Welcome to our weekly fantasy baseball risers and fallers column. In this article, I’ll provide three risers and three fallers based on what has transpired in the previous week.
Given that we’re about a month in the season, there are more options to choose from. We now know how managers are deploying their players, with some surprisingly receiving less playing time than initially expected. We also have a few young hitters who are making their presence felt immediately.
Without further ado, let’s find out who this week’s biggest risers and fallers are.
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Fantasy Baseball Risers & Fallers
Fantasy Baseball Risers
Spencer Torkelson (1B – DET)
Spencer Torkelson snapped out of his slump in a big way in the past seven days, slashing .391/.462/1.174 with five home runs in 26 plate appearances. There was some concern with his cold start, but he’s back on track now.
Just remember that Torkelson is an extremely streaky hitter, so be prepared for the ebbs and flows of the season.
Jose Fernandez (1B/SS – ARI)
Jose Fernandez has been one of the biggest surprises of the 2026 season, slashing .342/.359/.500 with three home runs and one stolen base in 78 plate appearances. The 22-year-old has hit safely in 14 of his last 16 games.
Fernandez has showcased 85th-percentile bat speed, so there may be something here. What’s great is he’s now playing every day.
Carlos Cortes (OF – ATH)
Carlos Cortes has been another surprise waiver addition in fantasy baseball, slashing .377/.433/.689 with four home runs in 67 plate appearances. You have to love the plate discipline, with a 9.0 percent walk rate and a 6.0 percent strikeout rate.
Pick him up and see where this goes. Cortes could be the latest surprise hitter to emerge on the A’s.
Fantasy Baseball Fallers
Willy Adames (SS – SFG)
Willy Adames has gone ice cold at the plate, slashing .045/.045/.045 with zero home runs in 22 plate appearances in the last seven days.
He now has a 74 wRC+ on the season. While there’s enough of a track record here to stay the course, we still have to point out the bad start to the year, especially since he hit only .225 last season.
Ezequiel Tovar (SS – COL)
Ezequiel Tovar was a popular bounce-back target following an injury-plagued 2025 season, but he’s off to an abysmal start, slashing .200/.236/.305 with one home run in 110 plate appearances.
You have to be concerned with the plate discipline, which includes a 2.7 percent walk rate and a 30.0 percent strikeout rate. We need to adjust our expectations moving forward.
Cam Smith (OF – HOU)
Cam Smith got off to a nice start, but he’s cooled off considerably, slashing .105/.217/.105 with a 43.5 percent strikeout rate in the last seven days.
While I’m still hopeful that he’s going to provide value from where he was drafted, perhaps we need to temper our expectations moving forward.
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