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Well, Johnny Cueto had the rookie implosion that we all should have expected. Six innings, five earned, and a lot of miserable fantasy owners. Let’s hope you didn’t start him or Francisco Liriano in his debut start. Anyway, let’s get to the good stuff.
Q: I picked up Nate McLouth when Jeremy Hermida was on the DL. Now Hermida’s back and I want to keep McLouth. Who should I drop from my team below?
C Brian McCann
1B Carlos Pena
2B Chase Utley
3B Kevin Youkilis
SS Michael Young
OF Manny Ramirez
OF Hideki Matsui
OF Jeff Francoeur
OF Jeremy Hermida
SS Stephen Drew
1B Carlos Delgado
C Ramon Hernandez
OF Barry Bonds
3B Eric Chavez
SP Brandon Webb
SP Erik Bedard
SP Matt Cain
SP Greg Maddux
SP Mark Buerhle
RP Billy Wagner
RP Huston Street
RP Todd Jones
--Laura, Sacramento, CA
I don’t think I would drop any of your current starters in favor of McLouth. After all, Ramirez, Matsui, and Francoeur all bring more to the fantasy table. The question comes down to whether or not you want to keep Hermida over McLouth or anyone on your bench. I think your best bet would be to drop either Barry Bonds or Eric Chavez, if you really want to keep McLouth.
If Bonds were to come back at midseason, and even that’s doubtful, he’d only be good for 15 homers and 40 RBIs. McLouth will give you that, plus he’ll throw in 15 steals for good measure. Chavez is too injury prone for my tastes, and you’ve got a solid third baseman already, though you may want an upgrade in power there.
Now, should you drop Hermida for McLouth? I don’t think so. Hermida should hit 10 more homers, add about 20 points in batting average, and only steal about 5 less bases. He’s more valuable, especially hitting in a lineup with Hanley Ramirez, Mike Jacobs, and Dan Uggla. That Marlin offense has been scoring runs.
My advice would be to drop either Bonds or Chavez.
Q: What’s the deal with David Ortiz? I drafted him early and he’s killing my fantasy stats!
--Ben, Boston, MA
Well, Ben, this may or may not be time to panic. Ortiz sat out last night’s game against the Yankees, because manager Terry Francona wanted to give him a night off. I don’t know if the big man is pressing or if his knee is bothering him. Heck, it could be both.
After watching Ortiz hit, I can see that his back knee isn’t bent as it normally is. That means he’s having some issues transferring weight from one leg to the other during his swing. That likely means his knees, which he underwent offseason surgery on, are bothering him.
So, what do we do (I also own Ortiz in a keeper league)? We can’t trade him right now, since we’d get no value. I’d say stash him on your bench and just try to find the hot hand in terms of free agents. That’s what I’m doing. Ortiz is a talented hitter with a ton of power and a great batting eye. He’ll turn things around. Otherwise, my fantasy season is probably sunk.
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