Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market - Falling

July 6, 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)

First basemen

Chris Davis, Texas Rangers

Not even Davis' impressive defense could save him; the Rangers optioned the slugger to Triple-A Oklahoma Sunday night. Davis struck out an astonishing 114 times in 258 at-bats this year (44.2 percent). He still demonstrated some of his prodigious power this season (seven homers in May), but even that has dried up since the beginning of June. His 2009 line: .202-15-33.

Texas wants to give Davis some work in non-pressure situations to help him make adjustments. At Oklahoma, he'll likely be alternating between first and DH with Justin Smoak, one of the Rangers' top prospects. Quick note: Hank Blalock, Davis' replacement at first, has a lengthy injury history that the Rangers felt they wouldn't be testing by making him the DH.

Shallow mixed: Discard

Deep mixed: Stash

AL-only: Hold

Second basemen

Kelly Johnson, Atlanta Braves

Fantasy owners take note: Johnson hit the DL Friday with tendonitis in his right wrist. He had already been replaced by Martin Prado as the starting second baseman last Wednesday. There is no timetable for KJ's return just yet, but the Bravos probably can wait on him; Prado has been raking since the start of June (.400 average in 85 at-bats).

Shallow mixed: Discard

Deep mixed: Discard

NL-only: Hold

Outfielders

Jeff Francoeur, Atlanta Braves

Francoeur was benched for two games over the holiday weekend; don't be too alarmed, though, manager Bobby Cox said Francoeur is still the starter in right field. Cox just wanted to keep outfielders Matt Diaz (12-for-19 this month) and Garret Anderson (.305 average in last two months) in the lineup.

Frenchy is hitting only .083 (1-for-12) this month and just .232 since June (23-for-99). He also has just two homers and only 10 ribbies in that time. Cox could be apt to give Francouer more days off in the coming weeks, especially if the BA status quo maintains. Really, it's to serve notice that some have hung on for too long.

Shallow mixed: Discard

Deep mixed: Stash

NL-only: Hold

Starting pitchers

Kevin Slowey, Minnesota Twins

The Twins placed Slowey (wrist) on the disabled list Saturday because of a strained right wrist. He doesn't have a timetable for a return yet. After being pulled from Friday's game, Slowey said the pain was affecting how he gripped the ball. Perhaps this is one reason he has given up 11 earned runs over his last two starts (six innings).

Still, he has won 10 games this season and has averaged a solid 7.49 K's per nine innings. His BABIP is .352 - 34 points higher than his career average - so the ERA and WHIP should come down, especially if the wrist heals properly.

Shallow mixed: Hold

Deep mixed: Hold

AL-only: Hold

Chien-Ming Wang, New York Yankees

Wang (shoulder) hit the DL over the weekend, and manager Joe Girardi said the former 19-game winner won't throw a ball until at least after the All-Star break. Surgery hasn't been ruled out, either.

He hasn't looked great since returning from a previous DL stint (5.50 ERA and 1.56 WHIP in 36 innings), but he had reportedly shown some improvement in his last couple of outings. This latest injury news doesn't sound encouraging and should seal his fate for at least the near future.

Shallow mixed: Discard

Deep mixed: Discard

AL-only: Hold

Relief pitchers

Matt Palmer, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Palmer is headed back to the 'pen after starter Ervin Santana (forearm) returned Friday. Seven (lucky?) wins inflated Palmer's value; a 4.86 ERA, a1.39 WHIP and 1.35 command ratio (BB/K) are better indicators of the 30-year-old's future.

Shallow mixed: Discard

Deep mixed: Discard

AL-only: Stash

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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