Fantasy Baseball 2012: An Assessment of Cole Hamels' Accelerated Trade Value

As of May 24, Philadelphia's Cole Hamels ranked first in wins (seven), 10th in ERA (2.17), 12th in innings pitched (62.1), fourth in strikeouts (66) and 11th in WHIP (1.01) throughout the major leagues; and yet, there seems to be some debate over whether Hamels is a top-five fantasy asset among starting pitchers.

My take: Not only is Hamels the best fantasy pitcher on the Phillies right now (ahead of Roy Halladay/Cliff Lee), his only peers in baseball are Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw.

There's no need to clutter that statement or compartmentalize Hamels' fantasy impact with bite-sized stats. With seven straight wins (over eight outings), no more than three runs or walks allowed in all nine starts and a scintillating strikeout-to-walk ratio (66/13), the body of work speaks for itself. From the season's opening bell, Hamels has been an unstoppable force.

And now, we're left with two pressing questions:

1. What are the season-long projections of Hamels' core numbers?
2. What kind of trade market exists for a top-three pitcher...who's just as valuable as a top-eight hitter?

AccuScore handles the first question: From this point forward, Hamels is projected for 12.9 wins (20 total), 151.7 strikeouts (218 total), a 2.62 ERA and 1.03 WHIP.

For the second part, here is a balanced, four-tiered breakdown of plausible trade scenarios involving Hamels:

Hamels Trade-Speculation Options

1-for-1—Dustin Pedroia, Prince Fielder, Jose Bautista, Adam Jones, Adrian Gonzalez

1-for-2
Hamels for Matt Holliday/Jeremy Hellickson
Hamels for Ian Kinsler/Jordan Zimmermann
Hamels for Brett Lawrie/Madison Bumgarner
Hamels for Mike Moustakas/Matt Garza

2-for-2
Hamels/Austin Jackson for Felix Hernandez/Jay Bruce
Hamels/Brandon Phillips for Gio Gonzalez/Hanley Ramirez
Hamels/Jesus Montero for Matt Cain/Joe Mauer
Hamels/Yonder Alonso for Giancarlo Stanton/Ricky Romero

2-for-3
Hamels/Carlos Santana for Andrew McCutchen/Yovani Gallardo/J.J. Hardy
Hamels/Jacoby Ellsbury for David Price/Max Scherzer/Josh Reddick
Hamels/Freddie Freeman for Matt Cain/Billy Butler/Shin-Soo Choo
Hamels/Chris Perez for Curtis Granderson/Brandon League/Asdrubal Cabrera

Jay Clemons can be reached on Twitter, day or night, at @ATL_JayClemons.