Sell High Targets for Hitters and Pitchers

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  • By SportsEthos Staff

    Last Updated on July 11, 2026 12:34 pm by Paul Williamson | Published: July 11, 2026

    Larry Vannozzi and Nathan Baker team up for 0ur first sell-high article of the season! They feature a pair of hitters and pitchers with a focus on overperformers as well as trade candidates to cash out on before a deadline move hurts their fantasy value.

     

    Brandon Marsh

    As a life-long Phillies fan, I was pretty sure I knew who Brandon Marsh was – a strong side platoon guy who could contribute some counting stats and hit for a decent average. In other words, a pretty fringe player in typical 12-team leagues.

    Man, was I wrong!

    Marsh had an outstanding first half. His batting average was .307 (a career high) and his .502 slugging percentage was also a career high. He hit 15 homers which is just one shy of a career high and he stole eight bases. You’re easily looking at a Top 50 player according to both Yahoo and the  FanGraphs Player Rater. Now that’s what I call getting your money’s worth out of a draft pick or waiver claim!

    Although Marsh was a tremendous success story in the first half, he is poised to negatively regress after the break. His average and maximum exit velocities have decreased this year. His barrel and hard-hit rates are merely near his career averages (ie, middle-of-the-road; nothing noteworthy) and his swinging strike rate is the highest of his past four seasons. Also, his expected batting average is much lower than his actual average (.275 compared to .307) and his expected slugging percentage is far less than his actual number (.447 compared to .502).

    Another factor weighing against Marsh is his schedule. The Phillies have the fourth-hardest remaining strength of schedule according to Tankathon.com. They face many good pitching staffs in the second half including the Brewers, Yankees, Rays and Marlins. In fact, guess how many bottom-tier pitching staffs (past 30 days of stats) that the Phillies face in the first 30 days after the All-Star break? Just one. So, Marsh will face average or good staffs in 21 of his first 24 games after the break.

    Marsh isn’t a bad player nor is he likely to completely fall apart in the second half. However, there are reasons to expect him to slow down as the rest of the summer unfolds. He isn’t a big name and may not net you much in return. However, whatever you get now is probably better than what you’ll receive if you wait a month.

    Robbie Ray


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    July 11, 2026, 12:34 pm