Sorare Ranks Update #8 - May 18th, 2023
Time for your weekly dose of value in advance of GW 15.
Storytime to start this one off.
What I’m about to tell you isn’t intended as bragging, it is simply following the tactics I outline in this article each week.
I took home 2nd place in the AL-Only Rare competition last week.
And I did it with 6/7 players that have been identified as “Values” since I started building my model last season.
Pics or it didn’t happen:
Breaking it down, only Joe Ryan has never popped as a Value. People have loved the guy since his cards first hit the market, and I can hardly blame them.
Mullins is everyone’s favorite Oriole these days but was a shocking value well into the offseason - same with Semien at SS.
And what of the Mariners?
Sewald has well outperformed his cost to date, even if he did grace this roster with a 0, and both Julio and Teo show as strong values options even now. In fact, Teoscar made an appearance in last week’s undervalued section, just in time to heat up these last couple GWs.
And JRam? Sweet, sweet, JRam continues to be one of the most overlooked studs in the game. He hasn’t even gotten hot yet.
Long-winded rant aside, I simply wanted to outline that this stuff works.
It takes patience and a willingness to hold on through tough times - which can and will be exceedingly difficult - but on the other side of that hold is a lineup able to score more points for less hard-earned cash.
Let’s dive in!
Rankings
Hop into spreadsheet land for the full top 300 using the button below.
As always, players with negative slot differentials are considered “Values”, while players with positive slot differentials are considered “Overvalues.” ↓
If you just want my favorites for the week, then keep on reading!
10 Value Candidates
Are you into points at a discount?
Teoscar Hernandez - SEA - OF
SoRank: 47 | Implied Rank: 178 | -131 slot differential
Momma, there is that man again! As of this writing, Teo has averaged 12 pts/game over his last 5, which is a lovely boost from the 6.6 average over his last 40. The talent was already there, and if his bat is finally heating up, good things will happen.
Joe Musgrove - SD - SP
SoRank: 85 | Implied Rank: 166 | -81 slot differential
I drop SPs in my ranks a bit, and yet Musgrove still finds himself valued inside the top 100 from a future performance perspective. That rank becomes all the more appealing after a couple of mediocre starts dinged his card value.
Tyler O’Neill - STL - OF
SoRank: 95 | Implied Rank: 246 | -151 slot differential
I’ve probably talked about Tyler O’Neill enough at this point, but he’s back on the list!
Seiya Suzuki - CHC - OF
SoRank: 100 | Implied Rank: 196 | -96 slot differential
Another return customer and strong value. While everyone looks at the Cubs’ latest call-up, just take the second-best player on the team at a discount and thank me later.
Brandon Lowe - TB - 2B/DH
SoRank: 116 | Implied Rank: 182 | -66 slot differential
We’ve come full circle on Lowe, who got off to a monster start and then cooled significantly. The power/speed combo remains, as does the fantastic team surrounding him.
Josh Bell - CLE - 1B/DH
SoRank: 149 | Implied Rank: 267 | -118 slot differential
Now there’s a name I’ve not heard in a long, long time. Bell lit the world on fire when there weren’t any Sorare cards to see it, but has slumped for most of the latter half of last season and into today. That being said, he’s hitting 4th on a Clevland roster due for a change of luck, and the price is now darn compelling.
Mitch Haniger - SF - OF/DH
SoRank: 175 | Implied Rank: 286 | -111 slot differential
Ok so he didn’t destroy baseballs immediately after coming back from a long-term injury. Still in on Haniger.
Edward Cabrera - MIA - SP
SoRank: 201 | Implied Rank: 319 | -118 slot differential
25-year-old struggling with command but possessing gaudy K/9 numbers thanks to three above-average pitches (Fastball, sinker, slider). I’m in for this every time.
Michael Kopech - CWS - SP
SoRank: 222 | Implied Rank: 416 | -194 slot differential
Oh boy, here we are again. I actually wrote a whole thread on Kopech, which you can check out right here. Suffice to say he is also struggling with command, but has some great stuff that is worth watching.
Kolten Wong - SEA - 2B
SoRank: 269 | Implied Rank: 656 | -387 slot differential
*Mariners bias alert* But seriously, what does Wong have to do to get a little love? He’s roughly a league-average player at this stage in his career, but got off to a slow start and is being treated as if he’s no longer in the league. Makes for a sneaky value stack with Teoscar.
10 Overvalued Candidates
What goes up, typically, comes back down.
Max Muncy - LAD - 2B/3B/DH
SoRank: 126 | Implied Rank: 52 | 74 slot differential
“Mash” Muncy SZN is in full effect. His perceived value remains that of a top-50 player.
Anthony Rizzo - NYY - 1B
SoRank: 157 | Implied Rank: 75 | 82 slot differential
Another player having an epic start to his season. Selling high here could make sense depending on your situation. His .308 average and 9 homers make it tough, but the regression beast lies ahead, and he is in his age 34 season.
Brandon Drury - LAA - 1B/2B/3B/DH
SoRank: 225 | Implied Rank: 160 | 65 slot differential
The NYY and NYM tax is well covered at this point, the same appears to be taking effect for both LA teams.
Josh Naylor - CLE - 1B/DH
SoRank: 228 | Implied Rank: 173 | 55 slot differential
I basically have Bell and Naylor flip-flopped in terms of value.
Sonny Gray - MIN - SP
SoRank: 252 | Implied Rank: 108 | 144 slot differential
Gray continues to be great. However, if I could somehow turn Gray into Musgrove and Cabrera I’d be a happy dude.
Christopher Morel - CHC - 2B/3B/SS/OF
SoRank: 254 | Implied Rank: 84 | 170 slot differential
Morel back on the Overvalue list, this time even higher. He looked good in his first handful of games, it’s perhaps not fair to expect a top-100 player right off the bat though.
DJ LeMahieu - NYY - 1B/2B/3B
SoRank: 257.5 | Implied Rank: 165 | 92.5 slot differential
Yankees tax plus more playing time with Peraza working his way back from injury.
Joey Meneses - WSH - 1B/OF
SoRank: 264 | Implied Rank: 123 | 141 slot differential
Guess who’s back, back again?
Nathan Eovaldi - TEX - SP
SoRank: 287 | Implied Rank: 184 | 103 slot differential
Eovaldi has also been great to start the season and is riding an impressive scoreless streak. In fact, this is just about the best we have seen him pitch in his 12-year career. That being said, both his stuff and command look good, so he can be an appealing starter for those that acquired back when the cost was low.
Justin Steele - CHC - SP
SoRank: 293 | Implied Rank: 146 | 147 slot differential
Weekly reminder that regression comes for us all. Steele continues to leverage below-average stuff with slightly above-average command for well above-average results.
That’s a wrap on the rankings, 10 Values, and 10 Overvalues for the week!
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Good luck out there this game-week managers!