I will admit I’m a bit of an ageist when it comes to my fantasy baseball teams. I’ll gravitate towards the Christian Yelichs and steer clear of the Michael Cuddyers. So when Josh Willingham (+67%) came off of the disabled list, balloons didn’t fall from my living room ceiling. Fact is, though, he’s a solid player and should be a good option moving forward for fantasy owners in need of an outfielder. He was the most added player this week, over the likes of Oscar Taveras and even Gregory Polanco. In 20 games played, the 35-year-old corner outfielder has already racked up four home runs and 15 runs batted in. Steamer projects another 15 home runs and 48 runs batted in. He won’t continue to hit .300 obviously, and his career slash of .256/.361/.472 is about what I’d expect when it’s all said and done this year. Add him if you need a little pop and RBI help in your outfield for sure, but be ready in case his 35-year-old body needs another DL stint. Here are two more add/drop notes for this week in 2014 fantasy baseball…
Austin Jackson – 66% owned (-21%)
It looks a little bleak now, but I still think Jackson gets to double digit homers and 20 steals by the end of this season. He’s been a little unlucky with a .293 BABIP (it’s never dipped lower than .333 previously). He’s also running more than last year with seven stolen bases compared to eight all of last season. Now’s not the time to drop him as he’s starting to warm with a little four-game hit streak and a steal in two attempts over the weekend against the Red Sox. He’s hit lefties much better than righties this season, which is the reverse of his career numbers, and the 27-year-old center fielder is hitting .318 in June. I’m not going crazy over him, and if you have better options please start them. However, he’s not a straight drop for a hot schmotato and it might be wise to inquire with a Jackson owner before the buy-low window closes. TREASURE.
Alfonso Soriano – 53% (-18%)
I’ve already let you know that I’m an ageist, so you can probably guess where I’m going with the 38-year-old currently on the wrong side of a platoon in the Yankees’ outfield. I’m actually not sure how he’s still owned in 50% of leagues. Maybe it’s the promise of the 30+ home run, 100+ RBI seasons like the past two years. I’m not buying. Could he still get to 20 homers on the season? Sure, anything can happen. But at this point it’s not looking good due to a strikeout percentage close to 30%, decreasing playing time, and the fact that he hasn’t even had the mandatory DL stint for players north of 35 years old yet. His ISO and SLG are the lowest of his career and with the current Yankees going the way they are, I’d be surprised if he got to 70 runs batted in this season. I’d like to take this opportunity to point out it’s very hard for me to be negative. It’s not my style. But…TRASH.
