“Wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend.”
Now normally I’m not into quoting Third Eye Blind lyrics and there’s a little piece of me that feels like I should be punched in the face for doing so, but the message of those words should not be lost with regard to the fantasy baseball community at this time of year. Nothing can throw a fantasy league out of whack this early in the season than having a jumper as an owner. And if you have more than one jumper, well, all hell could break loose before the first week of the season even comes to a close.
Who are the jumpers and what do they have to do with fantasy baseball? Well, allow me to borrow from the comedic stylings of Jeff Foxworthy and tell you…
If you currently lead your league in waiver acquisitions and are already sitting in the double-digits, you might be a jumper.
If Jake Lamb is your starting third baseman, you might be a jumper.
If you’ve dropped Russell Martin for Alex Avila, you might be a jumper.
If your outfield is starting Anthony Gose, Travis Snider and Mark Canha, you might be a jumper.
And if you now find yourself owning multiple relievers from either the Dodgers or Blue Jays bullpens, you most definitely are…a jumper.
Now I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be making any roster moves this early in the season, but slow your roll here, people. You need to relax. Take a breath. Look before you leap.
I understand that you want to get a leg up on your competition, but if you don’t understand the concept of the small sample size or you fail to do the necessary research before you commit to adding a guy to your roster, you’re going to screw yourself over in the end. Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint.
It’s real easy to get caught up in the hot start and when you’re sitting there watching the likes of Avisail Garcia and Adam Eaton struggling on your roster, the temptation can be huge to drop one of them and pick up someone like Snider or Canha or even Kevin Kiermaier. Are the latter three out-producing the aforementioned two right now? Yes they are. Will they next week? Maybe. Will they in two weeks or a month’s time? Probably not. There’s a reason that you work off of rankings when you draft and there’s a reason Garcia and Eaton were ranked significantly higher than the other three. They’re better players with a higher ceiling and they are the ones you want for the long haul. You don’t drop them for some flavor of the week who starts the season hot with production they can‘t sustain
Making sensible waiver claims right now is all about seeing the forest through the trees, not throwing a bunch of crap against the wall and seeing what sticks. Jason Grilli? He’s a tree that helps make up and strengthen the forest that is your team. Chris Hatcher? He’s a blob of crap sliding down the wall. And wasting your waiver priority or FAAB budget on guys with little or no staying power is only half the stupidity. The other half is found in your counter move. Who are you dropping to satisfy this flight of fancy? If he was already on your roster, you must have thought he had some sort of value, didn’t he? But not anymore? He’s worthless after just one week of a six-month long season?
Come on, people. Use your brains here. Be smart about your moves. Being a jumper is a sure-fire way to land in last place.
You know how I know?
Because guys like me are just waiting for you to jump. I might even push you a little. I see you out on that ledge and as soon as you jump, I’m the guy who catches that quality player you drop. Your stupidity only makes me stronger. My team is what sticks to the wall. Yours becomes the crap that slides down.
Happy landing!