Ottoneu Cold Right Now: July 10, 2025

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.

Roster Cuts

Mason Montgomery, Add% Change (7 Days): -11.4%

It’s all about stuff with Mason Montgomery, but in 31.1 IP in relief, his stuff has missed the zone too often. With a 28.5% K%, he’s mowing batters down when they chase his wicked slider out of the zone. But, batters with solid plate discipline who don’t chase have ended up on first base with a free pass, Montgomery’s walk rate now sits at 13.2%.

Eric Longenhagen wrote this in the Rays’ prospect report back in February:

Whether it’s in long relief or a late-inning role, Montgomery’s new level of stuff has him poised to play a high-leverage relief role.

While Montgomery has thrown 6.2 of his 31.1 innings in high leverage, he’s walked three batters in that subset. Walks aren’t his only issue either; in those 6.2 high-leverage innings, he’s given up four home runs. But you want strikeouts, right? He’s struck out seven in high leverage this season. There’s no denying his stuff from a pitch modeling standpoint, his Stuff+ measurements are red hot and nearing the “Elite” designation, and the results back it up. His 24.4% Slider SwStr% is excellent, and his 12.0% Fourseam SwStr% is above average. He knows how to throw, and the question now is, can he learn to pitch? If he’s been dropped in your league and his salary is low, that could be an opportunity to pick up an affordable potential future closer.

Mick Abel, Add% Change (7 Days): -10.4%

We were all very excited about Mick Abel after his incredible debut performance, where he struck out nine, walked no batters, and gave up no runs. But reality came calling in his next four starts, when it took him 17.1 combined innings to match that strikeout total. Take a look at this player card and the downward trajectory of his first few starts as a major leaguer:

 

Maybe he left too many four-seamers in the zone. He located it there 58.3% of the time versus an approximate 57.0% major league average, and it’s been hit for a .445 wOBA. Maybe his sinker needs to be revamped as he heads back down to the minor leagues. The pitch has received the lowest Suff+ grade in his arsenal, and it was hit for a .415 wOBA. Whatever the Phillies recommend he work on, it seems dropping him now would be careless. He’s shown potential, he’s only 23 years old, and he could easily make a tweak in AAA that brings him back to fantasy relevance.

Erick Fedde 페디, Add% Change (7 Days): -9.8%

Fedde has gotten himself into trouble by walking too many batters in his last few outings. In his last seven starts, his walk rate reached 12.7%. Fedde does not have strikeout stuff that can play in the zone, so he relies on working the edges with sinkers and cutters. Last season, he was able to limit damage on at least one of those pitches:

2024

Sinker: .358 SLG, .294 wOBA

Cutter: .470 SLG, .345 wOBA

In 2024, the sinker’s performance gave him the ability to utilize his changeup and slider with more effectiveness. In 2025, without either of his two fastballs limiting damage, he’s unable to get to his changeup and slider as he would like:

2025

Sinker: .412 SLG, .330 wOBA

Cutter: .509 SLG, .381 wOBA

Fastball performance is everything, and without it, Fedde is no longer a fantasy-relevant option.

Injuries

Clarke Schmidt, Add% Change (7 days): -36.8%

The news surrounding Schmidt’s probable need to undergo Tommy John surgery is unfortunate. He was on his way to a breakout season, posting the lowest WHIP (1.09) and xERA (2.92) of his career.

Jameson Taillon, Add% Change (7 days): -16.3%

A right calf strain is expected to sideline Taillon for a month. He’s less than five innings away from the 100 IP mark in 2025, and his performance has been comparable to that of last season. One bright spot has been his 1.11 WHIP, a near top 20 performance compared to pitchers with at least 90 IP. The not-so-bright spot is his 2.08 HR/9 which is the highest of all those in the top 20 WHIP group (same threshold).

Cold Performers

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

Mark Vientos,  -2.0 P/G

Vientos is only eight games into his return from the injured list, and if managers are dropping the 25-year-old, someone else will pick him up. At the start of Vientos’ injury, Jay Jaffe wrote a great piece about his development. Yes, he’s been disappointing this season, but he appears to be making meaningful adjustments that could have long-term benefits, namely swinging with less authority to improve his zone contact, as Jaffe pointed out. If that starts to click, watch out.

Ryan McMahon,  0.0 P/G

Ryan McMahon is going through a slump in a season where his P/G mark is down. He reached 4.42 P/G in 2024, and that was down from the 4.71 P/G mark he reached in 2023. He’s been a 3.81 P/G player in 2025, placing him below replacement level for third basemen, but he is on his way to another 20 home run season and is a practical bench player, particularly when playing in Coors.

Miles Mikolas, -5.4 P/IP

Mikolas gave up eight home runs in his last two starts, lasting a combined 10 IP. He’s done a tremendous job of limiting walks, but at the cost of giving up hits. He’s given up 44 hits in his last 32 IP.

Chris Bassitt,  0.1 P/IP

Not all that bad on the surface, Bassit was mostly hurt from two home runs and four walks in his last two starts spanning 11.2 IP. He struck out 10 in those two starts, but he also gave up 12 hits. On the season as a whole, Bassitt continues to be a pitch-to-contact pitcher whose better-than-average 6.3% BB% still holds value in Ottoneu points leagues.