MLB betting and fantasy players alike don’t know what to do with David Ortiz, the aging Boston slugger who is coming off one of his best months in recent memory. So when it comes to your fantasy team, do you hold onto “Big Papi”, or trade while the value is high?
In April, Ortiz had a .143 average with a single homer and four RBIs, and like last year, many were wondering if the big slugger was done. Ortiz exploded on the media, manager Terry Francona, and for all of May, he exploded on the opposition. Ortiz went deep 10 times with 27 RBIs in the month of May, and he also hit .363 at the plate. That has sparked a comeback by the Red Sox, who struggled through the first month of the season.
Over the last three years, Ortiz has been generally a slow starter, but he picks up the pace in June. This year, he started a month early and the Red Sox are hoping that he can continue to keep this trend up. From 2007 to 2009, Ortiz hit .264 with 39 homers and 142 RBIs in 796 games before the All-Star break. In 710 games after the All-Star break during those three years, Ortiz knocked out 47 homers with 163 RBIs and a .297 average.
We would hang onto Ortiz for at least another month to see if his upward ascent is for real, and we think it is. We think Ortiz has one more huge year left in him before he hangs them up, and that will be huge for Boston’s betting odds.