Photo courtesy of Paul Martinez
What’s worse than playing on a bad team? Choosing a player from a bad team that is vastly overrated. If you have any of the following players on your team, they should be replaced on your roster. Most of these players have a lot of name recognition in the fantasy baseball world, but their performance from this season doesn’t match their hype.
We knew the Chicago Cubs were going to be a bad team before the season began. That did not hinder people from drafting Starlin Castro. Most owners drafted Castro at a huge premium because of his “potential” to be a future Jose Reyes. He might become Jose Reyes but he has not shown it this season. Everyone who jumped on the Starlin Castro bandwagon should be jumping off now, assuming you haven’t done so already.
He is currently ranked 23rd among all major league shortstops according to ESPN’s player rater. He was being taken in the 3rd and 4th rounds of most mixed league drafts before the beginning of the season.
You can go out on the waiver wire right now and grab a multitude of shortstops that will hit higher than his current .249 average. Along with his middle of the road average he has a whopping 8 stolen bases. Starlin projected to have 25+ stolen bases by the majority of draft pundits. He has been a huge disappointment across the board.
Mike Aviles could be a good replacement for Starlin Castro. He is currently hitting .261 and can provide your team with runs, even hitting at the bottom of the Indians order. Throw in a few stolen bases and a little pop from his bat and you can do much better than Starlin Castro.
I wanted Giancarlo Stanton on one of my teams this season. I am thankful I did not draft or trade for him. His season has been miserable just like his team the Miami Marlins.
He is hitting .238 with 13 homeruns and 35 RBI’s. If you took the name off of the back of his jersey he would be another below average hitter on a terrible team. I saw comments like “best pure power hitter in the game,” and “One of the biggest upsides in baseball.” All of those prognostications have been for naught this season. Granted he has battled injuries but that still does not justify his lack of production.
My theory is that he is utterly miserable in Miami and would do anything to get on a contender. For the Marlins to get a boatload of prospects in return for him he has to actually hit, which is something he hasn’t shown this season. You can do much better on the waiver wire. All season, Stanton’s owners have been waiting for the power breakout that will not happen this year.
Take a look at Castro’s teammate Nate Schierholtz. He has quietly had a very good season for the lowly Cubs. He is available in almost two-thirds of all ESPN leagues. He’s has compiled a very good slash line of .271/.329/.502. His stats dwarf those of Giancarlo Stanton’s and he comes with a much cheaper price tag.
Over these last five games (before Wednesday) Pablo Sandoval is 0-18. This is reminiscent of how his season has gone so far. The recipient of the World Series Most Valuable Player Award has been anything but valuable to the San Francisco Giants this season.
He is hitting .256/.311/.375 with 9 homeruns. Kung Fu Panda goes through cycles of extreme mediocrity. His ISO, which is slugging percentage minus batting average stands at .119. This is one hundred points lower than his ISO from two seasons ago when he hit 23 homeruns.
The biggest culprit for this season’s decline is the fact that he is not getting much lift as he makes contact with the ball. This is limiting his power potential greatly. Add to the fact he is hitting a very unlucky .277 BABIP and Pablo Sandoval has been a big disappointment for all of his owners.
You want a player who has momentum and is thriving in a new situation. Look no further than Jose Iglesias as a replacement for Pablo Sandoval. Grab him soon because he is disappearing quickly from the waiver wire.
There are only six weeks left in the season. You should ride the momentum he has generated with his .364 OBP and .371 BABIP. Sure, there is a chance he goes into a slump but the numbers he is putting up has been much more prolific than what Pablo Sandoval has produced this season.
Good luck with the remaining weeks of your season. If you have players that haven’t performed all season there is always help available. You just need to look in the right places.