Fantasy Baseball Advice: Ryan McMahon, Alex Kirilloff, MJ Melendez, Willy Adames

We have made it to the third 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 fantasy baseball risers Week 3 (4/1-4/7).

Fantasy Baseball Riser

Ryan McMahon (2B, 3B – COL)

Ryan McMahon is a boring fantasy player to many, but weeks like the one he just had to keep him high on my fantasy radar. Last week, McMahon hit safely in all six games with a double and two home runs. He scored four runs while driving in five with a 187 wRC+. He struck out 28% of the time, which could be better, but when he put the ball in play, he had a 13.3% barrel rate and 60% hard-hit rate. McMahon is starting the season red-hot and may be in store for a big fantasy season.

Alex Kirilloff (1B, OF – MIN)

Alex Kirilloff has proven he can hit throughout his career when healthy, but he has been battling injuries a lot, which prevents the big fantasy seasons. He had surgery on his wrist this offseason but he looks pretty healthy at the moment. He hit safely in all four games this past week, with a double and three triples. Kirilloff’s plate discipline was great; he walked 10.5% of the time while striking out 10.5%. Kirilloff is in a strict platoon, which keeps him out versus LHP, but he has hits in all seven games he has played to start the season. He also bats second when he plays, which should provide some nice fantasy counting stats.

MJ Melendez (C, OF – KC)

There have been high expectations surrounding MJ Melendez since he joined the Royals, but he has not lived up to them yet. The way he has started in 2024, he may reach those expectations this year. Melendez finished the week on a five-game hitting streak with five home runs and three doubles. Melendez did this with a .231 BABIP, which is wild but supported by a 25% barrel rate and a 56.3% hard-hit rate. Melendez is only 25 years old. This may be the breakout year we’ve been waiting for.

Willy Adames (SS – MIL)

Willy Adames had a disappointing 2023 but appears to be returning nicely to start 2024. This past week, he hit safely in four of five games with two home runs and a stolen base. He only had a 6.7% barrel rate but a 40% hard-hit rate helped with his production. Adames is now hitting .300 on the season while walking 14.3% of the time and only striking out 11.4%.