Fantasy baseball: Know when to move on from underperforming players

Hope can be a dangerous drug in fantasy baseball.You draft players with visions of breakout seasons, banking on projections and hype.

But as the season progresses, some players simply fail to deliver, dragging your roster into the abyss.When the numbers scream mediocrity — or worse — it’s time to cut bait and move on.Two players epitomizing this painful reality in 2025 are Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia and Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker.

Their struggles are a stark reminder that clinging to preseason optimism can sink your fantasy squad.Since Toglia’s home park is the hitter’s paradise of Coors Field, you’d expect a first baseman to feast on power opportunities.Yet, his season has been a disaster.

With just five home runs and a paltry .150 ISO, his power output is anemic for a corner infielder.His .205 batting average and .271 OBP are black holes in your lineup, sapping your team’s ability to compete in categorical formats.Worse, his 35-percent strikeout rate — among the highest in the league — shows no sign of improvement.

Toglia’s approach at the plate is a mess, swinging through pitches and failing to make consistent contact.Colorado’s thin air can’t save a player who’s missing the ball a third of the time.

At this point, holding onto Toglia is like waiting for a rainstorm in the desert — optimistic, but futile.There are better options on the waiver wire, even in shallow leagues, who can provide power without tanking your batting average.Then there’s Walker, who once dazzled fantasy managers with his power-speed potential.

Drafted as a breakout candidate, his season has been a crushing disappointment.With just two home runs and two stolen bases, he is nowhere near the 20-20 threat many projected.His .196 batting average and .262 OBP are eerily similar to Toglia’s, offering little value in five-category formats.

A 31.1 percent strikeout rate underscores his struggles, as he is chasing pitches out of the zone and fa...