Some might look back at the critical changes ESPN Fantasy made with its baseball game entering this season and presume smaller rosters means less individual strategy, more coasting with your preseason, drafted rosters, but that should not be the case. For example, I gleefully added Toronto Blue Jays 2B Davis Schneider in a league today, dumping Texas Rangers star 3B Josh Jung. Next to go is Cleveland Guardians 2B Andres Gimenez and St. Louis Cardinals OF Jordan Walker. That is just silly, right? I mean, who is Davis Schneider?
Well, good question! I admit I did not know of Mr. Schneider prior to the weekend, but then he delivered nine hits - including a pair of home runs - in 13 at-bats at Fenway Park this weekend, while Jung fractured his left thumb Sunday afternoon and Gimenez and Walker continue to struggle and, all of a sudden, someone named Davis Schneider is worth a roster spot over the potential AL Rookie of the Year and others who are a bit too beloved.
Typically, it would be a tough sell to recommend someone named Davis Schneider off one magical weekend against a fading team in strife, but why not take the chance in a shallow fantasy league, go and chase that streak? See what happens. What's the real risk? Schneider, 24, is no top prospect, but I am not so sure that means much once a player makes the major leagues. Schneider hit .275 with a .969 OPS over 87 games at Triple-A Buffalo, with 21 home runs and nine stolen bases. He walked 72 times. Sure seems intriguing!
This is not really about Davis Schneider, though. It is about taking chances and feeling confident about them. A 10-team ESPN standard league has room for only nine active hitters, and I use my bench on starting pitchers not starting that day. Those still trusting preseason rankings or big-name loyalty are going to be left behind. We are in August and what we thought back in March and saw in the statistics in April and May matters little. Trust recent trends. Perhaps not so recent as one weekend at Fenway, but streaming is the key word. Take chances because there are so many good players on free agency, you can always find one.