RADIO
Ryan's potential fantasy baseball cuts, drops and bust candidates for 2025. These struggling fantasy baseball players are on the hot seat heading into Week 3.
When all we have to react to in a fantasy baseball season is two weeks of data, it's hard not to draw quick conclusions. Just because a player is on a hot streak or cold streak to start a season doesn't mean that's what the next six months will look like. But for some players who had high expectations (and projections) coming into 2025, it's time to start putting up numbers.
This list of players includes those who are all rostered in more than 50 percent of fantasy leagues, and in some cases, they are close to universally rostered. But just because every league drafted a player, does that mean he should remain on a roster no matter how bad it gets?
In some cases, a player's track record and past fantasy success offer them a longer leash than others. But there are a growing number of players who need to produce now or risk being replaced by names on the waiver wire. All stats and rostered rates (taken from Yahoo! Fantasy leagues) are up to date through games on April 8.
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Mark Vientos, 3B, New York Mets
90% rostered
After going 0-for-2 with a walk in Wednesday's embarrassing loss to the Miami Marlins, third baseman Mark Vientos is now hitting .119 with a .412 OPS on the season. Not a .412 on-base percentage or a .412 slugging percentage, a .412 OPS.
That number ranks in the bottom 10 of all qualified batters this season, which means there is the double insult of poor production plus a large number of plate appearances to go with it. Vientos has no home runs, no stolen bases, and just one RBI this season. According to Statcast, everything looks out of whack.
Apart from his sweet spot rate and his walk rate, everything is below the 60th percentile of all major league hitters. His hard-hit rate, exit velocity, launch angle, and barrel rate have all regressed since 2024. It's sapping all of the power gains from his strong season last year.
Could it be bad luck? He has just a .161 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) so far. But he is also swinging at way fewer pitches than last season. Drafted as a top-10 third baseman inside the top 100 picks in drafts, Vientos deserves a bit of a leash, but he is getting close to running out.
Spencer Steer, 1B/OF, Cincinnati Reds
72% rostered
After moving from a 23-home run, 15-steal season in 2023 to a 20-home run, 25-steal season in 2024, expectations were sky-high for Spencer Steer. Playing in a hitter's haven and with a secure role, Steer was drafted in the top 140 picks among spring drafts and given a spot in the top six in the Cincinnati lineup.
Just 27 years old, Steer was supposed to come into 2025 amid his prime years, but his start has left a LOT to be desired. He is hitting .161/.235/.323 with one home run, three RBI, and no steals through his first 34 plate appearances this season.
Spencer Steer since the All-Star Break last season:
284 PA
.187 AVG
6 HR
35 RBI
26 Runs— Kirk Snyder (@dynastyinfo411) April 7, 2025
His strikeout rate is up to 24 percent from 20 percent last season, and his walk rate has dropped almost three points. The result has been a demotion to the No. 7 spot in the order. If he isn't careful, he is going to fall out of the Reds lineup, and fantasy lineups will follow.
Blake Dunn and Christian Encarnacion-Strand have both played well and have jumped ahead of him in the order. Having only played designated hitter this season, Steer is the easiest part of that lineup to replace.
Somehow, Steer's hard-hit rate is in the first percentile of players in 2025. Essentially, every player in baseball is hitting the ball harder. That's a terrible sign to start the season and not one we want on our fantasy rosters long-term.
Yandy Diaz, 1B, Tampa Bay Rays
73% rostered
Yandy Diaz has never been a true power hitter during his time in the major leagues. Despite the body of a Greek god, Diaz has hit more than 14 home runs one time and has never even driven in 80 runs in a season.
What he does do well is get hits and get on base. Whether in an OBP league or an average league, Diaz has been an asset. He is a career .286 hitter with a .370 on-base percentage over eight seasons heading into 2025. That production is what makes his slow start so shocking.
Through 45 plate appearances, Diaz has a .143/.178/.190 line. He isn't getting hits OR drawing walks. The 4.4 percent walk rate through his first 10 games is far lower than any other season. His BABIP is .158, so the average should improve, but there are other troubling signs for the 33-year-old.
Last season, Diaz swung at just 22 percent of pitches outside the zone. That was a top-10 number in all of baseball. So far in 2025, Diaz is swinging at 30 percent of pitches outside the zone. That is troubling. Did you draft Diaz as a corner infielder to help with your team's batting average? It might be time to start looking on the waiver wire for a replacement.
Bailey Ober, SP, Minnesota Twins
93% rostered
It's been a tale of two starts for Bailey Ober to start the 2025 season. In his opener against St. Louis, he was tagged for eight earned runs in 2.2 innings, including three walks and two home runs allowed. He only struck out three batters and barely threw half of his pitches for strikes.
Fast forward to start No. 2, and he was ... just alright. Against Houston, Ober allowed one earned run and struck out five batters, but he only lasted four innings. It took him 84 pitches to get through that much of the game, and he was pulled for the relief corps after that.
Bailey Ober, Nasty 84mph Slider. 😨 pic.twitter.com/D5yUwqmjVb
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 5, 2025
Maybe he builds up to 90 pitches and five or six innings in his subsequent starts, but do you trust him? So far, he has lost over 1 mile per hour off his fastball since 2024. His slider (which he has thrown 35 percent of the time) also hasn't been effective despite gaining 2 miles per hour since 2024.
His next three starts will likely come against Kansas City, the New York Mets, and the Atlanta Braves. I can tell you one thing about my Ober shares. He better come out and deal against Kansas City because if he doesn't, there is no way he is making my starting lineups against the Mets and Braves bats.
Ronel Blanco, SP, Houston Astros
51% rostered
Further down draft boards was Ronel Blanco, who was selected around pick 240-245 by the time draft-season dust settled. He came out of nowhere last year to post a 2.80 ERA, nine strikeouts per nine innings, and 13 wins as a 30-year-old with seven career starts to his name.
That performance, and especially his nasty changeup, put him on the fantasy map, and more than half of the teams ended up taking Blanco while looking for a repeat. So far, it appears that lightning will not strike twice as Blanco has a 9.45 ERA through two starts.
The problem has been all the walks. After walking just about three-and-a-half batters per nine innings last season, he is at a wild 8.1 walks per nine innings through his first seven innings this season. That means even though he hasn't allowed a home run, he is getting into trouble almost every inning he pitches.
The velocity on his fastball and changeup is also down a tick this season compared to last year. If we don't see velocity increase and walks decrease over the next start or two, Blanco will be an easy drop for someone who is performing well on the waiver wire.
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