One of our most cherished and fundamental freedoms as Americans is the right to remove any underperforming player from our fantasy teams at any time. In fact, it is your duty as a citizen to continually downsize and replenish your roster. Let’s get to it, people.
Here are seven widely available players who can help any team…
At last, we finally got the good news we’ve all been waiting for about one of the MLB’s best hitting prospects…
Sources: James Wood will be called up to make his debut in DC with the Nats on Monday. The long wait is over. Wood will play his first major league game against the Mets at Nats Park in three days.
One of baseball’s top prospects, Wood is hitting .346 with a 1.036 OPS in Triple-A.
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) June 28, 2024
Wood is hitting an absurd .346/.458/.578 in Rochester with 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases, so he doesn’t have much left to prove at any minor league level. He’s a potential five-game contributor who shouldn’t have any playing time issues (he’s crushing left-handed and right-handed pitchers alike) and isn’t likely to be buried at the bottom of the batting order. Wood was probably already on rosters in larger competitive leagues and now deserves a spot in any format. He is a potential difference-maker, a player who can be added automatically. Go look for it.
Mark Vientos, 1B/3B, New York Mets (38%)
This gentleman hit three home runs in two games this week against the Cubs and Yankees respectively, and he was still only listed in about a third of Yahoo leagues. That’s absolute negligence, folks. If you’re not a believer at this point… well, we’re running out of talking points. Vientos offers eligibility for multiple positions, significant power, and is currently hitting .298. He’s driven in five runs in his last three games and has racked up nine bombs on the year. If a player like that doesn’t do it for you, then you’re probably enjoying a ridiculously successful fantasy season.
Bader is on a roll on a team that seemingly can’t lose. He’s 6-for-12 with two steals, two homers and five runs scored in his last three games, raising his average to .275. He’s had 11 steals on the year and should have another 10-12 to go. We’d certainly prefer to see him bat higher than ninth in the batting order, but he’s managed to remain productive. Add him if you’re looking for a combination of power and speed.
Horwitz has become a recurring cast member on our exempt list, because A) he keeps winning and B) many of you don’t seem to care.
He’s getting on base at an absurd rate for the Jays, with an on-base percentage well above .400, which is actually in line with his recent minor league track record — he was hitting .335/.456/.514 in Triple-A before his promotion. Horwitz has respectable power and has established himself in a prime spot in the batting order, just ahead of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He’s a must-have in an OBP league, or for any manager looking for a boost in the middle infield.
Okay, this might be a terrible idea, so I apologize in advance if it doesn’t work out. Garver has already struck out 80 times in 69 games this season and is hitting just .178. Not good. There are definitely some issues here.
But Garver has also hit safely in four straight games, including a pair of homers, as Seattle’s designated hitter. He’s always been the type of player who hits his home runs in spurts, so we could be in the early days of a home run streak. Plus, we should also point out that he’s been a much better second-half hitter (.896 OPS) over his career. Let’s not give up on him just yet.
In fact, Olson earned a rare victory, just his second of the season, in his most recent start against the White Sox. But his 2-8 record doesn’t accurately reflect the level of his performance so far this year. Olson has simply been the victim of woeful race support. He’ll have a 3.35 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and a respectable 20.7 K% in his next weekend start against the Angels, so he certainly deserves fantasy consideration. Olson currently ranks among the MLB leaders in ground ball rate (51.2%) and HR/9 (0.43), so there’s a lot to like in his profile.
Sean Manaea, starting pitcher, New York Mets (22%)
Manaea is coming off a scoreless but disastrous 5-inning win against the Yankees on Wednesday (2 H, 5 BB, 3 K), which dropped his ERA to a respectable 3.89. Obviously, the Mets are on a roll these days and the veteran lefty is striking out a batter per inning, as usual. The calendar is about to take a favorable turn for this team; Manaea’s next four starts should be against the Nationals, Pirates, Rockies (in New York) and Marlins.
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