We have made it to the fourth week of the MLB season. There were some awe-inspiring performances. As usual, there were some great and rough performances to dig into. This weekly column will help highlight 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. I will highlight some known and lesser-known players this week. So let’s see some of the risers and fallers for fantasy baseball Week 4 (4/8-4/14).
- Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Advice
- Fantasy Baseball Trade Advice
- Fantasy Baseball Start/Sit Lineup Advice
- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers: Week 4
Risers
After starting the season in a platoon and seeing very few at-bats, things changed quite a bit for Colton Cowser last week, starting and hitting safely in all six games. Cowser hit .435 with four doubles, four home runs, 12 RBIs and two stolen bases. Cowser was crushing everything with a 27.8% barrel rate and 66.7% hard-hit rate. Outside of all the offensive production, Cowser even got a start versus a left-handed pitcher to end the week. This may have been Cowser’s best week of the season. Solid production and regular playing time should be in store for the Orioles rookie.
Josh Naylor has been on fire to start the season. This past week, Naylor hit safely in five of his six games, with multiple hits in four. He hit .450 with two doubles and three home runs with a 25% barrel rate and 62.5% hard-hit rate. When he wasn’t making loud contact, Naylor showcased great plate discipline as he walked 23.1% of the time while striking out 15.4%. Naylor has proven to be a vital fantasy asset when healthy.
Christian Yelich went down with a back injury and Blake Perkins has stepped in as a quality replacement. Perkins has played CF while Jackson Chourio and Sal Frelick man the corner spots. This past week, Perkins hit safely in four out of five games with two home runs and two stolen bases. He walked 13.6% of the time while striking out 18.2% with a 42.9% hard-hit rate. Perkins hit the bottom of the order and still scored seven runs thanks to a potent top-half lineup. As long as Yelich is battling his injury, Perkins should see plenty of playing time and is a nice fantasy addition.
Jordan Westburg (2B, 3B – BAL)
With Cowser dominating the Orioles’ highlights this past week, Jordan Westburg’s production may have been slightly overshadowed. Westburg hit safely in four games for a .389 batting average with two home runs and two stolen bases. He barreled the ball 7.7% of the time with a 46.2% hard-hit rate. Westburg plays daily and hits at the bottom of the Orioles lineup, allowing plenty of fantasy production.
Michael Busch had an outstanding week for the Cubs and fantasy managers. He finished the week on a five-game hitting streak with multiple hits in the last three games. He also homered in four straight games to end the week. Busch saw the ball well — 33% barrel rate and 60% hard-hit rate. Busch started the season in a platoon at first base but has earned regular at-bats and a ton of fantasy appeal.
Fallers
Cody Bellinger signed late in spring training and has yet to appear comfortable at the plate. This past week, Bellinger picked up two singles for a .087 batting average. He only struck out 19.2% of the time, but he also had just a 3.6% walk rate. Bellinger did not collect a barrel last week to go with a 21.1% hard-hit rate. Bellinger also had a -25 wRC+ as he struggled through the week. Bellinger will likely get things going eventually. For now, though, he looks off at the plate.
Mitch Garver sat with a back injury early in the season and has not looked right at the plate since. This past week, he collected two singles and zero RBIs while striking out 37.5% of the time. He did not collect a barrel this past week but did have a 41.7% hard-hit rate, which is something to appreciate. He likely had no barrels due to a 50% ground ball rate, which must change quickly. The back may still bother Garver. He may need more time out of the Mariners lineup as well as fantasy lineups.
Maikel Garcia came out of spring swinging a hot bat, which quickly quieted down. Garcia hit safely in one of his six games this past week with two singles. He managed two stolen bases, scored three runs and scored three RBIs, so he was not a complete dud. Garcia struck out 28.6% of the time, which was high for him, but an 11.1% barrel rate and 38.9% hard-hit rate leaves some hope. Hopefully, Garcia turns things around quickly or he may be moved out of the leadoff spot, lessoning his fantasy value.
Andrew Vaughn hit safely in three out of six games with four hits, including two doubles last week. He only drove in one while scoring two runs, thanks mainly to a bad White Sox offense. Vaughn barreled the ball only 6.7% of the time, with a 33.3% hard-hit rate and an even worse 32% strikeout rate. Vaughn only had a 68% contact rate and a 15.1% SwStr rate, which helped diminish his production. It will be very tough for Vaughn to have a big season as he’s stuck on a horrible White Sox lineup.
Jeimer Candelario (1B, 3B – CIN)
Jeimer Candelario is coming off a career season but things have yet to click this year. He hit safely in three of his five games last week with a double and three singles for a .182 average. Candelario did not collect a walk while striking out 34.8% of the time, showcasing poor plate discipline. He also had zero barrels on the week with a 35.7% hard-hit rate and a 50% ground ball rate. He should see plenty of at-bats in a potent Reds lineup but he’ll need to start hitting quickly if he does not want to lose some of those at-bats.
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