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 12 (6/9-6/15).
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Fantasy Baseball Risers & Fallers
Fantasy Baseball Risers
Josh Smith has had a good season with the Rangers. He’s played all over the diamond, filling in for injuries, but his overall performance has forced the Rangers to find at-bats for the super utility player.
This past week, Smith hit safely in all six games for a .423 batting average. He hit two home runs and scored nine runs while leading off. Smith walked 13.3% of the time while striking out only 6.7% of the time. Smith is now hitting .288 on the season with seven home runs and eight steals, making a case to be rostered in 12-team and deeper leagues.
Josh Naylor is coming off a monster week, which saw him hit safely in all six games. Naylor hit .478 with two home runs while driving in nine. Naylor barreled the ball 14.3% of the time with a 57.1% hard-hit rate, while also walking and striking out 11.1% of the time.
After the monster week, Naylor is now hitting .300 with nine home runs and nine steals to go with a 129 wRC+. Naylor has picked up where he left off after a career year in 2024.
It has been a slow season for J.P. Crawford, but he picked things up in a big way this past week. He hit safely in five out of six games for a .455 batting average. Crawford hit a home run and stole two bases while walking 21.4% of the time and striking out only 3.6% of the time.
Crawford had a 43% hard-hit rate with a 100% O-contact rate and an overall contact rate of 84%. He enters the week hitting .296 on the season with six home runs and four steals to go with his elite plate discipline. He’s available in many 12-team and shallower leagues.
Evan Carter missed a couple of games this past week due to a wrist injury, but still managed to have a great week over the five games he started. Carter hit safely in four out of five games for a .444 batting average. He hit two home runs with two steals, while scoring seven runs and driving in five.
Carter showcased some surprise power with the two home runs, but that was supported with an 11% barrel rate and a 50% hard-hit rate. The most impressive part of the week for Carter was the plate discipline that saw him walk 18% of the time without striking out. Carter looks like a brand new man since returning from the injured list (IL). He’s a must-start in all formats.
Jordan Westburg (2B, 3B – BAL)
Jordan Westburg returned from the IL this past week and picked up where he left off, hitting safely in four out of five games for a .316 batting average. He supplied plenty of power, hitting three home runs to go with a 20% barrel rate and 66.7% hard-hit rate.
There were high expectations for Westburg entering the season after last season’s success, and a week like this can go a long way to get Westburg back to those expectations.
Fantasy Baseball Fallers
Rhys Hoskins was swinging it well this season, but he has hit the struggle bus of late. This past week, Hoskins collected two hits, one being a home run, over seven games for a .077 batting average. He had a 7.7% barrel rate and 46.2% hard-hit rate, which is good, but the production was rough.
Hoskins struck out 48.1% of the time without a walk. He had a 31.3% O-Contact rate to go with a 59.6% overall contact rate and an 18.3% SwStr rate. Hopefully, this is just a slump, but Hoskins’ overall approach at the plate was quite poor.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand (1B – CIN)
Christian Encarnacion-Strand had a great first week back from the IL at Great American Ball Park. This past week, he left his home turf and struggled. Encarnacion-Strand had three singles over six games for a .143 batting average with a 7.1% barrel rate and 42.9% hard-hit rate.
Encarnacion-Strand did not walk this past week, striking out 34.8% of the time, while maintaining a 12.8% SwStr rate. He can be a streaky hitter, so hopefully returning home this week will help his bat wake back up.
Matt Shaw has been swinging it well since he was recalled from the IL. This past week, that production came to a screeching halt. Shaw collected two singles over six games for a .091 batting average. He struck out 26.1% of the time to go with a 4.3% walk rate and 79.2% contact rate.
Shaw didn’t collect a barrel all week to go with an 18.8% hard-hit rate. He is now hitting .264 since returning from Triple-A on May 19th with a home run and seven steals. He needs to pick up his production if he is going to be rostered in 12-team and shallower leagues.
Ozzie Albies has had a rough 2025 season, and this past week was just another week of struggles. Albies collected three singles over six games for a .125 batting average. He didn’t barrel the ball all week to go with a 28.6% hard-hit rate.
The real struggles came with Albies’ plate discipline as he walked 4% of the time with a 40% strikeout rate. He had a 71.4% contact rate and a 14.7% SwStr rate. Albies is now hitting .222 on the season with six home runs and six steals, as he is still trying to figure it out at the plate.
Parker Meadows has been back from the IL for a couple of weeks now, but he’s still waiting for a big week. This past week, Meadows collected one hit — a home run — over five games. He hit .053 without a walk while striking out 36.8% of the time.
Meadows had an 8.3% barrel rate and a 25% hard-hit rate to go with a 40.6% O-swing rate and a 13.6% SwStr rate. Meadows is now hitting .143 on the season with a home run and two steals as he continues to shake the rust off from an injury-riddled start to the season.
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