Roundtable: Which fantasy player do you already regret drafting?

(AP Photo/John Amis) “It’s still early. Things are going to work out.” It’s not uncommon for fantasy baseball players to be huddled in a corner constantly muttering those phrases to themselves right now.

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So, your draft didn’t work out exactly as planned. Your first round pick is hitting .200, and that ace pitcher you drafted just gave up six runs and couldn’t make it out of the second inning.

The truth is, we’re roughly 15 games into the regular season. Stupid small sample shenanigans are still playing a big role in early season numbers. With that said, it’s still incredibly easy to be frustrated at this point in the year.

This week, we asked the Big League Stew crew which fantasy players they already regret having on their teams. Keep in mind, this doesn’t mean we think those players are cooked (at least in some cases). We’re just airing out our frustrations. Hopefully, your team is great and you don’t have the same problems.

ADAM WAINWRIGHT, STARTING PITCHER, ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Adam Wainwright, an avid fantasy football player in his own right, was very vocal that he deserved to be among the top picks in a draft this year. So far he’s not backing it up. The Cardinals ace has thrown up three straight rough starts to start the season, including a seven run stinker in his last outing against Cincinnati. Wainwright is 0-2, his ERA is an unflattering 8.27 and his trademark command has eluded him to date, racking up more walks (nine) than he has strikeouts (seven).

Coming off a torn Achilles that kept him out for most of 2015, it’s difficult to predict how much the injury is still bothering him and how long it might take to get back to form. An established star like Wainwright deserves to be treated with some degree of patience when it comes to his spot in a fantasy lineup, but these early losses still sting. We took your word for it, Adam; we expect better results soon. (Israel Fehr).

FREDDIE FREEMAN, FIRST BASEMAN, ATLANTA BRAVES
There are slow starts, and then there are extremely slow starts, which is what Freeman is experiencing. After homering on opening day, he went eight games without another extra-base hit and hit just .080 during that time. Needless to say, I was expecting more from my eighth round pick, but in hindsight, perhaps the pick was flawed to begin with.

Sure, Freeman will be more productive moving forward as long as he stays healthy, but that Atlanta lineup could have a real limiting effect on his production. I think I would have better served selecting Sonny Gray, who went one pick later. (Mark Townsend)

MATT HARVEY, STARTING PITCHER, NEW YORK METS
I’m not the type to freak out about any MLB player’s performance over the course of two weeks. Baseball players have a bad two weeks, it happens. Even to the best of them. Even to the most stubborn, determined of them. Even to Matt Harvey. But I am quite bummed that what I thought would be a fantastic fantasy pitching staff, led by Harvey, is in the tank right now.

If you’ve missed the Queens freakout about this, Harvey is 0-3 with a 5.71 ERA this season. He hasn’t pitched more than six innings this season, hasn’t struck out more than four betters in a game and hasn’t looked like the tough-as-nails starter we’ve come to expect. What bothers me most, both from a fantasy perspective and in real life, is the strikeouts. I’ll accept that good starting pitchers don’t always get you Ws in fantasy, but when a guy like Harvey isn’t racking up the Ks, there’s cause for concern.

[Elsewhere: Adrian Beltre is not a fan of premature home run celebrations]

Concern is blanketing my staff too. After Harvey (my third-round pick), I selected Gerrit Cole (0-2, 4.22 ERA) and the aforementioned Adam Wainwright, neither of whom have looked particularly ace-like. Here’s hoping for a better May. (Mike Oz)

ALBERT PUJOLS, FIRST BASEMAN, LOS ANGELES ANGELS
I realize Albert Pujols clocked 40 home runs last year, but that masked a .244 average and declining skills (his line-drive rate took a notable tumble). This year he’s off to a .170 push, with what would easily be his career-worst strikeout rate. And look at the messy Angels lineup around him; other than Mike Trout, this looks like the worst offense in the American League. I bet you can still sell the Pujols name in some leagues, or last year’s home-run total. I’d try to do just that. I suspect we’re getting close to the cliff as he begins his age-36 season. (Scott Pianowski)

CHRIS ARCHER, STARTING PITCHER, TAMPA BAY RAYS
I’m nowhere near ready to give up on Tampa Bay’s ace Chris Archer, but I’m definitely having second thoughts about why I valued him so much in fantasy baseball. He’s 0-3 with a 5.87 ERA in his first three starts this season and has pitched 15 1/3 innings, giving up five home runs.

There were some signs of this with the way he ended his 2015 campaign, but I generally don’t put all that much stock in carry over from one season to the next, particularly when it comes to young pitchers who aren’t injured.

[Elsewhere: The Red Sox will be without Joe Kelly due to a shoulder injury]

Archer only pitched into the seventh inning and beyond twice after Aug. 4 last season and two of his three worst outings of the year, when it comes to runs allowed, came after that date as well. The fact that he is still getting strikeouts (23) is a saving grace at this point, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious the guy needs a third pitch to take that next step and become one of the best pitchers in the game, consistently. (Kyle Ringo)

CARLOS GOMEZ, OUTFIELDER, HOUSTON ASTROS
Let me start with this: Carlos Gomez is going to get a lot better. But right now, he’s in a slump and it’s not fun. Gomez is hitting just .196/.213/.283 to open the season, and that’s even more concerning considering he’s coming off a down year.

On top of that, and this is a personal bias here, but his approach at the plate when he’s off can be maddening. I usually prefer patient hitters who work at-bats and wait for their pitch. That’s not Gomez’s skill set. When he’s off, like he is now, it’s incredibly frustrating to see him swing out of his shoes and chase after pitches.

[Elsewhere: Jason Heyward says he didn’t hear any racial slurs in his return to St. Louis]

Then, he hits a double down the line, as he did Tuesday night, and glides into second base and all those feelings go away. Gomez will very likely be just fine. I would feel a lot better about saying that if he knocked a couple more doubles to start the year, though. (Chris Cwik)

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