We have made it another week through the MLB season, and there have been some great performances and some rough performances. This weekly column will help highlight some hot and cold players or risers and fallers 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 am highlighting some lesser rostered players on the rise and some heavily rostered players that are falling over the past weeks. So let’s see some of the risers and fallers for fantasy baseball Week 8 (5/23-5/29).
Risers
Joc had quite the week at the plate. He finished the week on a five-game hitting streak, including four home runs and 13 RBIs. In addition, Joc was locked in, barreling the ball 23.5% of the time with a 64.7% hard-hit rate. We know Joc can bring power to the plate, but the batting average and, more impressively, the plate discipline stood out in a big way. He walked 13% of the time this past week while only striking out 8.7%.
Joc is now hitting .265 on the season with 11 home runs. He is on pace for an easy 20 home runs with a chance of hitting 30-plus. Joc will play on the strong side of the platoon more often than not, so weeks like the upcoming week make him even more fantasy-relevant as the Giants face a lot of RHP.
Don’t look now, but Dansby is heating up. He collected 13 hits last week to go with a .481 batting average, three extra-base hits, and two stolen bases. Dansby barreled the ball 8% of the time with a 40% hard-hit rate and, more impressively, only struck out 6.9% of the time. Swanson’s best part of the past week was that he returned to the top of the Braves’ batting order. Of course, when Swanson is hitting down in the order, he loses some fantasy value, but last year, we saw how much his fantasy stock rises when he hits atop the order. Let’s hope this sticks, and we get four more great months from Swanson.
After a slow start to the season, Witt is turning into the fantasy stud we all hoped for. This past week, Witt collected 10 hits, seven of which were extra-base hits. Witt even stole a base to go with his extra-base hit skills, leading to a 240 wRC+. Witt’s success has also locked him into the third spot in the Royals’ lineup, which should pay off nicely. Witt is now hitting .240 on the season with six home runs and seven stolen bases, giving him a great chance at a 20/20 rookie season.
Contreras continues to flourish with everyday playing time. The Braves have been playing Contreras at DH, C, and even a start in LF. They want his bat in the lineup, and he has given them a good reason for that. He hit safely in six of seven games this past week with four extra-base hits. Contreras is now hitting .281 with seven home runs and a 191 wRC+. Contreras plays nearly every day; he has become a must in two-catcher leagues.
During the preseason, many were touting Taylor as a late-round fantasy asset. Playing time has been the most significant issue, especially when the Brewers added Andrew McCutchen and Hunter Renfroe. Renfroe has gone to the IL, and Taylor is flourishing with regular playing time. This past week, Taylor hit safely in five of seven games for a .333 batting average. In addition, Taylor added three extra-base hits, a 52.4% hard-hit rate, and 150 wRC+. Taylor should play every day going forward, making him a great fantasy waiver wire add for the time being. Hopefully, he continues to rake and forces the Brewers to play him over the likes of McCutchen and Lorenzo Cain.
Fallers
McCutchen has had a rough season, as he is hitting .232 with three home runs and three stolen bases. He is striking out nearly 24% of the time with a 10% SwStr. This past week was even worse for McCutchen; he only hit .167 with a .000 ISO, 28.1% K-rate, and 13 wRC+. Even with the struggles, the Brewers continue to hit McCutchen first or fourth in the lineup, which will bring some fantasy appeal. McCutchen appears to be a dead batting average with little power and speed regardless of the batting order.
Grossman is coming off an outstanding 2021 season, giving many high hopes heading into 2022. However, two months into the season, disappointment sets in for those who rostered Grossman. He is only hitting .199 on the season with ZERO home runs and two stolen bases. However, he collected three hits this past week while striking out 36.8% of the time. Grossman continues to lead off for the Tigers, which is nice, but the strikeouts and lack of power are of major concern for now.
Miller started the season off in a big way, jumping onto everyone’s fantasy radar. However, things have slowed down a bit since then. He is still hitting .280 on the season, but he has only four home runs and no steals. Over the past week, Miller only hit .217 with no extra-base hits, no runs scored, and only two RBI. His strikeout rate ballooned to nearly 30%, added by a 44.9% O-swing, 75% contact rate, and 13.9% SwStr. Miller is free-swinging, and the results aren’t doing much for your fantasy teams. Be careful of Miller going forward.
Kiermaier is never thought of as a fantasy asset, but recently he was swinging a scorching bat, leading some fantasy players to take a chance on the Rays outfielder. As expected, that hot streak was short-lived. This past week, Kiermaier collected only three hits with a 30% strikeout rate and 53 wRC+. He is now hitting .232 with six home runs and three stolen bases. Kiermaier will be streamable from time to time, but weeks like he just had will happen more often.
Greinke’s bad season just got worse with last week’s two starts. He faced the Twins and D Backs on the road and got shelled. Greinke allowed 12 runs, including five home runs, over 7.2 innings. Greinke only struck out seven while walking six and when they made contact, he allowed an 18.5% barrel rate. Greinke has yet to collect a win through 10 starts and has allowed 31 runs (5.05 ERA) while only collecting an 11.2% K-rate. Greinke’s days are over when it comes to fantasy relevance, and this past week was hopefully the final straw for so many that still believed in him.
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