It's the last week of August, which means the final month of the MLB season is essentially here. The day never arrives when you have to sit there and accept your Sorare MLB lineup for what it is, though. Plus, the end of the year offers intrigue. Young players getting more playing time. Teams in playoff races going all out. Of course, that also means some veterans on teams not in playoff races are also getting less playing time. You can still upgrade your Sorare MLB lineups, but there are also some downgrades you may not want in your lineup. I also have the holds, of course. It's business as usual, but the business always changes. Here are my Sorare suggestions to try to help you end August with a roster you can be truly happy in.
Upgrades
Roman Anthony, BOS ($12.38): Yes, Anthony debuted as one of baseball's best prospects. The Red Sox have already signed him to a robust extension. However, I wanted to include him here in a "Yeah, he's the real deal" kind of way. It's not even the counting stats, though those have been good and deliver plenty of Sorare points. In August alone, he has three games with over 20.0 Sorare points. Anthony hits the ball so hard. A whopping 59.1 percent of his hits have qualified as "hard" according to Statcast. That's Shohei Ohtani/Kyle Schwarber range. If a dude is 21 and already hits the ball as hard as those two guys, that's a great sign.
Hunter Greene, CIN ($4.15): Greene has made three starts since returning from a lengthy groin injury. He has a 3.12 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP and a 10.9 K/9 rate. His fastball is still remarkable and he still racks up strikeouts. This year, though, he's also dropped his walk rate all the way down to 1.87 per nine innings. Greene's homers are back up, and his groundball rate has dropped quite a bit. If he can tweak a couple things and stay healthy, he'll be a Cy Young contender.
Alec Bohm, PHI ($2.83): Since returning from an injury, Bohm has been in form. He has an .896 OPS and has picked up at least one hit in every game. Now, not every game has yielded heavy Sorare point totals, but he has a couple double-digit Sorare outings. This year, the third baseman has a .798 OPS against lefties, but last year he had an .808 OPS in those matchups, and the season prior to that it was a .929 OPS in those matchups. More matchups with lefties down the stretch will help Bohm deliver those Sorare points.
Holds
Matthew Boyd, CHC ($2.79): The fact that Boyd's last couple starts have been iffy, and yielded under 20.0 Sorare points, is a jumping off point for wondering. Yes, on the year Boyd has a 2.82 ERA. And yes, in 2024 he had a 2.72 ERA in eight starts with Cleveland. However, Boyd is 34 and has a career 4.55 ERA. He has four seasons with an ERA over 5.00. Is this season a fluke? Has Boyd figured out his game in his mid-thirties? When he has a stretch of so-so pitching, it does make one wonder.
Brenton Doyle, COL ($2.75): Doyle has a .930 OPS against left-handed pitchers, and he has a .909 OPS at Coors Field. However, his OPS against righties is .604, and his OPS away from Coors Field is a woeful .465. That's a staggering split, even for a Rockies player. Last year wasn't as stark, but he had a .636 OPS on the road. When Doyle is at home facing a southpaw, he can pile on the Sorare points for you. The problem, of course, is that he doesn't get to spend 162 games at Coors Field facing lefties, which is the reason for pause when pondering Doyle for your roster.
Sal Frelick, MIL ($2.64): On the one hand, 24.6 percent of Frelick's hits have qualified as "soft." Among players with at least 250 plate appearances — which is a number both arbitrary and substantive — that is the second highest such percentage. On the other hand, Frelick has batted .297, he has three triples, 18 stolen bases, and even nine home runs over 117 games. He has the speed to leg out a hit when called upon. Maybe Frelick is more likely to, say, deliver you five-to-eight Sorare points in a game, but maybe that's sufficient for you in terms of rounding out your lineup.
Downgrades
Jose Altuve, HOU ($2.73): You may not be ready to part ways with Altuve, but it's also certainly not a time to get on board with the veteran Astro. The 35-year-old has bounced between second base and the outfield and struggled to stay in form at the plate. After a resurgence in stolen bases last year, he's nine swiped bags and has been caught six times this season. Over the last six weeks he has a .689 OPS, and in the last two weeks his OPS is a worrisome .477. Sometimes a really good hitter will have two weeks that poor, but when said player is 35 and it's deep in the season, it concerns me.
Aaron Nola, PHI ($2.65): Nola's second start back from injury wasn't as bad as the first one, which yielded negative Sorare points. However, while he only allowed two earned runs in six innings, he allowed three total runs. Also, more concerningly, he gave up two home runs. Guys just happened to not really be on base at the time. Don't forget Nola was struggling before his injury as well. Even cutting out his final start before hitting the 60-day IL, he had a 4.89 ERA in his first eight outings.
Patrick Bailey, SFG ($0.95): Offensive requirements are low for a catcher, and even lower for a Gold Glove-winning catcher like Bailey. And still, I do not believe he has crossed the threshold of that low bar offensively. This year he has shown the profile of a backup catcher, or the kind of catcher you keep around because your ace likes throwing to him for whatever reason. His K rate has risen to an alarming 31.0 percent. He isn't even slugging over .300 in his age-26 season. If Buster Posey, who knows a thing or two about catchers, is up to the job at hand, he'll be moving on from Bailey as quickly as feasible. If you are looking for Sorare points, you should do the same.
