Some fun facts about the Orioles' Manny Machado ...
For the season, he ranks ninth at third base in Head-to-Head leagues and 10th in Rotisserie. Since July 1, however, he ranks 17th in Head-to-Head, behind Brett Wallace, a .255-hitting Pablo Sandoval and a hasn't-played-in-three-weeks David Wright, and 21st in Rotisserie, behind Juan Uribe, Donnie Murphy and Matt Dominguez. During that stretch, he's batting .240 with a .633 OPS. He has only 11 extra-base hits after having 44 previously.
No one is questioning his upside. No one would dare doubt the potential of a 21-year-old who has drawn comparisons to Alex Rodriguez. But I can't help but think Machado fooled Fantasy owners into believing he was closer to meeting that upside than he really was. His strong start to the season was mostly the product of a near record-setting doubles pace and a batting average too high for his poor plate discipline to sustain. Both numbers have since normalized.
I'm not saying I'd drop Machado, but I'd go with a hot-hand play like Brett Lawrie or Will Middlebrooks over him right now.