We’re about 12 games into the regular season which is the time when we start to believe hot starts are sustainable and cold streaks will last forever. We’re also at a point when you’re starting to have to deal with injuries or tempered expectations and are therefore looking to make some moves. There’s been plenty of moving and shaking happening out there already but let’s see if it’s worth jumping on board with some of the hot and cold names in the world of fantasy baseball.
Shallow League Trends
One of the hottest adds right now is Charlie Blackmon. I had him pegged as a sleeper prior to the season but my main concern was whether he’d get playing time. He’s getting it and he’s taking advantage of it. In a crowded outfield, he has set himself apart by hitting .500 (!) with a HR and 3 SB already. He obviously won’t continue hitting .500 but he still has potential to be a 20/20 player with a high AVG if he can get a full season of at-bats. Definitely add him to your roster if he’s out there.
The biggest issue with Michael Morse over the past few seasons has been playing time and injuries. He’s healthy and he’s playing and he’s doing his usual thing as a result. He’s a home run hitter with the ability to hit for a decent AVG. That’s the type of thing you want to find on the waiver wire. Pounce!
Trevor Plouffe is the third hottest addition in shallow leagues. He’s hitting .349 and he plays 3B and… yeah, I can’t get on board with this particular hype train. His AVG won’t sustain (way too high BABIP and GB/FB rate) and he’s not really a power or speed threat. Feel free to pass on this one.
The most dropped hitters in shallow leagues (for hitters that are not on the DL) include Mike Moustakas, Chris Carter and B.J. Upton.
Moustakas was an interesting low-value gamble coming into the season. He was a prospect that came into the league with good power potential but it hasn’t panned out yet. Being that he was still young, some people hoped they would find the next Chris Davis and took a late round risk on him. Two weeks in and he’s playing worse than even imagined. I do agree that he’s worth dropping.
Everything I said about Moustakas can be applied to Chris Carter. However, I am a bit more optimistic for Carter as he is freshly removed from a 29 HR season. The power will come but the batting average will not. For shallow leagues, you can probably find someone more valuable on the waiver wire though.
B.J. Upton is not a good baseball player anymore. I don’t know why exactly. Maybe playing with his ultra-talented brother spooked him really good or something but, regardless, definitely drop him in shallow leagues (and probably any other league).
Standard League Trends
Yangveris Solarte is a hot addition right now after getting a surprising amount of playing time in the Yankees lineup. He’s got no power potential and he’s got zero speed but he can hit for AVG. For deeper leagues, I can see him being worth a speculative add if you have power and speed covered but I just don’t see him being a valuable contributor in standard leagues.
Between AAA and the majors, Chris Colabello hit 31 homers last year. He’s playing again this year and doing well so far for the Twins. He’s a 30 year old rookie though so don’t expect that you’re unearthing a hot young prospect here. The ceiling for Colabello may be 20-25 HR with a .260 AVG and not much else. He doesn’t play at a scarce position but those numbers could be valuable enough as a guy to have off the bench. I wouldn’t drop anybody of value for Colabello though.
Adeiny Hechvarria is a hot add right now at the coveted shortstop position. No speed, no power, no potential for a high AVG? No thanks. He’s hitting .383 right now but there’s nothing that suggest it will continue. Not even worth an add in deep leagues (unless it’s a really deep league).
In the world of being dropped from rosters is Kendrys Morales. This comes down to philosophy really. He’s not on a roster and likely won’t sign anytime soon. As injuries occur and fantasy teams struggle, the luxury of waiting for Morales to sign somewhere is something you can no longer afford. If you’re lucky enough to have a healthy team and room on your bench then stashing Morales is probably worth doing but, otherwise, having someone actually producing may be more valuable right now.
Will Venable won’t always be this bad. How good he will be is another question. He’s doing nothing right now and teams are giving up on him. I’d add him to your roster if you’re in need of some SB’s as he should come around and hit .260 with 10 HR and 25 SB as the season goes on.
For whatever reason, there were a lot of people who owned Daniel Nava out there. He’s not playing well right now and I don’t see a very high ceiling for him anyhow. Yes, he’s worth dropping to make room for someone with a bit more potential
Deep League Trends
Jason Kubel is back with the Twins and playing quite well thus far. His 30 HR season from 2012 is a distant memory but he’s definitely got the potential for a 20 HR season and a decent AVG to go with it. In deep leagues, you’re not going to find a lot of that on the waiver wire so he’s certainly worth adding a decent bat on your bench.
Another hot add is Conor Gillaspie as he is playing like a poor man’s Trevor Plouffe. Yeah, take that for what its worth. Maybe he’ll continue to hit for AVG but it doesn’t seem likely and he doesn’t have much power to go along with his zero speed. He plays at the shallow 3B position but the ceiling for Gillaspie is a .275 AVG to go along with 10-15 HR. If that’s something you need at 3B right now then go for it but don’t expect much.
Tyler Flowers is the catcher that’s being added to deep rosters right now. Over the course of his career, he’s had 625 PA’s now and has 23 HR’s and a .213 AVG to show for it. So, if you want to know what you could expect out of a potential full season of playing time for him, that’s your baseline. To me, I’d rather have a catcher that doesn’t murder my AVG in order to get a few extra HR’s.
Well, Mike Olt came onto the scene as a hot early season addition once it was announced he made Cubs’ roster. He has already flashed some power potential with 2 HR’s but he’s also showed his other big weakness by hitting .174 thus far. That is what you’re going to get right now out of Olt. He’s a power bat who is still learning how to hit big league pitching. It won’t always be this bad so he may be worth stashing if you have the roster space.
I want the old Alex Avila from 2011 who nearly hit .300 with 20 HR. Other people wanted that too and took a shot on him this year. However, he’s hitting like the usual Alex Avila instead so people are dropping him. That’s understandable and I’d drop him too at this point.
The final notable popular drop in deep leagues is Rickie Weeks. He’s not getting enough playing time and his career seems to be ending before our very eyes. He’s definitely worth dropping and let’s all take a moment to remember the old Weeks who constantly teased us with his potential but never lived up to it.