Underperforming Fantasy Baseball Players and My Concern Levels For Them

 Underperforming Fantasy Baseball Players and My Concern Levels For Them

Drew Epstein

5/2/22

Zack Wheeler- Phillies SP:

Wheeler was an ace last year. He was second in the NL Cy Young voting. This year? Not so much so far. He was great in his last start but before that, he was terrible in his first three starts. Wheeler’s stat line currently sits at 1-3, 5.79 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and 18 Ks. There is plenty of room for optimism, however, despite the rough start for the Phillies right-hander. The first thing worth pointing out is his most recent start on Thursday in which he went six scoreless innings while striking out seven, though he did walk four. He only gave up one hit. That is reason to think maybe Wheeler will start to round into form. The metrics also suggest that Wheeler is limiting barrels and hard contact. The issue so far seems to be his command, along with the low strikeout rate he has so far. As with every pitcher, you have to wonder if his slow start was a result of the short spring and hope that he will get better as the season moves along. I believe things will be just fine for Wheeler, and hope that his previous outing was a sign of things to come 

Concern Level: Low 

Marcus Semien- Rangers 2B:

Semien signed a huge contract to play in Texas just before the lockout. He has not lived up to what he did last year. After placing third in the AL MVP race with Toronto, he's off to a bad start with his new team. There isn't much to be optimistic about here; Semien is hitting just .149 without a home run yet. His metrics are arguably even worse. He doesn't seem to be doing anything well. He's not hitting the ball hard, he's striking out a fair amount, and he doesn't seem to be getting unlucky at all, just a bad start. Semien is a good hitter and I expect all of this to change, but it has not been pretty so far. It will be interesting to see how this plays out because he just started his seven-year deal. 

Concern Level: High 

Jose Altuve- Astros 2B:

Altuve is returning tonight from a hamstring injury he suffered in mid-April, but he was not good beforehand. A hamstring injury can always be tricky and is not a good addition to a bad start to the year. Still, though, Altuve is a professional hitter and he should be fine eventually. You can pretty much always expect him to produce in multiple categories from the top of the Astros lineup. If he can avoid a setback with his hamstring, I don't think it will be long before Altuve starts to produce the way fantasy managers drafted him to.

Concern Level: Low/Mid