Welcome to the 2023 Fantasy Baseball Week 5 Drop List.
In this week's edition of the 2023 Fantasy Baseball Drop List, we take a look at two underperforming top prospects and one veteran outfielder who no longer warrant a roster spot in your Fantasy Baseball lineups.
Let's take a look.
2023 Fantasy Baseball Week 5 Drop List
<a href="https://fantasysixpack.net/plans">Become an All-Access Member</a> to get access to the Most Accurate Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Tools and more.
If you are already a member, <a href="https://fantasysixpack.net/login">sign in</a>.
Jordan Walker, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
Embed from Getty Images
As a pre-season fantasy favorite, Jordan Walker's time in the bigs may have turned out to be short-lived, at least for now.
The St. Louis Cardinals' top prospect was demoted to Triple-A on Wednesday. This may be a short(er)-term move, but nonetheless, it's not ideal for fantasy managers who invested significant capital in him prior to the season.
Through 28 games, Walker slashed .274/.321/.397. He slumped over his last 28 at-bats before his demotion, slashing a mere .192/.250/.231. Walker was also struggling defensively, which was not a good sign for him as he tried to earn playing time in a crowded outfield.
With only two homers and 11 RBIs in his 78 at-bats, the Cardinals were forced to make the demotion in order to free up some space in their lineup.
Walker's percentile rankings weren't the worst by any means, but his BB% (8th percentile), Whiff% (22nd percentile), and K% (33rd) were not helping him.
While this demotion stings, he wasn't underperforming as poorly as some other prospects have in the past in their first taste of the big leagues. Keep an eye on Walker's performance in Triple-A, as he could get a call-up at any time if he gets hot in the minors. But, for now, Walker is a drop.
Charlie Blackmon, OF, Colorado Rockies
Embed from Getty Images
A former top pick from 2016-2019, Blackmon is not providing a whole lot for fantasy managers in 2023.
Blackmon's power and counting stats have gone missing. While he hit 29+ homers from 2016-2019, he has failed to reach 20 since the start of the 2020 season.
While Blackmon's average has yet to truly disappoint on an MLB scale, the lack of home runs, RBIs, and stolen bases make Blackmon a puzzling add or hold in leagues.
Surprisingly, his batted ball percentile rankings are not horrible, which makes it even more concerning that he hasn't been able to provide much value in lineups in recent years.
The percentile rankings that stand out most for Blackmon are his Avg. Exit velocity and HardHit% where he ranks in the 2nd percentile and 11th percentile respectively. He is no longer hitting the ball hard which is not ideal for MLB outfielders.
His OBP sits at .375 which is actually not bad. Unless you're in an OBP league, Blackmon isn't someone who warrants a roster spot on your squad for now.
Blackmon could easily get hot, especially playing at Coors Field, so don't lose all hope for 2023. However, as it stands today, Blackmon is a drop.
Oscar Colas, OF, Chicago White Sox
At an ADP of 284 in fantasy baseball drafts in 2023, managers were hoping to grab Colas as a value play. Colas showed promise in the minors in 2022 where he slashed .314/.371/.524 with 23 homers, 79 RBIs, and accrued a .895 OPS. However, things could not have been different for Colas in the bigs.
Through 79 plate appearances in 2023, Colas is slashing .208/.269/.278 with one home run and six RBIs. This is truly a bad sign as he has not shown the same promise that he did in the minors in 2022.
In 2023, Colas is sitting in the 1st percentile in Avg. Exit Velocity, 15th percentile in HardHit%, 6th percentile in xwOBA, and 6th percentile in Chase Rate. Overall, he's pretty much in the lower third percentile in all rankings thus far aside from his Max Exit Velocity.
Additionally, Colas has a 19:5 K/BB ratio which means he is not only striking out a lot, but he doesn't seem to be seeing the ball well either.
Unfortunately, a demotion could be headed Colas' way, especially in a struggling White Sox lineup that doesn't seem to be doing a whole lot of anything through 29 games.
Colas is a drop and could be headed back to the minors any day now if continues underperforming.
Thanks for reading the 2023 Fantasy Baseball Week 5 Drop List. Check out the rest of our Fantasy Baseball content.
