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"Who can I drop?" is one of the most pressing, yet difficult, questions to answer this time of year. It's dependent on factors that aren't so easily relayed to an "expert" such as myself.
The depth of your league, the particulars of your scoring system, the caliber of players already on the waiver wire, the add/drop behaviors of your opponents, your own dedication to monitoring the waiver wire, and your own aversion to risk ... these are all pertinent details for forming a precise answer (ranked roughly by order of importance).
Yet at this time of year when everything is new and unknown, and new breakout candidates are emerging seemingly everyday, the urgency to free up another spot is real. How can you be sure you're not being stupid about it?
I've already written a column offering general guidelines for this early-season dilemma, and I dare say it's worth the read. Still, specifics would make things easier, and who doesn't want easier?
With that in mind, I've put together my "do not drop" list: players for which the investment is too great or the potential rewards too high for you to entertain the thought of dropping them. It still varies by format, of course, but to keep the list of from becoming unwieldy, I've allowed myself just one distinction: Players who shouldn't be dropped in leagues that use a standard Rotisserie lineup — meaning 14 total hitters instead of the Head-to-Head standard of nine — are denoted by italics.
Please understand that I'm not suggesting the players left off this list are ones you should drop for the next flavor-of-the-week type. You'll have to make that determination for yourself. I'm merely acknowledging there may be a scenario in which dropping them is defensible.
But now for the ones for which it isn't:
Catcher
- J.T. Realmuto, PHI
- Gary Sanchez, NYY
- Yasmani Grandal, MIL
- Willson Contreras, CHC
- Wilson Ramos, NYM
- Yadier Molina, STL
- Buster Posey, SF
- Danny Jansen, TOR
First base
- Paul Goldschmidt, STL
- Freddie Freeman, ATL
- Anthony Rizzo, CHC
- Cody Bellinger, LAD
- Rhys Hoskins, PHI
- Joey Votto, CIN
- Matt Carpenter, STL
- Jose Abreu, CHW
- Jesus Aguilar, MIL
- Pete Alonso, NYM
- Carlos Santana, CLE
- Max Muncy, LAD
- Edwin Encarnacion, SEA
- Joey Gallo, TEX
- Jurickson Profar, OAK
- Luke Voit, NYY
Second base
- Jose Altuve, HOU
- Javier Baez, CHC
- Whit Merrifield, KC
- Ozzie Albies, ATL
- Gleyber Torres, NYY
- Travis Shaw, MIL
- Daniel Murphy, COL
- Robinson Cano, NYM
- Dee Gordon, SEA
- Mike Moustakas, MIL
- Yoan Moncada, CHW
- Brian Dozier, WAS
- Jurickson Profar, OAK
- Jose Peraza, CIN
- Jonathan Villar, BAL
- Rougned Odor, TEX
Third base
- Jose Ramirez, CLE
- Nolan Arenado, COL
- Alex Bregman, HOU
- Manny Machado, SD
- Anthony Rendon, WAS
- Javier Baez, CHC
- Kris Bryant, CHC
- Matt Carpenter, STL
- Vladimir Guerrero, TOR
- Eugenio Suarez, CIN
- Justin Turner, LAD
- Matt Chapman, OAK
- Travis Shaw, MIL
- Max Muncy, LAD
- Josh Donaldson, ATL
- Mike Moustakas, MIL
- Yoan Moncada, CHW
- Maikel Franco, PHI
- Miguel Andujar, NYY
- Wil Myers, SD
- Jurickson Profar, OAK
Shortstop
- Alex Bregman, HOU
- Manny Machado, SD
- Francisco Lindor, CLE
- Trevor Story, COL
- Javier Baez, CHC
- Trea Turner, WAS
- Carlos Correa, HOU
- Xander Bogaerts, BOS
- Corey Seager, LAD
- Adalberto Mondesi, KC
- Gleyber Torres, NYY
- Jean Segura, PHI
- Fernando Tatis, SD
- Jurickson Profar, OAK
- Jose Peraza, CIN
Outfield
- Mike Trout, LAA
- Mookie Betts, BOS
- J.D. Martinez, BOS
- Christian Yelich, MIL
- Bryce Harper, PHI
- Ronald Acuna, ATL
- Aaron Judge, NYY
- Charlie Blackmon, COL
- Juan Soto, WAS
- Cody Bellinger, LAD
- Giancarlo Stanton, NYY
- Andrew Benintendi, BOS
- Kris Bryant, CHC
- Whit Merrifield, KC
- Rhys Hoskins, PHI
- George Springer, HOU
- Starling Marte, PIT
- Tommy Pham, TB
- Lorenzo Cain, MIL
- Michael Brantley, HOU
- A.J. Pollock, LAD
- Yasiel Puig, CIN
- Aaron Hicks, NYY
- Mitch Haniger, SEA
- Eloy Jimenez, CHW
- Nicholas Castellanos, DET
- Eddie Rosario, MIN
- Michael Conforto, NYM
- David Dahl, COL
- Dee Gordon, SEA
- Victor Robles, WAS
- Domingo Santana, SEA
- Andrew McCutchen, PHI
- Marcell Ozuna, STL
- David Peralta, ARI
- Joey Gallo, TEX
- Wil Myers, SD
- Stephen Piscotty, OAK
- Mallex Smith, SEA
- Byron Buxton, MIN
Designated hitter
- Khris Davis, OAK
- Nelson Cruz, MIN
Starting pitcher
- Max Scherzer, WAS
- Jacob deGrom, NYM
- Corey Kluber, CLE
- Justin Verlander, HOU
- Trevor Bauer, CLE
- Aaron Nola, PHI
- Blake Snell, TB
- Gerrit Cole, HOU
- Chris Sale, BOS
- Noah Syndergaard, NYM
- Carlos Carrasco, CLE
- Patrick Corbin, WAS
- Zack Greinke, ARI
- Walker Buehler, LAD
- James Paxton, NYY
- Stephen Strasburg, WAS
- German Marquez, COL
- Clayton Kershaw, LAD
- Jose Berrios, MIN
- Jack Flaherty, STL
- Chris Archer, PIT
- Jameson Taillon, PIT
- Madison Bumgarner, SF
- David Price, BOS
- Luis Castillo, CIN
- Zack Wheeler, NYM
- Mike Foltynewicz, ATL
- Masahiro Tanaka, NYY
- Charlie Morton, TB
- Mike Clevinger, CLE
- Luis Severino, NYY
- Miles Mikolas, STL
- Cole Hamels, CHC
- J.A. Happ, NYY
- Tyler Glasnow, TB
- Shane Bieber, CLE
- Jon Gray, COL
- Yu Darvish, CHC
- Robbie Ray, ARI
- Chris Paddack, SD
Relief pitcher
- Edwin Diaz, NYM
- Blake Treinen, OAK
- Aroldis Chapman, NYY
- Kenley Jansen, LAD
- Sean Doolittle, WAS
- Roberto Osuna, HOU
- Brad Hand, CLE
- Kirby Yates, SD
- Jose Leclerc, TEX
- Felipe Vazquez, PIT
- Wade Davis, COL
- Tyler Glasnow, TB
- Collin McHugh, HOU
- Craig Kimbrel, BOS
- Josh Hader, MIL
- Ken Giles, TOR
- Raisel Iglesias, CIN
- Cody Allen, LAA
- Jordan Hicks, STL
What are the Fantasy baseball trade values for every MLB players in head-to-head and Rotisserie leagues? And which surprising infielder is now a top-10 value? Visit SportsLine now to see the Fantasy baseball trade evaluator and chart, all based off the projections of one of the top Fantasy baseball analysts in the nation.