This article is best used for 12 man head to head point leagues.
Add and Drop
It’s still early in the season but the trends are starting to show and now is the time to add the hot players and drop the ones struggling before the other league members have a chance.
To be on the add list a player has to be owned in 60 percent of leagues or less.
To be on the drop list a player has to be owned in 60 percent of leagues or more.
Add of The Week: Niko Goodrum, 2B/1B, Detroit Tigers
After having an average at best rookie campaign in 2018, Goodrum has started off 2019 hot. He improved his slash line in almost every possible way, including hitting more line drives and fewer ground balls. His contact is at about the same rating as last but this year he started to hit the ball harder and pull it more often. Goodrum has been more patient cutting his swing percentage down on pitches thrown inside and outside the strike zone and has walked an impressive nine times already. Goodrum has one stolen base so far but has the speed to reach 20 stolen bases or more.
Niko Goodrum has an own percentage of 16 percent of ESPN leagues.
Add: Willians Astudillo, C, Minnesota Twins
Astudillo carries an impressive strikeout rate. The highest it’s been was 4.8 percent in 2009 in the Phillies Organization. The lowest it’s been was .9 percent just two years later with the same team. He had 97 plate appearances in the majors last year and only struck out three times. In the 2019 season, he has 26 plate appearances and only one strikeout. The strikeouts might rise a little but for now his contact rate is on par with last season. The club is eager to get him in the lineup by playing multiple positions and he could finish eligible to be placed at those if he gets enough time.
Astudillo is worth an add over other catchers such as Jorge Alfaro, Francisco Cervelli, Austin Hedges and Mike Zunino.
Astudillo has an own percentage of 36 percent in ESPN leagues.
Add: Touki Toussaint, SP, Atlanta Braves
MLB.com’s number 48 prospect Toussaint started 2019 in AAA. He started one game before being called up due to injuries. In that game, Toussaint pitched three innings, allowed one earned run, threw one strikeout, and four walks. Toussaint pitched 29 innings at the MLB level in 2018 and performed well striking out 32 and only walking 21 batters. His first big league appearance of 2019 was a relief outing that saw him achieve six innings pitched and only allowing four hits and two walks while striking out seven and allowing zero earned runs.
After the game, the Braves named Toussaint to the starting rotation and should remain there while performing well. He has an own percentage of 3.8 percent in ESPN leagues.
Drop of The Week: Brian Dozier, 2B, Washington Nationals
Dozier missed time last year due to a knee issue and his statistics so far in 2019 show that he is not back to 100 percent. He is hitting more ground balls than line drives or fly balls with a high percentage of those being hit with soft contact.
Dozier is a drop because he might not be healthy all year and will likely finish behind other second basemen such as Jeff McNeil, Adam Frazier and Niko Goodrum.
Dozier has an own percentage of 70 percent in ESPN leagues.
Drop: Jose Peraza, SS/2B, Cincinnati Reds
Peraza, through 42 plate appearances, has more strikeouts, 12, than hits, eight. He has been swinging career-high high 64 percent of pitches and only making contact on 78 percent of swings. He is impatient at best through the early going and needs to swing at better pitches to improve his stats.
Peraza has an own percentage of 79 percent in ESPN leagues. He can be dropped for players such as Niko Goodrum, Jeff McNeil, Jorge Polanco and Dansby Swanson.
Drop: Rougned Odor, 2B, Texas Rangers
Odor, currently on the injured list, started off 2019 weak and lost a lot of confidence in his swing resulting in fewer hit balls and a loss of power on the ones he did hit. The injury paired with the poor 2019 stats and not the best career averages make Odor a drop.
Odor has an own percentage of 74 percent in ESPN leagues.
Featured image courtesy of Getty Images
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