Fantasy Baseball Drop Candidates: Marsh, Valdez, Gausman and More

Let's get back to fantasy baseball coverage here by going over some drop candidates.

Here is the first drop story we did this week.

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.

Jac Caglianone - Kansas City Royals

Caglianone is rostered in roughly 77% of fantasy baseball leagues right now. That is dropping after he got injured on Tuesday night.

He suffered a shoulder injury that's been tabbed soreness. Caglianone is expecting not to miss much time, if any at all.

Caglianone has no hits over his past two games, but had a 10-game hitting streak before that. In 95 games and over 367 plate appearances this season, Caglianone has a .258 average and .316 on-base percentage, along with 37 RBIs, 46 runs scored, 25 walks, 105 strikeouts and three stolen bases. Among his 87 total hits, he has 17 doubles, 16 homers and two triples.

Caglianone has shown some promise in his second big league season, but he's been a bit streaky at the plate. The injury scare has him being dropped, but I'd wait to see his status before letting him go, as he's been very good of late. If he's out for several days, or placed on the IL, then he can be dropped, but otherwise I'd hope he bounces back at the plate over the next couple days.

Framber Valdez - Detroit Tigers

Valdez is at 89% owned after his last start, but he's being let go today after struggling mightily in that outing.

He was tagged for six runs on five hits and two walks on Tuesday, and he was only able to get two outs. The poor start saw his earned run average jump to 4.57 on the season.

Over 20 starts, he's now 5-7. Across 108 1/3 innings, he's allowed 60 runs (55 earned) on 111 hits and 38 walks. Valdez has struck out 88 batters this season.

His first season with Detroit has not gone very well, and after a poor start, he should be let go in some leagues. I'd see if I could trade him away first, but if you can't, and need that roster spot for a streamer or someone else, don't be afraid to drop Valdez, because he hasn't delivered to that level this season.

Brandon Marsh - Philadelphia Phillies

Marsh sits at 82% owned right now. He was up over 90% for much of the last month, and as recently as July 16.

He went hitless on Tuesday with a pair of strikeouts. Marsh has just two hits since the All-Star break, which is the bigger reason he's being dropped today.

Marsh is down to a .290 average and .328 OBP over 97 games and 384 plate appearances. He has 15 doubles, 16 homers and two triples among his 104 total hits, plus 47 RBIs, 53 runs scored, 20 walks, eight stolen bases and 103 strikeouts.

He's been a fantasy surprise for most of the season, but is starting to fade a bit. Marsh is worth holding for a bit longer if you are still lacking fantasy outfielders (and there's no better options on the waiver wire), but too many more struggles will lead to him being dropped. He could regress enough to not be worth standard league roster spots, so be watching him closely if you aren't ready to move off him today.

Kevin Gausman - Toronto Blue Jays

Gausman is down to 96% rostered today, and he's ever so slightly trending down over the past month.

He pitched on Tuesday, allowing five runs (four earned) over 3 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay. Gausman gave up nine hits and two walks, while only striking out one batter.

Gausman's ERA is up to 4.51 after three straight starts with at least three earned runs allowed. He's 4-9 and has 114 strikeouts over 115 2/3 innings pitched on the season.

Gausman is still a solid fantasy asset despite the high ERA, but that stat is making him a drop candidate today. If you need that roster spot, don't be afraid to move on from Gausman - I'd try to trade him away first.

Will Smith - Los Angeles Dodgers

Smith is sitting at 78% rostered right now, and that's likely to keep going down after he was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

He has a neck injury that's kept him out since June 5. Smith was shut down from baseball activities recently after his neck was bothering him. That's not promising, and he's now out through August 7 at least.

In 52 games and across 201 plate appearances this season, Smith has a .276 average and .364 OBP. The injury took away a pretty solid season from him and has turned him into a bust. Smith has 43 total hits, including six homers and five doubles, plus has 23 RBIs, runs scored and walks and 34 strikeouts.

The catcher is droppable, especially if you are out of IR spots to stash him in. If he can return on August 7, that only puts him out a couple more weeks, which isn't too bad. The fact that he's being shut down means he could be out a lot longer than that, so that's something to keep tabs on. The longer he's out, the more droppable he becomes, and that goes for all league types.