This article is part of our Sorare MLB series.
It is an oft-stated adage that Memorial Day weekend is a real check-in point for the MLB season. Well, that makes it kind of a perfect point for assessing your Sorare lineups, right? Who might be an upgrade for you? What about the holds, the guys that come with caveats or a "wait and see" vibe? Then, of course, there are the downgrades, the players it might be time to move on from. After all, it's almost Memorial Day weekend. Let's get serious. Let's get your Sorare lineups sorted and situated.
The number in parentheses represents each player's last limited card sale price as of 5/21.
Upgrades
Seiya Suzuki, CHC ($7.14): A rising tide lifts all boats, as they say. The Cubs added Kyle Tucker. They got a breakthrough season from Pete Crow-Armstrong, one that is only slightly surprising as he was considered a top prospect. Carson Kelly…okay, maybe his hot start will fade into the background. Suzuki has been good in his first three seasons with the Cubs, but now he has more talent around him. Thus, his 25 extra-base hits have come with guys on base more often, and he already has 43 RBI. RBI are context-dependent, but the context should remain good for Suzuki, and driving in those runs means Sorare points for you.
Jacob Wilson, ATH ($6.18): Wilson has been on a meteoric rise. Last year, he started his age-22 season in rookie ball. The shortstop crushed Double-A, crushed Triple-A, and then got called up by the then-Oakland Athletics. He was…okay. Wilson batted a respectable .250 but slugged just .315, with two doubles and two triples his only extra-base hits over 28 games. Well, this season he debuted with the big-league club and has soared once more. Not only has he hit .341, but he has five homers and 10 doubles, and he has a .909 OPS at home. Do recall the Athletics now play in a Triple-A park in Sacramento, not MLB's best pitcher's park. May has been littered with games with double-digit Sorare points. Is Wilson going to really be an All-Star? He's playing like one.
MacKenzie Gore, WAS ($2.77): Gore has been promising in the past. Last year, he was straight-up good. This season, though, the lefty has watched it all click. Gore's K/9 rate is all the way up to 13.42. Not only that, but he's gotten his walks under control, with his BB/9 rate down to 2.88. Also, Gore has even been unlucky! Through 10 starts he has a 3.67 ERA, but a 2.96 FIP. Only three times this season has Gore had under 20.0 Sorare points in a start, and never has he failed to hit double-digit points.
Holds
Paul Goldschmidt, NYY ($4.39): Goldschmidt left St. Louis and has put up good numbers with the Yankees. Has a new team, and a new lineup, given him resurgence in his age-37 season? Maybe, and that's why he's a hold. Goldschmidt has been straight-up bad against his fellow righties, who he has posted a .668 OPS against. His 1.591 OPS versus lefties has bolstered his overall number. The biggest reason for the pause, though? Goldschmidt has an 1.046 OPS on the road…but a .695 OPS at home. So yeah, maybe the new team and the new ballpark isn't really part of the equation.
Kris Bubic, KAN ($3.37): In terms of pitchers with numbers outside the norm, Bubic is the one that I feel the most uncertainty about. His 10 starts have yielded an 1.47 ERA. The lefty even has a 2.71 FIP. Five times he's had over 30.0 Sorare points. However, Bubic exclusively pitched out of the bullpen last season. Over his first four seasons, mostly working as a starter, Bubic had a 4.85 ERA. So, either Bubic, at 27, is a fundamentally different pitcher, or the ERA is going to start to rise. Ten starts is enough for me to be willing to wait and see, but not to be all in.
Downgrades
Jameson Taillon, CHC ($3.92): Taillon has had over 20.0 Sorare points in each of his last two starts, but they were not exactly the same. In the first of those starts he only allowed three runs, but they came on three homers. Had guys been on base for the Marlins, things would have looked decidedly different. Taillon had a 3.27 ERA last season, but a 3.92 FIP. This year his ERA is 4.13, but his FIP is up to 5.38. The Cubs righty limits walks, but he doesn't strike guys out, and the ball has been flying out of the park. Taillon has a 2.22 HR/9 rate. Let's go back to his first start of the season. Taillon allowed two homers that day, but guys were on base and he allowed six runs, finishing with negative Sorare points.
Kyren Paris, LAA ($2.26): Wilson is a young shortstop who popped and has continued to impress. Paris' moment, on the other hand, has come and gone. As of late, he has more games with negative Sorare points, and more games where he's been on the bench, than games with even 5.0 Sorare points, much less double digits. Sure, Paris has some counting stats, but he has fundamental issues that just won't cut it since he doesn't have Oneil Cruz-level physical abilities. Paris has walked 10 times and struck out 53 times. His walk-to-strikeout ratio is worse than any other player with over 60 at-bats, and that kind of approach is exceedingly limiting.
Matt McLain, CIN ($2.22): McLain is back on the field after missing all of 2024! He has six home runs and 10 stolen bases as a second baseman! That's all nice, but I wouldn't have him down here in the downgrades if it was all good vibes. He's slashed .172/.284/.311. Also, things aren't turning around. Over the last three weeks, McLain has a .593 OPS. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the games in which he's hit a homer or stolen a base are the only ones as of late where he's managed to have more than 3.0 Sorare points.
