Bryan Reynolds and Aaron Nola Among Big-Name Fantasy Baseball Drop Candidates

We just took a look at some fantasy baseball drops on Thursday, but I have another list of drop candidates for Friday. We won't cover any drops from the story on Thursday, or Tuesday.

Some waiver wire additions can be found on the hitter and pitcher stories. Here's Friday's streaming article, and a prospect story as well.

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. 

Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including waiver pickups, projections, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant.

Should You Drop Bryan Reynolds?

Reynolds is rostered in 83% of fantasy leagues right now. That's a disappointing mark after he was drafted at pick 93.5 on average.

Across 43 games and 193 plate appearances so far, Reynolds has a .194 average and .259 on-base percentage. He's a career .272 hitter with a .347 OBP, so this dropoff really came out of nowhere for the 30-year-old. Reynolds had a .275 average and .344 OBP last season.

He has five doubles and homers among his 34 total hits on the season. Reynolds has three stolen bases, 20 RBIs, 16 runs scored, 15 walks and a whopping 55 strikeouts already.

The Pirates have been bad this season, already having fired their manager. Reynolds is just one of several hitters struggling at the plate. He's still starting every day, and is typically batting second or third.

That still puts Reynolds in a good fantasy spot for production, but when he's not doing anything at the plate, I understand why fantasy owners want to drop him. He's got no hits over his past five games and 23 plate appearances, and has reached base just twice in that span.

It's tough having to drop a top-100 draft pick this early in the season, but I don't think he'd even be worth trading, because you definitely aren't going to get good value in return. I'd still entertain a trade before dropping him outright, as many fantasy owners are expecting Reynolds to bounce back eventually.

I agree with that thought, and would be trying to buy low on Reynolds, especially if my fantasy team was solid. Adding and stashing Reynolds until he heats back up is a great move in my eyes.

Of course, you could always just pick Reynolds up off the waiver wire if he ever gets heated up. You'll need to keep a very close eye on the Pirates' outfielder if you're taking that approach though.

Should You Drop Aaron Nola?

Another massive name to kick off this article. He's down another 1.8% today and sits at 94% overall. That's still a high percentage, but it's extremely disappointing given he's been healthy and was drafted at pick 52.74 on average.

Nola was tagged for nine runs in his most recent start against the Cardinals. He gave up four runs in the start against the Guardians before that. Nola has allowed four or more runs in five of his nine starts, and the Phillies are 2-7 in his outings.

Nola is 1-7 with a 6.16 earned run average on the season. He's allowed 35 runs (34 earned) on 59 hits and 16 walks, while striking out 52 batters over 49 2/3 innings.

You want to talk about a massive, and unexpected, dropoff, look no further than Nola. He's got a career 3.78 ERA despite his terrible start to the season. He's only averaged a half a strikeout less than his career mark, while walking a half batter more.

His WHIP is 1.51, which is way higher than his 1.15 career mark. Nola has had a WHIP under 1.2 in each season since 2019.

I don't know what the deal is with Nola, but fantasy owners are definitely stressing about him. He was looked to as a fantasy ace, and he really shouldn't be rostered in anywhere near the amount of leagues he currently is. 

His next start will be in Colorado, which is never very kind to pitchers. Nola will be tough to start in that appearance. He then might face the Athletics, which isn't the easiest of matchups either.

It's possible Nola is dealing with an injury, or the team might put him on the injured list just to help him try to reset. For the time being though, there's not many matchups I'd want to try Nola in.

I'd do my best to hold him in all leagues, but it's hard to do that in standard leagues. Maybe see if anyone will buy low on Nola - you won't get good value in return, but it might be better than any waiver option you might target.

Should You Drop TJ Friedl?

Friedl is owned in 52% of leagues right now - he's down 1.9% today. He's dealing with a wrist injury, but hopes to be back in the lineup on Friday.

In 41 games and 182 plate appearances overall, Friedl has a .274 average and .359 OBP. He's got three homers, a triple and six doubles among his 43 total knocks. Friedl also has 17 RBIs, eight stolen bases, 23 runs scored, 20 walks and 30 strikeouts on the season.

The center fielder typically bats leadoff when he's in the lineup, which is a good spot for a fantasy hitter, especially one with speed to burn like Friedl has. The Reds aren't the best offense, but he can still be a solid fantasy asset.

At a stacked fantasy position, Friedl is likely to top out as a deep-league option more often than not. He can be streamed in standard leagues when he's hot at the plate though, so he's worth monitoring for that reason.

Should You Drop Jackson Holliday?

Holliday sits at 66% rostered - he's seen his own percentage stabilize after surging up in early May.

In 37 games and 136 plate appearances overall, Holliday has a .250 average and .316 OBP. He's got four homers, two doubles and a triple among his 31 total knocks, along with 12 RBIs, two stolen bases, 13 runs scored, 10 walks and 32 strikeouts.

He has just two hits over his past four games, while striking out four times. He's singled for both knocks, scored once and not drove in a run or walked.

He's still starting every game at second base. Holliday bats leadoff against right-handed pitchers, and sixth against lefties.

He's a bit overvalued as a fantasy asset, but that makes sense given the hype around him as a prospect. Holliday has performed more like a deep-league asset though, and those are the only leagues he deserves to be owned in now. He can be utilized in standard leagues when he's faring better at the plate, but he's not in that spot right now.

He's another fantasy hitter you'll have to keep tabs on, at least until he performs a little more consistently.

Should You Drop Nick Lodolo?

Lodolo was let go in 1.9% of leagues today, bringing his overall mark down to 81%.

He made a start on Wednesday, taking the loss after allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks against the White Sox. He struck out four over 5 1/3 innings.

It wasn't a good start in a favorable matchup, so it makes sense to see Lodolo being dropped. In nine starts and 52 2/3 innings this season though, he's 3-4 with a 3.42 ERA. He's allowed 22 runs (20 earned) on 48 hits and nine walks, while striking out 42 batters.

His ERA would be a career best - he has a 4.33 mark over four seasons. Lodolo's strikeouts are down nearly three over nine innings, but his walks are over one down too. His 1.08 WHIP is way better than his career 1.26 mark.

I get dropping him after a down showing against the White Sox, but his next start against the Pirates is a chance for him to bounce back. He's a good option in all leagues for that start.

He might face the Cubs after that, and for that start, I'd only want to utilize him in deeper leagues. So I wouldn't be dropping Lodolo now, but instead waiting until after the start against the Pirates to do so.