Who Was Dropped & Why?

For the drops, I use the NFBC Main Event (38 teams) where owners are more likely to stay active with more skin the game. Here is who they are dropping and why.

Injured

● Matt Adams (30): He continues the circle of life of injured Nationals. Ryan Zimmerman makes one of his annual trips the IL and Adams stepped up. And gets himself hurt. Jake Noll and Howie Kendrick have each played first base since Adams went down.

● Carlos Rodon (26): Likely headed for Tommy John surgery.

● A.J. Pollock (20): As a Pollock owner in my NFBC Auction Champions, I held onto him for this week. Though he was struggling and may not have a job when he returns, I was just reading too many contradictory reports on his return times. I expect other owners, who haven’t been burnt by him, to roster him this week. He might get added and dropped quite a bit.

I had to make a similar call with Justin Upton with my Main Event team. Once I got the knowledge and consensus time frame on his return, I cut him. I was dealing with other injuries at the time and just couldn’t a roster spot filled for three to six months. I have noticed one team cuts Upton every week. This last week he went for $77 of FAAB.

● Josh Harrison (10): An injured shoulder and horrible stats (156/.212/.233) leads to the team letting him go.

Demoted

● Tyler O’Neill (25): I sure the Cardinals and fantasy owners would have been elated with him posting a .263 AVG. Nope. It’s supported by an unsustainable .474 BABIP and being weighed down with a 46% K%. He’s not making enough contact to be useful to the major league team. Also, Jose Martinez is hitting like Jose Martinez.

● Scott Schebler (20): He was doing a horrible job of being Nick Senzel’s center field place holder. Now, he and his .475 OPS is in the minors.

Other

● Clay Buchholz (19): I’m not sure how 19 teams had him rostered. He was getting eaten up before his last start with matching ERA and K/9 at 4.79. The main reason to believe the 2018 magic won’t happen again was his fastball losing 2 mph dropping down to 88.4 mph. Then he faces Texas at … I don’t care as both home parks are great for hitters … and gets lit up for seven runs in four innings.

● Mike Tauchman (19): I’m not sure why this drop is occurring unless all of Brett Garnder’s owners picked him up. While Tauchman isn’t hitting great (.184/.295/.408) with four homers, he is still in the lineup.

● Zack Godley (16): Moving to the bullpen has killed his value.

● Jung Ho Kang (15): He has lost the feel to make contact as seen from strikeout rate going from 21% in 2016 to 34% this season. His stats have stunk (.146/.213/.329) and he’s been relegated to the bench in four of the last five games.

● Wily Peralta (15):

Wily Peralta (Royals closer)

4.5 K/9
5.6 BB/9
6.75 ERA pic.twitter.com/yScYSdlzsy

— Jeff Zimmerman (@jeffwzimmerman) May 7, 2019

● Chris Owings (14): His .105 ISO is almost up to his .143 AVG. I guess his owners can hang their hats on the two homers and four steals.

● Nick Anderson (14): He’s just not getting Save opportunities in Miami even with his 16.7 K/9.

● Dereck Rodriguez (13): He’s pitching almost the same as last season but with a 2.3 HR/9 instead of a 0.7 HR/9. His talent is somewhere between his 2018 and 2019 results as seen by his xFIPs of 4.56 last year and 4.83 this season.

● Justin Bour (13): With Shohei Ohtani coming off the DL this week and Albert Pujols at first base, Bour is rarely going to see at-bats.

● John Means (12): Means seems to be that pitcher who will be added and dropped a ton this season. He has third starter potential but is a flyball pitcher who will have half his starts in cozy Camden Yards. His 1.1 HR/9 will be heading up as the summer heats up. I’m sure he’ll be snatched up in all ten of these leagues after he limited the Red Sox to one run over seven innings.

● Sandy Alcantara (12): He can’t find the plate so he’s joined Team Symmetry with a 4.93 BB/9 and 4.93 ERA. He has to throw strikes to be a useful fantasy option.

● Freddy Peralta (11): He has issues, some good and some bad. He continues to post a good 10.0+ K/9. On the other hand, the walks (4.2 BB/9) and homers (2.9 HR/9) are out of hand. The walks and homers have pushed his ERA up to 8.31. This week he may not make a start so his owners are moving on.

● J.D. Davis (11): With Todd Frazier off the IL and playing third base on a regular basis, Davis isn’t playing enough to be rostered.

● Trevor Cahill (10): Another member of Team Symmetry with a decent 3.21 BB/9 but pairs it with a 3.21 HR/9. I started diving in and found too many changes (e.eg. velo, pitch mix, arm slot) to know what to think about him going forward. He needs a full analysis of the changes to understand what is going on.

● Anthony Swarzak (10): The Seattle bullpen is a mess right now and Swarzak seems to be on the way out as the closer. But who takes his place?

● Manny Banuelos (10): Owners must have picked him up for his two-start week and they got rewarded with nine strikeouts (decent) but an 11.88 ERA and 2.16 WHIP. Ouch.

● Neil Walker (10): The results have been fine (.259/.357/.412) but he’s not been starting much (two of last eight games).