We have made it through another week of the MLB season. Like every other week, 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. Let’s look at some of the risers and fallers for Week 17 (7/17-7/23).
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Fantasy Baseball Risers & Fallers
Here are some risers and fallers for Week 17 of fantasy baseball.
Risers
With Thairo Estrada going down with his hand injury, Flores took over most of the available playing time, and he is flourishing. This past week Flores hit safely in five of six games for a .474 batting average with seven extra-base hits, including four home runs. His plate discipline was outstanding by walking 13% of the time with a 4.3% strikeout rate. Flores had a 21.1% barrel rate and a 1.785 OPS. This crazy production is not sustainable, but a solid batting average with some power and counting stats could be in order while playing daily.
Due to Jorge Polanco‘s recent playing time, Julien has taken full advantage of his regular playing time. Julien hit safely in six of seven games this past week with a .423 batting average and two home runs. He also walked 18% of the time while tossing in a stolen base. This type of production will be tough to maintain with a strikeout rate over 30% and a BABIP of .643. However, an intense final two months could be in store with Polanco coming back and playing third base to allow Julien to continue playing regularly at 2B.
Casas has been showing solid improvements at the plate as the season has moved on, and this last week was one of his best yet. He hit safely in five of six games for a .471 average with a .471 ISO and two home runs. Casas barreled the ball 30% of the time with a 60% hard-hit rate. Strikeouts have been an issue, and that was no difference this past week as he struck out 31.8% of the time, but he also walked 22.7%, which is tremendous. Casas will not hit for this average all season, but the power is legit, and he should have an excellent fantasy impact for the rest of the season.
Health has always been an issue regarding Kirilloff, but for now, he’s healthy and producing. He hit safely in five of seven games this past week for a .345 batting average. Kirilloff collected six extra-base hits, including three home runs with ten RBI. He barreled the ball 14.3% of the time with a 52.4% hard-hit rate as he showcased his power upside. Ride the health of Kirilloff while you can, and add him now.
After a horrific start to the season, Bell’s bat has been picking up at the plate. Bell hit safely in six games this past week, ending with a five-game hitting streak. He hit .364 with two home runs while only striking out 16% of the time. Bell barreled the ball 16.7% of the time and can hopefully keep this production rolling for the rest of the season.
Fallers
Hays has had quite the up-and-down season; this past week was no exception. He collected three hits, one being a double while hitting just .125. Hays only barreled the ball 5.9% of the time with a 29.4% hard-hit rate while striking out 30.8%. His .321 OPS and -19 wRC+ are dreadful, and his inconsistent production makes him very difficult to roster weekly.
Rizzo had a great game on Sunday, going 4-for-4 with a home run to mask another horrible week. He still hit .238 on the week with five hits and zero walks. Sure, he had a home run, but Rizzo did not collect a barrel and had a hard-hit rate of just 37.5%. The home run on Sunday was Rizzo’s first in nearly two months, and he is a sit/drop for me, regardless of Sunday’s performance.
Bohm hit safely in three of six games last week with five singles and a .208 batting average. Bohm did have a 52.9% hard-hit rate but zero barrels which will cut into potential power. He also did not collect a walk while striking out nearly 30% of the time. At one time this season, it appeared Bohm was ready to break out, but that time has passed, and he’s better left for your bench or waiver wire.
Tovar was one of the best hitters in baseball in June, but that quickly ended in July. This past week he hit .158 with a double and a triple while striking out nearly 48% of the time. He did have a 10% barrel rate and a 60% hard-hit rate, which is promising, but the production has dried up tremendously, making Tovar mainly viable in Coors starts only.
Raley’s production has been drying up recently; this past week was his worst yet. He hit .118 by collecting two singles and striking out 38.1% of the time. Raley did not collect a barrel while only racking up a 33.3% hard-hit rate. He continues to play nearly every day and may break out of his funk, but it’s worth monitoring Raley’s production as the Rays have plenty of other options.
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