Finishing Strong in Baseball

So by now it’s you against 2-3 other managers for the league championship.  Well done.  OK, now what?  Which players do you ride to a championship?  Which players do you discard?

Well, my young apprentice.  Here are the answers.

• Mookie Betts: REAL. Go get him especially if he has SS eligibility in your league.
• Alex Rios: FAKE. Just a bad year for him. Drop.
• Desmond Jennings: FAKE. You can’t count potential.
• Carlos Beltran: FAKE. Hard to hit with one good knee.
• Aaron Sanchez: REAL. He’ll get you 3 saves this month with great peripherals.
• Devin Mesoraco: REAL. He’s over his slump. Get him in your lineup.
• Adam Dunn: REAL. Yes, I’m serious. Fresh start for him in a playoff race.
• Luis Valbuena: REAL. Take advantage of the middle infielder power.
• Kennys Vargas: REAL. Take him only if you like power (and a lot of it).
• Jay Bruce: FAKE. Why did I draft this guy so early?
• Chris Tillman: REAL. Last couple starts were average but the stuff is there.
• Steve Pearce: REAL. He's back from a minor injury. Get him in your lineup.
• Josh Hamilton: FAKE. Good guy. But will not help you.
• Brock Holt: REAL. Position eligibility allows you to fill lineup every day.
• Jason Hammel: REAL. Seems to have righted the ship.
• Miguel González: REAL. He’s not really this good but you don’t care.
• Kole Calhoun: REAL. Love this guy.  He cooled off but coming back.
• J.J. Hardy: REAL. Streaky player. Ride him to your championship.
• Eric O'Flaherty: REAL. Eventually he’ll get a couple save chances.
• Mike Trout: FAKE. OK, I did that one just for fun.
• Corey Dickerson: REAL. Breakout year.
• Eric Hosmer: FAKE. Not his year. Time to move on.
• Will Myers: See Hosmer, Eric.
• Mark Trumbo: FAKE. He left his bat in a hotel somewhere.
• Billy Butler: FAKE. He and Eric Hosmer having the same year.
• Brandon Phillips: FAKE. Why is this guy rostered on so many teams?
• Justin Verlander: FAKE. Should not be rostered in any format.
• Gio Gonzalez: FAKE. Not as good without the Miami connection.
• Mat Latos: FAKE. Drop him this year. Draft him next year.

Big name guys who are bad right now but may still help you.

·  Hanley Ramirez

·  David Wright (Why is he drafted so high every year?)

·  Jason Kipnis

·  Dustin Pedroia

·  Adam Wainwright

·  Kenley Jansen

·  Glen Perkins

·  Sonny Gray

The purpose of this exercise is to get you thinking about who can help you NOW.  Reputations, pre-season rankings – none of it matters anymore.  Drop the under-performing ‘name’ players and pick up productive ‘no name’ players.  Your team will be glad you did.

This post also available at rotoprofessor.com.