Who is Being Dropped & Why
Instead of call-ups, I’m finding most of my gems in last week’s trash. Here are the players dropped the most in the 38 NFBC Main Event leagues
Demoted
- Corbin Martin (25): A 5.59 BB/9 and a matching ERA means he is off to the minors.
- Devin Smeltzer (23): With Michael Pineda off the DL, Smeltzer and his 89-mph fastball are back in the minors.
- Willians Astudillo (18): There is just no room for this fan favorite on the team. Marwin Gonzalez is a perfect utility player while Mitch Garver (1.103 OPS) and Jason Castro (.933 OPS) can handle the catching duties.
- Daniel Mengden (13): Mengden is an instance of an owner trying to get a jump on a possible two-start week against Tampa and Seattle. Then he went out in his one start and allowed six runs in just over two innings of work.
- Garrett Hampson (11): He’s back in AAA since he just can’t find his footing in the majors (.186/.231/.258)
Injury
- Andrew McCutchen (36): He is done for the season with a torn ACL.
- D.J. Stewart (12): A quad-A player whose hurt gets no love.
- Mitch Moreland (11): Injured part-timer with a setback.
- Isiah Kiner-Falefa (11): An injured replacement level catcher is not in demand.
Other
- Steve Cishek (23): With the signing of Craig Kimbrel, Cishek’s value is nil.
- Jake Marisnick (19): After a hot May (.901 OPS), he’s cooled off in June with a .417 OPS and is losing playing time to Myles Straw. This whole team is in flux with the three stars injured and Yordan Alvarez promoted to the majors.
- Marcus Walden (14): Two weeks ago, Walden earned a Save on a Sunday and in 29 leagues he was picked up with an average bid of $34. I wonder if Sunday Saves are the highest priced Saves in the game.
- Charlie Tilson (13): At first, I was a little surprised with this drop but after diving in, I can see why owners gave up on him. He’s still playing every day with a .685 OPS. The reason owners invested in Tilson was for steals and he’s only had three so far this season and no attempts since May 12th.
- Matt Wieters (13): As an owner who streaming catchers in one league, I could see him be an option and then not.
Matt Wieters
1 GDP
1 SB
1 CS
1 SF
1 HBP
1 BB— Jeff Zimmerman (@jeffwzimmerman) June 10, 2019
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- Brian Goodwin (12): After starting the season on fire (1.001 OPS in April), his production keeps dropping (.651 OPS in May and 6.23 in June).
- Jason Kipnis (11): He’s playing every day but hitting .218/.272/.307 with four steals.
- Scott Oberg (11): Wade Davis returned from the IL, so Ohberg’s value plummeted.
- Yonder Alonso (11): No way a first baseman hitting .184/.283/.321 can be rostered. A league average catcher is at least hitting .240/.313/.405.
- Albert Almora Jr. (10): With the addition of Carlos Gonzalez, Almora seems to be on the short side of a platoon.
- Greg Allen (10): The 21 steals from last season continue to tempt some owners but Allen has yet to attempt a single stolen base this year.
- Ronny Rodriguez (10): It’s monthly free fall from a 1.002 OPS to a .656 OPS to a .414 OPS from April to June.
Players Dropped in Week 12 in the NFBC Main Event
Jeff, one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide,The Process, writes for RotoGraphs, The Hardball Times, Rotowire, Baseball America, and BaseballHQ. He has been nominated for two SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis and won it in 2013 in tandem with Bill Petti. He has won four FSWA Awards including on for his Mining the News series. He's won Tout Wars three times, LABR twice, and got his first NFBC Main Event win in 2021. Follow him on Twitter @jeffwzimmerman.
I’m always hesitant to drop a guy who was filling in for saves before the main guy came back, if only that he’s likely to steal a save here and there as well as be first in line if another injury arises. Oberg should still get holds and solid ratios, so unless it’s a shallow league he’s not a bad guy to hang onto. Cishek is somewhat similar, but with Strop back as well it doesn’t look like Cishek will be back in the saves mix this year.
With Tilson and Allen coming up duds in the steals department, it’s been a rough road for stolen base foragers off the wire. I wonder if Dyson and/or DeShields will be on this list soon enough.