Fantasy Baseball Week 14 Drops: Nick Gonzales, TJ Friedl, Starling Marte and More
Discussing some of the most-dropped fantasy players in the 14th week of the MLB season.
After taking a look at the top waiver wire options as the 14th week of the fantasy baseball season begins, it’s time to look at the most-dropped players.
We’ll focus on hitters only here, as most of the dropped pitchers are streaming options. These hitters are taken from the Waiver Trends section, which can be found on any baseball page at FantasySP.
Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including waiver pickups, projections, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant. Now, with revolutionary AI Expert help. Use our fantasy baseball trade analyzer and trade value charts to break down trade scenarios.
Nick Gonzales Fantasy Outlook
Gonzales was a hot waiver wire in late May/early June, but has seen his own percentage trend downward over the past week. He’s currently sitting at 39%.
In 39 games, Gonzales owns a .269 average and .301 on-base percentage. He hit .209 and got on base at a .268 clip last season, so while he’s shown improvement, he’s not going to hit over .300 and have a .350-plus OBP like he had in the first few weeks of June.
Gonzales also has 26 RBIs, 18 runs scored, seven doubles, five home runs, a triple, two stolen bases, six walks and 39 strikeouts for the season.
Over his past seven games (six starts), Gonzales has just one hit, one RBI and a run scored. He’s walked once and struck out eight times over that span.
Gonzales’ run as a possible fantasy option in standard leagues has come to a close for the time being, but he’s still playing enough to be rostered in deeper leagues and dynasties. I’d bench him in those leagues until he heats back up at the plate, but wouldn’t outright drop him yet. If he continues to struggle for several more weeks, then dropping him would make sense.
TJ Friedl Fantasy Outlook
Friedl had some decent fantasy expectations coming into the season, but is now on the injured list for the third time. He did some nice things during his time on the field, but if he can’t stay healthy, there’s really no point in rostering him. He’s currently owned in 53% of leagues.
Friedl has just 26 games played this season. He’s got a .208 average and .309 OBP, along with 16 RBIs, 14 runs scored, six stolen bases, eight walks and 19 strikeouts. Friedl has two doubles and four home runs among his 20 total hits.
Friedl hit .279 and got on base at a .352 clip across 138 games a season ago, which helped him be drafted around pick 165 this spring. For the fantasy owners who drafted Friedl and stuck with him through the first couple injuries, this third IL stint is probably the one that will lead to many fantasy owners dropping Friedl, simply out of frustration.
Friedl is expected to be out a couple weeks, so fantasy owners could wait again on him, but if you need that roster spot to stay competitive, I wouldn’t hesitate in dropping Friedl. You could try to trade Friedl, but you likely won’t get a really good asset in return.
If Friedl gets dropped in your league, he’ll likely be a hot waiver wire option when he’s healthy again, so keep a close eye on Friedl’s return. He still should be rostered in most standard leagues when he’s healthy.
I would do my best to hold Friedl in deeper leagues. He’s still a good starting option for those setups.
Connor Joe Fantasy Outlook
Joe has seen his own percentage steadily drop since June began. He’s down to 39% owned as of the publication of this article.
In 68 games this season, Joe has a .239 average and .318 OBP. He’s a career .246 hitter, with a .318 OBP, so there likely isn’t much progression coming either.
Joe also has 28 RBIs, 36 runs scored, two stolen bases, 23 walks and 54 strikeouts on the season. He’s posted 14 doubles, seven home runs and a triple among his 57 total hits.
Joe plays first base and the corner outfield spots, so even though he’s struggling at the plate, he’s getting in the lineup a bunch. That makes Joe another player to drop in standard leagues, but one to still hold in deeper leagues. You can bench Joe until he heats up a touch at the plate, or drop him if he continues to struggle the next couple weeks.
A desperate fantasy team might also like Joe’s position versatility in a deeper league, and might mean you can swap him for another struggling hitter who maybe fills an area of need for you.
Starling Marte Fantasy Outlook
Marte is easily the biggest name in this drop story. He’s owned in 64% of leagues right now, but headed to the injured list, so his percentage will likely continue to drop over the next several days.
The injury is expected to take about 15 days, and then things will be reassessed after that.
In 66 games this season, Marte has a .278 average and .329 OBP. He’s got nine doubles, seven home runs and two triples among his 68 total hits. Marte also has 30 RBIs, 38 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, 17 walks and 56 strikeouts for the season.
Marte isn’t the player he once was, but as those numbers show, Marte is still a pretty solid all-around fantasy player.
He’s another player who is a better deep league option, but Marte is also a solid standard league backup option in the outfield. He’s playing often and filling up the stat sheet enough to start when he’s going well at the plate.
I’d say he should be dropped in standard leagues, but then added here and there when he’s healthy again. I wouldn’t drop him in a deeper league - he’s just too valuable for that. If you want to move on from Marte, try to trade him instead. Make sure you’re getting back a player who plays often and offers some fantasy upside.
Marte is ranked 170th on the FantasySP Fantasy Baseball Trade Value chart, and there’s plenty of players ranked around him who would make good trade targets in deeper leagues.
Orelvis Martinez Fantasy Outlook
Martinez was recently called up by the Blue Jays, but after appearing in just one game, was suspended 80 games for clomiphene.
In his one MLB game this season, Martinez had a single among three plate appearances. He struck out once.
Martinez is the No. 68 overall prospect in baseball, so his suspension is a blow to a struggling Blue Jays’ team. It’s also a bummer for Martinez, because if Toronto decided to be a seller at the trade deadline, Martinez likely would have held an everyday starting job for the rest of the season.
Martinez shouldn’t be rostered in any redraft leagues right now. Sure, there’s a chance he comes back in late September, but he’s not worth holding for that long.
Being only 22 years old, Martinez still has a bright future ahead of him, and is a top-100 prospect for a reason, so you need to hold on to him in dynasty leagues. I know it’s not great if your dynasty team is in contention for a title, but you can’t just drop Martinez.
I think the best thing to do with Martinez in a situation like that would be to include him in a trade and go after a good fantasy asset who can help you out this season.
#drops #2024-fantasy-baseball
