EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsEach week in MLB is its own story -- full of surprises, both positive and negative -- and fantasy managers must decide what to believe and what not to believe moving forward. Perhaps we can help. If any of these thoughts come true... don't be surprised!Don't be surprised ... if Los Angeles Angels OF Mike Trout gets traded to the Philadelphia Phillies Trout, 34, entered Thursday boasting a .240/.411/.479 line, on pace for 37 home runs and, perhaps most importantly, 159 games played. Yes, this is the same player who missed more games than he participated in from 2021 through 2024, and we all rejoiced when he found a way to play in 130 games last season. His .798 OPS wasn't great in 2025, but it is great now as his .897 marks his best effort since 2022. Trout is walking at a 21.1% rate, tops for his career, perhaps in part to the lineup mess around him. Plus, his strikeout rate is down from 32.1% to 23.6%. Only 11 hitters boast more ESPN fantasy points this season.It isn't bold enough to predict that Trout will remain a top-20 fantasy hitter, because we can see the numbers he is providing and we all want to believe he'll remain healthy enough (despite moving back to center field) to have his best fantasy season since, what, 2019? Volume matters. This would be quite a trick, but we must remain optimistic. The woeful Angels around him are quite an embarrassment -- the duo of Wade Meckler and Vaughn Grissom protected Trout in the lineup this week! Still, the future Hall of Famer, who recently passed an astounding 90 career WAR and still has four full seasons to go on his contract, is overcoming it.The Phillies, annual contenders because of their stars and playing at a near 100-win pace when not facing the Atlanta Braves or Chicago Cubs, are mighty desperate for offense, especially from the right side. No Phillies right-handed hitter has been remotely productive, with disappointing SS Trea Turner leading the way with a sad 72 OPS+. OF Adolis Garcia is one of the worst players in baseball. Trout, ranked 12th in fWAR at 2.4 despite terrible defensive numbers, would fix this issue. It also doesn't hurt that Trout grew up a Philadelphia sports fan in southern New Jersey. The Phillies have qualified for the playoffs in four consecutive seasons. Trout has never won a playoff game.While myriad MLB trade rumors center around Detroit Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal, Trout moving over to his hometown organization would be quite a story as well. There may be logistical issues at play, including Trout's hefty contract and which players/prospects the Phillies could reasonably offer in return, but baseball fans -- not just Phillies fans -- should root for this. The Angels are one of the worst teams in the sport. It isn't bad luck and it isn't changing anytime soon. The Phillies cry for more offense and one of the greatest players of this generation has nary a playoff game win -- and, again, he grew up near Philadelphia. Trout's fantasy stock is already quite good, and this would make it better. Make this happen!Don't be surprised ... if Milwaukee Brewers RP Aaron Ashby breaks the record for relief wins in a seasonAshby, 28, enters Thursday leading the major leagues with nine victories, boasting a pristine 9-0 mark. While relief wins are mainly a product of circumstance and luck, Ashby is pitching well, with a 2.17 ERA and a 32.9% strikeout rate over 37 1/3 innings. He ranks fifth with 35 relief innings and volume is critical in points formats. The fortunate Ashby boasts these wins because of heavy late-game usage in conjunction with the Brewers emerging to win so many games in the latter innings. They don't hit many home runs, but they find ways to win. Ashby is a beneficiary.Fantasy managers should consider Ashby because he is thriving at preventing runs along with high usage, and yes, more wins are likely. Will he double this win total during the final four months? San Diego Padres LHP Adrian Morejon went 13-6 with a 2.08 ERA and an 0.90 WHIP last season, earning three saves. Seven wins came in the first half of the season. The first-time All-Star finished as the No. 24 relief pitcher in ESPN standard points scoring. Perhaps only my colleague Tristan H. Cockcroft knows where Pittsburgh Pirates RHP Roy Face ranked when he went 18-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 1959, but that is the record for relief wins. Ashby is on pace for 24 wins (and 145 K in 103 1/3 innings). OK, take the under on all of that, but 19 wins is certainly more plausible, at least.Any current, frustrated investor of Cleveland Guardians RHP Tanner Bibee can admit there is little fair about pitcher wins. Bibee, ranked 24th in IP but with nary a win to his record -- he is 0-7 -- isn't the worst starting pitcher in baseball. He has a 4.57 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP and a 20.7% K rate. The Guardians are stingy with runs to start with, even more so when he hurls, with dreadful run support. Then again, none of this win stuff is predictive. Bibee could win his next seven starts. Ashby may finish the season with only his current nine wins. This is baseball. Stuff happens.Ashby is like last season's Morejon, someone fantasy managers add not for the solid win pace, but rather for good relief pitching in more innings than most. He has as many wins as Cy Young winners Skubal and Paul Skenes combined. Will Ashby win again this week? We gotta know! Many of us are transfixed by this win total (and Bibee, too, for that matter.) This may be a top-20 fantasy reliever, even without the saves.Don't be surprised ... if Cincinnati Reds OF JJ Bleday continues his path as a top 20 fantasy hitterYou won't find Bleday among the top hitters for the season, because he didn't debut with the Reds until the final days of April, earning a promotion only when 3B Eugenio Suarez hit the IL. Fantasy managers (and perhaps Reds fans, too) likely ignored the transaction from the Bleday angle. Bleday, the No. 4 pick in the 2019 draft for the Miami Marlins, emerged for the 2024 Athletics, hitting 20 home runs with a .761 OPS over 159 games. However, he wasn't a star. He hit just .212/.294/.404 for last season's Athletics, then got dumped. The Reds signed him for one year and $1.4 million just after Christmas. Did anyone notice?Bleday, 28, recently won the NL Player of the Month award for May. He entered Thursday ranked seventh among hitters in fantasy points over the past 30 days -- and with three homers and six RBIs over the past week. He is hitting .289/.383/.620 over 33 games and 141 PA for the Reds, with 10 home runs and the best plate discipline of his career -- more contact, fewer ground balls and strong exit velocity. Bleday ranks 14th among those with at least 140 PA with a 54.3% pull-side rate. Plus, he boasts a 1.130 OPS in home games and a 1.059 OPS versus right-handed pitching. This isn't luck or BABIP. It looks legit. Some people have noticed, but Bleday remains rostered in only 49.4% of ESPN leagues.It's easy to be skeptical, of course, since this is JJ Bleday, a guy with a cumulative 2.5 bWAR and a .222/.315/.415 line over parts of five seasons for three organizations. That said, it isn't unusual for players to finally make the right adjustments when their career plight demands it. Bleday hit .353/.409/.571 for Triple-A Las Vegas last season, and .341/.462/.659 for 24 games at Triple-A Louisville this year. He made changes and just needed another opportunity. The Reds always seem blessed/burdened with too many young hitters, but Bleday has forced his way into the picture. Let's not assume anyone forces him out.
