Fantasy Baseball Drop Candidates: Austin Hays and Nick Kurtz Among Hitters Being Let Go

The fantasy baseball week is winding down quickly, but before we hit the weekend, let's look at a couple more drop candidates. Here are drop stories from Monday and Wednesday.

More droppable player data can be located on the waiver wire trends most dropped tab, which can be found on any fantasy baseball page here at FantasySP. 

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Should You Drop Alexis Diaz?

Diaz started the season on the injured list, then struggled in his first several MLB games. The Reds decided to option him to Triple-A. He went from owned in most standard fantasy leagues to rostered in just 35% at the time of publication today.

Across six appearances in the big leagues this season, Diaz allowed eight runs on eight hits and five walks. He gave up four home runs, while also hitting two batters and striking out just three. 

His 2.17 WHIP is ridiculously high, and is way over his 1.17 career mark. Diaz's 12.00 ERA is way higher than his career 3.21 mark.

Instead of letting him try to figure things out in the big leagues, the Reds decided to send Diaz back to the minor leagues. Emilio Pagan has emerged as the team's closer, so that made the optioning of Diaz a bit easier to justify.

There's no point in rostering Diaz in standard redraft leagues any more. He already wasn't a good option in those leagues because he lost his closer role, and now with him not in the big leagues, it's definitely time to cut bait.

I still could understand stashing him in some deeper redraft leagues, and dynasty and keeper leagues, for the time being. He's been a good fantasy asset in the past, and might be able to regain his old form after a little time in the minor leagues. Only continue to roster Diaz in a fantasy league if you don't need his roster spot - in other words, if your fantasy team can be competitive while stashing Diaz on the bench for an extended period.

I think Diaz is too talented to struggle for an extended period. It's possible he's not quite ready to come back from his early-season injury, but maybe a little less pressure in the minor leagues will help him bounce back eventually.

We'll keep tabs on Diaz, but for now, he can be dropped in most fantasy leagues.

Should You Drop Austin Hays?

Hays was one of the hottest hitters in the league since getting called up a couple weeks ago. He's now dealing with a hamstring injury, so his own percentage has fallen from nearly 65% to 56% in the past couple days.

Hays has not played since April 28. He's not expected to hit the injured list, but it's possible he misses a couple more games.

In his first 13 games and 58 plate appearances this season, Hays has a .365 average and .431 on-base percentage. He's collected five home runs and three doubles among his 19 total hits, along with 13 RBIs, 15 runs scored, a stolen base, six walks and 13 strikeouts.

He's a career .264 hitter with a .314 OBP, which are solid marks for a fantasy asset. Hays was written off by a bunch of fantasy owners after posting a .255 average and .303 OBP across 85 games in 2024. An injury to begin this season didn't help his cause.

Hays has been a big help to a struggling Reds' team, and he's going to get regular starts when he's healthy. With as hot as he was at the plate, I don't like the idea of dropping him.

I know it's difficult to keep a player who isn't playing on your fantasy roster, but Hays is simply hitting too well to drop. If he hits the injured list again, then it makes more sense to drop him, but that hasn't happened yet. You could basically treat his last couple days like off days.

Keep an eye on Hays' status, but I'd keep rostering him unless he hits the injured list. He should be owned in all deeper redraft leagues, and could be utilized in some standard redraft leagues if you are lacking outfielders, or have other injuries you are dealing with.

Should You Drop Jake Burger?

Burger is being optioned down by the Rangers, so it makes sense to see him being dropped. He's down to 60% rostered after being selected around pick 150 in fantasy drafts.

Burger has a .190 average and .231 OBP across 30 games and 108 plate appearances this season. He's posted five doubles and three homers, along with 12 RBIs, 13 runs scored, three walks and 32 strikeouts.

He's what we call a power hitter nowadays, with a lower average but big power numbers. Burger has decent power numbers this season, but his average is 56 points below his career mark. His OBP is 60 points lower. And of course, the big strikeout numbers haven't slowed enough to offset those lower marks.

I am surprised the Rangers are optioning him, but for an offense struggling to produce, it makes sense in an effort to try and jumpstart the offense. Burger shouldn't be in the minor leagues the rest of the season, and his demotion might only last a little while.

While he's down in the minor leagues, there's no reason to roster him in a standard redraft league. He wasn't a top-end draft pick, so it shouldn't hurt much to drop him.

I still like the idea of stashing Burger in deeper redraft leagues. If you need his roster spot to stay competitive though, you might need to cut Burger before he gets called back up.

He'll be a waiver wire possibility when he gets called back up, so he's a player to tag and watch until that happens.

Should You Drop Nick Kurtz?

Kurtz was a massive waiver wire pickup after he got called up to the big leagues a little over a week ago. He was over 60% rostered, but is at just 47% now.

In his first eight games and 28 plate appearances, Kurtz has a .259 average and .250 OBP. He's got singles for all seven of his hits, along with three RBIs, no walks or runs scored and 14 strikeouts.

I didn't think Kurtz would immediately be a fantasy stud, but I also didn't expect these kinds of struggles. He hasn't been a very good fantasy asset, so it makes sense to see fantasy owners bailing on him in standard leagues. While I agree he shouldn't be rostered in standard leagues, he's still a player to track in case the power and production heat up soon. 

I'd keep rostering Kurtz in most deeper leagues for another few days at least before I considered dropping him. He's too highly-regarded of a hitting prospect to bail on after just over a week of games. 

Of course, Kurtz should be held onto in dynasty/keeper leagues as well. He might be benched in some leagues for the time being, but I'd much rather do that than outright drop him.

Should You Drop Luke Jackson?

Jackson was one of the bigger fantasy surprises at the start of the season. He surprisingly was named the Rangers' closer, and after allowing three runs on Opening Day, Jackson was one of the elite fantasy closers for a stretch.

He's struggled of late and now has an 0-3 record and a 6.55 ERA across 11 innings. Jackson has allowed 10 runs (eight earned) on 12 hits and five walks, while striking out nine batters.

Jackson allowed four runs in his last appearance (a non-save situation), and has given up seven runs over his past four outings. In the nine games before that, Jackson didn't allow a run over 8 2/3 innings, while striking out five batters.

There's been no news of him losing the closer role yet, but struggles for another week or so would probably force the Rangers' hand. He's gone from close to 70% rostered to just 54%.

I'd drop Jackson in all standard redraft leagues for now. I'd keep an eye on him, but he might top out as a deep-league keeper only now. I'd do my best to keep rostering Jackson in deeper redraft leagues, but also could understand if you want to swap him for another waiver wire option.

Jackson's strong start to the season was going to be tough to maintain, and now I think he's showing his true value - a deep-league fantasy option who is going to have ups and downs throughout the season.