Ottoneu Cold Right Now: May 29 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

JJ Bleday, Add% Change (7 days): -25.7%

Since being optioned to AAA Las Vegas, Bleday has played in two minor league games and has accumulated six hits, one of which was a double and one a home run, and a stolen base. The Athletics are certainly moving players in and out of their starting lineups. They’ve had 19 hitters accumulate at least one plate appearance so far this season, on the higher side of team totals in 2025. While the team’s winning percentage may be a surprise to some, they’re still 10 games below .500 as of this writing and are likely to continue giving prospects like Jacob Wilson, Nick Kurtz, and Denzel Clarke opportunities. For Bleday, that comes at a time when his quality of batted ball contact has dropped significantly. Through 189 plate appearances, Bleday’s Barrel% has dropped to 3.9%, and his HardHit rate of 40.2% hovers right around the league average. With that drop in quality comes a drop in opportunities to make contact, as Bleday is making less of it in the zone, and his K% is on the rise:

Perhaps a reset will do 27-year-old outfielder some good, but he may be losing valuable plate appearances to repeat 2024’s career high of 20 home runs.

JP Sears, Add% Change (7 Days): -15.0%

The near-exactly average 13.0% K-BB% that Sears has posted in 2025 has been balanced by great control, resulting in few walks, but a low K%. None of Sears’ pitches have returned above-average swinging strike rates in 2025. While Stuff+ considers his slider well above average at 122, it’s much more of a contact suppressor than a put-away pitch. Plate appearances ending with the slider have resulted in a .196/.261/.402 slash line and a .292 wOBA, but its K% (20.7%) is slightly below the overall league average K%. Certainly, that’s not an apples-to-apples comparison, but what’s clear is Sears’ great slider/sweeper isn’t great enough to disregard his poor-performing fastball. In Ottonue, particularly in points leagues, you need pitchers to limit walks, which Sears does, but you also need pitchers to strike batters out and go deep into games, which Sears does not. Through 11 games started in 2025, Sears has averaged five innings. That’s not bad, but it’s not enough to make up for his lack of Ks. He’s currently a 2.57 P/IP pitcher.

Gunnar Hoglund, Add% Change (7 Days): -19.0%

The 25-year-old has started five games in his Rookie 2025 season, and his ERA has jumped to 5.13 and his WHIP to 1.41. Hoglund has done well to limit walks (8.0% BB%), but hasn’t had the strikeout ability to pair it with, leaving his K-BB% below average at 11.6%. His best pitch is his changeup by Stuff+ (99) and SwStr% (14.8%), and it has earned called strikes, but his fastballs are not quite good enough to keep hitters off balance. He may simply need to find the right balance of pitches as he’s featuring his four-seam/changeup combination while experimenting with cutters, sliders, sweepers, and sinkers. For now, Hoglund’s average salary sits at $3, high for a pitcher who has shown little strikeout potential.

Injuries

Ronel Blanco, Add% Change (7 days): -31.5%

The all-too-common “Undergoing Tommy John Surgery” headline has been applied to Blanco’s player page. He threw 48.1 innings in 2025 and recorded a very impressive 1.18 WHIP, but at age 31 and headed for a long stretch of no pitching, there’s no reason to keep Blanco in Ottoneu leagues.

Joc Pederson, Add% Change (7 days): -12.5%

The Texas slugger broke his hand after being hit by a pitch and will head to the IL. Truly a righty specialist, he only recorded nine plate appearances versus left-handed pitching. Pederson has had a tremendously tough time hitting righties with a slash line at .134/.243/.244 against them. His P/G mark is down to 1.68 on the season, and that, plus the injury, is reason to drop him from Ottoneu rosters. Unless, of course, you have space and want to hold out hope he recovers and turns into “Joc-tober” later in the year.

Cold Performers

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

Jorge Polanco, -1.1 P/G

The once “Hot Right Now” Planco has cooled off. Take a look at the difference between hot and cold:

Apr: .384/.418/.808, 11.3% K%

May: .145/.221/.226, 19.1% K%

He’s likely in a platoon with Donovan Solano.

Joey Bart, -1.0 P/G

Bart has cut his March/April K% of 29.2% down to 17.3%, but his slash line has also dropped:

Apr: .297/.416/.405

May: .181/.272/.208

In his case, there seems to be some BABIP bad luck in May as his April mark was a chunky .447 and that has dropped to .224 in May. He’s currently on the IL with a concussion.

Zach Eflin, -4.9 P/IP

Eflin’s 2.43 HR/9 is the worst of his career and the second worst among pitchers with 30 or more IP in 2025, behind only Bowden Francis. His 18.8% HR/FB is well above the 11.0% average, indicating his home run rate may be inflated. He’s coming off two starts where he has given up seven home runs in total. Opposing hitters are putting the barrel on the ball 10.7% of the time and making zone contact 88.1% of the time. Both marks are over the average. He should be on the bench of any fantasy team until he cures his long-ball woes.

Shane Baz, 0.3 P/IP

The 9.4% BB% Baz has posted through 54.2 IP is higher than the league average, and like Eflin, his HR/9 (1.65) is higher than average as well. Like Eflin again, his HR/FB% is well above the 11.0% average at 16.9%. His slider has been hit to a .727 wOBA and his four-seamer to a .374. He should also be benched until he puts together one or two positive outings.