This week’s roundup of jerks who shouldn’t be on your fantasy team but are most likely available:
Zack Cozart (CIN – SS) Cozart is out with an oblique injury, and thank god for the Reds. Whoever they have on the bench is better than him, especially since they’re making a run at the playoffs. He likely won’t be back this year, so you can hit the take-out-back-and-shoot button on this guy. In 523 at bats, Cozart has batted .243 with 15 home run and 32 RBI.
Justin Smoak (SEA – 1B) Remember when this guy hit a bunch of home runs and everyone was talking about him? There were cool nicknames having to do with smoke, and such. Seattle was sure they had the next Carlos Pena. Well, you can kiss all of that speculation goodbye. Smoak is a bum, a crying shame, a flop. He’s been on our fantasy sheet before, but this time, a number stood out to us. We don’t put a lot of weight into sabermetrics around here, but this stat is startling. Smoak has the league worst RC (Runs Created) at 36.8. To provide a comparison, the third worst in the league was Jemile Weeks, at 45.7. If you’re not in the know, here’s how RC works.
Casey Kotchman (CLE – 1B) Another first basemen who was supposed to be good, but isn’t. Unless you’re living in a time-space continuum bubble, and it’s still 2007, I suggest removing Kotchman from your lineup.
Jamey Carroll (MIN – 2B, 3B, SS) Another bad sabermetric is what lands the 38 year-old veteran on our list. Carroll has an MLB worst .046 ISO (Isolated Power). This stat speaks for itself – there is no pop in Carroll’s bat. Consider yourself lucky if you witnessed his solo home run in a 4-2 loss to the White Sox on September 3rd. It was a shooting star. I hope Jamey made a wish.
Ben Revere (MIN – RF, CF) Revere is actually batting .293 on the season, but his other numbers are horrendous. In 452 at bats he has 31 RBI, and NO home runs. This brings his AB/HR to 0.0, and his ISO down to .051, second worst behind aforementioned Jamey Carroll. If it weren’t for Revere’s good BA, he be in the running for Triple Crown Loser.
Drew Stubbs (CIN – CF) Stubbs makes our list once again, mostly because he continues to stink at an historic level. Stubbs is the epitome of the term “defensive replacement.” He has a .27 walk per strikeout ratio, and he’s kept his BA a healthy ten points below the Mendoza Line (.214). I don’t want to talk about Stubbs anymore. He makes me sad.
Pitchers to Drop: When it comes to these pitchers, you should stop thinking about tomorrow.
Ricky Romero (TOR): 5.87 ERA (-1.9 WAR) According to our advanced scouts in Toronto, Romero seems to be “tired, and just wants to go home.”
Randy Wolf (BAL): 5.66 ERA (0.0 WAR) Sure, he had a good start for the Orioles this week, but how long do you think that is going to last? Get over Wolf. He’s over you.
Luke Hochevar (KC): 5.46 ERA (-0.8 WAR) He’s 8-13, which might be the Royals’ fault. But he’s given up 23 home runs and on September 1st he gave up 8 runs on 6 hits against the Minnesota Twins. What’s more, he allowed all that damage over a mere one and two-thirds innings. How did our Jerk of the Day experts miss this one?
Ervin Santana (LAA) 5.08 ERA (-1.4 WAR): Santana has given up 35 home runs. I don’t even know what to say about this. These numbers make things rumble in my spaghetti house.
Ubaldo Jimenez (CLE) 5.43 ERA (-0.9 WAR): This is one of the worst deadline trades in recent memory. The Indians picked him up last year at a prorated $2.8MM, are paying him $4.2MM this year, and through 2014 he’s owed approximately $13.75MM more. In the trade, the Rockies received rookie Drew Pomeranz in return. The Indians would have been better off keeping Pomeranz, who has an ERA of 5.06 and a 1-9 record in 2012.
