This article is part of our Sorare MLB series.
Sorare is a new type of fantasy baseball where you can buy, sell and trade digital player cards and use them to compete in competitions for prizes. It's free to sign up at https://sorare.com/mlb.
When it comes to selecting MLB players for Sorare, how should you go about it? That is going to change as the season goes on. Right now, we're in the early stages of the 2024 MLB campaign. Some stat lines certainly stand out, as they're incongruous for the player in question. Those stat lines also stem from a mere handful of games. This is the time of the year when, in addition to forgetting about college basketball for another year and opening our windows in the Midwest for the first time in forever, the words "sample size" are bandied about with gusto.
In the future, my Sorare-related recommendations in these articles will look at recent form. In terms of finding performance-based value from MLB players at that time, this will be the best protocol. Right now, though, my feeling is to do the opposite. I'm thinking a bit more about the long term. My upgrades are players off to slow starts I believe will turn things around, and probably soon, while my downgrades are guys whose first foray into the season has been impressive, but likely unsustainable. The holds, well, those dudes are of the "wait and see" variety, and that likely won't change a ton going forward. Let's get to it!
Note: the number in parentheses is each player's last Limited Card sale price.
Upgrades
Gleyber Torres, NYY ($12.73): Underperforming for the Yankees is not for the faint of heart, as their fan base is vast and not shy with their disappointment. If you picked up 16 Sorare points from Torres on April 6 against Toronto, you got to enjoy that experience, but a sub-.300 OBP and a batting average flirting with the Mendoza line has been frustratring. However, the second baseman has hit over 20 homers and swiped double-digit bags in each of his last two seasons. He's also posted an .800 OPS at Yankee Stadium since 2022, and New York opened the season with seven road games. Now, the Yankees are about to hit the road for six games in a row, but this is still a chance to get on board with Torres before he takes off.
Max Muncy, LAD ($20.06): Muncy just hit his second home run of the season Wednesday — enjoy those Sorare points if you already have the third baseman at your disposal — but his .423 slugging percentage is primed to rise further. He slugged .475 last season and has slugged .472 in his career. In four of his last five full MLB campaigns (i.e. excluding 2020's truncated affair), he's hit either 35 or 36 homers. That's not to say you can ink in 33 or 34 more home runs for Muncy, but maybe you can pencil it in. Facing righties regularly will be key for Muncy, as the left-handed hitter slugged .518 against them in 2023, but as long as you keep an eye on the starting pitchers coming up on the Dodgers' schedule, you can reap the benefits.
Bailey Ober, MIN ($8.03): Ober is already on the upswing. His first start was a disaster, yielding -15 Sorare points. The Royals tuned him up, but then he went five innings against the Dodgers, allowing only three hits and one run while striking out seven batters. His 4.26 BB/9 is well above his 1.87 BB/9 number for his career, and his .474 BABIP is unsustainably high. Ober won't turn into an ace, but his 3.63 career ERA coming into this season is likely where he'll end up by the end of the year.
Cal Raleigh, SEA ($3.86): Raleigh won't flirt with a batting title, and games with negative Sorare points comes with the territory, but the switch-hitting catcher hit 30 home runs last year. He provides bigger upside than most catchers. Raleigh just hit his second homer of the season Wednesday. Also, while he's posted an .848 OPS on the road since 2022, he had a .730 OPS at home in 2023, an encouraging uptick.
Hold
Teoscar Hernandez, LAD ($25.64): Hernandez has slashed .298/.355/.561 so far in his first season with the Dodgers, and has a few performances of over 20 Sorare points as well. Last season, he had a .740 OPS. So, clearly, Hernandez's numbers are just looking for a cliff to fall off of, right? I'm not so sure. The righty had an .830 OPS on the road in 2023, but a .643 OPS at home. That home was the very pitcher-friendly Safeco Field, and it was Hernandez's lone season with the Mariners. Before this season began, Hernandez was talking about struggling with the sightlines in Seattle. Maybe that wasn't just an excuse. With Safeco but a memory for Hernandez this year, his start could be legit.
Reid Detmers, LAA ($19.71): Detmers has a 1.12 FIP through two starts, and he's struck out a whopping 15.55 batters per nine innings. That FIP will rise, but he struck out 10.17 batters per nine in 2023. It looks like he's emerged, at 24, as a high-level strikeout pitcher, and he's only allowed 1.08 homers per nine in his career. Shohei Ohtani is gone. Is Detmers his heir apparent as the ace for the Angels? His 42.5 Sorare points in his last start say, "Definitely maybe."
Downgrades
Tyler O'Neill, BOS ($22.95): Like Hernandez, O'Neill is with a new team, in his case the Red Sox. He's off to an even better start with his new club, hitting six homers in 10 games and racking up Sorare points with gusto, peaking at 38 against the Athletics on April 2. In 2021, O'Neill had a .912 OPS with 34 homers and 15 stolen bases with the Cardinals, but he had a .707 OPS over the prior two campaigns, both of which were marred with injury. Perhaps he can stay healthy, but his track record indicates it won't happen. Also, this isn't a new home park thing, as Boston has only played two games at Fenway so far.
Ronel Blanco, HOU ($9.83): It may be as obvious a call as I can think of, but Blanco is in for a rude awakening. He opened the year with a no-hitter, earning 44 Sorare points, and followed that up with six innings of one-hit, shutout ball in his second outing. Even his 2.95 FIP is quite good, but he had a 5.98 FIP in 2023. Blanco has struck out 6.60 batters per nine and walked 3.60 batters per nine. His line-drive percentage is a mere 2.9. His next start is scheduled for Saturday, April 13 against the Rangers. My prediction? Let's just say I cribbed it from Clubber Lang.
Ryan McMahon, COL ($7.42): McMahon has slashed .383/.464/.553, but there's a reason why his Sorare points exploded once the Rockies hit Coors Field after starting the year on the road. He has split issues in multiple ways. McMahon has posted a sub-.700 OPS on the road in each of the last two seasons, but the lefty also has a sub-.650 OPS against southpaws in each of those years as well. There are just too many occasions where McMahon is not a viable option for you.
