MLB Buy or Sell: Braves fine sans Strider? Trout staying put? Phillies in trouble?

There's no shortage of storylines in Atlanta for a Braves team moving forward without strikeout artist extraordinaire Spencer Strider — and coping for the loss with a major assist from a former reliever. 

This week's buy/sell looks at the wave of successful moves from the bullpen to the rotation, offenses doing more (and less) than expected, a veteran pitcher breaking out, a young hitter making the leap to stardom, Mike Trout's future in Anaheim, the (new?) worst team in baseball and more. 

1. Nationals SS CJ Abrams is becoming a star 

Verdict: Buy 

Abrams was a solid regular in 2023, accumulating 3.4 bWAR while swiping 47 bags. Now, he looks like a superstar in the making. After hitting 18 homers in 151 games last year, Abrams already has five in his first 15 games this season. With some added strength to his frame, he has gone from a league-average hitter to one of the best in baseball to start the season. While there is a plethora of budding stars at shortstop, from Bobby Witt Jr. to Gunnar Henderson to Elly De La Cruz, the only player at Abrams' premium position with a higher slugging percentage or OPS than him is Mookie Betts. 

And it's not flukey.

Abrams is pummeling fastballs and spraying line drives across the field while posting an average exit velocity up almost 4 mph from last year. He's still chasing at a high rate, but he's often making contact when he does. His whiff rate is down, his walk rate is up, and his much-improved .295 batting average should actually be even higher based on expected statistics. The Nats' leadoff man still has a lot of work to do to reach his defensive potential, but it's worth the reminder that he's still only 23 years old. All the tools are there for the former top