Martin Prado Tomahawks Competition Early: Is He the Real Fantasy Deal?

For those of you who drafted Martin Prado, or at the very least picked him up off the waiver wire, you’ve got to be happy with his current hot streak—and 14 game hitting streak—despite the streak coming to an end Saturday night thanks largely in part to Ubaldo Jimenez’s no hitter.

But as with any hot player in fantasy baseball, the trendy question is always whether or not the player is the real deal, or just another popular flare up.

For Prado, it appears he could be legit as he is currently batting .442/.529/.628 with a solo homer, two ribbies, five doubles, and 19 hits.

In the last two years, Prado has been a .300+ hitter thanks to his patient eye at the plate, and in 2009 he surprisingly offered fantasy owners an unexpected 11 home runs which was nine more than he put up in 2008.

But again, is Prado an everyday starter?

The best way to answer the question—I think anyway—is this: Yes, if Prado is your best option, No, if you’re clever.

Right now Prado is a hot name, a hot bat, and is good for at least 50 or more RBI, 60 or more runs, 30 or more doubles, and at least 140+ hits in any given year, so rather than ride out the hot streak why not package him?

Prado should continue to hit well against Colorado, but after that, things may not be so opportunistic.

Here’s the thing: how many managers do you think actually pay attention to the schedule a month from now? Not very many, which could make him excellent trade bait.

Prado will have to face Philadelphia after Colorado, but then he’ll get the Mets.

From New York he’ll have to face St. Louis, but then will get to face Houston.

But Prado is hot now, and unless you’re blessed with some freakish clairvoyance, there’s no way of telling where he’ll be this time next month, so entertaining a trade could work out if the right deal happens.

For now, if you’d rather ride out the streak I think you’ll eventually be left with dead weight on your roster, but if you take some current dead weight and package it with Prado, you may wind up getting a pretty sweet return.

Prado is the real deal at the moment, but in the coming months he should level out into base mediocrity which suggests you should move on him now.

Thanks for reading everyone, but it doesn’t stop there. Take a look at why Livan Hernandez and Jamie Garcia are nothing more than Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing.