5 Fantasy Baseball Drop Candidates: Time to Move On?

Let's now turn our attention to fantasy baseball drop candidates.

Here's the last drop article we did. We won't cover any players from that article.

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.

Bryce Elder - Atlanta Braves

Elder is rostered in 97% of fantasy baseball leagues right now. He's likely to drop after his outing on Wednesday.

He was tagged for six runs (five runs) in just 3 1/3 innings. Elder took a loss against the Red Sox and saw his earned run average jump to 2.50 on the season.

Elder is 4-3 with that strong ERA over 12 starts so far. He has allowed 24 runs (20 earned) on 56 hits and 22 walks, while striking out 61 batters. Elder has worked 72 innings.

He's been a very good fantasy asset this season, and one tough start shouldn't change your overall opinion on him. Elder was due to regress, and more below-average results are likely to come. I'd still hold on to him in all standard leagues for another start or two, or look to sell him high in a trade instead of outright dropping him.

Nolan Arenado - Arizona Diamondbacks

Arenado is sitting at 51% owned right now. He was at 57% two days ago.

He is dealing with a groin injury right now. There's a chance he eventually hits the injured list, so that's something to track.

Arenado has played 51 games and gotten 194 plate appearances so far. He has a .271 average and .351 on-base percentage, plus 27 RBIs, 27 runs scored, 18 walks, a stolen base and 35 strikeouts. Arenado has 11 doubles and seven home runs among his 46 total hits.

The veteran is turning back the clock a bit this year, but this injury is slowing his roll. He was trending up when the injury hit, and now is being dropped in standard leagues, and some deeper ones, as he's not playing. Keep tabs on Arenado and add/drop him when he returns or continues to miss time/hits the injured list.

A.J. Ewing - New York Mets

Ewing is rostered in 43% of leagues right now. He was over 60% about a week ago.

He went hitless in his last game, but had four hits in the three games before that. Ewing is trending down because of strikeout issues. He has 10 games in a row with at least one strikeout.

Ewing has struck out 20 times in his 16 games played so far. Over 62 plate appearances, he has 13 hits, including a triple and home run. Ewing has four RBIs, six runs scored and eight walks.

Ewing is a decent deep-league asset, but is trending down because of all the strikeouts, especially of late. I still like holding him in most deeper leagues, unless you have more than enough fantasy outfielders to turn to instead. Keep tabs on Ewing in case he gets his K issues under control and starts producing more at the plate.

Teoscar Hernandez - Los Angeles Dodgers

Hernandez sits at 90% owned right now. He has a hamstring injury and is likely to hit the injured list.

He is expected to miss a couple weeks at least, and there's a chance he misses even more time. The longer he is out, the more fantasy leagues he'll be dropped in.

Hernandez has played in 51 games and logged 204 plate appearances so far. He has a .276 average and .348 OBP, along with 31 RBIs, 30 runs scored, 19 walks, two stolen bases and 55 strikeouts. Hernandez has eight doubles and seven home runs among his 50 total hits.

Hernandez is droppable in some standard leagues where you don't have roster/IR spots to stash him in. There's plenty of fantasy outfielders out there, so I get dropping him, especially if he's out longer than a couple weeks. Wait to see how long Hernandez is out before dropping him if you can.

Sandy Alcantara - Miami Marlins

Alcantara is rostered in 85% of leagues, which is the lowest mark it's been over the past month.

He has been up and down all season, and has really struggled over his past two starts. Alcantara has allowed 14 runs over his past two starts, which have lasted 11 2/3 innings.

Alcantara has a 4.66 ERA over 12 starts. He's 3-4 and has pitched 75 1/3 innings so far. Alcantara has allowed 42 runs (39 earned) on 79 hits and 21 walks, while striking out 52 batters.

Alcantara has regressed since a pretty strong start to the season. He's trending more to being just a standard league streaming asset, not one to hold all season long. Look into trading him first, as he's a big enough name, and could land you a better asset than you might find on the waiver wire.