This article is part of our Sorare MLB series.
In baseball, being in form can be fleeting. Or, it can remain the case for weeks, even months, on end. Nobody can tell you exactly which MLB players will remain locked in and which ones will fall out of whack for a while with full accuracy. That would require being able to see the future, and at that point you'd probably just keep that information to yourself to clean up on all your bets. Or maybe try and stop a dictator from rising to power. Whatever floats your boat, clairvoyants.
What I can do, though, is find players who are in form, give you some pertinent details, and help you make your Sorare selections. It's time for another round of Upgrades, Holds, and Downgrades. For this iteration, I looked at splits related to recent performance, both from hitters and pitchers. Onward!
Note: the number in parentheses is each player's last Limited Card sale price as of May 8.
Upgrades
Bryson Stott, PHI ($7.88): Four times in the last week, Stott has tallied 13.0 Sorare points or more. He has three home runs and eight stolen bases after he picked up 15 of the former and 31 of the latter in 2023, his sophomore season. Now, he's batted .250 after hitting .280 last season, but there's room for improvement, and I expect some of that to arrive. The left-handed second baseman has averaged .297 over the last 14 days.
Michael Massey, KC ($7.53): As a rookie second baseman, Massey hit 15 homers and stole six bases in 129 games, but that was about all he had going for him. His .274 OBP was paired with a .381 slugging percentage. Massey is still getting on base at a sub-.300 level, but the power has been more prominent since he was called up from Triple-A, where he raked to the tune of an 1.269 OPS. On the year he's slugged .491, and over the last two weeks he has a .911 OPS. That's helped Massey notch three games with at least 14.0 Sorare points in May.
Connor Joe, PIT ($5.73): Joe earned his fifth start in a row Wednesday, picking up two more hits and an RBI. With the struggles of Rowdy Tellez and Michael Taylor, Joe should be able to find a spot in the lineup most days, especially when a lefty is on the mound for the opposition. He has a .903 OPS versus southpaws this season, and a .783 OPS over the last three weeks. Hey, you can't earn Sorare points if you aren't playing, and these days Joe is playing.
Sean Manaea, NYM ($4.22): Now a Met, Manaea actually started the season with two good starts. Then he had a brutal game against the Royals, one that yielded negative Sorare points, rare for a pitcher. Some may have figured the fun was over at that point, but in four starts since then he has a 2.61 ERA, with at least 12.0 Sorare points each time he's taken the hill. There are concerning elements, such as his walk rate (12.5 percent), but the 32-year-old is pitching well with his new team, and he's now done it for four straight starts.
Holds
Freddie Freeman, LAD ($36.88): Stay the course with Freeman. His numbers don't scream "Perennial MVP candidate" just yet, but the arrow is pointing upward. With two hits Wednesday his average is now up to .301, which is where Freeman's batting average belongs. So far, it's his power that has been (relatively) lacking, entirely against his fellow lefties. The Dodgers first baseman has an 1.036 OPS versus right-handed pitchers. Sure, totaling 30.0 Sorare points over three games at the Marlins may not feel remarkable, because they're the Marlins after all, but the points count the same regardless of the opponent.
Riley Greene, DET ($25.03): As a Tigers fan, I have been attuned to Greene's play since the day he hit the majors. There was his shrug of a rookie campaign, followed by his promising-if-truncated second season in 2023. This year, though, it's all come together. He's racked up over 20 Sorare points on a few occasions already, and he's been tearing it up for a while now. No, I don't think he will sustain his 1.047 OPS that he's posted over the last three weeks, but finishing with an OPS over .900 feels plausible, especially if he proves playable against lefties.
Downgrades
Corey Seager, TEX ($29.48): Hmm. What's going on with Seager? Last season, he may have won the AL MVP had he played enough games. This year, the MVP is already off the table. He has more games with negative Sorare points than games with double-digit Sorare points. Of course, MVP voting isn't based on Sorare points…yet. Seager has a .520 OPS over the last three weeks. Maybe it's time to recall that in his first season with the Rangers he had a .772 OPS. That's not bad, but you can't just assume Seager is going to play at an MVP level, and recently he hasn't even played at an all-star level.
Framber Valdez, HOU ($5.73): Valdez had a great start against the Blue Jays at the start of April, and then the brakes were slammed upon in the vein of an elbow injury. At the end of April, Valdez made his return, and he got out of Coors Field only allowing two runs in 5.0 innings. That earned him 25.5 Sorare points. However, the Rockies have arguably the second-worst lineup in MLB. In Valdez's next start the Mariners, not the 1927 Yankees by any means, allowed nine hits, two homers, and five earned runs in 5.1 innings. That yielded a mere 5.5 Sorare points. Even with another below-average offense, the Tigers, coming up Friday, I'm concerned about Valdez, and also his elbow.
Starling Marte, NYM ($6.07): Marte has seven stolen bases, and he stole 24 last season in only 86 games. In the middle of April, when Marte was hot, he was able to tally Sorare points with gusto, including back-to-back games with over 20.0 Sorare points against the Dodgers. Recently, though, he's hit a wall. He one game with double-digit Sorare points since his 32-point outing against those Dodgers. The Mets outfielder has a .438 OPS over the last two weeks, slugging a staggering .205 in that time.
