This article is part of our Sorare MLB series.
We're deep enough into the MLB season that a hot stretch of play is not a season-long hot streak. That's worth considering at this point in the year, especially when it comes to your Sorare MLB lineups. A player could have gotten off to a slow start but figured things out. These may be professionals, but baseball is famously a game of adjustments. On the flip side, a hot start that is still bolstering a player's numbers may be beginning to fade. So, with that in mind, here are my upgrades, holds and downgrades for your Sorare MLB lineup.
The number in parentheses represents each player's last limited card sale price as of 5/7.
Upgrades
Matt Olson, ATL ($11.73): Atlanta started the season slow offensively as a collective, but the team is now in the middle of the pack in terms of runs scored. It's the improvement of hitters like Olson that has sparked that. This was also always likely. Over the prior three seasons with Atlanta, Olson has an .862 OPS. He has six homers on the season, but four of them have come in the last two weeks. In each of those games he's had at least 15.0 Sorare points, and Olson has hit plenty of homers in the past, even when he called Oakland home.
Gleyber Torres, DET ($4.02): Torres had to deal with both being on a new team and injured when the season began. However, he's taken to the Tigers with aplomb. The former Yankee has hit .289 with four home runs, four doubles, and four stolen bases. Over the last two weeks, Torres has a .981 OPS, which has generated plenty of Sorare points. Yes, that's just 14 days' worth of games, but given that Torres had to work his way back and adjust to his new team, I think that balances out the sample-size concern.
Bailey Ober, MIN ($3.63): Ober's first start was a disaster. He had negative Sorare points against the Cardinals. His second start was better, but he only made it four innings. Since then, Ober has put together five quality starts in a row. Now, a quality start is not inherently a great start, but in four of those five outings Ober has only allowed a single run. Yeah, that'll make you forget that first start, or at least overlook it.
Ian Happ, CHC ($2.57): You might see Happ has three home runs and two stolen bases and think, "Okay, and....?" There's been more to his game than that, though. For example, he has a .369 OBP playing for a team that has racked up a ton of runs. Thus, Happ has scored 29 runs. He's also made it easier for his teammates to drive him in by hitting nine doubles. Beyond that, he's managed a .994 OPS over the last 21 days.
Holds
Hunter Brown, HOU ($8.90): When you're this reliable to start a campaign, you earn trust. Brown was not considered an ace of the moment, and not necessarily even an ace in the making, prior to this season. Well, he's made seven starts in 2025, and every single one of them has been a quality start. Nobody else can match that. To that end, Brown has tallied at least 23.0 Sorare points in every start, and he has to be an early Cy Young favorite.
Cal Raleigh, SEA ($8.40): Behold, the new king of power at the catcher position. In each of the prior two seasons, Raleigh has hit at least 30 home runs. That's akin to a corner outfielder hitting 45 homers in my book. This season, Raleigh has already hit 12 home runs, and he had a day with 41.0 Sorare points against the Rangers. I consider Raleigh a hold for a couple reasons. One, he had already established himself as a power hitter, so this is nothing new. Two, even Raleigh can't escape the way in which Seattle's park limits offense. Since 2023 he's slugged .401 at home, compared to .516 on the road.
Downgrades
Tyler Soderstrom, ATH ($6.34): Soderstrom came out of the gate on fire and he's already hit nine home runs. With the Athletics no longer playing home games in Oakland, there were perhaps dreams of another top-level hitter for the club, with Brent Rooker being the obvious comparison point. Well, the guy with a career .636 OPS prior to this season has been popping up more recently. Over the last three weeks he has a .660 OPS and has hit only one homer. The last couple weeks have featured a many more games with negative Sorare points than double-digit Sorare points.
Tyler Anderson, LAA ($3.22): Last year, Anderson had a 3.81 ERA, but also a 4.65 FIP. This season things are starker on that front. Through seven outings he has a 2.68 ERA but a 4.84 FIP. Anderson has allowed 1.56 homers per nine innings, and that's been an issue over his last few starts. His last three starts have come against Pittsburgh, Seattle and Toronto. He posted a 3.38 ERA in those outings, and he's allowed four home runs.
Sal Frelick, MIL ($2.88): Last season, Frelick had 22 doubles, four triples, and 18 stolen bases in 145 games. On the other hand, he only hit two home runs. He has two triples and seven swiped bags this year, but he still really has an issue with power. Frelick has a single barrel to his name this season, and 26.2 percent of his hits have been labeled as "soft." To that end, he has a .584 OPS over the last two weeks. There's only so much a hitter can do if they lack that much power.
Trevor Story, BOS ($2.16): Story has stayed healthy! He's also tallied five homers and seven stolen bases. So all is well with Story in Boston now, right? Nope! Some, many even, have managed to succeed at the plate while striking out a lot. Story has notched 45 strikeouts through 36 games. The issue is that the production has been lacking alongside those strikeouts. He has a .560 OPS over the last three weeks with multiple games with three strikeouts.
