With May fast approaching, fantasy owners are starting to make the trades that will set the tone for the rest of the season; either you’ll be regarded as a genius who fleeced the weak, or you’ll be a member of the “weak” and residing in your league’s cellar for the next five months. 

When dealing with early-season trades, one needs to remember that balance is still the key. If you find yourself on the losing end of pitching stats for two weeks in a row, don’t pillage your team to trade for three staff aces. With that being said, here are some trades which have gone down the past few days that you might be interested in replicating for your own fantasy needs.

#1 – Travis Hafner for Justin Verlander

Swapping an underachiever for an underachiever is a trade of what-ifs. Hafner has not rebounded well from a down year in 2007, while Verlander has so far flopped in his first year as the Tigers ace. If you’re a Hafner owner who can find someone who’ll give you an ace for him, make the trade happen as soon as possible; there are many quality first basemen available, and Verlander is a proven commodity who figures to eventually get his act together. For Verlander owners, I strongly suggest you not bail out on this guy just yet.

#2 – Johnny Cueto/Edinson Volquez for Shaun Marcum/George Sherrill

This was an interesting combination that I saw in one of my Yahoo! leagues. Perhaps the second owner was enamored by Cincinnati’s two young guns, or perhaps he was rattled by Sherrill’s ERA taking a beating his last few appearances. If you have one of Cincy’s dynamic duo, look to cash in on them if a trade like the one above is offered to you, as it is highly unlikely they’ll be able to sustain their form. Pitchers like Marcum, Derek Lowe, or even Chien-Ming Wang are proven performers who would be a great return for either Cueto or Volquez.

#3 – Mark Teixeira for Adrian Gonzalez

Gonzalez, as I expected, hasn’t exactly taken off in San Diego, while Teixeira hasn’t looked worthy of the third-round pick many owners threw his way in drafts. With so many first basemen to choose from, straight swaps like these are basically a blind toss by impatient owners hoping to get something that sticks. If you have a player like Teixeira, Gonzalez, or even the aforementioned Hafner, consider holding them unless you get a ridiculous offer. Or you could go around proposing the ridiculous offers and see if anyone bites.

#4 – Alex Rios for Kosuke Fukudome

Now that the wave of Fukudome Fever that swept the fantasy world during week one has subsided, there have been more reasonable appraisals of his value. While Rios plys his trade with the ho-hum Blue Jays, Fukudome is a key part of the Cubs’ surge to the NL summit. With that being said, that doesn’t make Fukudome a better fantasy piece than, say, either Rios or Arizona’s Chris Young. Fukudome has been fetching a high price so far, and if you have him, selling now is selling high. Pirates standout Nate McLouth has also been generating Rios-like value in trades so far.

#5 – Zack Grienke/Brian Bannister for Jacoby Ellsbury/Justin Upton

Former super-prospect Grienke is undefeated going into his scheduled start against Cleveland today, and his owners are cashing in on pitching-starved owners willing to give up a young stud to gamble on Grienke. Ellsbury has picked up the pace after a slow start, and Upton has also been hot in the weeks before May. Both fielders are near-solidified in their respective lineups, so to get one of them for Grienke or Bannister would be good business, especially if you had enough pitching before taking Bannister or Greinke off waivers. Upton’s teammate Conor Jackson has also been swapped straight up for Bannister.

Other Noteworthy Fantasy Buys:

SP Cliff Lee – Remember, Lee was tipped to be a Cy Young contender a few years ago. If you picked him up, don’t sell on him…yet.

OF Pat Burrell – Burrell was already on red-alert to smart fantasy owners in pre-season, and now he’s looking good to repeat 30 homers and increase his RBI totals. Burrell owners must hold.

1B Mike Jacobs – Jacobs has long been seen as a solid sleeper candidate, and it looks like he’ll be the designated stat-producer on a bad team. Still available on waivers in most leagues.

RP Brian Fuentes – For the Manny Corpas owners who didn’t take Fantasy101’s closer advice, scramble onto waivers to get Fuentes, who’s still widely available even after news of Corpas’ demise as closer.

Steve Kwan is a junior journalism major at Penn State University. He can be contacted at fungasm[at]gmail.com