Oscar Taveras is the “it guy” in fantasy baseball right now. He homered in his first major league game on Saturday afternoon against the Giants. Many are saying he is a must start in mixed leagues but there is reason to sell high and maximize your return.
Analysis: Taveras will develop into a solid if not great player but there are a few red flags. He has always been a low walk rate guy which will be a concern when pitchers pitch around him and/or give him a heavy dose of the off speed stuff. Secondly, we have to consider that he is still just twenty-one years old. For every Mike Trout and Ryan Braun who had success early on- there are thousands more like Alex Gordon and Delmon Young. Gordon and Young had the upside and needed time to put it together and this may be the case with Taveras. And for every Alex Gordon and Delmon Young there are even more like Travis Snider, Brandon Wood and Andy Marte. This is just a friendly reminder from the guy that told you to pass on the Profar hype last year and sell him high.
Will Oscar Taveras have a great season in the bigs or will he be just another mediocre fantasy outfielder this year? Who knows, but selling high doesn’t sound that bad when guys like Revere, Markakis, Zobrist and Bourn are available on the wire.