The ability to forget past blunders and maintain focus on just the present and the future is essential for fantasy owners. But, it’s human nature, especially when your team is struggling, to dwell on mistakes while trying to pinpoint exactly what has gone wrong.
After a strong start to the season that included a multi-week stay in first place last month, my Mixed Auction Tout Wars team has been in free fall over the past few weeks, losing more than 20 points in the standings. I began play on Saturday June 16 in 7th place after residing in the top-4 for virtually the entire season. The Mookie Betts injury hasn’t helped, but this collapse has certainly been a team effort.
So, it is no surprise that my mind has officially wandered over to the dark side. First, I wondered if there were any obvious errors made during this cold stretch. Soon enough, I was listing all of this season’s managerial miscues, even the ones made during the good times. Here’s what I have so far. Do note that I’m fully aware that the ship can be righted just as quickly as it went off course, but I’m approaching this as a sort of cleansing exercise. I can let out the negative thoughts and then hopefully move on.
Dropping Dustin Fowler
The date was March 29. In only a few hours, the season would begin and I needed to clear a roster spot for Jose Reyes, who I had minutes earlier acquired for 25 FAAB dollars. For some reason, I thought that Reyes could serve as a useful bench piece with the ability to fill in at three different infield positions. For some reason, I also thought that he would receive enough playing time to be worth a roster spot in a deep mixed league. I liked Fowler, who I drafted in the reserve rounds, but coming off a subpar spring training, he was set to begin the year in the minors. I released him.
Well, Fowler made his season debut in early-May and is playing every day while Reyes is barely touching a bat. The good news for me is that through 30 games, Fowler is getting on base at a measly .286 clip while scoring a mere nine runs. The bad news is that he’s showing promise as a power/speed threat, with four homers and four steals. Dustin Fowler for Jose Reyes. Some tradeoff.
Giving up on Joakim Soria
When I purchased Soria for $2 at the auction, I figured that he would either save 25-plus games or lose the closer job for good by May. On May 21, it seemed like this was a closed case, with the latter scenario winning out. On that day, Soria sported a 5.65 ERA for the season, and both Nate Jones and Bruce Rondon were considered to be ahead of him on the closer depth chart. For those reasons, in addition to a bad White Sox team barely providing any save chances, I cut ties with Soria.
Since then, the veteran righty has tossed 11 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run, reclaiming the closer job and registering six saves so far this month. At this point, I’m simply hoping that the White Sox will trade Soria to a contender before the deadline to eliminate the possibility of 25-plus saves.
Too much patience with Orlando Arcia
At $10, Arcia was without question my worst auction buy. What’s happened to this guy? The 23-year-old was supposed to take another step forward following last season’s encouraging showing, and a 20/20 campaign in 2018 was seen as well within the realm of possibility. Instead, he’s been pretty much an automatic out. Still, despite his season-long ice-cold hitting, I remained committed to Arcia, if for no other reason than I believed in him on draft day. Finally, the Brewers took me out of my misery by demoting him to the minors, forcing me to find a replacement middle infielder. And Freddy Galvis has done a fine job, smacking two homers while collecting 13 RBIs in 18 games for my squad, though Arcia didn’t exactly set the bar high for Galvis. Above all, this has been a classic case of addition by subtraction. Arcia is back in the big leagues but he now resides on my bench. Before long, he might reside on the waiver wire. If only I had shaken things up sooner.
Trading Ross Stripling instead of Jake Odorizzi
On May 20, I took a chance on Ross Stripling, shelling out 92 FAAB dollars to add him to my roster. The next day, Scott Engel placed Corey Knebel on the trade block. Desperately needing a closer, I pounced on the opportunity to add Knebel, who carried some risk but proved last season that he can be a top-5 closer when healthy, although I would have been fine with top-12 production. Long story short: I had a choice of trading Stripling or Odorizzi for Knebel. I chose Stripling due to the less established track record and the very real possibility that he would be sent back to the bullpen once some of the injured Dodgers starters returned to action. Though I can’t complain about Knebel, who has provided me with five saves and a solid 2.57 ERA in eight appearances, Stripling has provided Scott with five wins in five starts to go along with a 1.42 ERA, a 0.76 WHIP and 38 strikeouts across 31 2/3 innings. Meanwhile, over that same timeframe, Odorizzi is winless in four starts with a 7.11 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. Can I please have a redo?
It’s not even close. This blunder will be the hardest one to forget.
Zach Steinhorn is the 2016 Mixed Auction Tout Wars champion. Follow him on Twitter @zachsteinhorn
