Fantasy baseball is all about the long game. Players you drafted early who struggle are not suddenly untalented bums who should be dropped to the waiver wire at a moment’s notice.
There is a method to the madness of this game and baseball as a whole. Slumps happen, and when a talented player gets out of one, they typically do so in a glorious manner.
We have to be patient unless something substantive, like injury or age concerns, becomes evident. Without either of the two, we are merely two months into a grueling, 162-game season, which can only be conquered through a diligent process.
Fantasy Baseball 10 Burning Questions
This week’s ’10 Burning Questions’ are below. For any questions or concerns, contact me on Twitter/X (@RotoSurgeon).
Jacob Misiorowski has special stuff. His fastball and cutter are incredible pitches with high velocity and movement. His first career MLB start could not have gone better with zero runs or hits allowed and five strikeouts through five innings. Unfortunately, he did suffer a minor leg injury and had his no-hitter cut short. Also, on top of the five strikeouts, he gave up four walks.
Misiorowski has a real walk problem, and this will be the determinant of how good he can be in the Majors. The 23-year-old fireballer walked double-digit batters in every level of the Minors but made up for it by striking out at least 30% of batters after High-A. He is still so young that he can develop better command, but for now, it does not appear that his walks issue is disappearing.
The Brewers prospect is worth picking up in all formats, given the inherent upside, yet can be dropped in a few weeks if the strikeouts are not enough to overcompensate for the walks. With the Brewers trading Aaron Civale immediately after Misiorowski’s debut, he is safely in the rotation for a while.
Bailey Ober’s average fastball velocity is down a full mile per hour (MPH) relative to recent seasons, and his pitching has suffered. Ober’s ERA is above 4.00 for the first time since his rookie campaign and is sitting at a career-worst 4.40. His peripheral stats all indicate this is not an unlucky number, with his xFIP (4.82) and SIERA (4.65) both slightly higher.
Ober’s K-BB rate (11.1%) is nearly halved from last season’s 20.9% number, which is unacceptable. His next start comes in Cincinnati, which is notorious for home runs. Even against a poor Reds offense, Ober should be benched or even dropped in shallower formats.
The former top prospect has been firing on all cylinders this past week. Carter has three home runs, seven RBI and seven runs since June 8th with just one strikeout to three walks in this span. While this production is incredible, it is a very small sample and mostly came against the Twins, who are right-handed-heavy at starting pitchers.
In addition to the production, Carter’s Statcast data is favorable while his strikeout rate on the season is a career-best 15.4% without any loss to his solid walk rate, which has hovered just below 10% since 2024. Carter should be added in every format and held for at least a month, given his pedigree and upside.
Of course, if his recent rib issue is serious, this is all moot.
4.) Who should we buy low?
Corey Seager is a massive buy-low candidate in fantasy baseball. With the aforementioned Evan Carter heating up along with Marcus Semien and Jake Burger, this Rangers’ offense is bursting at the seams and ready to explode. Seager is the key piece of this offense, but has been ice-cold since his return from a second hamstring injury.
Nevertheless, Seager’s peripheral data on Statcast is very favorable, as his xAVG and xSLG are both much higher than his actual average and slugging rate. Recent weeks are not a true indicator of Seager as a hitter. In due time, his bat will wake up (as long as he stays healthy).
5.) Who should we sell high?
Move Seth Lugo ASAP. His 3.18 ERA is great, but do you know what is not great? His 4.18 xFIP and 5.36 xERA. Lugo’s strikeout rate has dropped each year since 2018, while his walk rate is at its highest percentage since 2021. His luck to this point is running high and will run out sooner rather than later.
6.) Who can we drop?
It is time to let Jorge Soler go. The Angels’ offseason investment in him is not paying off, and neither is anyone’s draft day selection. His strikeout rate has jumped back near 30% while he is not making quality contact regularly. Soler’s expected stats are the worst of his career, indicating that his poor performance overall is not unlucky whatsoever.
Soler’s season does not appear to be trending toward a bounce-back despite his past ability to break out in the second half (after a trade to the Braves).
7.) Who should we stash?
Logan Henderson is ready to get called up again at any moment. He is far too good for the Minors, and the Brewers may be embracing the youth movement in their rotation after the Aaron Civale trade and Jacob Misiorowski’s ascension. An injury to anyone in the rotation would open up a spot for Henderson, but there is the possibility that Jose Quintana loses his slot based on performance.
Quintana has a 3.35 ERA backed by a 4.61 FIP and 4.58 xFIP. His run of clean starts is admirable, but Saturday’s outing, where he allowed five earned runs, is closer to his true 2025 self. Meanwhile, Henderson was dominant during his MLB starts and has an equally impressive 1.87 ERA through nine games in Triple-A this season.
Ferando Tatis’ power is present but hidden. He has 13 home runs this season, yet just one since May 20th. Luckily, Tatis’ past 50 plate appearances chart of rolling expected wOBA is trending up, and his overall profile is not much different than recent seasons. His average exit velocity is in the top fifth percentile of the league, while his hard-hit rate is in the top 10th percentile.
If Tatis can adjust his launch angle slightly, his high-end home run rate should revert to the norm. Be patient with the star outfielder or try trading for him if possible.
Oddly, Bubba Chandler feels further from hitting the Majors now than a month ago. Chandler’s recent starts in the Minors have been cut short. He has only pitched 2.2 innings across his past two outings, with one strikeout to five walks. There are no reports of an injury, but he did have multiple mound visits in the most recent start. If you’re still holding, go ahead and drop him.
10.) Who is the Cubs’ closer?
It is still Daniel Palencia, but Ryan Pressly is lurking. The Cubs seem to trust Palencia enough not to rotate him with Pressly, which makes that role much more valuable. Palencia’s converted six saves since May 21st, while Pressly has just one in that span.
Pressly’s season has been a mixed bag after starting as the Cubs’ closer, but he is back to form of late with 14 straight innings without allowing an earned run. Nevertheless, Palencia’s been much better all season and is capable of generating more strikeouts.
If Palencia were to struggle and Pressly took over, Pressly would then be the must-roster player.
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