Fantasy Baseball: Is It Safe to Trust Stephen Drew?

Boston Red Sox shortstop Stephen Drew played in 165 games over the past two seasons.

Quick math will tell you that he missed 159 games over that stretch. That’s nearly half of his games. He has played in 27 of the Red Sox’s 38 games, including the past nine.

Now that he is healthy, should he be in your fantasy baseball lineup?

Drew is still struggling at the plate. He’s hitting just .228 on the season with a .673 OPS. He has 26 strikeouts in 92 at-bats. Drew has eight runs, two home runs, 14 RBI and one stolen base. As a whole, it’s not pretty.

Lately, though, there has been a glimmer of hope. Drew finished April hitting .154 with a .517 OPS. To put things into perspective, his slugging percentage was .502 back in 2008. Thankfully, May has been better.

Not only have both of his home runs come in May, his lone stolen base has as well. He’s never been a real threat on the bases, but the stolen base could be a good indication that he’s past the concussion symptoms.

In 11 May games, Drew is hitting .325 with a .878 OPS. His slugging percentage is .500, which isn’t far off from his April OPS. He has three multi-hit games and already has more RBI (eight) than he had in 16 April games. Things are looking up.

That said, Drew hasn’t established himself as a starter in fantasy baseball circles. He can be used in a middle infield slot or as a reserve when you’re starter is off. He’s a career .239 hitter against left-handed pitching, so you’ll want to sit him when he’s facing a southpaw.

As long as he can stay healthy, he should be a decent source for home runs and RBI.