Fantasy Baseball Week 9 Drops: Max Kepler, Zack Gelof, Masataka Yoshida and Willson Contreras

We already looked at the most-added fantasy baseball players in the ninth week of the regular season, so now it’s time to go over some drop candidates.

For whatever reason, there’s not a ton of great hitter options this week. There’s still four that caught my eye, so let’s talk about them.

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Max Kepler Fantasy Outlook

Kepler has a fantastic average, so I’m starting this section confused as to why fantasy owners are dropping him. Let’s try to figure this out.

In 29 games so far this season, Kepler has a .303 average and .352 on-base percentage. He’s collected 14 extra-base hits (including three home runs), drove in 17 runs and scored 13 runs. Kepler has 30 total hits, one stolen base, eight walks and 18 strikeouts.

Kepler has cooled a bit over the past five games, but still has three hits over 17 plate appearances. He’s only struck out three times, while doubling twice.

Kepler is a career .238 hitter, with a career .320 OBP, so fantasy owners might be thinking he’s trending toward those kinds of numbers again. I think fantasy owners cut ties with players too early a lot of times, and this is one of those times. 

It’s rare to find .300 hitters in the game today, and while he hasn’t played a full season or played great of late, I still see Kepler as a pretty valuable fantasy player. At least stash him on your bench for a little while longer - he’s a pretty solid backup outfield option. If he continues to struggle for another week or so, then that’s when I’d cut ties with him.

Zack Gelof Fantasy Outlook

Gelof is kind of the opposite of Kepler with his season numbers.

In 30 games, Gelof is hitting just .188, with a .254 on-base percentage. He’s got seven extra-base hits (three home runs) among his 21 total hits. Gelof has driven in eight runs, scored 12 times, stole four bases and has nine walks and 43 strikeouts. 

Gelof has a hit in three of the past four games. He’s got one RBI, walk and run scored in that span, but has struck out six times.

Gelof played 69 games in the MLB in 2023, finishing with a .267 average and .337 OBP. He was touted as a bit of a fantasy sleeper and was drafted around pick 170. Gelof simply hasn’t delivered, and fantasy owners are moving on now.

I’m honestly pretty surprised that Gelof is owned in about 44% of fantasy leagues, but a lot of that could be boosted by dynasty leagues. In redraft leagues, there’s better fantasy options out there, and I wouldn’t wait any longer to acquire one of them.

Masataka Yoshida Fantasy Outlook

The last two guys mentioned here are dealing with injuries. Yoshida is dealing with a thumb injury. He’s set to be re-evaluated in a couple weeks, so he’s not likely going to be playing games anytime soon.

It’s unfortunate, because when on the field, Yoshida is a good fantasy option. In 24 games this season, Yoshida was hitting .275 with a .348 OBP. He had five extra-base hits (two homers) among his 22 total hits. Yoshida also has 11 RBIs, 12 runs scored, six walks and 11 strikeouts this season.

Regarding whether or not you should drop Yoshida, it really comes down to how your fantasy team is performing. If you have good depth and can continue to stash Yoshida until he (hopefully) returns, then I’d suggest doing just that. If your fantasy team is struggling and needs production, then it’s probably time to move on from him. You could try to flip him in a trade, but you likely aren’t going to get anything that you wouldn’t be able to find on the waiver wire.

Willson Contreras Fantasy Outlook

Contreras broke his arm on a J.D. Martinez swing a couple weeks ago. At the time of the injury, his timetable to return was six to eight weeks. It’s been about two weeks since, so we’re still at least a month out from his return.

Contreras was off to a hot start at the plate, hitting .280 with a .398 OBP. He had 17 extra-base hits (six homers), 12 RBIs, 20 runs scored, two stolen bases, 18 walks and 35 strikeouts at the time of the injury.

At a weak catcher position, losing a player like Contreras definitely hurts. Much like in the case with Yoshida, if a fantasy team is stacked, you could get by with stashing Contreras until he returns. However, most fantasy teams don’t have two good fantasy catchers, so dropping Contreras might be needed to tread water for the foreseeable future.

If you need to drop Contreras, I’d keep a close eye on his progress and pick him back up a week or so before he’s set to return. All fantasy owners will be aware of the situation too, so make sure you beat everyone else to the move.