Rougned Odor has been a bust for fantasy owners
This week’s questions involve toughness. I wanted to write about Diamondbacks catcher Tuffy Goeswisch, but he’s not fantasy relevant in even the deepest of leagues. So here’s the next best thing.
Who has been the toughest player to roster this season?
For me, far and away it has been Rougned Odor. During draft season, he was talked up as an inexpensive middle infielder with decent home run and steal potential who plays in a favorable hitter’s park. Odor hasn’t lived up to his hype yet, hitting .148/.266/.247 with one home run and one steal. He’s certainly brought down my team’s batting average on a weekly basis, and he’s forced me to move on to other options while he rides the bench while I hope for a breakout. His potential for power and steals has kept him on my roster, and I’ve passed up players like Devon Travis to keep him around. I’m certainly hoping that the breakout is coming, but he hasn’t shown many signs of improvement.
Opinions on Odor are polarizing. Here is one favorable, and one not so favorable article about Odor. If you’re an owner, hopefully one of these articles can help you decide whether to keep or ditch Odor.
Rougned Odor’s Slow Start Should Not Bother You
Rougned Odor’s Slow Start Should Not Surprise You
What is the toughest division for pitchers?
If you’re looking to stream a pitcher, or need to keep your team WHIP and ERA from rising, stay away from the AL East. The division is a juggernaut for pitchers. The only team in the division to NOT score more than 120 runs so far this season is the Rays, with 91 runs scored. The Blue Jays, Red Sox and Orioles are currently in the bottom 10 for MLB team ERA. Only one of the ballparks can be considered a “pitcher’s park,” Tropicana Field in Tampa. All of this has me staying away from the AL East in many head-to-head and daily fantasy formats.
Every fantasy scenario will be different for every owner, and there are certain times where there’s no reason to be afraid of your pitcher starting in Baltimore, Boston or Toronto. I do believe there will be times throughout the season when it will be smart to sit your pitcher on a night in the Bronx when the wind is blowing out to right field, especially in daily formats. Sure you could miss out on a win or some valuable K’s, but the risk to ERA and WHIP could be a factor, especially in head-to-head games. I think starting pitchers against AL East teams in hitter’s parks should be done with caution at this point in the season.
Using this logic, you would have probably missed out on an eight-inning gem from Blue Jays pitcher Drew Hutchison on April 23rd. Although I’m sure it would have given you confidence to start him his next two times out, where he was shelled for 12 runs over 8.1 innings.
What is the toughest division for hitters?
On the other side of the coin, NL Central hitters are having a rough start to the season. The Brewers are dragging down the division’s total run differential with a -41 mark, having scored only 82 runs so far with a team ISO of .124. Four of the five NL Central teams have struck out at a top-10 rate, and aside from the Reds, four teams have an .ISO in the bottom half of the league. Right now, look to the NL Central when you’re trying to find a pitcher for streaming purposes.
The Reds are still scary at home. Wrigley Field can turn into a little league field when the wind is blowing out, and even the Brewers can hit the ball out at Miller Park. There will be times when streaming a pitcher against an NL Central team will blow up on you, but that’s the risk of streaming. When I’m looking for a spot starter to help my fantasy team for the week, the first place I look is the NL Central.
What has been the toughest position to roster so far in 2015?
Easily the toughest position this year has been shortstop. When sorting by wOBA, 9 of the top-10 players were virtually undrafted in mixed leagues to begin the season. The position’s top option at drafts, Troy Tulowitzki, is ninth in wOBA at .350. Hanley Ramirez has far and away been the best fantasy shortstop this season, and he isn’t even playing the position! He may not have eligibility in your league, but if he does and you have him, congratulations.
Players like Brandon Crawford, Jose Iglesias, Freddy Galvis and Mike Aviles have slowly crept up in ownership percentage after being ignored early in the season. They may not be top-10 players at the position at the end of the season, but right now they’re producing like it. If you can find room, pick up one of these players to help your team while the shortstop you drafted finds some consistent success.
Can the Brewers firing their manager help the team for fantasy purposes?
The Brewers fired their manager, Ron Roenicke, on Monday morning and replaced him with former Brewer and Milwaukee-area resident Craig Counsell. Counsell will be asked to light a fire under the Brewers with the hopes that their offense can rebound after a rough start. There have been reports that Brewers’ players were too relaxed under Roenicke, and that the team needed to be held more accountable for their failures. Who knows if the Brewers will be able to turn it around? If they do, they’ll be a much less intriguing option for streaming, but the increased production from their offense will certainly satisfy their fantasy owners. I think the team is worth monitoring, and if they see some success there could be buying opportunities.
JP Gale is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from JP, check out his archive and follow him @gojpg.
