Fantasy Baseball Drop Candidates: Chase Burns, Austin Wells and More

After looking at some fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and starting pitcher streaming options, it's time to now discuss some drop candidates.

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 Chase Burns?

Burns is rostered in 82% of leagues right now. 

Burns made his second big league start on Monday, and was tagged for seven runs (five earned) and only got one out against the Red Sox. He allowed five hits and two walks.

His first start was much better, allowing three runs over five innings against the Yankees, who are a much better hitting team than Boston. Burns surrendered six hits and no walks in that one, while punching out eight.

Burns is one of most highly-regarded pitching prospects in the MLB, but some bumps along the road are still possible. Of course, everyone wishes every start could go smoothly, but even the best pitchers are capable of a blowup start here and there.

He's barely been dropped today after yesterday's rough outing, so it appears a lot of fantasy owners want to give Burns another chance. His next probable start is likely to come against the Phillies, who will be another stiff test for him.

A lot of standard league owners aren't going to want to start him in that contest. I'd be wary of that matchup as well, but instead of dropping Burns, I'd much rather just stash him on my bench. He's likely to bounce back after that in a favorable start against the Rockies.

Give him another start or two before dropping Burns. This kid could be the next fantasy star pitcher, and you don't want to cut bait on him too early.

Should You Drop Austin Wells?

Wells is down 5% today, bringing his overall mark to 63%.

He's dealing with an issue with his left index finger. Wells isn't going to play on Tuesday, but he's expected back in the lineup on Wednesday.

Wells has been OK of late, tallying a hit in five of his last seven games played. He has a double among the five hits, along with two RBIs, no runs scored, one walk and six strikeouts.

For the season, the Yankees' catcher has a .214 average and .275 on-base percentage. He has 13 doubles, 11 homers and a triple among his 49 total hits, along with 45 RBIs, 26 runs scored, three stolen bases, 17 walks and 64 punchouts.

I had high hopes for Wells coming into the season, but he's underwhelmed so far. He's taken a step back from his previous two MLB seasons, and the injury is a great way for fantasy owners to move on from him.

The truth is that Wells is probably rostered in too many leagues right now. Him being a Yankee is a big part of that.

Wells is a better deep-league asset right now, and I'd be dropping Wells in standard leagues. There's plenty of fantasy catchers to turn to instead for now.

Of course, he's capable of heating up and becoming a big standard league asset again, so don't write Wells off completely. For now though, he should probably just be rostered in deeper leagues, and probably riding the bench in those leagues.

Should You Drop Miguel Vargas?

Vargas was let go in 4% of leagues and now sits at 54% overall.

Vargas has just one hit over his past six games and 24 plate appearances. That hit was a single, and he has just two runs scored and no RBIs in that stretch. Vargas has a stolen base, three walks and nine punchouts as well.

He's now hitting .229 and getting on base at a .311 clip this season. Vargas has 20 doubles, two triples and 10 home runs among his 68 total knocks. He has 34 RBIs, 41 runs scored, four stolen bases, 32 walks and 59 strikeouts as well.

Him being eligible at first and third base is a plus for Vargas, but he's not delivering enough for fantasy owners, especially of late. He's another deep-league asset only in my eyes.

I'd be fine dropping Vargas in all standard leagues right now. He's capable of heating back up, so don't write him off. Vargas could also be traded to a contender eventually, so his value could jump if that ever happens.

I'd do my best to keep Vargas on deeper fantasy squads. He can slide to the bench for a bit, but his versatility and pretty decent power numbers are valuable in those leagues yet. 

Should You Drop Eduardo Rodriguez?

Rodriguez was let go in 3.5% of leagues, bringing his overall mark down to 47%.

He made a start on Sunday against the Marlins. Rodriguez worked 5 1/3 innings, striking out six along the way. He allowed a run on four hits and three walks.

Rodriguez allowed two of fewer runs in all five of his starts in June. He had a 1.98 ERA over those starts, allowing seven runs (six earned) on 27 hits and nine walks. He struck out 28 batters over 27 1/3 innings and went 2-1.

Things will remain favorable for Rodriguez in his next start, as he will face the Royals most likely. After that, a tougher matchup against the Padres looms.

I like the idea of starting Rodriguez in all fantasy leagues for that Kansas City start, so I don't love the idea of dropping him right now. He's going to be one of the better streaming options most likely for that next start, so at least roster him through that outing.

Scoop Rodriguez up a couple days before that start. Right now, he's lined up to pitch on Friday, July 4.

Rodriguez should remain a good deep-league option and keeper all season. You might not want to start him in the toughest matchups (like the Padres), but with how he's pitching of late, I'm all for keeping Rodriguez on my team.

Should You Drop Zach Eflin?

Eflin is down to 44% after a 3% dropoff today.

Eflin was placed on the 15-day injured list with low-back discomfort. He's expected to be back shortly after the All-Star break, so not much more than 15 days.

Eflin has struggled of late, allowing 17 runs over his past three outings, which covered just nine innings. He allowed 27 hits and four walks in that stretch, while striking out six.

Eflin is down to a 5.95 ERA over 62 innings this season. He's allowed 42 runs (41 earned) on 78 hits and 11 walks, while striking out 42 batters.

It's been a rough stretch for Eflin, but he was a solid fantasy option before these past few starts. He had a 4.08 ERA.

What I'm saying is that while Eflin is a drop candidate now, there's a chance he bounces back in the second half of the season, especially if this back injury is what caused his trouble of late.

Eflin should be dropped in all standard leagues, unless you want to stash him in an IR spot. Watch his status and results and maybe you'll be able to scoop him up later in the season.

Eflin is droppable in some deeper redraft leagues as well. I'd stash him on the IR if I could, but otherwise do my best to keep him around. If you need that roster spot to produce now, then I understand dropping him now.

Just be sure to keep an eye on Eflin moving forward. He can be a decent fantasy asset, and will be a big waiver pickup when he's ready to pitch again.