Every season, there comes a point when a fantasy owner reluctantly accepts that they’ve drafted a bust. You swear you’ll never listen to the “experts” and their pre-season rankings ever again. To be fair, it’s impossible to predict the performance of every player; disappointments are just a part of fantasy baseball and can’t be avoided.
With that said, do you feel better? Of course not! When you waste a draft pick, especially an early rounder, it’s not a good feeling. I have assembled this year’s team of underachievers and hopefully you won’t find many of your guys among them.
Keep in mind that if these players fail to rebound in the second half, they will most likely be passed on in next spring’s draft. But just because they have a bad year doesn’t mean they won’t come back with a vengeance next season, and you can possibly steal these guys late in the draft. But until then, these are busted picks:
C – Javier Lopez, Baltimore. He may not be a major disappointment, but owners who expected another 40 HR out of Lopez are feeling a bit let down. He’s still batting around .300 with decent power, especially for a catcher. He’s a good bet to produce solid numbers for the next few years, but will never duplicate his career year of 2003.
1B – Carlos Delgado, Toronto. Injuries have taken away some of Delgado’s at bats, but when he has been in the lineup he’s certainly not the same player who batted .300 with 42 HR and 145 RBI. He’s batting a dismal .227 with only 32 RBI. Toronto is hoping that his health is the sole reason for the poor numbers.
2B – Bret Boone, Seattle. A perennial early round pick, Boone’s status may change after this year’s ugly numbers. After 35 HR and 117 RBI last season, Boone has followed up with a .225 average with only 9 HR and 27 RBI this season.
SS – Edgar Renteria, St. Louis. His numbers could be worse but they don’t reflect what many expected after Renteria’s previous two promising seasons. A 2003 that saw Renteria knock in 100 runs and steal 34 SB led most to believe he would join the SS elite this year. It hasn’t happened, as his RBI and SB are down thus far.
3B – Eric Hinske, Toronto. A healthy and fit Hinske in spring training got many excited. Was this the return of the promising third baseman that won the Rookie of the Year award a couple years ago? Not quite. He’s got 6 HR with a .242 average so far.
OF – Carlos Lee, Chi White Sox. It’s looking more and more like Lee’s 2003 season was a fluke. With only 6 HR and 6 SB this year, it’s looking doubtful that he’ll even approach the 30/30 that many hoped for.
OF – Aubrey Huff, Tampa Bay. After a breakout season that produced 34 HR and 107 RBI, owners drafted him in the early to mid rounds expecting the same. And though he should get his 100 RBI, Huff’s average has dropped to around .260 and he’s on pace for around 25 HR.
OF – Chipper Jones, Atlanta. You’d never expect to hear the words “Chipper Jones” and “.217 average” in the same sentence. But that’s what he’s hitting this year and has only 20 RBI in 47 games.
DH – Jason Giambi, NY Yankees. Its looking like Giambi will be starting this year’s All-Star game, but he hasn’t played like an All-Star thus far. The former MVP is batting .246 with 11 HR and 31 RBI. If he keeps putting up these numbers, he’ll always have a spot on this team.
SP – Roy Halladay, Toronto. A 3.84 ERA and 6 wins aren’t bad numbers for a starter. But when you’re a second round pick in most drafts, this doesn’t cut it. He has had some injury problems and you can expect better numbers in the second half, if he stays healthy.
SP – Brandon Webb, Arizona. Webb’s outstanding rookie year led Arizona to believe he’s be a strong number 2 starter behind the Big Unit. Fantasy owners also expected another year of low WHIP and ERA coupled with a good chunk of Ks. But his WHIP has inflated from 1.15 to 1.52 with an ERA above 4.00.
SP - Bartolo Colon, Anaheim. Some may not see Colon as such a bust because many were warned of it. But a 5.62 ERA and 1.49 WHIP are even worse than most expected. Hopefully you’ve learned your lesson if you ignored the advice this year.
SP – Barry Zito, Oakland. What happened to this guy? Just two years removed from a 23 win campaign that brought a 1.13 WHIP and 2.75 ERA along with it, he now finds himself struggling to keep his ERA under 5.00.
RP – Author Rhodes, Oakland. Rhodes was named the A’s closer during the off-season and was listed in the top 10 in many pre-season rankings. But he couldn’t hold on to the job and is now in the middle of a bullpen by committee situation. If you haven’t dropped him already, get on with it!
Justin Sablich is Journalism student at SUNY Cortland in New York. He will be covering Fantasy Baseball and MLB for SportsFiends.com and is currently writing for various other online publications, covering music, sports, and just about anything else. Questions, criticisms, and comments are welcome. Send them to pprozac36@yahoo.com.
