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 (7/24-7/30).
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Fantasy Baseball Risers & Fallers
Risers
Ha-Seong Kim (2B,3B,SS – SD)
Kim has taken over leadoff duties for the Padres and is flourishing. This past week he hit safely in all six games for a .500 batting average. Kim hit two home runs while stealing three bases, but his plate discipline may be the most impressive part. Kim walked 21.4% of the time this past week while striking out only 4.3%. Kim is locked in at the plate and should supply some great five-category production for the season’s final two months.
Brandon Lowe (2B – TB)
Lowe had been having a rough season between production and injuries, but he’s healthy right now and producing. Lowe hit safely in four of five games this past week, food a .474 batting average with three home runs. He only struck out 19% of the time while barreling the ball 20%. Lowe was not just a one-week thing for Lowe as he hit .284 with five home runs and two stolen bases in July. While healthy, Lowe can produce at a high level. He just needs to stay healthy.
Marcell Ozuna (OF – ATL)
It has been a roller coaster year for Ozuna, but this last week was a monster week for fantasy production. Ozuna hit .368 with four home runs; all the home runs came in the final three games of the week. Ozuna barreled the ball 33.3% of the time with a hard-hit rate of 66.7%. He also struck out less than 20% of the time, which was a nice improvement. Ozuna can be streaky, but the good weeks can be monsters like this last one.
Carlos Santana (1B – MIL)
Santana was swinging a good bat over the last month, and this last week was a big one for Santana. Besides being traded from the Pirates to the Brewers, Santana hit .278 with four home runs. Santana barreled the ball 25% of the time with a 50% hard-hit rate. Santana flexed his muscle while keeping his excellent plate discipline by walking 18.2% of the time while only striking out 9.1%. The first baseman should flourish over the final two months as the everyday first baseman for the Brewers.
Lars Nootbaar (OF – STL)
Nootbaar is getting healthy and is starting to produce in a big way. He hit safely in five of six games this past week for a .444 batting average. He hit three home runs while scoring six runs, driving in six. Nootbaar’s plate discipline was terrific, with a walk rate of 26.9% while striking out only 3.8% of the time. He hit .309 in July with six home runs while scoring 24 runs as he’s producing like many hoped he would during draft season.
Fallers
Henry Davis (C,OF – PIT)
Davis had high expectations when he was called up to the bigs, and he has had a tough time living up to them. This past week was terrible; he collected one hit over six games for a .042 batting average. He struck out 27% of the time with a .199 OPS and -47 wRC+. The Pirates have traded away a handful of offensive players, so Davis should get a lot more run, but production like this may bring everyday playing time to an end.
Teoscar Hernandez (OF – SEA)
It has been a disappointing season for Teoscar, which continued this past week. He collected four singles while hitting .148. Teoscar had a dreadful .321 OPS with a .27 wRC+ which are both bad, but the worst part of the week was striking out nearly 42% of the time. Teoscar only hit .200 on the season with one home run while striking out 31% of the time, as he’s becoming a tough player to start weekly.
Anthony Rizzo (1B – NYY)
Rizzo is having a very tough season, and his production since May has been some of the worst in baseball. This past week was no exception, as Rizzo hit .095 with two singles. Rizzo struck out nearly 35% of the time with a .289 OPS and -22 wRC+. Since June 1, Rizzo has been hitting .168 with one home run, 15 runs scored, and nine RBI. The 33-year-old cannot be started confidently and is possibly worth a cut unless playing in deep leagues.
Spencer Steer (1B,3B,OF – CIN)
Steer was one of the bigger surprise performers early in the season, but the production has begun to dry up. This past week Steer hit .200 with a home run while striking out 33.3% of the time. Steer had zero barrels with a 23.1% hard-hit rate to go with a .588 OPS. Steer has been one of the players to lose some playing time with the addition of Christian Encarnacion-Strand to the roster, which may hurt his fantasy production.
Brett Baty (OF – NYM)
Many have been clamoring for Baty to receive regular playing time. The Mets traded Eduardo Escobar, which gave Baty all the playing time he could handle. He did not take advantage of that this past week, as he hit .167 with three hits. Baty did walk 10% of the time but also struck out 40% with no barrels and a 20% hard-hit rate. Baty should get all the playing time he can handle, but production like this will not make him fantasy viable.
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