We have made it another week through the MLB season, and the overreactions are still in full force. There have been some great weeks and some rough weeks. This weekly column will help highlight some hot and cold players or risers and fallers for fantasy purposes. Some players are already rostered in many places, so trades may be in order, and other players may be widely available, making a potential waiver wire claim in the cards. So let’s see some of the risers and fallers for fantasy baseball Week 3 (4/18-4/24).

Risers

Ty France (1B/2B/3B – SEA)

France has gotten off to a fantastic start to the 2022 season, but he picked it up this week. Heading into Sunday, France had hit safely in three of five games, with multiple hits and two home runs. On Sunday, France added three more hits and another home run. This week France has only barreled the ball 5.5% of the time, but he does have a 48% hard-hit rate and, most impressively, is only striking out 8.7% of the time. France has been locked in all season while hitting second in the Mariner’s batting order. His hot bat and multi-position eligibility make him an outstanding play going forward.

Julio Rodriguez (OF – SEA)

Many were beginning to panic with the Mariner’s top prospect. Fantasy managers should lift those concerns as Rodriguez had a big week. Rodriguez hit safely in five of six games, and he had two doubles and four stolen bases. He is still striking out a lot, around 36% of the time, but that is improving as he gets squeezed at the plate a bit less. Rodriguez’s contact quality is off the chart as he is barreling the ball over 14% of the time with a hard-hit rate over 65%. Rodriguez’s production this past week has been great and gives a whole lot of hope for what’s to come this season.

Josh Naylor (OF – CLE)

Naylor went O-for on Sunday after multiple hits in all four games this week. Naylor has returned from the IL and has been mashing. This week, in those four games, he was hitting .533 with three extra-base hits and impressive ZERO strikeouts. Naylor did strike out twice on Sunday, but it is still one heck of a week for Naylor. He is barreling the ball 20% of the time this week with a 53% hard-hit rate. Naylor is hitting fifth for the Guardians, and he should be quite a fantasy-relevant going forward and gain first base eligibility soon.

Joc Pederson (OF – SF)

Joc has been on fire of late and was scorching hot this week. On Sunday, he went 3-3 with a double and two home runs, JOC JAMS, which gives him two doubles and three home runs this week. What may be even more impressive than just the power is that Joc only strikes out 10.5% of the time. Joc does platoon, which is always a bit of a bummer, but he is on the solid side, and the Giants face five RHP over their six games next week. Joc was already hitting fourth, which was tremendous but led off on Sunday with Yaz out so that we may get leadoff Jaz for five games this week. Roster him wherever you need power.

Jorge Lopez (RP – BAL)

As much as we all have given Lopez a hard time in fantasy production in recent years, Lopez has been outstanding in the closer’s role for the Orioles. Lopez has always been a starter, but moving to the bullpen has allowed him to ramp up the velocity and collect four saves thus far with an ERA of 2.00 and a very nice 35.1% strikeout rate. This past week, Lopez performed like one of the best closers in baseball. He made three appearances and collected three saves over 3.2 innings with seven strikeouts. Unfortunately, Lopez is locked into the Oriole’s closing duties, so grab him wherever you can before he eventually gets traded.

Fallers

Corey Seager (SS – TEX)

Seager has hit the struggle but in a big way to start the season. Seager was heading into Sunday’s action this past week with four singles, one run scored, and one RBI. He was striking out 18.5% of the time while barreling the ball 5.9%. One silver lining, Seager does have a hard-hit rate of 52.9% this week. Seager continues to hit near the top of the Rangers’ lineup, but there are still some significant concerns with the overall production from Seager. I was off in the preseason, and the start to the season did not make me feel warm and fuzzy either.

Ketel Marte (2B, OF – ARI)

It has been a horrific start to the season for Marte, and this past week has not helped at all. Heading into Sunday, he only had three hits and was hitting .115. He looks lost at the plate, and his 33.3% strikeout rate and 34.5% O-swing back that theory up. His contact metrics and swing rates are also down. Not sure if Marte is just lost or pressing way too hard. The Diamondbacks have kept the faith as he continues to hit second through it all. It is hard to sit, Marte, but if your team has better options this week, Marte may be worth a sit.

Kolten Wong (2B – MIL)

It has been a horrible start to the season for Wong. This past week was no better as he hit safely in two of six games, only starting in four games. Wong had zero barrels this past week and only had a hard-hit rate of 26.7%. The only positive this past week was Wong still led off when he started. I have many concerns with Wong, and for now, he will be on my bench wherever I have him rostered.

Jon Gray (SP – TEX)

Many were optimistic when Gray left Colorado and signed with the Rangers. So far, not so good when it comes to Gray’s fantasy production. He has made two starts, pitching nine innings, and has allowed seven runs with two home runs. Gray only has a K-BB% of 13.8%, but his underlying metrics are promising. A strong SwStr rate, limiting the hard contact and ERA indicators, points to Gray bouncing back. For now, he is a faller with the rough performances, and I will need to see some marked improvements before I can trust him in my lineups.

Jose Urquidy (SP – HOU)

Urquidy has made three starts this season. Two were ok starts, and one was a blowup versus the Mariners. So far this season, Urquidy has allowed nine runs in 14.2 innings. The runs are not great, but the lack of strikeouts is a significant concern. Urquidy has only struck out seven over his 14.2 innings. Additionally, he allows nearly a 91% Z-contact with an 87% contact rate and 7% SwStr. Urquidy needs to make significant improvements if he has any fantasy value this season.

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Brian Entrekin is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Brian, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter at @bdentrek.