Fantasy Baseball 2012: 12 Biggest Busts of '12 so Far

Well, we're one month into a surprising 2012 MLB season: Washington is good, Boston is bad, players you've never heard of are putting up numbers, players you HAVE heard of aren't putting up numbers and the injuries are piling up.  

In that spirit, here are the eight batters and four pitchers who have been the biggest fantasy busts this season—players that were supposed to be pretty good, but haven't been.

Honorable Mentions: Carl Crawford and Michael Morse

Neither of these players have struck out, grounded into a double play, been caught stealing, left men on base or committed an error.

That's because both have been hurt all season.

12. Justin Upton, OF, Diamondbacks

Justin Upton was projected to be one of the top players in the league this season.  Thumb trouble has limited his performance, however.

His .710 OPS is passable...for someone drafted in the 14th or 15th round.  He's only batting .240, with a single dinger against 14 strikeouts.  He's also only driven three in...in 70 at-bats.

11. Alex Gordon, OF, Royals

One of the reasons that the Royals are so wretched this season is because of Alex Gordon's statistical dropoff at the beginning of this season. 

His average was .303 last season; down to .213 now.  His OPS has plummeted by about .200, from .878 to .687. 

Though Gordon has driven eight in, he's also struck out 20 times.

10. Dan Haren, SP, Angels

Projected as one of the top 10 or 15 starters at the beginning of the year, Dan Haren's woes this season are partly of his own volition and partly due to how little run support he's been getting.

Haren has two quality starts, but only a single decision (a loss). His ERA has ballooned to 4.07 with a 1.40 WHIP and .330 on-base percentage allowed. 

He has conceded 47 total bases, including 4 homers, in only 24.1 innings.

9. Matt Holliday, OF, Cardinals

This has not been Holliday's best season.  His OPS is down to .636, way down from his .924 career OPS.

You drafted Holliday primarily for his average, and in custom leagues for his ability to hit doubles.  Right now, his average sits at .205 and he has just three doubles against 17 strikeouts.

8. Heath Bell, RP, Marlins

If your No. 1 closer is Heath Bell, you're in a world of hurt this season.  Bell is 2-for-5 in save opportunities, with each blown save ending in a loss. 

His metrics are staggering: 9.53 ERA, 2.82 WHIP and a .984 OPS against.

Bell would be higher on this list, except a) he hasn't pitched very many innings and therefore has less effect on swaying your metrics, b) He's still averaging close to a strikeout an inning, and c) he was projected in the 100s or 110s, so not as far to fall as others on the list. 

7. Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Marlins

New name, no talent?

Stanton's batting .246, but has little else to offer.  His OPS is down to .603, and he has only four extra-base hits, all doubles.  He's only scored five times and only driven in five. 

In terms of fielding, he does have three errors.

6. Jimmy Rollins, SS, Phillies

You probably drafted Jimmy Rollins for a decent average, scoring and stolen bags.  Whereas the stolen bags haven't fallen off too much, many of his other stats have.

Rollins has an awful average of .229, and a terrible .524 OPS.  He has just one extra-base hit on the season, and has only scored eight times thus far. 

5. Jon Lester, SP, Red Sox

Projected as one of the 15 best pitchers this season, Lester hasn't won a game and is only hurling for six strikeouts per nine.

His metrics aren't too great either.  He has an ERA of 6.00, a WHIP of 1.50 and is surrendering a .356 OBP.

4. Jose Reyes, SS, Marlins

The defending batting title champ has four stolen bases and two triples.  That'd be wonderful if he had anything else besides.

Reyes' batting average is down to .205, and his OPS is at .592, down from a career .779 OPS.

He also has zero homers and has only driven in four runners, but has five errors and has grounded into a double play four times. 

3. Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, Red Sox

In the first seven games of the seven, Ellsbury batted .192 with an OPS of just .569.  He also failed to steal a single base, hit a homer or hit more than one double.

Ellsbury has been on the DL for the rest of the month, so he hasn't had a chance to redeem himself.

2. Tim Lincecum, SP, Giants

Lincecum is 1-2 on the season.  That one win is the only good thing about his season.

Lincecum has failed to notch a quality start—not a good thing in leagues where the number of outings is limited.  Though he has strong strikeout numbers, he has awful splits: 8.20 ERA, 1.87 WHIP and a .380 OBP surrendered en route to a gosh-awful .912 OPS against.

1. Albert Pujols, 1B, Angels

Pujols was supposed to be one of the top five players in baseball this season.  He's currently failing to be one of the top five hundred.

You've heard that, as of 16:00 PDT on April 27, he's homerless.  But some of his other numbers aren't so hot either: For example, he's struck out eleven times while only drawing six bases on balls. 

He has just four RBI and has only scored six times.  His metrics are those of a much lesser man, a .224/.280./.316 triple hash for a .596 OPS, when his career OPS is over 1.000

Albert Pujols: This year's biggest bust?