Today's Fantasy Rx

Note: The beginning of most stat lines includes the following data: H/AB for BA/OBP/SLG.

Arizona: Quinton McCracken, OF
40/188 for .213/.263/.261 with 0 HR, 17 RBI, 14 R, 4/5 SB%,
and a 14:33 BB:K for Arizona.

Mark Grace's season is rather incongruous compared to his skills, but McCracken's roto value vanished this season. We can trace nearly all his problems back to a sudden and dramatic drop in plate patience; his #P/PA fell from 3.90 in 2002 to 3.40. Seeing one pitch less every two at-bats makes McCracken less selective, however thanks to a G-F jump from 1.09 to 1.87, his power dramatically decreased. I'm surprised his walk rate only slipped from .09 to .07, though a contact rate bump from .81 to .82 at least keeps his average above the Mendoza Line. Bob Brenly continues to deploy McCracken as a pinch-hitter on a nearly daily basis, likely contributing to his impatience since he only can impress in one at-bat per day, so the few owners still retaining McCracken need to deal or cut him immediately. I expect a rebound once he finds more consistent playing time, however he won't receive that opportunity with the Diamondbacks in the next two weeks.

Previous 2003 Arizona underachievers: April: Junior Spivey; May: Tony Womack; June: Lyle Overbay; July: Craig Counsell; August: Danny Bautista.

We'll continue tomorrow with American League underachieving pitchers.

Today's Fantasy Rx: If you need to gamble on players at this point, target more obscure recent call-ups who might find unexpected playing time over the last couple weeks. In particular, outfielders like the Mets' Matt Watson, Brewers' Pete Zoccolillo, Dodgers' Wilken Ruan and Bubba Crosby, Orioles' Tim Raines, Jr., and the Mariners' Jamal Strong all could find themselves starting for much of the last week due to various reasons.