No Longer in Love With Matt Carpenter

It is hard not to at least like a player with a 112 wRC+ and that is dual eligible at second and third base, but I am starting to fall less in love with Matt Carpenter as a fantasy player.

My reasoning is not based on his numbers shrinking down from where they were last year, I think the power will come back a bit at least in the form of more doubles and I think he’s going to score a bunch of runs and hit for a high average. My problem with Carpenter lies in the lack of homers and lack of steals he provides a fantasy roster.

Everyone needs runs and RBI, and getting the 126 fellow Carpenter owners got last season certainly was a nice boost. However, combining for 14 home runs and steals was less compelling. I imagine I am not alone in being essentially forced to keep Carpenter due to drafting him very last last season. I still love Carpenter at the value I had him, but I don’t think he will help out our fake teams quite like we were all hoping.

Now seems to be the time to move him to another squad that is looking for help in the average/obp and run departments. He will certainly be a boost to any team needing help in such areas, and the added boost if you are in a keeper league of having him at a very low cost will make him even more appealing to acquiring owners.

This certainly is not a sell high move, but it is a sell move before he hits a low. Fantasy people overrated Carpenter coming into the year as much as they underrated him last season. Some owners will really love his attributes and want him while others will be more than fine moving on for a guy with a lesser average but with more power and speed. For me, I am of the latter at this position.

You won’t get much speed from catcher or first base on average, so making sure your second baseman is producing with either power, speed, or both is an essential part to building a well rounded squad.