X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

The Cut List - Time to Let Go? Fantasy Baseball Week 20

Andres Gimenez - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Jamie's list of busts, overvalued, and injured players who fantasy baseball managers may want to consider cutting and dropping for Week 20 of the 2024 MLB season.

Welcome back to The Cut List for Week 20 of the 2024 fantasy baseball season -- August 5 through August 11. This is our weekly article looking at players whom fantasy managers might be considering cutting from their teams and struggling players who need a closer look. We'll look at players who are worthy of a drop, players who are worth monitoring for replacing, and someone on the hot seat who is worth holding on to... 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 we enter the penultimate month of the regular season, tougher decisions must be made. Although that doesn't necessarily mean dropping a star after a bad week, holding someone for too long at this stage could be disastrous.

If there's ever someone you want me to take a look at, drop their name on Reddit, the RotoBaller Discord (which you can join by clicking here), or reach out to me on X (@Baseball_Jimbo), and maybe you'll see them included next week. All stats and rostered rates (taken from Yahoo!) reflect when this piece was written.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

Worth Dropping and Replacing?

Evan Phillips - RP, Los Angeles Dodgers - 82% rostered

Phillips was one of my favorite closers coming into the season. Things looked good after an excellent start to the year. It's gone downhill in recent weeks. His struggles in July have seen Phillips lose the closer role as the Dodgers look to use a committee to finish games. An 11.74 ERA in a month will do that. Against the Giants in Week 18, Phillips picked up a save and a hold. Any optimism of a return to form was short-lived.

Last Saturday, Phillips faced four batters. All four got a hit, and Phillips left without recording an out. He did bounce back with a scoreless inning on Friday (striking out three). But that was the sixth inning while down by four runs. In 33.1 IP, Phillips has a 2-0 W-L record, 4.05 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 38 Ks and 15 saves. Phillips wasn't exclusively used in the ninth inning before his struggles. But two weeks ago, Dave Roberts all but confirmed his role would be fluid moving forward.

The only reason why Phillips isn't a clear and obvious cut is due to the fact no one else in the Dodgers bullpen seems to want the closer job. Since Phillips last got a save on August 23, only Brent Honeywell has picked up a save. Blake Treinen has a 7.36 ERA and two blown saves since then. While Daniel Hudson has a 16.75 ERA and one blown save. Small sample for sure, but Phillips may still get a chance to work his way back into the closer role.

Verdict: A reliever in a closer committee on a good team still has value. However, given his recent performances, it's difficult to see how Phillips will get back into regular ninth-inning work. If anything, it will be down to other relievers having similar struggles. In deeper leagues or where you need saves, I can understand holding onto Phillips. Otherwise, he's droppable.

Josh Lowe - OF, Tampa Bay Rays - 52% rostered

After his breakout season last year, fantasy managers had high hopes for Lowe in 2024. Two stints on the IL due to oblique injuries haven't helped him this year and may go some way to explaining his numbers. After 55 games, Lowe has seven homers, 22 RBI, 20 runs, and 10 steals with a .239/.299/.418 slash line. He had a huge game last night, going 4-for-5 with two homers.

Frustratingly, last night's fifth-inning home run was Lowe's first since June 21, when he went deep twice against the Pirates. The fact it's taken him 28 games to go deep again makes it hard to trust that yesterday will be a turning point. Lowe may have turned the corner as he's now gone 8-for-14 over his last four games. It's still too early to completely trust this as being a resurgence. Even during his struggles, Lowe was at least able to tally some steals.

He stole nine bases during his homerless streak, so he was staying relevant. Despite the glut of stolen bases and last night's big game, Lowe still only ranks 72nd among outfielders over the last 30 days (according to Yahoo!). Lowe's fantasy value will always be capped as he seldom faces left-handed pitching (LHP). Only 22 of his 201 plate appearances this year have come against lefties.

It was a similar story last year, with only 67 of his 501 plate appearances being against LHP. Lowe is a platoon bat on a team that values matchups more than any other. And he's had limited offensive production despite being on the strong side of a platoon. This week, Lowe has flashed us a reminder of his talents. It just remains to be seen if he can continue the momentum.

Verdict: In any shallow league, I'd be fine moving on from Lowe. If you have daily lineups, Lowe does provide more value as long as you have a suitable replacement to start when the Rays face a leftie starter. The Rays are set to face at least five RHP next week, so Lowe is worth hanging onto for another week in deeper leagues. In weekly lineup or shallow leagues, I'd still be looking for a suitable replacement over the coming days.

 

Hold For Now

Nestor Cortes - SP, New York Yankees - 71% rostered

I will preface this by saying that if you have dropped Cortes in shallower leagues, I don't blame you. However, I do think it's worth considering picking him up again. And certainly still holding if you've kept him after the recent rough stretch. On the year, Cortes has a 5-9 W-L record, 4.16 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 122 Ks (129.2 IP). The numbers are nothing to get excited about but his upcoming schedule is.

As things currently stand, Cortes's next four outings will be against the Angels (home), White Sox (away), Tigers (away), and Rockies (home). Just in terms of runs scored, that quartet ranks 16th or worse. The Rockies are the highest ranked at 16th. But they rank 27th in runs scored on the road. If we break it down to look at where the four teams rank against LHP, it shouldn't deter you from starting Cortes against any of them.

Team HR R AVG OBP SLG K% wOBA wRC+
Angels 23rd 29th 16th 24th 17th 11th 20th 20th
White Sox 27th 30th 28th 28th 26th 25th 28th 28th
Tigers 26th 27th 22nd 25th 23rd 12th 25th 25th
Rockies 6th 24th 25th 26th 15th 29th 23rd 29th

We can't look too far ahead, but Cortes could end up facing the Cardinals after this schedule. Things do get tougher after that, but for the next three weeks, Cortes could hardly have hand-picked a better schedule. I'd understand benching him against the Angels if you are a bit concerned about his recent struggles. But if you've held on to Cortes during the rough stretch, things could get a whole lot better for you.

Yusei Kikuchi - SP. Houston Astros - 44% rostered

Even before being traded to the Astros, I was on board with holding Kikuchi. His numbers didn't impress, but there were enough positive signs if you looked beneath the surface. Following his Astros debut on Friday, it's fair to say Kikuchi's fantasy managers will be optimistic for the remainder of the season. Kikuchi gave up a double, followed by a home run to start the game. He then allowed one hit while walking three batters and striking out 11 (5.2 IP).

Before Friday, Kikuchi had a 4.75 ERA, 3.42 xFIP, and 3.49 SIERA. He also ranked tied-19th in total strikeouts (130), so has been a good source of Ks. They were the reasons I believed Kikuchi would have a strong end to the season. Friday's start reinforced that position. His success was largely down to his pitch usage. Dylan Carlson's home run was off Kikuchi's sixth straight fastball to start the game. He then mixed things up.

Kikuchi ended up throwing a season-high 25 changeups. He got 11 whiffs on that pitch alone. This year, Kikuchi's changeup has a .180 batting average and .193 wOBA against it. It's been, by far, his best pitch. Assuming we see this trend continuing from Kikuchi while he's in Houston, he could have a very productive couple of months. Even without that change in approach, Kikuchi was someone I'd be holding onto and adding where I could.

 

On the Hot Seat

Andres Gimenez - 2B, Cleveland Guardians - 77% rostered

In June, I'd resisted including Giménez on The Cut List. That was down to his numbers being on pace to almost match last year. A prolonged slump has seen Giménez fall well behind matching last year's numbers. On the season, Giménez has five homers, 45 RBI, 45 runs, and 16 steals with a .249/.297/.331 slash line (102 games). A look at his monthly numbers shows us how much Giménez has struggled in recent weeks.

Month PA HR RBI R SB AVG OBP SLG wRC+
April 122 1 17 17 4 .280 .347 .374 109
May 117 3 16 17 5 .271 .325 .393 106
June 93 1 6 6 5 .172 .226 .230 32
July 86 0 4 4 2 .259 .271 .309 62

Giménez hasn't been helped by a struggling Guardians offense. They rank 26th in runs scored since June 1 (220). That's a big drop from the first two months of the season when the Guardians ranked third in runs scored (293). Giménez has to shoulder some of the responsibility for that. His struggles also saw him move down the order, as he's batted sixth or seventh in every game since June 27.

There's no questioning Giménez's playing time. He ranks in the 98th percentile for Outs Above Average (OAA) with 11. And he's in the 90th percentile for sprint speed (28.9 ft/sec) so will still tally stolen bases. Without his bat heating up, Giménez won't be able to provide much fantasy value. There are some reasons to hold on to Giménez which is why he's on the Hot Seat and worth holding for a bit longer.

Giménez is riding an eight-game hitting streak, going 9-for-30. He's only tallied two runs and one stolen base to show for it, though. Giménez has a 38.5% HardHit% in that span, up from his season mark of 28.6%. He's also got a .270 xBA (expected batting average) this year. The addition of Lane Thomas at the trade deadline should help the Guardians' offense, and it certainly needs a boost.

If the Guardians continue to slump collectively, it's going to be tough for Giménez to be a productive fantasy option. Even if he does manage to continue improving his batting average gradually, Giménez's value is based on getting hits, stealing bases, and scoring runs. The Second base position doesn't have much in the way of alternatives, so that will give Giménez a slightly longer leash. But time is ticking, and another rough fortnight will likely mean it's time to move on.

 

Reader Requests

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

Austin Riley - 3B, Atlanta Braves - 98% rostered

Riley was included back in the Week 12 edition of The Cut List. He wasn't someone I was considering cutting then despite his struggles. So this request was more of a follow-up. And if anything, Riley has cemented his role as a must-hold player. The below table looks at Riley's numbers before and after his inclusion on The Cut List eight weeks ago.

Split PA HR RBI R AVG OBP SLG wRC+
Before June 9 211 3 20 28 .234 .303 .354 85
Since June 9 196 12 27 26 .278 .342 .557 146

The injuries the Braves have experienced will obviously be detrimental to Riley's RBI and run totals. But he's been doing everything else we expected at the start of this season. In fact, his 162-game pace since Week 12 is 41 home runs, 93 RBI, 90 runs, and no stolen bases. Last year, Riley had 37 homers, 97 RBI, 117 runs, and three steals with a .281/.345/.516 slash line.

It took a while to get going, but we can now just write off Riley's April and May as a bad start. The addition of Jorge Soler to the lineup should help, and the Braves have been better offensively in recent weeks. Riley is set to be one of the best power sources over the remainder of the season and isn't someone to consider dropping.

Jose Caballero - SS, Tampa Bay Rays - 33% rostered

It's unusual for a player rostered as low as Caballero to be included in The Cut List. Earlier in the season, he wouldn't have been. But, we're at a point of the year whereby Caballero's inclusion is more about a wider picture than just the individual. First, we'll look at Caballero's numbers. After 91 games, he has seven home runs, 28 RBI, 42 runs, and 28 stolen bases with a .234/.297/.361 slash line.

The numbers shouldn't come as a surprise, given they're not too dissimilar to last year. Caballero hit .221/.343/.320 with four homers, 26 RBI, 37 runs, and 26 steals in 104 games with the Mariners. The reality is that Caballero is a below-average hitter. As we can see from his Statcast Profile, a very below-average hitter. The things that Caballero has going for him are speed (79th percentile) and defense (93rd percentile for Outs Above Average).

Isaac Paredes being traded has left an everyday infield position open for Caballero. The reason I mention Caballero's situation as something more widely applicable is that he's only offering help in one category. But at this stage of the season, you should be focusing more intently on specific categories. Ones where you're vulnerable to sliding down the overall rankings. Or ones whereby you can make up more ground.

If speed is something you need, then Caballero has value. Just know that he will offer little else and may even harm you in batting average and the other counting stats. It is also worth noting that 20 of his 28 stolen bases came by the end of May. He tallied four steals in June and four in July. Unless you do need steals in roto leagues, Caballero is an easy option to drop.

Brandon Marsh - OF, Philadelphia Phillies - 20% rostered

Marsh being even lower rostered than Caballero will certainly raise an eyebrow or two having been included this week. I was surprised at how few rosters Marsh was on. Especially given how similar he is to the earlier featured Josh Lowe. A hamstring injury saw Marsh miss a couple of weeks in early June. But he's been healthy otherwise and has now played 87 games.

In those 87 games, Marsh has 11 homers, 41 RBI, 36 runs, and 12 steals with a .248/.323/.427 slash line. Nothing that stands out, but Marsh is also someone who doesn't hurt you in any category. In shallower leagues, we're looking at more than just players who don't hurt you. But in deeper leagues, having someone you can insert in the lineup and forget about does have value.

People will look at Marsh's July and question how hitting .182/.236/.409 wouldn't have hurt teams. Well, Marsh also had four home runs, nine RBI, nine runs, and three stolen bases last month. Only 22 hitters managed those counting stats in July, and only 12 of them were outfielders. Like Lowe, Marsh is in a platoon. However, it's not quite as straightforward or as strict.

Last Sunday, Marsh started against a LHP. And even when Johan Rojas got the start against a leftie on Wednesday, Marsh came in to pinch hit and got two plate appearances. Marsh ranks as the 53rd outfielder on Yahoo! this season. While I don't envisage him finishing the season much higher, he still has value in deeper leagues. Certainly in daily lineup leagues, I'd look to hold on to Marsh.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!



More Fantasy Baseball Advice




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS


Vikings Select Tai Felton To Finish Day 2

Seahawks Select Quarterback Jalen Milroe With The 92nd Pick Overall

Browns Select Dillon Gabriel 94th Overall

Packers Pick Savion Williams At No. 87 overall

Steelers Snag Kaleb Johnson In Round 3

Broncos Select Wide Receiver Pat Bryant With The 74th Overall Pick

Texans Select Jaylin Noel With 79th Pick

Lions Select Wide Receiver Isaac TeSlaa With The 70th Overall Pick
Jack Leiter

To Start On Sunday

Patriots Add Wide Receiver Kyle Williams In Round 3

Browns Draft Harold Fannin Jr. With 67th Pick
Garrett Mitchell

Makes Early Exit
Luke Keaschall

Removed Early On Friday
Blake Snell

Likely Avoids Major Injury
Cole Ragans

Dealing With Mild Groin Strain

Broncos Add RJ Harvey To Backfield With 60th Pick

Raiders Select Jack Bech With 58th Pick

Chargers Add Wide Receiver Tre Harris In Round 2
Detroit Lions

Lions Acquire 57th Pick From Broncos

Seahawks Draft Elijah Arroyo 50th Overall
Carolina Panthers

Panthers Acquire 51st Pick From Broncos
Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals Snag Will Johnson At No. 47

Jets Add A Pass-Catcher With Mason Taylor At No. 42

Rams Select Terrance Ferguson With 46th Pick
Houston Texans

Texans Acquire 48th Pick From Raiders, Draft Aireontae Ersery

Saints Snag Tyler Shough At No. 40
Brenton Doyle

Out For Personal Reasons On Friday
Brandin Podziemski

Not On Injury Report For Game 3
Jimmy Butler III

Warriors Optimistic About Jimmy Butler III Playing Saturday
Jae'Sean Tate

To Remain Out Saturday
Jock Landale

Unavailable For Game 3
Terry Rozier

Out On Saturday
Jrue Holiday

Ruled Out For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Orlando
Kevin Love

To Miss Saturday's Game
Jaylen Brown

Available For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Magic
Gary Payton II

Iffy For Saturday's Action
Jayson Tatum

Officially Available On Friday For Game 3 Against Magic
Will Smith

Back From Injury On Friday
Luke Kennard

Questionable For Game 4 On Saturday
Darius Garland

Listed As Questionable For Game 3
Ja Morant

To Miss Game 4 On Saturday
Rui Hachimura

Available For Game 3 In Minnesota
Aaron Ekblad

Available To Return Saturday
Erik Swanson

Ryan Burr Progressing
Daulton Varsho

To Return On Tuesday At The Latest
Max Scherzer

Takes Positive Step On Friday
Aleksander Barkov

Questionable For Saturday
Gabriel Landeskog

Set For Larger Role In Game 4
Calvin Pickard

To Start Game 3 For Oilers
Randy Arozarena

Resting For First Time This Year
Jonas Siegenthaler

To Play Limited Minutes In Game 3
MLB

Red Sox-Guardians Game Postponed On Friday
Luke Hughes

Remains Out On Friday
MLB

Tigers-Orioles Postponed On Friday
Patrik Laine

A Game-Time Decision Friday
Yainer Diaz

Out On Friday Against Royals
Iván Herrera

Ivan Herrera Hopes To Start Rehab Assignment Next Week
Salvador Perez

Sitting Out For First Time This Season
Jaylen Brown

Questionable For Game 3 On Friday
Brendan Donovan

Back In Action On Friday
Jimmy Butler III

Could Miss Game 3 On Saturday
Coby Mayo

Getting On A Roll At Triple-A
Moises Ballesteros

Riding An 11-Game Hit Streak
Victor Mesa Jr.

Starting Rehab Assignment On Saturday
Ryan Weathers

To Begin Rehab Assignment On Sunday
Carlos Prates

Looks To Remain Undefeated In The UFC
Ian Machado Garry

Set For UFC Kansas City Main Event
Cade Cunningham

Collects Double-Double In Loss
Jalen Brunson

Drops 30 Points In Game 3
Karl-Anthony Towns

Leads All Scorers In Game 3 Victory
Zhang Mingyang

Scheduled For Co-Main Event
Anthony Smith

Set For His Final UFC Bout
David Onama

Set For Featherweight Bout
Giga Chikadze

Looks To Bounce Back
Abus Magomedov

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
Michel Pereira

Returns To Action At UFC Kansas City
Nicolas Dalby

An Underdog At UFC Kansas City
Randy Brown

A Favorite At UFC Kansas City
Andre Muniz

Set To Open Up UFC Kansas City Main Card
Ikram Aliskerov

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Sergei Bobrovsky

Shuts Out Lightning In Game 2
Cam Fowler

Finishes Thursday's Win With Five Points
Robert Thomas

Posts Four Assists In Game 3 Win
Pavel Buchnevich

Celebrates Hat Trick During Four-Point Performance
Dylan DeMelo

Battling An Illness
Marcus Johansson

Exits Early Thursday
Aleksander Barkov

Hurt In Game 2
Jrue Holiday

Tagged As Questionable For Friday
Jayson Tatum

Likely Out Again On Friday
Anthony Cirelli

Good To Go Thursday
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2
Rasmus Ristolainen

To Miss Training Camp
Jonas Siegenthaler

Returns To Practice
Aliaksei Protas

Traveling With Capitals
Gabriel Vilardi

Still Out On Thursday
Max Pacioretty

Set To Join Maple Leafs Lineup For Game 3
Cam Davis

Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
Gary Woodland

A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
Max McGreevy

Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Rasmus Hojgaard

In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
Sam Stevens

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
Nicolai Hojgaard

Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
Akshay Bhatia

Looking To Bounce Back At TPC Louisiana
Carson Young

Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
Erik Van Rooyen

Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
Andrew Novak

Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
Ben Griffin

Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
Taylor Moore

Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
Wyndham Clark

Making Return To New Orleans
Kurt Kitayama

Teeing It Up Again In New Orleans
Collin Morikawa

Back At Zurich Classic For Fifth Time
Thomas Detry

Making Third Appearance At New Orleans Team Event
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF