This article is part of our Sorare MLB series.
As we acclimate to this new MLB season, and as we're still very early in setting up our Sorare MLB lineups, there will likely be more fluctuation in which players you have in said lineups. There will also be heavily fluctuation in the statistical output of MLBers across the board. This week I thought for my upgrades, holds, and downgrades I'd take an early look at some of the guys who were expected to see notable changes in their numbers this year. The players who were lucky, unlucky, or had stat lines outside their career norms. Let's take a look!
Card prices shown reflect the most recent limited card sale price for each player on the Sorare Marketplace as of April 9.
Upgrades
Oneil Cruz, PIT ($10.72): Finally able to stay healthy, Cruz played in 146 games last year and picked up 21 homers and 22 stolen bases, plus 34 doubles. However, he also had a .324 OBP with 181 strikeouts compared to 51 walks. Now playing in center field (though based on everything I've read, playing it quite poorly), Cruz has two homers and seven stolen bases, and has put up three games with at least 19.0 Sorare points. Notably, though, he also has a .360 OBP and has walked nine times against 11 strikeouts. Yes, he still strikes out a lot, but he's getting on base and showing some patience, which would be big for his potential, especially on the base paths.
Nick Lodolo, CIN ($6.93): Lodolo had a 4.76 ERA last season, but with a 3.94 FIP, not to mention a 3.89 xFIP. While Lodolo has been lacking in terms of strikeouts, he's delivered everything else one could want in 2025. He allowed two runs in six innings in his first start, but since then Lodolo has pitched 12.2 innings without giving up a single earned run. That's given him back-to-back games with at least 26.0 Sorare points. In the end, Lodolo's luck will likely end up between last year and the start of this year, but so far, so good.
Josh Naylor, ARI ($5.25): Yes, Naylor had 31 home runs last season, but with a .243 batting average. However, he also had a .246 BABIP, and his career BABIP is .283. The southpaw also joined a new team, making Arizona his new home ballpark. Naylor just hit his first home run with the Diamondbacks, and he's hit .340 with five doubles and three stolen bases as well. He has two games with double-digit Sorare points in his new home park as well, which is encouraging.
Jonathan Aranda, TAM ($4.00): Aranda only played in 44 games last year, and he only hit .234. On the other hand, he also knocked the cover off the ball. A whopping 47.4 percent of Aranda's hits were categorized as "hard." Only one player with over 100 plate appearances did better: Aaron Judge. Now, I'm not saying Aranda is about to hit 50 home runs, but he's slashed .385/.452/.731 and had at least 8.0 Sorare points in half his games.
Holds
Yordan Alvarez, HOU ($29.94): If there is anybody with a track record of success worth holding on to through a slow start, it's Alvarez. He's hit over 30 home runs in each of his last four seasons. The Cuban has never finished a campaign with a slugging percentage lower than .531. He's the rare lefty that can hit his fellow southpaws, as he has a .960 OPS in those matchups since 2023. His hard hit rate is still over 40 percent as per usual. Alvarez's contact has just been a smidge off, but that'll change, and the Sorare points will arrive as well.
Garrett Crochet, BOS ($16.76): Can a pitcher have a breakthrough season and still be unlucky? Indeed they can, and that was Crochet last year. He wasn't just unlucky to play for the worst team in modern MLB history, the 2024 White Sox. Crochet had a 3.58 ERA, but that was paired with a 2.33 xFIP. Now, the newly-minted Red Sox pitcher has been bolstered by a great start against the Orioles that netted 42.0 Sorare points. Even so, through three starts with his new team he has an 1.45 ERA. He has just one win but probably has much better chances of picking up wins now than he did with Chicago's offense supporting him.
Downgrades
Pete Crow-Armstrong, CHC ($8.13): Crow-Armstrong has incredible speed. He's stolen six bases through 15 games. However, issues in the young centerfielder's game have carried over from his rookie season. He's getting on base at a sub-.300 level once again, and he's started 2025 by slugging .263. Crow-Armstrong has also struck out 15 times, and his chase rate is over 40 percent once again. Yes, he's only 23, and he'll always be a base-stealing threat when he's on first, but Crow-Armstrong may be plateauing in concerning ways.
Yanier Diaz, HOU ($3.91): Diaz raised some eyebrows last year when he hit .299 and picked up 84 RBI. Of course, RBI are teammate dependent, and the Astros have a worse roster this season. Beyond that, though, all the games with negative Sorare points already for Diaz are not the fault of his fellow Astros. He benefited from a .338 BABIP last season, and this year he's certainly not seen that kind of luck on balls in play. Diaz has a .061 average, and his only two hits are both singles.
Ronel Blanco, HOU ($1.98): After Blanco opened 2024 with one of the most-surprising no-hitters in recent memory, I recommended not buying in. Then, I reiterated that point again…and probably once more. And yet, Blanco persisted. He finished 2024 with a 2.80 ERA, but the underlying numbers still spoke to reasons for skepticism. Blanco had a 4.18 xFIP, and the only pitcher with a bigger disparity between ERA and xFIP to pitch over 100 innings was Hunter Greene. Greene was in his age-24 season and has an elite fastball. Blanco was in his age-30 season. Well, through two starts this year Blanco has a 9.45 ERA. In his last outing he had the rare performance from a starting pitcher to yield negative Sorare points. This time, I think my skepticism will be validated.
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