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Fantasy Baseball: Diamond Market - Falling

June 25, 2008 @ 12:04:11

By Bryce McRae
Edited by Herija C. Green

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

Jason Varitek, Boston Red Sox

Varitek is currently suffering through a significant slump at the plate. After hitting .299 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in May, Varitek has just eight hits in 61 at-bats this month for a .131 average. His line on the season (.231-7-25) likely means you can discard him in all shallow mixed leagues. However, look to hang on to him in any two-catcher formats.

Shallow mixed: Discard

Deep mixed: Stash

AL-only: Hold

First Basemen

Micah Hoffpauir, Chicago Cubs

Hoffpauir hit .400 (14-for-35) in his first taste of major league pitching, but without a regular place in the lineup, the Cubs decided to send him back to Triple-A Iowa to get regular at-bats. He should not be retained outside of deeper NL-only formats.

Shallow mixed: Discard

Deep mixed: Discard

NL-only: Stash

Second Basemen

Stephen Drew, Arizona Diamondbacks

While his brother continues to light it up for the Red Sox, Stephen is struggling in Arizona. After hitting .273 with seven home runs, 21 RBIs and 30 runs over April and May, Drew has a .238-3-6 line this month. He is still flashing some power, even though his other numbers have dropped off. He could be stashed in shallow mixed leagues until his bat wakes up.

Shallow mixed: Stash

Deep mixed: Hold

NL-only: Hold

Third Basemen

Mike Lamb, Minnesota Twins

Looking to hold down the everyday job at third base when he signed in Minnesota this past offseason, the only everyday job Lamb has found is on the bench. He received 162 combined at-bats over May and June, but he has recorded just 28 at-bats this month. Lamb has only himself to blame for the lack of playing time. He has just one hit this month, and with infielder Brian Buscher hitting at a .400 clip in June, Lamb has found it hard to crack the lineup. Go ahead and discard him in all mixed formats.

Shallow mixed: Discard

Deep mixed: Discard

AL-only: Hold

Shortstops

Omar Vizquel, San Francisco Giants

Vizquel marked his returned from the disabled list early last month with a three-hit, one-run game. It was a great start for the 41-year-old Venezuelan. However, things have since gone sour. He has just two multi-hit games since his opening game, and the career .273 hitter is hitting only .167 (18-for-108) on the season. Things could be getting worse for Vizquel. Manager Bruce Bochy said Vizquel is in danger of losing his job and was hopeful he could break from a 7-for-69 slump entering Tuesday, June 24. Vizquel responded by going 0-for-3. Feel free to discard him in all mixed setups, though he is worth hanging on to in NL-only leagues.

Shallow mixed: Discard

Deep mixed: Discard

NL-only: Stash

Outfielders

Carlos Gomez, Minnesota Twins

After posting his best month in the majors in May, Gomez is struggling with his bat in June. The speedy outfielder is hitting just .229 this month and has gone hitless in his last 11 at-bats. He is not doing much on the basepaths, either. Gomez has been thrown out three times in four attempts this month and has just two stolen bases in his last 40 games. At just 22, slumps should be expected with Gomez, so feel free to stash him in any deep mixed leagues.

Shallow mixed: Discard

Deep mixed: Stash

AL-only: Hold

Coco Crisp, Boston Red Sox

Crisp might have worked his way in to some mixed lineups with decent play this month (.286-3-11 with five stolen bases); however, he has a potential seven-game suspension looming. If you were replacing a struggling outfielder with Crisp feel free to release him, but Crisp should remain on roster in AL-only formats.

Shallow mixed: Discard

Deep mixed: Stash

AL-only: Hold

Designated Hitters

None

Starting Pitchers

Bronson Arroyo, Cincinnati Reds

Arroyo managed to work his way back to fantasy relevance with three quality starts in his previous five outings. However, he has given up 16 earned runs in his last two starts (7 1/3 innings) and 25 in his last 22 1/3 innings (five starts). He still strikes out a ton of batters (82 in 87 innings), but his other ratios do too much damage to consider hanging on to him in anything more than NL-only formats.

Shallow mixed: Discard

Deep mixed: Discard

NL-only: Stash

Relief Pitchers

Carlos Marmol, Chicago Cubs

Marmol has been one of the top non-closing relievers this year. He had a 1.75 ERA and 44 strikeouts through May 31, but he has given up eight earned runs this month - one more than his total for the previous two months - to raise his ERA to 3.00. Marmol's problems at least partially stem from a sudden lack of control. He has walked five batters and hit two in his last three outings (two innings). However, he worked a scoreless ninth Tuesday, June 24, and reportedly has found the flaw in his mechanics that caused the loss of control. He is still too valuable to drop.

Shallow mixed: Hold

Deep mixed: Hold

NL-only: Hold

Matt Lindstrom, Florida Marlins

Lindstrom was optioned down to Triple-A Albuquerque Wednesday, June 25, after he allowed two runs in just 1 1/3 innings Sunday, June 22. Lindstrom went 10 days without an appearance before his Sunday outing and has struggled with a 16.62 ERA this month. The 28-year-old hurler held down an eighth-inning setup role earlier this year, but he had not received much work of late. Feel free to discard Lindstrom in all leagues.

Shallow mixed: Discard

Deep mixed: Discard

NL-only: Discard

Claudio Vargas, New York Mets

The Mets designated Vargas for assignment Wednesday, June 25, after he gave up four runs on five hits in just two innings of relief work Tuesday, June 24. With a 4.62 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP, Vargas likely was an option exclusively in NL-only formats; feel free to discard him in all leagues if you own him.

Shallow mixed: Discard

Deep mixed: Discard

NL-only: Discard

Author Bio

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.