Running away from starting pitchers who are struggling isn’t a terrible break-up.
Cutting your losses from position players is a different story.
Starting pitchers can be found on the fantasy baseball waiver wire. Position players aren’t as plentiful. You better be completely fed up with that star fantasy baseball player before deciding to ship him in a different direction.
Here’s three fantasy baseball position players who need to pick it up this season.
Giancarlo Stanton, OF/DH, New York Yankees
This entry especially hurts — because I drafted him in my fantasy baseball league.
Stanton isn’t quite living up to the hype, striking out way too much and getting booed more often than he hits home runs.
It was inevitable for Stanton to experience a dip in production. He’s always been a power hitter, but last year’s numbers were an outlier for his career. However, for him to experience this much of a drop-off, would be unprecedented in his career.
He’s never hit below .200 (he’s currently at .197), and he’s been below .250 only twice in his career. As long as he plays a majority of games, he’s been a regular 100 RBI guy, with a good amount of homers.
This is a concerning start, but I’m not putting him on the trading block just yet. He’s a baseball player who has spent the last eight seasons playing in Miami. This year has been ridiculously cold, so I’m chalking up his tough start to the weather.
Give him some time before panicking.
Andrew McCutchen, OF, San Francisco Giants
I know he battled back last year after a slow start, but this lack of production is starting to worry me.
He’s batting .194, with eight runs scored and eight RBI in the early going. The runs number isn’t bad, but the other production leaves a lot to be desired.
At the age of 31, I’m not sure I trust McCutchen to just turn it on whenever he desires. He’s been extremely durable in his career, playing in at least 153 games in seven of his nine seasons in MLB.
That’s a great testament to his ability to be on the field (which is a diminishing trait in today’s game), but it also means he has a lot of wear on his body. He’s not the producer he once was, and I’m not sure he’ll be the consistent option who can produce in multiple categories.
Don’t drop him, but feel out the trading block to see what you can get for him.
Jose Ramirez, 2B/3B, Cleveland Indians
It can be extremely frustrating for top talent to start off the season slow.
But don’t let that frustration force you into bad decisions. Ramirez will gain some traction, so be patient.
He’s batting just .200, with seven runs and eight RBI. He does have four homers, which is a good sign, and his on-base percentage is .323, which is pretty good considering he’s batting just .200.
The most concerning part about his start is his lack of doubles. He had 46 doubles in 2016 and then led all of baseball with 56 doubles in 2017. He doesn’t have a double yet this season.
The cold weather may be hindering his ability to drive the ball to the gaps, so keep him in your starting lineup and don’t worry about his slow start.
