Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market - Falling

April 13, 2009 @ 01:00:01

By Bryce McRae
Edited by Nicholas Minnix

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)

Catchers

Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Texas Rangers

Salty has only three RBIs and a .167 average through the first week. He's also suffering from dizziness after a pitch hit in the ear where he has been dealing with inner-ear inflammation. It's still too early to do anything with him, given his hot winter, spring and team offense.

Shallow mixed: Stash

Deep mixed: Hold

AL-only: Hold

Starting pitchers

James McDonald, Los Angeles Dodgers

McDonald hardly endeared himself to fantasy owners with his first start; he allowed five baserunners and five runs in just 2 1/3 innings. Off-days have allowed the Dodgers to push him back to Sunday, April 19, and they will use him out of the bullpen until then. That limits McDonald when he does take the mound Sunday. Be prepared to move on if he doesn't improve.

Shallow mixed: Discard

Deep mixed: Stash

NL-only: Hold

Relief pitchers

Jason Motte, St. Louis Cardinals

Manager Tony La Russa was hesitant to commit to Motte as his closer in the spring, and it showed why during the first week. He gave up four earned runs while blowing his first save chance on Opening Day. The Cards are using the 25-year-old outside of the ninth for now, and he has been sacrificing his velocity to work on command. Don't drop him just yet ... but don't hesitate to chide those owners who took him too early in your mixed drafts.

Shallow mixed: Stash

Deep mixed: Hold

NL-only: Hold

Chris Ray, Baltimore Orioles

It appears that a mechanical flaw was one reason for Ray's early struggles. He struck out three batters in one inning of work Saturday, April 11, after he and pitching coach Rick Kranitz worked out a minor mechanical issue the previous day. Ray isn't closing yet in Baltimore, but he offers the most long-term upside of any of the O's relievers.

Shallow mixed: Hold

Deep mixed: Hold

AL-only: Hold

Also see: Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market - Rising

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Bryce McRae
Bryce McRae is a Managing Editor with KFFL and has been involved in fantasy sports since 1999. He joined KFFL as a volunteer writer in March 2005 before becoming a Hot off the Wire Analyst in March 2006. He began working in his current capacity in September 2008. His work has appeared on fantasy sports sites such as Yahoo! and CBS Sportsline as well as in print. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2008 with a B.A. in History and U.S. Studies.

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