2023 Fantasy Baseball Week 21 Droppables: Anthony Santander, Will Smith, and More!
Welcome to the Week 21 edition of The Waiver Droppables.
As always, this is a spot where we look at some of the most widely-dropped players across fantasy leagues and decide whether you should (or shouldn’t) cut bait with them – due to either underperformance, injury, or otherwise.
I already covered players to add in this week’s waiver column so I won’t spend the time doing so here. But in order to pick up someone, you have to drop someone. And that isn’t a decision you should take lightly. We’ve all made drops we’ve come to regret, so let’s take a look at some of the most dropped players this week and dig in to see if they’re actually drop-worthy.
As always, check out the fantasy assistant for personalized waiver wire recommendations and team analysis. Make moves based on projections, strengths and weaknesses, waiver alerts, and lots more.
The Fantasy Baseball Waiver Droppables
Anthony Santander, 1B/OF, Baltimore Orioles
Santander hasn't quite had the season he had last year when he hit 33 home runs, but he's still had a solid season (.248, 60 runs, 21 home runs, 65 RBI, and three steals). That said, he hasn't been very good lately and can be dropped if you're looking to add a short-term boost in the form of a player who is on fire (someone like Kerry Carpenter comes to mind). Over the past two weeks, Santander is hitting just .147 with one home run and he hasn't been much better if you expand that time frame to a month (.174 with four home runs). While Santander has been a valuable fantasy asset this year, he's not a must-keep player right now.
Will Smith, P, Texas Rangers
Having a good closer is a valuable thing for any fantasy team as there are only 30 of them. However, having a closer who has given up at least one run in four of their last five appearances is the opposite of valuable. Enter, Will Smith. Smith has been downright awful lately and has allowed five total runs in his last two appearances. He's also blown his last two save opportunities and is the proud owner of an 11.05 ERA during the month of August. He's more or less in the process of losing his job to Aroldis Chapman and can be dropped if you need the roster spot.
Matt Chapman, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays
Chapman has had a solid year in hitting .248 with 60 runs, 15 home runs, 49 RBI, and three steals (wait -- are he and Anthony Santander the same person?!), but he's fallen off as of late. The 30-year-old hasn't hit a home run since August 4 (his only this month) and he's hittting just .121 over the past two weeks. While you might have warm, fuzzy memories of Chapman's fantastic month of April, he's really just a replacement-level fantasy third baseman right now and can safely be dropped to the waiver wire.
Giancarlo Stanton, OF, New York Yankees
If you forget about his name-brand and history, Giancarlo Stanton doesn't look like much of a viable fantasy option. At all. At 33 years old, Stanton has fallen off badly this season -- partly due to injury and partly due to age. He's hitting just .199 on the year with 33 runs, 15 home runs, and 45 RBI. He's hitting .200 during the month of August and hit below .200 in both June and July. That's not good. He's hit 11 home runs in July and August (that's good!), but he isn't providing enough value outside of the home runs category to be worth rostering outside of the deepest fantasy leagues.
Hunter Brown, P, Houston Astros
Unless you're in a dynasty league, there's really no reason to have Hunter Brown on your fantasy roster. He has all the talent in the world (and has shown flashes of it at times this year), but he's in a funk right now and is very close to losing his spot in the Astros' rotation. That's just not going to help your fantasy team over the next six weeks. The 24-year-old had a 5.92 ERA in July and is carrying a 7.02 ERA through the first three weeks of August. Talent aside, there's just no reason to roster Brown right now.
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