The Cut List - Time to Let Go? Who To Consider Dropping for Fantasy Baseball (Week 5)

The Cut List for Week 5 of 2025. Jamie analyzes potential fantasy baseball busts, overvalued players, and injured players who you may want to consider dropping.

Welcome back to The Cut List as we head into Week 5 of the 2025 season. For every add, there is usually also a drop. For those unfamiliar, this is our weekly article examining players whom fantasy managers might consider cutting from their teams and struggling players who warrant a closer look.

We'll examine players who are worthy of a drop, those worth monitoring for potential replacements, and individuals on the hot seat who are worth holding onto... for now. Those of you experienced Cut List readers will know I'm a strong advocate for not making knee-jerk reactions. A bad week or two shouldn't be a reason to push the panic button and dump someone.

As the year progresses, there will be stronger cases to drop underperforming players. If there's ever someone you want me to take a look at, drop their name on Reddit, the RotoBaller Discord chat rooms, or reach out to me on X (@Baseball_Jimbo). Maybe you'll see them included next week. All stats and rostered rates (taken from Yahoo!) reflect when this piece was written.

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Worth Dropping and Replacing?

Kyren Paris - 2B, Los Angeles Angels - 52% rostered

I was shocked at how many fantasy teams Paris finds himself on. A red-hot start to 2025 saw him added en masse. That has already begun reversing, a trend that will continue over the coming days and weeks.

Paris had a .419/.514/1.000 slash line with five homers, eight RBI, 13 runs, and four steals as of April 11. Since then, he's hitting .065/.121/.065 with a solitary stolen base to his name. While the speed is legit, there's nothing else in Paris' profile that suggests his scorching start was anything but a mirage.

Last year, Paris hit .167/.254/.278 across 60 games at Double-A and Triple-A. Over 328 Minor League games through his career, Paris has a .237/.359/.398 slash line, 34 homers, 140 RBI, 219 runs, and 115 steals. It's unlikely he'll ever hit five home runs in a two-week span ever again.

There is a chance that this was the first stage of Paris becoming a full-time regular in the Majors. Injuries and the lost 2020 season stunted Paris's development following his selection in the 2019 draft. He is just 23 years old and was a second-round draft pick.

Paris had strikeout issues throughout the Minors. They haven't gone anywhere. His 33.8 K percentage ranks in the third percentile. Paris's 44.3 percent Whiff percentage is the highest in the league among hitters with at least 50 plate appearances. He'll continue to be overmatched throughout the year.

Paris has been left out of the starting lineup for the last two games. Given he entered the weekend series with the Twins on the back of a 0-for-21 streak, that's not much of a surprise. It might be to give him a breather, but it's more likely that the Angels don't see him as a long-term starter.

Verdict: Paris could still develop into a solid Major League hitter. But his opening two weeks of the season were a complete outlier and not a sign of things to come. We may see short spells of production again, assuming he avoids a demotion. That's not a given. He's a drop in fantasy.

Carlos Correa - SS, Minnesota Twins - 34% rostered

Players rostered as low as Correa don't tend to feature in this article. We'll make an exception as his name has popped up regularly as a drop candidate. It came as a bit of a surprise that Correa is only on around one-third of fantasy rosters.

Correa was limited to 86 games last year. Two IL (injured list) stints for an oblique strain and plantar fasciitis may have given fantasy managers concern about his durability entering this year. But his numbers stood out. Correa hit .310/.388/.517 with 14 home runs, 54 RBI, 55 runs, and no stolen bases.

This year, he's performed nothing like that. Correa suffered a wrist issue 10 days ago, but has been a regular in the lineup since last weekend. It appears that Correa has an ongoing wrist issue, which could lead to further complications in the future. It is worth noting that his first home run of 2025 came after these comments.

Rocco Baldelli on Carlos Correa's sore left wrist. #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/KlaQNiauS2

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) April 16, 2025

Questions about his health are nothing new for Correa. Constant concerns about his ankle have plagued him for years. Despite only being 30 years old, this is Correa's 11th season in the Majors. The wear and tear of being an everyday shortstop for over a decade may have taken a toll.

I'm not prepared to write off Correa. He's not been helped by the Twins' offense, which ranks 22nd in runs scored (101). He's not helped the team either. Correa also offers no speed and has displayed only middling power in recent seasons, limiting his fantasy value.

Verdict: The bat has been sorely lacking this year, and with so many fantasy-viable shortstops, Correa is becoming an afterthought. Ongoing concerns about his health and durability mean Correa is only an option in deep leagues.

Hold For Now

Willy Adames - SS, San Francisco Giants - 93% rostered

While I was down on Adames coming into 2025, it's still too soon to anoint him a bust this year. He's not someone I would suggest dropping yet, either. That's not to say I don't still have the same concerns as I did back in the preseason.

I won't go into details about all the concerns I had. You can read about them here: Early Round Fantasy Baseball Busts. The Giants remain considerably less aggressive in stealing bases. Oracle Park is still not hitter-friendly. And we still don't know if Adames can consistently hit away from Milwaukee.

Much was made about his difficulties hitting while with the Rays. Issues with the batter's eye and lighting caused Adames to struggle. While there's been no noise about possible issues in San Francisco, he's yet to find his comfort zone.

My immediate concern is that Adames' underlying numbers are not too dissimilar from those of previous seasons. Comparing some of his early 2025 numbers to his three full seasons in Milwaukee doesn't offer much hope we'll see anything close to his 2024 numbers. Another reminder that this is a small sample.

This feels like a classic case of a player underperforming their draft value. But still being worth rostering in all but very shallow leagues. Adames has hit at least 2o homers in each of his last five full seasons. We shouldn't bet against a sixth. Add in ~10 steals, and Adames could end the season as a top-15 shortstop.

That would ensure Adames remains rosterable despite not reaching the value you hoped for when drafting him. If we reach mid-to-late May and Adames is still on pace for ~.200 batting average and 10-12 home runs, then we need to seriously rethink things.

Christian Walker - 1B, Houston Astros - 87% rostered

Walker was a candidate for the Hot Seat this week. But even before showing signs of life over the last 10 days, Walker's track record warranted a longer leash. Since last Friday, Walker is hitting .308/.333/.654 with two homers, four RBI, four runs, and no steals.

He's also hit three doubles in that span. It's only a seven-game sample, but his season needed to get going. Last Saturday's home run against the Padres was also a prime reminder of why Walker was worth hanging on to. Why can he still hit 30 homers this year?

Christian Walker sends this ball out in a HURRY 💥 pic.twitter.com/q30GrypMlB

— MLB (@MLB) April 20, 2025

Those Crawford Boxes in left field appeal to any hitter. Especially a right-handed hitter (RHH) with plenty of power to clear the fences in any ballpark. The graphic below shows all of Walker's extra-base hits since the start of 2022, overlayed onto the Astros' Daikin Park.

Over the last three seasons, Walker has averaged 149 games, 32 homers, 94 RBI, 81 runs, and five steals while hitting .250/.332/.481. He's been one of the most consistent and overlooked power hitters in recent times. Some of the concerns about Walker were about his health.

After missing time last year with an oblique strain, news of oblique discomfort in spring raised a red flag. After a slow start to 2025, it was understandable that fantasy managers were worried about the impact it was having on Walker's ability to hit. Hopefully, the last few games have allayed those fears.

Providing Walker doesn't experience a lengthy spell out or struggles caused by his oblique (or any other injury), fantasy managers should be confident he'll produce at the plate. Walker has hopefully turned the corner on what is set to be yet another productive season.

On the Hot Seat

Vinnie Pasquantino - 1B, Kansas City Royals - 84% rostered

Pasquantino finds himself on the Hot Seat after an ice-cold start to 2025. After 27 games, the first baseman is hitting .188/.259/.327 with three homers, 16 RBI, eight runs, and no steals. He's been symbolic of a Royals team that has struggled offensively to begin the season.

The #Royals 17-game streak of scoring four runs or fewer has ended. They've plated six today after Kyle Isbel's two-run single in the fifth inning. Before today, they hadn't scored more than four runs since April 4.

— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) April 24, 2025

You may wonder why I have less concern about Walker turning things around than I do about Pasquantino. Simply put, Walker has a considerably more impressive track record. Pasquantino dazzled in his 2022 debut campaign, hitting .295/.383/.450 with 10 homers in 72 games.

His first full season in the Majors was cut short by a torn labrum. He hit .247/.324/.437 with nine homers in 61 games. Last year, a fractured thumb limited Pasquantino to 131 games in which he hit .262/.315/.446 with 19 homers. Consistent production with inconsistent health.

Pasquantino's thumb injury occurred after a freak collision at first base. So it's not fair to label him as an injury risk, with the torn labrum the one red flag. But we're far enough removed from that, so it shouldn't be impacting Pasquantino and isn't something we should be concerned about.

Yet, we still don't have a full season of Pasquantino in the Majors to know what he can do. But his MLB career has been solid enough to this point that he warrants a longer leash. Pasquantino has hit 41 homers in 291 games since debuting and sports a robust .260/.328/.434 career slash line.

Pasquantino is still projected for ~20 home runs over the remainder of 2025. And there is one standout reason that makes me believe it is a fair projection. He's currently got a 59.3 FB percentage (fly-ball rate). That's much higher than his 42.1 FB percentage before 2025 and the third highest among qualified hitters (41).

Yet, Pasquantino only has a 6.3 percent HR/FB (home run to fly ball ratio). That's way down from his 10.5 percent HR/FB before this year. Before hitting his third homer of the season last night, Pasquantino had a 4.3 percent HR/FB.

Of the 41 qualified hitters with a higher than 45.0 percent FB percentage, only six of them have a 6.5 percent HR/FB or lower. Three of them play for the Royals (Salvador Perez, Jonathan India, and Michael Massey).

Pasquantino has improved his bat speed so far (up to 74.3 mph from 71.7 mph). While there's more to hitting than a fast swing, there isn't anything in Pasquantino's numbers that causes significant concern.

Maybe he can get on a run and correct those fly-ball and home run numbers following yesterday's homer. Regardless, I'd be looking at giving him some more time for the results to improve.

Reader Requests

As in previous years, we're keen to hear who you want us to analyze. If there is anyone you want to include here on next week's Cut List, drop their names on the Reddit thread or over on the RotoBaller Discord chat rooms. Alternatively, you can reach out to me on X and we'll endeavor to cover some requests each week.

Cody Bellinger - 1B/OF, New York Yankees - 94% rostered

It's fair to say that most people inquiring about Bellinger weren't looking to drop him. Yet. But there is a heightened level of concern given what we know of Bellinger. He hasn't come close to replicating his NL MVP season of 2019. In 2021 and 2022, we saw how low his floor is.

With a .195/.258/.317 slash line after 23 games, fantasy managers are wondering if they are rostering the 2021-22 version or the 2023-24 version of Bellinger. With some level of confidence, I'd say the latter. His .230 BABIP has me bullish enough that Bellinger's batting average will improve.

Bellinger got off to a solid start in pinstripes. His numbers began to drop off, but we're seeing his expected stats get back to where fantasy managers would want them to be. All of this is worth consideration while still remembering we're four weeks into a 26-week season.

Even with his low batting average, Bellinger is on a 162-game pace of 14 homers, 85 RBI, 77 runs, and 21 steals. That's been aided by Bellinger hitting in the top half of the Yankees lineup when he's started. Providing that doesn't change, we should still see a productive 2025 from the former MVP.

Bryan Reynolds - OF, Pittsburgh Pirates - 93% rostered

While we're on the topic of a player's 162-game pace, it's worth comparing Reynolds' previous seasons with what he's done so far in 2025. Over the last four years, Reynolds has averaged 25 homers, 81 RBI, 81 runs, and nine steals, while hitting .276/.352/.472.

This year, Reynolds is on pace for 18 homers, 84 RBI, 66 runs, and 12 steals. He's hitting .243/.306/.360.  We're looking at someone who is one big series away from being on pace to have a career year. Of course, the flip side of that is that a bad couple of weeks has him on pace to set career lows.

It's also worth noting that since last Friday, Reynolds has gone 12-for-35. His 0-for-4 performance on Friday ended a six-game hitting streak. He followed that up with another 0-for-4 performance yesterday. But he still managed to contribute with an RBI and a stolen base (plus a walk).

It's unlikely we'll see a .300 batting average from Reynolds again. Nor will we achieve the 30-homer season many have dreamed about. What we will get is solid production from an outfielder that isn't flashy. But will accumulate good stats and be a solid contributor for your fantasy teams.

Tanner Bibee - SP, Cleveland Guardians - 92% rostered

Bibee would have appeased some fantasy managers with his outing on Tuesday. He limited the Yankees to two runs over six innings. That's left him with a 2-2 W-L record, 5.19 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, and 20 Ks (26.0 IP). I was expecting to check Bibee's xFIP and SIERA and see he's been unlucky.

That's not the case. Bibee has a 5.03 xFIP and 4.98 SIERA, suggesting his ERA is warranted. If we examine some of his other numbers, Bibee appears to be having serious struggles. His 18.0 percent K percentage is in the 28th percentile, and his 12.6 percent BB percentage is in the 20th percentile.

No pitcher has given up more home runs than Bibee (eight) in 2025. Despite all of that, I'm not at the point where I'm panicking about what to do with him. Bibee's 24.2 percent HR/FB is the highest among 85 qualified pitchers. The homers should start subsiding.

Any lingering concerns were allayed when I looked at his starts individually. Bibee has had three decent starts and two absolute clunkers. Of his eight homers allowed, seven came in the two starts against the Orioles and Angels. Those two outings also account for 13 of the 15 earned runs allowed by Bibee.

The solution to his woes may be simpler than expected. If we examine Bibee's pitch usage per start, it provides an explanation for why he struggled so much in those two outings.

The two outings in which Bibee threw the fewest fastballs were the two clunkers. With a .171 batting average against it, Bibee's fastball has been his most effective pitch. A five-game sample isn't enough to form a clear picture, but Bibee does appear to be using his fastball far less than previously.

Bibee's 37.6 percent fastball usage is down from 2024 (43.4 percent) and 2023 (46.9 percent). That may correct itself in the coming weeks. It's worth monitoring his next couple of starts to see how Bibee uses his fastball and secondary pitches.

He's set to face the Twins and Blue Jays next week, making him almost a must-start in weekly lineup leagues. It's understandable if the concern is high enough to bench Bibee. But I wouldn't be looking at dropping him. Especially given that two bad starts so heavily influence his numbers.

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