Ottoneu Cold Right Now: Aug 14, 2024

Cold Right Now (CRN) is a weekly Ottoneu feature focused on players being dropped or who should be dropped in Ottoneu leagues. In this feature we will break down players into three sections:

1. Roster Cuts: Analysis of players who have been cut in a high percentage of leagues.
2. Recent Injuries: A look at the implications of recent injuries (not all, just some high-profile ones).
3. Cold Performers: Players with a low P/G or P/IP in recent weeks.

This article will typically run once per week and will help fantasy managers keep track of players that need to be given extra attention to improve rosters.

Bonus intro! We are going to be a bit short this week. Only six players crossed over -15% Add% change in the last seven days, and three are repeats from past weeks. We’ll cover the other three, but even those will be pretty quick.

Roster Cuts

No one in this category this week.

Injuries

River Ryan, Add% Change (7 days): -50.5%

Ryan was shooting up the list of most rostered players and now is sliding quickly the other direction. Tommy John surgery will do that. He was a rocky River in his first MLB start, but over the next four, he flashed high K potential, made progress limiting walks, and posted an overall 1.80 ERA (3.11 FIP) the pretty clearly demonstrated his upside.

With TJS, we have a few issues piling up for Ryan. One is that he was a good, not elite, prospect whose outlook varied by prognosticator, and he isn’t young. This isn’t Paul Skenes or even Jackson Jobe. Second is that the Dodgers have a history of pitching prospects with unclear paths. They won’t wait around for a prospect, given the resources they have to lock down talent. Third, we have an injury that he has to recover from. And fourth, that injury takes him out not just the rest of this season, but likely all of 2025, as well.

So what do you do with a solid but not spectacular prospect, already 26-years-old, likely not pitching for over a year, without a totally clear path back to MLB, and without the even the potential to help you until 2026 (when he’ll be almost 28 and have 20 career innings under his belt)? You cut him, and you think about adding him back no sooner than the second half of next year or maybe not until February 2026.

A.J. Minter, Add% Change (7 days): -24.5%

Hip surgery may mark the end of his season and this season has been subpar by his standards – too few K and too many HR. He’ll be on my watchlists in February, but you can move on for now.

Kris Bryant, Add% Change (7 days): -18.5%

Bryant is back on the IL with a back strain and, as is often the case with backs, it’s not totally clear when he’ll return to the Rockies lineup. But even if you knew he was coming back tomorrow, would you want to hold him? He’s barely played this year but when he has played, the performance hasn’t been good. And last year was almost as bad. And in 2022, when he was last effective for fantasy, the lack of power kept his line from being particularly impressive.

Since coming to Colorado, his quality of contact is way down, now his K-rate is rising, and he can’t stay on the field. Bryant was an incredibly fun player for a while, but there just isn’t a lot left to dream on. Could he get fully healthy and settle in as a decent hitter? Perhaps, but I don’t think the MVP-caliber performances are coming back, and there is a lot of risk to take on chasing that lowered upside.

Cold Performers

Cold performers are marked by measuring low P/G or P/IP in the last 14 days.

Tyler Freeman, -1.2 P/G; Davis Schneider, -1.2 P/G; Joey Loperfido, -1.1 P/G

All young multi-position, MI-eligible players. All had some prospect pedigree. All had some hype at some point this year. All with 20+ PA over the last couple of weeks. All actively hurting your team if you are still using them. Slumps happen, particularly for young players. But you have to decide which of these guys you believe are going to become useful long-term and which were just worth giving a shot and now it is time to move on. Loperfido is the one I am most interested in waiting on and, to be honest, I am not that interested in waiting on him. All can be cut for more immediate help.