Every good pitcher is a must-sell.Honestly, you should probably stop reading right now and make a series of trade offers involving your best pitchers because they are all sell-high candidates.When we originally recommended Zero SP in the spring, we embraced it as a lifestyle, not merely a draft strategy. It’s the correct way to approach a full season’s worth of transactions. You should keep Zero SP in your heart every day of the year.In practice, this means it’s time to pivot away from several of your best fantasy baseball decisions. Sorry, but this was always the path.The guiding principle underpinning Zero SP is the belief that no starting pitcher is safe at any point in the season (or preseason, or offseason). It’s not as if all the risk is concentrated in the early-round starters, either. We’ve entered an era in which workloads are historically light for pitchers, yet these guys routinely account for 60-65% of total days lost to the injured list.Fortunately, we can minimize the potential for catastrophic draft outcomes by ignoring the position until the middle and late rounds, plus we can do so without sacrificing quality. The fantasy baseball industrial complex is pretty terrible at identifying all the useful starters in advance of any season, which is a gift to the Zero SP community. This year, our mid-draft targets have actually been the most valuable starting pitchers in the game.And, it’s now time to flip those guys for upper-tier hitters, wherever possible, if you have unaddressed batting needs. Your league will definitely offer cash-out options on the Cy Young frontrunners.I would prefer not to use the names of the most glaring sell-high candidates here, because I’m not trying to wish ill on anyone. Also, I do not want to be accused of hexing these players. Let’s just say that if you didn’t immediately toss [REDACTED] on the trade block following his 15-K shutout — or [REDACTED] following last week’s six-inning, 13-K gem — then you were never fully committed to the Zero SP ethos.Joshua Báez is banging down the doorThe St. Louis Cardinals have a collection of outfielders on the major-league roster who are delivering individual seasons ranging from adequate (Nathan Church) to small-sample good (Lars Nootbaar, Nelson Velazquez) to supernova (Jordan Walker), so it’s possible Báez will continue to stew at Triple-A Memphis. We may not see him in the big leagues until an injury clears a path.Let the record show, however, that Báez has produced a half-season of the highest quality. His profile is uncommonly fantasy-friendly, too. He’s on the short list of prospects who need to be stashed in competitive leagues ahead of his eventual call up.
Trade your top pitchers, trust in Jac Caglianone and more fantasy baseball takeaways
Andy Behrens discusses the Zero SP strategy, prospects on the rise and under-rostered hitters who have it all.









