Well-Known Fantasy Baseball Players - Drop, Hold, or Sell Low for Week 9? (2025)

May 27, 2025

Joey discusses five well-known fantasy baseball hitters and pitchers who have not performed well heading into Week 9 of the 2025 season. Is it time to drop, sell, or hold?

Welcome, RotoBallers, to our weekly article about well-known fantasy baseball players. Each week of the fantasy season, we will look at which players are struggling the most. It could be a hitter in the midst of a major slump at the plate or a pitcher coming off a bad outing on the mound. 

We will then determine if these struggling players should be dropped, held, or sold for cheap. All five players featured on this week's list are rostered in many leagues heading into Week 9 of the fantasy baseball season (May 26 to June 1). 

So, what should fantasy managers do with these five well-known players? Should we drop, hold, or sell them? Let's dive in and find out. 

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AJ Smith-Shawver, SP, Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher AJ Smith-Shawver has looked solid on the mound for the most part this season. He currently owns a 3.67 ERA and carries an impressive 29.7% whiff rate through his first eight starts. However, Smith-Shawver just had his worst outing of the year on Thursday against the Washington Nationals.

The right-hander gave up seven runs on eight hits with three walks and one strikeout in three innings. This rough start came as a surprise for fantasy managers, considering the Braves pitcher allowed just six runs over his previous five outings from April 12 to May 15. During that five-game span, Smith-Shawver had a 1.50 ERA and 30 strikeouts across 30 innings of work. 

AJ Smith-Shawver had given up just 1 ER in his last 19.1 IP and opponents were hitting .121 against him during that span

The Nationals have put up 5 runs against him and it’s only the 2nd inning😳 pic.twitter.com/ZUIaeOc7pF

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) May 22, 2025

Following that poor start, fantasy managers might not know what to do with the young right-hander moving forward. Nonetheless, it might be time to sell Smith-Shawver in most leagues. 

His expected ERA (5.62) is 195 points higher than his actual ERA (3.67), and both his hard-hit rate (50.4%) and walk rate (10.6%) rank extremely poorly. As a result, we should expect Smith-Shawver's numbers to continue to decline in the coming weeks. With two tough matchups against the Phillies and Diamondbacks upcoming, the 22-year-old is a strong sell in most formats. 

Verdict: Drop in 12-team leagues

Jorge Polanco, 2B/3B/DH, Seattle Mariners

It's not a total shock to see Seattle Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco come back down to earth following a strong start to the year. Polanco was hitting .395 with nine home runs, five doubles, and 25 RBI across his first 24 games in 2025. Those numbers were definitely not sustainable for the veteran. 

The former All-Star hasn't hit over .260 or totaled at least 20 home runs in a season since 2021. So, his numbers were always going to come down a bit throughout the year. However, no one expected Polanco to struggle this much after looking like a waiver wire steal in the early going. The 31-year-old is batting just .127 with one home run, five RBI, and 12 strikeouts over his last 17 games. 

More importantly, the switch-hitting second baseman continues to sit against left-handed pitching. He didn't start on both Saturday and Sunday, with the Astros throwing out left-handed starters. Although Polanco is currently in a rough stretch at the plate, fantasy managers should consider holding him for at least another week. 

He continues to hit the ball hard, and his expected batting average (.320), expected slugging (.572), barrel rate (15.3%), and hard-hit rate (52.3%) all rank in the 88th percentile or better to start the season. Therefore, things should eventually even out for Polanco in the coming weeks. That makes him a firm hold in most leagues. 

Verdict: Hold in 12-plus team leagues

Ben Rice, 1B/DH, New York Yankees

There's no doubt that it has been hard to trust New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice in recent weeks. He is batting just .194 with two home runs, six RBI, and 10 strikeouts since May 10. Rice has also played consecutive games just once (May 20 and May 21) during this span. That's certainly not great news for his fantasy value moving forward. 

His playing time could get even more complicated when Giancarlo Stanton (elbows) returns. Stanton is expected to go through live batting practice over the next two weeks before beginning a rehab assignment soon after. As a result, we could expect the slugger back in the mix sometime toward the middle to the end of June. 

RICE IS NICE BABY pic.twitter.com/PqT2CSSX0f

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 20, 2025

That makes Rice a sell candidate heading into Week 9. Even though his expected slugging (.575), hard-hit rate (58.2%), and barrel rate (19.1%) all rank in the top five percent of the league, fantasy managers should be worried about his playing time. The 26-year-old might only play three times a week as he battles for playing time with Paul Goldschmidt, Stanton, and even Jasson Dominguez. 

Update: Sell in all formats 

Brandon Nimmo, OF, New York Mets

New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo has seen his rostership dip below 75% in Yahoo! leagues for the first time this year. It's not a surprise to see that, considering Nimmo has looked lost at the plate in recent games. He has zero hits over his last 18 plate appearances to go with two walks and six strikeouts. 

On top of that slump, Nimmo is currently dealing with a neck injury that popped up in Friday's game. The 32-year-old made a leaping grab in the second inning of that contest and crashed into the outfield wall. Although he initially stayed in the game, he eventually left early due to neck stiffness following a long rain delay. 

Since then, Nimmo has missed back-to-back games with that neck stiffness. However, the 10-year veteran should be held in every fantasy league heading into Week 9. The Mets don't expect his injury to be an IL stint, and his metrics suggest he has gotten a little bit unlucky to begin the year. 

For starters, his expected batting average (.263) is 51 points higher than his actual batting average (.212). Nimmo's average exit velocity (92.5 mph), hard-hit rate (53.1%), and squared-up rate (29.4%) also rank pretty well in the early going. So, expect better all-around numbers for the 32-year-old upon his return from that neck issue. 

Verdict: Hold in all formats

Marcus Semien, 2B, Texas Rangers

There were plenty of signs last season that the best might be behind Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien. He batted just .219 with eight home runs, 20 RBI, and 41 strikeouts in his final 52 games of the 2024 season. That contributed to Semien posting his lowest home run (23) and RBI (74) totals since before the 2020 pandemic. 

Unfortunately, those end-of-season struggles have continued into 2025. The All-Star second baseman is hitting just .176 with three home runs, 18 RBI, three stolen bases, and 47 strikeouts in his first 53 games this season. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy has also moved the veteran down to ninth in the batting order amid this rough stretch. 

Marcus Semien drops to ninth in the Rangers lineup for the opener in Chicago pic.twitter.com/G9YpW3iEKM

— Rangers Nation ⚾️ (@rangers__nation) May 23, 2025

Given how Semien has looked at the plate to begin the season, it's time to sell him for whatever you can get. His hard-hit rate (35%), barrel rate (8.6%), and whiff rate (24.5%) all rank in the bottom half of the league, and he hasn't shown much improvement at the plate. His current 21.9% strikeout rate does not help his case as well.

So, Semien is someone to trade away for cheap at this point in the year. Things might not get much better for him in his 13th major league season.

Verdict: Sell in all formats

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