Early Panic or Smart Move? Drop Candidates in Fantasy Baseball

We just went over some fantasy baseball waiver wire/streaming targets for Wednesday, and are back here to discuss some possible drop candidates.

Here's the last drop story we did, plus an article on hitters off to slow starts.

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.

Addison Barger - Toronto Blue Jays

Barger sits at about 55% owned right now. He was over 60% at the start of the season.

Barger had a breakout season in 2025, so many fantasy owners were hoping for even more in 2026. Over four games and 15 plate appearances, Barger has no hits and two walks. He's drove in two runs, failed to score and struck out five times.

Not only is he not producing at the plate, but he's not starting every day. Barger has started on the bench for both of the games the Blue Jays have faced a left-handed pitcher. So far, Barger is just a platoon option.

He delivered in a similar role in 2025, so I'm not giving up on Barger for good, especially because he should be eligible at third base and right field. I don't think he's worth standard league roster spots right now though, so just consider him in deeper leagues, and you might have to bench him until his bat gets going.

Jac Caglianone - Kansas City Royals

Caglianone is down to 68% rostered. He sat up near 80% to kick off the regular season.

He has also played in four games, but gotten just 11 plate appearances. Caglianone has two hits, including a double, but no RBIs or run scored. He's walked once and struck out four times.

Caglianone sat against the lone left-handed pitcher the Royals have faced so far. He has hit seventh in the three games against right-handed pitchers.

Until he's playing regularly, or simply delivering more, there's no use rostering Caglianone in standard leagues. If you have high hopes for him and insist on keeping him rostered, then bench him until his bat gets going.

I think Caglianone is a better deep-league asset until he proves he can repeatedly produce at the big league level.

Caleb Durbin - Boston Red Sox

Durbin is owned in about 51% of fantasy leagues at the moment. He was over 60% at the start of the season.

Durbin started the first four games at third base for Boston, but was benched last night. He's yet to post a hit over 15 plate appearances. Durbin has no RBIs or runs scored, with just one walk and three strikeouts.

He changed teams in the offseason, so he could just be taking some time to settle in with his new club. Durbin was a sneaky-good fantasy asset in 2025, but that hasn't been the case so far in 2026.

It's early, so don't rush to judgments on anyone this soon, but Durbin isn't worth holding in standard leagues either. He could be scooped back up in those leagues if he starts delivering more down the road, but for now, he's a better deep-league asset.

Cody Ponce - Toronto Blue Jays

Ponce is down to 42% rostered, after being at 65% when he made his first start of 2026.

Ponce is back in the MLB after spending the past few seasons in Japan. He was supposed to help the Toronto starting rotation.

In his first start, he lasted just 2 1/3 innings before going down with an injury. Ponce suffered an ACL sprain, and has been placed on the 15-day injured list. Him being on the 15-day IL is somewhat encouraging, but the fact that we don't know if he will return in 2026 absolutely decimates his fantasy value.

He could be worth holding in deeper leagues, but only if you have an IR spot to stash him in. I wouldn't stash him in a standard league, unless you have unlimited IR spots.

We'll see if Ponce ever gets back on the field in 2026. I wouldn't count on it at this point, so look for fantasy pitching elsewhere.

Roki Sasaki - Los Angeles Dodgers

Sasaki is down to 61% owned today. He was up near 65% for his first start of the regular season.

Sasaki started against Cleveland on Monday, working four innings and taking a loss. He only allowed one run on four hits and two walks, while striking out four.

He might just be dropping because he was more a streaming option, but some are just not happy enough with those results. Sasaki struggled in 2025, and he struggled in spring training this year.

I'd actually argue that his first start was a really positive one. He's not one to roster permanently in standard leagues though, so I get dropping him if you streamed him the other day.

I liked what I saw though, so consider streaming him again in his starts to come. I'd roster him in most deeper leagues for the time being as well.

Trent Grisham - New York Yankees

Grisham is down to 55% owned today. He was around 60% at the start of the regular season.

Coming off a big 2025 season, fantasy owners are wondering what version of Grisham we'll get in 2026. So far, it's not starting great.

In five games and across 19 plate appearances, Grisham has four hits, including a double and triple. He has two RBIs and runs scored, a stolen base, two walks and three strikeouts. While he's produced a little, it's not nearly on the level he did last year.

He's hit leadoff in all but one game for New York, and that was against a left-handed pitcher. The Yankees have faced right-handed pitchers otherwise, so Grisham could be in a platoon.

If he doesn't produce like he did last year, then Grisham is just a deep-league asset, but if he gets hot or hits for a bunch of power again, he'd be worth adding in some standard leagues, so keep tabs on him.