You draft these players knowing full well the risk involved. If they pay off, it could mean the difference between a first place finish and a spot in the middle of the pack. But what happens if they don't break out? What if you spend all season with a player fails to live up to expectations? What if you stubbornly held onto them anyway?
Fantasy owners can be a fickle bunch, jumping on waiver-wire trends and tweaking their lineup daily. But they can also be stubborn, holding onto players for far too long before realizing, destroying their team's chances of winning.
Scan through fantasy baseball league(s) this season and you'll notice plenty of players whose name value has eclipsed their actual value. Yet, somehow, they still remain on fantasy rosters. Well fear not, Update! compiled a list of big names and lets you know why they should be dropped this very instant:
Comment: Following his breakout 2005 campaign (.306, 32 HR, 101 RBI, 110 R and 21 SB), Bay looked poised for bigger things. In 2006, he regressed. Oh, he still hit 35 homers and drove in 109 runners, but most of those numbers came from an explosive May that saw him smack 12 dingers and 35 RBI. If you discount May, his final line would have been about 27-28 long balls and 88-89 RBI. Not bad by any means, but his average also dropped about 20 points and he didn't even come close to the 21 swiped bags in 2005, stealing just 15 bases in 2006 and 2007 combined. He came back to earth in 2007 with 21 HR, 84 RBI and a Richie Sexson-esque .247 batting average. Bay just isn't that great. He's a marginal player at a deep position. Fantasy owners should not feel the need to hold onto him just because of his 2005 season.
Comment: Chamberlain is severely over-valued for fantasy purposes. Look, dominant set-up men are rarely useful fantasy tools no matter how you cut it. Fantasy owners high on Chamberlain are banking on him either closing games for an injured Mariano Rivera or believe he will be an equally dominant starter at some point this season. These owners are off their rockers. For starters, Rivera is durable. Chamberlain's position in the bullpen keeps Rivera out of two-inning save scenarios and means that Rivera is less-likely to be worn out or injured. Second, because Chamberlain is so dominant as a setup man, the Yankees will be hesitant to turn games over to Kyle Farnsworth, LaTroy Hawkins, Brian Bruney or any of their other bullpen arms. This significantly lessens the chance that Chamberlain heads to the rotation this season, especially if all the Yankee starters stay on the field. Chamberlain shouldn't be cut outright; you can probably find someone in your league high on his name value to trade him too.
Comment: Brett Myers didn't want to return to the starting rotation. He liked things in the bullpen and felt like he finally found a role that suited him. His career ERA as a starter was well above 4.00, but that didn't stop the Phillies (and fantasy owners) from believing he could have a breakout season as a starter following his breakut stint as a reliever in 2007. Now that he has a couple of poor outings under his belt, fantasy owners will, hopefully, realize that he's never going to become a top starter. Some will argue that strong run support and a competitive lineup make him worth owning — he could still net a nice number of wins. Perhaps, but if you want to sacrifice your ERA, WHIP and sanity, go right ahead.
Comment: Fantasy owners that drafted Aaron Rowand had to know he wasn't going to repeat his 2007 numbers. So why was he so heavily drafted then? Last season Rowand was in a walk-year, playing home games in a hitter friendly ballpark. He's topped 20 home runs just twice in his career and his stolen bases have regressed (just six last season). Now he's on a horrible offense in a bigger ball-park, yet fantasy owners are still holding onto him? There are plenty of useful outfielders still sitting on waiver-wires (Michael Bourn, Mark Teahen, etc.). Do yourself a favor: cut Rowand and add someone that can actually help you this season.
Fantasy owners can be a fickle bunch, jumping on waiver-wire trends and tweaking their lineup daily. But they can also be stubborn, holding onto players for far too long before realizing, destroying their team's chances of winning.
Scan through fantasy baseball league(s) this season and you'll notice plenty of players whose name value has eclipsed their actual value. Yet, somehow, they still remain on fantasy rosters. Well fear not, Update! compiled a list of big names and lets you know why they should be dropped this very instant:
JASON BAY
Pittsburgh Pirates, OFComment: Following his breakout 2005 campaign (.306, 32 HR, 101 RBI, 110 R and 21 SB), Bay looked poised for bigger things. In 2006, he regressed. Oh, he still hit 35 homers and drove in 109 runners, but most of those numbers came from an explosive May that saw him smack 12 dingers and 35 RBI. If you discount May, his final line would have been about 27-28 long balls and 88-89 RBI. Not bad by any means, but his average also dropped about 20 points and he didn't even come close to the 21 swiped bags in 2005, stealing just 15 bases in 2006 and 2007 combined. He came back to earth in 2007 with 21 HR, 84 RBI and a Richie Sexson-esque .247 batting average. Bay just isn't that great. He's a marginal player at a deep position. Fantasy owners should not feel the need to hold onto him just because of his 2005 season.
JOBA CHAMBERLAIN
New York Yankees, RPComment: Chamberlain is severely over-valued for fantasy purposes. Look, dominant set-up men are rarely useful fantasy tools no matter how you cut it. Fantasy owners high on Chamberlain are banking on him either closing games for an injured Mariano Rivera or believe he will be an equally dominant starter at some point this season. These owners are off their rockers. For starters, Rivera is durable. Chamberlain's position in the bullpen keeps Rivera out of two-inning save scenarios and means that Rivera is less-likely to be worn out or injured. Second, because Chamberlain is so dominant as a setup man, the Yankees will be hesitant to turn games over to Kyle Farnsworth, LaTroy Hawkins, Brian Bruney or any of their other bullpen arms. This significantly lessens the chance that Chamberlain heads to the rotation this season, especially if all the Yankee starters stay on the field. Chamberlain shouldn't be cut outright; you can probably find someone in your league high on his name value to trade him too.
BRETT MYERS
Philadelphia Phillies, SPComment: Brett Myers didn't want to return to the starting rotation. He liked things in the bullpen and felt like he finally found a role that suited him. His career ERA as a starter was well above 4.00, but that didn't stop the Phillies (and fantasy owners) from believing he could have a breakout season as a starter following his breakut stint as a reliever in 2007. Now that he has a couple of poor outings under his belt, fantasy owners will, hopefully, realize that he's never going to become a top starter. Some will argue that strong run support and a competitive lineup make him worth owning — he could still net a nice number of wins. Perhaps, but if you want to sacrifice your ERA, WHIP and sanity, go right ahead.
AARON ROWAND
San Francisco Giants, OFComment: Fantasy owners that drafted Aaron Rowand had to know he wasn't going to repeat his 2007 numbers. So why was he so heavily drafted then? Last season Rowand was in a walk-year, playing home games in a hitter friendly ballpark. He's topped 20 home runs just twice in his career and his stolen bases have regressed (just six last season). Now he's on a horrible offense in a bigger ball-park, yet fantasy owners are still holding onto him? There are plenty of useful outfielders still sitting on waiver-wires (Michael Bourn, Mark Teahen, etc.). Do yourself a favor: cut Rowand and add someone that can actually help you this season.
