We have made it another week through the MLB season and had some awe-inspiring performances. As usual, there were some great and rough performances to dig into. This weekly column will help highlight some hot and cold players, risers and fallers, for fantasy purposes.
Some players are already rostered in many places, meaning trades may be in order. Other players may be widely available, making a potential waiver wire claim in the cards.
So let’s see some of the risers and fallers for fantasy baseball Week 19 (8/15-8/21).
Risers
The second-half surge from Jose Miranda continued in full force this past week. Miranda hit safely in all six games for a .391 batting average. In addition, he hit two home runs while showcasing great plate discipline by only striking out 11.5% of the time. Miranda’s contact quality was also solid, with a 10% barrel rate and 50% hard-hit rate, which helped lead to a .261 ISO, 1.114 OPS and 224 wRC+. Miranda is now hitting .284 on the season with 13 home runs and is on his way to wrapping up a great rookie season for the Twins.
After a slow start to the season, Sean Murphy is locked in at the plate, and this last week was another phenomenal performance. Murphy hit safely in six of seven games for a .385 batting average. Murphy also hit three home runs with a .423 ISO and 1.292 OPS. Murphy showcased elite plate discipline with a 12.5% walk rate and 6.5% strikeout rate, which meant a lot of balls were in play that his 16.7% barrel rate benefitted from. Murphy is now hitting .253 on the season with 16 home runs and is playing every day even with the call-up of stud catching prospect Shea Langeliers.
Even with some tough pitching matchups this past week, Vaughn Grissom continued to flourish in his first full week in the majors. He hit safely in six of seven games with four multi-hit games and a .400 batting average. Grissom continued to showcase his power with three extra-base hits, including a home run and a .200 ISO. Grissom added a stolen base, six runs scored and five RBI as he stuffed the ROTO categories. Grissom has now hit safely in 10 of 12 games with three home runs and two stolen bases. He looks to be locked into the Braves lineup, even when Ozzie Albies eventually returns from the IL.
It has been a roller-coaster season for Bryan Reynolds and last week was no exception. He only hit .250 last week but hit three home runs, scored six runs and drove in six. He still struck out too much with a 30.8% strikeout rate but did barrel the ball 18.8% of the time with a 50% hard-hit rate. It is clear that Reynolds has a different approach at the plate as his average has fallen as he strikes out more, but he is also more productive in the power categories. Over the last couple of weeks, he has been hitting .304 with five home runs, and a finish like this could bring Reynolds back into the fantasy graces of his fantasy managers.
Franmil Reyes has found a happy place in his new home with the Cubs. This past week he hit safely in six of seven games for a .321 batting average. He had five extra-base hits, including a home run and, more impressively, only struck out 16.7% of the time. Reyes had a .321 ISO, .976 OPS and 159 wRC+ during his monster week. Since joining the Cubs on Aug. 9, Reyes has been hitting .333 with seven extra-base hits and two home runs. The “Franimal” is back, and a big finish to the season appears to be in store.
Fallers
What a brutal week for Mike Yastrzemski, especially for having three games in Coors Field to finish the week. Yastrzemski only had one hit on the week with a .000 ISO, 34.6% strikeout rate and -51 wRC+. He did score three runs and stole a base, but it was not nearly enough from the Giants’ outfielder. On the season, Yastrzemski is only hitting .208 with 12 home runs and four stolen bases. Nevertheless, he is crushing fantasy teams that are still giving him a chance. If you haven’t already, you better move on quickly.
Josh Bell collected three hits this past week, two of which were home runs to end the week, which may bring some confidence to the first baseman. However, I am not as optimistic as the .115 batting average, and the 28.6% strikeout rate is very concerning. Bell only had a 69.4% contact rate with a 13.5% SwStr, so the plate discipline struggled a bit. Since joining the Padres on Aug. 3, Bell is only hitting .138 with those two home runs he just hit over the weekend. Bell could turn things around, but I am concerned with the big man’s recent production.
Javier Baez’s disastrous season continued this past week as he collected four hits for a .148 batting average. He did steal two bases, but his .037 ISO and 13 wRC+ are not going to cut it for fantasy. Baez is only hitting .222 on the season with 11 home runs and seven stolen bases.
Oneil Cruz’s struggles continued in a big way this past week and even resulted in a couple of extra days off. Cruz played in only four games, collecting two singles, a .000 ISO and struck out a ridiculous 50% of the time. Cruz had a 61.7% contact rate and 13.7% SwStr rate, which continues to hamper his overall production. Sure, Cruz has nine home runs and six stolen bases in a small sample but is only hitting .196 with a 37.9% strikeout rate. It is tough to start Cruz with confidence for now.
We all knew there might be some batting average and strikeout concerns with Jose Barrero, but we also expected the power to be an excellent trade-off. That did not happen last week for Barrero. He collected three singles for a .143 batting average while also striking out 42.9% of the time. Barrero has now played in 16 games since he was called up and is only hitting .190 with two home runs and a horrible 51.7% strikeout rate. A trip back to the minors may be in the cards soon for Barrero.
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