Welcome to the 2021 Fantasy Baseball Week 18 Drop List.
Four players make the 2021 Fantasy Baseball Week 18 Drop List. The first two follow the theme from last week of players who might be difficult to drop due to their popularity and expectations. It is still time to move on, however.
The next two were traded at the 2021 trade deadline, but still have to compete for their jobs with the new team. Read why their Fantasy value has lowered after they moved.
Be sure to check out the 2021 Fantasy Baseball Week 18 Waiver Wire to find players that'll win the week.
2021 Fantasy Baseball Week 18 Drop List
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Michael Conforto, OF, New York Mets
Conforto is batting .198, just under the Mendoza Line. He missed about five weeks of play from mid May to late June. Since his return on June 23rd he is slashing .163/.290/.317 in 35 games with only four homers.
His batting average in particular needs to rise in order for Fantasy Managers to get enough value out of him.
Conforto follows last week's theme of players who are difficult to let go of. He has not lived up to his average draft position of 67 this season and is a drop candidate in 12-team leagues.
Ryan Mountcastle, 1B/OF, Baltimore Orioles
Mountcastle slashed .205/.286/.370 in July, way down from his season slash line of .251/.298/.447. His strikeout rate(27.7%) and walk rate(6%) are some other stats hurting his Fantasy value, both are in the bottom 15 percent of MLB.
Similar to Conforto, Mountcastle needs to get on base more often to help his Fantasy production. His .298 on-base percentage is worst for all first basemen with at least 300 plate appearances this season.
Mountcastle is still young and sure to have a nice career but if he continues to perform the way he has in July he should be dropped.
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Richard Rodriguez, RP, Atlanta Braves
The Pittsburgh Pirates traded Rodriguez to the Atlanta Braves Friday during the trade deadline. Rodriguez was putting together a solid season in Pittsburgh with a 4-2 record and 14 saves through 38.1 innings.
Rodriguez has appeared in two games since being dealt. He pitched an inning in both games while only allowing two total hits.
This move to the Braves will seemingly hurt his Fantasy value as he will cede closing duties to Will Smith. Now Rodriguez appears to be the second option and should get a good amount of hold opportunities. If you play in a league that scores holds then keep Rodriguez, but if not he can be dropped.
Jorge Soler, OF, Atlanta Braves
Soler appeared on the 2021 Fantasy Baseball Week 7 Drop List earlier in the season as a member of the Kansas City Royals. At the time he was slashing .199/.287/.346. Now he is slashing .199/.293/.375.
The Royals traded Soler to the Braves on Friday during the trade deadline, but I'm not buying into him.
It's clear some think this move will benefit Soler, as Fantasy Managers are starting to add him off the waiver wire. Now, while this move could help, he still needs to compete for playing time in Atlanta with Joc Pederson, Adam Duvall, Eddie Rosario and Guillermo Heredia.
This outfield is certainly going to be crowded down the stretch and Soler is likely to be the fourth or fifth outfielder on the roster. Leave Soler and his poor slash line on the waiver wire and add someone who will get regular playing time.
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Performance Review
Adolis Garcia, OF, Texas Rangers
Since last week's appearance Garcia has gone 4-for-19 with two doubles and a home run. He also walked once and struck out seven times.
Garcia is still a drop moving forward.
Christian Vazquez, C, Boston Red Sox
Vazquez went 5-for-17 with two walks, but only scored one run and one RBI despite being on base seven times. He did impress by only striking out once in the last seven days, however.
Vazquez stays on the drop list even after a decent performance. Fantasy Managers can surely get more out of this roster spot than Vazquez has been providing.
Patrick Corbin, SP, Washington Nationals
Corbin had another rough outing this week against the division rival Philadelphia Phillies. He pitched five innings and allowed four earned runs off eight hits and one walk. Corbin only struck out two batters and even allowed more home runs than strikeouts.
Fantasy Managers can drop Corbin in every league. At most he should only be used as a risky streamer rest of season.
Check out all the 2021 Fantasy Baseball content from this great group of writers.
