Well-Known Fantasy Baseball Players - Drop, Hold, or Sell Low for Week 8? (2025)

May 19, 2025

Joey discusses five well-known fantasy baseball hitters and pitchers who have not performed well heading into Week 8 of the 2025 season. Is it time to drop, sell, or hold?

Welcome, RotoBallers, to our weekly article about well-known fantasy baseball players. Every Monday, we will go through some of the biggest names in baseball who have been struggling to put up solid fantasy numbers in recent weeks. It could be a pitcher who has had multiple bad outings in a row, or a hitter in a major slump. 

After determining these five players, we will analyze whether they should be dropped, held, or sold for cheap heading into the following week. All five players featured in this week's edition are rostered in several fantasy leagues. 

So, what should fantasy managers do with these five well-known players? Should we drop, hold, or sell them heading into Week 8 (May 19 - May 25)? Let's find out. 

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Sandy Alcantara, SP, Miami Marlins

At this point in the season, fantasy managers don't know what to do with Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara. He hasn't looked great on the mound and hasn't had that dominant outing that we are all used to seeing from him. Alcantara currently owns a 7.99 ERA and 34 strikeouts in nine starts in 2025. 

By just looking at Alcantara's numbers, it is a surprise that he is still rostered in over 65% of Yahoo! leagues. He has given up at least four runs in four straight starts and has pitched six full innings just once this season. However, fantasy managers might still believe that the right-hander can return to that Cy Young form.

Alcantara won the National League Cy Young Award in 2022, thanks to a 2.28 ERA and 207 strikeouts across 228 2/3 innings pitched. Since then, he has had a rough 2023 season (4.14 ERA) and missed the entire 2024 campaign due to Tommy John surgery. So, it remains to be seen if the 29-year-old can be that ace again in the majors. 

Sandy Alcántara,
Chase Rate Percentile Rankings
(via Statcast):

2021 - 95 🔥
2022 - 94 🔥
2023 - 97 🔥
2024 - injured
2025 - 7 😬 pic.twitter.com/8yNU5NlmNZ

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 18, 2025

While there is a chance that Alcantara will post better numbers in the coming months, it might be time to drop him in shallow formats. His strikeout rate (17.8%) and walk rate (12%) both rank in the bottom 25% of the league, and opposing hitters have an expected .280 batting average against him. His stuff just hasn't been there in the early going. 

Jordan Lawlar, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks

There was a lot of hype surrounding Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Jordan Lawlar when the team called him up last week. He hit .336 with six home runs, 15 doubles, 31 RBI, and 13 stolen bases across 37 games at Triple-A Reno to start the season. However, it has been tough to hold Lawlar in most fantasy formats in his first week.

He only started two of the team's six games last week, and there doesn't seem to be an everyday role for Arizona's top prospect. Although there were reports that Lawlar would play four to five games a week when he was promoted, Geraldo Perdomo, Ketel Marte, and Eugenio Suarez continue to play almost every day.

On top of that, Lawlar has looked overmatched at the plate in his first few at-bats. He went 0-for-9 with one walk and five strikeouts last week. While we shouldn't overreact to any of this just yet, it is important to note as we head into Week 8 of the fantasy baseball season. 

Therefore, the best thing fantasy managers can do is to hold onto him for another week. If he continues to see limited at-bats and plays just once every three days, then it might be time to cut him. 

Jorge Polanco, 2B, Seattle Mariners

A cool-off was inevitable for Seattle Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco. After hitting .395 with nine home runs and 25 RBI in his first 24 games, Polanco has just six hits over his last 39 at-bats (.154 batting average) to go with one home run and four RBI. Despite this rough stretch, the switch-hitting infielder is a strong hold heading into Week 8. 

His expected batting average (.342), expected slugging (.614), barrel rate (15.7%), and hard-hit rate (52.9%) all rank in the 89th percentile or better to start the season. With a ton of red on his baseball savant page, it's fair to assume that another hot stretch should be coming for the veteran very soon. 

Jorge Polanco, from the right side.

He rips a two-out double into the left-field corner and is now the tying run for Julio Rodríguez here in the 7th inning. pic.twitter.com/ZlVBvM7wRB

— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) May 7, 2025

Polanco doesn't strike out a ton (11.9% strikeout rate) and continues to hit atop a Mariners lineup that is much improved from last year. Seattle currently ranks ninth in runs per game (4.77). That means fantasy managers must be patient with the 31-year-old amid this stretch.

Remember, this is a player who hit 30 home runs and drove in 98 runs during the 2021 season.

Taj Bradley, SP, Tampa Bay Rays 

A lot of fantasy managers expected a breakout campaign for Tampa Bay Rays starter Taj Bradley this year. He showed a ton of potential in 2024, and there was a strong possibility he put it all together on the mound in 2025. However, that hasn't been the case to start the season. Bradley has a 4.80 ERA and 41 strikeouts in his first nine starts. 

Bradley has had mixed results in his third major league season. He has delivered five quality starts in 2025, most recently on May 10 against the Milwaukee Brewers. In that outing, he threw six innings of two-run ball with five strikeouts.

On the other end, there have been a bunch of rough outings. He allowed six runs on nine hits across five 1/3 innings against the Yankees back on April 17 and gave up five runs on six hits across four innings against the Miami Marlins in his most recent start on May 16. Following that poor start against the Marlins, fantasy managers might be wondering what to do with the 24-year-old.

The answer is that it might be time to trade him heading into Week 8. His whiff rate (22.5%), strikeout rate (19.2%), and walk rate (10.3%) all rank in the bottom half of the league, and there hasn't been anything suggesting Bradley will take that Year 3 jump. 

Although the Rays pitcher has thrown his curveball more in 2025, his fastball continues to get hit hard. Opposing hitters have a .286 batting average and five home runs against his four-seam fastball. If Bradley continues to struggle getting whiffs on his fastball, he might not find much success on the mound this season.

Brenton Doyle, OF, Colorado Rockies 

Colorado Rockies outfielder Brenton Doyle enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2024. He hit .260 with 23 home runs, 24 doubles, four triples, 72 RBI, and 30 stolen bases in 149 games last season. However, Doyle has looked like a different player in 2025. He is hitting just .203 with four home runs, 17 RBI, and four stolen bases across 36 games. 

Brenton Doyle gives the @Rockies the lead with a rocket to the left field seats 🚀 pic.twitter.com/dCj4ytznUn

— MLB (@MLB) April 30, 2025

There's no doubt that Doyle has not been a strong fantasy option to start the season. He isn't making hard contact, and his road struggles are noticeable. The two-time Gold Glove winner is batting just .162 with one extra-base hit and two RBI across 19 road games this year. As a result, the Rockies outfielder is a fine drop in some shallow leagues. 

His average exit velocity (89.4 mph), hard-hit rate (42.3%), whiff rate (25.8%), strikeout rate (24.7%), and chase rate (29.7%) all rank in the bottom half of the league. Even though things should eventually pick up for Doyle in the coming months, it's hard to trust a player hitting in this Colorado lineup. The Rockies rank 27th in runs per game (3.38) this season. 

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