It's been a fun ride for Yangervis Solarte. Nobody had even heard of him prior to last week, when he scored 21.5 Fantasy points, good for fifth among third basemen. And the four ahead of him? Try Casey McGehee, Trevor Plouffe, Evan Longoria and Todd Frazier.
I say that not to hype any of those four but to emphasize how little we can gather from one week of data. Of those four, only Longoria is projected to be a significant Fantasy contributor. We know exactly who McGehee and Plouffe are, and though their potential for 15-plus homers with regular playing time gives them some NL- and AL-only appeal, it won't keep them from tumbling down the rankings in the weeks ahead.
In terms of ability, Solarte is much closer to them than someone like Longoria or even Frazier. It's why no one had heard of him prior to last week and why he's just now sniffing the majors at age 26. He showed modest pop in the minors, enough that he could maybe hit 15 homers over a full season, but unlike McGehee and Plouffe, his playing time hinges on other players' health. Right now, he's filling in for Mark Teixeira.
It's another Zoilo Almonte situation. Like Solarte, he got off to an impossibly good start before eventually regressing to his pedigree and becoming an afterthought in Fantasy. But he arrived midseason. This time of year, with so many breakout possibilities still on waivers, you can't afford to waste roster space on Solarte, at least not in standard mixed leagues.