Monday's Fantasy Baseball Drop Candidates: Clay Holmes, Alec Bohm and More

After checking out some fantasy baseball waiver wire options, let's now go over some possible 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 Adrian Houser?

Houser was dropped in 4.9% of fantasy leagues and is rostered in 60% of leagues overall now.

He struggled on Saturday against the Pirates, allowing four runs (three earned) on 10 hits and a walk over 4 1/3 innings. Houser struck out five batters and was pulled after 78 pitches.

That was Houser's worst start of the season across 10 total tries. He has a 5-2 record and 1.89 earned run average over 62 total innings, even after his most recent effort. Houser has allowed 16 runs (13 earned) on 57 hits and 19 walks, while striking out 44 batters.

Houser was due to regress at some point, and that might have started on Saturday. He's still likely to be traded at the deadline, so his fantasy outlook should increase, even if his ERA and overall numbers are going to drop.

For now, his next start is lined up against the Cubs, which is not a favorable matchup for him. Houser hasn't faced Chicago this season.

I wouldn't start Houser in standard leagues for that matchup against the Cubs, but he's still an OK option in deeper leagues. I'd expect his own percentage to continue to drop as fantasy owners figure out who he is facing next. 

So I agree with dropping him in standard leagues and a few deeper leagues, but would still try to keep rostering him in deeper setups, especially because I think he'll get traded to a better team here soon.

Should You Drop Clay Holmes?

Holmes is down to 81% after a 3.8% drop today.

He was hit around by the Reds on Saturday, allowing five runs (four earned) over 5 1/3 innings. Holmes allowed six hits and two walks, while striking out just three. 

In July, Holmes has a 5.66 ERA over four starts and 20 2/3 innings. He's given up 14 runs (13 earned) on 21 hits and eight walks, while striking out just 11 batters.

He was better in June and has a 3.48 ERA over 108 2/3 innings this season. His numbers in July suggest he might be regressing. This is his first season as a full-time starter, and he passed his career high in innings several weeks ago already. It's fair to expect some regression, so he's likely going to continue to be dropped as the season moves along. 

I'd see if I could trade him away in standard leagues still. Some might still believe in him, but I personally think he's going to continue to struggle a bit.

Holmes will likely become just a deep-league keeper who is streamable in the right matchups, and when he's pitching well, in standard leagues. Don't be afraid to move off Holmes.

Should You Drop Colt Keith?

Keith is owned in 40% of leagues after a 3.6% drop today.

Keith is hitless over his past four games, and he has four strikeouts in that stretch as well. He has walked twice in that short stretch of play.

He has a .259 average and .344 on-base percentage over 88 games and 302 plate appearances this season. Keith has 16 doubles, eight home runs and two triples among his 68 total hits, along with 30 RBIs, 43 runs scored, 35 walks and 62 strikeouts.

Keith was on a heater before these past four games, so he's now seeing his own percentage regress to the levels he had before. He doesn't usually start against left-handed pitchers, and that was going to top him out as a deep-league asset already.

If he also isn't producing at the plate, you can expect fantasy owners to move on from Keith. He's a name to keep tabs on in case his bat heats up again, but you should stream and drop him as he heats up and cools down the rest of the season in deeper leagues.

Should You Drop Romy Gonzalez?

Gonzalez is down 3.5% and sits at 37% overall.

He's also hitless over his past four games. Gonzalez had a walk and run scored in that stretch, along with four strikeouts.

Gonzalez still has a .311 average and .348 OBP over his 46 games and 161 plate appearances this season. He has 46 total hits, including 15 doubles, five home runs and three triples. Gonzalez has 28 RBIs, 26 runs scored, four stolen bases, nine walks and 38 strikeouts.

He's played first, second and third base this season, and could be eligible at shortstop and in the outfield from past seasons. That gives Gonzalez some extra fantasy upside.

Gonzalez has started just three of the team's past five games. He batted third against a lefty, but was ninth and eighth against two righties. Both of those things are working against Gonzalez as a fantasy asset.

He still has some deep-league appeal, but he should be dropped in a decent amount of deeper leagues. Gonzalez is another name to keep in mind, in case he eventually heats up again, but for now, he's just a deep-league asset, and maybe someone to bench until he gets back on track, or is in the lineup more consistently.

Should You Drop Alec Bohm?

Bohm was dropped in 2.7% of leagues, bringing his overall mark down to 77%.

Bohm was placed on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a fractured left rib, so it's easy to see why he's being dropped. He is expected to be out 3-4 weeks.

He has a .278 average and .324 OBP over 92 games and 383 plate appearances this season. Bohm has 12 doubles, eight home runs and two triples among his 98 total hits, along with 42 RBIs, 39 runs scored, two stolen bases, 22 walks and 62 strikeouts.

Bohm should be dropped in standard leagues, unless you have an IR spot to throw him in. He wasn't owned in all fantasy leagues before the injury, so that should ease the mind of standard league owners dropping him.

I'd do my best to stash Bohm in deeper fantasy setups. Some might need to drop him, especially if you need help now to stay competitive.

Bohm will be a nice waiver wire addition when he's getting ready to get back on the field. Keep an eye on his status and pick him up a couple days before he's back on the MLB field.

Should You Drop Yu Darvish?

Darvish is rostered in 58% of leagues after a 1.7% drop.

He got a late start to his season, and has logged just three starts. Darvish made his season debut on July 7 against the Diamondbacks, allowing two runs over 3 2/3 innings.

He then allowed four runs against the Phillies on July 12. Darvish most recently gave up three runs over five innings against the Nationals.

I'm surprised to see his own percentage that high, but I get it because he's a well-known player. Darvish has not pitched well enough to be rostered in that many leagues though.

His next matchup might be against the Cardinals, and that's favorable enough to try him in some deeper leagues. I'd be against starting him in standard leagues for that matchup.

Darvish needs to deliver solid results before I'd be confident starting him in standard leagues. Until that happens, I'd like to see his own percentage way lower than its current mark. He's a solid deep-league streaming option in the right matchups, but I don't think he deserves to be owned in all those leagues yet.

He might return to an above-average fantasy starting pitcher in time, so keep an eye on his results moving forward.