Fantasy Baseball Week 7 Drops: Jorge Soler, Gabriel Moreno, Colton Cowser and MJ Melendez
Discussing four of the most-dropped fantasy hitters in the seventh week of the MLB season.
After looking at some of the most-added waiver wire options in the seventh week of the fantasy baseball season, it’s time to talk about some potential drop candidates.
We’re sticking to batters only in this article, choosing a couple of the most-dropped players from the FantasySP site, and then one from ESPN and CBS. I'll discuss why fantasy owners might be dropping the players and then offer my advice on how I'd proceed as a fantasy owner.
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Jorge Soler Fantasy Outlook
Soler is dealing with a shoulder injury right now, which explains a bit of why he’s being dropped. But, this doesn’t look like an injury that will have him land on the injured list, so there’s more to dropping Soler than the injury.
Across 34 games this season, Soler is hitting just .202. He’s getting on base at a .294 clip. Across his 24 total hits, Soler has five home runs and four doubles. Soler has driven in eight runs, scored 14 times, walked 14 times and struck out on 33 occasions.
Soler has never been one to really excel in the average department, with a career .241 mark, but to barely be above .200 is also not very common for his career. He has a career .328 OBP, so he could use a boost in that department as well.
Being that we’re just over a month into the season, there’s time for Soler to get things turned around. Unlike a lot of the big-name free agents this past offseason though, Soler signed early enough that this really can’t be chalked up to getting a late start. He's simply just not producing at the plate right now.
In his last three seasons in which he played at least 137 games, Soler hit between 27-48 home runs. He’s on pace to fall short of that number, and that’s if he can remain pretty healthy all season.
I fully expect Soler to get hot at some point this season, but between the slow start and injury now, I get why fantasy owners are ready to move on. He’s owned in about 74% of leagues right now and was drafted around pick 150.
Giving up on Soler now seems a bit premature to me, but he also wasn’t a premium pick, so it’s not that big of a blow. If there’s a player you really covet on the waiver wire that has a solid track record of production over his MLB career, then I could justify dropping Soler. Otherwise, I’d just stash him on the end of my bench and hope he gets things going here soon.
If Soler gets dropped in your league, he’d be one I’d love to stash on the end of my bench, especially if the rest of your fantasy team is in pretty good shape and you don’t immediately need fantasy production from one roster spot.
Gabriel Moreno Fantasy Outlook
Coming into the season, Moreno was viewed as one of the top-hitting catchers in the game, but he’s really struggled this season so far.
Across 29 games, Moreno is hitting .241, with a .340 OBP. He’s got five doubles, one triple and no homers among his 21 total hits. Moreno has driven in 14 runs, scored nine times and walked and struck out 12 times each.
Moreno is a career .282 hitter, with a .342 OBP, so while the average is lacking, he’s still getting on base near his career mark. He’s never been a huge power guy, but he also isn’t a great fantasy option if his average is as low as it is now.
Like most hitters who have gotten off to slow starts at the plate, I expect Moreno to bump his average up a good bit by the time the season comes to an end.
Moreno was drafted right around where Soler went, so again, dropping him isn’t going to really hurt your fantasy team, but I’d want to hold on to Moreno a touch more than Soler because of the positions they are eligible at. It’s hard to find consistent fantasy catchers out there, and while Moreno doesn’t provide much power, his career average would have him as the sixth-best hitting catcher this season.
I’d hold out hope that Moreno gets things turned around, and try to find another player to drop if you are interested in someone on the waiver wire.
Colton Cowser Fantasy Outlook
Cowser was one of the league’s best hitters for a stretch this season, but he’s fallen off a bit of late. That’s how one goes from top waiver wire priority to a drop candidate.
Cowser is still hitting .276 for the season, but has just a .143 average over his past 15 contests. I think a lot of fantasy baseball owners give up too quickly on hitters. The MLB season is a long one, and all hitters go through hot/cold stretches.
It’s easier to drop Cowser because he was a waiver wire pickup, but I’d immediately try to add Cowser if a fantasy owner in my league decided to drop him. He should be eligible (or will be soon) at all three outfield positions, and at the very least, is a solid top OF backup. You can stash him until he gets going at the plate again, and then put him in your starting lineup for weeks at a time when he’s going well.
So Cowser is another drop candidate who I’d try to avoid moving on from. Either find someone else to drop, or try to flip Cowser in a trade, because there’s fantasy owners out there who would love to add him right now.
MJ Melendez Fantasy Outlook
Melendez had an ADP around pick 245, so he’s another player who would be easy to move on from.
He’s never been known for having a high average, but his .183 mark in 2024 is definitely hard to have sitting on a fantasy team. He’s getting on base at a .248 clip, far below his career .308 mark. While he’s just a career .222 hitter and has provided a little power this season, I get why dropping Melendez is a popular choice in some fantasy leagues.
Melendez has six doubles and four homers among his 19 total hits this season. He’s also got 12 RBIs and just nine runs scored. Another thing that fantasy owners are probably worried about with Melendez is his high strikeout marks, although this season he has 28 strikeouts to nine walks after striking out 170 times in 148 games last season.
Melendez mostly plays in the outfield, but could have first base and catcher (and designated hitter) eligibility in some leagues, so that makes it just a bit tougher to drop Melendez. I don’t expect him to hit this poorly all season, but I’m also not sure waiting around on him is the best move either.
I’d advise the fantasy owners who are going to drop Melendez to keep a close eye on the 25-year-old’s numbers as the season rolls along. If he can hit around .225 and deliver some power numbers, Melendez is a solid backup option at several positions for fantasy purposes.
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