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. So, let’s see some of the risers and fallers for fantasy baseball Week 6 (4/28-5/4).
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Fantasy Baseball Risers & Fallers
Fantasy Baseball Risers
After struggling for a couple of weeks, Riely Greene’s bat woke up in a big way over seven road games. Greene hit safely in all seven games for a .464 batting average with four home runs, seven runs scored and eight RBI.
Greene was locked in, barreling the ball 24% of the time with a 60% hard-hit rate while showcasing nice plate discipline with a 10% strikeout rate. Greene will be streaky at times, but overall, he has a ton of power and showcased why we shouldn’t panic too much about top talent.
After a nice start to the season, Jake Meyers’ bat had gone cold. That changed this past week as Meyers ended the week on a five-game hitting streak. He hit .563 on the week with four extra-base hits, including two home runs.
Power is usually not Meyers’ forte, but a 13.3% barrel rate and 60% hard-hit rate will make most players power hitters. Meyers is now hitting .302 on the season with two home runs and seven steals. He should continue to provide a nice batting average with speed for your fantasy teams.
Maikel Garcia’s bat woke up in a major way this past week. Garcia hit safely in five of his six games, with multiple hits in four. He hit .500 with two doubles, two home runs and four stolen bases.
Garcia had a 9% barrel rate with a 41% hard-hit rate while striking out 7.7% of the time. Garcia put up a 290 wRC+ while he hit in the middle of the Royals’ lineup. Garcia is now hitting .317 on the season with four home runs and nine steals, providing great fantasy production for those who stayed patient.
This season, Luis Robert Jr. has been a stolen base machine, but the rest of the production has been lacking. That changed this past week as Robert hit safely in five out of six games for a .381 batting average. He hit two home runs while scoring five, driving in seven and stealing five bases.
Robert continued to strike out a lot (32% strikeout rate), but also walked 16% of the time. Robert is now hitting .188 on the season, which isn’t great, but he has five home runs and 15 stolen bases while adding plenty of runs and RBI.
Gleyber Torres is quietly putting together a solid first season in Detroit. He hit safely in three out of six games this past week for a .318 average. He hit two home runs with a stolen base and only struck out 11.5% of the time.
Torres had some impressive quality of contact metrics as he barreled the ball 31.6% of the time with a 52.6% hard-hit rate. Torres is now hitting .291 on the season with four home runs, four steals and a 139 wRC+.
Fantasy Baseball Fallers
There were high expectations for Michael Conforto entering his first season with the Dodgers. Things have not gone according to plan, though, as Conforto went hitless in six games this past week. He did walk 16% of the time, but also struck out 40% of the time with a 68.8% contact rate and 13.3% SwStr rate.
Conforto is now hitting .146 on the season with two home runs and six RBI while striking out 31% of the time. Conforto will have to start hitting quickly, or the Dodgers may have to utilize their offensive depth.
Chandler Simpson is a rabbit who needs to hit for average, or he loses most of his value. This past week, he collected hits in two games for a .167 batting average. Simpson stole three bases and scored four runs with those four hits, but he did not walk while striking out 12% of the time.
Simpson is now hitting .296 on the season with nine runs scored and six stolen bases.
Ben Williamson has been a pleasant surprise for the Mariners this season, who have desperately needed help at third base. That success quieted down this past week as Williamson hit safely in just one of five games for a .100 batting average.
Williamson scored one run while driving in a run to go with a 25% strikeout rate and -36 wRC+. Williamson is now hitting .254 on the season with a home run, 11 runs and 10 RBI with an 85 wRC+, providing some help in deeper leagues.
Lawrence Butler, aka “The Law Dog,” has been struggling mightily to start the season. This past week, he hit safely in four out of six games for a .222 batting average and a home run, which is an improvement, but there are still some things to be concerned about.
Butler struck out 44% of the time without a walk with a 54.5% contact rate and 23.8% SwStr rate. Butler is hitting .246 on the season with five home runs and will hopefully start turning things around sooner rather than later.
Many hoped Adolis Garcia would be a major bounce-back option in fantasy this season, but that has not been the case. This past week, he had hits in three out of seven games for a .240 batting average.
They were all multi-hit games, but five singles and a double with six RBI. Garcia struck out 31% of the time with a 10.9% SwStr rate. The Texas outfielder is hitting .217 on the season with four home runs and four steals. He is a tough start weekly in fantasy.
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