Fantasy Baseball Week Ten Waiver Wire and Sleepers: Trading Josh Donaldson?

We're heading into week 10 of the Fantasy Baseball season and thankfully we don't have any major injuries to contend with. That's a good thing isn't it? I don't know about you but I'm getting a bit fed up with all the injuries and such because it's just so dang hard to find replacements. I know A's fans here don't want to hear this but it looks as though the Angels Josh Hamilton will be returning from the DL sometime this week (allegedly Tuesday against Houston) so if you have him on your roster please keep this in mind. The following question came in this week regarding Josh Donaldson.

Dear Phil,

I own Josh Donaldson on a standard 12 team head to head league. I'm thrilled with the numbers he has put up so far but I've been reading about a strategy called "sell high". Is Donaldson such a candidate and what would you ask for him in return?

Thanks for the email.

I'm very familiar with the "sell high" strategy but I don't usually go this route for a couple of reasons. The first being it usually winds up biting me on the backside and the second being I don't generally make trades but instead rely on the waiver wire. It's faster and for me it works.

Is Donaldson a candidate? I suppose he could be. He's the #1 rated 3B in Fantasy Baseball (source) thus far this season and #15 overall (source) so he's definitely within the elite in Fantasy baseball. I guess the bigger question is whether or not you believe he can continue this pace he's on. If you look his isolated power number of .252 is much higher than last seasons .199 while his BABIP number of .302 is actually down from last seasons .333. Also his OBP .370 is lower than last season but his slugging percentage of .527 is way up from last season. You can check all his stats here if you are so inclined.

So what does all this suggest? The key to the "sell high" method is to sell a guy who's numbers are way higher than they should be hoping they collapse back down to earth. That doesn't seem to be the case with Donaldson. I'm not a sabermatrician nor do I play one on TV but these numbers he's putting up currently will be difficult to sustain. That being said if he falls somewhere in the middle he might wind up having a better season then he did the year before. If this is indeed the case, and nothing suggests to me that it isn't, then Donaldson isn't really a candidate for selling high. Trade him if you desire but if you do you'd better get BIG value in return because this young man is on his way to a spectacular season once again in 2014.

Here's who I think will have big weeks from the waiver wire this week. As always make sure you check your own particular wires as there might be a steal or two to be had.

Mark Reynolds 1B 3B Brewers: Here's a sell high candidate if ever there was one. Reynolds is prone to slumps and his batting average can really screw you up but when this guy is hot look out. He's currently on one of those streaks and with games next week against weak pitching teams like Minnesota and Pittsburgh, at least for this week; I look for this streak to continue. (Stats)

Lonnie Chisenhall 3B Indians: Thanks to injuries to Nick Swisher and Carlos Santana Chisenhall is getting so playing time and making the most of it. His slash line of .358/.416/.520/.936 suggests that he is another of those sell high candidates that will more than likely come down to earth. Fortunately for you he's widely available on the waiver wire this week so grab him now, ride the wave and if you are lucky you can flip him to another owner and get some real value for him. (Stats)

Jenrry Mejia RP Mets: Manager Terry Collins has run out of options and Mejia is now the closer for the Mets and so far he's been very good in this role. Since he's taken on this newly appointed role he's been 5-5 in the save department and like I said before the job is his as there really isn't anyone else to fill the role. Grab him now folks. (Stats)

Good luck this week Fantasy Owner!