We have gotten to the point in the season where fantasy owners realize that some of their players are just not going to match their preseason price tag and will end up producing negative value. Some of these players may end up turning things around a bit while others may not, but it's pretty safe to say that at the end of the season, owners will not be happy that they selected these players where they did in fantasy drafts.
Corey Dickerson, OF, TB
Dickerson has come crashing down this season with a .229 BA entering Monday's game, and an OBP well below .300. His power numbers have diminished recently as well, as he has only amassed 2 HR's and 9 RBI in 31 games since the start of July. His sudden lack of production this season shouldn't really be that surprising; during his three seasons in Colorado he slashed .355/.410/.675 at Coors compared to .249/.286/.410 on the road. Playing home games in Tampa Bay has made things even worse as he is currently slashing .190/.255/.327 through 52 home games in 2015. At this point, Dickerson does not hold much mixed league value until he can learn to hit outside of Coors.
Carlos Gomez, OF, HOU
It's amazing how a player could go from being a borderline first round fantasy pick for multiple seasons to being barely playable, both in fantasy and in real life, in a matter of just over a year, but that is exactly what has happened to Carlos Gomez. He has gone from being a legitimate 5-category contributor to someone who is hitting .212 with only 5 HR's a week into August. The decline seems real as his 31.0% K% this season is far than his previous career high of 24.8%, while his 29.9% FB% is nearly 9% lower than his career average which explains the lack of HR's. It's rare to see a player fall from being a 5th round draft choice one year to being practically undraftable the next, but it looks like that's exactly what we will be seeing with Gomez in 2017 drafts.
Sonny Gray, SP, OAK
2016 has been a disaster for Gray as his ERA has skyrocketed to 5.64, and he is now on the DL with a forearm injury. Gray has watched his K% decrease every season, and his BB-rate and SwStr% are also at career-worsts. He has also suffered from a jump in BABIP; his current .318 mark is 40 point higher than his career norm. That is not necessary just luck however, as his Hard% is also 8% higher than each of the past two years. At 26, Gray is still young enough to improve, and fantasy owners may give another chance in 2017, but I would be very hesitant.
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, TOR
Everyone expected Tulowitzki's numbers to take a hit once he was traded from Colorado, but apparently many fantasy owners didn't think the drop would be this drastic. Some may have reasoned that moving to another hitter's park in Toronto would soften the blow but it really hasn't. The power production has been fine, but Tulo has gone from being a perennial .300 hitter with the Rockies to hitting .243 in about a full season with the Blue Jays. Part of this decline is due to an increased K%; he was an above average contact hitter for the first 8 years of his career but the past two years his K% has crept over 20%. He has also seen his BABIP drop this season to a career low .260, but this decline is not coincidental with his leaving Colorado. In 2015, his BABIP dropped 60 points after being traded to the Blue Jays, and his career BABIP at Coors is .341 compared to under .300 elsewhere. Tulowitzki was drafted as the #2 SS in many leagues this year, but with the emergence of a new wave of talented SS's, including Correa, Lindor, Bogaerts, Seager, Villar, Story, and Diaz, it's pretty safe to say Tulo won't be going as a top-5 SS in 2017.
Jordan Zimmermann, SP, DET
Zimmermann was never a huge strikeout artist - his career K/9 is 7.28 - but throughout his career he has been able to combine decent strikeout totals with excellent walk rates to reliably produce solid ratios. This year, however, that has not been the case, as his strikeout rate has dropped to a dismal 5.55 K/9 and that won't cut it even with excellent walk rates. Zimmermann owners likely thought they had a steal when he started the season with an 0.55 ERA through April, but even at that point his xFIP was an unencouraging 4.24. Those who didn't sell high are probably not too happy with him now though, as he has posted a 6.44 ERA since May 1 and is now on his second trip to the DL. At this point, Zimmermann is not worth stashing while he's injured and I probably wouldn't even bother with him once he's back. It looks like his days as a top-30 SP are extinct.
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