Injuries & Slumps Create New Fantasy Baseball Drop Candidates

Let's now focus on some possible drop candidates in fantasy baseball leagues.

This will be our third drop article of the week - here are stories from Tuesday and Thursday.

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. 

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Kenley Jansen - Detroit Tigers

Jansen is down to 66% rostered today after hitting the 15-day injured list with pelvic inflammation.

He could return as soon as June 12, but an exact timeline for his return hasn't been announced yet. The longer Jansen is out, the more fantasy leagues he'll be dropped in.

Jansen has appeared in 18 games so far this season, and despite being the team's go-to closer, the Tigers are just 10-8 in the games he pitches. He is 1-3 with seven saves, four blown saves and one hold.

Jansen has worked 15 innings across his 18 appearances. He's allowed eight runs on nine hits and nine walks, while striking out 19 batters.

The Tigers' struggles hold Jansen's fantasy outlook back a bit, and now the injury is forcing some fantasy owners to drop him. Unless I had unlimited IR spots, or a spot to stash him in, I'd be fine with dropping Jansen in standard leagues.

He's just not a good enough fantasy asset to keep holding him through this injury. Hold him in deeper leagues, unless he's out a lot longer than 15 days. Be ready to add him back when he is activated again.

Gavin Sheets - San Diego Padres

Sheets is rostered in about 51% of fantasy leagues right now. He had been up near 60% earlier this month.

He went hitless in his last appearance, but had a five-game hitting streak before that. The bigger issue is strikeouts, as Sheets has at least one in four straight games, and six total over that span.

Sheets has struck out 37 times over his 50 games and 171 plate appearances this season. He has a .248 average and .327 on-base percentage.

Sheets has 10 doubles and nine home runs among his 38 total hits. He also has posted 23 RBIs, 21 runs scored, three stolen bases and 17 walks.

The outfielder and first baseman is at two loaded fantasy positions, so that doesn't help his cause either. Power numbers and hot stretches of hitting get him into all deeper leagues and some standard ones, but after he cools off, he's a better deep-league fantasy asset.

Look elsewhere for help in standard leagues for now, but keep tabs on him in case he heats up again at some point this season.

Steven Kwan - Cleveland Guardians

Kwan has been trending down pretty much all season. He's at 63% rostered now, and was at 82% a month ago.

Kwan is on the bereavement list, so he will miss a couple games over the next few days. He was trending down before that though, so let's dive into why.

On the season over 54 games and 234 plate appearances, Kwan has a .207 average and .329 OBP. That OBP is near what he posted last year, but the average is 65 points lower, and it's nearly 70 points lower than his career mark.

Kwan has 40 total hits this year, including seven doubles and one home run. He has 12 RBIs, 25 runs scored, two stolen bases, 34 walks and just 25 strikeouts.

There's some decent marks in there, but the lower average is really holding him back. Kwan is part of a loaded fantasy position, so that makes him not worth owning in many standard leagues. Look elsewhere for help in those leagues.

I still like Kwan in deeper leagues. He's someone to keep in mind in case he heats up at some point. Kwan is just not getting it done right now though, so don't be afraid to drop him, especially if there's a good waiver wire option out there to replace him with.

Luke Keaschall - Minnesota Twins

Keaschall is owned in 59% of leagues at the moment. He also was at 82% a month ago.

Keaschall is riding a four-game hitting streak, but he's underperformed this season overall. In 52 games and across 212 plate appearances, he has a .235 average and .316 OBP. He had a .302 average and .382 OBP over 49 games in his first taste of the big leagues in 2025.

The second baseman has 44 total hits this season, including nine doubles, a triple and a home run. Keaschall has 18 RBIs, 23 runs scored, 10 stolen bases, 19 walks and 32 strikeouts.

Keaschall isn't at a stacked fantasy spot, or he might be owned in even less leagues. He's still worth holding in a few standard leagues, but if his average and OBP don't improve, he can safely be let go in more leagues. He might even be let go in some deeper leagues here soon if his results don't improve.