Fantasy Baseball Mailbag: Andy Pages, Nolan Gorman, Jackson Chourio, Jackson Merrill

Welcome back to the fantasy baseball weekly mailbag. The mailbag is an opportunity to ask a FantasyPros analyst anything about the ongoing fantasy baseball season to make the best and most informed decisions possible. Questions from fantasy baseball managers this week can be seen below.

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Fantasy Baseball Mailbag

Let’s dive into the latest edition of our fantasy baseball mailbag and answer questions from our fantasy baseball community.

Is it officially time to give up on Nolan Gorman?

Nolan Gorman seems like a safe drop to me.

He has been on waivers in my 12-team league for almost a month. Gorman is a very hot and cold player, so managers might as well watch to see if he heats up on the wire.

The entire Cardinals lineup seems to be in a funk right now, especially Paul Goldschmidt, Lars Nootbaar and Gorman.

Gorman possesses the archetype of a player who loses value if he is not hitting home runs. Although he has been barreling the ball, his exit velocity has been devastatingly low. I expect Gorman to step up as the year goes on but do not feel bad about dropping him in a redraft.

Drop Wyatt Langford for Andy Pages?

I would make the swap.

Wyatt Langford’s injury makes this decision considerably simpler. Even beforehand, Andy Pages’ torrid stretch led me to prefer him over the pre-injured Langford. Pages hits for elite power as an everyday Dodger. Just beware that Pages loves to strike out.

Langford will be great one day, but the 22-year-old has a lot of work to do in rehab. Pages is a no-brainer swap while he is on his hot streak.

Brandon Nimmo or Andy Pages?

Andy Pages looks amazing. He hits for incredible power as an everyday player.

However, Brandon Nimmo has been a proven talent for years now. Nimmo leads off every game for the Mets and is a source of high contact. Nimmo’s skillset has made him consistently good in points formats for most of his nine-year career.

Pages has a high ceiling, but I prefer to target the low floor. Pages concerns me due to his swing-and-miss rate. Pitchers might find his weaknesses and keep striking him out.

I would go Nimmo in a points league, but perhaps Pages is better in categories or shallower leagues, where it is better to target the upside.

Is it time to cut Gleyber Torres?

I don’t think so. Who is available on the wire to replace Gleyber Torres?

He has been good for his whole career and 2023 was perhaps his best season yet. It’s important to be patient based on his 112 OPS+ track record alone, and he’s only 27 years old.

I completely understand why managers are disappointed. But, without seeing waivers, I highly doubt a player who will have a better rest of the season is available. Keep Torres in any league that is not exceedingly shallow.

Would you drop Jackson Merrill for any of Taylor Ward, Brandon Marsh, Jacob Young, Bryan De La Cruz or Brenton Doyle?

Perhaps dropping Jackson Merrill for Taylor Ward is a good move.

I don’t buy into Ward being good all year since he seems to always begin the season hot and quickly cools down due to injury or declining performance. I predict Merrill will be a better player for the rest of the season, but maybe he can be dropped and picked back up (if he goes unclaimed) after Ward cools down.

Merrill is not that good of a player in shallower redraft leagues where he must stay on rosters at all costs.

What do we do with Jackson Chourio?

Although Jackson Chourio, the second Jackson on this list, has struggled lately, he has insane potential. I would ride out his cold spell in a keeper league.

Also, Jackson Chourio was recently dropped in my redraft league and immediately claimed off waivers. Has he been disappointing? Yes. But he has shown signs of life and had a nice start to the year. I would hang on.

Fantasy managers will regret dropping a top prospect and seeing him dominate for another team later in the year.