Fantasy Baseball: Time to Dump Oakland Athletics 2nd Baseman Jemile Weeks

The MLB season is already roughy seven weeks old. By now, players should be settling into their comfort zones, shaking off the winter rust and acclimating themselves to the 2012 campaign. Some players are egregiously on fire right now (e.g., Josh Hamilton, Matt Kemp, Lance Lynn), while others are struggling mightily (Albert Pujols, Tim Lincecum, Clay Buchholz). Fantasy owners are paying close daily attention to these upward and downward trends, trying to determine if the past month-and-a-half are blips on the radar or thumbnails of the bigger season-long picture.

The thing about determining who's hot and who's cold is that fantasy owners generally look at cold streaks with short-sightedness more so than they do hot streaks. If a player is slumping, it's easier to drop him from the lineup, or the roster altogether. But a fantasy owner is more inclined to keep a hot player in the lineup, overlooking the fact that the law of averages should catch up at some point during the year.  

It's like sitting at a cold blackjack table: Why wait out the bad mojo knowing that at some time, you're bound to win a couple of hands? Not knowing when that hot streak will occur, why not leave now while you still have a few chips? 

In fantasy baseball, cold hitters are the same. If they are slumping for an extended period of time, it makes sense to sit them for the time being. Especially if they are unestablished players who are not among baseball's elite. Players with solid reputations, like Pujols and Lincecum, can be waited out until they warm up. But others who are not yet proven are destined for the fantasy bench. 

Take Jemile Weeks, for example. The Oakland Athletics second baseman is only in his second year in the majors—his first full season. The A's had high hopes for Weeks after his impressive rookie campaign in which he batted .303 with 123 hits, 26 doubles and 22 stolen bases in only 97 games. The feeling around the organization is that a full season as a starter would only provide better all-around numbers for the speedy leadoff hitter. Makes sense, right?

Alas, that has not been the case so far this year. After Weeks' strong performance last season, he is currently the weakest link in 2012, sporting a "that's not my weight" batting average of a-buck-ninety-eight. Weeks' putrid showing thus far exacerbates Oakland's already challenged lineup. At the top of the order, Weeks was supposed to ignite team's offense, getting on base, stealing bags and scoring runs. Unfortunately, he has done very little table setting. 

Of all the second basemen in MLB, Weeks is ranked second-to-last in batting average (.198), ahead of, ironically, his older brother, Rickie. In fact, the Weeks brothers are holding up the rear among second basemen, and it makes sense to dump either or both of them right now.

Jemile ranks last in OPS (.574), second-to-last in runs batted in (five) and fifth-to-last in total hits (26), with only eight of them going for extra bases. He does, however, lead second basemen in stolen bases, but that hasn't exactly compensated for his at-the-plate performance.

One of the contributing factors to Weeks' slow weekly performance is his health. The 25-year-old has had a couple of small injuries, a groin strain earlier this month followed by an ankle turn just last weekend. These leg injuries could be nagging enough to keep the speedster grounded a bit. It might be the perfect time to sit him or drop him if there are suitable second basemen available.

Unfortunately for fantasy owners, the pool of second basemen is considerably shallow. There are a bunch of them currently hitting under .240, so it's not as though there's a ton of options to replace him. However, any other candidate is worth considering if you're looking to replace Weeks. 

Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Freddy Galvis, though just a rookie, is a suitable replacement, especially considering Chase Utley's unavailable status. (He has yet to field grounders, according to SI.com, and there's no timetable for his return.) Galvis is hitting only .231, but he has 11 extra-base hits and has driven in 15 runs. He has eight hits in his last 18 at-bats and has bumped his batting average 46 points in his past 10 games. He's not the speed demon that Weeks is, but at least Glavis is trending upward.

Comparatively, Weeks has only one extra-base hit and two RBI in his last 10 games; his average has risen five points since May 1.

Additionally, Chicago Cubs second baseman Darwin Barney is likely eligible in some fantasy leagues. The 26-year-old is also entering his second full season in the bigs and is looking to put up some solid numbers after a respectable 2011. So far this year, Barney is batting .250 with 29 hits (nine for extra-bases), 14 runs scored and eight RBI.

His numbers aren't that glaringly better than Weeks', but Barney has been more consistent throughout the year. He's only gone hitless in seven starts this season; meanwhile, Weeks has done so a whopping 13 times already. By comparison, Weeks went hitless in 23 starts in all of 2011.

Though it's still early enough in the season to completely give up on Weeks at second base, fantasy owners must be conscious of his disappointing start. Sophomore slumps do exist, and it's possible that Weeks' success last year was a product of his newness to the league. Pitchers and scouting reports may have a beat on him early on this season, and though it's possible he will eventually right himself, would it be too much to expect him to climb all the way to the .300 batting average he posted in 2011? 

Probably. Maybe. Who knows? 

Unfortunately, Weeks is not seasoned enough for fantasy owners to have a pulse on whether his rough start is a temporary lull or a sign of things to come. And just like a cold blackjack player, fantasy owners of Jemile Weeks should know when to walk away. 

That time is now.

Follow me on Twitter: @nathanieljue