RADIO
Welcome back to the Cut List. Each weekend from now until the end of the season, I’ll be offering my thoughts on players who don’t deserve to keep drawing a nonexistent salary on your fake baseball teams.
As we go deeper into the season, expect this list to become more ruthless, but also note the widening of scope to include players who may still have trade value in many leagues.
In addition to the players on the Cut List, we'll also spotlight a player on the Hot Seat: Someone whose situation is worth monitoring, even if it’s not time to hit the ejector seat just yet. Without further ado, here are your Week 14 cut or trade candidates.
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The Cut List: Week 14
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Toronto Blue Jays
Tulowitzki has three home runs in his last seven games, but that puts him at just five on the season. He’s batting a lousy .232/.290/.369 on the year, with just 32 R+RBI in his 45 games. Tulowitzki has been a shadow of his former self since leaving Colorado, and his inability to stay healthy is simply not worth dealing with at this point. He’ll only be 33 in October, but it certainly looks like all those injuries have caught up to him.
Gregory Polanco, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
Speaking of injuries, Polanco’s underachieving first half seems at least partly attributable to dealing with multiple maladies all season. He’s had a strained hamstring and rolled ankle to contend with, and in a season where power continues to surge league-wide, Polanco’s six homers suggest his shoulder issues from last season may be having lingering effects. Owners drafted Polanco looking for him to build on his 22 HR/17 SB performance in 2016. Instead, he’s hitting just .237/.300/.368 and isn’t even on a 15/15 pace right now.
Matt Bush, RP, Texas Rangers
Bush has had a few too many rough outings for Jeff Bannister’s liking, and the Rangers will be operating out of the dreaded committee approach for the foreseeable future. The converted infielder closed out an abysmal June with his fourth blown save and fourth loss of the month, allowing three runs and recording just one out. After recording an 0.82 ERA in the month of May, Bush posted a 2.79 WHIP (!) in June. He could still find his way back to the ninth, but something’s clearly broken right now.
The Hot Seat: Week 14
Jake Odorizzi, SP, Tampa Bay Rays
Odorizzi has started 14 games this season, and has only managed to avoid allowing a home run in one of them. That was the game against the Red Sox where he suffered an injury and only finished the first inning. That he’s managed respectable ratios (4.00 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) anyway is somewhat miraculous, particularly since he’s also posted the worst K/BB of his career this season. Odorizzi is also getting hit harder than ever before. It might well only be a matter of time before all of this catches up to him.
Last Week
Dustin Pedroia had seven hits, but five of them were singles. He has just two homers and two steals this season, and the Red Sox lineup has underwhelmed. As a result, Pedroia is basically empty average right now.
Mark Trumbo hit a home run on Friday, but otherwise had a quiet week. He’s got just 11 homers to his name after leading the league with 47 last year.
Tanner Roark pitched just three innings on Friday, walking five and allowing three runs. That piss-poor outing was the cherry on top of an awful June in which Roark put up putrid ratios (8.31 ERA, 1.91 WHIP).
James Paxton’s strikeouts have returned, but he also allowed a home run in each of his five June starts. That, and a 5.04 BB/9, contributed to his 7.20 ERA for the month.
More Week 14 Lineup Prep
