We have made it through another week of the MLB season. There were some awe-inspiring performances. As usual, there were some great showings and some rough ones to dig into. This weekly fantasy baseball column will help highlight some hot and cold players, risers and fallers. Some players are already rostered in many places. Other players may be widely available in fantasy baseball leagues, making a potential waiver wire claim a possibility.
This week, I will highlight some known and lesser-known players. Let’s see some of the risers and fallers for fantasy baseball Week 9 (5/19-5/25).
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Fantasy Baseball Risers & Fallers
Fantasy Baseball Risers
After a slow start to the season, Taylor Ward has picked things up at the plate. This past week, Ward hit safely in six out of seven games for a .407 batting average. Ward had eight extra-base hits, including three home runs, to go with a .556 ISO and 266 wRC+.
Ward’s contact quality was off the charts with a 35% barrel rate and 55% hard-hit rate. Ward is now hitting .260 in May with nine home runs, 19 runs scored and 27 RBI. He’s hitting cleanup daily for the Angels and should be started in all fantasy leagues.
Seiya Suzuki is having a great season for the Cubs. He hit safely in all six games for a .480 batting average this past week. Suzuki also hit three home runs this past week while driving in 10 runs with a .520 ISO and 322 wRC+.
Suzuki barreled the ball 14.3% of the time with a 57.1% hard-hit rate. He is in the midst of an MVP campaign, hitting .272 with 14 home runs and 50 RBI. If Suzuki can stay healthy this season, he could be in for a monster fantasy campaign.
Isaac Paredes had a horrible start to the season, but is swinging well lately. This past week, he hit safely in six out of seven games with a .367 batting average and four home runs. He barreled the ball 11.6% of the time with a 46.2% hard-hit rate.
Paredes’ plate discipline also improved this past week, striking out only 12.5% of the time. With Paredes’ recent success, he’s now hitting .276 on the season with 11 home runs while striking out 15.4% of the time with a 151 wRC+. Paredes is back to being a must-start in fantasy.
Brandon Lowe has been inconsistent at the plate this season, with this past week being one of his good weeks. Lowe hit safely in all six games with two doubles and three home runs for a .400 batting average. He barreled the ball 17.6% of the time with a 47.1% hard-hit rate to go with an impressive 293 wRC+.
Lowe has now stayed healthy enough to play in 51 games to go with a .249 batting average and 11 home runs. A healthy Lowe could produce 25+ home runs and bring some significant fantasy upside to any team.
After the high expectations we had for Nick Kurtz once he was recalled by the A’s, he struggled quite a bit. This past week, Kurtz started to turn things around, though, and showcased the offensive prowess many had hoped for.
Kurtz hit .333 this past week with four home runs, a 25% barrel rate, and a 56.3% hard-hit rate. He also showcased elite plate discipline with an 18.5% walk rate while striking out 22.2% of the time. If Kurtz can continue to showcase that elite plate discipline with all of his power, he could be in line for a Rookie of the Year season and all of the fantasy goodness to follow.
Fantasy Baseball Fallers
Hunter Goodman was off to a monster start to the season, but Goodman took a major step back this past week. Goodman hit safely in three out of seven games for a .138 batting average. He also had a 5.6% barrel rate and a nice 50% hard-hit rate, but a .000 ISO and -31 wRC+ are not great.
With the down week, Goodman is still hitting .275 on the season with seven home runs and an improved 24.9% strikeout rate. Goodman needs to bounce back soon, or he may be relegated to a bench spot going forward.
Royce Lewis has been struggling all season due to injuries and inconsistent production on the field. This past week, Lewis struggled, collecting just one hit, a double, over five games. He hit .053 with a .053 ISO and -29 wRC+.
Lewis is now hitting .138 on the season through 19 games with a home run, four runs scored and three RBI. His quality of contact and results with balls in play resemble those of previous seasons. Hopefully, things will turn around for Lewis. He needs to prove himself before we can trust him.
Willy Adames has had an up-and-down start to the season with his new team in the Bay. This past week was a down week for Adames, who collected two hits for a .091 batting average. He struck out 29.2% of the time with a -2 wRC+.
Adames is hitting .209 on the season with five home runs, 30 runs scored and 25 RBI. He still has an 11.1% barrel rate and 45.1% hard-hit rate, so things can turn around sooner rather than later. For now, he should be benched on your fantasy teams.
Luis Rengifo (2B, 3B, OF – LAA)
Luis Rengifo is having a less-than-stellar start to the season. This past week, Rengifo hit safely in five out of six games with five singles for a .227 batting average. He also had a .000 ISO and 15 wRC+ without a walk, along with a 17.4% strikeout rate.
Rengifo is now hitting .220 on the season with a home run and a stolen base. His production is lacking mightily, making it challenging to roster Rengifo in 12-team and shallower leagues.
Like most young players, there will be ups and downs in their first season. Kristian Campbell is currently facing a significant struggle. Over the past week, Campbell hit safely in two out of six games for a .150 batting average. He had three singles while walking 13% of the time and striking out 26.1% of the time.
Campbell is now hitting .224 on the season with five home runs and two steals. He’s moving around positions, which could be impacting his production at the plate. Campbell is best left on the bench for now and could be dropped to the waiver wire if his roster spot is needed.
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