Following a party that celebrates America, I’m going to ask you to try doing something that has always been part of American culture: dream big. And in the fantasy baseball landscape of 2023, dreaming big means trading for Ronald Acuna Jr.
How good was Acuña? To say he’s been the most valuable fantasy asset would be doing him a disservice. According to values earned for salary cap projects on the RotoWire site, Acuña’s production has been worth $67 so far.
Only six players have won equal value half of this total.
Do you think that Shohei Ohtani was awesome? Acuña produced $18 more fantasy value than Ohtani’s striking side. Corbin Carroll has a similar skill set to Acuña and has been a top five player this season; Acuña kicks Carroll’s ass in all five standard categories.
These absurd statistics recently got me thinking about what Acuña is worth in the trade market. And after doing some research, I think every manager should try to acquire it at almost any cost.
A quick trip to the Yahoo Trade Market page shows that Acuña recently traded for Juan Soto And Shane McClanahan. This is exactly the type of trade you should try to make. Soto and McClanahan earned $44 this season, which pales in comparison to Acuña’s $67. In most cases, I would be willing to offer the Acuña manager any hitter and pitcher on my roster for him. This type of offer might appeal to Acuña’s teams, as his outstanding contributions may have put his team ahead in runs and interceptions, but he can’t solve throwing problems.
Those who can’t afford to part with pitchers should instead offer two hitters from their team for Acuña. They could even add a respectable quality third player. For example, an offer of Jose Ramirez And Kyle Tucker should get the attention of the other manager. And so far in 2023, Acuña has been worth $13 more than those two players combined.
Here’s the hidden secret of Acuña’s trade: All of my speculation so far in the article assumes that the empty roster spot that is created upon acquiring it will be filled with a $1 player. And while that may be the level that needs to be set initially, any manager who believes in their insight needs to be sure that they can squeeze more than a dollar of production out of this spot on the list. Working the waiver yarn should be able to produce at least $5 in streamers. And in a perfect scenario, you find a breakout player in the second half and have $10 in production to go along with Acuña’s $67.
Maybe you can’t trade for Acuña. But you should to try. Send an offer that blows their manager away and makes them decline the offer.
I hear the naysayers remind me that Acuña may not produce at such an extreme level in the second half. Of course it is possible. But the same is possible for the pair of top players you trade for him. The Soto + McClanahan deal above happened just days before McClanahan landed in IL.
Acuña showed no signs of slowing down. In every full month, he’s produced more than 20 runs and at least 10 interceptions. Its lowest monthly average was 0.298. Acuña is not on a radiator; he is legitimately awesome. And the same goes for the Braves, who run the OPS majors. Acuña and his teammates should remain an attacking juggernaut for the rest of the season and could be even better in a few weeks when the trade deadline passes.
For perspective, here are my thoughts on a few other Acuña offerings that have popped up on Yahoo! Trade Market page in recent days:
A big win for the manager who acquired Acuña. De La Cruz is exciting, Urias could bounce back in the second half and Rosario is a useful depth player. I’ll be happy to take Acuña and two knocks on the waiver wire.
It’s still not enough. Harper has terrific name value, but with three homers and 195 at-bats, he’s clearly not in perfect health. Harper and Ryan, who is a very valuable starter, are still not close enough.
It would be a bargain if Pérez wasn’t on a set limit that will impact his value in the second half. For that reason, I’m always going to take Acuña and two stabs over the waiver, especially in the shallow leagues.
This is exactly the type of offer to send. Freeman has been great this year. Mullins may produce enough to close the gap between the two stars, but in reality, the overall value of this deal still swings heavily towards Acuña.
Acuña for Corbin Carroll and Ranger Suarez
Carroll has been a top-five player this season, but the gap between the Arizona star and Acuña is still a mile wide. Suárez is far from the type of pitcher that would be needed to close the gap.
My final reason for acquiring Acuña is that fantasy baseball is meant to be amusing. And I can’t think of many things that would be more fun than checking Acuña’s scores for the rest of the season. It’s time to close this article and submit your absolute best offer for Acuña. You will not regret it.