Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, and Houston all ranked as friendlier than average for lefty power in 2014, per FanGraphs.

To pick him up, I’d drop: Austin Jackson, Carlos Beltran, Aaron Hicks

Arodys Vizcaino | Atlanta Braves | SP

The whirlwind of activity at the trade deadline has clouded late-inning managerial decisions across baseball, but it hasn’t necessarily dictated clear actions for save-hungry fantasy owners. Much of the dust created by deadline moves is still Pigpenning around bullpens, and in the few situations where roles are more clearly defined, many of the newly minted closers are already nearly universally owned. One team jumps out, however, as an untapped opportunity for fantasy owners.

When the Braves moved Jim Johnson to the Dodgers in last week’s three-team blockbuster, they gained both a new third baseman and a new closer. Arodys Vizcaino was almost chosen over Johnson when Jason Grilli went down a few weeks ago; he was the clear choice now that Johnson’s moved on. The Braves are going nowhere this season and Vizcaino is 24 years-old and a former top prospect under team control through at least 2017. His job security is airtight.

And he’s plenty talented enough to excel in the ninth, with stuff right out of the expected closer toolkit. Vizcaino’s heater routinely touches 98 miles-per-hour and consistently sits around 95 mph. In his first game as a “closer”, he touched 99 mph in a two-strikeout clean inning against the Phillies.

Arodys  Vizcaino Velocity

He complements it with a knockout curveball that coaxes swings nearly 60% of the time and whiffs on almost half of those swings, per Brooks Baseball. In all, that arsenal adds up to a strikeout per inning, a manageable walk rate, and a sky-high pop up rate that shows just how tough it is to square his stuff up.

The Braves won’t win a whole ton of games down the stretch, but Vizcaino is a lock to shut things down just about any time they enter the late innings with a lead. He’s a must-add in every format.

To pick him up, I’d drop: Brad Ziegler, Hector Rondon, Joakim Soria

3 TO CUT

Players to be traded or dropped, depending on the depth of your league

Andrew Cashner | San Diego Padres | SP

Andrew Cashner is teetering. Nothing’s quite hit the fan yet, but lately, he hasn’t been anything close to the dominant starter he was when the season began.

Cashner is an excellent pitcher when he’s healthy, mostly owing to an overpowering fastball. He sports both four and two-seam varieties, both living in the mid-nineties and occasionally reaching upstairs. Lately, those spikes have been much less frequent.

Andrew  Cashner Velocity

And as that fastball velocity goes, so goes Cashner’s ability to put hitters away. His strikeout rates have dropped in every month this season. An outstanding 26.9% K% in April has eroded to just 15.4% in July. Put it in terms of his contemporaries; he was almost Corey Kluber early in the season, but over the last few weeks, he’s been just a hair better than Chase Anderson.

A .195 BABIP in July has obscured these struggles, but soon enough, that number will slide back closer to his career average (.281). With no signs that his strikeouts will recover, that regression will be disastrous to his fantasy production. Move him while you still can.

I’d trade/drop him for: Andrew Heaney, Ian Kennedy, Ervin Santana

Jake Marisnick | Houston Astros | OF

Jake Marisnick is a trade deadline refugee. Now that the Astros have traded for Carlos Gomez, Marisnick is an asset without a clear role.

He’s an above average outfield defender, but probably not good enough to be called on as a defensive replacement. Most his experience has been in centerfield, where he’ll never be given a chance displace gold glover Carlos Gomez. He’s probably a more capable defender than Preston Tucker in left field, but Marisnick has only 18 innings of big league experience at that position. He’s played a fair bit of right field last season, but Colby Rasmus is already providing excellent defense in that position.

The best Marisnick could hope for would be a platoon in the outfield, but as a right-handed hitter, he’s already on the wrong side of that equation (Tucker and Rasmus are both left-handed hitters), not to mention the fact that he’s been the worst hitter on his team by wRC+.

Marisnick could have a role off the bench, but without a singular skill, it’s hard to see exactly when the ‘Stros would use him. His legs have generated a good deal of fantasy value this season, but he doesn’t have the blazing speed to swipe bags as a pinch runner. Marisnick has some power, but Luis Valbuena, Chris Carter, and even Jed Lowrie provide more upside in those situations.

I do still believe that Marisnick is a talented player, but right now, his situation really couldn’t be much worse. AL-only owners should look elsewhere.

I’d trade/drop him for: Angel Pagan, Chris Young, Anthony Gose

Starlin Castro | Chicago Cubs | SS

By fWAR, Starlin Castro is tied with Danny Santana (the same Danny Santana who was just optioned down to Triple-A) for the dubious honor of being worst shortstop in baseball. Castro’s .301 slugging percentage ranks dead last among qualified shortstops, trailing even Nick Ahmed’s .218/.277/.327 batting line. Castro, who was once lauded as a burgeoning power prospect, has managed an anemic .066 ISO that ranks fourth-worst among all qualified hitters.

This season, Starlin Castro has been Billy Hamilton, only without the speed and defense. Counting only hitters who’ve qualified for the batting title, Castro has been the worst player in baseball this season.

The Cubs are a prospective playoff team. They can only carry a player this bad for so long, no matter how young he is or how good he used to be.

After coming up (mostly) empty at the trade deadline, the Cubs have plenty of internal options. Javier Baez is rehabbing from a broken finger and sporting a .319/.389/.558 slash line at Triple-A. He could come up to either outright replace Castro, or to fill in a second base if Addison Russell slides over to short. And if Russell moves, Arismendy Alcantara could very well end up playing second base. He still isn’t hitting for average, but 11 homers and 13 steals in 386 Triple-A plate appearances is nothing to sneeze at.

At least in Baez’ case, the signals are already coming from the Cubs front office. Castro may not be long for the starting shortstop gig in Chicago; if you own him, move aggressively for a trade.

I’d trade/drop him for: Jean Segura, Jose Iglesias, Jung-Ho Kang

3 TO KEEP

Players to hold or trade for; owned in most standard leagues

Troy Tulowitzki | Toronto Blue Jays | SS

Moving away from Colorado often kneecaps a hitter’s fantasy value. The park that made park factors a thing will do that. But for Troy Tulowitzki, the dropoff will be much less extreme than most. He’s moving to one of the best offensive situations in the game.

By FanGraphs Park Factors, Rogers Centre has been the fourth-best ballpark for right-handed home run power in each of the last three seasons. By ESPN Park Factors, it’s been a top ten park for home run hitters this season and third-best in the previous two. And when he goes on the road (in the division), Tulowitzki gets to trade out pitching paradises in Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco for hitting havens in New York, Baltimore, and Boston. Single-season park factors aren’t perfect, but it’s safe to expect that moving to Toronto will minimize the post-Coors hangover.

And let’s not forget that Tulo gets a whole bunch of new teammates, most of whom are outstanding hitters. By wRC+, the Blue Jays have been better than the Rockies at catcher, first base, third base, left field, and right field. Only the outstanding performances of DJ LeMahieu (second base) and Charlie Blackmon (center field) prevented a clean sweep in favor of the Jays. Hitting at the top of an order that follows him with Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, and Edwin Encarnacion, Tulowitzki has as good a chance as anybody to lead the league in runs over the last two months of the season.

Sure, his home runs and batting average might sag a bit, but this isn’t the time to dangle Tulo’s home/road splits. He’s still in a hitter’s park and is now a part of what’s almost unquestionably the best offense in the game. Hang on if you’ve got him; trade for him if you can.

I wouldn’t trade/drop him for: Anybody who plays shortstop

Ken Giles | Philadelphia Phillies | SP

With Jonathan Papelbon gone to Washington, Ken Giles finally gets the chance to take the big chair. He’s run with the opportunity so far, locking down two saves in two chances and fanning two Atlanta Braves in his latest chance. And if his fastball velocity is any indication, he’s pumped about it.

Ken  Giles Velocity

Giles’ fourseam fastball that ranks among the hardest in baseball, but it’s his slider that really takes the cake. Among right-handed relievers, nobody’s slider gets as many whiffs on as many swings as Giles’.

His strikeout rate is actually down significantly from last season, but his 28% rate is still among the best in the league, bunched right around fellow closers Roberto Osuna and Brad Boxberger. Giles is easily a Top 20 closer for the rest of the season.

I wouldn’t trade/drop him for: Drew Storen, Francisco Rodriguez, Jake McGee

Brandon Moss | St. Louis Cardinals | 1B/OF

The Cardinals are not dummies. And Brandon Moss isn’t a .213/.283/.398 hitter. Now that St. Louis has made the move to acquire him, Moss will slot in at first base most days, at least against right-handed pitching. He’s actually been better against lefties this season, but for his career, Moss owns a 60 point advantage in ISO against right-handed pitching. And even in a down season, his average fly ball is still soaring nearly 285 feet, per Baseball HeatMaps. That’s more than sluggers Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, and Justin Upton.

During his breakout in 2013 and 2014, Moss mashed everything down and in.

Brandon  Moss 2013-14 Zone Profile

This season, those hot zones have evaporated.

Brandon  Moss 2015 Zone Profile

But the Cardinals are a very smart organization with a reputation for getting the most out of every player the acquire. If you own Moss, give the Cards some time to turn him around.

I wouldn’t trade/drop him for: Chris Carter, Billy Butler, Kendrys Morales

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