Bold Fantasy Baseball Drops You Need To Make Heading Into The Playoffs

September 3, 2014

Justin Berglund analyzes the boldest fantasy baseball drops heading into the playoffs. These 2014 MLB under performers have disappointed all year long and can be dropped

We are now in the last month of the regular season, and the last week before the fantasy playoffs, if you’re not already in your league’s postseason. At this point, most of the people reading this are the select few who are in the playoffs, or close enough that they still have a chance at the playoffs and haven’t given up yet. Every team does need that extra boost, whether to help make the postseason, get a better seed, or win your last week. When it comes to my early, underperforming draft picks, it’s hard to let them go when they aren’t helping your team out. In order to get that boost, bold moves need be made, and here are the bold drops your team needs to make as soon as possible.

Bold Fantasy Baseball Drops For Week 23

Jay Bruce - OF, CIN

The past two weeks he has had a .150 batting average, 0 HR or RBI, just 1 run scored and a dreadful .359 OPS. For the O-Ranked 41^st ranked player, Bruce doesn’t even crack the Top 1100 in that span. If you haven’t dropped him by now, at the very least he should be on your bench, meaning he hasn’t brought down your stats too much.

But heading into the playoffs, you need depth on your team, and Bruce isn’t helping with that. Juan Lagares, Mookie Betts and Jordan Schafer are all options that should be available for you.

David Wright - 3B, NYM

With Wright, it might be harder considering that he players a thin position at 3B and there are less available replacement options. However, that isn’t an excuse to keep his lack of production in your lineup. In Wright’s case, his bad season is due to a nagging injury in his shoulder and the recent neck spasms haven’t helped.

In the last 30 days, Wright is the 53^rd ranked 3B, meaning even at a thin position, he has played bad enough that a change needs to be made. Trevor Plouffe, Luis Valbuena and Cliff Pennigton are the 4^th, 13^th and 19^th ranked 3B in the same span as Wrigtht and viable options The latter, Pennington, is available in 99% of leagues (Deep leagues, I’m looking at you.)

A.J. Burnett - SP, PHI

This is probably an easier one for you, but you need to let go of Burnett. His strikeouts are always nice, with 41 K’s over his last 32 2/3 innings. Beyond that, he has likely been hurting all of your other stats. He has just 1 win with a 4.40 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP in the past month, and is too risky to hold onto during the playoffs.

Yes he did strikeout 12 against the Nationals two starts ago, but he followed that up by giving up 5 runs in 6 innings against the Mets. He is still contemplating giving it another year before he retires for good, but I wouldn’t give him another start on your fantasy team.

There is always some decent waiver pitching available, make sure to ask me in the comments or on twitter @Justberglund with whatever options are available, and I’ll give you the best choice.

There you have it. If you have Bruce, Wright or Burnett on any of your redraft leagues, drop them now; simple as that. Next I’ll have the bold adds your team needs to make as soon as possible. Stay tuned for that and all your fantasy baseball help as you roll through your fantasy playoffs.