We have made it to the start of the MLB season, and there were some awe-inspiring performances. As usual, there were some great and rough performances to dig into. This weekly column will help highlight some hot and cold players for fantasy purposes. Some players are already rostered in many places so trades may be in order. Other players may be widely available, making a potential waiver wire claim in the cards. So this week, I will highlight some known and lesser-known players. So let’s see some of the risers and fallers for fantasy baseball Week 1 (3/30-4/2).
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Fallers
There were some high expectations for Melendez entering the 2023 season. The young C/OF for the Royals led off each of the first three games but went hitless with a 25% walk rate and an atrocious 41.7% strikeout rate. In addition, he had a -10.1 LA over the weekend, showcasing subpar contact. It was only one series, and he should still be productive, but all fantasy managers would love a better start to the season.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (OF – ARI)
After an injury-riddled 2022 season where Gurriel only hit five home runs, he was looking to bounce back with his new team in Arizona. Unfortunately, the opening series is not what Gurriel had in mind as he hit .250 with four singles, no RBI, and just one run scored. However, he at least collected four hits with a barrel rate of over 8% and a 41% hard-hit rate. He should be ok going forward, but the power needs to show up to keep Gurriel in fantasy lineups.
Bellinger’s struggles have been well-documented in recent years, so a new start in Chicago may be best for the young lefty. Unfortunately, it was more of the same for Bellinger after the first weekend. He went hitless over three games with one RBI and a 33.3% strikeout rate. In addition, he had zero barrels and a 28.6% hard-hit rate with a 13.7% SwStr. Bellinger will run into a home run here and there, but the constant strikeouts and low batting average will be too much to overcome.
Witt is coming off of a great rookie season where he hit 20 home runs to go with 30 stolen bases, which made fantasy managers quite aggressive on draft day. Well, they’ll have to wait a little longer for Witt to break out, as he went hitless in the first three games of the season with a 25% strikeout rate. However, he did walk 16.7% of the time, with a 71.4% hard-hit rate. I am not worried about Witt, but seeing more production to start the season would have been nice.
Muncy only hit .196 in 2022, but the second half was a bit more Muncy-like, and that left fantasy managers interested on draft day. Well, the opening weekend left some slightly concerned as he collected one hit while striking out 50% of the time and no walks. The average may be a problem for Muncy going forward, but hopefully, the power should come back. Keep an eye on Muncy, as he may be one to move on from if things do not improve soon.
Whether you’re new to fantasy baseball or a seasoned pro, our Fantasy Baseball 101: Strategy Tips & Advice page is for you. You can get started with our Sabermetrics Glossary or head to a more advanced strategy – like Maximizing Your Potential in Multi-Lineup Contests – to learn more.
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