Welcome back to Week 13 of our Patience or Panic series, where we take a look at three struggling players and provide recommendations on how you should react to their slow starts and subpar performance. Last week, Patrick covered three under-the-radar fantasy options that have had really rough goes of late. This week, I’ll be breaking down three players that have mightily struggled in the month of June.
As always, feel free to let us know in the comments or by tagging us on social media what players you would like to see us focus on in the future! Let’s dive right in.
Nick Pivetta, RHP, San Diego Padres
Pivetta, 32, was off to a dazzling start in San Diego but has started to hit a wall in terms of performance these past few weeks.
Verdict: patience. There is still plenty to like here with Pivetta, even as he’s working through the struggles. Pivetta, despite the 6.23 ERA in June, has turned in a 30% CSW rate, 5.17 PLV, and 2.73 PLA. The EV (89 mph) hasn’t gone up a ton, he’s pounding the zone with first pitch strikes (65%), and still generates whiffs. Ironically, Pivetta has been known to struggle a bit in June, posting a career 4.67 FIP, 1.7 HR/9, and .251 BAA through 222.2 innings, all of which are his second-worst monthly marks. I think he’ll be ok moving forward.
Nick Lodolo, LHP, Cincinnati Reds
Lodolo, 27, has taken a major step forward in his development this year, in line to have his career-best ERA (3.63), WHIP (1.12), and BB% (5%) among other categories. Yet, he’s been hammered of late:
The issues have stemmed from his changeup, as seen above in the last column. It was his most valuable offering by a good margin coming into the month, but exiting June it has become one of his worst pitches. The four-seamer, while still wildly effective (.206 xwOBA, 27% whiff) has also been prone to allowing a HR here and there like we saw with a mistake pitch to Judge the other day.
Verdict: patience. Its really been a HR issue and a bit of BABIP luck that was going to catch up eventually. Other than that, the xFIP is good (3.9), BAA (.250) and WHIP (1.17) are relatively in check, he’s not walking a ton of guys, and the strikeouts (25%) are actually up. His SIERA (3.47) is actually better this month, too. I’d keep an eye on the longball, especially with his home ballpark being GABP, but overall Lodolo should be ok moving forward.
Logan O’Hoppe, C, Los Angeles Angels
O’Hoppe, 25, burst onto the scene early in the year with top notch EVs and really quality production at the catcher position, something a lot of fantasy managers were in the market for. Yet, he’s fallen off a cliff since late May:
He’s still producing elite EV (92 mph), barrel (17%), and HH (54%) metrics, but is it worth keeping him on your roster?
Verdict: panic. The K% was crazy high even when he was hitting, sitting at a 34% rate through 5/24. Without the offensive production, I don’t think it’s worth keeping him around. He simply hasn’t been able to put it together against breaking balls and offspeed pitches which is a huge concern this far into the season, let alone in his career. If there are options like Carlos Narvaez and Alejandro Kirk available in your league, now would be the time to pick one up.
Photo courtesy of Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Aaron Polcare (@abeardoesart on Bluesky and X)
