With his lowly .231 batting average, pair of HRs and six RBI, Cubs 3B Luis Valbuena is such a poor fantasy option at his position that experts say at least seven retired players are better roster choices.
“I’d much rather have Graig Nettles, Mike Schmidt, George Brett, Eddie Matthews and Ron Santo at third base for my fantasy team instead of Luis Valbuena,” said Chicago Tribune “Fantasy Guru” Matthew Wood. “I’d even rather have Vance Law or Mark Lemke on my team at third base and none of these guys have played in the big leagues for decades.”
Wood explained that the fact none of these retired players can tally stats in 2013 is actually a bonus over Valbuena, whose offensive output is so meager it will only drive down the averages of a fantasy team.
“Some of the guys I’d rather have on my roster are actually dead and they’ll still do less damage to a fantasy roster than Valbuena,” said Wood. “He’s just that bad.”
Other experts weighed in as well.
“Under no circumstances should Luis Valbuena be placed on a fantasy baseball roster,” said Yahoo! fantasy expert Brandon Funston. “Even if the league is only for players with the last name Valbuena, you still shouldn’t play Luis Valbuena.”
