The Hardball Times Fantasy

Some things are smaller in September

by Paul Singman
September 01, 2009


Opposite to last week's "Bigger in September" Part 1 and Part 2, this week we are looking at some players who figure to lose some of their fantasy relevance.

Chris Iannetta

The Rockies are immersed in another fingernail-biting playoff race and Chris Iannetta seems to be moving forward at such a slow pace with his development, he may have stopped moving altogether. With patience running thin at Iannetta's continued struggles, Yorvit Torrealba figures to receive a large potion of the starts at catcher.

Iannetta can basically be cut in most leagues if he has not been already. See you next year, Chris.

Geovany Soto

Geovany followed his Rookie of the Year winning campaign with this year's disaster of a season. Since Soto is batting .212 through 300 plate appearances, the Cubs are looking to give backup Koyie Hill his fair share of playing time over the final stretch.

However, as Aaron Gleeman points out, "a struggle for Soto is more or less Hill at his best" so expect any playing time loss for Soto to be relatively transient as he regains at least some of his former self.

Brett Anderson

This young, "athletic" pitcher transitioned well to the leap from Double-A straight to the majors, pitching worthy of a 4.12 xFIP in 150 innings. Those 150 innings are a career high and A's management does not want to lean too heavily on their promising young lefty, especially as they sit in fourth (out of four) in the AL West.

Expect him to receive only a couple more starts until getting shut down for the year. Same goes for Trevor Cahill, by the way.

Alex Rios

When the White Sox took on Rios' $60 million contract, I am sure they did so with the intention of playing him. However, 50 at-bats later over which he has only 10 hits, it is looking likely Rios will split time with a man the White Sox signed early in the season for near league minimum: Scott Podsednik.

Now, do not exaggerate my words; Rios will still see plenty of at-bats. But Rios is looking like a prime example of what Eriq was talking about in this article last week. Scrutinize your roster and consider making the possibly tough decision of cutting Rios a la J.P. Ricciardi.

Gerardo Parra

After being rushed to the majors due to a slew of injuries to the D-backs outfield, the 22-year-old Parra turned some heads batting .320 at the end of his first month in the majors. Parra has since come down to Earth with his hitting numbers, but his current .285 average, five home run, five steal batting line is solid nonetheless for NL-only leagues.

Sometimes it is about being in the right place at the right time—as Parra was at the beginning of the season—however, now he is in the wrong place in the crowded Arizona outfield. With Chris Young, Justin Upton, Ryan Roberts, Trent Oeltjen, and Alex Romero vying for playing time, Gerardo Parra may be squeezed out of enough of his own playing time to warrant his dropping in most leagues.

Over to you

Any other players primed to lose playing time? I won't be offended if you tell me in the comments.

Paul has been managing fantasy baseball teams for many seasons and writing for THT Fantasy over the past three years. He is currently a student at UPenn welcomes readers' thoughts at his email here or in the comments below.


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