Fantasy Baseball: Some advice, you should trade Cody Bellinger

We are heading down the stretch of the fantasy baseball season. To catapult yourself in the rankings, you may need to strategically trade a fairly big name.

Fantasy baseball is easily the second most popular fantasy sport in America. Sure, you can argue that fantasy basketball takes the crown, but the true second place behind football is fantasy baseball. With a 162 game season and so many statistics easily accessible, fantasy baseball has engulfed the casual fan.

Whether you stick it out for 162 games or decide to go with daily fantasy contests, fantasy baseball has given the fans an entirely new way to watch the game. While some may hate it, it is a step in the “make baseball fun again” movement.

With the season zooming past the century mark in games played the true contenders and pretenders in fantasy baseball are coming out. Like in the MLB, there are buyers and there are sellers, and if you are in a keeper league, it may be time to sell and rebuild for the future.

However, I have the perfect deal for the guy that is in the middle of the pack. You may be in fourth place now, but there is a way to trade one person to bolster your entire squad. It seems counter intuitive, but you should trade young Dodgers phenom, Cody Bellinger.

Bellinger burst on to the MLB scene and awarded any owner that used a pick for a minor league guy. Even better, Bellinger was a huge impact free agent signing for those leagues that did not draft him.

Bellinger slugged nine home runs in May and 13 in June, driving in a combined 54 RBIs. Now, with only a few days left until August, Bellinger has slugged a total of 28 home runs with 67 RBIs and a .269 batting average.

This is all after missing almost the entire month of April. Bellinger is on pace to slug around 45 home runs and bring in134 RBIs – that’s if he keeps up this record pace.

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However, chances are Bellinger will plateau. We’ve already seen a slight dip in production in July. He has only hit four home runs this month and driven in 11 RBIs; however still posting a .277 clip.

Bellinger is a great young talent, with raw power. However, in the big leagues, pitchers will find you out, discover your holes, and exploit them. For now, the pitchers haven’t yet exploited Bellinger’s holes, instead, have limited him to less extra base hits and home runs.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying Bellinger will be bad the next two months of the season. He can still hit the 40 home run mark and can flirt with the 100 RBI mark if he plays well. However, chances are like always with rookie phenoms, the grind of a 162 game schedule will get to Bellinger.

Plus, it should be noted, once the Dodgers clinch that coveted playoff spot they may begin to rest guys. While he still will play a good amount since home field advantage is on the line, with Adrian Gonzalez coming back he will take a couple more days off than he is accustomed to.

Next: Is Bellinger the best Dodger rookie ever?

Just think, the return on Bellinger will be massive. People are still buying into the idea that he is a supernatural phenom – you can likely get a solid pitcher, a great hitter, and even probably a specialty player that can get stolen bases. Trading Cody Bellinger and his home runs for a huge surge in multiple other categories seems like the smart move for fantasy baseball players.