Well-Known Fantasy Baseball Players - Drop, Hold, or Sell Low? (Week 21)

We are now in the home stretch of the fantasy baseball regular season. We are just a few weeks away from the fantasy playoffs, so time is ticking for some teams to make a final push. As a result, it might be time to drop that hitter in a major slump or that pitcher who has given up five-plus runs in back-to-back starts. 

With the fantasy playoffs right around the corner, dropping struggling players could be the difference in winning key matchups. In this article, we will look at five known fantasy baseball players who have struggled at the plate or on the mound recently. Some of these players should be held in Week 21, while others should be dropped. 

So, let's look at these five well-known fantasy baseball players and determine what to do with them right now. 

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2B Bryson Stott, Philadelphia Phillies

It has been a very up-and-down year for Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott. After breaking out in 2023—hitting .280 with 15 home runs, 32 doubles, 62 RBI, and 31 stolen bases—Stott has taken a step back this season. The young second baseman is only hitting .235 with eight HRs, 13 doubles, and 45 RBI across 108 games in 2024. 

Most importantly, he has become a liability for fantasy managers in recent weeks. Stott has just three hits over his last 31 plate appearances (.097 batting average) to go with one home run, one double, and two RBI. The 26-year-old's recent stretch has raised the question of whether he should still be on fantasy rosters, especially considering his rough overall numbers this year. 

Phillies in August so far...

▪️ Bryson Stott: 3-31 (0.97)
▪️ Brandon Marsh: 5-33 (.152)
▪️ J.T. Realmuto: 5-31 (.161)
▪️ Trea Turner: 8-43 (.186) pic.twitter.com/zsPOKc4Rfo

— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) August 12, 2024

Given how he has looked at the plate for most of the year, fantasy managers should consider dropping Stott in some leagues. He has been extremely disappointing in fantasy this season, and he isn't contributing much in the home run, RBI, and double departments. If you need some stolen bases in category leagues, the Phillies second baseman should likely not be dropped, as he ranks 15th in baseball in stolen bases (23). Other than that, though, it has been rough to roster him in fantasy in 2024. 

C Francisco Alvarez, New York Mets

Catcher is always one of the harder positions to navigate in fantasy throughout the year. There are tons of hot and cold streaks from that position group, and New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez certainly falls under that category in 2024. Alvarez was one of the hottest hitters in baseball when he came back from the injured list in the middle of June. From June 12 to July 2, he hit .382 with three HRs, six doubles, one triple, and 15 RBI across 17 games. 

However, since then, Alvarez has really struggled at the plate. Over his last 26 games, the slugging catcher is hitting just .212 (18-for-85) with one home run, two doubles, one triple, and four RBI. While the 22-year-old does have a hit in five of his last seven games, the power is not there from him right now. He has hit just one home run since June 28. 

As a result, Alvarez should be dropped in some leagues in Week 21 of the MLB season. He isn't hitting the ball well over the past month, and he has only five HRs across 60 games this season. That's why he is a fine drop in some leagues because there are catchers like Tyler Stephenson (41% rostered), Joey Bart (16% rostered), and Austin Wells (36%) available in more than 55% of Yahoo! leagues. 

2B Jonathan India, Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Jonathan India got off to a slow start this season. India was batting just .224 with three HRs, five doubles, and 18 RBI across his first 50 games. But since then, the former 2021 National League Rookie of the Year has been a much more consistent fantasy option. 

From June 3 to July 22, India hit .333 with five HRs, 15 doubles, and 21 RBI across 41 games. That raised his average to .275 on the year, jumping 51 points in the process. While the Reds second baseman has struggled at the plate as of late—batting only .109 with one home run and one RBI over his last 17 games—fantasy managers shouldn't be ready to drop him by any means. 

Jonathan India is 7 for his last 64 with 22 K/9 BB

A .109 average over his last 17 games.#Reds

— Bryce Spalding (@bryce_spalding) August 11, 2024

Players go through slumps all the time, and it was just one month ago that India was in the middle of his hottest streak of the season. As a result, managers should be patient amid his slump. His expected batting average (.271), launch angle sweet-spot rate (39.5%), and walk rate (12.6%) all rank extremely well. That's why you should be holding onto the 27-year-old second baseman in fantasy.

SP Cristopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez had one of the best ERAs in baseball at the end of June following his first career complete game against the Miami Marlins. He had a 2.41 ERA and 79 strikeouts across his first 16 games this season. However, the left-hander hasn't been as consistent of a fantasy option over the past two months. 

Since July 4, Sanchez has a 6.36 ERA over his last seven starts. During that span, he has allowed at least seven earned runs three times while failing to strike out more than four batters in five of those outings. In his last start on August 11 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the southpaw gave up seven runs on 12 hits across just 4.2 innings of work. 

Cristopher Sánchez, 96mph Paint. 🖌️🎨 pic.twitter.com/bH7vZe68qf

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 26, 2024

Sanchez has been trending down in fantasy over the past few weeks, and his ERA has dropped all the way down to 3.63. That is a 122-point drop from where it stood at the end of June (2.41). Nonetheless, it's not time to drop the left-hander in fantasy just yet. He has struggled on the mound as of late, but he'll face the Washington Nationals his next time out. The southpaw threw seven innings of two-run ball earlier this year against that Nationals offense, so expect him to get back on track this weekend.

SP Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Ryan was having the best season of his young career in 2024. He had a 3.60 ERA and 147 strikeouts across his first 23 starts this season. Unfortunately, though, Ryan left his last start early after experiencing tricep pain against the Chicago Cubs on August 7. 

That "tricep soreness" turned out to be a Grade 2 teres major strain, so it appears Ryan will be out for multiple weeks. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said that the right-hander will miss "weeks to months" while he recovers from this injury. That almost certainly ends his regular season. As a result, don't waste an IL spot on him in re-draft formats. Drop him because there's a slim chance he will return before the fantasy playoffs end.