Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market - Falling

July 8, 2009 @ 13:00:01

By Tim Heaney
Edited by Bryce McRae

Also see: Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market - Rising

Fantasy baseball waivers and discarded fantasy baseball players can make or break a season. You may have adjusted your fantasy baseball cheat sheets over and over during spring training. If your team remains the same after opening day, though, you will probably have trouble competing in your rotisserie baseball league.

When is it time to give up on your fantasy baseball sleepers? Which players are worth retaining? KFFL.com's Diamond Market series gives you the fantasy baseball tips and advice you need to sort through the masses quickly.

Key

Discard - Drop player (in most circumstances)

Stash - Hold player if roster space is available; consider dropping if trend continues

Hold - Do not drop player (in most circumstances)

Starting pitchers

Ryan Dempster, Chicago Cubs

The Cubbies lost Dempster (toe) to the DL with a fractured right big toe, sustained when he hastily hopped over the dugout fence in exuberance after a victory. Sure, the Cubs have waited a while to have consistent celebrations, but now one of their arms could be out of action for up to one month.

The freak accident halts Dempster's progress after a disastrous April. Since then, Dempster has posted a 3.57 ERA with 64 whiffs in 75 2/3 innings. Walks and homers have still haunted him, though.

Chicago says Dempster could miss six or seven starts, but, as with most players, the righty insists he'll return sooner by perhaps skipping only three. Considering Dempster typically bends his pushoff foot violently during his delivery, this break could be troublesome.

Shallow mixed: Stash

Deep mixed: Hold

NL-only: Hold

Randy Johnson, San Francisco Giants

For those who entered July for the Big Unit DL pool, it's time to cash in. Johnson's (shoulder) strained rotator cuff will keep him out for an undetermined period, but he hesitantly speculated he could miss as few as two weeks and as many as two months. This is reportedly the first significant shoulder issue of his career; if it were a back problem, it'd be more worrisome.

This isn't to say Johnson won't be a slow healer. Like Dempster, Johnson was starting to make progress (3.25 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 24 K's in 36 June frames), despite the fact it was against a relatively favorable schedule. Be prepared for a long wait here; though this is Johnson's first real arm/shoulder trouble, he may take more time to heal properly.

Shallow mixed: Discard

Deep mixed: Stash

NL-only: Hold

Also see: Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market - Rising

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Tim Heaney

Since the Boston University alum joined KFFL in 2006, his work has been featured by USA Today/Sports Weekly and Yahoo! Sports, among numerous publications.

Tim competes in Tout Wars and LABR and appears every Wednesday on 1570 AM WNST in Baltimore, as well as frequently on Sirius XM Fantasy Sports Radio.

Follow him on Twitter.

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