We have made it through another week of the MLB season, and there were some awe-inspiring performances. But, 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, 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 will highlight some known and lesser-known players.
So let’s see some of the risers and fallers for fantasy baseball Week 14, June 26-July 2.
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Fantasy Baseball Risers & Fallers
Risers
Carlos Santana (1B – PIT)
When it seemed Carlos Santana’s career ended, he heated up at the plate. Over the last week, Santana hit safely in five of six games, with multiple hits in four. Santana had three doubles and three home runs, while striking out less than 10% of the time. Santana was barreling the ball 15% of the time, with a 47% hard-hit rate, while he flashed forms of his former self. Santana has become serviceable again for fantasy, and it’s been a blast to watch.
Tommy Pham (OF – NYM)
Tommy Pham has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball over the past month, and this last week was no exception. Pham ended the week on a six-game hitting streak, hitting .520 with four doubles and two home runs. He barreled the ball over 17% of the time with a hard-hit rate of over 50%. Pham has been hitting over .350 since June 1 with six home runs, 17 runs scored, 20 RBI and four stolen bases.
Anthony Volpe (SS – NYY)
It appeared Anthony Volpe would not make it in the Bigs at this time, but he has been heating up at the plate. This past week, Volpe hit safely in all six games for a .522 batting average. He scored five runs with two extra-base hits and stole a base. Volpe even struck out less than 10% of the time. Volpe is hitting .291 since June 1 with two home runs and three stolen bases, as he may be finding that second wind at the big league level.
Spencer Steer (1B, 3B, OF – CIN)
The Reds are loaded with young talent, and players like Spencer Steer fly under the radar. This past week he hit .421 with three home runs and seven RBI while walking nearly 25% of the time. Steer barreled the ball almost 20% of the time with a hard-hit rate of over 46%. Steer plays all over the diamond to add to his fantasy value while producing in all five ROTO categories.
Spencer Torkelson (1B – DET)
Here we go again. Spencer Torkelson goes from riser to faller and back to riser. He finished the week on a five-game hitting streak, hitting .318 with four home runs, eight runs scored and eight RBI while walking nearly 20% of the time. This is Tork we know and want for fantasy purposes. We just need consistency to go with it, and hopefully, that is coming soon, as June was a significant improvement from previous months.
Fallers
Joey Votto (1B – CIN)
We were all excited when Joey Votto returned from the IL and hit a few home runs, but that was all we had seen from Votto. This past week he went hitless over five games while striking out nearly 50% of the time. Father Time may be catching up with Votto, which is a shame to see.
Ian Happ (OF – CHC)
Ian Happ had a rough week, collecting one single while striking out 30% of the time. Since June 1, Happ is only hitting .202 with three home runs and one stolen base. Happ continues to play nearly every day and hits in the middle of the Cubs’ lineup, but this production makes him next to impossible to start on your fantasy teams.
Tommy Edman (2B, SS, OF – STL)
Tommy Edman has been a shell of his former self of late. This past week he collected five singles for a .238 average. He scored three runs and didn’t steal a base, killing his fantasy value. Edman is now hitting .242 on the season with seven home runs and 14 stolen bases. The power and speed are OK, but the production has been dropping off, and he may become a platoon player sooner than later.
Ryan Noda (1B – OAK)
Ryan Noda has been quite streaky this season, and he is on the negative side of this streak. This past week he collected two hits for a .118 batting average. Noda kept his strong OBP skills, walking over 25% of the time, but he was not producing runs, which will not help your fantasy teams.
Alek Thomas (OF – ARI)
Alek Thomas was playing well in Triple-A, which got him called back up. While he was producing initially, this past week was different. He collected two singles and hit for an average of .111. Thomas scored one run, but that was it for fantasy output. Thomas will keep getting playing time for now with the injuries to the Diamondbacks’ outfield. However, once they become healthy, Thomas may become expendable again.
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