Fantasy baseball depth critical down the stretch

The baseball season is very long, and no player is immune to suffering hardship — whether it is going cold at the plate or getting hurt. 

Unfortunately, some of those moments come at the worst possible times. The Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong played like an MVP for much of the season but entered the weekend hitting .154 with 23 strikeouts this month. Teammate Kyle Tucker finished June hitting .291 with a .931 OPS, but hit .184 with a .549 in his next 39 games. Miami’s Kyle Stowers was red-hot, hitting .306 with 12 homers and a 1.025 OPS since July 1, before landing on the injured list last week.

This is where it helps to have depth.

Colorado’s Brenton Doyle has been anything but dependable most this season (virtually unusable on the road) after a breakout 2024 campaign and being drafted as a top-25 outfielder. He entered the weekend hitting .244 with 13 homers, 49 RBIs and runs, 12 stolen bases and a .684 OPS. He hit .202 with a .576 OPS in the first half, and has hit .159 with a .442 OPS outside of Coors Field.