Friday's Fantasy Baseball Drop Candidates: Zac Gallen, Josh Smith and More

After checking out some fantasy baseball waiver wire options (hitters, pitchers and streaming options), it's time to discuss some drop candidates.

We won't discuss anyone who appeared in drop stories on Monday or 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. 

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 Zac Gallen?

Gallen is rostered in 80% of leagues after a 3.8% dropoff.

Gallen has a 5.75 earned run average over 97 innings this season, so it's honestly wild that his own percentage is still as high as it is. He's made 17 starts and sits with a 5-9 record.

He's allowed 65 runs (62 earned) on 95 hits and 42 walks. Gallen has struck out 88 batters along the way.

Gallen has had a rough month of June. It started well, with him allowing just one earned run (three total) over seven innings, but he's allowed at least four earned runs in every start since.

He faced the weak-hitting White Sox on Wednesday, and took the loss after allowing five runs over 5 1/3 innings. He surrendered two homers among the eight hits he allowed - Gallen also had a walk and just two strikeouts in that contest.

Gallen has a career 3.55 ERA despite his struggles in the first half of this season. He hasn't had an ERA over 3.65 in any of the past four seasons, so this year's numbers are really a shock to the system.

Gallen's own percentage is staying high because of his past results and bigger name. In his age-29 season, he's supposed to be in his prime, but he's delivering career-worst numbers across the board.

It's made Gallen a tough fantasy pitcher to trust, even though he has big bounceback potential. I wouldn't trust him in any matchup right now, and in these cases, I'm dropping that pitcher in standard leagues.

You could look to trade Gallen, but the return is going to be really weak. He's worth keeping tabs on in case he bounces back eventually, but he's droppable in standard leagues, and unstartable in all leagues for now.  

Should You Drop Josh Smith?

Smith is down 2.9% and sits at 49% overall.

He's gone hitless over his past two games, but reached twice on a walk and hit by pitch. Smith has had a great month of June, sitting with a .315 average and .375 so far.

Over 68 games and 267 plate appearances this season, Smith has a .276 average and .346 on-base percentage. He has 11 doubles, a triple and seven home runs among his 66 total knocks, along with 21 RBIs, 34 runs scored, eight stolen bases, 24 walks and 46 strikeouts.

He's played all over the field, so he could be eligible at several positions. That's a plus for his fantasy outlook. He's started four of the Rangers' past five games, hitting leadoff against three righties and seventh against a lefty - he also sat against a lefty.

I'm not really understanding why Smith is being let go in fantasy leagues. Sure, he doesn't have a hit over the past couple games, but he's been good this month and is not hurting himself much with strikeouts.

He's just outside a top-15 spot among fantasy third basemen in points leagues this season, and if you add in some position versatility, he's a bit more valuable than that. 

I'm really not a fan of dropping Smith in any deeper leagues, and think he's still worth a roster spot in a few standard leagues out there. If he struggles for a couple more games, then I'd be on board with dropping him. 

Should You Drop Brady Singer?

Singer is owned in 57% of leagues after being let go in 2.3% of them.

He's made 16 starts on the season, with the Reds going 9-7 in those contests. Singer is 7-6 with a 4.31 ERA over 85 2/3 innings.

Singer has allowed 44 runs (41 earned) on 78 hits and 36 walks. He has 76 strikeouts so far.

His most recent start was his worst one in a while. Singer worked five innings against a strong Yankees' lineup, allowing four runs on six hits and three walks, but he also struck out nine batters.

Even with that start included, Singer has a 3.68 ERA over his past eight starts. He's 3-4 and has 37 strikeouts in that stretch, so he's pitching better of late than his season numbers suggest.

His next two probable starts are lined up against the Red Sox and Marlins, which are two decent matchups, especially that Miami one.

I know he struggled a bit against the Yankees, but that's a tough lineup to navigate, and I'd argue that Singer pitched pretty well, especially with all those strikeouts.

I'll be a fan of starting him against the Red Sox and then a big fan of streaming him against the Marlins, so I'm not a big fan of dropping Singer. I get it if you need that roster spot to try and win the week, but Singer has a good fantasy outlook moving forward, and I'd hold on to him if I could.

Should You Drop Casey Schmitt?

Schmitt is down to 23% after being dropped in 3.6% of leagues.

Schmitt was on the rise earlier this week, but is now trending down because of a wrist injury. He didn't play in the Giants' Thursday game.

Schmitt has logged 112 plate appearances over 34 games so far this season. He has a .276 average and .360 OBP so far, along with 15 RBIs, 13 runs scored, 10 walks and 29 strikeouts. Among Schmitt's 27 hits, he has four doubles and home runs.

He's played first, second and third base and shortstop already this season, and that position versatility is nice in fantasy leagues. He batted fifth in his last start, but was sixth or seventh in the lineup in the three starts before that.

He got a CT scan on his wrist, so his injury status is one to watch over the next 24 hours. If he gets placed on the injured list, then he'll be dropped in even more leagues. If he just misses a couple games though, I think fantasy owners should stop dropping him.

He's trending up of late and is looking like a decent fantasy asset. It might be a short-term stint of success, but he's worth streaming in some deeper redraft leagues for a bit, as long as he's back soon.

Should You Drop Michael Wacha?

Wacha was let go in 2.2% of leagues, bringing his overall mark to 67%. 

Wacha has been pretty good so far in 2025, sitting with a 3.33 ERA over 92 innings and 16 starts. The Royals are 8-8 in his outings, and Wacha sits with a 4-7 record.

He has allowed 34 runs on 88 hits and 24 walks. Wacha even has 74 strikeouts to his name.

Wacha started on Wednesday against the Rays, working six innings and striking out nine along the way. He allowed three runs on nine hits and a walk though.

He's been an above-average fantasy option this season, and I really don't like the idea of dropping him in any leagues. Again, I get if you added him as a streaming option, but he'll remain a good streamer most starts, so just rostering him makes most sense.

Wacha could face the Mariners next, and then maybe the Diamondbacks after that. That start against the Mariners is more favorable, while the D-Backs' start is a tougher one. Wacha has been a positive fantasy asset most of the season, so he's a good deep-league option and solid standard league streamer for both those outings.

Only drop Wacha is you need that roster spot to stream with over the weekend, otherwise keep rostering Wacha. It might be worth adding Wacha in a few more leagues before his next start, and you could beat the crowd by adding him a day or two before his start.