Stick with slumping superstars? How slow starts can lead to increased fantasy production

"The plain truth is that there's absolutely no difference whatsoever between performance in the season's first 20 days and any other 20-day span throughout the year. It's all a matter of perception."

"The only reason slumps ring louder now than at any other time is that players' cumulative stat lines reflect only those 20 days, while a slump in August reflects both those 20 days and the four months that came before it."

"If you've already figured out that these stat lines aren't the respective players' year-to-date 2026 stats, well done! All of them represent equal-length slumps to this year that each player had in either of the prior two seasons."

Fantasy baseball managers often experience panic during the early season due to slow starts from key players. The perception of performance in the first 20 days is skewed, as it is treated differently than slumps later in the season. Stat lines from early slumps can appear alarming, but they are not indicative of a player's overall ability. Historical examples show that players like Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez have had similar slumps in previous seasons, which did not define their overall performance.

Read at ESPN.com